/
We continued to explore other parts of the mansion.
The first floor of the mansion was mostly focused on managing the estate and accommodating important external guests.
It had a feeling of something similar to that of the administration office of the Cardis territory.
Later, I heard from Andras that typically these business-focused spaces are often set up in separate buildings within the mansion grounds.
In our case, we couldn’t afford to build two or three separate buildings, so we allocated the first floor of the mansion for this purpose.
After finishing our tour of the first floor, we returned to the initial entrance of the mansion and headed towards the stairs.
I held Speranza’s hand to help her climb the stairs easily, and we made our way to the second floor.
As we reached the top of the last stair on the second floor, a small girl suddenly appeared from around the corner of the hallway.
“Ta-da~!”
A cat girl, who had suddenly appeared, greeted us with a cute expression.
“Miru?”
“Why did you come so late, Candy Uncle? I’ve been waiting for you.”
Miru, whom I met after a long time, playfully spoke with her hands on her hips. Soon after, Adela, her mother, also appeared. She was wearing a cleaning apron and greeted us with a calm smile.
“Welcome, my Lord.”
“Hello, Adela. You’re here.”
“Please feel free to call me. I cleaned up a bit before your arrival, my Lord.”
Adela was employed as a servant in the lord’s mansion. Since it was already decided before the mansion was completed, it wasn’t surprising that she was here.
Adela and Miru.
I was worried about the mother and daughter living in a slightly shabby house away from the village, so I decided to bring them here as the mansion needed extra hands.
Adela, the mother, was responsible for managing the mansion and housework, like what Lia did at the farm.
Miru was assigned as a handyman for Lagos and Locus, working here.
Although more help would be needed as guests started to visit and the number of people coming and going increased, initially, we decided to rely on Adela and Miru’s assistance.
“Your office and personal space have been cleaned. Would you like to go in now?”
“Let’s go in quickly, Uncle. It’s decorated really cool.”
I headed to my office with Miru and Adela’s guidance.
“Ta-da!”
In a room that looked a bit larger than Lagos and Locus’s office, the large windows allowed sunlight to pour in without the need for lighting, and the necessary furniture and items were neatly arranged.
As I passed through the door on the side of the room, I entered a reception area for guests. It appeared far more luxurious and magnificent than the one we had seen on the first floor.
“This space is designated for very important guests who come to visit you, my Lord. As you can see, we have meticulously arranged and decorated the entire second floor for your personal use.”
Upon hearing the construction supervisor’s explanation, I slowly nodded in approval. Indeed, the rooms on the second floor exhibited greater attention to detail than those on the first floor.
While there was a somewhat lavish feel to the space, the level of decoration was rather modest compared to typical aristocratic mansions.
The decor was more impressive than I had anticipated.
The other members of our group, who had explored the second floor with me, also responded positively.
After completing our tour, we returned to the hallway.
As I looked around, a door at the end of the hallway caught my attention.
“What is the purpose of this room?”
“Which one are you… Ah! There…!”
Before Adela could respond, I impulsively opened the door.
-Whoosh!
A chilling sensation swept through the briefly opened door. I paused and surveyed the dark room, which starkly contrasted with the office I had seen earlier.
‘What is this?’
‘Is it an unused storage space?’
The answer to my internal questions materialized in an unexpected manner.
-Swoosh.
I felt a cold sensation near my neck.
As chills coursed through my body, I became aware that someone was observing me from the shadows.
“… …”
“What the. It was just Sihyeon.”
A woman’s voice, sounding somewhat relieved.
My momentarily frozen mind began to function again, and I recognized the speaker.
“Te…Terzan…?”
“Hello…?”
Terzan, partially emerging from the darkness, greeted me.
“Hello… but could you please remove the cold object touching my neck?”
“Uh… sorry. I was asleep and didn’t notice you. I thought you were an assassin trying to kill me.”
As she mentioned the assassin, she withdrew the dagger that had been aimed at my neck and returned it to its rightful place.
“Almost got into big trouble by opening the wrong door! But why’s Terzan here?”
“Wait, Sister Terzan, is that you?”
“Terzan! What brings you here?”
“Uh?! Why is this madwoman even here…?”
“Hey there…”
Other members of the group spotted Terzan and greeted her. Lia walked to the darkest corner of the room and pulled open the curtains.
“Seriously? It’s already morning, you know.”
“Ugh… I was still sleeping.”
Terzan, acting like a vampire, dodged the sunlight streaming in through the window and crawled back into her bed.
Lia let out a little sigh and then addressed the wriggling blanket as if it were a worm.
“What’s going on, Terzan? Why are you at Sihyeon’s place like this?”
Terzan’s face peeked out from the tightly wrapped blanket.
“I can’t stay at the farm, remember? So, I chose to stay here.”
“What?”
Terzan had followed us from the Silent Forest.
We’d allowed her to stay in Cardis territory, but sadly, she couldn’t stay at the farm.
Firstly, there wasn’t any room left for her, and most importantly, the Yakums were super cautious.
The creepy energy that subtly flowed from Terzan’s body was what the Yakums were wary of… But I didn’t expect her to be staying here.
“Terzan, how long have you been here?”
“Um… about a month, maybe?”
“Really? A month ago, this place was still under construction.”
“Yeah. So, I hid so I wouldn’t bother anyone. I was really quiet, except for swiping a few snacks now and then.”
I glanced at the construction supervisor, who looked totally shocked. Clearly, he had no clue that Terzan had been here the whole time.
“Since yesterday, they’ve been working on the construction, and when everyone went out I thought I could finally take a nap. I didn’t think you guys would show up.”
At first, I was surprised, but then I started to feel some sympathy.
“Sigh… If you’d told me sooner, I could’ve set up a separate place for you.”
“It’s okay. I actually like staying in places like this.”
‘Hmm.’
Now that I think about it, Terzan was living in an abandoned building when we first met. Maybe this was an upgrade for her?
“And watching people secretly working on the construction here was quite fun.”
The construction supervisor’s face turned pale again. I had to hold back my laughter at his vivid reaction.
“So, are you planning to keep staying here?”
“Is that not allowed?”
Terzan, whose face was peeking out from the blanket, frowned slightly and asked.
“Well… it’s not impossible.”
-Cough. Cough.
While I hesitated to answer, someone poked my side hard. Turning around, I saw Locus shaking his head and whispering.
“Absolutely. Not. Allowed… Huh?!”
A small steel bead lodged into Locus’ forehead. Judging by the direction it came from, it was probably Terzan’s doing. Silently sending my condolences to him, I turned my gaze back.
Terzan was still wrapped in the blanket, fidgeting with her hands and watching me closely. Even the free-spirited girl seemed to feel awkward about taking over a room in the mansion.
“If you let me stay here, I promise to repay you. No assassins will bother you as long as I’m around.”
“Do I have someone who would send an assassin after me?”
Desperate to prove her worth, she quickly pointed at Lagos and Locus.
“I’ll also watch those two to make sure they don’t gossip about you while working.”
“Gossip?! I would never do that!”
“Ha! Just try watching us closely. No matter how much you listen in, all you’ll hear are crazy insults about yo… Argh?!”
Another steel bead hit Locus’ forehead. This time, it seemed to have a greater impact, and he couldn’t lift his head for a while.
Seeing Terzan’s desperate expression, I nodded gently.
“Alright. You can stay here from now on.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Adella is also here, so you can feel comfortable.”
“Thank you, Sihyeon.”
A faint smile appeared on her face. Considering her usual expressionless demeanor, it was a sign of great happiness.
And so, our mansion gained one more member.
Meanwhile, some commotion was felt from behind.
Andras, who had been in the hallway, entered the room and spoke to me.
“Sihyeon, it seems like something is happening outside.”
“What’s going on?”
“From what I heard, it seems like we have a guest. You should probably go out and see for yourself.”
A guest?
As far as I knew, we didn’t have any officially scheduled visitors today…
I quickly thought of potential guests in my head, but no one came to mind immediately.
We were planning to hold a small completion ceremony for the mansion today with the people of the territory.
“Alright, let’s go take a look.”
I left Speranza with Lia and Adella, and headed towards the first-floor entrance via the stairs. Andras, Alfred, Lagos, and Locus followed behind me.
As soon as I stepped out of the mansion’s main door, I saw a group of people making noise.
When I moved towards the gate, the territory’s residents parted like a wave, naturally making way for me.
I saw Reville and the guards confronting someone in the distance.
“My Lord, you have arrived.”
“What’s the matter?”
“These outsiders here have requested to see you. They claim to be Speranza’s family.”
Speranza’s family?
I quickly passed the guards and stepped forward.
“You are…”
“It’s been a long time.”
With pointy fox ears on her head and a swaying tail.
A woman with silver fur and sparkling eyes looked at me and smiled brightly.
“Ah! Should I call you ‘Lord Cardis’ now?”