"What...Why? Where is this person?"
"He's sitting in the guest room."
"I need to see him."
"If you'll excuse me, I have to first ask him for permission."
"Fine. I'll wait here."
He leaves the office while I paced here and there.
After a few minutes, he comes inside.
"You can meet him now."
He escorts me to the guest room and when I enter, I see an extreme tall, man with short, spiky black hair in an undercut. His face had soft features, but his jawline was still prominent. He looked kind, but from his dressing, I recognised he was a knight. Although the clothes he wore, were the ones I had never seen until now. From which knight's faction, does he belong to? I'm guessing he is the buyer's guard. His uniform must be from there as well.
While I was studying him, he puts his right hand on his chest and bent's down, giving a slight bow. He gently speaks first,
"It's a pleasure you meet you, my lady."
"Ah...where's your lord?"
"....He cannot be here. I am Fidelis Amica. His aide. Please feel free to tell me whatever you desire to say to him and I will inform him."
"I want to meet him."
"That may be problematic. He's royalty from another kingdom. It's imperative we hide his identity for his own safety. He hopes you would understand this matter and won't ask for more."
"I understand. Then please tell me the underlying reason you want to buy the mansion"
"My lord fell in love with the beauty of that place and has been wanting to buy it ever since."
"Then how did you come to know that it was for sale?"
"We heard the rumours and came here today to confirm it. Lucky for both us, they turned out to be true."
"....I see."
I wanted to ask if they know about the market value but we absolutely need the money right now. I wasn't going to let this opportunity get out of my hands.
"Till when do you require the mansion? I'm sorry, but it'll take two or three days for my family to move out."
"It's alright, my lady. My lord isn't in a hurry. You can stay for as long as you wish."
"...that's odd. I thought he'd want to live there right away seeing as he was so eager to buy it."
"....Er..."
He becomes startled at my suspicious and averts his gaze to look back at me nervously and add,
"In fact we merely came here for a brief visit. We have to go back soon. That's why it's difficult for us to move right away."
"Is that so? Then till when will you be able to make the payment? I know it's a huge sum, but I'd like it if your lord pays within two months."
"Don't worry, my lady. My lord will transfer money to your account within a week or even soon."
"Is that alright for you?"
"Yes, of course. Why wouldn't it be?"
"It's a hefty sum."
"It's nothing. My lord has plenty of wealth."
"I see. Please thank him from me."
"I will though the pleasure is completely ours for providing this opportunity to us, my lady."
I smiled back at him. He's considerate but why does he keep referring to me as "my lady"? In this book, you only say that to someone who is your master's wife. This made me feel uncomfortable.
"Umm...please don't entitle me that. You can refer to me as Miss Rhea."
"....But my lady suits you much better."
"But I am not really your lady are you?"
"I apologised if it made you feel uncomfortable."
"Its fine as long as you don't keep repeating it."
"Got it my lady...er...I guess it's stuck on my mouth...what can I do?"
"Practice not to call me that."
"I will try my best."
But for some reason, I had an inkling feeling that he'd nevertheless continue to address me 'my lady.' Not that I mind but if anyone overheard it, they'd misunderstand and I'm already stuck in a dilemma, don't need more dramas to pop up now.
I examine him one more time. I wish I could meet this lord he keeps talking about. I'm puzzled about who this guy is. Except for the neighbouring kingdom's name, nothing else was mentioned in the book about them. So just who was this character?
"Will you also need to take a look around the house to see if everything is intact?"
"That will not be necessary, my -...erm...madam."
So he's settling with madam, which gives off the same meaning as my lady.
"However we will be moving away after 2 days. You can come to take a look if you want before that. After that, I will obviously hand you the keys and papers."
"....What's the hurry madam? Like I said, my lord isn't in a rush to move into the mansion. You can take as long as you need."
"I know and appreciate that. But it's morally inappropriate to keep staying at the place which you've sold. Anyhow, what about meeting here again after two days to sign the papers? I will also hand over the keys then. Although till when will you be able to compensate me? It would be better if you pay half the sum, we sign the papers and then you pay the next half."
"Please do not worry. You will receive all your money after two days."
"Thats good then. Let's meet at the same time?"
"Of course."
I continue to look at him with eyes that seemed like investigating him. And it was legitimate. I absolutely couldn't believe this miracle happened and there was something suspicious about this guy and his lord. Though it wasn't an unpleasant feeling but still.
He must've detected me staring, that he puts his hand across his chest and states.
"Please do not worry about getting deceived. I swear on Kardia's honour!"
Swearing on your kingdom's honour is the highest it could be. If you're lying, it's punishable by death. But what made me surprised was the fact he swore on our kingdom.
"Are you from Kardia?"
My question makes him flinch. He nervously chuckles and replies,
"Indeed I am initially from here. But then I went to Myalo, because of my family that had to shift there due to the business. I swear on both Kardia and Myalo's honour!"
He explained.
"I see. Then, I will believe you."
"Thank you."
"I need to go now. It was a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure was completely ours. Although are you going back to the mansion?"
"Yes?"
"Then please let us drop you off in our carriage."
"Oh no, that's not necessary. I can go by my own."
"Please, my-..Madam. I insist. This way I'll also get to examine the mansion from outside."
I wanted to refuse, but he was the aide of my client. It would be impolite to do so. Hence, I nodded,
"If it's alright with you."
"Please, this way."
He escorted me to the carriage, which was a really extravagant one. Though it wasn't saturated with gold and diamonds like the royal carriage, but this one was black with beautiful silver intricate designs. It truly was the most elegant carriage I had ever seen. The two horses towing it were also coal-black and magnificent. Even though everything was black but the silver on it made it really stand out. Passerby's kept turning around to look at the carriage. I shifted a bit to the front to check the emblem, since I was intrigued to identify who this guy was. I had a feeling that if I at least recognise the symbol, I'd be able to find out which family it was. But before I could do so, the tall aide stood in front of me, concealing it behind him. He had opened the door of the carriage and extended his hand to aid me. As we sat opposite to each other, I noticed how simple the carriage looked from the inside. It focused on comfort rather than fancy designs, and I was appreciative for that since it was extremely pleasant to sit here.
Before long we reached the gate of the mansion. After escorting me down, I turned around to ask whether he would like to receive a tour of the mansion since he is here. But he swayed his head saying he had somewhere to be and then left.
I head back inside to meet with my family who were all gathered in the kitchen, helping mama with her baking. Last night, we also came up with a name for her baking brand called Luna Baker's. I personally love it. Not because I came up with it. But because of it's meaning and significant.
I notified them about the market value and before I could tell them further details, mama became stressed,
"Ah...How are we now going to manage the rest of the money? What will we do?"
"Ma-"
I tried speaking but got cut off because of Olivia,
"Don't worry madam. We will figure out a way."
"Act-"
Lark then spoke up,
"Why doesn't Rhea get married?"
This forces everyone to look at him. Especially me who was suddenly angry and surprised.
"Why do you say that?"
Mama beat me to demanding him the reason. I rolled my eyes and added,
"By all means do tell. Are you so troubled with me that you desire to get rid of me so quickly?"
"No, that's not it. I had heard the ladies talking about it today when I went for the tutoring. They said it would be better if Rhea got married to a wealthy man who could pay off our debt."
"You brat, you want to dispose of your sister by selling her?"
"Sell? No. I'm merely stating what they said."
"Don't listen to them. They're all a bunch of old hags unsatisfied with their life and are now poking their noses where it doesn't belong."
"Rhea, don't say it like that."
"It's the truth. Why do they care about my marriage? If they care so much about us then why don't they step up and offer to pay our debt themselves?"
"I know dear. This is just how society is."
"Now if you are all done, I would like to report you something."
I subsequently explained to them about the client and everything.
"This is brilliant!"
Mama was so relieved, I note her smile properly for the first time.
"He seems suspicious."
"Despite that, he's willing to pay so much. Which is the sole thing that should matter to us."
"Mama, do you recall anyone who wanted to purchase the mansion before the bankruptcy? Especially from Myalo's kingdom."
"Well I can't remember. It was only once when we held a banquet for the king in which neighbouring kingdom's royals also came. After that, many praised the mansion. Maybe some contacted your father afterwards but I'm not aware of that."
"I see."
"But it's excellent that we can finally repay the debt!"
"Absolutely, it is."
I finally smiled without any stress or worrying about anything. I looked over the people who were presently my family. For some reason, I felt delighted at this moment.