章節 14: Nedda Aerilon
"You are too calm, like a cloud that can secretly bring a storm."
Roxana stirred the jasmine tea in the cup, her ocean eyes glancing toward the black clouds that covered the sky in Aerilon City. Roxana's demeanor was so calm that Damian thought she was not human.
"I've lived through hell five times." Roxana narrowed her eyes as the memories started to spin inside her head. "That's why some bad rumors can't hurt me anymore."
Many pains and sorrows had repeatedly hit Roxana in her five lives. She, who used to cry in fear every time the bitterness of the world confronted her, now only looked at the rotten world with her empty gaze.
"Come back here." Roxana sipped her tea once, then looked at Countess Aerilon's carriage that had just entered the courtyard of the Aerilon Family residence. "My aunt has returned home."
"Yes, My Lady."
The Countess of Aerilon—Nelda Aerilon—was Camila's older sister. After the news of the burning Oberon mansion, Nedda immediately came to Oberon to pick up Roxana and take her to her residence.
Nedda let Roxana stay in Aerilon for as long as she wanted and even told Roxana that she wouldn't mind if her niece wanted to stay in Aerilon forever.
When she heard that, Roxana could only smile and say nothing, since her first life, Nedda was the only family member who really cared about her niece equally.
She was also the one who suspected Black Tower because Izekiel always forbade her from seeing Roxana, although she had repeatedly begged Izekiel to let her meet her niece.
Unfortunately, the people who suspected Black Tower never had a pleasant fate.
A year after her marriage to Iezekiel, Roxana heard the bad news that Nedda died when her carriage fell into a ravine.
Her dead case didn't make sense because the path Nedda was supposed to take didn't go through a ravine, but since Iezekiel had a significant influence on Vithia, he managed to close the case quickly.
Even in Roxana's second and third lives, Nedda also died in different ways because she was trying to save Roxana. Therefore, in her fourth and fifth lives, Roxana did not want to see Nedda at all for fear of the same thing happening again.
Unfortunately, she had to meet Nedda again in this life.
"Ana, can I come in?" Nedda's gentle voice came from outside the door.
Roxana placed her cup on the table and said, "Yes, you may come in."
After hearing Roxana's answer, the servant outside the room opened the door for the countess. Roxana stood up from her chair and walked over to Nedda.
At the doorway, she saw that Nedda was still wearing her formal attire of a fringed dress decorated with a golden sash. Her curled white hair was adorned with pearls that seemed to glitter in the light.
The Countess of Aerilon's face, which still looked beautiful despite being almost half a century old, made her appearance elegant and attractive.
"Welcome home, Countess," Roxana greeted as she bowed her back in a curtsy. Her blue eyes peered at the golden-colored iguana perched on Nedda's shoulder.
Nedda's eyes rounded briefly, and she blinked several times after seeing Roxana's overly formal attitude toward her. "Oh, dear, don't address me like that. You can call me Aunt Nedda, or it's fine to call me by my name."
Roxana smiled. Even after repeating her sixth life, Nedda still said the exact words if Roxana used the formal address to her.
"It's not appropriate for me to address you like that, Milady," Roxana refused politely.
Nedda waved her hand, then sat on the couch. "Don't be too polite to your family, Ana."
Roxana could only remain silent when she heard Nedda's words. Although Nedda and Camila were sisters, their behavior was completely opposite. While Nedda would always ask Roxana to be easy-going with her, Camila would get angry when Roxana was being a little rude to her.
"Let's drink some tea. I'm a bit stressed after meeting so many nobles." Nedda ordered her servant to bring the full afternoon tea to Roxana's room. "The nobles always have special preferences that make things difficult, so they often give me a headache. I'd rather serve the commoners than them."
Roxana chuckled. "But you must be gaining a lot of profit from them, right?"
When Roxana brought up money, Nedda's expression turned brighter. She even smiled widely and spoke enthusiastically. "Yes! Although they give me a headache, at least I can always get a high selling price from them."
"What kind of magical beast did you sell today?" asked Roxana.
Just like Oberon, who had the magic ability of the sacred fire, the Aerilon's descendants were also blessed with magic that allowed them to talk to magical beasts and tame them.
With this ability, the Aerilon family had a business of trading magical beasts that were commonly bought by nobles and knights. Besides being pets, their masters could also train certain magical beasts so they could protect their masters.
Unfortunately, not all of Aerilon's descendants inherited this remarkable ability. Of the five Aerilon siblings, only Nedda could tame and speak with magical beasts. Because of this, she became the head of Aerilon and held the title of the Countess of Aerilon.
Sometimes, Roxana thought that it was such an irony. Her mother, Camila, often looked down on her because her fire magic was not as strong as the other Oberons, but Camila was not blessed with great magical abilities in her family either.
Roxana's thoughts were interrupted when she heard Nedda say, "There are at least ten magical beasts I'm selling today. However, there is one magical beast that become the big star today."
Nedda clapped her hands once. "It was a golden eagle. It became the big star because every feather on its body was made of glimmering gold. Therefore, the gold eagle always becomes the symbol of prosperity."
"Do you know how much it is?" asked Nedda.
Roxana shook her head, so Nedda answered her own question. "It cost five million gori! Can you imagine it? Oh dear, with that much money, I should be able to buy many luxurious things for the children at the orphanage."
Roxana took a sip of the black tea that the waiter had just poured. Her eyes watched Nedda, who was talking about the list of luxury clothing brands she would soon buy for the children in the orphanage.
She didn't even think of buying luxury items for herself and preferred to think of her people.
"But can you guess who bought the golden eagle?" Nedda asked enthusiastically as if she expected Roxana to guess it right.
Roxana put down her teacup, then replied, "He must be a wealthy nobleman."
Nedda laughed. "He is indeed wealthy, but his position is higher than nobles."
Roxana's body instantly stiffened, and she straightened her back. "Is that His Majesty the King?"
"No, he's not." Nedda waved her hand, then smiled as she replied, "The one who bought the golden eagle is His Holiness the Grand Wizard."
• • • • • • • • • •
Zena's Note:
Gori is the currency of the Kingdom of Vithia which is estimated to be similar in price to the dollar.
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