Chapter 07
—
“This is… really delicious.”
The man next door smiled with satisfaction. It seemed that Ella’s bokbunja yogurt suited his taste perfectly.
It was only natural — she had poured all her skill into making it.
In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the bokbunja from Ella’s garden had made the local tea salon one of Mabrang’s most famous spots.
“Right? If you want to eat this outside, you’d have to line up for half a day!”
“If business is that good, why not open your own shop?”
“Do you think business runs on ideas alone? You need money — lots of it!”
“So that’s how it is?”
Ella and the man next door had gotten much closer than before.
Thanks to the alcohol, she had already talked about things she normally wouldn’t.
She had started by telling him how hard she had worked here — how she’d replaced the wallpaper and flooring by hand, how her muscles grew from fixing the place up, and how she cultivated all the crops surrounding her house.
She even proudly explained how she had raised bokbunja and turned it into Mabrang’s representative product.
In a way, there was a kind of comfort that came from talking to someone you weren’t too close to.
“So unless you’re planning to fund my business, don’t even bring it up!”
“Haha! That’s a shame. I was just thinking, it’s too bad such an interesting neighbor will soon leave Mabrang.”
“Not leaving — being kicked out. That’s the accurate version.”
Ella clicked her tongue.
“I’m the one who’s sad about it. It’d be nice if you could just stay here — as my neighbor.”
“I wish I could too. If only someone walking by would accidentally give me exactly 986,000 gold…”
Feeling relaxed, Ella flopped down on the wooden porch. The sky was unusually blue that day.
“So even that problem comes down to money.”
“I told you — if you’re not giving me any, don’t talk about money.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
“Now, why don’t you tell me about yourself? No offense, but for someone who moved to a countryside village like this, you don’t look like a noble. Don’t tell me you’re some kind of loan shark…?”
Ella, who had been lying down peacefully, shot up and glared at him.
The man widened his eyes, looking wrongfully accused.
“N-no! A loan shark? Absolutely not!”
“Then you’re a noble?”
“Ah… well…”
“Eh, probably not. If you were, you’d have already introduced yourself as ‘so-and-so from such-and-such house.’ And you still talk politely to me — nobles never do that.”
Ella lay back down again.
If someone moved into a mansion-sized house in a rural village, even if they were a noble, they were probably either fallen or from some tiny, minor family.
“I think you’ve got the wrong idea about nobles. Not all of them are—”
“Anyway, whether you’re noble or not, or a loan shark or not, I doubt you’d lend me that much money. So don’t torture me with false hope.”
The man looked slightly hurt that she kept cutting him off.
“It’s not false hope.”
He finished the bokbunja yogurt and spoke calmly.
“Yeah, yeah. Sure it’s not. By the way, it’s good, right? Go pick more bokbunja — if you freeze them, they’ll last for years.”
Ella smoothly changed the subject. Talking about her foreclosure and eviction wasn’t helping the mood at all.
“Right.”
“Well, you’re lucky. With what’s left, you can enjoy them for a while…”
In this area, her garden was the only one that had bokbunja bushes.
She hadn’t heard of anyone else growing them — it might even be the only place in the Empire.
Of course, once she left, the plants would die off without her care, and no one would get to taste them again.
“What a shame.”
“Exactly! If you’d moved here sooner, you could’ve eaten all the bokbunja you wanted—”
“Not the bokbunja. You.”
“Huh? Did you just say… beef sirloin?”
The sudden romantic line hit her like lightning. Ella smacked herself on the head.
‘Get it together, Ella.’
“Well, I don’t dislike sirloin either.”
When she sat up to fix her messy hair, the man laughed softly.
That smile was so dazzling that Ella nearly said, ‘It’s a shame I didn’t meet a neighbor like you sooner.’
“That face should be illegal when you say things like that.”
“What do you mean?”
The man tilted his head, looking at her face closely.
For a moment, Ella felt like he could see right through her heart.
“Of course, I’m not misunderstanding anything. But if someone heard that, they might think the neighbor likes me or something…”
She tried to sound confident, but her cheeks betrayed her — she could feel them heating up fast.
“Is that so?”
He smiled sweetly. Ella’s face burned even hotter.
‘That guy knows exactly how dangerous his face is. There’s no way he’s that innocent.’
“You— you should go home now!”
Ella turned her head quickly, trying to cool down her face, but it was useless.
She had to send him away immediately.
“You’re right. I just remembered I have something to do.”
He gave her a little wink.
For one insane moment, Ella thought, ‘I wouldn’t mind dying buried in those eyes.’
It was a completely ridiculous thought.
—
“Neighbor! Neighbor!”
A loud voice, even louder than her alarm clock, woke Ella up.
Today was her last day in this house.
“Come later, I’m too tired right now…”
Still in her pajamas, Ella dragged her heavy body toward the door.
It was a quiet morning — her voice would easily carry outside.
She was about to go back to bed when—
“I’ll give it to you. Ten million gold.”
Ten… million… gold?
Her sleep vanished instantly.
When she flung the door open, a large bundle was sitting right in front of her.
“See? Not false hope — real money.”
Sweat rolled down the handsome man’s face as he smiled proudly.
“What on earth…?”
Ella hesitantly accepted the bundle and peeked inside.
It was real — glittering, shining gold.
“Where did you even get all this money?”
“I sold a few things. Turns out ten million gold is heavier than I thought… The rest is over there!”
He pointed to the front gate.
Only then did Ella notice several chests piled high outside.
If his words were true, they were all filled with gold.
Ella looked back and forth between the man and the chests, speechless.
Sure, they had gotten a little friendly, but he didn’t even know her name!
Who gives their entire fortune to a stranger neighbor?
He had to be crazy.
“You sold everything you had just to bring me money?”
“I’m not giving it — I’m lending it. I’d hate to lose such a good neighbor.”
There’s no such thing as a free lunch.
No one just handed out a fortune for something like that. Ella was sure he had some other motive.
“I can’t accept this. I know too well there’s no such thing as free money.”
“Who said it’s free? I’m making a proposal. I want to hire you — as my neighbor.”
“You want to hire me?”
“Well… I can’t go into details, but there are a few things I really want to do here. And I think you’d be perfect to help me with them.”
His eyes sparkled brightly — like someone who had just found a goose that laid golden eggs.
His tone had grown slightly firmer, which bothered Ella a bit, but his offer… was tempting.
“How can I trust you? You might be a smooth-talking loan shark planning to sell my organs! Or send me off to some shady noble house as a maid!”
Ella couldn’t understand what kind of person would lend money like this.
“I have no interest in your organs, and I don’t need to sell you as a maid. I’m not that short on money.”
That was true — just looking at all that gold, he clearly wasn’t broke.
But still, he was the one losing out in this deal. That’s what made her suspicious.
“What if you’re one of those loan sharks who makes me sign something and then chases me for life?”
How could living next door to him possibly be worth ten million gold?
It didn’t add up. Something was fishy.
Seeing her doubtful look, the man scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“If you keep doubting me, we’ll never get anywhere. Didn’t you say yourself — you wished someone would give you that money?”
“Yeah, but who would actually show up and hand it to me—?”
‘How could I have known he’d really do it!’
