Claude tilted his head, puzzled by Ghislain’s uninterested response.

“Don’t we need to make friends with the nobles if we want to sell the cosmetics?”

“How many nobles do you think will be interested in being friends with a poor baron? And do you think they’ll trust and use the products just because we’re friendly? They’ll probably throw them away. You didn’t want to use them at first either, did you?”

“Well, even so, we still need to at least let them know the product exists if we want to sell to nobles, don’t we?”

Ghislain shook his head.

“You’re not wrong, but it’s pointless if we’re the ones spreading the word. Nobles have to come looking for us. Let’s focus on finding a place to stay first. We can worry about advertising later.”

Despite feeling uneasy, Claude nodded in agreement.

“It’ll cost a bit, but how about buying a property near the royal palace… somewhere in the central district?”

“The central district?”

“Yes, even a grand mansion would do. In fact, it would be better to sell luxury goods from a fancy mansion.”

Nobles never visit regular stores frequented by commoners. If they need something, they send a servant to fetch it. But for expensive and high-end items, they conduct business in person, like attending a social gathering.

“That’s true. Whether it’s a mansion or a shop, if we’re dealing with nobles, it’s best to make it as luxurious as possible,” Belinda added from the side.

It was a sensible idea, but Ghislain’s response was still indifferent.

“To get a nice mansion in the central district here would cost us about as much as our territory’s entire annual budget. Don’t you know how expensive this place is?”

Claude pouted in disappointment and replied, “That’s true… but we do need to secure a place in the capital, don’t we?”

“Of course, we need a mansion with a garden and enough space for the staff and to store the wagons. The cheaper, the better. We’ll just look for a place on the outskirts.”

“Then where will we sell the goods?”

“I already told you, at the mansion. We can sell from there for now.”

“That’s going to look shabby for selling high-end products. What will nobles trust to buy from us?”

Ghislain smirked and replied, “It doesn’t matter. They’ll come running with bags of money soon enough. Don’t worry about it.”

“Pfft, you have so much money, yet you’re so stingy when it comes to things like this. Fine, I’ll look for a place. But if we don’t get any customers, don’t blame me.”

The next day, Claude began his search, scouring the entire capital for a suitable mansion. The prices near the royal palace were outrageous, and finding available properties was nearly impossible.

Still holding onto hope, Claude gradually expanded his search radius from the palace. Eventually, he found a large mansion in the outskirts.

“It’s big, spacious, has a garden, and is as cheap as you wanted.”

The real estate agent smiled broadly as he presented the mansion in front of them.

However, the group couldn’t hide their discomfort as they looked around.

The place was spacious. It had a garden, and the mansion itself was tall and large. Most importantly, it was cheap.

The problem was that the entire mansion gave off an eerie vibe, like a house where a vampire might live.

The garden’s flowers had withered into a grayish, lifeless color, and despite it being broad daylight, there was a creepy shadow cast by the dense trees around the property.

Belinda stared at the real estate agent with a deadpan expression.

“This is the best you could find?”

“There’s no other place this big, spacious, and cheap in the capital.”

“Why is it in such a state?”

“Well, it’s probably because it hasn’t been well-maintained. There are some bad rumors about this place, but it’s just talk, nothing serious.”

Apparently, there were rumors that the spirits of people who had died unjustly still haunted the mansion.

That explained why, despite its size, there wasn’t a soul in sight around the area.

Belinda shouted in exasperation, “Lord Ghislain, let’s find another place! How are we supposed to live here with this creepy atmosphere? We’ll be exhausted just from being here!”

As if to echo her concerns, a flock of crows suddenly fluttered out of the mansion, cawing loudly.

Caw! Caw!

“See? Even the birds agree with me!”

Ignoring Belinda’s protests, Ghislain continued to inspect the mansion thoroughly before nodding to the real estate agent.

“Alright, we’ll take this one. How much is it? You said it was cheap, right?”

“Lord Ghislain! If you sleep here, your mana might get drained to death!”

“That won’t happen. The worst thing that might show up is a few undead. We can just deal with them if they do. What’s there to be scared of?”

Ghislain nonchalantly patted the agent on the shoulder.

“So, what’s the price? Why aren’t you answering?”

The agent, grinning widely, replied, “Ah, a fine choice indeed. This mansion, with the land included, would normally be worth over a thousand gold. But given the state it’s in, we’ll let it go for just 500 gold.”

The agent’s smile grew even wider as he thought about finally offloading this cursed property.

He had even drastically reduced the price considering the complaints from the others in the group, making the offer too good to refuse.

It was practically a giveaway, but all that mattered was getting it sold.

But what the agent didn’t realize was how unconventional Ghislain could be.

“200 gold.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said I’ll take it for 200 gold.”

Ghislain grinned.

The agent frantically waved his hands in protest.

“No, no, that’s impossible! How could you offer 200 gold for a mansion like this? Even 500 gold is a huge discount!”

“What’s the point of it being big if it doesn’t sell? Fine, sell it to someone else, then.”

“No, no, we can still sell it. We’ve just been too busy to deal with it. If we wanted, we could tear it down and still sell the land. Do you think we can’t do that?”

The agent, a seasoned veteran in the industry, tried to bluff.

But Ghislain wasn’t buying it.

Smirking, Ghislain said, “Who said you can’t? You probably could. But if you haven’t done it by now, there’s a reason.”

“That’s…”

“Rumors are already out there. If you tear down the mansion, you’ll need to pay the workers extra. And even if you clear the land, who’s going to buy property that’s rumored to be haunted?”

“Well…”

“No matter how you look at it, it’s not worth the trouble. That’s why it’s been sitting here, unsold, right?”

“That’s…”

Sweat began to bead on the agent’s forehead as Ghislain saw through his every move.

Ghislain patted him on the shoulder again, this time more firmly.

“You’re not very quick on the uptake, are you? I’ve been patient enough. Move things along.”

“But 200 gold is just too…”

“Hmm, you don’t seem desperate enough. Fine, we’ll go check out other places.”

Ghislain turned to leave, and the rest of the group followed without hesitation. No one tried to stop him.

“W-Wait! I’ll lower the price a bit more!”

The agent called out in a panic, immediately regretting it but knowing it was too late.

Ghislain turned back, leisurely, and gave a final warning.

“Think carefully about what you say next. You only get one more chance. If I don’t like it, we’re really leaving this time.”

“….”

The agent had been planning to ask for 300 gold but now felt like he was bleeding inside.

He thought he’d found a gullible buyer, only to be swindled himself.

The agent had tried everything to sell this mansion. He had even offered it to nobles for free, only to be politely but firmly refused.

This cursed property had given him sleepless nights, and his recently receding hairline wasn’t just a coincidence.

Screw it. At least if I sell it, I’ll finally get a good night’s sleep!

After a brief moment of internal conflict, the agent sighed and nodded weakly.

“Fine, 200 gold.”

“Good decision.”

Caw! Caw!

As if welcoming its new owner, the crows circled overhead, crying out.

The contract was signed quickly, both sides eager to get things done.

Ghislain, who wanted a cheap, large mansion, and the agent, who wanted to offload the troublesome property, were a perfect match.

Belinda and Claude spent the entire time grumbling from behind Ghislain.

“Why would you buy a place like this? Wouldn’t it be better to buy something smaller but more comfortable?”

“Who’s going to come to a place like this to buy anything?”

Ignoring their complaints, Ghislain smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. It’s all just superstitions and rumors. Do you think we could get a mansion this big and spacious for this price anywhere else? We need to live frugally.”

“Ugh, no one can stop Lord Ghislain when he’s like this.”

“Alright, let’s go inside.”

Ghislain swung the door open.

Screeeech!

The door’s screech sounded like a banshee’s wail, and Claude recoiled at the sound. Even the doors in this place were creepy.

Ghislain looked around and nodded.

“Wow, it’s huge! All it needs is a bit of cleaning and repairs. If we fix it up nicely, it’ll…”

“Ahhh! What is that? A monster!”

“Attack! Attack it!”

Belinda and Claude suddenly screamed and backed away in fear.

“What the hell?!”

Ghislain yelled in frustration as he turned to see what had spooked them.

In a shadowy corner of the lobby stood something with long hair draped over its head.

Ghislain’s hand instinctively went to his sword, but as he looked closer, he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, come on. It’s just an old suit of armor.”

A rusty suit of armor had been draped in cobwebs, making it look eerily like a person in the dark corner.

The rest of the group sighed in relief and sheepishly smiled once they realized what it was.

“Alright, now that we have a place to stay, let’s get started on cleaning and repairs. Hire some workers, and get rid of all these damn crows.”

Caw?

With a collective sigh, the group got to work.

A few hours later, several mercenaries returned with troubled expressions after trying to find workers.

“It’s hard to find anyone willing to come here.”

The rumors about the haunted mansion were so widespread that even offering extra pay didn’t entice workers.

Unless someone was desperate for money, most people just shook their heads and refused.

With no other choice, they bought materials and had the mercenaries and servants do the repairs themselves.

Thankfully, they had brought enough people along that the mansion was fully repaired within three days.

Of course, it wasn’t as luxurious or fancy as the mansions of other nobles.

It was just cleaned up enough to be livable, with basic furniture and household necessities.

Even so, it looked far less ominous than it had at first.

Once they renovated the garden and got rid of the gray, lifeless plants, the haunted mansion image would disappear entirely.

“The garden can wait. When the time comes, we can have those guys help out with it. Looks like we’ll be living with them for now.”

Caw! Caw!

Unfortunately, they couldn’t get rid of all the crows.

After driving them out of the house and installing new windows, the birds no longer entered the mansion.

But the evicted crows settled in the garden and showed no signs of leaving.

“Well, at least it’s habitable now. Time to start promoting the cosmetics. We need to sell them quickly.”

“What’s the plan? You’re not attending any banquets, right?”

“We’ll send the cosmetics as gifts to every noble household in the capital.”

“…The cosmetics?”

“Yep.”

Claude barely held back a scream and took a deep breath.

“So, you think just giving them away as gifts will work?”

“Exactly.”

Claude couldn’t hold it in any longer and finally yelled.

“Are you kidding?! Even if we beg them to use it, they might not, and you think they’ll use it just because you’re giving it away for free? They’ll probably throw it out!”

“Nobles would, yes.”

“And you know that, but you’re still going to—!”

Ghislain smirked, rubbing his chin.

“I’m not sending it to the nobles. I’m sending it to the servants.”