Free Web NovelChapter 13: Home Renovation... for Free?
Kael honestly expected many things when someone knocked on his door.
A guild collector.
A teacher.
Maybe even an assassin sent by Darius.
But he definitely did NOT expect this.
KNOCK KNOCK.
Kael slowly opened the door.
And saw Seraphina.
Standing in front of the house.
Completely serious as always.
With a small cat toy in her hands.
Behind her...
there were six bodyguards carrying:
Several pieces of furniture, some boxes, a lot of food, also wood, tools, and something that looked like an absurdly luxurious miniature cat castle.
Absolute silence.
Kael: "Wow, this is a lot, you shouldn’t—"
Seraphina: "Good afternoon."
She simply said and walked in without waiting for an invitation, then looked at the guards behind her.
One of the bodyguards pointed at the time-worn house.
"Begin."
Instantly everyone started entering.
Kael felt his soul leave his body.
"WAIT, WAIT, WAIT — WHAT IS HAPPENING!?"
Too late.
One was already fixing the walls.
Another was changing furniture.
One literally started measuring windows.
Kael looked around in horror.
"WHAT IS GOING ON!?"
Luna appeared from the kitchen.
And the moment she saw the scene...
her eyes sparkled.
"BIG BROTHER!!"
She ran straight to Kael.
"SHE AGREED TO BE YOUR WIFE!"
"WHAT!? WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?"
Luna pointed dramatically at Seraphina.
"That’s why she’s fixing up the house! She wants you to live a good life!"
Kael slowly turned to Seraphina.
Expecting immediate denial.
But Seraphina...
simply nodded.
Silence.
Kael: "..."
Luna: "AAAAAAAAAA!!"
Kael felt his brain collapse.
"DON’T CONFIRM SOMETHING LIKE THAT WITH THAT EXPRESSION!!"
But then he noticed something.
He looked at the boxes again.
And slowly began to understand the situation.
Because...
almost everything was for the cat.
There was:
A giant padded bed,
Extremely soft black blankets,
Golden food dishes,
Floating magical toys,
A three-story scratching tower,
Special brushes,
Pillows, fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Premium magical beast food,
Imported fish,
A miniature sofa for cats,
And a decorative water fountain.
Silence.
Kael looked at all of that.
Then at the simple toy Seraphina was holding with both hands.
And finally understood.
"That’s not even going to fit in such a small space."
He looked at the cat.
The cat was also observing everything.
With a serious expression.
VERY serious.
Kael sighed internally.
"She didn’t come for me..."
"She came because she thinks the Little Fat King lives in poverty."
Honestly...
that stung a little.
But it also made sense.
Seraphina slowly lifted the toy.
It was a small cloth fish.
She waved it in front of the cat.
"You know, I highly doubt that..."
The cat observed it.
And slowly...
its eyes followed the movement.
Kael’s eyes widened in surprise.
"HE’S INTERESTED!!"
Seraphina seemed emotionally impacted.
Though externally she remained just as serious.
"Mhm."
"WAS THAT HAPPINESS!?"
Luna was already practically planning the wedding in her head.
"My nephews would be beautiful..."
"Luna, she’s not even here for me."
One of the bodyguards respectfully approached Seraphina.
"Miss, we’ve finished the external repairs."
Kael stepped outside for a moment...
And almost had a heart attack.
HIS HOUSE NO LONGER LOOKED LIKE IT WAS ABOUT TO COLLAPSE.
The walls were repaired.
The roof was fixed.
The windows were new.
Even the door no longer sounded like a dying monster.
Kael froze.
Because honestly...
he had never seen his house look so nice.
Luna also came outside.
And slowly opened her eyes.
"Wow, this is fabulous — even more so that it only took you a few minutes."
Then she looked at Kael.
And smiled softly.
"It feels different..."
Kael didn’t answer immediately.
Because for the first time...
the place actually felt like a home.
Seraphina came out behind them, carrying the cat.
Miraculously still alive.
"I prepared some food for you."
Kael blinked.
"Huh?"
"I’ll invite you to dinner."
Luna immediately raised her hand.
"We accept!"
"We shouldn’t... But I guess after what you just did for us, it would be very ungrateful to say no."
But honestly...
Kael didn’t want to refuse either.
So a few hours later...
they ended up having dinner together.
The table was full of absurd food for someone as poor as Kael.
Meat.
Soups.
Desserts.
Fresh bread.
And next to the cat...
a small elegant plate with fish specially cooked for him.
The cat looked at the food.
Then at Seraphina.
Then at the food again.
And slowly began to eat.
Like a king accepting tribute.
Kael sighed.
"He doesn’t even try to hide that you’re spoiling him anymore."
Seraphina slowly petted the cat.
"He deserves it."
"Don’t say it like that, or he’ll really believe it and will always want things to be that way."
Kael looked at her for a second and then at the food she had prepared.
"She said she prepared it. I thought rich people didn’t cook... oh well."
"Thank you very much for the meal."
And everyone started eating.
Luna smiled happily.
And immediately began interrogating Seraphina.
"What kind of things do you like?"
"Art and cooking."
Kael looked at her.
"So that’s why you made it yourself?"
Seraphina looked at him with her usual expression.
"I think art and cooking go hand in hand — you can create a culinary work of art."
Luna looked at her for a moment and used the opportunity to advertise Kael.
"You know, my brother is also good at cooking."
Seraphina looked at him.
"Maybe we can exchange recipes."
’I highly doubt I can afford the ingredients for your recipes.’
"Sure, I’d love to."
Luna continued.
"Favorite food?"
"Sweets."
"I KNEW IT!!"
Kael was honestly impressed.
Not because Seraphina answered.
But because Luna somehow managed to hold a conversation with someone who spoke less than a wall.
"Do you have hobbies?"
"Reading."
"Favorite color?"
"Blue."
"Favorite animal?"
Seraphina looked at the cat.
Silence.
"Cats."
"I WON!!"
Seraphina asked curiously.
"What did you win?"
"I don’t know, but I felt like it was my victory."
Kael sighed tiredly as he ate.
Honestly...
the scene was weird.
VERY weird.
A few weeks ago:
They were poor,
They were alone,
And Kael didn’t even know if they would survive the next year.
And now...
the most important girl in the academy was having dinner at his house while obsessively hugging a mountain-destroying entity.
Life was strange.
Then Seraphina spoke again.
"What happened to your parents?"
Silence.
Everything changed instantly.
Luna lowered her gaze.
For the first time in the entire conversation...
she went completely quiet.
Kael watched her for a few seconds.
Then answered calmly.
"Dad died when we were little."
The room fell silent.
Even the cat stopped eating for a moment.
Kael continued speaking normally.
Like someone used to repeating that story.
"Mom tried to keep going for a while..."
"But supporting us alone was too hard."
Luna kept looking down.
With dim eyes.
"Then she met someone with money."
Kael smiled slightly.
But it didn’t look happy.
"And well..."
"I guess she decided to start a new life without us."
Silence.
There was no resentment in his voice.
That was the worst part.
Just acceptance.
"So since then, it’s just been Luna and me."
Luna finally lifted her gaze a little.
Kael smiled gently at her.
"That’s why I want to become a great summoner."
He looked around the house.
"I want money.
Fame.
A life where Luna never has to worry about anything ever again."
Luna watched him for a few seconds.
Then smiled.
A small smile.
But sincere.
"I’m already happy like this."
Kael also smiled.
And ruffled her hair.
"Yeah, but I’m not satisfied yet."
Seraphina remained quiet for a few moments.
Then Kael looked at her.
"What about your parents? I don’t know if they’d be okay with you doing all this for us."
She slowly lowered her gaze to her plate.
"They’re busy."
"Oh."
"They’re always busy."
Silence.
Kael immediately remembered all the rumors he’d heard about the Vale family.
The students always talked about the power,
prestige, wealth, and political influence of her family.
But they never really talked about them as a family.
Kael understood something then.
Probably...
Seraphina was also alone.
Just in a different way.
The atmosphere began to grow heavy.
So Kael made a desperate decision.
He sighed and looked at the cat.
The cat looked back.
And slowly...
Kael picked it up.
The cat opened its eyes in confusion.
"Meow?"
And Kael placed it on Seraphina’s lap.
Absolute silence.
The cat froze.
Betrayed.
COMPLETELY betrayed.
Seraphina slowly began to pet it.
With extreme contained happiness.
"Soft..."
The cat looked at Kael.
With the most hurt expression it had ever had.
As if saying:
"You, of all people, dare to betray me..."
Kael immediately avoided eye contact.
"Forgive me, Little Fat King..."
"Meeooww..."
Seraphina looked at Kael while hugging the cat.
