Chapter 57

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It was already noon when Andrew and the rest arrived at the road bordering Arigare and Beryldot. Much to their dismay, even with all their invitations, Naell and Owly continued with their travels.

Most would probably accept it, afterall, being acquainted with the Duke was no low feat, but for Naell who took the comfort of being with fewer people, it was a pain in the butt.

Not to mention, the said Duke might still be mad at him for slapping his daughter.

‘Nay, I’m very sure he’s mad.’

Yet no matter how sure Naell seemed to be, he couldn’t be further from the truth.

As he caught himself thinking of one frightening scenario after another (that he gladly thought he escaped from), a larger stretch of land seemed to have presented itself.

It made Naell feel mellow, as if he was an old man returning to his roots. Even Owly enjoyed the view and differences between the seasons from then and now.

On their first trip, the roads were filled with different colors of flowers and trees spreading far and wide, yet now it was all situated with snow, beautifully turning the ponds into ice and dyeing the greenery with white.

Having been in both sceneries only made Naell more appreciative of his life in Mundo. He knew he could only enjoy those things because was a noble.

"I can't wait to rest."

"..."

Owly could only sigh at what he heard. If it was heard by others, they would just interpret it as someone who would enjoy their vacation.

Yet he knew, since it was Naell, rest probably meant sleeping for hours and doing nothing for days and days.

'I guess that's fine, we are rich afterall, HOOT.' Thought Owly as he rubbed his belly.

Somehow Naell also knew what Owly was thinking. He could not help but smile knowing the chefs in Beryldot would be working harder than usual.

*******

"You should wait inside, little one." Said Sebastian as he smiled while looking at Lily.

From the very first moments of winter, the Beryldot household was all ready for Naell’s return. Afterall, he did mention in a letter that he’d return during his winter break.

As it really was cold, Sebastian wanted Lily to wait inside the house, yet she politely declined, earning her a warm smile from the elder.

"I guess it is fine then, HOHOHO."

"Thank you, Grandpa!" Lily said as she held her coat tightly.

It had already been reported to them that a carriage carrying the sigil of Beryldot entered their territory, hence their waiting.

As soon as the carriage was visible to their sights, they immediately went on to greet them.

When the carriage opened its door, they saw the white-haired young man with his red eyes and face that looked to be warmer than before. With him was Owly who looked to be bigger and much fatter.

“Brother and Owly!” Lily shouted before happily running to them, earning her a warm hug.

"We are back," Naell said softly as he patted Lily's head and bowed down respectfully to the smiling Sebastian.

"Welcome back." Said the butler before opening the gates for them.

Upon stepping inside, they immediately moved to the living room where they talked.

Naell was informed that both his parents were outside at that moment. Fharom was navigating the territory, while Lilia was with Andrea preparing for the winter festival.

"I do hope the estate is fairing well."

"Hohoho, All thanks to you it is, Naell." Replied Sebastian who knew of the herbs.

Both of them just laughed it off while Lily and Owly together minded their own business, eating the sweets the chef prepared and the ones Naell brought with them.

"How’s the capital?" Sebastian asked.

Of course, from the exchanges of letters alone with Lily, they were certain Naell wasn't being adventurous.

Yet coming from Naell and Owly, Lily and Sebastian listened to their banter as it told of their experiences in Taglagas.

After some time, Naell excused himself, leaving Sebastian, Lily, and Owly.

Naell then immediately took a bath and went to his room.

'I stayed here for months.' He thought as he entered.

Naell could not help but feel the nostalgia upon seeing his room again. Not only was it the first scenery he saw upon waking in Mundo, but it was also the first blessing he received.

Nothing had changed, the room was the same; the bed he slept in for days when he got beaten, the table where he first met Owly, and the books he read finalizing his plan to laze.

All those nostalgic memories somehow made Naell sleepy as he immediately rested upon lying on the bed.

*******

The sun seemed to have never moved when Naell woke up from a soft knock on the door. He turned to his bedroom windows and was only confused as he saw the same light outside.

Lazily he stretched and yawned before finally calling out to the source of the knock.

"Come in." As he said that, Butler Lebrut with a smile came into view.

They greeted one another in a friendly manner, and that was when he learned he overslept.

“I’m surprised, is it still noon?”

“Almost one...”

“Weird, I only slept for an hour?”

“One…of the next day, sir.”

“Ah, so I slept for a whole day.”

“Yes sir, you slept for a whole day.”

“I see.”

“…”

“Wait, what.”

A part of Naell was proud as he had broken his record once more, yet an even bigger part was embarrassed and blamed the travel for his constitution.

"When Baron and the Baroness heard you were already sleeping, they told us to just let you rest." Said Lebrut awkwardly as he remembered how Naell was also like that in Taglagas.

After talking for some more, Lebrut told Naell that his father wanted to have lunch with him, which he happily agreed to.

"I'll take my leave then, Young master.”

"Thank you Mr. Lebrut." Replied Naell softly, which was not missed by the butler.

Being alone in his room again, Naell noticed how quiet it was without the hooting Owly.

"I guess he slept in Lily's room." He said to himself quietly before preparing for his lunch.

.

.

.

Naell walked through the halls in the simplest clothes he found, and yet all the staff he encountered were shocked to see him.

There was no difference in his appearance from before, yet all the employees he greeted and walked by, felt a calmer young master was before them.

Little did they know, Naell was at ease as he unintentionally detected that none of their intentions were negative.

As he arrived at the dining hall, he once again remembered the embarrassing scene he caused.

'Ahhh…That apology was way too cringey!' He thought while awkwardly smiling as he bowed down to his parents.

"Welcome back, son." Said both Fharom and Lilia who smiled warmly as he approached.

"I'm glad to be back." He replied while sitting down.

“You’re late noob, HOOT!”

“...”

The food then began arriving one by one. Naell apologized once more for coming late which earned him a giggle and a laugh with the family.

"Hohoho, fret not. Owly warned us you're quite the heavy sleeper." Said Sebastian teasingly.

They all noticed how Owly began HOOTing his way out as he whistled from Naell's cold gaze.

Fharom and Lilia were happy knowing the friendship between the two had become better after months of being together.

For a while they ate silently, but upon being served sweets, the room began filling with noises once more.

As they all loudly chatted and happily ate together, Lily called to Naell and pointed at a small vase on the table.

Within it was a lone lily, well cared for and brightly yellow. That flower that was once completely frozen, had stayed intact and was still in full bloom.

“That’s amazing Lily, it’s like it never left Taglagas.” Naell said to her, thoroughly impressed.

“Hehe, afterall it was a gift from my brother.” She happily declared.

It was then when Naell was reminded of the gifts he was unable to give on his arrival. He then with a [ poof ] began giving each of them their souvenirs.

For his sensei was a new white coat from the trendiest clothing store in Taglagas. Its green and yellow accents were intricately placed on its shoulders and sleeves. Unbeknownst to Naell, the colors heavily reminded the elder of his past.

Sebastian then spoke as he joyously admired the garment,

"Thank you, Naell. This is wonderful."

"No problem, Sensei." Naell replied.

For his father, he gave high quality wine and liquor that made Lilia pout.

“This--- Thank you, I rarely find these around here anymore.” Fharom muttered upon seeing the bottles glisten.

"Geez, that's too much Naell." Lilia said before Fharom smiled and explained the benefits of alcohol.

After moments of hard negotiation, they were made to promise that Naell and Fharom would only drink if either she, or his sensei and Drew were present.

As for Lilia and Lily, sweets and small cakes from Taglagas and another kingdom were presented. Both of the ladies' eyes seemed to glow as the variety of sweets in front of them were more plentiful than they expected.

Yet when they thought it was all over, upon going to the sala and conversing once more with Naell, he again surprised them with the golden apples.

"Where… Did you find these Naell?" Asked Fharom who was clearly in shock.

As Owly was already boasting with Lily which they found to be cute, Naell then began explaining to them how they managed to find it in the forest of Lagupa.

He told them the story of how they even met Sampua, the golden fairy who was a friend of Alicia.

"Sampua... your mom would often talk about her." Replied Sebastian with a soft gaze.

It was apparent that he was proud of Naell for not totally being lazy. Little did they know, it was for the greater laziness that he needed to work for.

They were reluctant to eat the golden apples as it was known to be very expensive.

However, they were reassured by Naell and Owly that it was okay as with a [ poof ] he said,

"There's plenty more where that came from."

"..."

"Tomorrow we’ll even bake using them, HOOT!"

All their reluctance aside, the two elders were shocked. Sebastian and Fharom did sense the gifts they got from Naell were in no way cheap.

It only made them both chuckle knowing Naell really had made a fortune.

Lilia and Lily on the other hand, went on and felt really delighted from the golden apple's taste.

Unlike any fruit they ever tasted, the golden apple’s taste was sweeter yet had a mild flavor that would make you want to eat more.

The fruit itself upon consumption would oddly pop like a pulp in one's mouth, making a small burst of flavor, and possibly refreshing anyone even amid the cold of winter.

When the kitchen staff even arrived to get the golden apples, they were surprised that Naell even suggested making something for it at the festival so everyone could taste it.

However, they were told to keep quiet about it since it would certainly attract trouble. They all then agreed as the only thing they cared about was to taste the golden fruits.

.

.

.

Later that evening Naell stood at the door to his father’s office and knocked lightly.

“Come in.”

Upon entering, Fharom immediately offered him a seat. Naell looked to his father’s table, as placed upon it were hot drinks made with the herbs he had spread.

His father chuckled lightly as he held up one of the cups,

“Our estate’s actually known as one of the best sources for green herbs.”

He then added on,

“Well done, son.”

Naell sat silently, and simply responded with a nod. As he took the yellow herb drink which was his favourite, Fharom then laughed remembering what Owly had told them.

‘Naell always drinks yellow herbs since he often gets headaches from oversleeping, HOOT.’

“Owly, knows you quite well.”

“It’s frightening, but I’m afraid he really does.”

Both laughed and talked for a while longer, catching up with the times Naell was studying in Taglagas.

After a while, Naell handed out some funds and golden apples to his father. Fharom was surprised, he knew his son would likely talk about business, but not to the point of handing out a huge sum as capital.

“Are you sure about this Naell?”

“Yes father, this is an um... investment I would like to go with.”

Fharom smiled and accepted it. In just a short amount of time, Naell had already exceeded him when he was his age.

‘I hope you’re watching, Alicia.’ He thought proudly.