Two days after Ezra’s battle with Baron Sterling ended, he was finally discharged from the hospital Lucy had taken him to, which was one of the clinics owned by the Laverdale Family.

The moment the doctors cleared him to leave, neither he nor Lucy remained in Obsidior for long.

They boarded a Streamliner and traveled to another large city known as Steelhaven, which wasn’t too far from Obsidior.

Unlike the Business-heavy atmosphere of Obsidior, Steelhaven felt calmer.

Large stone roads stretched through the city, as steam-powered vehicles moved steadily through the streets, and rows of neatly arranged buildings stood under the afternoon sunlight.

The purpose of the trip was simple.

They needed a place to live.

Not a hotel or a temporary residence.

A home.

After several days of searching and comparing properties, Ezra finally settled on a mansion located in a quieter district of the city.

The mansion itself wasn’t comparable to the estates owned by Barons or the vast castles possessed by Duke Families, but for Ezra and Lucy, it was more than enough.

The main building contained six bedrooms in total.

One was the master bedroom.

Another was almost the same size and was officially designated as the mistress’s room.

Without much thought, Ezra handed that room to Lucy.

The remaining bedrooms were standard guest rooms.

Every room came with its own bathroom and toilets, while the mansion also possessed two private study rooms.

One was located inside the main building and was immediately converted into a library.

Then the other stood separately from the mansion itself, close to the garage where private carriages and steam-powered vehicles could be parked.

That building was immediately planned as the future workshop of Ezra.

The courtyard was spacious.

Although it couldn’t compare to the property of a Baron, it was still large enough that anyone passing by would immediately recognize the owner as a wealthy citizen of Britannia.

Trees lined parts of the property.

Flowers grew along stone paths.

A miniature steam-engine power core hidden beneath the estate supplied heat throughout the mansion.

That feature alone, was what convinced Ezra.

For someone constantly fighting against the cold, a stable heating system wasn’t a luxury.

It was a necessity.

And so, the spending began.

Furniture.

Workshop equipment.

Bookshelves.

Tools.

Home appliances.

Materials.

More materials.

And then even more materials.

Several more days passed while workers continuously entered and left the property carrying boxes and crates.

By the time the final stages of moving in arrived, the once-empty mansion had begun to resemble a real home.

Thud!

Two hefty workers carefully lowered a long couch into position inside the living room.

Both men wiped the sweat from their foreheads before stepping back to inspect their work.

"Thank you."

Lucy bowed politely.

Her voice remained gentle as she led them outside to finalize their payment.

The workers quickly thanked her and followed her toward the entrance.

Meanwhile, Ezra remained seated on another couch nearby.

"Hmmm..."

His gaze dropped toward the bandages wrapped around one of his hands.

Beneath the layers of cloth, faint Alchemy Circles had been engraved.

Every few seconds, tiny strands of Cognis flowed through the markings.

The circles continuously stimulated the healing process.

A healing feature designed to constantly heal injuries.

Ezra flexed his fingers slightly.

The movement still hurt, but compared to before, it was much better.

"What a way to make bandages more useful."

He muttered quietly.

Reaching toward his space bag resting beside him, Ezra pulled out a small glass container.

Inside were several heat-stimulating pills.

The medicine rattled softly as he rotated the bottle.

"I also managed to convince one of the workers at the Laverdale Clinic to make these for me."

He sighed.

Then his eyes drifted toward the ceiling.

"How much money have I actually lost because of this?"

That question immediately made his chest tighten.

With a resigned expression, Ezra took out his financial card and placed his thumb against the thumb-sized golden section embedded into its surface.

The card glowed.

Golden light spread outward.

A holographic screen unfolded before him.

***

╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗

║ ASHENLOCKE FINANCIAL SYSTEM PANEL ║

╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝

[IDENTITY]

Name: Ezra Ashenlocke

Gender: Male

Age: 13

Noble Rank: Lowline Noble

House: Ashenlocke

Profession: Alchemist

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[FINANCIAL OVERVIEW]

Current Balance:

⟡ 2,670,000 Gold Coins

Monthly Income:

⟡ 0 Gold Coins

Monthly Expenditure:

⟡ 3,580,000 Gold Coins

Net Asset Status:

⟡ Low-Wealthy

Credit Rating:

⟡ Excellent

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[RECENT TRANSACTIONS]

#001

Merchant: Shelly’s Furniture’s

Type: Purchase

Amount: -100,400 Gold Coins

Status: Completed

#002

Merchant: Steelhaven Housing Agency

Type: Purchase

Amount: -1,200,000 Gold Coins

Status: Completed

#003

Merchant: — Laverdale’s Branch Clinic

Type: — Service Payment

Amount: — 1,279,600

Status: — Completed

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ACCOUNT SUMMARY]

Total Transactions Recorded: 5

Total Expenditure: 3,580,000 Gold Coins

Largest Purchase: Laverdale’s Branch Clinic

Available Spending Capacity: High

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ASHENLOCKE BANKING NETWORK]

Account Holder: Ezra Ashenlocke

Account Tier: Noble Privilege

Security Level: Grade III

Account Status: Active

***

Ezra stared blankly at the floating financial information.

The golden holographic panel hovered quietly before him, its light reflecting faintly in his dark eyes. Every number remained fixed in place, cold and merciless.

So much money.

Gone just like that.

The balance still looked enormous, enough to make most people in Britannia believe he was rich beyond imagination, especially since he was just a child, yet Ezra couldn’t help feeling a sting in his chest every time his eyes moved over the recent transactions.

A house.

Medical bills.

Furniture.

Equipment.

Materials.

The numbers added together so quickly that it felt unreal.

His chest tightened slightly again.

Then he released another sigh, this one much heavier than the previous one.

"If you keep sighing like that, you will turn old, Ezra."

A familiar voice drifted into the living room.

The voice wasn’t loud.

In fact, it was calm and flat.

Yet somehow it immediately caught Ezra’s attention.

He slid the financial card back into his space bag before turning his head toward the source of the voice.

"You are here."

His tone remained as plain as ever.

Standing near the entrance was Vera.

She was dressed entirely in black.

A black shirt was tucked neatly into slightly oversized black trousers, while a long black coat rested casually over her shoulders rather than being properly worn. Dark shades covered her eyes, and her long hair had been tied neatly behind her head.

There wasn’t a trace of makeup on her face.

No jewelry.

No decorations.

Nothing excessive.

Yet somehow that only made her stand out more.

Her beauty wasn’t the type that relied on appearance alone.

It was the kind that naturally drew attention the moment she entered a room.

Lucy, who had returned from escorting the workers outside, couldn’t stop herself from staring for a brief moment.

Even after spending time around different ladies in the red house business, she still found Vera’s appearance difficult to ignore.

Elegant.

Sharp and unapproachable.

The kind of person who could sit silently and still become the center of attention.

Vera casually walked into the living room and sat down on the sofa opposite Ezra.

The movement was natural.

As though the mansion belonged to her instead.

"Your favorite follower didn’t come with you."

Ezra glanced toward the entrance of the mansion.

His senses naturally spread outward.

Two maids.

Three guards, whose Cognis Presence showed that all three of them were Meister Alchemists.

"I didn’t see the need to bring her all the way here."

Vera crossed her legs, then she folded her arms beneath her chest.

"Do you miss her that much?"

She tilted her head slightly.

Her expression remained blank and her voice remained flat.

Yet somehow it sounded suspiciously close to teasing.

"I was just curious."

Ezra answered quickly.

His expression didn’t change either.

For a brief moment, both of them simply stared at one another.

Blank face.

Blank eyes.

Blank tone.

Neither looked away.

The silence slowly stretched between them.

Lucy glanced at Vera.

Then at Ezra.

Then back at Vera again.

For some reason, she suddenly felt like she had interrupted a conversation happening on a level she couldn’t understand.

"My Lady..."

Lucy bowed politely, breaking the silence.

"What would you like to take?"

She asked respectfully.

"What do you have to offer?"

Vera tilted her head slightly while looking at Lucy.

"The house was just fully furnished, so for now..."

Ezra answered before Lucy could.

"We don’t have too many drinks to offer."

He leaned back against the couch.

"Or would you like coffee?"

His tone was dry.

"No."

Vera rejected the idea immediately.

"I’m not a fan of that."

She turned her attention back toward Ezra.

The rejection came so quickly that it almost sounded rehearsed.

"Okay, then I will bring the cookies we have and a glass of cold milk. Will that be fine, My Lady?"

Lucy lowered her head further.

"Yes, you may."

Vera replied while still looking Ezra up and down.

"Okay."

Lucy raised her head and headed toward the kitchen.

The sound of her footsteps gradually faded.

Once she was gone, Vera continued studying Ezra.

Her eyes moved across the bandages.

The bandages all over his body and the healing marks showing the little signs of battle

"You really look like a mess, Ezra."

Her voice remained completely flat.

So flat that it was impossible to tell whether she was concerned or simply making fun of him.

"That’s just what happens at the end of the day."

Ezra replied with the same calm energy.

Neither defensive.

Nor offended.

Vera slowly shifted her gaze away from him.

Her eyes wandered around the living room.

"And your new home." She paused briefly. "It looks okay."

Her gaze swept across the furniture.

The walls.

The newly arranged decorations.

The house certainly didn’t scream luxury.

Compared to the residences of the Mainline Family, it was way too ordinary.

Compared to the homes of Highline Nobles, it was modest.

Yet despite that, the place possessed something many luxurious residences lacked.

Peace.

The area was quiet.

Large trees surrounded the neighborhood.

Fresh air drifted through the slightly opened windows.

And most importantly...

The heating feature it came with.

"It has its own Steam-Engine power core."

Ezra replied while leaning further into the couch.

"A miniature one. So, maintaining it won’t be difficult."

His head rested against his palm while his elbow sat comfortably on the armrest.

A few moments later, Lucy returned carrying a tray.

A glass of cold milk rested on it alongside several cookies.

Thin streams of condensation rolled down the side of the glass. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Lucy carefully placed the glass of cold milk and the plate of cookies on the table in front of Vera. After making sure everything was arranged properly, she bowed politely before walking to the back of the couch where Ezra was resting.

The living room became quiet again.

Outside the large windows, the afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees surrounding the property. The shadows of branches swayed gently across the floor while the soft hum of the mansion’s Steam-Engine core could faintly be heard in the background.

"So..."

Ezra looked at Vera as she picked up one of the cookies.

Crunch.

She took a small bite before placing the rest back on the plate.

"Did you come with the goods?"

He asked straightforwardly.

"At least this time you served me something before getting straight to the point."

Vera replied.

Her voice remained completely flat.

Yet somehow the words still carried a teasing edge.

The comment immediately reminded Ezra of the time they spoke in the library during the Trial of Steel and she mentioned something relating to this.

Ezra narrowed his eyes slightly.

Vera looked back at him without changing her expression.

The corners of her lips didn’t move either.

Her eyes remained blank.

Yet the teasing somehow felt even stronger because of it.

Choosing not to entertain her, Ezra simply waited.

"Well, I brought everything you asked for."

Vera picked up the glass of milk and took a slow sip.

The cold liquid slid down the glass, leaving tiny droplets of moisture along its surface.

"Although I couldn’t obtain one of the materials you requested."

She lowered the glass onto the table.

The sound was soft.

"But you should be able to get that one through the Black Market."

Ezra immediately sat up straighter.

His relaxed posture disappeared.

"I’ve been trying to find clues about the Black Market."

His fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.

"But I couldn’t find anything."

"That’s because it is completely closed off to only a certain group of people."

Vera replied plainly, then she crossed one leg over the other again.

"It’s an illegal place."

Her voice remained calm.

"So obviously, it is hidden from most people."

She paused briefly before adding,

"Even nobles."

The room fell quiet for a moment.

Ezra thought about all the information he had gathered over the last few days.

Nothing.

Not a single useful clue.

Not even a rumor.

At first, he thought the place might not even exist.

Now he understood why.

It wasn’t a matter of poor information gathering.

The information itself was intentionally hidden.

"But you know about the place."

Ezra narrowed his eyes on her again.

The look wasn’t hostile.

It was just simply curious.

Vera met his gaze.

"I have my ways."

The answer came immediately, with no explanation or details.

Just enough information to be annoying.

Ezra stared at her for a few seconds and Vera stared back.

Neither looked away.

Lucy, who stood quietly behind the couch, suddenly felt that familiar awkward atmosphere returning.

Eventually, Vera stood up.

The long coat hanging over her shoulders shifted slightly as she rose from the sofa.

"I’ll send you the location later."

She adjusted the sleeves of her shirt casually.

Then her gaze settled on Ezra.

For the first time since arriving, she looked at him for a little longer than usual.

There was a brief pause before she continued speaking.

"Will you be attending the Second Coming-of-Age Ceremony?"

She tilted her head slightly.

"The rankers of the family are all allowed to attend."

Ezra didn’t even need time to think about it.

"No."

The answer came immediately.

"I’ll be extremely busy from now on."

He leaned back into the couch again.

"So, I can’t come."

"Okay."

Vera accepted the answer without surprise.

As though she had already expected him to say no.

"Then I will see you later."

She gave a small wave.

The movement looked almost lazy.

Lucy immediately bowed.

"Safe travels, My Lady."

Vera nodded once before heading toward the entrance.

Lucy quickly followed behind her to see her out and check the shipment she had brought.

The sound of their footsteps echoed softly through the mansion.

After watching the two girls leave the living room, Ezra also pushed himself up from the couch.

A faint discomfort spread through his body the moment he stood.

Even so, he ignored it.

His eyes moved toward the entrance where Vera and Lucy had disappeared.

Then he quietly followed behind them.