Alex answered with a big smile:
“Hard work, mostly, together with a few smaller versions of the equipment I have on my lands. I made a few drawings and the orphans made them themselves. They learned how to work with them, they stock the harvest and sell the surplus, they raise cattle and sell some calves. With all that, they also learned a trade as a farmer, a seller, or a craftsman. With enough time, they became rather good and their crops are increasing. It wasn’t like this last time I was here, it seems they are working hard.”
“That’s nice, and when an orphan reaches the age to leave the Orphanage and search for work, most of them go to your lands, and they already know how to take care of the land, the cattle, or they know a trade.”
Alex winked:
“And like that, I get myself a new worker that already knows a lot. I am also helping an Orphanage in Bouria, and little by little, they are getting this good. I know, it’s a little selfish of me, helping a bunch of orphans so that they can work for me when they get older, but some don’t go to my lands, there are a few that prefer to stay near the Orphanage and work on the several farms around.”
“I wouldn’t say selfish, maybe I would call it an investment.”
“Yeah, I like that term way better. It makes me sound like a businessman!”
James Macdonald laughed at the proud pose that Alex was doing, with his raised chin and fist against his waist.
Behind them, the Princess was looking through one window, and then she went to the other, to check the other side of the road. She returned to her seat with a frown, and her lady’s maid asked:
“What’s the matter, Princ… I mean, Miss Ebell?”
“Nothing, I just noticed that there are a lot of cropped fields, and if that building is the Orphanage, it sure means that it has Mister Alex’s hands all over. I never saw or heard about an Orphanage with so many cattle and cropped fields around. I know a few lands of Nobles that are like this, but these are not the lands of a Noble, because there are no soldiers and no commoners working on the fields.”
The maid looked at the window, and wondered if all those fields belonged indeed to the Orphanage. All her questions were answered when the carriage stopped near the building and a bunch of kids came out running, with a smiling Priest right behind them.
Alex dismounted and greeted the Priest with a hug:
“I am back, Priest, and I brought a couple of friends with me.”
“The more the merrier, Alex! Come, I have something to show you in the back garden, you will be astonished for sure!”
Alex followed the smiling Priest while holding hands to two little girls, with the other kids holding the hands of Bethany, Wenammy and Pearl.
Inside the building, Anika couldn’t help on noticing that the walls of the hall right after the main door had two handmade coal drawings of children smiling, and as they went along the main corridor and across the dining room, all of the walls had similar handmade drawings, depicting children, farm animals, and sceneries of cropped fields.
As the Priest was opening the back door, he smiled and waited for Alex to be the first to walk through. He froze with the sight outside, and the others bumped against him. Alex was pushed to the backyard by his puzzled group, and everyone froze as he was, upon festering their eyes on the image ahead.
A huge field with planted lines separated by one meter of empty space. Lines of cabbages, carrots, onions, and cucumbers almost ready to harvest. Along the empty spaces of the planted lines there were canals, delivering water to the vegetables with barefoot younger children walking along it, taking out the weeds that were near the vegetables. There were also older children at the edge of the field at three meters to the right of Alex that were choosing the vegetables that were ready to be harvested, and placing them in an open wagon. Alex pointed at the wagon with his mouth half open, and the Priest explained:
“They are filling that wagon to be sent to the City Market, to sell. Since last week, they are filling a wagon every morning, and it sells out on the same day.”
Before Alex or anyone else could say a thing, Alex heard a familiar voice shouting from his left:
“That’s good, everyone! Don’t forget the carrots! Annie, don’t touch the poison ivy, okay? Let the kids with gloves take them out!”
Alex faced the young girl and spoke:
“No way! You are here as well?”
The young girl dressed in a pretty light yellow dress turned back and made a big smile, that she quickly changed to a frown:
“That’s no way to address me, Mister Alex Brim! Mind the etiquette!”
Alex took two steps forward and made a deep bow:
“Viscountess Annie Stone, it is truly a pleasure to see you again. How are you, Milady?”
The young girl made a deep bow with a smile and answered:
“I am well, Mister Alex. I am glad to see you in good health and with all your limbs still attached, considering your dangerous line of work. Such a huge group you have there. You were hired by them?”
“Yes, I am doing an escort Quest. Let me introduce to you Princess Ebell Houghton from ‘The Republic of Beliersia’. The Princess is going to marry Prince James Scott, and in due time, become the next Queen of Bouria.”
Viscountess Annie Stone opened wide her eyes but quickly recovered and made a deep bow:
“It is a pleasure meeting you, Princess Ebell, and let me be the first to welcome you to my fine country.”
The Princess returned the bow while puzzled by why Alex revealed her cover like that:
“The pleasure is mine, Viscountess Annie.”
Alex noticed the puzzled look of Viscountess Annie Stone and made a slight smile:
“I know what you are wondering, but I seriously doubt Prince James will be stupid enough to annoy me. Not after the scolding his father gave him last time we met. Besides, I am going to deliver his soon wife-to-be, no way he will take that opportunity to arrest me!”
Everyone was surprised by Alex’s words, except the Priest and the Viscountess that were smiling. She asked while glancing at the puzzled Princess:
“You told them what happened? Judging by their surprise, you didn’t, right? Can I tell them? I love to tell that story!”
Alex shrugged and Viscountess Annie explained:
“When I was six, a Magical Void appeared near my parent’s house. The horde of Goblins that came from there killed my entire family, the servants and the maids. I survived because my mother hid me in the basement, and she then ran while shouting to make the Goblins go after her, sacrificing herself for me. A Baron was put in charge of my lands by the King, but instead of taking care of me as well, he sent me to this Orphanage, so that no one knew that I was still alive. At that time, I thought it was to protect me.”
The Princess blinked a few times:
“That’s awful!”
“Sad indeed, but it gets better. There were still people in my lands that remembered me, and I had a faithful servant that followed me here, and was always sending me news about my lands and what that Baron was doing, over the years that I lived here. When Mister Alex first came to this Orphanage for a visit, I was already fifteen years old, and I told him my story. I hired him as my bodyguard for the huge amount of a kiss and a hug so that I could return to my lands, taking the lucky moment that the Baron went to the Capital for a party in the Bouria Castle. When he returned, I was waiting for him, seated on my father’s chair in the main meeting room, in a beautiful dress that Mister Alex bought for me with him at my side, fully equipped and combat ready.”
The Princess made a slight smile:
“Let me guess, the Baron underestimated him, right?”
“Totally! His guards were sent flying, and I ordered him to return to his lands, because I was taking over of what was originally mine! And here comes the best part. The Baron ran, but for the Capital, where he complained to the King. Prince James came with a platoon of Royal Guards, and I received him in my house with Mister Alex, Shinatobe and Okami. Needless to said that my servants had some trouble cleaning the blood from the floor and the walls, because despite not killing anyone, there were severed limbs scattered everywhere! Mister Alex went with a hidden Shinatobe and a scared Prince James to the Capital with his wounded Royal Guards and left the arms and legs for me and Okami to dispose of!”
Princess Ebell was all smiles:
“That’s so him! What happened in the Bouria Castle?”
“He was taken to the Royal Court with enough Guards to stop him in case of need, but they didn’t dare to approach him. He made a deep bow and slowly took a letter from his vest, it was an introduction letter from King Otto Houghton. One Minister took the letter but instead of delivering it to King Zack Scott, he began opening it. Mister Alex immediately took two daggers that were hidden in his sleeves and said ‘King Otto ordered me to deliver that letter to King Zack only! Anyone that tried to take that letter or intercept it before it reached the King, would be an enemy of the alliance and I had to dispose of him immediately!’. The Minister almost pissed his pants! He slowly closed the letter and gave it to the King, trembling all over.”
The Princess had her eyes wide open:
“What was written in that letter?”
“Something that made the King to turn pale, and he then burned the letter with his Magic. He made a slight bow to Mister Alex and apologized for the rude behaviour of his son and the greedy Baron that would be dealt with as soon as possible. The Baron was immediately arrested, his lands were given to me, and the Prince got the scolding of his life in front of the entire court and an expressionless Mister Alex! I was then summoned to the Castle, the King apologized to me, the Prince asked for my forgiveness, and I got a bunch of new lands! I used what I learned in this Orphanage and now, almost one year later, my lands are the most productive of the entire Kingdom! I am always receiving Nobles that want to introduce their sons to me, so that I can choose a spouse! Not bad for a sixteen-year-old orphan, right?”
Princess Ebell vigorously nodded:
“Indeed! But what are you doing here? You don’t have your lands to take care of?”
“I do, but I am often here, teaching the young kids on how to tend a field. Some of the older ones go to my lands to live when they reach adulthood. That open wagon was one of mines, but I don’t need it, I have way too many because that Baron had a huge fleet of carriages, wagons, horses and cattle! I now have an army that used to work for that Baron! Can you imagine? And all thanks to Mister Alex, that believed in me. I am still wondering what was on that letter that scared the King so much, but he never told me.”
Alex winked to the puzzled Viscountess:
“It was just an introduction of King Otto together with my real identity. I suppose it was a shock to King Zack, he didn’t seem like he was expecting me to appear in front of him like I did. What about if we went inside? I still didn’t introduce the others, and I want to know what happened around here, since the last time I visited.”