The carriage ride back was quiet.
I sat beside the window, watching the scenery pass by.
The academy gradually disappeared behind us, replaced by forests, winding roads, and eventually the familiar desolate landscape surrounding my residence.
Kael sat across from me.
Vesper remained near the front of the carriage, silent and composed.
And Nyx...
She had been forced to come along with us.
Apparently, after the incident at the academy, Vesper had decided that leaving her behind would be inefficient.
I didn't complain.
I wasn't particularly interested in keeping track of what happened to my servants anymore.
After nearly an hour, the carriage finally stopped.
"We've arrived, young master."
I stepped outside.
Then stopped.
There it was.
My home.
Or what was supposed to be my home.
The sight hadn't changed.
The massive structure stood in the middle of the estate like the corpse of something that had once been magnificent.
Cracked stone walls.
Broken windows.
A collapsed section of the roof.
The entrance doors hung crookedly from their hinges.
Weeds had completely swallowed the surrounding garden.
Dust covered everything.
The interior was probably even worse.
I stared at the building.
Vesper stepped beside me.
For several seconds, neither of us said anything.
Nyx looked around.
Her face slowly lost its color.
"...Young master."
"What?"
"Did you really live here?"
"Yes."
She looked horrified.
I shrugged.
"I'm alive."
"That isn't the point."
Vesper walked forward.
He examined the damaged walls, the broken windows, and the collapsed sections of the structure.
Then he turned toward me.
"How long has this place been abandoned?"
"More than ten years."
He was silent.
Then he sighed.
"Understood."
I looked at him.
"Can it be repaired?"
Vesper adjusted his gloves.
"Yes."
"How much?"
"More than we currently possess."
I sighed.
"Of course."
Vesper turned toward the ruined estate.
"Then I'll acquire it."
I raised an eyebrow.
"You make that sound easy."
"It isn't."
He smiled faintly.
"But it is my responsibility."
The restoration began the next morning.
Workers arrived before sunrise.
At first, there were only a few.
Then dozens.
Carpenters.
Masons.
Glassworkers.
Roofers.
Painters.
Metalworkers.
Gardeners.
Before long, the once-silent estate became filled with the sounds of construction.
Hammers striking wood.
Stone being cut.
Broken windows being removed.
Walls being reinforced.
For the first time in years, the estate was alive.
Vesper handled everything.
He negotiated with merchants.
He purchased materials.
He hired workers.
He managed contracts.
He calculated expenses.
And, somehow, he kept finding ways to acquire more money whenever we began running low.
I eventually stopped asking where it came from.
"Vesper."
"Yes, young master?"
"Where did you get this money?"
"Business."
"What kind of business?"
"The profitable kind."
I stared at him.
He smiled.
I decided not to ask again.
Meanwhile, Nyx had taken control of the inside of the house.
And she was terrifying.
The first thing she did was throw away almost everything.
Old furniture.
Rotten curtains.
Broken dishes.
Moldy carpets.
Damaged mattresses.
Anything that looked even remotely unusable disappeared.
At one point, I watched her drag an enormous wooden cabinet out through the front entrance.
"What are you doing?"
"Cleaning."
"That's a cabinet."
"It smells."
I paused.
"...Fair."
She cleaned every room.
Every corridor.
Every window.
Every piece of furniture that could be salvaged.
Dust that had accumulated for years disappeared.
The floors were scrubbed.
The walls were cleaned.
The curtains were replaced.
The bedrooms were reorganized.
The kitchen was completely restored.
Even the bathrooms received attention.
It was the first time I'd seen someone treat this place like an actual home.
One month passed.
The difference was already astonishing.
The broken windows had been replaced.
The roof had been repaired.
The walls had been reinforced.
The floors no longer creaked beneath every step.
The gardens were being cleared.
The interior no longer smelled like mold and decay.
But there was still a long way to go.
Then came the second month.
The exterior was cleaned.
The stone walls were restored.
New doors were installed.
The garden began taking shape.
The halls were furnished with new tables, chairs, carpets, and lighting.
My bedroom was completely transformed.
A large bed replaced the old one.
A proper wardrobe was installed.
A writing desk was placed near the window.
Bookshelves were added along the wall.
New curtains hung from the windows.
For the first time...
I had a room that actually felt like mine.
I stood in the middle of it.
"...This is weird."
Nyx stood behind me.
"What is?"
"I've never had a room like this."
She looked around.
Then smiled faintly.
"Then you should get used to it."
I glanced at her.
"Why?"
"Because it's your home."
I didn't respond.
For some reason, those words stayed with me.
Your home.
By the third month, the estate was almost unrecognizable.
The abandoned ruins were gone.
In their place stood a magnificent residence.
The walls had been repaired and polished.
The windows were spotless.
The gardens were vibrant.
The pathways were clean.
New lanterns illuminated the grounds at night.
The entrance had been completely rebuilt.
Even the surrounding forest had been trimmed back, revealing the true scale of the estate.
I stood outside one evening, staring at everything.
Three months.
That's all it had taken.
Three months to turn a place I once considered a grave into somewhere I could actually live.
Vesper approached from behind.
"Young master."
I turned.
"How much did everything cost?"
He handed me a document.
I looked through it.
The number made my eyes widen.
"...That's a lot."
"It was."
"And you managed to pay for all of this?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Vesper smiled.
"I told you."
He adjusted his gloves.
"Business."
I laughed quietly.
"You're ridiculous."
"I've been called worse."
I looked back toward the house.
For a moment, I simply stood there.
The memories of what this place had once been flashed through my mind.
The cold floor.
The hunger.
The loneliness.
The silence.
I remembered waking up in this world with nothing.
No family.
No friends.
No purpose.
And yet...
Now there were people around me.
A butler who somehow managed to make money appear from nowhere.
A maid who had spent three months cleaning every corner of my miserable estate.
Kael.
And a home.
Perhaps things weren't so bad anymore.
Three days later, I was sitting in the dining room when Vesper entered.
He carried a sealed letter.
"Young master."
I looked up.
"What is it?"
"A summons."
He placed it on the table.
The seal immediately caught my attention.
The symbol of the Azure Palace.
My expression hardened slightly.
I broke the seal and unfolded the letter.
My eyes moved across the page.
Then I stopped.
"My father."
Vesper nodded.
"What does he want?"
I continued reading.
"...A gala."
Nyx, who was arranging something nearby, immediately looked over.
"A gala?"
"Apparently."
I placed the letter on the table.
"Three days from now."
Nyx walked toward me.
"Then we need to prepare."
I looked at her.
"For what?"
She stared at me.
"The gala."
"I already have clothes."
"No."
She said it immediately.
I frowned.
"What do you mean, no?"
"The clothes you currently own are not appropriate for an event hosted by the Azure Palace."
I looked down at myself.
"They're fine."
"They are not."
Vesper quietly nodded.
"I agree with her."
I looked between them.
"...Traitors."
Nyx ignored me.
"I'll take care of it."
"Take care of what?"
"Your clothes."
She folded her arms.
"I'll purchase several new sets."
"Several?"
"You'll need formal attire."
"For one night?"
"For the possibility of multiple occasions."
I stared at her.
She stared back.
I sighed.
"Fine."
Nyx smiled.
"I'll have everything prepared before the gala."
Vesper stepped forward.
"I'll arrange the carriage and ensure everything else is handled."
I leaned back in my chair.
So that was it.
After more than a decade of being ignored...
The Patriarch of the Azure Palace had finally remembered that I existed.
He wanted me to attend his gala.
I picked up the invitation again.
A faint smile appeared on my face.
"I wonder..."
I looked toward the window.
"...what kind of expression he'll make when he sees me."