03. A Favorite Thing
“R-Right here, young lady….”
With trembling hands, the real estate broker turned the key.
Click.
The lock gave way with a sharp snap.
“Good.”
Dressed every bit like a proper ‘villainess’ today as well, Rodi crossed her arms and flashed a wicked smile.
“Open it.”
Completely overwhelmed by her domineering aura, the broker—practically dragged here against his will—stammered.
“U-Ugh… As I thought, I really can’t go in there!”
His face crumpled in distress.
“Young lady, I’ve told you so many times already! This place is infamous for being haunted. It’s no place for a human being to live!”
Rodi, however, remained thoroughly unbothered.
“I told you, it’s fine.”
“Th-Then I will stay right out here, so please take a look around on your own!”
She cast a brief glance at the broker.
Above his head floated a familiar status window.
[Name: Thomas
Age: 47
Weaknesses: Afraid of ghosts, ??, ??, ??, ??]
Rodi clicked her tongue softly.
‘Well, what can you do?’
“Then I’ll go look around, so stay nearby.”
“Y-Yes, of course… I will do that.”
Shivering, the broker backed away.
Left alone, Rodi stepped slowly inside the residence.
Goosebumps prickled her arms. The chilly draft unique to old, abandoned houses brushed against her cheeks.
Sunlight cut through the gloom, illuminating thick clouds of drifting dust.
Cobwebs clung to every corner of the ceiling, and the wooden floorboards shrieked in protest beneath her feet.
“…Achoo, achoo!”
Sneezing as she surveyed the interior, Rodi muttered under her breath.
“The whole inside will have to be completely redone.”
Having now arrived in the capital, she was busy preparing for her next transaction.
And her second client was none other than…
‘Likens Magzeta.’
Soon, Likens would begin making arrangements to move out of the ducal residence.
‘And I’m going to sell this mansion to him.’
To pull that off, location was paramount.
As the commander of the Imperial Palace Knights, Likens reported for duty every single day.
‘The very first requirement is proximity to the knights’ order.’
The catch was that the closer a property was to the imperial palace, the more astronomical its price became.
On top of that, average real estate prices in the capital were leagues apart from the countryside.
A standard mansion in the capital easily went for an average of over five thousand gold.
‘Which means wiping out every last coin of my fortune would barely buy a single house here.’
Naturally, Rodi had no intention of making such a recklessly aggressive investment just yet.
For that reason, she had looked for a mansion close to the palace that had as many flaws as possible.
And the fruits of that search was this very mansion she was standing in.
Ever since the previous owner vanished, the place had been plagued by sinister rumors of hauntings.
The price was a mere forty-five hundred gold!
Incidentally, it was the cheapest property anywhere near the imperial palace.
Rodi tallied the figures in her head.
‘If I factor in the interior remodeling costs… I should just barely be able to turn this into a splendid estate with the money I have.’
What was more, the grounds featured a separate outbuilding in the garden.
“If I convert that outbuilding into ‘that,’ everything will be perfect.”
Having finalized her calculations on multiple fronts, Rodi emerged outside.
“I’ll take this mansion.”
The broker gasped in shock.
“Good heavens, are you serious?!”
“Yes.”
His eyes darted back and forth anxiously.
“I-I warned you clearly. It’s said to be haunted….”
He seemed terrified that she might change her mind later.
“I know. I don’t really care about that, so it’s fine.”
In the first place, Likens did not even believe in ghosts. Groundless rumors would never bother him.
‘Knowing him, any ghosts would probably run away in terror from Likens instead.’
Since Rodi did not believe in ghosts either, the unsettling gossip around the estate was of no concern to her.
‘If anything, having a house’s price plunge this far over mere rumors is a total windfall.’
Having just secured a sale, the broker’s expression brightened a touch.
“Understood! Let us return at once and draft the contract!”
And so, Rodi’s second deal began.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Oh, my aching head… My only heir doesn’t have the slightest intention of marrying, and worrying about it gives me a splitting migraine!”
Likens sighed softly at the familiar nagging.
“…I know you are perfectly fine.”
Likens’s grandfather and the head of the Magzeta ducal house, William, glared fiercely at his grandson.
“What are you talking about?! I’m so sick with worry over you that I stay up tossing and turning every night!”
Likens replied bluntly.
“Stop exaggerating.”
“Oof… It seems you don’t care in the slightest about your poor old grandfather’s health.”
Groaning theatrically, William stole a glance at him.
“…”
No matter how hard he feigned illness, his grandson remained as stoic as ever.
William clicked his tongue softly.
‘Coldhearted boy.’
After his son and daughter-in-law passed away fifteen years ago, who was the one that raised this boy into adulthood with so much devotion…?
They truly said that no good deed goes unpunished when raising a thankless wretch!
Who could have guessed that the cute, adorable grandson of his youth would grow into such a rigid young man?
‘He doesn’t even spare a passing glance for all those young ladies spending tearful nights pining over him.’
William was not nagging without cause.
Even though his grandson Likens was the sole heir to a ducal house, he had never once shown an interest in women well into his mid-twenties.
‘Most men would have at least a betrothed by the time they pass twenty.’
It was not as though his grandson was lacking in any way.
A handsome face inherited from his own younger days, the honor of being the empire’s greatest knight, and the prestigious status of Young Duke Magzeta.
‘…Though his sullen personality is a bit of a flaw.’
With so many strengths to overshadow that one drawback, what could possibly be the problem?
“What on earth is the issue, Likens?”
William stared at his grandson with utmost seriousness.
“If you have any troubles or concerns regarding the opposite sex, tell me anything.”
“I have no such things.”
“You have none, yet you push away every single woman…! At your vigorous age, does that make any sense?!”
“It does.”
Rattled by his grandson’s mechanical retort, William barely managed to suppress his rising temper.
‘Stay calm, stay calm.’
Today, of all days, he was determined to uncover the real reason this boy kept women at arm’s length.
William fought to keep his smile intact, the corners of his mouth twitching.
“I am prepared for whatever you might say. Even if the woman who caught your eye is of low birth, I will accept it all.”
Likens swallowed a mouthful of scrambled eggs from his breakfast.
“There is no such person.”
“D-Don’t tell me….”
Faced with yet another flat denial, William’s expression morphed into one of pure dread.
“Could the person you fancy perhaps be… a-a man… or something…?”
Screeech!
With an icy look, Likens stood up, the legs of his chair scraping loudly across the dining hall floor.
“I must report for duty, so I will take my leave.”
“L-Likens! You boy!”
Ignoring William’s desperate shouts from behind, Likens strode out of the dining room.
“…Phew.”
Walking down the hallway, he let out a long sigh.
No matter how indifferent he tended to be, enduring relentless demands morning and evening about when he intended to marry was mentally exhausting.
‘I should start looking for a separate residence.’
Fearing that his grandfather—his only remaining family—would feel lonely, he had tried to delay moving out of the ducal estate for as long as possible.
However, being subjected to suspicions that he fancied men was going a bit too far….
‘Tiresome.’
He was a man who worked day and night without pause.
At the very least, he wished to rest in peace while at home.
‘I should search for a mansion near the knights’ order to keep the commute convenient.’
Even after arriving at work, thoughts lingered in his mind, prompting him to take a half-day off that afternoon to visit the real estate guild.
“Eight thousand gold!”
“Oh, please… Young lady, you must be reasonable!”
“No, I’m asking why you won’t agree!”
Pushing open the doors of the real estate broker guild, Likens was met with an entirely unexpected sight.
“…”
Inside the guild, a woman with familiar purple hair was locked in a heated argument with a broker.
“…Rodi?”
At the name that slipped unconsciously from his lips, the purple-haired woman whipped her head around.
And his gaze locked straight onto her sparkling light-green eyes.
