chapter 7
Lyla waved her hands frantically.
“Miss, you can’t throw him out!”
“Why?”
“Well….”
Bang! Bang!
A loud knocking interrupted them.
Startled, Charlotte and Lyla quickly turned toward the mansion entrance.
“Miss Charlotte!”
“…….”
“Miss Charlotte!”
When no one answered, the man shouting grew frustrated.
“Ah, why isn’t this stupid girl answering? My head hurts because of Miss Kate’s annoyance.”
Charlotte let out a small laugh.
It was one of Kate’s messengers.
Since Kate had been embarrassed in front of Lacal, it was clear she wanted revenge.
But sending a messenger who doesn’t know how to handle things… who would obediently follow after hearing that?
“Charlotte?”
A low, sweet male voice.
“Huh?”
Charlotte turned and saw a man.
Tall and slender, probably around 190 cm, with soft brown hair falling over his shoulders.
His lips hinted at a mischievous smile.
A handsome man, impossible to guess his age at first glance.
“So it really is you.”
Charlotte froze.
So it really was him?
Yesterday, Lacal had introduced her to the building via carriage, meaning the real Charlotte had never seen it…
Had the real Charlotte ever been here before she died? Or did she already know this man?
“Do I know you?”
“No.”
Huh?
“Someone outside kept calling annoyingly, and I thought it might be you, so I checked.”
The man’s eyes sparkled mischievously.
Charlotte’s forehead twitched.
“Checking, huh? Are you teasing me now?”
“Don’t worry. He’ll get tired of calling and leave.”
“I know… I shouldn’t care… but I kind of have to.”
He perked up like a puppy who found a bone.
“Kill him?”
“Huh?”
Charlotte panicked, thinking, Kill him? Who? She quickly said, “Ah, no, it’s fine. If you killed everyone who annoyed you, half the world would be dead.”
The man raised one eyebrow.
“Oh? Unexpected reaction from a noble lady.”
On the outside, Charlotte looked like a noble, but she was actually a former witch who had lived over a year with Northern muscular Vikings.
“Anyway, I’ll pass on the killing. Besides, handling a corpse is too much trouble.”
“Don’t worry, I can take care of the body.”
“You don’t look like the kind to handle the cleanup.”
“Just melt it or feed it to monsters; problem solved.”
He sounded like an experienced killer. Was this man a professional assassin or problem-solver in this world?
“Can you do it without any problems?”
Charlotte asked like a client hiring a killer.
The man’s eyes sharpened.
“Problems?”
“The messenger won’t leave, and I don’t want the owner chasing me.”
“……”
“And I don’t want to be caught as the murderer later.”
He could kill and run, but she was the mansion’s owner. Being caught after finally finding peace in this 37th life would be terrible.
“Okay, got it.”
The man snapped his fingers.
Bang!
A terrified scream came from outside.
Charlotte pulled back the curtain of a small window near the entrance.
A huge magic circle glowed on the ground.
The messenger was sucked into it and disappeared.
The magic circle dissolved into sparkles.
It all happened in seconds.
Charlotte realized he was a wizard.
Having lived as a wizard herself 17 lives ago, she could gauge his skill.
The magic she just saw was either elemental disassembly or long-distance teleportation.
With such precision… he had to be a high-level wizard.
“Did you kill him?”
“No, just sent him away. He was too annoying.”
“Oh.”
Not disassembly, just teleportation. Better than killing someone for being annoying.
“He should make it home fine, so no worries.”
“Probably.”
“Probably?”
He smiled mischievously.
“If he doesn’t die there, he’ll make it back.”
Leaving the annoying man on the first floor, Charlotte returned to the 7th floor.
She grabbed Lyla’s small shoulders.
“Lyla, do you know the wizard downstairs?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Who?”
“Sir Pierce, who lives in the basement.”
“Pierce? You mean the guy responsible for the explosion earlier?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Charlotte understood why the explosion happened.
It was probably from Pierce experimenting with magic.
But why is a wizard living here? They should be in the mountains or a mage tower.
“Still, Sir Pierce is a nice person.”
“A nice person? He caused an explosion!”
“He smiles in a cute, heart-fluttering way. People who smile nicely aren’t bad.”
“Who said that?”
“My late master.”
Charlotte laughed. Even con artists and crazy people can smile nicely, she thought.
“Anyway, we need to get him out of here quickly.”
“Sir Pierce?”
“Yes. Tenants like him only cause trouble.”
Lyla hesitated.
“But… he might die if you do that.”
“Lyla, are you threatening me?”
“No, no!”
She shook her head.
“Once, when I tried to call the late master ‘Grandma,’ Talus nearly died.”
“Talus? Who’s that?”
“Building manager. He’s not here now.”
“He quit?”
“No, he went somewhere.”
“Where?”
“…To earn money.”
Lyla glanced away. Charlotte raised an eyebrow.
“Grandma left a huge inheritance. She wouldn’t skip the manager’s salary. Did he slack off?”
“….”
“Does Talus do this often?”
“…Yes.”
Charlotte sighed.
She suddenly felt that inheriting this mansion might be more trouble than it was worth. Yesterday it felt like a jackpot, now it felt like a burden.
Bang.
The building shook.
Charlotte fell under the sofa as the chandelier crystals rattled.
The living room went eerily quiet, like a storm had passed.
“Are you… okay?” Charlotte grabbed Lyla.
“What do you mean?”
“The earthquake just now…”
Charlotte realized this must have been the explosion accident Lyla mentioned.
“I thought the building was collapsing!”
“It’s nothing, just like fireworks,” Lyla said.
“If that’s fireworks, how big are the explosions you normally cause?!” Charlotte shouted.
Lyla bowed her head.
“Sorry. It’s not your fault.”
Charlotte pressed her hand to her forehead, glaring sharply.
“Alright, since we’re living here anyway, we need to sort things out properly.”
Thinking of Pierce, her anger boiled.
“First, get Pierce out, then deal with Talus. But first, I need the repair money!”
After 36 painful deaths, she had finally gotten this valuable building. No wizard experiment could destroy it.
“It’ll be tough,” Lyla said gloomily.
“If they don’t pay, I’ll put something of theirs as collateral.”
“Really?” Lyla looked up.
“Of course. Nothing in this world is free.”
“Wow, amazing, Miss!”
Lyla looked at Charlotte in admiration.
“Alright, let’s go right away.”
“Going to the basement now?”
“Yes. Will you come with me?”
“Yes.”
“What if the wizard gets angry at you?”
Lyla froze, then cautiously asked:
“What will you take as collateral?”
“You want something?” Charlotte teased.
“No, I just want to see it.”
“See what?”
“I saw it when I went to the basement on a task from the late master.”
“Yes?”
“Sir Pierce has a huge snow globe.”
Lyla made a big circle with her hands, eyes sparkling.
“Really beautiful, like real snow falling.”
