Chapter 44
“I thought there wouldn’t even be a single ant here, but it’s a village?”
Then, are they even paying taxes?! Ashbel’s voice rose with excitement at the sight of the environment, which was not as desolate as she had imagined.
Rianna, Daisy, and Serena felt the same way.
‘Even in this wasteland, someone lives here.’
It looked small to the point of being shabby, but it was amazing to see that people lived on this estate.
‘Who could be living here? Why would anyone leave a decent place and end up here?’
It probably wasn’t anyone remarkable, but there was a mix of concern and curiosity about who they might meet.
As they continued observing the village while getting closer, they noticed a relatively large building standing behind the smaller ones, like part of the background.
“Oh my! What’s that?”
Rianna, also admiring the view through the window, exclaimed.
It was a bit far to see clearly, but at a glance, it looked like a castle.
Before long, they arrived at their destination, and Ashbel, who had been staring out the window in awe, jumped out of the carriage as if propelled by some force.
“I-It’s really a castle?!”
She thought she might be seeing things, but indeed, in this barren estate, there stood a proper castle.
Aside from lacking a garden due to the wasteland, it had a surprisingly beautiful exterior.
“That is Rosegold Castle. It has been the residence of the lords who have owned Rosegold for generations.”
Edward calmly answered Ashbel, who was nearly screaming in surprise.
She never expected there to be a castle.
Unless it was a major city or a strategic location, castles were rare. The Count of Roselantis didn’t even have a castle.
Faced with such a grand building for the first time, she was speechless. Serena looked up at Rosegold Castle.
‘The same color as my eyes…!’
A pink castle straight out of a fairy tale—could this be destiny?
The combination of the clean, white walls and deep pink roofs was so beautiful that it made the wasteland almost forgettable.
It didn’t seem to be a fortress but rather decorative, as even the iron decorations on both ends and the central spire were delicately crafted into rose shapes.
“How beautiful.”
Rianna couldn’t help but marvel, saying it was as beautiful as the imperial palace.
Daisy, who had been bored moments ago, blushed and asked excitedly,
“Mom! Are we living here? In this princess castle?”
“Well, there’s nothing preventing it, so I think so for now.”
“Then, since I live in a castle now, am I a princess?”
“Hmm, I suppose you could say that, as the owner here.”
Daisy and Rianna burst into laughter, clearly delighted. They acted as if they were the castle’s owners, even though Serena was.
“The sun will set soon, and it will get chilly. Let’s go inside.”
At Edward’s words, the noisy family hurried along, eager to see the interior.
What would it look like inside?
With their hearts full of expectation, they entered—but the interior was more modest than they had imagined.
“Hmm, it’s all just flashy on the outside.”
Rianna scanned the surroundings and made a cold evaluation. The excited expression she had when talking about princesses was completely gone.
She hadn’t expected dazzling works of art, but the interior, filled with only the bare necessities, was extremely simple.
Ashbel clicked her tongue, thinking it was worse than her mansion, which had been furnished with new furniture just a few days ago.
“They didn’t sell everything off, did they?”
“No, not at all. It’s just that they didn’t have the resources to buy new items, so they made only what was necessary.”
Despite the rude gaze and question, Edward calmly explained.
Serena, running her hand along the marble stairs, asked,
“You didn’t make this too, did you?”
“The central staircase was just repaired, but most of the interior of Rosegold Castle was made by the residents of Rosegold.”
“Why on earth would such capable people live here?”
“Hahaha, who knows,” Edward replied with an awkward smile.
Following him, Serena arrived at the parlor and realized that the furniture—sofas, tables, and such—was very high quality.
Looking closely, it was comparable even to the luxury furniture she had bought a few days ago. The soft, curved designs were beautiful, and the corners were neatly finished.
The only difference was the raw wood and fabric quality, which was slightly inferior, but hard to notice without paying close attention.
‘This is amazing.’
She had come without expectations, hoping for a place to hide from her family, but here lived truly remarkable people.
The more she learned about this place, the more fascinating it became.
Ashbel, examining the furniture that caught her attention, pressed Edward to get to the point.
“It’s crude, but not completely empty. So, how much is left in the maintenance budget?”
She no longer had the patience to wait for a private moment.
Considering Edward had been openly skimming the household expenses until now, it would have been enough to take the money even if Rianna had been listening.
“There are many items that are difficult to explain verbally, so I have summarized the financial documents for easier viewing. Please wait a moment.”
“Hurry up.”
“Yes, understood.”
Edward bowed politely and left the parlor. Rianna wandered around, inspecting small decorations.
“So someone made these, but we haven’t seen a single servant? Not a single person in the castle?”
Come to think of it, they hadn’t met anyone from the time they arrived until reaching the third-floor parlor.
There wasn’t dust everywhere, and overall, it seemed well-maintained. Someone must be cleaning daily. Where was everyone?
‘Surely Edward isn’t managing all this alone?’
He seemed quite old, making it unlikely—but Serena had been doing such impossible things since she was very young.
‘I need to check how much maintenance money is left, how much is needed, and maybe hire more people.’
Even if someone could come all the way here, she couldn’t leave all the hard work to elderly Edward.
Serena ran her hand along the armrest of a sofa and began organizing what needed to be done.
Having finished her modest inspection of the parlor, Rianna sat back down.
“Hey! Don’t just sit there, go get some tea. You must be thirsty.”
“What? …Ah, okay!”
Serena grabbed Sophia’s wrist as she tried to leave the parlor.
“It’s fine. Just sit next to me. Mom, how would Sophia know where anything is to get the tea?”
“How should I know? She’ll have to find it herself.”
“Make sense! You should create the environment first, then ask her to do it.”
“Who do you think you’re talking back to? You think you’re something just because you got this lousy castle?”
Rianna glared at Serena with fury.
Serena, holding Sophia’s wrist firmly, calmly responded to Rianna.
“No matter how lousy the castle is, it’s much better than nothing, right? And this doesn’t feel like a dump.”
“…Look at you talking!”
“If you don’t like it, go back to Revnora. I can help with the transportation.”
“You really! That’s it?!”
“No, not yet. Don’t boss Sophia around anymore. She’s hired to help me when I need her, not to serve you and mom.”
“You… are you crazy?!”
“Yes. I told you, I’m crazy.”
How many times did she need to say it?
Rianna trembled at Serena’s bold, unwavering words.
Losing all patience as a parent and for her pride, she reached out to grab Serena’s hair.
“Miss!”
Sophia blocked Serena.
In the process, Rianna accidentally hit Sophia’s shoulder and fell to the floor, holding her own hand.
“―!”
“Mom?!”
“Sophia! Are you okay?”
Serena checked Sophia’s shoulder.
Sophia nodded, saying she was fine, then looked at Rianna.
“I’m fine, Miss. But Ma’am…”
“Yah! Are you crazy?! How dare you―!”
This time, Daisy lunged forward, but Sophia reflexively dodged, causing Daisy to fall. She cried, claiming it hurt.
“Ugh.”
Ashbel sighed, exasperated, not helping.
Rianna, shaking off her pain, checked her second daughter.
“Daisy! Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine!”
When Sophia approached to help, Rianna shoved her roughly.
“Move away! This is all your fault!”
“I-I’m sorry…!”
She had only moved to dodge.
Rianna then turned to Ashbel.
“And you…! You’re just standing there while the child fell?!”
“What did I do? She doesn’t seem hurt.”
“What did you say?!”
Just as another scuffle was about to start, the parlor door opened, and Edward returned.
“What happened…?”
Seeing the incomprehensible situation, Edward blinked slowly.
Ashbel waved her hand, telling him not to mind, then approached him.
“It’s nothing. More importantly, the documents? Why are you empty-handed?”
“Oh, here they are.”
Edward wheeled a fairly large cart into the parlor, piled high with stacks of documents.
“This is part of the documents summarizing how the maintenance funds were used. I’ve brought only the essential parts for a quick look.”
