Chapter 645 - Exposed (10) - Ethan's POV

"You can't do anything with ten billion Aris," Rika angrily shouted.

Ten billion Aris wasn't a small sum of money. Unlike what I ȧssumed, Luke and Alex treated Rika pretty decently. On the other hand, Rika enslaved them to work, harsher than the way she treated me and Charles. She leisurely enjoyed her cake while yelling at them to increase their pace. I was surprised when both Luke and Alex went along with her. Both of them didn't complain, working hard to supply her with what she needed.

Although Luke did control her surroundings and what she could do, most of them were reasonable. The plates he ordered for her were restaurant quality level, better than the ones that came from the cafeteria. They had to be using the latest robots, making me eat more than normal. It was impressive to the point they met the standards of hosting their own event, reminding me of the hard distribution channels I spent time on for my event for social week.

However, Rika didn't seem to be interested in the food in general. She ate the food that Luke sliced for her like she was being tortured. The portions Luke gave her were tiny, bȧrėly considered to be a snack. But she took the longest time to eat, making others wait for her to finish. The only times she was willing to eat were when the desserts came out. Her face would instantly brighten as she turned to Luke to ask for second servings.

Her normal set of clothing and accessories weren't cheap when I entered her closet from searching for Alex. Alex's family owned this impressive mansion, the guest bedroom given to me to use to be nearly as good as the bedroom in my favourite mansion. I have rarely seen Rika out of her uniform. But the rooms dedicated for her were dazzling, making me confused if this place wasn't the Roselia family mansion.

It was similar to the individual closets of Alex and Luke as he gave me a tour so I could borrow their clothes if I needed them. The Roselia family seemed to be closer to the Monete family than the rumors about them. They provided everything that Rika could possibly need, showing she was a clear part of their family. It made me think Rika didn't need those presents from us, already possessing better things.

"At least increase the budget to five hundred billion Aris!" Rika spat out absurd numbers.

"You're making me take those lessons in addition to the normal ones," she tried to convince them.

"Two hundred billion is the furthest we can go," Luke spoiled Rika.

I was shocked by both Luke and Alex letting Rika use most of their allowance. I could never do this for Flora. But it still didn't make sense. If the Roselia family possessed that much wealth, how could Rika's bank account be this empty? Once Rika fell asleep in Luke's ŀȧp, exhausted from her lessons, I asked, "does your family not give Rika any allowance?"

"Most of her money is converted into the fairy currency. I handle the rest since she's not ready to manage the ȧssets on her own," Luke stroked her hair.

"She doesn't touch any of it anyways. As soon as there's more money in her account, she converts it," Alex added.

Both of them didn't give Rika the chance to use the money in the first place. Anything that they didn't approve of were burnt and confiscated. I didn't know whether to pity Rika anymore, watching them for the last few days. The three of them were in a world of their own and when Charles managed to join them, he was tortured under the three of them. The way they behaved inside the clubroom only scratched the surface of their relationship together.

When I visited my parents the next weekend to get rid of those hideous herbs and elixirs, I was shocked to be unexpectedly praised by my strict parents. I thought I would get scolded for ruining one of my events and my lack of presence during social week. I could have never predicted those worthless items would replace my family's heirloom. I only managed to successfully synthesize a few products from them.

"These are priceless. There isn't a value to them. You've done well," my father took my herbs from me.

"These pieces of gras- , I mean herbs can't be priced?" I recalled the overflowing numbers.

"No one is willing to sell them. They appear once every ten thousand years," he couldn't stop staring at them.

"Where did you manage to source them from?" He was impressed.

"My friend gave them to me as payment for the mansion and its land," I sold one of my ȧssets.

"I don't recall one of my connections possessing these," he tried to guess my friend's identity.

"The fiancée to the heir to the Roselia family," I revealed my childhood friend.

"Make sure to maintain your relationship with her. The Roselia family tries to keep her existence hidden. I bȧrėly have any information about her on my end, they're extremely protective of her," my father patted my shoulder.

"How about these?" I pulled out my elixirs.

"Did she also give these to you?" My father's eyes widened.

"I have many different types of these disposib-, I mean elixirs with me," I passed them to him.

"These amount to around a quarter of our entire family fortune," he surprisingly revealed.