Chapter 6

The boy was glaring at her with eyes full of wariness, clutching a teaspoon in each hand.

Standing there with a teaspoon in each hand, fingers only, he looked rather solemn.

The moment Yvette saw the boy, she let out an involuntary, hollow laugh.

‘……There’s no sense of threat at all.’

Unless he were strong enough to drive a teaspoon into a wall with his bare hands, it would be difficult to hurt anyone with just a teaspoon.

‘He wants to drive me out of the townhouse, but he doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Is that what he’s thinking?’

She could understand his feelings to some extent.

But funny was funny, and rude was rude.

Yvette, the smile already gone from her face, rose from her seat.

“That’s a rather low greeting.”

“……I apologize, young lady. It was my failure to manage the child.”

Habert bowed politely and apologized.

Yvette looked back and forth between him and Iden, then spoke.

“I heard you have a grandson, Habert. Is that him?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Habert answered with his head bowed low.

Yvette let out a short sigh and beckoned to Iden.

“Your name is Iden, right? Come here for a moment.”

“Don’t call my name! I never gave you permission to call me!”

“D-don’t call my name!”

Perhaps afraid of the consequences, Iden hid behind Habert.

Yvette smiled brightly at him as he peeked out with only his eyes showing.

“If you don’t come here by the count of three, I’m going to sell this house back to a scary old man?”

“……!”

At Yvette’s threat, Iden’s eyes went wide.

He apparently had not considered that the townhouse could be sold to someone else again.

“You don’t want a scary old man to be the owner either, do you? Right?”

At her question, Iden nodded vigorously.

His eyes, grown large as if about to pop out, quickly welled with moisture.

“I-I don’t want a scary old man.”

“Right? So before I lose my temper and sell the house, hurry over here. And put those teaspoons in your hands back on the table.”

Yvette reached out her hand again. Then Iden, having obediently set down the teaspoons, trudged over to stand before her.

Seen up close, Iden had a rather cute face.

His eyes were a clear green like leaves, and freckles were scattered across his round nose.

‘He doesn’t resemble Habert much.’

As she quietly studied Iden, Yvette suddenly raised her head.

Then she saw Habert looking at her with a peculiar expression.

“……This is the first time I’ve seen Iden listen to someone else all at once.”

“So this sort of thing happens often, I take it?”

“Not often, but there have been a few times he’s gotten into arguments with passersby.”

“Aha. So he’s a repeat offender.”

Yvette narrowed her eyes and turned her gaze back to Iden.

Whether he knew he had done wrong, Iden’s shoulders were slumped.

“Apologize to the young lady right now, Iden.”

When Habert spoke in a stern voice, Iden flinched and glanced at Yvette.

“……I’m sorry. I won’t throw things again.”

Iden clasped his small hands together and bowed deeply to Yvette.

Yvette watched him apologize with her arms crossed.

His thoroughly deflated look was as pitiful as a rain-soaked puppy.

‘This should be enough.’

She had received a proper apology.

She decided it was time to wrap things up.

“I’ll let it slide this time. But if something like this happens again, I’m selling the townhouse to a scary old man right away.”

When Yvette threatened him with a serious face, Iden’s eyes went wide again and he clung to her hem.

“I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

Yvette quietly swallowed a laugh at the sight of the teary-eyed Iden.

Perhaps because his reactions were cute, she kept wanting to tease him.

‘Still, I shouldn’t bully a child.’

She forced her expression into order and patted Iden’s head.

“……You’re not going to scold him further?”

Habert, who had been quietly watching, spoke as if surprised.

“What good would it do to make a child cry? He said he won’t do it again, so that’s where it should end.”

Yvette answered lightly and shrugged.

If something like this happened again, she would have to scold him until he cried his eyes out.

But she did not want to corner a child who was promising not to do it again.

“I see.”

At those words, Habert smiled quietly.

He spoke to Yvette in a voice that had grown gentler.

“The tea must have gone cold. Shall I bring a fresh pot if you’d like?”

“No. The tea is fine—would it be all right if I looked around the townhouse first?”

Yvette shook her head and spoke.

The agent had said Habert kept the townhouse clean, but she could not simply take his word for it and sit idle.

“If you wish, I will guide you myself.”

“Would you?”

“Yes. I’ll tidy up quickly, so please wait a moment.”

With that, Habert smiled brightly.

A short while later.

Having finished tidying up, Habert led Yvette around the townhouse, showing her every corner thoroughly.

Fortunately, the townhouse was maintained so cleanly that her worries were unfounded.

It seemed it was cleaned every single day, for not a speck of dust was to be seen.

‘Is it possible to maintain it this well alone?’

Yvette marveled inwardly the whole time she looked around.

As far as she knew, Habert was the only caretaker.

Even if Iden helped, keeping a townhouse this clean alone was close to impossible.

“Are you the only one managing this townhouse, Habert?”

“Yes. Since the previous owner left the house, I have been managing it alone.”

“It must have been difficult for you to maintain it like this by yourself. How long has it been since the previous owner left the house?”

“About twenty years, I believe.”

“Aha, twenty years…….”

Yvette, who had been absentmindedly repeating his words, paused.

“Wait. Did you just say twenty years?”

“Yes.”

“So you’re saying this townhouse has been empty for twenty years?”

“Yes. Since nobles rarely buy a townhouse with these conditions, it hasn’t found an owner until now.”

“What do you mean by ‘a townhouse with these conditions’?”

Yvette asked cautiously.

The more she heard, the more uneasy she felt for some reason.

And sure enough.

At Habert’s next words, Yvette’s mouth fell open.

“It’s on the outskirts of the capital, where public order is poor, and it’s absurdly small for its price.”

“…….”

Instead of answering, Yvette quietly buried her face in both hands.

When she stayed frozen like that, Habert opened his eyes wide and asked.

“Don’t tell me you signed the contract without knowing?”

“Yes. I wasn’t told anything about that.”

Yvette muttered in a voice that was barely audible.

The agent had introduced this place only as a quiet neighborhood.

She hated noisy places, so she had thought it was perfect.

‘No wonder he couldn’t meet my eyes properly when I stamped the contract.’

Yvette thought she would have to go grab the agent by the collar later, and slowly continued.

“Just how bad is the public order? Don’t tell me criminals are swarming every alley, and the moment you go out at night you get stabbed…….”

“Ah, it’s not that bad.”

At his firm answer, Yvette let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

Thank goodness. At least there’s no threat to my life.

“But the moment you witness something you shouldn’t, you could be assassinated without a trace, without a mouse or bird knowing.”

……Cancel that thought.

Yvette felt momentarily dizzy and pressed one hand to her forehead.

‘Can I really survive here……?’