CH 51

Chapter 51 

Essellia was reminded when Carlisle told her that she was too worried to understand. There was no reason to be angry with her husband. She knew very well that Carlisle did not have any humanity in him, and it would be even more frightening if Carlisle were to pay attention to the children. 

“Will Alexa be okay without any memory of this?” asked Essellia again. 

“Yes. However, she may have lost her memory as a result of the shock, but I believe it was caused by a drug.” 

“Are there any drugs that can be the cause of memory loss?” 

“It’s not easy [making], but it is possible.” 

Essellia nodded her head. “I understand.” 

“If you need help…” 

Essellia laughed suddenly. Karrolf, who thought highly of himself, extended his hand to her first. From the look on his face, she didn’t have to ask who he was worried about. 

“Please take good care of Alexa in the future. From what I heard from the Head Maid, she seems very interested in learning.” 

“She’s better than anyone else. If you teach that child one thing, she will learn ten more.” Karrolf replied with a very proud look on his face. 

And Essellia didn’t deny it: “Our Alexa is smart for sure.” In fact, she even repeated it. 

Anyway, the three children are doing well. Alexa, Terrun and Ysildus will be the ones to lead Thersion later. Regardless of the form. 

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

Alexa returned to her everyday life. Even though she had some convictions, she didn’t have any proof, so she couldn’t ask Selina about that night. What could she ask her, she had even lost her memory of that night. Watching Selina with bated breath was all she could do now. In retrospect, someone was out to do Alexa harm. 

Tadadadadada – 

Tadadadada – 

Ysildus was in a good mood today and ran energetically around Alexa’s bedroom. He hit the headboard, jumped over the bed, ran back to the door and then back again. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Terrun asked with a confused face. He was lying quietly on the ground when Ysildus kicked him mercilessly.  

“Ysu, stop running!” 

Ysildus panted and ran towards Alexa. Seeing Ysildus, Alexa seemed to understand why Ysildus was in such a good mood. His pure white fur on his snout was pale yellow. 

Alexa picked Ysildus up at once. The fact that his belly was bulging meant that he had secretly eaten something. 

“Ysu, what did you eat again?!” 

“Arf!!” 

Ysildus tilted his head with an innocent look in his eyes. His pink, chubby belly swayed in the air. 

And at that moment, “Where did all the pumpkin porridge go?” 

Robbed of the pumpkin porridge to be served for lunch, the cook sighed. Is there anyone else in this mansion who would do this but Ysildus? He sneaked into the kitchen, made a mess like a weasel and left. 

Soon Terrun and Alexa appeared in the kitchen with Ysildus beside them. 

“Hello, Chef,” Alexa greeted with a long face. 

The chef laughed dejectedly, “It’s been a while, Alexa.” 

“Can you tell me what is missing in the kitchen? I think Ysildus must have caused trouble again…” 

“A pot of pumpkin porridge is missing, but I guess….” 

Alexa breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, pumpkin was something he could eat. 

Alexa could only shake her head and say, “I’m sorry, Chef. I didn’t know it was going to happen while I was asleep.” 

“It’s all right. It’s not like Lord Ysildus wasn’t Lord of this castle for a day or two.” 

The cook said. Alexa tapped Ysildus’ nose with her index finger. 

“You ought to be spanked!” 

Then Alexa gave him a slap on his fat butt with the palm of her hand. Ysildus stared at Alexa as if he had been betrayed after a millennium. His eyes widened and his lips parted slightly. Seeing this, the cook laughed inside. If it was in the past, he could only grumble to himself, but now there’s Alexa. This means Alexa was riding on top of the jumping Ysildus. 

No matter what trouble Ysildus made now, there would be someone to calmly tell him off. That alone calmed the cook’s heart. Rather than saying nothing, it was better to say something now and let [Ysildus] get hit! 

“Ysu, I told you that you’d be a bad dog if you did that! Did I say you could eat other people’s food? You ate that, didn’t you?” 

Ysildus twisted his body out of Terrun’s grip, but Terrun refused to let go at Alexa’s request. 

“Kiiiing, kiiiiiing -” 

Playing pitiful, Ysildus tried to scratch Terrun, but it did not help. 

“If you continue to make trouble like this, I will lock you up on your own!” Alexa threatened one last time. 

“Kiing!” 

Ysildus protested, but it didn’t work. He had only been quiet for a moment, but he was soon back to making trouble again. Alexa sighed as she patted the pink-bellied piggy’s head. 

“Let’s go now, Terrun. Let Ysildus go.” 

Released by Terrun, Ysildus pressed his body to the ground and wagged his tail gently. It was a sign of obedience to Alexa. The servants of the Grand Duke’s family were, of course, in tears at the sight of this scene. 

‘Alexa…!’ 

Alexa was their salvation, their light and salt. An existence that is an absolutely indispensable part of the Grand Duke’s family! 

(T/N: The Raw says ‘salt’. When you cook food, salt is something we use to make the food more ‘palatable’. In a sense, Alexa is a ‘salt’ that can make Ysildus ‘better’. Or in another sense, salt is considered a terrifying weapon against ghosts. Remember how Visten says that Ysildus is an ‘abominable creature’? Just as salt can make ghosts disappear, Alexa is the ‘salt’ that makes Ysildus’ bad behavior disappear/scolds him for his naughtiness. It can also mean that Alexa is an attractive person, according to Urban Dictionary [when used as slang]. 

I only know a little about what it means to call someone “salt”. If you know something, you can share it in the comments section ^^)

∘₊✧──────✧₊∘

After a while, Visten called Alexa. If there was a difference, it was that the real owner of the office was also there. 

“How are you, Alexa?” Visten asked with a worried face after hearing about Alexa’s mishap. 

“I’m fine, Baron! How about you?” 

“Ahem, I’m fine too.” 

Visten, back from his second fiery honeymoon, shyly scratched his cheek. Visten quickly turned around. 

“This is why I called you today, Alexa.” 

Visten spread out the map of the Temperchi Empire on the table. Alexa stared at it with a puzzled expression. 

“What is this?” 

“All remnants of the rebellion were wiped out. As a result, the Emperor gave the Thersion Knights permission to stay there to ensure the stability of the capital.” 

Unconsciously, Alexa made a questioning face. If the Emperor’s personality was the same as the one Alexa knew, he would be sick to his stomach right now. For he was a person who saw Thersion as a thorn in his side. 

“Think about it… 

It looks like she will meet the Ninth Prince soon. 

Visten called out to Alexa, who was thinking about something else, “Alexa, the Emperor gave us a mansion in the capital. 

The [human] emperors had been very reluctant to allow Thersion to even set foot in the capital. So this was the first time that Thersion had established a foothold in the capital. 

That changed too. Alexa made a mental note of it.

“And the Emperor also gave us the confiscated lands of the traitors to honor Thersion’s achievements. Alexa, where do you think we could benefit?” 

Ah, so that was the reason he called me. 

“Just a moment.” 

Alexa thought slowly. Duke Duffels belonged to the bloodline of the former Emperor. He was a descendant of the Duke who had married the Imperial Princess. Duke Duffels was able to raise funds for treason not only from the money brought by his followers, but also from the production capacity of his territory. 

“Right here. I think this is the best place.” 

Alexa pointed to the land to the west of Duke Duffel’s estates, which was said to be the most barren of his estates. No crops grew there, and only a few people lived there. Still, Visten believes in Alexa’s decision. It was Carlisle who asked her a question, watching the scene with interest.

“Why do you think this is the best place?” 

“Duke Duffels must have prepared a double ledger. He needs at least one of those things to raise money.” 

(T/N: Double-entry bookkeeping is used for tax evasion.)

Carlisle rubbed his chin. For there was definitely a double-entry book among the items found in the Duke Duffels’ house. 

“This double-entry book should have the profits from this place. Even though the Duke Duffels had covered this place up, there is a diamond mine here.” 

There is one truth that won’t change even if time does, and that is the price of diamonds. The highest quality diamonds, the ones that reflect more light, are more expensive. And in the estate owned by Duke Duffels, they mine those kinds of diamonds. 

Visten looked at Alexa with a face full of emotion. “Did you also know that there is a diamond in Thersion?” 

“What?” 

Alexa’s eyes widened at his sudden question. 

Visten replied, “The diamond of Thersion is you, Alexa! You are so dazzling, I couldn’t even stare at you!” 

Alexa’s cheeks blushed at Visten’s funny comment. Carlisle stared at Alexa with a curious look on his face. He had just confirmed with his two eyes what Visten had told him. 

Indeed, it was clear that there was something about Alexa. It was impossible for a mere 16-year-old to know about the background of the great aristocrats. Especially considering the fact that Alexa was a commoner and wasn’t someone who was trained to be an heir.