Kudou villa

**Kudou villa** (久堂家本邸, *Kudō-ka bettei*?) is an estate where Tadakiyo Kudou and his wife Fuyu Kudou reside.

## Description

The villa is situated in the countryside, requiring half a day's train journey from the Imperial Capital to reach it. A ten-minute drive from the nearby train station, located in a renowned hot springs town, leads to the villa. The area is predominantly composed of farming villages and mountain hamlets, offering cooler summers compared to the capital, thanks to abundant natural shade. Nestled within a small forest on the outskirts of a rural rice-farming village, the villa enjoys well-maintained access, although the surroundings are characterized by rugged, untamed mountains. The proximity to nature here surpasses that of Kiyoka's house, with a nippy and chilly atmosphere, intensified by the nearby mountains and higher elevation.

Surrounded by trees, the villa boasts a Western-style design with a two-story structure. While it's about half the size of the Kudou main estate, it still dwarfs Kiyoka's house, being several times larger. Its wooden construction exudes rustic charm. The exterior walls are painted a subtle cream color, and the roof is a bright brown. Overall, the building comes across as more charming than pretty. Overall, the villa's aesthetic leans more towards charming than conventionally pretty. The heavy-looking main door adds to its substantial appearance.

* On the first floor is the entry hall, a dining room, an open guest room and a fairly large cigar room. Both Kiyoka and his sickly father aren’t smokers, so it was wholly for guest use. Cigars are mainly a male interest, so women didn’t generally come to the room at all. If Tadakiyo wanted to talk to Kiyoka, this would be where they did it.
* On the second floor are bedrooms and multiple vacant chambers:
* Fuyu Kudou's room is on the second floor. It is blindingly extravagant. The furniture is all imported, framed in gold, and beautiful. Its detailed flower patterns and dainty designs catches the eye. The thick carpet is soft and plush, and elegant lighting, crafted with precision design, brightly illuminated the room. The ceiling and walls are painted a feminine pastel pink. In the room’s added light, Miyo could make out refined vine patterns on the walls. It is like a chamber straight out of a Western royal’s palace. There is an intricately designed chair and when Fuyu reclines on it, she looks so grandiose that she might as well have been royalty from a foreign land.
* Kiyoka Kudou and Miyo Saimori's room during their stay is a corner suite on the second floor. It is quite spacious and receives ample sunlight. In addition to a canopied bed that is large enough for three people to sleep comfortably, the room also contains a comfortable luxury chair and table. Though the wallpaper looked plain at first glance, upon closer inspection, an elaborate design popped into view. Farther back in the room, there was a tiled balcony.
* The mansion’s large bathing area is fed by an actual hot spring, and the baths were gender segregated.
* There is a basement where people can be confined.

There are seven servants in total, whichis quite a large number of servants considering there are only two people living in the villa most of the time:

* Sasaki: an elderly man who acts as the caretaker and butler
* Nae: Sasaki's wife, an elderly woman who works as a housemaid
* Unnamed son of Sasaki and Nae, a middle-aged man
* Mitsu: wife of the son, a middle-aged woman who works as a housemaid
* Unnamed grandson, a younger man in his twenties who works as a servant
* Unnamed single man, a thirty-year-old man who works as the family's chef
* Natsuyo: a widow, who works as a housemaid

The villa is surrounded with a protective barrier.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1  Novel, Volume 3 Chapter 1
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6  Novel, Volume 3 Chapter 2
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2  Novel, Volume 3 Chapter 4
4. ↑  Novel, Volume 3 Chapter 3