Chapitre 52: Concerns among friends
Early the next day, while Sian, Illianna and the three new helpers were working on the construction, Francionia along with Tina arrived there. Judging by how downcast Tina looked, Sian surmised that something bad seemed to have happened and when Sian went to question, before he even opened his mouth, they both bowed to him.
"Sorry, I forgot to pick up the basket you gave me when I fell and lost it..." Tina mumbled sadly.
"No problem." Sian said carefreely. "I can give you another one."
"But... But I also lost the gold coin..." Tina spoke in a shaky voice, looking like she would start crying at any moment. "I didn't want to lose, I really didn't!"
"I know you didn't want to." Sian put his hand on her head. "You were just too worried about your mother and ended up forgetting. That's all, you don't have to worry, I'm not mad. You two can hold your heads up high."
Giving Sian an apologetic look, Francionia bowed slightly again. "When she remembered, we went to look, but the waste collector had already cleaned it all up, I really apologize."
Sian put his hand on her shoulder and stopped her from continuing to bow. "What's up with that, we're friends, you don't need to apologize."
"I know, but that was over ten years ago-"
"To be more specific, it's been 15 years, but I don't think that matters. You were and always will be someone important to me." Turning to Tina, he continued. "The same goes for you too."
"But we live in different worlds now, Tina told me you're a Duke..." With a brief pause, she continued. "I don't want to take advantage of your kindness and suck your money."
"You're not taking advantage of me, real friends are for that, we always help each other in times of need."
"But-"
"Ahem!" Illianna interrupted. "I have a feeling that if I let, you two are going to keep this up for a long time, so I'll be blunt. A gold coin or that basket is nothing to him, so you shouldn't worry."
Remembering that both had not been properly introduced before, Sian said. "I forgot to introduce her yesterday, her name is Illianna Martinez."
Taking a few steps back and dragging Tina with her, Francionia looked apprehensive. "Martinez? Are you Duke Marianno Martinez's daughter?"
"Marianno?" Sian was confused upon hearing the unfamiliar name.
"My father." Illianna answered.
"Oh! I'd always heard Duque Martinez, but I'd never heard his first name." Seeing the fear in Francionia's eyes and Illianna making facepalm, Sian belatedly remembered the fact that Illianna was the daughter of the man who ruined his and the orphanage children's lives. Even if it meant nothing else to him, to Francionia, that certainly didn't seem to be the case.
"Since Little Sian is a Duke, it's obvious that he would marry one's daughter, but to be that man's daughter..." she seemed to mutter to herself while having a disappointed expression.
Worried about the situation, Sian wanted to clear things up, but Illianna took the lead. "You don't need to worry, we're not a couple or anything like that, we're just friends. Besides, I didn't like my father either, and to our happiness, your little Sian has already gotten rid of him and even taken the Duke position from him."
"Gotten rid of him?" Francionia asked instinctively.
"I sent him to heaven." Sian replied.
"He meant hell." Illianna corrected.
"Anyway, you no longer have to worry about him doing bad things or Illianna." Sian said. "I believe she's telling the truth when she says she did not like her father."
"I do not like to brag by it, but he hit me a lot." Illianna confirmed. "Our relationship was pretty thorny. He always scolded and beat me constantly for not following his orders."
After spending some more time talking to Francionia, Sian and Illianna managed to calm her down. Having finally understood the situation, she was about to say goodbye, but Sian interrupted her.
"Aren't you staying for breakfast?"
"I have a lot of work to do, but I hope you don't mind if Tina stays. She told me that you had invited her to have coffee with you every day."
"Don't worry about work, from today on, I'll be supporting you and Tina, so you can stay for breakfast too."
"You have a family now, I don't want to be a nuisance."
"You haven't really changed at all, although you always want to help people close to you, you don't like being a nuisance to them. But let me make something clear, you are not a nuisance! You have always been like a big sister to me and always helped me when I needed it. So now it's my turn to help you!" Sian looked steadily at her. "And although I don't want to brag, it's like Illianna said, I have money to spare, so I can easily do that."
When Francionia who kept a hesitant face was about to speak again, Illianna interrupted.
"Even though I haven't known you long, I feel like I can understand what you're thinking. You don't want to quit your job because if you do, you'll leave all your and your daughter's expenses to Sian, isn't it?"
"The help he gives Tina is enough." Francionia affirmed. "I do not want to overwhelm him, so I have to try doing what I can."
"Well, guess what, this construction will cost it at least 90,000 gold coins."
"What?!" Francionia and Tina screamed in surprise.
"Yeah, that's a huge amount, and it still didn't reach the bottom of his pockets. When the hotel is built, besides him getting a great return, he'll have plenty of room for you two to live in."
While Francionia was still recovering from the shock, Illianna continued.
"The surprise doesn't end there, he is a powerful mage and has close relations with the king of Hosnein. I'm sure accepting his help won't affect him at all and will still make him happy to be able to help someone precious to him."
Receiving a look from Francionia, who seemed to be seeking confirmation, he nodded.
"Looks like little Sian has turned into someone very important." With her eyes filling with tears, she continued. "I'm so happy you were able to fulfill another one of your dreams."
After being persuaded to stay for breakfast, Francionia went with Tina to a tree, where they stood watching Sian and Illianna work until Ophilia and Emily arrived.
Having prepared a table and benches as the day before, Sian quickly served breakfast. Since the construction schedule was delayed due to unexpected events, he served bacon, cheese and egg sandwiches he had prepared before leaving the inn.
Taking the last bite of her sandwich, Tina said. "That was even better than yesterday's!"
"I agree with her, but this time the credit doesn't go to your cooking skills, the ingredients were simply too good, especially the cheese." Illianna said.
"Of course the ingredients would be good, they're all products of my land." He said proudly. "By the way, the secret to that cheese is infernal cow's milk."
"Infernal cow?!!" Ophilia and Francionia shouted out in surprise.
With a skeptical expression, Illianna asked. "Have you managed to tame these plagues?"
"That's right." Sian puffed out his chest. "It may seem hard to believe, but I have a creation of infernal cows."
"These cows are extremely territorial and violent plagues, the fact that they only walk in packs makes them difficult creatures to deal with, how did you manage to do that?"
"Even I didn't expect to be able to tame them, the way that happened was pretty funny." Sian said.
"Wait." Illianna seemed to have realized something. "For all I know, you don't even visit your duchy regularly, or rather, since how long have you had an infernal cow creation there? I've never heard of that."
"By my land, I am not referring to the duchy, it is another place." Sian replied. "When we finish building the hotel, I'll take all of you there to see the cows."
"Did you receive a noble title from another kingdom?" Illianna asked.
"No, it's just a simple land that wasn't part of any kingdom." Answering, Sian continued. "So now let's start the magic class."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone