Vanessa hummed happily as she held onto her beloved’s arm. She never thought in her wildest dreams that her life would be as fulfilling as it was currently. After she lost her parents and was left alone with her little brother, she tried so hard every day just to survive.

For two whole years, she toiled away every single day, just to get enough to eat for the both of them. She would have long given up if not for little Alex. She was thankful for his existence, a reason for her to keep living.

One day, out of the blue, a young man came to live near them. He was friendly. He got along with Alex very well, who was a very cheerful child despite having no reason to be.

The life of the siblings took a turn for the better. They had enough to eat. Spare time to take care of themselves better. Sometimes, Vanessa doubted if the young man called Kyle had some kind of ulterior motive for helping them so much. She honestly did not care if he did. She was thankful that Alex was able to live a good life. It wasn’t as if she had anything desirable.

Was it her body? No, it was too thin, and she was by no means a beauty. At least she didn’t think so. She had no valuable possessions for someone to covet either. As time passed, Vanessa simply gave up speculating. She was merely thankful for Kyle to come into their lives.

If he wished for her body, she would not hesitate. Of course, the surroundings whispered rumours, none of which should have been used for a young orphan teenage girl. They said behind her back that she was sweet talking and manipulating Kyle. It gripped her fragile heart every time she heard it.

It turned out that Kyle was aware of the rumours and her thoughts. He simply laughed it off, telling her not to mind them.

She wondered if she was in a very long and pleasant dream as Kyle led her to another merchant company, a different one from the Goldberg Company. If it was, she wished to never wake up from it.

“Why did we come to a different merchant, dear?”

“Well…there could be…complications, if we were to leave too much detail in one spot. Not everyone play by the rules, my wife. Hopefully, there won’t be a day when you’ll have to learn it firsthand.”

Kyle’s cryptic answer left her puzzled and pondering upon its meaning.

‘Oh well, it’s too complicated for someone like to me understand.’

The process of purchase was rather simple. There were limited properties available within their budget and requirements. There was only two houses that fit the bill and a staff member employed a horse drawn carriage to take them to see the properties right away.

After negotiating for some simple maintenance to be done before moving in, they signed the mana contract together. Placing the ownership of the property under both their names.

Kyle used the left-over funds to buy some needed furniture for the house, as well as many household items essential for daily life.

“Thank you very much for your business Mr and Mrs Kyle. The house will be ready in three days. I will send a messenger to your inn on the day.”

Kyle shook hands with the merchant and left behind the company.

“That took so long!”

“Are you hungry dear? I’m keen for a bath personally. We haven’t had a good wash since we left Evergreen city.”

Kyle smiled upon Vanessa’s comment.

‘You didn’t mention anything about a bath when you were shopping this morning!’

Of course, he didn’t dare to say it out loud. He may be a god but he was still afraid of his (future) wife!

***

Martin Goldberg, the chairman of Goldberg Company, read the parchment brought by ‘gold one’. The following words written in large letters on the parchment.

“This is the first and last warning. Try a second time and you will wish that you were never born in this world.”

The words aggressive yet somehow convincing.

“Tell me, what kind of a mage could write words in mana and not have it dissipate like this?”

The silent man standing before Martin took a few moments to think before replying. “A master class mage at the very least.” His answer short and concise, offering no explanation.

Martin Goldberg rubbed his temples and let out a defeated sigh. “Take no further action. What happened to the contracted thief?”

“Conscious, but will not answer to anything or anyone. Cut off a finger, no response.”

“Great…just great…take care of it. Leave no traces.” Martin regretted following through upon receiving the report from one of his subordinates.

The silent man left the room without a word. Martin Goldberg pondered whether he should kidnap the girl that was with the man.

‘Forget it. If the man is that strong, then the girl is probably not simple.’

***

Alex returned to his room after a tiring training session. Michael followed behind, resembling a zombie. The two’s relationship had improved much over the past four months.

Michael would reply properly to Alex, albeit snappily at times. One time, Alex called him Mikey during a sparring session and got into a very big fight. Amelia laughed so hard upon the sight.

Alex smiled a little upon recalling the memory. He went over to his bed and face dived on the soft mattress. Michael wordlessly walked into the bathroom. It was their schedule almost everyday after a training session. Michael would take a shower first, Alex taking his after. They both napped for two hours before heading off to dinner, joined by Amelia and Susie.

Alex and Michael hanged out with the two girls at almost every lunch and dinner. Despite the academy not differentiating between social classes, it was a hard habit that would take years for anyone to change. They had almost no other friends, since their group was an odd mixture of nobility and commoners.

After, cleaning up in the bathroom, Alex lied back on his bed. He thought of his Big Sis and Kyle. He missed them very much. Alex tried to put up a cheerful image to everyone. But he hid his sadness deep down inside. He did so when his parents passed away to comfort his sister.

He no longer had to put up a front when Kyle intruded in their lives. He was truly happy and cheerful during those times. Right now, he could do nothing but write letters to his family once a month. The separation brought back the gloominess in his heart.

‘It’s about time to write this month’s letter isn’t it.’

His gaze wondered over to his desk, not far from his bedside. Oddly enough, there was a letter present.

‘I don’t remember having this there this morning.’

Alex got up and grabbed the neatly folded letter. Opening it upon finding that it was addressed to him.

A smile formed on his face as he scanned the letter. Turning into laughter as he finished reading the contents.

“Hahaha, Michael guess what!”

“I don’t care! Be quiet, I want to sleep!”

Michael’s outburst put a damper on things as Alex thought he could just tell the rest of his friends over dinner. He kept smiling as he folded the letter and placed it in a small box on the desk.

Alex attempted to sleep but he was far too excited and kept a goofy grin on his face which lasted until he got to the mess hall.

“Hey, the two of you. Do something about this idiot. Keep grinning like this and I’m going to request a change of room from the headmaster.” Michael shot a glare at Alex as they sat down.

“Aww, c’mon Mikey, don’t be a meanie! Alex would probably stop after realizing how silly he looks. Susie, do you have a mirror on you?”

‘And you call ME a meanie’ Thought Michael.

“Sorry…I don’t…Alex is probably happy because something good happened. Why don’t we ask him?”

“Alex, tell us what happened. C’mon, stopping day dreaming and tell us!” Amelia, having sat next to Alex, shook his arm until he snapped out of his dream. ‘So cute!’ He thought as he looked at Amelia.

“Hehehe, my Big Sis and brother in law came to see me! I can finally meet my sister after so long!” Alex laughed and told them the news.

“Hmph! Siscon!” Michael muttered as he attempted to ignore Alex. It was not the first time he’d heard Alex talk about his sister.

“Wow! I’m so happy for you Alex!” Amelia hugged Alex before declaring something shocking.

“I know! Let’s meet your sister and brother in law! It’ll be fun. Imagine how shocked they’ll be! Hehe!”