"Wow!" Helga exclaimed with widened eyes as she laid her sight upon the opulent mansion that would soon become our new home for the first time.

We walked through the elaborate iron gate, and as we were coming close to the main building, we were welcomed by its unmistakable grandeur.

The mansion's imposing stone facade immediately grabbed your attention, adorned with intricate carvings and ornate detailing supplemented by tall, narrow windows. The main entrance was a masterpiece, featuring a towering arched doorway supported by several large columns.

"Did you really buy something like this?" Helga asked me as she looked at me with suspicion in her eyes.

"Well, of course, I did buy it; you signed the papers yourself, didn't you?" I chuckled.

"Yeah, but I still can't believe this..." Helga spoke absentmindedly as we entered the lavishly decorated parlor.

Stepping into it felt akin to entering a different realm. It was quite a spectacular display of luxury and extravagance. The breathtaking sight of a grand double staircase was right opposite the main entrance. Its balustrades, which were hand-carved, depicted scenes from some ancient myths.

When I looked up, I saw a majestic coffered ceiling, and even the walls were adorned with colorful tapestries and elaborate paintings.

I looked around in awe, as it was still quite hard to believe that I now owned a house like that...

About three weeks had passed since I was here with Alaric for the first time, and now all of this was officially mine.

With Alaric's help, I had to expedite the whole process, which would typically take several months, as my tutor was due to arrive in less than two months, so there was little time left.

That is why I hastily finished all the formalities right after Helga arrived in the city, and we came here the very next day. After we recovered from the initial amazement, we continued with the tour.

From the main entrance to the left were the doors that led to the great hall, which, when I looked at it, I couldn't help but admire the architect for designing such a masterpiece. It spanned at least 30 meters long and featured a soaring vaulted ceiling supported by intricately carved pillars.

Here, the former owner held lavish banquets and parties to entertain his many guests. However, I didn't plan on doing any of this, so I decided to leave it sealed for now.

On the opposite side, to the right of the main entrance, there were several smaller salons for receiving visitors and a private dining hall.

The kitchen, along with several storage rooms, was located in the basement. The servants had their own separate entrance that led straight to the kitchen so they wouldn't bother the masters of the house too much with their presence.

We ascended the double staircase and found ourselves on the upper floor. There was a long hallway that went across the whole floor. On the left side, it ended with another staircase that went straight to the great hall. That way, the masters could go there from their chambers without going through the parlor.

All along the long hallway were countless doors. Beside the master's bedroom, there were also many guest rooms, each with its own privy chamber. There were also children's rooms and changing rooms, as well as an office, a library, and a private study.

I wanted to go here first so Helga and I could pick our rooms. I didn't particularly care which one would be mine as all of them were pretty spacious. Still, Helga insisted I take the most enormous bedroom, which used to belong to the late Baron, as I was now the de facto Lord of the house.

I then went inside the chamber and instantly raised my eyebrows at the size of the bed. 'Who in their right mind needs such a large bed?' I wondered incredulously. It was more than enough for at least four people... I quickly made a mental note to replace the bed, as I didn't feel like sleeping in the same bed as some old, debauched noble.

When I returned to the hallway, I found out that Helga was also finished; she picked one of the guest rooms closest to my bedroom.

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To my delight, I also found out that in the annex of the main building, there was even our own private bathing room that came with its own large bathtub, which was considered quite the luxury in Ereneth.

But there was not any plumbing anywhere in the house, so taking a bath required the herculean effort of slowly heating the water over the fire and then filling it up bucket by bucket. However, I couldn't help but smile at the prospect of taking a bath, as this was nothing a little bit of magic couldn't fix...

Adjacent to the main mansion were two smaller buildings. In one were the stables and several storage rooms, and in the other were the servants' rooms. By the looks of it, there was enough room to accommodate at least 20 people. I blinked a few times. 'How many servants does one need?' I wondered with a puzzled face.

Last but not least was the expansive garden. It was apparent that it was not being adequately taken care of, as the grass and plants were quite overgrown and unkempt.

The city took care of the building somewhat over the years, but that still left a lot to be desired. Everything was covered with a thick layer of dust and in dire need of maintenance. And some of the furniture was very worn out and would need to be replaced.

I released a sigh, wondering how much everything was going to cost me. I still had close to 300 silver marks left over after the purchase of the house, so it should be enough to take care of everything, not to mention I was still getting plenty of silver from my potion-making business every month.

Seeing the sad state of things, I decided to pay a visit to my uncle to ask him if he could take a look at the house, as he was quite a renowned master carpenter himself.

***

Leif widened his eyes as soon as I told him my request. "You managed to buy your own house at such a young age...?"

I smiled awkwardly as I scratched the back of my head. "Well, you see... I was very lucky lately, and I managed to make some great investments." I fidgeted as I quickly tried to come up with a suitable excuse.

My uncle's family was aware of my new status, but buying a house was still seen as a once-in-a-lifetime purchase by most of Ereneth's residents, whether rich or poor.

Leif decided not to dwell on the matter, seeing my reluctance, and instead smiled apologetically. "I wish I could help you, but I've got so many projects to finish, and I don't know what to do first..."

I sighed but wasn't too discouraged, as my uncle was one of the most sought-after craftsmen in the city, so I expected he might be busy.

However, he at least recommended another master carpenter who was apparently a good friend of his. I went to the address he gave me and was met with an unkempt middle-aged man with quite a large stature.

Right when I came in, the said carpenter was just in the middle of severely scolding a scrawny-looking apprentice, "Carefully with this, ya lazy mongrel!"

"Ehm." I cleared my throat, and he turned toward me. "Ah, a customer at last! What can I do for ya, lad?"

"Good day to you, Master Swen. My uncle Leif sent me here and said that you could take on my request..."

"Hmm?" He studied me with keen interest for a while before bursting into laughter. "Hahaha! So ya are a nephew of that rascal Leif... And he sent ya to me, of all places? It's rare for that old fox to forego a job, so he must be quite in demand these days." Swen said amusingly.

"Yes, he seemed really busy," I said, trying to maintain a steady voice as I felt quite overwhelmed by Swen's outgoing personality. "Anyway, could you come take a look at our new house? It requires some serious repairs, so it will be quite a large project... "

I specifically avoided mentioning it was my own house to prevent another round of questioning about how I could afford a house at such a young age.

"Sure, lad!" Swen exclaimed, seemingly happy about the prospect. When I gave him the address, he raised an eyebrow about it being in the Western District but said nothing.

The following day, I eagerly awaited him in front of the main gate, and soon enough, he was there, accompanied by that same scrawny apprentice I saw yesterday.

But when Swen laid his eyes upon the mansion itself, he froze in his steps and instantly paled. "Ehm." he cleared his throat and then somewhat reluctantly added. "Ya weren't lying when ya said it was a large project, that's for sure..."

Then he resumed his walk as if nothing had happened, but when we were close to the main entrance, I overheard him mumbling to himself, "A house? House, my ass..."

The corners of my mouth twitched, but I didn't say anything. I already admired Swen's courage for not outright running away when he saw the size of the "house." I purposefully avoided giving him any details beforehand, as I knew only a few people would be willing to take on such a project.

After Swen saw the state of things, he began to fidget and told me he, too, was swamped and that such a giant project would take many months, maybe even a whole year.

But if I learn one thing in this city, there seem to be no problems that couldn't be solved with enough silver, so after a little bit of persuasion, his attitude underwent a rapid change, and he promised everything would be done within two months.

Soon, the whole mansion was fully permeated by the sounds of a busy construction site. With all the extra silver I gave Swen as an advance, he went on to hire many workers, and the whole mansion was undergoing quite a significant transformation.

I smiled happily. Now, the only remaining issue was acquiring some staff to take care of the mansion itself. So I went to ask Alaric about where the rich get their servants from.

But when he told me about a certain widowed noblewoman, my smile froze on my lips...

"Baroness de Fleur runs the institution that provides servants to all people of renown in the whole of Ereneth," Alaric said matter-of-factly.

'Oh, crap.' was the only thing that came to mind as the memories about a certain debauched noblewoman in a red dress surfaced in my mind, and I instantly began sweating bullets. 'That will be quite an interesting conversation indeed...'