Alex bit his lower lip:
“I am well aware. You can call it stupidity or compassion, I really don’t care. I just know it’s the proper thing to do. I am more or less responsible for what happened because if your plan went ahead in the Chamber of Lords, those commoners could be alive by now. It seems that despite all my efforts, and no matter what I do, people keep on dying because of me.”
Viscount Tom saw the gloom in Alex’s eyes and he quickly interrupted:
“Nonsense, Earl Alex! Things always happen for a reason, and the deaths in the Baron’s manor had nothing to do with you! It was other people wrong doings, you don’t need to get depressed because of that! Even if it was true, you help far more people than a few dozen that died because of a greedy Baron!”
“A few dozen, you say… How many died, Viscount?”
“Our scouts found twenty-two bodies… Men and women, and six that were no more than twenty years old, perhaps sixteen or seventeen years. Young maids…”
Alex touched the map of his lands, right on the border with Baron Rowan lands and made a line with his finger to where it used to be the manor. He then faced Marquess Seth and Earl Marley:
“I advise you two to increase the security in your houses. Maybe the ones that took care of Baron Rowan, go after his associates. I hope they come after me first because I frustrated their plans so that I can give them a slow and very painful death… If you excuse me, I can’t be here right now, I need to go somewhere else, this room is becoming too small for me. Viscount Tom, I believe you can take care of the contract for the licence and the remaining explanations, yes?”
“I can, don’t worry. Earl Alex… Are you alright?”
Alex answered while gently pulling the hand of Anika, to make her go with him:
“No, I am feeling miserable, right now, and I am counting on this beautiful Mermaid to rise my spirits because I am feeling about to throw up.”
Alex left with Anika without even hearing Marquess Seth and Earl Marley thanking him. He quickly walked along the corridor with a silent Anika at his side. After turning to a parallel corridor, they went to the back garden and Alex went straight to the gazebo. As soon as he seated on a chair, a maid rushed to him and asked if he wished some tea. Alex nodded in silence and the maid ran to the Castle again. Anika was at his side and asked in a gentle voice:
“You don’t look so good, you are so pale… Take a deep breath, it seems what happened to that Baron made a huge toll on you.”
Alex answered after rubbing his face:
“Yes… I tend to forget that my actions are not appreciated by everyone, there are always people that don’t like the way I do things either because they are too strange and unheard of, or because they completely disagree with me. This time it was even worse, because a group that was supposed to be eradicated, could be working in the shadows against me and everything I do. I don’t like when I can’t see my enemies, I hate being unprepared, and this time, all the people that worked for Baron Rowan in his manor were killed.”
Anika gently caressed his right hand that was leaned over the table:
“It was not your fault, Alex, it was that group or someone that does their bidding. The best you can do is to be prepared if they come for you. Or don’t do a thing and let me take care of your protection. I would be ashamed if I couldn’t protect the man I love!”
“I know you are right, but I still feel somewhat responsible. Well, I can’t be depressed all day or I will ruin your mood, right? You were supposed to seduce me, and you can’t do that if I remain like this, right?”
Anika gently tapped the back of his hand:
“That’s the spirit! Well, considering that it’s still early for lunch, what do you have around her to entertain me while I take care of the seduction part?”
The maid returned with the tea and Alex spoke while waiting for the pouring of the tea in his cup:
“I don’t know, but considering you didn’t visit my facilities yet, what do you say if I take you for a tour? I was hoping that after lunch we could go visit the Capital and the Market. I want to see how my products are selling.”
“Oh, you want to go look for that little girl that was waiting for you outside the Chamber of Lords? I heard her saying that her parents worked for you in the Market and she sometimes helped them! But if you want to go there, it’s probably better if we go undercover and take with us Wenammy and Pearl. Not that I like to have them around you in my day, but they could be useful if that strange group suddenly appears, looking for you.”
Alex shrugged while taking a sip of his tea:
“I guess Wenammy and Pearl can go with us, but I would be very lucky if that group of Dark Mages came after me in the Market, now that I am aware of what they have been doing in the shadows. But hey, better safe than sorry, right? Drink your tea, we have a lot of places to visit.”
Anika spoke while kissing his fingertips:
“I am not in a hurry, we can stay here for a little while longer for me to spoil you.”
Anika whispered after taking a glance around to see if anyone could hear her:
“When do you want to return to Bouria? Because we are supposed to escort the Princess, remember?”
“Maybe tomorrow afternoon, I still need to have a meeting with Viscount Finley, Viscount Tom West and Miss Olive, about my lands and everything else, just to be sure I don’t need to make a quick decision about something. I could also take a look at my accounting books, I am not really sure how many businesses and money I have, and how many people I employ.”
“Do you think I can also attend that meeting? Probably Wenammy and Pearl should join us as well, considering our future together. It’s always good to know as much as possible about all of us, right?”
Alex nodded after a few seconds:
“You are probably right. Maybe one of you has an idea about where I can invest some money or a change that I could do in one of my businesses. I just hope none of you gets crazy about the amount of money I have, because last time I checked, it was a lot, and it seems to be increasing each day!”
“I figured that much, that you are filthy rich when I was bathing in that crate of gold coins. You don’t need to worry about me, at least. I learned how to live with little money ever since I started working as an Adventurer, and I was raised surrounded by wealth. I guess Wenammy is like me, and Pearl, well, you heard her, she doesn’t care about money. If we are going to live with you, it’s logical that we must learn about everything you have so that we can help you, and like that, you don’t need to worry about having to deal with everything all by yourself. I know that you have help, but they won’t live forever, remember? Sooner or later, you will need our help, and we should learn as much as possible with my father, Viscount Finley and the King, while they are still around.”
Alex slowly nodded while staring at his cup:
“I already lost a dear friend, someone that I used to call grandpa because he was like family. The idea of losing my father, the Viscounts or the King… I know it’s the natural course of life, but it still pains me.”
“I already lost a few friends of old age or because of Monsters. It always hurts, but time tends to ease the pain. You will live for a very long time, Alex, you will have time to deal with losses, and I will be at your side for many years, and so will Pearl and Wenammy. Shinatobe and Okami will outlive all of us, of course, so even after I am gone, you won’t be alone.”
Alex took the last gulp of his tea and frowned:
“Do you mind not talking about sad things? I am depressed already, remember?”
“Oops! Sorry, sensible subject, right? Well, what do you say if we go for a walk in the garden and after a few kisses, you take me on a visit to one of your facilities? The vineyard comes to mind, I wouldn’t say no to a taste of freshly made wine!”
Alex got up while holding the hand of the smiling Anika:
“I won’t mind that one bit! We can even start right now with the kissing part! It has been a while since you kissed me, and I am missing the touch of those soft lips of yours.”
Anika spoke while placing both arms on Alex’s shoulders:
“Oh, poor thing, I don’t want you to miss anything! Do you want a normal kiss or one with Magic?”
“As long as you don’t use your ‘Mermaid’s Voice’ to make me do something weird, you can do as you like!”
“With Magic then! A kiss while sharing Magic is always good!”
“Yeah, I came to appreciate that kind more. Weird, right?”
Anika silenced him with a deep kiss that filled his body with her Magic, making him feel as if he was swimming underwater with her. When she backed away, Alex still had his eyes closed, and it took him a while to realize where he was. She smiled and walked with him to the garden, enjoying his company and the sun on her body.
After walking in the maze of tall bushes with a lot of kissing, Alex took Anika to the vineyard. They went there by horse because it was located on the West side of his lands. He explained the process, together with the changes for making his special and very expensive wine, and after stopping in the control quality of the vineyard where they tasted a lot of sweet wine, they came out from there feeling a little dizzy. They walked in the open air for a while, trying to see if the wind and the sun helped them on clearing their thoughts.
It was almost lunchtime when they returned to the Castle, a lot dizzier than when they left. It was with their faces still red and a smile on their faces that they entered the dining room, where Pearl, Wenammy and Okami were happily chatting with the King, that asked as soon as he saw them:
“Here they are! Why the smiles? Did you two had so much fun as your faces shows?”
Alex glanced around to the smiling Nobles and their wives and explained:
“We went for a visit to my vineyard, and we tasted freshly made wine. We did drink more than we should because we are still feeling a bit dizzy. I hope everyone else had a good morning because I feel like if my morning is just starting!”
One of the Nobles spoke with a big smile on his face:
“We had a very interesting meeting with Viscount Finley and we even saw the farming equipment working. Those are quite outstanding, no wonder you are able to harvest all the fields around, Earl Alex!”
“Well, all those equipments are up for hiring, at least until all of you make their own. I also can order one of my blacksmith facilities to make them for any of you, for a reasonable price, of course. I would advise however to not let others take a look at the farming equipment, at least, not someone that is outside this fine group here. You don’t want to increase the number of rivals that could flood the market with their products, right?”
The same Noble quickly nodded:
“You do have a point, Earl Alex! But what about you? You don’t fear losing marketplace for us?”
Alex answered while pulling the chair for Anika:
“I am not worried about that, I have several other means to gain money. If needed, I can create some more. Time will tell if I need to create something new or change what I have.”
The Noble looked at him with an incredulous face:
“But… Earl Alex, the way you talk, one could be lead to think that a profitable breakthrough is as easy as just wanting to create something!”
Alex pointed with his right thumb to a big hand-draw painting at his back, depicting the scenery of a forest:
“I can perhaps start selling my drawings. Or accept requests. I think I won’t lack on buyers.”
The Noble looked at the painting with a slight smile:
“I would be the first in line, Earl Alex. For ages, I asked you to draw something for me, and you always made up some excuse. Your drawings are neck to neck with several painters in the country, and you only make yours with coal. Even like that, I tend to appreciate them more than the ones made with a lot of oil paint.”
Anika looked to the drawing at her back and asked:
“You did that, Alex? What about all those drawings in your manor? I saw Elfians, Beast-kind and Fairies in several of them! I don’t know any of the people in those drawings, but those were well-made!”