Chapter 1.8: Sigrid Ankertna

Sigrid checked her bank balance. 

For years now, she had been living an ascetic life, very abstemious. It definitely made her money swell in her bank account. 

‘Let’s move out first.’

Sigrid made up her mind. If she wanted to change her life then she needed to change her way of living, and the best way to change the way of living was to change the living environment. If she moved out and changed her living space, the basic necessities of life like food, clothing, shelter would also change, then her life would change. 

That was what Sigrid thought. 

‘Should I buy a small house in District 2 or a country house outside of the capital?’

Sigrid groaned with a simple worry. She had to go to the Knight Order. It was troublesome to go there if the house was too far. But after thinking about it again, she honestly didn’t have to go there every day. As a matter of fact, even though she went there every day, sometimes she didn’t really have that much work every day. The knights of Knight Order only went there when they were called to work. 

‘Shall I go outside?’

A garden was what she honestly wanted to have. She wanted to drink her tea in the garden with some quality tea and a pretty teacup, like other girls. In the past, when she wanted to buy teacup, she always went to the teashop while acting like she disliked going to the teashop or going to a tea party, although inwardly it was the opposite. Also, when the sellers tried to offer her luxurious or pretty teacup, she tried to act like she was not such a ‘girl.’ In the past, she really dismissed all things that were feminine like outfits and makeup, disrespecting them as unknightly. Obviously, the kind of buyer like her could not get along with the sellers.

‘But, it’s different now.’

After much thought, a country house was much better for her. 

As she decided on purchasing a country house, she headed to a real estate agent. Upon entering the business area in the District 2, loud noise could be heard from all directions. The shopping street was neatly decorated and the roads were extensively maintained so wagons and carriages could pass through. Among other buildings, Sigrid entered a building with the sign ‘Marigold Real Estate’. 

“Welcome.” A woman with brown hair was in charge of her. 

“I’m trying to see a house for sale.”

At the words of Sigrid, the woman smiled and offered her a seat. The woman introduced herself as Marigold. After serving a cup of coffee to Sigrid and sitting on an old, clean sofa, Marigold started to question Sigrid.

“Are you going to live alone?”

“Yes, and I’m working for the Second Knight Order.”

“Oh. You’re a knight. Then, there is a good sale in District 2 or District 1—?”

“No. I’d like to pick a country house at the outskirts of the capital city.”

“Oh my… country house? But, it would be inconvenient to go back and forth from there to the imperial palace?”

“Yes, but I wanted a garden.”

“Ah—!” Marigold nodded and asked. “So, what about Area 14 in the District 2?”

“Area 14?”

“Yes. It is a newly renovated place with small gardens. Personal privacy is guaranteed.”

“But, I think it’s going to be expensive.”

“You don’t want a monthly rent?”

“Yes, monthly rent is a bit…”

“If it’s like that, it’s cheap here!” Marigold smiled broadly and handed out the documents. It was the building in Area 14, District 2, which was usually half the price of the market price. That was a good price for Sigrid, but she wondered.

“Why is it so cheap here?”

“Mmm.. so the thing is..” Marigold glanced at the young woman knight in front of her. Marigold felt like she shouldn’t lie to her face when she looked so neat yet doll-like. So she said it frankly, “There was a murder case.”

“A murder?”

“Yes. the head of this house killed the whole family and committed suicide. I even went to the auction because I had a lot of building loans, but unfortunately there were no buyers….”

Hearing the explanation, Sigrid nodded. “Can I personally have a look at it?”

Marigold hesitated at the remark. “Well, this house isn’t in good shape because it hasn’t been cleaned.”

“Then, I’ll have more reason to see.”

As Sigrid said, Marigold nodded. She felt like she finally could sell this house. “Yes. I’ll let you know the address.”