New World, New Life: I Became A Bigshot In The Ancient World
Chapter 41: GOTTEN USED TO HIS PRESENCE

Chapter 41: GOTTEN USED TO HIS PRESENCE

"I..." Beatrix hesitated.

Rowaine waited patiently, the movement of the horses causing their bodies to sway from side to side steadily. She knew that Beatrix was a lot less open than Serina.

"Mama, I..." Beatrix took a deep breath. It was very difficult for her to utter the words she had in mind. "I have something to tell you when we return to the palace."

Her eyes shifted to where Aristia rode with Melvin a few distances in front, pointing at something and saying something to which Melvin nodded.

Rowaine followed the direction she was looking at. Her brows raised in question.

She didn’t speak immediately. After a few seconds, she nodded. "I see."

She glanced down at her daughter, before looking forward again, only being able to see the top of her head. She couldn’t see the expression on her face.

She glanced at her again, before increasing the pace of the horse to reach the others. The mother and daughter did not speak, only riding in silence, both deep in thought.

They all rode on for a while, before returning to the palace grounds.

They handed the horses to the stable boys to take care of.

"I have to admit, riding horses is quite enjoyable, after all." Serina said as they returned to the main palace. "But the wind blew my hair about. It was all over my face."

Beatrix laughed in amusement and helped fix Serina’s hair. "There, all done."

"The sun is setting," Wilson stated. "It is time for us to return."

It was time to leave the palace. They bid farewell, hugging each other with both happy and sad smiles on their faces; happy to meet and spend time with each other, and sad that it had come to an end.

Aristia smiled when she released Beatrix from her hug. "Don’t forget, Bea. If you never try, then you’ll never know." She winked. "That doesn’t apply to everything though."

Beatrix laughed as she patted Aristia’s hand, "I will keep that in mind. I’m telling mother tonight. Goodbye."

She felt like she had become much closer with this younger cousin of hers than before. Why hadn’t she known all this while that her cousin had such a side to her?

Wilson, Fedor and Melvin, who could hear every word they said, smiled amusedly. At the same time, they were confused; Try what? What were the children planning?

Most importantly, Beatrix’s words caught Fedor’s attention. What did his daughter want to tell her mother?

"Make sure she does not back out, Seri." Aristia reminded Serina.

"You can rest assured, Tia. I will not even let her think of that." Serina responded with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed at Beatrix.

Aristia nodded in approval, leaving their side and going towards their carriage.

"Do come to see me, Catherine." Melissa smiled, holding Catherine’s hands.

She didn’t usually get to spend much time with this daughter in-law of hers. She considered her daughter in-laws as her own daughters and would never mistreat them. She only had two sons and had always wanted a daughter, but she couldn’t conceive anymore after her two sons.

"I definitely will not forget, mother. I enjoyed having discussions over tea with you and sister in-law, as always." Catherine smiled back as she alternated her gaze between Melissa and Rowaine.

"And, I do not want to hear any complaints about you from Catherine, Wilson." Melvin warned his son, speaking in a displeased tone. "Or else you can live alone in that grand mansion of yours, while my daughter and grandchildren live with me, right here in the palace." He threatened.

Wilson was yet again speechless,

’I thought I was the son here.’ He shook his head with a helpless chuckle.

This was why they were family, he thought as he denied, "How could I ever? I dare not, Father." His gaze shifted to Catherine, but she avoided it shyly, causing a wide smile on Wilson’s face.

[They’ve been married for six years and have two children and she’s still so shy sometimes.] Aristia caught the exchange between the husband and wife.

"Goodbye. Have a safe return," Melissa waved at them as they entered their carriage.

Aristia took her seat in the carriage, leaned against the window and smiled, waving her hand. "Goodbye," as their carriage rode away from the royal palace past the large gates.

At the end of the day, everyone was satisfied about something; The old couple, Rowaine and Catherine were satisfied to spend time together with all family members.

Fedor felt the same too, but an added satisfaction stemmed from the new and unknown solution his niece had discovered that could help the kingdom.

Wilson had informed his brother, the king, of the necessary measures they had to take and was satisfied that they would be able to put the plan into action.

Ivan and Serina were glad they had seen their cousins.

Beatrix was happy she got support and encouragement from her siblings and cousins, and felt like she was ready to talk to her parents. Maybe.

Alaric was happy he rode a horse and not just a normal one, but a daemon.

And Aristia, she was satisfied to receive the bag containing a hundred bronze coins. Her first earned money in this world. Oh, she was also happy to meet the Royal family, even though she didn’t get to explore the very large palace.

Indeed, everyone was satisfied about something.

After some time, the carriage passed through the gates of the Grand Duke mansion, stopping in front of the mansion.

Aristia noticed that the sun had set. The family alighted the carriage and headed into the mansion.

Back in her room, Aristia sighed. They had eaten dinner back at the Royal palace, so they just had light snacks before retiring to bed.

She sat up on her bed. Alaric was sleeping in their parent’s room tonight. [This is the first time this has happened since he started sleeping here. It feels strange that Alaric isn’t sleeping here. I guess I might have gotten used to having him here.]

Alaric had always been sleeping in her room recently, ever since she entered the book for a month now, but now he had actually suggested sleeping in their parents room. Aristia had unknowingly gotten used to his presence.

As she thought about Alaric’s absence, she remembered that she had to put her plans in place.

"Enough of that, Aristia." She whispered, chiding herself. "You need to start working on your restaurant plan."

She got up and walked to the bedside drawer, opening the first drawer and picking up a journal.

"First, I need to secure capital, land, and labor for my venture." Her gaze turned contemplative as she strategized her approach, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and plan.

Capital was the first hurdle to overcome. She had a plan to use her own allowance to start with. That was something she needed to talk to the Grand Duchess about.

Catherine was in charge of the allowances. She also needed to talk to the Grand Duke about the land and anything else she needed. So, to sum it up, she needed to talk to Aristia’s parents.