“Traffic seems worse than usual today.”

Philip, who had dozed off slightly due to the slowing carriage, stretched as he opened his eyes.

Inside the carriage returning to the mansion.

It was the peak hour in the shopping district filled with luxury goods, and people were out shopping in droves.

To get there even a little faster, they had taken the back roads, which nobles and the middle class rarely used, but even those were packed with servants and commoners out shopping.

“What are you looking at like that?” Philip asked while looking out the window.

“It’s nothing.”

Kaiden closed the window as if it were no big deal, but a sharp voice rang from outside.

“Is one apple really worth being so stingy over?”

“Sounds like a fight?”

Philip, intrigued, opened the window wide, his eyes sparkling.

Their carriage was crawling forward, almost stopped, and just ahead, a crowd had gathered in front of a grocery store.

“Ugh, just go already. Seriously, where did they hire such a nasty girl from.”

A large man flailed his hands in exasperation at the petite girl in front of him.

“Miss, if you quit your job, come work for our place. You’d be great at dealing with difficult customers.”

At the shopkeeper’s words, the girl, as if she had just triumphed in a battle, brightened.

“Oh? You mean it? I’m not planning to quit right away, but just in case, I’ll keep your offer safely tucked in my pocket.”

The girl, now with a future job lined up, turned to the onlookers as if putting on a show.

“Everyone, thank you for your help. See you next time.”

She even bowed gracefully, making the crowd burst into laughter.

As she walked away, swinging her shopping basket like a trophy, Philip couldn’t help but laugh too.

“What an amusing maid.”

“Close the window. It’s noisy.”

“It’s not that cold for December. Let’s keep it open. It’s been a while since I smelled the city air.”

Kaiden frowned at the way he sniffed the air.

“People are staring.”

“Of course they are. We’re on a road nobles rarely use. And we need to get used to this attention again. We’re back in Henen.”

At the realistic remark, Kaiden turned his gaze outside and observed his surroundings.

Henen, the capital of the Kingdom of Lavatore.

In its very center was the bustling Lehot Street.

If they continued along this road, they would reach Terrace House Street, lined with luxury townhouses for nobles, and beyond that were the estates of high-ranking aristocrats.

At the deepest point, backed by a natural cliff like a shield, stood the Royal Castle of Lavatore.

Kaiden looked at the pointed spire of the castle in the distance and let out a sigh.

“When will you go pay your respects?” As if reading his mind, Philip asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“You’ll be scolded for not going right after your return.”

“I’ll just say I had too much to look into.”

Kaiden was the grandson of the King of Lavatore.

After his father—the second son of the king and the first Grand Duke of Dumar—died in a suspicious accident, Kaiden tried to distance himself from the royal family. But that wasn’t easy because of his grandfather.

Maybe the king felt he had to show affection in place of his lost son.

The king’s excessive love only deepened the crown prince’s wariness and became a burden for Kaiden.

“No wonder you don’t want to go, with every meeting turning into an awkward ordeal.”

At Philip’s vague comment, Kaiden gave a bitter smile.

Philip watched his friend and offered a consoling remark. “Now that the heir has been born, he must’ve mellowed out.”

His uncle, Crown Prince Arendelle, had always envied and disliked his younger brother.

When his brother died, that hatred transferred to his nephew, Kaiden.

Especially after failing to produce an heir himself, his anxiety turned to deep hostility.

Now that he finally had a successor, Philip hoped he would calm down.

“Wouldn’t he be even more sensitive now because of the child? My uncle thinks I’m after his position.”

“You don’t even care about it, so why does he think that?”

“It’s a suspicion that won’t go away until I die. The only thing I can do is keep my distance and avoid him.”

“But will that really solve anything? What scares me is when Arendelle becomes king.”

Kaiden couldn’t say Philip was overthinking it.

His uncle still believed his father had aimed for the throne and attempted treason, and he thought Kaiden might do the same.

He had been hounded by that suspicion his whole life.

Who could say for certain that wouldn’t continue after Arendelle became king?

If Arendelle had children, that distrust might pass on to the next generation.

“I’m so tired of it…”

Kaiden muttered without meaning to, and Philip’s expression darkened too.

While both were lost in thought, silence filled the carriage until it finally came to a halt.

“We must’ve arrived.”

Kaiden pulled back the curtain to check, then opened the door.

“I’ll take a hired carriage from here. You go on back to the mansion.”

The carriage bearing the crest of House Dumar stood out too much.

Kaiden, not wanting to draw attention to his presence here, sent the carriage away first.

Then, together with Philip, he climbed the short steps and knocked on the door.

Even after waiting a long time, no one came, so the two opened the door and went inside.

The small hall was very quiet.

“Looks like no one’s here.”

Even when they intentionally made noise or cleared their throats, no one appeared.

Kaiden hesitated briefly before moving forward.

He had visited once when he inherited this house, so he knew the layout well.

If it hadn’t been for the job posting he saw that morning, he wouldn’t have had any reason to come here.

He would have left it to the steward and just received reports.

With Philip following behind, he quietly crossed the hall.

Then he lightly climbed the stairs leading to the second floor and opened the door at the very end.

“Hmm.”

The count’s bedroom was reasonably well kept.

But the creaking sound from the hinges when opening the door and window, and the dust flying from the curtains told a different story.

As Kaiden swept his hand across the tabletop, Philip chuckled. “It definitely looks abandoned.”

After checking the side room connected to the bedroom, Kaiden let out a displeased sigh.

Grand Duke Dumar, second in line to the throne and third in ceremonial ranking among the highest nobility.

Aside from the grand dukedom he inherited from his royal father, he also held several other titles.

Marquis of Rowden, Count of Serpa, and a few viscount and baron titles.

To someone like Kaiden, inheriting the title of Count Javier—without land or fortune and only debts—was nothing but a nuisance.

Still, he wasn’t irresponsible enough to completely neglect something he had inherited.

Though he hadn’t shown much affection or interest, even during military service he had consistently reviewed the steward’s reports.

So he thought he had a rough idea of the situation, but that wasn’t the case.

That job ad and the behavior of the supposedly diligent staff were entirely different from what had been reported.

If the owner’s bedroom was like this, there was no need to check the rest.

“They must’ve been busy.”

As Philip cautiously spoke, Kaiden coldly replied, “I’ll have to fire them all.”

“You don’t even know what happened. Maybe that’s why the butler isn’t here.”

“If something happened to the butler, someone else should be watching the hall.”

“Come on. This isn’t the grand mansion we live in. In a hall so narrow your arms could touch both walls, who would just stand around?”

It was a plausible point.

“Then, in a townhouse like this, is it normal for the butler not to wait in the hall?”

Philip thought for a moment, then laughed sheepishly. “I’ve never been to one either, so I don’t know.”

The Terrace Houses lined up along the Henen River were considered high-end townhouses.

Most were owned by wealthy provincial nobles who used them during the social season in the capital.

But that was true only for average nobles.

To city nobles who owned massive estates near the royal capital, even these upscale Terrace Houses were modest and unimpressive.

“I should sell it.”

Watching his friend look around with distaste, Philip said in a soothing tone, “Houses in the capital are hard to come by, even with money. Look at the view from the window. The Henen River makes it feel refreshing.”

“It’ll stink in summer. And from my bedroom, I can see the sea.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

Recalling the enormous Dumar estate between the royal castle and the harbor, he could only agree.

“Let’s go downstairs. I’ll fire the staff and tell the steward to put the house up for sale.”

“Don’t decide so quickly. It’s the last inheritance of House Javier.”

“That’s why I left it alone until now, but seeing it in person, I can’t. House Javier doesn’t bring in a single coin, but it’s costing hundreds of gold in maintenance every year… What’s that sound?”

As Kaiden stepped toward the stairs, he halted.

“Is that humming?” Philip, listening closely, answered curiously.

“Looks like someone is here after all.”

At last, they were about to meet someone in this desolate house.

Determined to act on his earlier thoughts and return home as soon as possible, Kaiden quickened his pace.

“It’s that girl from earlier, isn’t it?”