Home/My Youngest Keeps Bringing Me Male Leads/ch 19

Chapter 19

Agnes led the way, with Gallus following behind, and Cesenor followed as if escorting her.

There were bound to be many things she was clumsy about, and it was a little embarrassing to have a great lord like him watching her.

'If I make any mistakes, he'll probably point them out, right?'

Thinking that gave her strength.

"Hardly anything has been properly maintained for five years. The roof is the biggest problem, to start with. When it rains heavily, there are leaks everywhere."

"Then I'll bring in skilled craftsmen. Let's have the whole thing inspected."

"Right. That's what we should do. And the window frames too..."

After looking over what needed repairs, they placed new orders for supplies the mansion required.

Since she couldn't gauge the scale of this on her own, Cesenor helped from the side.

"It's spring now, so seasonal ingredients will be coming in soon. For now, let's order only what's needed in the short term, and prioritize acquiring livestock or workers to help the villagers."

"To do that, we'll need to repair the roads too. The rough roads would make travel inconvenient."

"Since we can't use the villagers who are short-handed, we should hire workers for that as well."

"We'll need to maintain the reservoirs and drainage ditches too, won't we?"

"Exactly. You know your stuff."

"I used to watch my father's work closely from the sidelines."

Gallus, who had been busily taking notes to keep up with their conversation, cautiously raised his hand.

"Um, if I may... Just what you're discussing right now would require a massive budget—will that be alright? I apologize for being rude, but I'm worried you might be overextending yourself."

In other words, Gallus was asking:

'Do you actually have the ability to pay that much?'

It was a question she'd heard countless times with a heavy heart. Memories of the past flickered across Gallus's face.

'What? Pay off debts? With what money?'

'Everyone knows there's no money to be had from a dump like this! How many times is this now you've tried to brush us off with that line?!'

'There's a limit to how many times we can let it slide!'

'Sell the mansion, or sell the territory—if you borrowed, you should pay it back!'

'How much value is there in getting on your knees? You're trying to stir up pity, but don't even think about it!'

'If it's that hard, send the men to work as mercenaries, and the women can go out and do odd jobs!'

The creditors who would grab Agnes by the collar and try to force her to her knees to vent their anger.

Rupert, who would step in front to block them.

Amy, hiding at the end of the second floor, trembling with anxiety.

The moment she put strength into her trembling legs, not wanting to show an unsightly appearance before so many people.

The memories stained with shame and despair—times when she had no choice but to bite her lip and bow her head.

All of it was because she had no money.

But now it was different. Agnes raised her head and smiled brightly.

"Of course. I have more than enough funds. Feel free to use only the finest and sturdiest materials—don't skimp on money. But you'd better not try to cheat me just because I'm young."

Hearing Agnes's words, Cesenor let out a low chuckle. His dark eyes, set in his slightly tilted face, sparkled like amethysts.

"Surely no one would be crazy enough to try that. After all, you have the 'Marquis of Celesta' behind you."

"Oh my, of course."

Watching the two smiling at each other, Gallus shrugged his shoulders.

'So this is the Lady of the Laverose family I'd only heard about.'

He'd heard she was very frail and impoverished, and that she was struggling to teach the troublesome twins at the Waldemar estate.

Her firm posture and steady gaze.

Though she was small and gaunt, she didn't seem like someone to be taken lightly.

Perhaps she had been different in her younger days.

When she was a young girl who had lost her mother.

A brief flicker of interest crossed Cesenor's gaze as he looked at Agnes.

'If she had no relatives to help her while the family fortune declined, she must have endured everything alone.'

That was why he thought she would do well.

After Agnes had ridden off with Silmare.

Rage that felt like his heart was blocked surged up, but Cesenor wasn't foolish enough to be consumed by jealousy and do nothing.

He immediately set to work.

'I just need to do what I can do.'

Just because Silmare was a prince of the elves didn't mean he had rare treasures, or the ability to help her.

But 'Cesenor Celesta' was different from Silmare.

Cesenor made inquiries right away, selected a reputable trading company, and also contacted the craftsmen's guild to request workers.

Then, when he returned to the estate and faced Agnes—

Seeing her expression brighten with joy at the sight of Gallus, he knew he had been right.

'Even if I tried to pull some petty tricks, the only one who can give Agnes real help is me.'

With a deeply satisfied feeling, Cesenor rested his chin on his hand and watched Agnes busily conversing with the merchant.

Her cheeks, which had always seemed pale, were now flushed a rosy pink.

She was so thin and small that she'd looked like a girl at first glance, but today she looked different.

'I thought she might need more of my help, but...'

Agnes, inspecting every corner of the house and demanding what was needed, already looked like the true mistress of this estate.

As if she had been waiting for this moment.

Somehow, he found it pleasing.

Thinking that, Cesenor smiled crookedly.

From the very next day, workers began to pour in.

Craftsmen to repair the mansion.

Those commissioned by Cesenor arrived first, followed by those sent by Gallus.

Naturally, places for the workers to stay also became necessary.

There were no empty rooms in the mansion, but there were abandoned houses in the village where people had left, so the workers would stay there for the time being.

The villagers had grumbled, saying they had urgent farm work to do and no time to spare, but soon, workers arrived to help the villagers as well, and the complaints quieted down.

Of course, it might also have been because they were paid generously for renting out their houses.

Every day, construction was underway, and the mansion was extremely noisy.

With matters that needed to be discussed and decided on the spot repeating endlessly, Agnes felt like her head was about to burst.

Today, the construction supervisor came to see her again.

Thinking it would be best to inspect it herself, Agnes headed to the backyard with the supervisor.

She recalled what she'd thought a few days ago, when she'd visited the backyard for the first time in a while.

'How on earth did we live in a place like this?'

The backyard, which had been left in the shade for a long time, was overrun with ivy climbing haphazardly up the walls, and moss had even formed on the stone walls.

Some parts had cracked, crumbling into dust, and the window frames were also damaged, with some sections rotting away.

Part of the fence had crumbled and even collapsed.

But now, in just a few days, it had completely transformed.

First, the overgrown grass had disappeared.

Then, the moss on the walls was scraped away, and now they were filling in the cracks in the walls.

The collapsed fence had been rebuilt with new bricks, and new window frames were being made on one side.

Once finished, they would install clean glass.

Bright sunlight was seeping into the dark, gloomy backyard, filling it with light.

As Agnes looked on in admiration, the supervisor began to explain the progress.

"As you can see, the work is proceeding smoothly. However, the roof will take more time than I mentioned earlier."

"What's the problem?"

"The roof is more damaged than we thought. Some tiles have come loose, and the wooden framework underneath has rotted in places, so we need to reinforce it and put new tiles on..."

"And?"

"We don't have enough tiles, and with our current workforce, we're short-handed."

"What if we double the workforce?"

"That would certainly help."

"If materials are insufficient, can we order more?"

"We've already brought in as much as possible from the nearest kiln. They won't be able to fire new ones that quickly."

"I suppose so. It's spring, so everyone must be doing repairs."

But she wanted to get it done before Amy came back.

Agnes looked up.

At times like this, Cesenor had taught her what to do.

If it seems impossible within common-sense limits?

Just spend more money.

Agnes had more than enough money to spend freely.

"Try placing orders with kilns in other regions, even if they're farther away."

"That would more than double the cost. First of all, the transportation alone..."

"Never mind the cost. Sturdiness is important, of course, but I'd like it finished as quickly as possible."

"Understood. I'll see to it."

Agnes watched the workers, who had set up ladders against the wall and were working high above, then turned away.

As she rounded the side of the mansion, she saw Oliver and Silmare.

Oliver was wearing a straw hat, but Silmare was exposed directly to the sunlight.

His blue-tinged silver hair sparkled and shone.

The two were kneeling on the ground, tending to the soil and planting flowers.

This had been their daily routine lately.

Agnes approached and stood right behind Silmare.

"What are you planting today?"

"Agnes!"

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