Chapter 17

Angel’s mouth was wide open as though he had heard the most unbelievable thing ever. It made me laugh.

“Anyway! I’ll be away for a while, so take responsibility for the mansion for a while.”

“I c-can’t! Miss, just leave it to Uncle Lars!”

“I can’t do that because he isn’t attentive. He already has a store, so he is very busy.”

“I’ve never managed a noble’s mansion. You also know that I’m a kid who delivers newspapers and does the dishes at a restaurant.”

“Yes, a diligent kid who cares about his family more than anyone else.”

I was still pulling at his cheeks, but he didn’t push my hands away. He was so cute that I laughed again.

“I’ve prepared an empty room where you can stay while I’m away. The other rooms are messy and dirty, so you’ll know where it is right away. Bring your younger siblings and stay here. With that amount of money, just managing the mansion without doing anything else would be enough to get by.”

“B-But…”

“You don’t need to hurry. The library is open too, you can read anything you want. You can even go to the library of Acrab and borrow books under my name.”

“Miss… It’s too much. All of this is really too much for me!”

With a pale face, Angel fell to his knees. The innocent boy cried and begged and said that he couldn’t do this. I was doing him a favor, but he acted as though I had made him do something heinous. I felt like a villain.

“Come on, Angel! I need someone to manage my mansion! I don’t have anyone to trust, so I’m reluctantly entrusting it to you, so please take good care of it. I want you to continue this job when I come back so I am telling you to read and write while I am gone. I want you to learn.”

“Miss….”

“Stop complaining and do it. Don’t worry about money. If, by any chance, you need more, write me a letter and address it to ‘Kaichen Tenebre’. You know how to write, right? No matter where he is, if the letter is addressed to him and sent by a magical carrier, it will reach me through him. It’s expensive but for Countess Alshine, Lord of Acrab, it’s free. So, it shouldn’t be a problem. I have given the permission for use, so no one will stop you.”

I closed my mouth when I saw Angel shaking his head in tears. It seemed that no matter what I said, this child couldn’t hear anything. I handed him the letter I had prepared for him. He wiped his eyes and took it and lowered his head.

“Don’t worry about money. And use the fireplace because it will get cold. Don’t try to spare any money for your needs. I don’t have any pricey items, but I am sure you will take great care with everything in the mansion.”

“Why are you being so nice to me? I have never done anything for miss.” Angel seemed sad and scared of my kindness. I took a deep breath and took his face in my hands.

“It’s because you have always greeted me so nicely.” For a hundred years. “If you feel uncomfortable accepting everything, then study hard and make sure everything is well when I get back. Just take it as me lending you some things for now, which I will take back later. Okay?”

Angel sobbed so much that his eyes turned red. I was glad that Angel no longer had to worry about the roof collapsing on his head when it rains or rummage through the trash to scavenge moldy bread after starving for days. He doesn’t need to freeze in the cold and worry about his siblings dying in winter. I hugged the crying Angel and patted his back.

Even if Angel ran away with the money, I would not have regretted it. Management of the mansion was an appropriate excuse to help Angel. The mansion was already ruined and abandoned for many years. There was nothing of value here.

“Then please take good care of it, Angel.”

After leaving behind sniffling Angel, I carried the bag that I had packed yesterday afternoon. It was just a small bag that didn’t look like a traveler’s, but this was the famous subspace bag.

I wanted to surprise Kaichen, so I bought a small bag and engraved it with subspace magic.