Chapter 12
Chapter 12
The Elpertz estate was located in the suburbs, far from the noble quarters in the city center. There was a time when fine mansions existed in the outskirts, but now all the wealthy had moved near the cultural and commercial districts of the new town, while the poor had been pushed out to the suburbs. The suburban area where the Elpertz estate stood had once boasted a beautiful garden overlooking a river, but now it was just an overgrown, gloomy place with unmanaged trees.
A black carriage headed for the estate. The mansion, once beautiful, still bore scorch marks from a fire. The surrounding garden looked like a wasteland. The stairs were in disrepair, and the grand front door had lost all its decorative fixtures. Though the door looked like it would creak loudly when opened, it was well-oiled and made no sound.
The windows were covered with black curtains, letting in no light, and only faint candlelight illuminated the corridor. Some of the marble flooring was cracked, and none of it had been repaired, leaving the damage visible throughout.
But the staircase remained grand. The ebony banisters were engraved with classical leaves and mythical beasts in sequence. Its elegant curves and height were flawless. Although the carpet was completely worn, it still muffled footsteps—clearly the only place in the mansion where a luxury product had been used.
Noah climbed the stairs and made his way to the drawing room, which overlooked what used to be the garden. The drawing room, too, was darkened with curtains over the windows, and white cloths had been laid over the furniture to keep dust off. Several people were seated on those white cloths. As Noah entered, they all looked up to greet him. Noah barely acknowledged them and walked straight to the study at the back of the drawing room. Inside, too, people sat atop furniture draped in white cloth.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Nils. Bertram.”
“You’re later than expected. It was just a contract to deliver, wasn’t it?”
Despite Bertram’s grumbling, Noah entered calmly and closed the door. Being once a fine mansion, the door made no sound as long as it was properly oiled. When he had first come to the Elpertz estate, he was shocked at how poorly such a good mansion had been maintained.
Sitting on the sofa, Noah said, “Still hot out.”
He loosened his cravat and tossed it on the cloth-covered table, then looked at Nils and Bertram.
“So, how is it going?”
“We’re in the process of securing the documents you requested. It’ll take more time. About César Elpertz…”
“Oh, and I’m thinking of renovating this estate.”
“…”
Bertram and Nils fell silent at Noah’s sudden remark.
They were already busy with work—now renovations, too?
“Isn’t it better as is?” Nils said.
“Not for plotting. No one suspects it because it’s Elpertz’s estate in the first place.”
“Then why suddenly decide to renovate? Didn’t you say it was ideal for secret meetings?” Bertram complained next. The social season was approaching. They’d be incredibly busy then—renovating in the middle of that? What about all the ongoing matters?
“Kashika seems uncomfortable in the Lambroiche house.”
“You’re calling her by name now? What happened to ‘Lady Ramfley’?”
“I thought she might prefer the Elpertz estate.”
“You want to switch just because she might like this place better, even after making the other house livable?”
“People are always more comfortable where they used to live, don’t you think?”
Bertram was left speechless. He looked to Nils for backup. Nils wasn’t confident either, but Noah’s reasoning was hard to accept.
“You had a purpose when you bought the Elpertz estate.”
“I did, back then. Now I’ve changed my mind.”
“My lord…”
“Oh, right. Did you hear from her? Maybe she prefers the Lambroiche estate after all.”
“True. This place is basically a ruin.”
“And you know how much effort it took to make it look like a ruin? It’s not easy to find another location. There’s the budget too.”
“Use personal funds.”
“You should be spending within the royal budget!”
Was he showing off how rich he was? Sure, using personal funds was his right, but what Noah Lambroiche was trying to do now was excessive.
“She needs to feel comfortable here so she doesn’t think about going back to the frontier.”
“Let’s hope she never finds that out.”
Nils had thought something was off from the moment the word “lover” came up. This approach was clearly flawed.
Bertram, on the other hand, was quite fond of the plan. He considered it efficient—catching two birds with one stone. But when it came to budgeting, he strongly disagreed.
“Twenty gold per month? That’s insane. The upper offices won’t approve it.”
“I’ll pay it myself.”
“…”
Which was exactly the problem. Why should he be paying a commoner’s annual income every month? With his own money, no less? Just one year’s worth of that allowance could pay off almost all the debt. It might be his business, but it was still too much. Nils spoke up.
“To be honest, I don’t understand your actions at all, my lord.”
“And we can’t even be sure she’ll be of any help.”
Bertram backed up Nils’s opinion. But Noah replied firmly, “Trust me.”
“At the very least, people will take notice if she’s César Elpertz II’s niece.”
“That’s exactly what makes it more worrying—that she is his niece.”
What would people say when they saw her? Out of propriety, they wouldn’t rush forward demanding restitution or anything, but they’d be watching closely. Some might even try to approach her.
If that happened, would that person finally show himself?
“Honestly, I’m still skeptical. You said there’s been no contact for years, right?” Nils said. If this wasn’t resolved, it could lead to disaster. Not just for the Ashpeiyu Kingdom—but also because one crucial person was involved.
“Just trust me.”
“And on what basis, exactly…?”
“Wine.”
“Pardon?”
“She served wine on the second visit.”
“How is that supposed to be evidence!”
“Bevellen wine.”
“…”
At those words, Nils fell silent. Bertram placed a hand on Nils’s shoulder beside him, wearing an expression that said, Just trust him. Honestly, there wasn’t much else they could do.
“Still, the higher-ups aren’t going to like it.”
“She’s not like César.”
“No matter how you say that…”
The question was whether that person would believe it.
“She’s the one who taught me. Just trust her.”
Nils raised both hands and scratched his head quickly. This guy’s impossible to reason with! And from the side, Bertram muttered, “Well, if you put it like that… maybe it’s not impossible to believe.”
“But even so, there’s no way she could’ve figured that out without any prior information!”
“And even if she did, I can’t go around telling her.”
“That’s exactly why she shouldn’t be part of the plan from the beginning.”
“No, she might be more useful than we expected.”
Noah said that. After all, the number of people he could rely on right now was limited. If that side had truly cast out César Elpertz—or even if they hadn’t.
“What use is a noblewoman who spent nearly ten years in seclusion on the frontier?”
“She’s smart.”
But this wasn’t a problem that intelligence alone could solve.
“And she’s cold-hearted. And a good liar.”
“…”
“She used to make me cry all the time when I was little.”
Again, irrelevant. Nils let out a deep sigh. Bertram, on the other hand, looked intrigued.
“You cried, my lord? Why?”
“She crushed my innocent childhood feelings.”
“Please say something believable.”
At Bertram’s comment, Nils nodded in agreement. Whatever else might be true, the idea that Noah had cried was definitely not. Noah insisted it was true and laughed again.
“Anyway.”
Well, putting that aside—
“Let’s dress her up and send her into society.”
The important thing was getting Kashika Ramfley to sign the lover’s contract.
“Then we’ll watch who tries to approach her.”
They needed to find out who was involved. No matter how they looked at it, even if that person had helped, Elpertz couldn’t have acted alone. As long as Kaninhen’s side didn’t interfere…
“But my lord, is it really okay to go this far?”
“Exactly. My lord…”
To be honest, Kashika was something of an immovable force.
“That’s something I’ll take responsibility for.”
Right now, Noah thought, it was more important that she came to recognize him.
“Keep the plan moving.”
If she hadn’t remembered even once in the past ten years, then it was better for things to get tangled up like this now.
“If she ends up hating you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Well.”
Noah smiled.
“She was never the type to care enough about me to hate me.”
Even being hated would be a blessing.
