Chapter 51 ❆ Not Lacking

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As soon as I asked, the person leading his small group of assistants cleared his throat and stepped forward to answer the question I had thrown at my mistress.

"Your account is currently in jade two," he told me. "That means your assets are worth at least one billion gold."

I thankfully did not spit out my tea, but I felt my hands shaking. I carefully placed the teacup back onto the surface of the table lest I ended up breaking it—and also to maintain some elegance when all I wanted to do right now was run around screaming.

Because b*tch please.

One billion, he said. At least, he said. How many zeroes was in that? And to think those were the stuff my mistresses didn't want or otherwise gifted to me when they felt like it. How f*cking rich was everyone in the family?

I was a peasant in my last life! I slaved away working double shifts and at least two part-time jobs to fund my college expenditures! I ate cup ramen and divided canned food into three servings for all my three meals in a day if I was lucky! I was in debt I didn't know if I would be able to pay in my lifetime! My accounts had always been in the negatives!

I had been contented knowing I didn't have to live like I owed anyone when I was growing up in Oblivion, and now I'm told I'm actually so rich I could kill everyone in this room by literally drowning them with money! I've got at least a billion's worth of properties in my hands!

To put it to perspective, ten thousand could comfortably feed two families for a year—and even provide other necessities such as clothes, home, and education if used properly. If I were to give all this money away, I could single-handedly eliminate world hunger.

"Impressive," Mistress Veronika said. "Let me check the list of assets here. I also want to read the conditions."

"Yes, ma'am." The leader began sweating bullets in the face of so many zeroes—I mean, heck, even I am.

Mistress Veronika began solemnly scrolling through the properties.

That's right. Scrolling.

I peeked and I almost cursed. At least five pages.

"Of course, the properties have not been evaluated recently. Some of those on the list are in Venerya. As you may know of the situation, there may have been some damages, so we aren't sure if the figures are still around that amount—or if your assets have been affected at all," he hastily added.

Ah, that made sense. I almost forgot about it, but I do recall the civil war happening not so long ago. It was why we left in the first place.

"That's fine," she said, then thoughtfully went back to scrolling. "It seems the headmistress left much of all the safe things to you, Evy..."

"Safe things?"

"This is nearly all of Oblivion's accumulated wealth. She has entrusted all our fortune to you."

"That...it is?"

Ah, so it wasn't just the gifts. This was all of Oblivion? Made sense. I wasn't disappointed, but I suddenly felt like it was logical. If they told me they still had more of this, I would—

"This is forty percent of it, at least."

Hearing one of the attendants choke on her spit, I carefully swallowed mine.

"Can you leave us for a while?" Mistress Veronika inquired, turning to the attendants in the room. "Also, there are two things in this list I wish to be brought forward. It says on the record that it has been stored here." She pointed to two numbers. "A89 and B67."

"Understood."

"Get me the papers for D12, too."

"Will do, ma'am."

Once the attendants have vacated the room, Mistress Veronika turned to me with seriousness.

"Looking at it here, it seems Lamia transferred your mother's properties to you as well. It is not safe to do anything with those properties for now because movements may rouse suspicions. They have been frozen until you turn of age." A small frown deepened between her brows. "Sixty percent of the wealth you have on hand right now are liquid funds, we can estimate that at six hundred million."

I swallowed heavily.

"You are allowed to use five percent of that until you unlock certain conditions. You'll be able to live very comfortably with that money should anything happen," she told me.

"Conditions?" I tilted my head to the side.

"Lamia is saying, basically...the rest of the money will be available to you if you decide to take on bigger ventures."

"By bigger ventures, you mean—"

"That's right. Your redemption. If you wish to live a peaceful life, the five percent of that sixty percent of the liquid funds will be available to you now."

I smiled wryly. "You know I'll never settle for that."

"She wishes to give you a choice," Mistress Veronika said.

"So what are the conditions?"

"First, you have to be able to fully master your ability," she told me. "Second, you must be able to defeat the head of the mercenary guild within six years' time."

"Defeat the head of the mercenary guild...in six years!? That's a head of something! And I've barely started training!"

"She's not putting light conditions forward. I can tell she wishes you just stay put."

I pursed my lips and slumped forward dispiritedly. "What else?"

"You'll know the rest once you've cleared those conditions," she told me. "If you wish to know more, you'll have to be very capable."

"I understand..." I whispered hesitantly.

There was silence for a while.

I was deep in thought and I could tell Mistress Veronika was as well. Thankfully, the bank's personnel came back with the items. They had stored them in hard and sealed boxes, which needed two men to carry forward stably.

Once they set down the boxes before us, the other attendants retreated, leaving the man from before as well as his small entourage standing in the room.

I rose from my seat and went over as he began to speak. "Your bracelet will be able to unlock them," he told me.

I went forward curiously and flashed my bracelet before the locks. I heard the clicking of the bolts from inside giving way. The seal immediately loosened, and the lid popped ever so slightly.

"I'm just curious. What if I lost the bracelet or if it's stolen?" I asked.

"The stone in the bracelet responds uniquely to your own body signatures. If it's not you, it will cease working."

"Magical," I whispered.

"If I do say so myself," he said.

"What's in here?" I asked my mistress.

"Open them."

I went over to the first box and lifted it open.

I gasped at the familiar sight.

"My bow? I thought I'd left it behind..." I said. I touched the hardwood full of the aura of life and I instantly felt comforted. "I didn't think I would see it again after what happened..."

"It was trouble retrieving them, but they're here now."

Opening the box with the bow would be troublesome, especially if it was seen by others, so I refrained from touching it for now. I opened the second box eagerly. Inside was Mistress Marian's harp that she had gifted me. The heart-shaped frame and the golden strings left sadness welling up in my heart. I caressed the surface and retrieved it from inside. I experimentally plucked a few strings.

"I missed this..."

"The papers?" Mistress Veronika asked, turning to the man.

The man waved. An attendant came forward with a tray which carried a paper-sized envelope. She bowed slightly upon coming forward.

Mistress Veronika beckoned me over. "Come, Evy. Check these first," she said.

I put the harp back in the box for the meantime and came over as instructed. "What is it?"

I retrieved the envelope from the tray and pulled at the flaps. I realized the thing was made of valuable leather. The papers inside were thick and sturdy, with bold prints and bright colors.

"Deed..." I read. My brows jumped. "A deed?"

"Indeed."

"Haha..." I unintentionally found that bit funny and chuckled. "But why?" I asked, clearing my throat.

"I checked for any properties in Lovarda and we just so happen to have one!" she said with a smile. "To be honest, I forgot about it. It was one of mine and I transferred it to your name a long time ago. I only recalled it while going through the list."

"You had a property here?" I raised my brows, astonished.

"I did live here for a while. Papi's business was also quite lucrative if dealt with properly," she told me with a smile. "Let's withdraw the money you need to buy the place, but if you'd like to check this one out, we can go there now and you can see if it's suitable."

"Okay," I said. "If it is, I can probably use the funds to source out my materials instead." After all, oils were very expensive.

Since there was this, there probably would be no need for buying another place. It would save some money—even though it was kind of pointless doing that at the moment.

After securing the funds, Mistress Veronika went on our way. She carried the money and the bow while I cradled the harp in my arms after wrapping it loosely with a cloth.

Sighing, I asked Mistress Veronika if we could stop for some refreshing drinks after the bank. The warm tea was nice and all, but I needed something cool to drink to calm down from the shock.

Aside from the numbers blinding me, I was also deep in thought about having to go against the head of the mercenary guild. It was the first time I would be hearing about this place. Before this, I didn't even know it existed.

We entered a cozy-looking shop. By the looks of it, it was on the relatively high-end type. There were not a lot of people and the service was quite impeccable too.

All the waiters were handsome. And beautiful.

After settling our orders of light snacks and cold drinks, Mistress Veronika calmly wiped her lips. "Restroom," she told me.

I nodded numbly and watched her leave. For the meantime, I preoccupied myself with some ice water. Frankly, this was already good enough to quench my thirst...although some cucumber lemonade would be very nice to have too.

There would probably be no one to steal our things, but being my wary self considering my previous life, I still made sure to keep everything within my line of gaze. The harp wrapped in cloth weighed down comfortably on my thighs.

"Do you play?"

I realized the haphazard wrapping of the harp had revealed one of its corners as I was listlessly rolling around the cup of iced water on my palms.

I looked up calmly to meet a whirl of wide, blue eyes from under my hood. The charming and gentle kind. Paired with soft and breezy curls, all the guy lacked before me was glitters and halo, and I would believe him if he told me he was an angel.

"Barely," I said, looking away awkwardly. I didn't want to be caught staring too fondly. "What's it to you?"

Besides, it was true. I was apprenticed to very fine artists since young. But while I was trained on all corners of art and the knowledges, it didn't mean I mastered everything. My mistresses would keep telling me I was good enough, but by means of comparison, I was really far from their skill-level.

"Oh, great! You speak Lovardi quite well!" he said.

"Am I not supposed to?" I asked. While I felt like teasing, my voice was straight and solemn. So it didn't feel like it.

"No...not that..." He chuckled, flustered. "I thought you were a foreigner since you didn't look like you're from around here..."

"It's alright. I was just kidding."

He laughed nervously. "Anyway...Those are angel strings," he said. "They're not something a casual player would have. And if it was a collectible, then it wouldn't look quite worn...of course, it's quite well-taken care of, by the looks of it..."

"And the point?" I asked.

"Can...can you play for me?"

I gazed at him for a while, watching the melting puppy eyes with my poker-face. "Sorry, I'm quite busy. Also, I did say I barely play."

"I'll give you money!"

I could not control the amusement from spilling forth from my throat. Had it been two hours ago, I would be very tempted.

"I don't lack money," I said. I liked the haughty tone in that. It sounded a little arrogant, but damn did it feel good to say!

"Well...indeed...if you have angel strings..." he trailed off thoughtfully. "Ah—how about I give you a favor instead? My family has quite a lot of connections around the kingdom," he said cheerily, not at all down-turned by my aloofness. His sunny disposition was almost scorching.

The waiter came by just in time carrying a tray of drinks. He set the cucumber lemonade before me and the watermelon sugar before Mistress Veronika's side.

I took my time with the cucumber lemonade, taking a sip. I gazed at him for a while. "What can you offer?" I asked.

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