Initially, Leonard planned for the Stuart family to freeload at Joshuaâs store. But Joshuaâs father, Daniel, rebuked him with, âDonât say such stupid things!â
The living space in Joshuaâs store is only on the third floor, but there are still many spacious rooms left unused. Leonard heard that it used to be the employee dormitory but is only used by Joshua alone after his enrollment. Leonard, who didnât expect to get rejected, anxiously asked the reason.
âWhich rich Count in this world freeloads at merchantâs store!? Youâll pay rent? Thatâs not the problem here, okay? Eh? Find a cheap rent in the royal capital? What are you saying? Isnât it obvious you should buy a proper mansion if youâre going to live in the royal capital? Are you really a noble? Donât you have to put on an appearance and show your pride? That canât feed your stomach, you say? Ahhh, alright, I understand! I will arrange it, and you just need to pay the money, okay? Hm? If possible, a cheap one? LikeăŒ IăŒ saidăŒâŠâ
Daniel kept forgetting to use honorifics when heâs talking with Leonard for a long time, but itâs not that Leonard cared. He just listened to Danielâs preaching obediently.
Feeling helpless seeing Leonard like that, Daniel spent every effort to buy a mansion in the royal capital that wouldnât be embarrassing for the Stuart family, who isnât willing to spend even an extra bit of money for their food, clothing, and shelter.
If itâs like this, letâs buy you the grandest palatial mansion⊠Daniel half-jokingly decided.
âEh? D-Daniel-san? Umm? Why does it have three extra zeros?â
âLeonard-sama? Three extra zeros? Just what kind of mansion do you think you will live in? The price in the royal capital is high, you know?â
âNo, Iâm fine with the suburbsâŠâ
ââŠif you live too far from the academy, Emma-sama will have trouble commuting to school, you know?â
ââŠalright, Daniel. That house is close to the academy, right. There will do.â
âRight? This mansion is a pretty good property.â
ââŠ! D-Daniel-san? Itâs good that itâs close to the academy, but⊠now that I see it⊠isnât it⊠too big? Weâre only a family of five, though?â
âLeonard-sama, please think about it well. Both the mansion and the garden are quite big here, so⊠the cats will be happy, right?â
ââŠalright, Daniel. Letâs go with that place. There will do.â
Leonard was a simple man.
Daniel knew.
That this man will spend his money without care as long as Emma and the cats are involved.
And just like this, a mansion boasting one of the largest lands in the royal capital became the Stuartsâ property thanks to Daniel, who understands their assets more than Leonard does.
Itâs the story of when Daniel went to the royal capital for the purchasing procedure in Leonardâs place because they decided on the mansion just by looking at the drawings on the royal capital map.
When Daniel saw the actual building for the first time, he thought, âAh, crap, did I overdo it?â
But thatâs a secret. The Stuartsâ mansion at the royal capital is just that big and luxurious. Because itâs a little away from the main street, itâs hard for people to see it. Thatâs what Daniel at least thought was a relief.
ă»ă»ă»
*knock knock* When the siblings knock not on the main gate but on a small door for employees, it opens immediately as if the person inside has been waiting.
âMeow~â
A big calico cat nimbly opens the door for them with its forefoot.
âIâm home, Koumei-san!â
âMeowâȘâ
Fluffing, Emma clings to Koumeiâs neck and enjoys the soft fur.
Koumei always welcomes her like this whenever they return from the academy.
It becomes a daily routine, just like in their student years when Koumei was waiting for Minato to come home at the houseâs front gate.
The gatekeeper, who was scared of the big cat at first, was also touched by the catâs action and gently looked over Koumei, who only try to open the door when Emma and the brothers come home.
âWelcome back. Young Masters, Young Lady.â
The gatekeeper greets them grinningly, but the three siblings go âUwehhh,â and their faces crumpled.
âGrandpa Evan, please stop calling us that way, I beg of you-â
(*T/N: Grandpa here doesnât mean he is their grandpa, itâs just a way to call senior citizens)
âHohoho, you are all Young Masters and Young Lady from my perspective.â
The past middle age gatekeeper with conspicuous gray hair denies the siblingsâ protest while locking the door properly.
The gatekeeper was born a noble, but then, his territory management stopped functioning. While he was living like a homeless, the Stuart House took him in. Itâs been 10 years since then.
He used to work as Arbanâs coachman in the royal capital, but as he got older, taking care of horses became harder to do, so he had been nervous whether he would be dismissed from his position anytime soon.
âEvan-san, can you be the gatekeeper for us?â
Arban said it so lightly, so Evan thought that he only bought a small house. He delightfully accepted as he was happy that he could still work, butâŠ
ââŠumâŠthat⊠to be the gatekeeper of such a big mansion⊠is a littleâŠâ
Seeing the mansion he was guided to, Evan trembled.
The job he thought was only to keep the house safe from kidsâ pranks turned out to be guarding a mansion that could only be targeted by an organization-level attack.
âItâs okay! We have cats at home.â
Leonard, who exchanged places with Arban and came to the royal capital, said so reassuringly.
From Evanâs position⊠âSo what!?â he couldnât help but retort in his heart. Still, he got totally convinced after seeing the real thing.
Is that something you can call a catâŠ
The figure snuggling to Emma in front of him is definitely that of a cat, but itâs so⊠huge.
Nevertheless, it wasnât long for Evan to get used to Koumei, who knows the time when the children will come back and diligently wait for them in front of the door. He doesnât hate fluffy things.
ă»ă»ă»
âKoumei-san, letâs take a nap?â
The cat happily replies to Emma.
âMeow~â
Koumei follows behind Emma, whoâs pointing at the big hammock in the garden as the weather has gotten warmer.
She came back with something strange slightly attached to her, but thereâs no problem.
Iâve cleansed it off with a meow.
â?? It looks like my stomach started to calm down! I have a feeling I can eat dinner tonight.â
Emma mutters while being wrapped by the catâs body on a hammock.
âMeow~â
Hoping that she could continue to take her favorite nap with her favorite Minato forever, the cat wraps Minato gently and swears she will always protect her with a meow.
Authorâs note: The fluffâs been lacking, so hereâs Koumei-sanâs appearance in a long while.