“Kyaaaaah! Kyaaah! Fire!!”

The sleeping mansion woke up. People ran around noisily, grabbing valuables and fleeing outside the mansion.

“My lady! You must leave!”

At someone’s urging, Esme moved quickly. She held a large bag in her hand. It was the first thing she grabbed when she heard about the fire. Acrid smoke filled the mansion, confirming that there really was a fire.

“Jayden! Where is he!”

Esme cried hysterically.

As if in response to her voice, Jayden’s voice was heard.

“Mom! Come out quickly!”

“Oh, Jayden! Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Jayden nodded. After confirming Jayden’s safety, Esme quickly moved her feet in slippers.

“I’ll carry the luggage.”

“No need, I’ll carry this myself.”

Esme replied irritably and passed through the entrance. The scene outside was spectacular. The mansion they lived in was being devoured by bright red flames.

“I’m glad you’re safe, my lady.”

It was the voice of the one who had accompanied Esme this far. Esme turned her head reflexively. She exclaimed with round eyes.

“Josephine?”

“Yes, my lady.”

Esme opened her mouth slightly. Josephine wasn’t the only one who received money from Esme. Everyone in this mansion had received money from Esme. But none of them came to rescue Esme. Except for Josephine!

A lump of emotion welled up in her chest.

“Did you come to save me now?”

Josephine tilted her head as if it was strange, with an indifferent face.

“Isn’t that natural? You’re the one who gives me money, my lady. Even beasts know their masters.”

Esme let out a soft laugh.

“Who is that?”

“You don’t need to worry about it, Jayden.”

“Mom always says I don’t need to know anything.”

Jayden grumbled and then asked Esme.

“But what about Adeline? Where is that girl?”

Esme turned her head back to look at Josephine. Josephine was supposed to serve Adeline, not Esme. So Josephine being here meant…

“Josephine, what about Adeline?”

“The Viscountess is not someone who gives me money.”

At the concise and dry answer, Esme’s mouth fell open. She turned her head back towards the mansion. Could it be…!

“Ah, Adeline?”

Esme muttered with a voice tinged with faint joy. Did Adeline really die like this? When I tried everything to kill her, she came back unscathed and turned everything upside down! Esme covered her lips with trembling hands.

Indeed, heaven helps those who help themselves!

Esme swallowed slightly.

“Mom, but where do we sleep? I have to go to the academy tomorrow!”

Jayden said with a sulky face. And the servants listening to their conversation glanced at Esme. All decisions were up to Esme. Fortunately, thanks to the fire, it wasn’t cold right now, but the cold would soon set in.

There were many who hadn’t even managed to grab proper clothes. They might freeze to death even if they escaped the fire.

“Since when have you been so serious about the academy?”

“You told me to study!”

Jayden protested.

“My son has grown up.”

Esme smiled sweetly. Her mood had skyrocketed. It felt like everything was falling into place.

“We can just go to a hotel, what are you worried about?”

“My lady, what should we do?”

Naomi asked as a representative. She had been following Esme’s orders like her limbs all this time. But Naomi was someone who could serve others just as well if it was for her own benefit. Just like when she had searched Lydia’s room on Adeline’s orders before. After that incident, there was a rift between Esme and Naomi.

That’s how shallow their relationship was. Esme’s eyelashes fluttered.

“Why are you asking me that? Everyone just stay safe somewhere until the fire is out, then come back. Oh my, what a situation this is. I’ll have to visit the police station tomorrow too. Son.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s go.”

“Just the two of us? Then who will take care of us?”

Esme hesitated for a moment and then turned her head. Josephine was standing there with an unchanged expression. Esme smiled slightly.

“Josephine, come with us.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“Wait a moment, my lady!”

The head maid Naomi held Esme back. The head maid appealed to Esme with a pale face.

“It’s very cold! And most people have nowhere else to stay besides the mansion!”

At that moment, there was a sound of something collapsing. People’s gazes turned to the mansion. It was the sound of the massive mansion’s entrance door falling, unable to withstand the flames.

People let out small screams. Following Naomi, the servants clung to Esme. Esme gestured as if annoyed.

“What’s wrong with everyone? Where would I get that kind of money?”

“Please provide us with a place to stay, my lady…!”

Naomi bit her lip hard. All this time, the mansion’s people had sincerely cared for Esme and Jayden, who weren’t even their real masters. Was this the reward for that?

“No, Naomi. Think about it. I’m not Viscount Wesley, how could I provide a place for all of you to stay? Does that make any sense? And do I have that kind of responsibility? Go ask Viscount Wesley.”

The head maid’s face turned ashen. Viscount Wesley meant Adeline. Adeline had handed over all rights to Esme, so she probably didn’t have much money left. Esme made an uncomfortable face. The servants listening to their conversation whispered among themselves.

“How much money have I given you all this time? Where did you spend it all?”

Esme let out a heavy sigh. The head maid’s lips quivered. She felt completely at a loss for words. She didn’t know what to say to change Esme’s mind. Her chest felt ice cold.

“How can you spend money so recklessly? You never know when something might happen.”

Just as Esme said that, someone appeared through the fallen doorway.

“Cough…!”

A small coughing sound was heard. The murmuring among the servants grew louder.

“Vi-Viscountess…?”

Esme’s head whipped around. Esme’s lovely face crumpled like a piece of paper as she confirmed Adeline’s face.

“Adeline.”

Ah, what a lucky girl indeed?

*

Edward and I decided on the first ignition point near Lady Esme’s room. So we set fire to the sunroom closest to Esme’s room. It wasn’t difficult to start the fire with all the flammable materials like curtains and rugs scattered around.

“This way.”

No one pays any attention to Edward. So there were no restrictions on his movements. Edward followed me with heavy and leisurely steps.

“People have evacuated to some extent, so please signal the people outside to come in.”

Edward nodded and signaled out the window. No one had the leisure to pay attention to what we were doing. Looking out the window in the central hallway, I could see Esme and Jayden who had safely escaped.

“Why. Disappointed?”

“About what?”

Edward let out a small laugh.

“That you didn’t kill them while you had the chance?”

“…It’s not like that. I just thought it was impressive how she managed to grab such a large bag even in this situation.”

That bag was likely full of jewels. As soon as Wesley Trading Company grew, the previous Viscount Wesley joined the trend. He acquired a high-end boutique. It was now the main source of income for Wesley Trading Company.

Since Esme had a grip on the company, she probably had a lot of jewels.

She had time to grab that but not to take care of me?

Anyway, she’s a woman I can’t feel any affection for at all.

Soon after, those who broke through the windows and entered arrived. Edward and I guided them to the basement. Several rooms in the basement were filled with monster furs. They had collected them for generations, so there were many.

“This is…”

“Beyond expectations, right?”

I said smugly. The furs were huge because each monster was enormous. Edward gave a few instructions to the people. They quickly began moving the furs outside.

I was benefiting from the Wesley ancestors’ legacy. If I hadn’t discovered this while wandering as a ghost with Adeline, it would have been quite troublesome.

I would have had to find another excuse to approach Edward. I glanced at Edward. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

“What will happen to the furs?”

“We’ll show people a grand event. We’ll show them the purification of monster furs at the temple.”

So you’re going to break people’s perceptions that way.