Financial Times: “The Princess’s Relationship is Stable; Leon Arms Suggests Long-term Holding”
Sun Newspaper: “Personality Interview – The Princess: The Best Partner is a Friend of the Other’s Soul”
Dance Entertainment News: “Central Cross Theater New Play – ‘I Fell in Love with a Lion'”
“…”
Not… What is all this? Even though he had been mentally prepared to some extent, after getting off the public carriage and walking home, upon seeing the promotional posters plastered outside the newspaper kiosk, Leon still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of toothache.
Since the “Royal Palace Incident,” Princess Veronica has been busy stabilizing the situation, suppressing the old nobility, and taking power from the old king as smoothly as possible. She’s been so busy that she hasn’t had time to bother him.
But while her person hasn’t come around, during work, she’s constantly been “flirting,” grabbing any opportunity to talk about their relationship, hiring people to snap photos and send out news, creating hype and showing affection.
Even though they haven’t seen each other for over a week, it feels like they’re deeply in love, making more than half the capital city think that they’re about to get married…
It’s ridiculous.
With an extremely speechless sigh, Leon turned the corner towards Happiness Apartment, where the burly old man, wielding his shockingly long gardening scissors, promptly appeared from the small garden beside the building.
“Good evening.”
After politely greeting the burly old man, Leon walked into the first-floor hall of the Happiness Apartment under his scrutinizing gaze.
After two months of repeated clashes, and the experience of being tied up with yarn and hung overnight whenever he tried to attack Leon, the old man’s not-so-sharp mind finally managed to remember the new rules of Happiness Apartment:
Evil ones can’t enter, except for one “evil demon spawn” who is allowed normal access.
Although still worried about the residents’ safety, he would occasionally hobble past Leon, or carry a gleaming pair of giant scissors and squat outside Leon’s bedroom window at midnight, peering in. But he hasn’t directly attacked anymore.
“Hmm?”
Through the large window of the administrator’s room, the Administrator Matron looked up upon seeing Leon enter the building, asking curiously: “Why are you back so early today? Aren’t you usually back late at night?”
“Hehe, special circumstances today… This is a gift for you.”
Opening the small window of the administrator’s room and handing over the specially purchased luxury yarn he bought on the way, Leon explained with a smile: “I’ve been doing well at work recently, and I’ll be going on a business trip in a few days which might last for a while, so the bureau gave me a few days off to rest ahead of time and spend more time with my family… By the way, where are Anna and the kids?”
“They’re almost back.”
The Administrator Matron took the yarn in surprise: “It’s school dismissal time now. Anna should have already picked up the children and is on her way back… Oh my, this yarn isn’t cheap! I can’t accept it!”
“It’s not that expensive actually, just a small gift. Please take it.”
Pushing back the yarn offered by the Administrator Matron, Leon thanked her sincerely: “My job keeps me very busy, often away from home. Anna has been raising William and Melanie alone, and both you and Uncle John have helped her a lot. I remember all your kindnesses.
Compared to the care you and Uncle John have shown our family, this is just a small token of appreciation. It wasn’t even specially bought; I just saw it on the way back and thought you might like it, so I picked it up… Oh, and here’s something for Uncle John too.”
While speaking, Leon touched his cufflink, pulling out two large sharpening stones and a packet of selected flower seeds from the Mirror World, pushing them together with the yarn package back to her. With a sincere expression, he insisted: “Auntie Mary, please accept it. The salary from the Clearing Bureau is decent, these things really aren’t much for me.”
“This… Alright then.”
And after accepting the gifts, she seemed to suddenly remember something and asked with concern:
“By the way, municipal workers came the other day, saying they plan to renovate Happiness Apartment and expand its scope. Are you aware of this?”
Renovating Happiness Apartment?
Upon hearing the Administrator Matron’s question, Leon couldn’t help but pause momentarily.
Indeed… Although carefully maintained by the Administrator Matron and the burly old man, the predecessor of Happiness Apartment was a ninety-year-old almshouse, making it a century-old building.
According to the Kingdom’s “Building Renovation Law,” any mid-to-high-rise building along the streets of the Capital must undergo inspections every ten years and major renovations every fifty years. It seems the renovation period for Happiness Apartment is due right now.
However, there’s always a way around policies, wherever you go, an unbreakable truth.
Although the Kingdom’s laws are strict, both inspections and renovations require money and manpower.
Given the Kingdom’s recent strained finances, even military pensions have been cut, so the Municipal Department naturally doesn’t want to do such thankless tasks. Only buildings in the Rich District and Noble District might receive proper maintenance.
After all, if someone gets hurt from a collapsed building, it’s the builder’s responsibility. At most, the Municipal Department would be criticized for inadequate maintenance. Considering the limited funds, receiving a bit of extra pocket money is the best one could hope for.
If the law were strictly enforced, with regular street-wide inspections and renovations, the responsible official wouldn’t dream of a promotion. If they ever let loose with renovations and painting once, their entire life would likely be spent scrubbing toilets in the Municipal Department.
So forget about painting and renovation, even the once-in-ten-years inspection hasn’t been done properly. People just show up, casually fill out a few repair items, eat up the maintenance budget, and call it a day.
And although the Municipal Department doesn’t act, the tenants can’t afford to ignore safety issues. So in recent years, the Administrator Matron has been footing the bill for repairs, working tirelessly for nearly a hundred years without saving much.
Even so, with their meager salaries, plus contributions from tenants, they can only maintain the basics. Many parts of Happiness Apartment are already in poor condition, barely holding together. Even the handrails in the stairwell are missing in several places.
If it weren’t for the burly old man’s decades of repairs cultivating incredible skills, whether this happy apartment building could continue standing would be questionable…
…
“This is a good thing!”
Recalling the state of Happiness Apartment, Leon couldn’t help but express his pleasant surprise:
“The apartment does need repairs. If the Municipal Department is willing to handle the renovation, then you and Uncle John will have less to worry about.”
“This is true…”
The Administrator Matron nodded upon hearing this, but couldn’t help voicing her concerns softly:
“But John and I are part of this building. If Happiness Apartment undergoes renovation and expansion… will we still be able to stay?”
(End of Chapter)
