The gentle sunlight sprinkled across the earth.
Colin walked on the road back home, followed by the Renee sisters.
He led the way, his face calm.
Behind him, Renee's complexion was slightly pale, as if she still had difficulty accepting what had just happened.
Demi, who knew nothing of the matter, held her teddy bear with a face full of joy.
After they returned to the bakery, everything went as Colin had expected.
He did nothing—merely stood there, and Renee soon reclaimed the ownership of her family's bakery, which in the end was converted into gold coins and kept with her.
But there were two surprises.
The first was that the gang behind the stocky man he had killed on the road actually did come looking for him!
And they had sent a fierce and intimidating strongman to wait for him at Renee's bakery in advance.
However...
He came specifically to apologize and even brought a box of tea leaves as a gift!
The other surprise was that
The mastermind behind the murder of Renee's parents turned out to be her aunt and uncle who had taken over the bakery.
It was they who had colluded with the stocky man to murder Renee's parents...
This was also the reason why Renee's feelings were so complicated now.
Thinking of this, Colin sighed inwardly.
In this world,
for ordinary people, perhaps having beauty and wealth is also a misfortune.
He thought back to his own past.
Once upon a time, after listening to Charlie's conspiracy theories,
as a basic level Apprentice of the School, dismissed by others, he came to Blackstone City and didn't even dare to wear the School's insignia openly in the streets.
But now, he had advanced to an Intermediate Apprentice and became a full-fledged member of the School.
In terms of status, it was heaven and earth compared to before.
'All of this is because of power...' Colin exhaled softly.
Soon after, they arrived at their home on Palm Street.
When they reached their home on Palm Street,
beside the wrough-iron gate,
Arthur was sitting quietly on a single-horse, black carriage with curved sides.
"Master."
Seeing Colin, he hopped down from the carriage, quickly stepped forward, bent over to greet him, and took out the remaining gold coins from the purchase of the carriage and handed them to Colin with both hands.
Colin nodded, took the gold coins, and then picked out two more from them, placing them back in Arthur's hands.
"Thank you, Master!" Arthur's face lit up with surprise.
"Take it and buy yourself a few decent sets of clothes. Keep the rest for yourself."
Colin said gently, then he turned to Renee, handing her five gold coins.
"You too, go buy some clothes for you and Demi. With the leftover money, buy some ingredients to come back and cook dinner tonight."
He surveyed Renee and Arthur, adding:
"In the future, you will both be able to get a salary of one gold coin each month from me... of course, on the condition that you work diligently."
In Blackstone City, for an ordinary middle-class family, an annual income would be just over a dozen gold coins, so one gold coin a month was clearly a high salary.
Strictly speaking, Arthur and others were slaves; Colin had no obligation to pay them any further.
But a few gold coins were not much for him, yet could greatly improve the enthusiasm of people like Arthur towards work and also increase their loyalty. Why not do it?
Opening the double wooden doors enveloped in wrough iron, Colin walked into the small courtyard of his home.
The house he bought covered around six to seven hundred square meters, of which about five hundred were just the front courtyard.
Facing the main gate was the main building, a two-story house with a basement, built in a Western style, its details revealing a sense of grandeur and nobility.
To the right of the main house was an annex, a single-story bungalow, next to which there was a stable.
"You can choose any room to live in, except for the second floor and the basement; anywhere else is fine," Colin instructed.
"Sir, I'll live in the annex on the right to take better care of the horses," Arthur said, taking the initiative.
Colin nodded his head in a noncommittal way.
Renee eventually chose a room on the first floor of the main house close to the kitchen, which had originally been where the former resident's servants lived.
Renee, with Demi in tow, entered the room and set down their luggage.
There was no time to tidy up, nor to marvel at the servant's room that was even more exquisite than her own home's master bedroom.
She soon pulled Demi out again.
She hadn't forgotten that Colin had asked her to go out and buy ingredients to prepare dinner.
Before leaving, she sought Colin's approval.
"Go on, let Arthur take you. From now on, you don't need to tell me about each purchase unless you're short on money,"
Colin replied and then gave Arthur additional instructions.
"For expenses like the horse's fodder and the like, find Renee, and she'll come to me for reimbursement."
Both of them consecutively acknowledged.
...
As evening fell.
Knock, knock.
The sound of knocking came.
"Master, dinner is ready."
"...Come in."
Colin, seated at the study desk, was absorbed in reading a book and responded reflexively.
Creak, the door was slowly pushed open.
Renee, carrying a silver platter, walked gently to the table and carefully set down the plate, careful not to disturb Colin's reading.
Appetizing aromas wafted to his nose.
Colin closed the book and looked up at the two dishes and a soup laid out before him.
The soup was a bowl of vegetable stew, the dishes consisted of a pan-fried steak, and steamed clams, served with white bread as the staple.
It wasn't exceptionally exquisite, but it was certainly above par, far surpassing his own culinary skills.
"Well done, Renee," he praised, looking up with satisfaction.
Upon seeing Renee more clearly, a hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes, he added:
"That outfit suits you as well."
Renee before him was dressed in a black and white maid's uniform, its waist-hugging design made her somewhat slender figure now appear graceful, as if she stepped out of a comic book as a blonde maid.
Her golden hair was still slightly damp, suggesting she had taken a bath.
Colin was also taken aback, as he had simply thought Renee and her sister's clothes were a bit worn and had casually suggested they add a few new items to their wardrobe.
But he hadn't expected her to buy a maid's outfit.
Renee managed a strained smile upon hearing the compliment, her heart filled with more apprehension than the joy of being praised.
Although she was frightened, she quickly exhaled deeply, regained her composure, and stood up straight once more.
Fate had brought her hardships, but it had also given her the courage to face an unknown future!
After making her choice, she had prepared herself to accept everything, otherwise, she wouldn't have taken the initiative to bathe and change into new clothes.
She tried to calm herself, accepting Colin's scrutinizing gaze, but soon, an uncontrollable blush crept up her delicate neck and spread across her fair cheeks.
Seeing this, Colin smiled, thinking she was bashful from the praise, and offered an out:
"You should go eat as well. Just remember to come back and clear the tableware later."
"Yes, Master," Renee responded respectfully and left, feeling slightly relieved.
After she had left, Colin sampled the food on the table.
The delicious flavors blossomed in his mouth.
He couldn't help but smile, increasingly pleased with his decision to welcome Renee into his home.