Despite the lack of ti, I tried to set up a nice room for Ruby.
There were about five bedrooms in the house, but most of them were unsuitable for a child to live in. Grace used these rooms for entertainnt with her lovers, and judging by their current appearance, it was clear that their marital gas were far from playful.
The whole house needed a thorough cleaning and renovation, which would take a considerable amount of ti.
Therefore, until that happened, I decided to settle Ruby in my own quarters, where I had lived until recently. I would manage sohow in a room with a dubious past.
The bedroom was spacious and quite cozy. It had a large four-poster bed, a dressing table, and several wardrobes, and the balcony offered a view of the garden.
"Ruby, do you like it?" I asked the girl, who stood frozen in the doorway with her eyes wide open.
"I... Can I really live here?" she asked incredulously.
"Of course you can!" I exclaid. "This room may not be the ultimate dream, but it will do until you grow up. If you want, we can do so additional renovations here."
Rubiella still fluttered her eyelashes, then nodded uncertainly:"No, don’t bother, Auntie... I like everything."
The girl walked around the room, looking into every corner, and for a while her face remained expressionless. Then she slumped again and sat down on the bed with a wistful look.
I didn’t understand what was wrong.
"Ruby, what’s wrong?" I moved closer and crouched down in front of her. "Is sothing bothering you?"
Rubiella shook her head. Her athyst eyes seed clouded.
"I know my mother forced you to take in," she confessed. "So... you don’t have to be nice to . I promise I’ll be quiet, just don’t kick out onto the street!"
I was stunned by her words.
Did she really think I was just pretending...?
Although, to so extent, you could say that. After all, I’m not stupid enough to dig my own grave, am I?
Better to be a kind aunt for eight years than to end up dying by her hand. Besides, even without this knowledge, I still wouldn’t treat her badly.
Even if our relationship was forced, how could I hate this sweet child?
Rubiella was too young to deserve such a thing.
"I don’t hate you at all," I smiled and took her little hands in mine, "and I don’t mind you being here."
Ruby looked up at in surprise.
"Really?"
"Of course. You’re my sweet niece."
The girl’s cheeks flushed when I called her that. In my mind, I had already given Ruby the nickna "hamster." It was because of her childish cheeks, which made her face resemble the snout of that animal.
"So, you won’t kick out...?"
"What nonsense!" I protested. "We’re family now, and we’ll stick together. I’ll do everything in my power to take care of you."
The word "family" surprised Ruby even more. No one had ever said such words to her before. And her mother’s sister, who considered the birth of her daughter to be her biggest mistake, welcod her so warmly. It seed to the girl that all this was just a dream that would disappear when she returned to her nightmarish reality.
That’s why she didn’t want to wake up.
"Will you really always be with ?" Ruby looked at with great hope in her eyes.
"Really," I smiled, running my hand through her hair.
"Then I believe you."
I hugged my newfound niece to my chest, thinking that raising a child wasn’t so difficult. All it takes is attention and tily care. If everything works out as it should, Rubiella will no longer need to beco the main villain.
At that mont, our little family idyll was interrupted by Nura.
The maid peeked out from behind the door and coughed.
"What’s wrong?" I asked her grimly, ntally lanting that I would have to instruct her again on the rules of conduct in this estate.
Despite the fact that Nura had been working for for a month, she still hadn’t learned to knock and constantly barged in without permission. Not to ntion other minor details. All of this was a reflection of her past, because until recently, Nura had lived as an ordinary commoner.
"Ma’am, I... I wanted to let you know that Count Creek has sent soone to see you again. He’s been waiting outside the door for five minutes."
"Earl Creek? Him again?"
"Yes... What should I tell him?"
I sighed.
"Nothing. I’ll et with him myself."
The red-haired girl scratched the back of her head, bowed awkwardly, and left.
anwhile, my mood was sowhat dampened by this news. Why the hell did that old fart show up today of all days...?!
Earl Creek was an old acquaintance of the real Grace. He first tried to get close to her because of her family’s influential na. But after the Weinsteins began to suffer financial setbacks, the count tried to quietly retreat. However, he didn’t manage to do so in ti.
Finding herself in a crisis situation, Grace borrowed a large sum of money from him, promising to pay it back soon. The count believed her, counting on the fact that the Weinstein heiress would not be able to deceive him. And, of course, he was wrong. Grace never paid him back.
A month ago, he kept sending his people to demanding repaynt of the debt. By selling so of my jewelry, I was able to pay him back half the amount, but it was still not enough. As a result, Count Creek continued to pursue , sending servants to my estate every week.
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t pay off my debts right away, which I told him. The money I had left was needed to repair the estate and buy the most necessary things. Especially now that I had Ruby. I had to feed her sohow.
Although I explained my situation to him very clearly, Count Creek didn’t seem to understand.
Oh well. I wasn’t going to give in to that nasty fat cat myself.
Noticing the change in my expression, Ruby asked anxiously,"Auntie, is sothing wrong?"
Coming to my senses, I looked at my sweet niece and smiled.
"Nothing, Ruby. Everything’s fine," I stroked her head. "Just so guests have arrived and I need to greet them."
"Um... I see."
I left the girl to settle into her new room and went downstairs myself. The Earl of Creek’s man was indeed waiting for at the door.
"You took a long ti," the man grumbled discontentedly when I opened the door. "Do you think you’re so important that you can keep my lord waiting..."
"Get to the point," I interrupted him. "I don’t have ti to deal with you. Just tell what the count wants this ti."
The man grimaced.
"My master orders you to give him the money this week. Otherwise, he will go to court."
"Court?" I smirked. "And how will he do that? We haven’t even signed a promissory note."
"Don’t be so cocky, Lady Weinstein," he said dismissively. "My master has people all over the empire. And in the governnt, too. It won’t be hard for him to prove your cri."
I folded my arms across my chest and was even touched by how this man was trying in vain to intimidate .
However, I should have ended this a long ti ago. Especially since Ruby now lives with . I didn’t want her to get involved in all this trouble.
Today was the perfect day to finally deal with this long-standing debt.
At that mont, a window appeared above my head that only I could see.
System: Quest "Punishnt of Count Creek."Reward: forty ga currency crystals. Do you want to participate?
And below, a fast-moving bar with a ti limit.
"Yes," I said aloud.
System: Accepted! Quest started!
The window disappeared, and the man in front of ca back to life, continuing to glare at with dissatisfaction. When the system appeared in the ga, ti in this world stopped until I made my choice. Or, in other words, until the tir ran out.
A "mission" window appeared in the corner of my field of vision. It would remain there until I completed the quest with Count Creek. It was like in a computer ga, where there is also a task panel on the side of the screen.
Even though I hadn’t answered yet, the count’s servant went to wait for by the carriage. This happened every ti the system automatically put the necessary information into the heads of the background characters. Those whose importance in the ga was higher had more free will.
I took my hat off the shelf and put on my cloak, getting ready to leave. But before that, I called Nura over.
"Take care of Ruby while I’m gone," I ordered. "Feed her and provide her with everything she needs. Understood?"
"What should I feed her?" the maid asked, puzzled.
"You’ll figure sothing out!" I snapped. "Why am I paying you if you can’t do anything?"
Nura muttered indignantly."I understand, mistress..."
At that mont, Ruby herself appeared in the hallway. The girl looked at excitedly when she saw that I was going sowhere.
"Auntie, are you leaving?"
Looking into her sad eyes, I couldn’t remain indifferent.
"I’ll be back soon," I promised, putting my hand on her shoulder.
"Really soon? Promise?"
"Yes," I smiled. "Auntie has so business to take care of."
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