Home/I Saved the Villain and Fell Asleep/ch 44

Chapter 44

Cowering under Father's sharp gaze, the man began to answer the questions obediently.

"No family name?"

"Ah... Stani! Stani Colton."

"Viscount Stani?"

"Ah! You knew my father?"

"I heard he died. Are you his son?"

At the mention of his parents, Colton's eyes welled up with tears, and he began his story.

His parents had been swindled by his cousin, forcing them out of the mansion where he'd grown up. They wandered from village to village until his parents died on the same day from illness.

Colton couldn't give up on the mansion filled with memories of his parents, so he managed to return—only to find the mansion empty. No one was living there.

"After some investigation, I learned that the person who bought this mansion from my cousin had suddenly put it up for cheap. And rumors started spreading that a female ghost lived here. So it remained unsold and neglected."

"And you moved in during that time?"

"W-well... yes. The female ghost—I knew her."

"Angela?"

Colton nodded vigorously. At the mention of Angela, his complexion brightened and his eyes sparkled.

"Angela has been in this house since I was very young. She's not a ghost I created, so I couldn't take her with me when we were kicked out. When I returned and met Angela, she said she just wandered around the mansion. She didn't do anything else."

"Wait, what are you smiling about? In the end, Angela drove people away, and you moved in, turning this into a full-fledged haunted mansion so no one could enter, right?"

"Hahaha. Is that how it sounds? Wahahah!"

Colton laughed exaggeratedly, sweating coldly.

"Have you ever harmed anyone?"

"Huh? No, never! Neither Angela nor my ghosts have. They just floated around the mansion—people just got scared, fell over, and fainted..."

With injuries like that, the "haunted mansion" label became firmly established.

"I understand now how it became a haunted mansion. But... in any case, you're currently squatting here illegally, aren't you?"

When I held the deed in front of Colton's nose, his pale grey eyes began to tremble. His hands shaking, Colton suddenly dropped to his knees from the sofa and prostrated himself.

"Please, just this once! This house is really precious to me. Isn't there some way?"

Father snapped his two fingers together, and with a click, the silver magic circle covering the floor vanished. As it disappeared, the ghosts filled the air again.

Startled, I clung to Kali.

"Are we getting kicked out?"

"Getting kicked out?"

"What's that?"

"Master, why are you crying?"

"Crying?"

High-pitched voices rumbled like they were underwater. The ghosts who could speak buzzed and crowded around Colton, and the ghost he called Angela circled him.

"Angela! You're safe!"

Despite his dark circles reaching down to his chin, Colton's face lit up as he looked at Angela. Watching him, I realized his attachment to this mansion wasn't just because of family memories.

"What do you mean Angela isn't your ghost?"

"Ah, that's... Angela said she was born from the mana contained in this land. While my ghosts were created from my mana, Angela exists through the mana of this land, so she can't leave this place."

"Is your attachment to this mansion also because of Angela?"

"Ahem, well... I wouldn't say that's not a reason. Hehe, how embarrassing."

He went from prostrating himself to wriggling his shoulders in embarrassment—I was speechless.

"Um, so could you sell this mansion back to me? No, to her? I'll buy it."

Actually, that didn't matter to me. I didn't need the mansion itself—I needed the half of the hat hidden inside it.

"Colton, do you have money?"

"Uh, how much are you selling it for? I don't have much, you know."

"I bought this mansion and the surrounding land for close to 2,000 gold."

"What?! 2,000 gold?!!"

It was obvious he didn't have money. If he did, the mansion wouldn't be in this state.

"They took everything worth money... So you bought this mansion for that much? You got scammed, didn't you? Sounds like you got stuck with a bad deal... Miss, are you okay financially?"

A man in his mid-twenties with a unique magic, no money at all, and a gullible look. And all he wants is this mansion?

Could he be useful later somehow?

As I stared at Colton thoughtfully, I met Angela's gaze. Her eyes were completely cloudy white. I gasped in surprise, and Angela slowly tilted her head.

The angle was nearly ninety degrees. Facing a horror scene, I squeezed my eyes shut and turned toward the ghosts gathered in one spot, chattering.

"Oh dear! Oh dear!"

"Ack! That dog! That dog! It's going to eat me!"

"Heeheehee!"

"We're getting kicked out! Kicked out!"

Hearing their noisy voices made me slightly less scared. This isn't a marketplace. The ghosts, crying "oh dear," swarmed around Colton's legs.

"I'm the one squatting, but it feels like we're the ones in the wrong."

"He does have an interesting ability."

"Ha, Colton. As of today, this mansion is mine."

"Ah, I know! But, but..."

"I don't plan to live here, though. It'll remain empty. So I'll need a caretaker—but a mansion rumored to be cursed isn't exactly suited for hiring one, is it?"

"Me!!!!"

The moment I finished speaking, Colton shot up and raised one hand. With his already tall height and fully extended arm, it was quite intimidating.

"Stani Colton! Twenty-five years old! Unique magic: controlling ghosts!! Hire one person and get dozens of ghosts for free! I seem very suitable for the position, miss!! I'll manage this mansion!!!"

"Alright then."

"Huh?! Really? You're making me the caretaker? I don't actually know how to do that, though?"

"Just live here. But at least make it look like someone lives here. Open the windows, clean up!"

Colton nodded vigorously. As a smile spread across his face, the gathered ghosts shot up into the air in unison.

Watching them spin and giggle in the air was creepy, but also made me think it was a pretty useful unique magic.

...Hmm. Should I take it? No, never mind. Still too scary.

"On one condition—when I need you, you'll come find me. Even if you have to leave the mansion."

"When would that be? I don't like going outside, but you're my employer!"

"When I need you. Anytime."

"Hmm. Okay! I only need this mansion anyway."

"You can drop the formal speech if you want."

"Ah, but you're my employer..."

"Your choice."

"I'll drop it!!"

"Good. You said you've lived here since you were young, right?"

Now it was time to find the hat. With someone who's lived here long as a guide, we could wrap this up quickly and go home.

"Yeah. I know this mansion better than anyone."

"Great. Then, do you have a storage room for treasures? A secret vault, a secret library, something like that?"

"Ah... there is one."

"Where? Where!"

"But it's probably been picked clean."

"...What?"

Colton smiled with a fresh face and crushed my expectations. I denied reality.

'It's been picked clean'? Thinking again, that made sense. The swindling cousin would have sold or taken anything valuable.

But Black Mamba pointed to this mansion specifically. He said it was here?!

"We'll know once we check. Lead the way."

Following Kali, I got up and walked behind Colton, who was guiding us reluctantly. The place he led us to was a study that looked like a viscount's office.

The secret vault was opened like those in typical nobles' castles—pressing a certain drawer, turning a key in a certain direction.

But the opened vault was, as expected, completely empty, as if a typhoon had swept through.

"...Ha..."

"Huh?"

"My hat!!!"

I searched with my eyes wide open, but there was no shimmering cloth. Some ghosts that had followed me let out pitying sounds—and some laughed mockingly.

Should I just erase them all?

"Hari, calm down. Usually, places like this have double or triple hiding spots."

Entering the spacious vault, Irein stroked his chin and began examining the area like a detective.

Irein has a constitution that nullifies magic—his body bypasses all magic. That also makes him more sensitive to it.

"Hmm, ambiguous. Hari, smash everything from here to there."

"Huh? Smash it?"

"Yeah! Strike it down!"

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