Before long, Princess Evelyn's Estate, once half in ruins, had a brand-new two-story wing rising above its walls.
Things at the Crown Princess's Estate, however, had taken a different turn.
Elmer declared that the stench of commerce would no longer be allowed to corrupt anyone's spirit.
Every servant's monthly wage was slashed to a single copper coin.
Only without the temptation of money, he reasoned, could people stop obsessing over profit.
Only then could they preserve their noble integrity.
My portrait was even turned into a cautionary display.
The entire household was made to remember how vulgar and base life had been when I was in charge.
The Crown Princess's Estate was renovated from top to bottom.
Crane motifs and calligraphy scrolls adorned every wall and corridor.
The place looked like something out of a painting.
You could smell the flowers from halfway down the street.
Passersby marveled: "Mr. Dickerson Sr. truly is remarkable. Look how refined he's made the princess's estate!"
Even the King heard about it and brought the Queen for a personal tour.
But nobody seemed to realize
that all this elegance
had been bought with the fortune I'd built for the Crown Princess's Estate.