Chapter 12:
Cain’s Estate
A FEW DAYS HAD PASSED SINCE THE CAPITAL DEBUT party, and Cain had traveled between the Saracaen Company and the Silford Mansion several times. He told Tamanis and Parma about how he had presented an Othello set to the king, who had enjoyed it very much. They were completely shocked. They had only finished making it recently, yet it had already entered the hands of the king. It wasn’t surprising they were taken aback.
They were now planning to sell to the general public, which meant they needed to prepare a significant quantity of merchandise. That was what their current discussions centered around.
Once Cain had settled his business with the Saracaen Company and returned to the mansion, he found a courier from the palace there waiting for him.
“Baron Cain, His Majesty is waiting for you at the palace. I’d like to request you come with me in the carriage provided,” the courier said the moment he saw Cain.
“My apologies…but right this moment? Wouldn’t it be better to set another date?”
“His Majesty told me to bring you over immediately.”
Cain was unable to turn down the apologetic courier and he ultimately boarded the carriage.
When he arrived at the palace, a maid was there waiting for him. She brought him to the usual drawing room. He sat down in a chair as the maid began preparing some black tea. As one would expect, the black tea prepared here in the palace had a wonderful fragrance and rich taste. Cain sipped on some tea to pass the time.
When the king and prime minister entered the room, Cain immediately rose from his chair and observed proper etiquette.
“Thank you for waiting. That Corgino was being a pest, so it took forever to finish,” the king said.
“I was enjoying the excellent black tea provided here, so I barely noticed.”
The king sat in his usual chair and the prime minister sat down beside him. After confirming the two of them were seated, Cain sat down as well.
“First, we’ve decided upon which estate to present you with. It used to belong to a viscount, but he dabbled in tax evasion, embezzlement, and slave trafficking, so we squashed him and reclaimed all his assets. The royal family is currently managing them. We were going through the process of officially handing them over to you and the meeting dragged on because Corgino was opposed to it.”
Both the father and the son are nuisances, Cain thought as Marquess Corgino’s face appeared in his mind.
“No matter what anyone says, the decisions I have made are final. The mansion is in a good spot, you know? It’s close to the Royal Academy you will attend in the future and it’s not far from the palace either. Ask Magna for a guide map later. That concludes official business…so let’s get started,” the king said, placing an Othello board on the table.
“Eric is pretty good at this game. As its inventor, playing against you should help me improve, right?”
The king was completely addicted to Othello. Magna and Cain could only laugh dryly. Cain sat down opposite of the king and began to play one stone after another.
“Oh! Placing a stone there allows me to take one of the corners. Like this.”
“Ah! You! I’m the king, you know? Can’t you hold back a little?”
“Your Majesty, isn’t this what you wanted, since you want to improve?”
“Mgh… Then how about this move? How about that?”
The king and the ten-year-old Cain were having a serious match of Othello. The king was fully focused on the game and he occasionally let out a groan of frustration. Magna could only sigh at the scene.
They continued playing for about two hours, but the king was unable to win even once. The king continued to shout, “Rematch! I’ll definitely beat you next time,” but the prime minister refused to allow him to continue playing. The king could only give up and reluctantly leave the room.
“Sir Cain, allow me to apologize in His Majesty’s stead. This here is a map and the key to your mansion. We currently have a listing up for the butler position. We’ll let you know once we find someone. We should be sending a few younger maids from the palace to work at your place. Sorry, the furniture used by the previous tenant is still there, so you may use it as you wish.”
Cain accepted the map and the key.
“Thank you, prime minister. Is the mansion so large that it needs butlers and maids?” It was an aristocrat’s mansion, which worried Cain.
“It is not as large as Margrave Garm’s mansion, but it is still an aristocrat’s mansion. It is quite large and, as an aristocrat, hiring people is one of your duties. Money won’t circulate in the economy if you don’t spend it—though I suppose speaking of it now doesn’t serve much meaning,” Magna said with a shrug. He got up to leave, but paused. “I expect the king will summon you to play with him in the future as well. Thank you for your patience.”
“Understood, Prime Minister. Thank you for bestowing me with an estate.”
Magna nodded as he left the room.
There was still quite some time until evening, so Cain turned down the carriage and strolled through the aristocratic quarter on foot. The mansion he was given was closer to the common district than the aristocratic quarter. After leaving the palace and walking for about thirty minutes, Cain arrived at his estate.
“Here it is. It’s larger than I thought.”
Cain was standing in front of an estate as long as a football field with a two-story mansion at its center. The building was shaped like a squared U, with the entrance visible in the middle. Cain opened the slightly dilapidated gate and walked through an overgrown garden before reaching the door of the mansion. He opened it with his key.
As nobody had been living here, dust had piled up. The wind brought in by opening the door kicked up the dust. The sunlight streaming through the window reflected off the swirling motes, creating a fantastical glow.
The magic stones powering the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling had run out, so the hall was only lit by the nearby windows. It was a bit dim.
“Light Ball.”
A bright orb floated up from Cain’s hand and hovered nearby, illuminating the hall. It was desolate, devoid of any decorations.
“The decorations that were here must’ve all been confiscated. I kind of prefer how simple it looks now.”
The staircase and entrance hall were directly in front of the door. The right branches of the hall led to the dining room, living room, and kitchen. The left branches of the hall led to a great hall large enough to hold a party and a drawing room.
On the second floor there were bedrooms on both sides of the hall. Cain checked each and every room, from the main bedroom to the guest rooms.
“Am I really going to be able to run this gigantic house all by myself…? It really is dirty. Maybe I should clean up a bit.” Cain formed mana in his hands, and then spread it out, until his mana was enveloping the entire mansion.
“All Clean.”
The entire building was instantly cleaned. Stains on the wall and dirt on the carpet vanished as if wiped away.
“All Repair.”
As Cain cast the second spell, the entire building was enveloped in light and gradually transformed. When the light vanished, the mansion looked no different than a newly constructed home.
“That should do it. If I missed anything, the newly-hired butler can take care of it.”
Cain checked through the numerous rooms in the house and magically remodeled them to his liking when the need arose. He strengthened the windows and granted them greater transparency. He had also re-powered the chandeliers by infusing them with his mana, and they were now illuminating each room.
“I’ll wait until I actually start living here before I do any more.”
The mansion looked more or less the same as before, but now it had been thoroughly cleaned and looked as good as new. Cain nodded in satisfaction before locking the door and returning to Garm’s residence.
“Welcome home, Master Cain.” Sylvia was waiting there to greet him as he returned to the Silford Mansion.
“I’m home. By the way, Sylvia. There’s something I need to talk with you about. Are you free?”
“Yes, I am,” Sylvia replied with her usual smile.
“I just took a look at the mansion that the king saw fit to bestow upon me. It’s smaller than this one, but it’s still quite large. Prime Minister Magna is supposed to provide me with butlers and maids, but if possible, I’d like you there as well, Sylvia. I’ll first have to confirm with my father, of course.”
After hearing what Cain had to say, Sylvia nodded with tears in her eyes.
“I’ll of course come with you, Master Cain. It’s my job to take care of you, after all! If you didn’t bring me with you, I was planning to quit my job here so I could follow after you!” Sylvia said, puffing her chest out. Given his mental age, Cain’s eyes were instinctively drawn to her voluminous chest when it was emphasized like that. Given his prepubescent body, he didn’t actually get aroused.
“I’ll talk to my father about it during dinner, then. For now, I’m going to head to my room. I’m exhausted.”
Cain returned to his room after informing Sylvia.