Episode 26

First, a spiral staircase was visible from the living room. The top of the stairs on the second floor was visible from the living room, and a huge, stopped clock hung from the ceiling.

'This watch……. No way.'

Elisha, who took a closer look at the watch, was astonished without revealing it.

'Imperial Year 553, Fivocina's Clock of the Flowing World. Right?'

Fibocina is a giant wall clock that a famous painter painted the backboard, and then a wizard cast a permanent protection spell on it. The seconds, minutes, and hour hands were all made of gems such as obsidian and sapphire.

It was a watch that said that even if you are still, the shape of the clouds flows, and at night, it is dyed red by the sunset light and turns black naturally in the evening.

Even in the imperial family, this was something that was enshrined as a treasure.

“That thing…….”

“Ah, it is an item bestowed by the imperial family. The general is not very obsessed with art, so he often instructs us to hang it anywhere.”

“…… Okay.”

The further you go inside, the more the mansion becomes a spectacle. First of all, Lucerne was a lot richer than I thought.

'I probably wouldn't have run a business like the other brothers.'

As soon as Elisha entered the house, all she saw was a vase rolling on the floor. She knew that the vase was an ancient relic and that it was a genuine product that had been won at an auction by looking at the warranty she hadn't even removed from the vase.

Flowers made of real gold were scattered there. A piglet with a magic circle engraved on its body was running beside it. Her maids followed after her.

“Sorry. The pig escaped from the lab again.”

One of the maids said to her butler, sweating.

“You! Won't you take care of my pig properly?”

Lapis chased after the pig. Elisha blocked the pig with her body. Lapis, who slid down in front of Elisha, grabbed the pig.

Lapis glanced up at Elisha, and she somehow passed her face with her hostility.

“Lapis! You should say thank you. Huh true…….”

The butler seemed troubled. Elisha winked to mean she was fine.

“Please understand. Lapis-sama is only 14 years old now.”

“It must be puberty.”

“Puberty……. Yes. Puberty. You might think so. Master Lapis is one of only ninety-seven wizards in the Empire, along with his twin brother, Lady Lazri. So some……. He may act unusually.”

“All right. You can't force mages on trivial courtesies. I will do it.”

“Yes?”

The butler noticed that Elisha was bizarre because he understood her words so quickly. Elisha looked at him as if something was wrong with her.

“Hmm. Yes. Then I will continue to guide you.”

It is said that a house without a hostess is obvious, but I have never seen such a chaotic house. Elisha looked at the famous paintings hanging on every wall. If all of them were put up for auction, they were precious items that would win the bid while the rich were moved and cried.

“Are all these things a bounty?”

“Yes. These are the things you get every time you come back from a victory in the battlefield…….”

“…….”

How many wars did he go through when he was only in his 20s? Elisha was genuinely curious. She said the butler as if to reassure her.

“Don't worry. The really important things are well kept in the treasure house.”

Somehow, the inside of the treasure house seemed to be in a more terrible state. The butler was also embarrassed and coughed openly.

“Due to the war, some of the enlisted soldiers were drafted and dispatched. Because of this, the hostess is coming, but the house is not properly tidied up.”

“It's okay. What a great thing.”

Elisha calmly replied. She did not expect that the new bride, who entered her home unaccompanied by her husband, would be treated with great hospitality.

Besides, while the capital may be peaceful, the west is now a battlefield. If she was the wife of a general, she would have to be frugal at times like this.

“Rather than that, there seem to be some enlisted men in the house. Where are they?”

“Ah. Yes. Would you like to see the Parade? You don't go to your room first and rest.”

“I have a lot of time to rest from tomorrow, so can I ask for guidance today?”

Elisha wondered why the butler looked surprised. Could she have expected her to be a fallen aristocratic woman who is as innocent as a doll and has no awareness of reality? She or she may be because her origins are too well known.

She might have been looking down on the fact that a woman with a noble name who lived doing laundry was coming.

'Either way isn't bad.'

It was much easier for her to turn a low rating into a higher rating than vice versa. Elisha didn't take offense at being ignored. Her experiences in her previous life made her that way.

*​ *​ *​

Behind the mansion was a large barracks. To think that a mansion of such an enormous size could exist in the capital where the land price was like a thousand gold. It was a scale that Elisha had never imagined. Some of the troops had been recruited for the war, and only the soldiers with bored faces were polishing their swords.

Elisha greeted them. Everyone looked at Elisha with curious eyes.

Elisha looked closely at her soldiers' kitchens and even the meals that were about to be prepared. After looking around her house, she asked Elisha to lead her to her own room.

“Can I stay in the guest room?”

“Please. There are not many ladies-in-waiting in this house, so there are many shortcomings. The madam's room has been prepared.”

The room the butler showed us was a spacious and luxuriously decorated room. White sheets and soft lace curtains hung from the large windows.

'The sunlight will be good.'

In his previous life, he lived in the damp attic under the stairs in Jacob's mansion in the capital. There were two reasons. Because the room was close to Carola's, it was convenient to visit the service.

It's always dark there, so Elisha lights her lantern and reads her words, but her eyes go dark. In the end, in a few years, Elisha's eyesight deteriorated rapidly, and even her eyes became blurry.

Also, since Elisha dealt with her secret information, she had to stay in that secret room where she couldn't be seen when the door was locked.

She said, 'Compared to the room she used to live in the capital in her previous life, it's really heavenly.'

So Elisha really liked her bedroom.

When she entered the attached room, there was also a study-cum-powder room for the ladies. An oil painting of luxurious yellow flowers hung on a wall covered with royal blue silk wallpaper trimmed with gold.

The closet was also empty and there was no furniture except an old antique desk. However, Elisha had never had such a nice room before. For a few seconds she couldn't take her eyes off her, even though she knew it wasn't a room she would live in forever.

“I kept the basics to do the decorations myself,” She says. I'll call the furniture dealer tomorrow.”

The butler said politely.

'It must have been difficult to prepare like this in such a short period of time.'

Elisha looked at the space and she was relieved that her hospitality wouldn't hurt her. It will change again depending on how Lucerne returns and treats Elisha. The position of a bride with a powerless family is determined by her husband's interest…….

'That can't be expected. That man……. It's like he's not the type to be lenient with women.'

Elisha suppressed the thoughts of her Lucerne. Strangely, when she thought of Lucerne, something seemed to get stuck in her throat.

“This…….”

Elisha found a familiar treasure chest in the dresser drawer. It was a luxurious wooden jewelry box with a floor area equal to the size of two adult male palms put together.

“Ah, I heard that that is the only burden of the madam.”

“…… It's a gift from the head of the Cartier family.”

It was received after her wedding. Thinking it wasn't her own, she didn't even want to open it. Elisha opened it.

'Gold…….'

At first glance, dazzling gold was filled in the box. All were ancient gold coins. Elisha had been in debt her entire life, both of her lives, wealth she had never laid her hands on.

“Keep it well. It is an important property for noble ladies.”

Elisha suppressed her startled heart and nodded her head. She couldn't help but calculate how much this would be for a moment. Elisha came out of the dressing room.

“A visit from across from me?”

“Oh, don't open that locked door. This space cannot be used.”

Elisha nodded her head.

Finally, she handed out a letter from Elisha to her butler. She was the letter Lucerne had told her to deliver.

“The general sent me a letter?”

The butler had a puzzled look on his face as he received the letter.

Elisha didn't know the contents either. Because Lucerne had sealed the letter with wax. She didn't even have the heart to look at her in the first place. It was because she thought that perhaps she might be Lucerne's test.

“Ah……. Is that so.”

The butler looked through the letter for a while. He immediately lifted her head with a serious expression and muttered. He seemed a bit surprised too.

'What on earth is it about?'

Because of the angle, the contents of her letter were not shown to Elisha.