Chapter 54
“Yes, yes, it’s an absolutely fantastic property. I contacted you first, my lady. The location is so prime that it’ll sell out the moment it’s listed.”
“But just a few days ago, you said all the contracts were completely booked up.”
When I shot him a glance laced with suspicion, the broker quickly offered an explanation.
“I swear on my life, there really weren’t any available back then. This listing just came to me out of the blue. The landlord is urgently seeking the next tenant for a cash transaction, so I thought of you right away—bam!”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
The broker chimed in with his usual easygoing charm. Judging by his expression, it didn’t seem like he’d been holding it back and only revealing it now.
Well, whatever.
It was all good for me.
Up until recently, he’d said I’d have to wait at least half a year, but now a spot in such a great location had popped up just in time—there was no reason to put it off.
“When is the landlord supposed to arrive?”
“Oh, here she comes now.”
Ding-a-ling.
With the chime of the bell signaling a customer’s arrival, a woman stepped inside.
Her blonde hair was tied up and secured with a headpiece, her eyes a ruby red.
The woman, with a particularly striking mole just below her lips, was dazzling at first glance.
Her hand, sheathed in thin lace gloves, gripped an ornate parasol like a walking stick.
The bustle dress that accentuated her hip line was a deep purple, mirroring her red eyes.
“Oh my, am I late? I said I’d be here right on time.”
“I arrived early. Just in case someone else snatched it up.”
I replied promptly and took a quick look at her. I’d imagined the clubhouse owner would be some shrewd, seasoned madam.
‘She’s really young.’
And an absolute stunner.
For someone like me, who goes weak in the knees at the sight of beautiful women, I had to muster all my mental focus just to read through the contract.
As the broker had said, the location was incredibly prime.
For a spot this good to come on the market as a distress sale— isn’t my luck just too perfect?
“Hmm hmm.”
A little hum slipped out of me unbidden.
After the final check and stamping my seal, the instant the contract was sealed, the landlord gave a soft, melting smile.
“We’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on.”
“Ah, so it’s a house you manage personally, then.”
“Oh my, didn’t I mention that?”
She broached the topic lightly, and in the same natural flow, she handed me a business card.
“Actually, the club I run is right upstairs.”
The card I’d taken without thinking had [Genus Club] emblazoned boldly across it.
“Huh…?”
This name sounds so familiar.
Where have I heard it before?
In that moment, my family’s siscon voice echoed in my mind.
‘Dellyyy, come on, just join Genus, okay? If you want, Julia even gave permission for dual membership.’
That’s strange. Why does it have the same name as the club my family’s siscon nags me about joining every single day?
As an uneasy premonition brushed past me, I hurriedly flipped back through the contract.
[Landlord: Julia Chester]
‘Ch-Chester!’
In my rush to sign after only checking the property details, I hadn’t properly looked at the landlord’s name.
The landlord’s name wasn’t all that important anyway—I’d forget it the moment I turned my back.
‘No wonder my luck seemed too good to be true.’
The single thought that surfaced in my mind was this:
I’d been thoroughly played by the beauty right in front of me.
I fixed my gaze on Julia, who was wearing a perfectly polite smile.
In the original story, she was the type who enjoyed manipulating situations from the shadows, never revealing her hand outright.
She was especially well-versed in the ins and outs of high society, with no one who could rival her when it came to that kind of information.
She must have heard that I was scrambling to find a property and orchestrated the whole thing.
‘But why would Julia go to these lengths?’
In the original, she and I had barely any occasions to cross paths.
Part of it was because Rodellia preferred to skulk around gloomily on her own, and Julia wasn’t exactly a major character.
For me, who’d been desperate to distance myself from the original plot, her interest was more than a little uncomfortable.
The Genus Club was a red-flag location in the original story, where Summer ends up getting all tangled up in drama with Adrian and Alferen.
Julia was the one who, after learning that Alferen and Adrian both had feelings for Summer, specially admitted her as a member.
The fact that Summer, from a fallen noble family, joined Genus—which was exclusively for the offspring of high nobility—caused a massive uproar in society.
‘The reason was simply that it seemed like it would be entertaining…’
She was one of those characters whose motives were impossible to pin down.
A woman who, if something amusing caught her eye, would haul it right in front of her to spectate without fail.
‘Could she have been put up to this by Adrian?’
But my brother wouldn’t even know I was out scouting for clubhouses.
And besides, Julia wouldn’t lift a finger just because my brother asked her to.
She was like a cat— she never budged unless something truly piqued her interest.
‘This is weird. What about me could have possibly caught her interest?’
It was bewildering, since I hadn’t really had any run-ins with Julia.
Who would’ve thought that talk about allowing dual membership just to recruit me was actually serious?
Why on earth?
It was then that Julia extended her hand for a shake.
“Let’s see each other often, shall we? If there’s any inconvenience with the house, feel free to come up to Genus anytime. The door is always open for you, Rodellia.”
Her words sounded almost like a subtle hint that circumstances would arise forcing me to come to Genus.
“Yes, I will.”
On the surface, I responded graciously, but inside, I made a firm vow.
‘Absolutely, absolutely, that will never happen!’
* * *
I’d thought absolutely, absolutely, that would never happen.
“Rodellia, you must have a knack for good fortune in treats. Meeting like this again—I’m absolutely delighted, aren’t I?”
Julia tilted the teapot with a gracious smile.
Beside her, the young lord Chester, eyeing me with the wide-eyed curiosity one might reserve for a monkey at the zoo… Adrian, who kept growling while trying to shield his view, and right next to him, Alferen, elegantly sipping from his teacup while sticking close to my side.
‘How in the world did I end up walking right into the original story’s lair of my own accord?’
Two hours earlier.
On my way to the new hideout.
‘Huh? A new dessert?’
Spotting the flashy photo of the dessert on the Winif signboard, I stepped inside as if drawn by a spell.
The line was pretty long, but at Winif, that was par for the course, so I didn’t think much of it.
It was right then.
“Aw, come on, what?”
Suddenly, the people waiting ahead of me started grumbling. Weaving leisurely through the crowd was a graceful woman.
Her face was hidden by the wide brim of her bonnet, but judging by the several maids trailing behind her, their hands full of carriers on both sides, she seemed like nobility.
Apparently, some big spender had swooped in and cleared out all the new desserts.
Sure enough, when my turn finally came, there weren’t many desserts left.
With a sigh of regret, I picked up some macarons and headed toward the clubhouse.
At the hideout, Sierra and Glaster were already there.
Ever since the Magic Tower tour, they’d been glued together constantly, scheming about something or other, and today was no exception—they came as a pair.
They must have already taken a look around the hideout once, because both their faces were brimming with energy.
“The hideout is this huge! And that over there—isn’t it the mini house for magic plants that we saw at the Magic Tower?”
“Now that we have plenty of space, I went ahead and prepared it. We’ll have to fill it up soon, all of us.”
“Oh my goodness, Rodellia, you’re truly a beacon of light!”
While Sierra exclaimed in admiration, Glaster was pressing her cheek against the mini house, practically in tears.
She likes it this much, yet she was the one insisting we didn’t need to move the hideout.
“What about Edwin and Loti?”
Sierra shrugged her shoulders.
“Loti sent word that something came up, so it’ll be hard for her to make it for a while. As for Edwin, he hasn’t shown his face in days, so he’s probably off on one of his wandering spells again.”
Her attitude suggested that Edwin’s fickle moods were just everyday occurrences.
It was then that Glaster, who had been hugging the mini house like it was a precious treasure, muttered in a ominous tone.
“You know, leader. Shouldn’t we set up some defensive magic before Edwin shows up? Just in case he comes bursting in through the window again…”
“Nah, no way. Would he really pull something like that right in the heart of the central district?”
This was an area where security patrols were on constant standby.
If he tried any of his antics here, he’d be hauled off in no time.
I’d said it figuring that even Edwin had at least that much common sense.
But suddenly, Sierra grew solemn and started biting her nails.
“How about we just don’t tell him about the hideout? This could be our chance to set Edwin free into the wild.”
