Herald of Steel

Chapter 788 New Residents of The Mansion (Part-2)

Lady Nanazin’s face appeared to be almost glowing when greeting Alexander, like it was radiating pure rays of happiness.

The first time she had learned of Alexander’s success, her reaction was perhaps even more extreme than Cambyses’s, and the amount of pride she had felt was like nothing else.

She felt her love for the man deepen to almost maddening limits.

And though Alexander was not aware of Lady Nanazin’s exact thoughts, how could he not figure out her ever increasing feelings towards him?

It was also because of that that over the last two years, he tended to keep as much a distance from her as possible.

And in return, as if to compensate her for that, Alexander made sure the living conditions befitted her status, hence the large house, the good food, the nice clothes, and all the servants.

Though it was also because if he did not do so, PP might have found faults to nitpick with.

Alexander was aware the king could not care less for his wife but he still acted as expected of him to avoid any unnecessary vexations.

In front of the carriage next to Lady Nanazin, stood the last pair to be invited to Alexander’s mansion, and they were of course the twins- Azura and Azira.

Dressed in a simple, but comfortable white gown with golden stickwork along the sleeves, the chest, and hem, the two black ladies still looked as elegant as ever, even through the weary faces after five days of travel.

And they stood next to one another, even now, after three years, Alexander still struggled to distinguish which was which.

Until they spoke that is.

“Hmmp! To be able to capture Thesalie. Not bad,” Azura, always the haughty one snorted as Alexander approached to greet them, though the twinkle in her eyes betrayed her real feelings.

Try as she might, in reality, she was very impressed, for she shared a deep desire to capture the city like many of her countrymen.

“Yes, bad man, you did well,” And following her sister’s lead, Azira in a sweet voice larked so.

The twins had given Alexander that name since the day he tricked them into giving up the treasury of the Grand Temple.

And since Alexander never once objected, the twins kept it.

While Alexander, receiving us a frank welcome, actually let out a chuckle, not minding the address at all.

He very much enjoyed the company of these two, finding the contrast between their immature, childlike innocence and their adult age very appealing.

He even wanted to pinch these two’s cute cheeks which were so plump and rosy.

‘Should I use my capture of Thesalie to get Farzah to marry them to me? Or should I wait till I get Tibias’ Alexander even began to plan such in his mind as he said his pleasantries to the girls.

Alexander was determined to not any other men ever touch these beautiful flowers.

With the addition of these nine ladies and four kids, Alexander’s mansion suddenly had a lot of life added to it.

And over the following days, he took the group on tours around his newly captured estate as well as the city itself.

While touring the estate, the girls let out various expletives, with Cambyses clearly blurting out,

“This house is even better than our previous one.” when Alexander led them to the library which overlooked the River Diannu, so mesmerized was she by the scenery.

Now, Pasha Muazz’s original estate was of course not shabby, being multiple times bigger than this, covering almost 2 sq km in its entirety.

And even the view there was very gorgeous- with green, rolling mountains of the Cisran Hills on one side, and the golden sandy beaches on the other.

So Cambyses’s cry was more of a preference.

And upon showing the huge private pools and beautifully manicured gardens, Mean too let out her own preference, “This is so much better than our house. Will we be moving here? I love it.”

Her sparkling eyes held much joy and anticipation.

But to this, Alexander could only cough, “Maybe.”

Switching from Zanzan which already had three years to develop to here would be difficult.

While the twins had only this to nitpick about- The personal temple.

“Why have the statues there been allowed to remain? They should be demolished immediately! They are guardians of the house, placed by the previous lord. To us, they mean nothing but harm!”

They first exclaimed in horror, and then added with almost enraged looks,

“And the crypts have not been emptied out either! By Ramuh, Alexander! These spirits will bring bad luck to anyone who is not their kin. You have small children with you. Think of them!”

“You must throw those cursed bodies out at once! Burn them and scatter their ashes to the four winds.”

The tone of the twin’s voice was such that if they could, they would have done all this all by themselves.

Such was their zeal.

And hearing this, first and foremost, made Alexander realize that he had forgotten what kind of zealots the two were.

Beneath that childish demeanor with a fantastically pure heart, burned a spirit that housed some pretty scary ideas.

Ideas that would be undoubtedly classed as racist, xenophobic, bigoted, and such.

Alexander was sure these twins, who could cry even seeing a kitten hurt, on the other hand, could see a million ‘heretics’, i.e.- people who worship anyone but Ramuh or recently Gaia, be burned at the stake without batting an eye.

Even if those men, women, and children were to beg for the two’s mercy, even if their screams of pain and agony were to fill the air, Alexander was pretty sure these two would not lose a single second of sleep at night over it. .

Such pure faith was not only very impressive but also very scary.

And it reminded Alexander somewhat of the Spanish Inquisition.

Facing the two enraged kittens, Alexander had no intention of fighting, so with a smile and nod he replied,

“Thank you for reminding me, Your Highness. I have just captured the mansion, so had not had the time to do it.”

“But now that you have mentioned it, I will get to it as soon as possible.”

And Alexander would really do so, for he wished to turn that temple into his own family’s, one that worshipped Gaia.”

But he would also not be so destructive as the twin wished.

He would simply ask the high priest from the main temple to move these statues and bodies there.

What he did with them then was his choice.

And the reason for such generosity was because Alexander hoped his example of such tolerance for the local customs and religions would play well with the public.

Alongside the mansion and its surroundings, Alexander also showed the group the personal vineyards he had ‘inherited’ from Lord Ponticus, where the rolling hills were adorned with rows and rows of meticulously cultivated grapevines.

The grapes were still unripe, due for spring or even summer, but the irrigation system consisting of various channels, dykes, and pipes meant to feed these plants was in full swing.

These waters came from both the nearby Diannu river, as well as the springs, and Alexander even showed the group a huge reservoir dug underground, from where stored water could be supplied in times of drought.

It was a very lavish vineyard, and Alexander had quite a hard time getting back the people who had been originally assigned to look after this vast site.

After all, many of these servants had died in the prior ordeal or if they could- fled.

So Alexander had to cajole the rest with significant promises of money and benefits.

His reason for going through all this trouble- because looking after a vineyard was a very technical and skilled job.

It was in fact so specialized that many times a vinedresse from one vineyard would find himself totally out of his depth in another one.

For each plantation was unique, with its unique soil, rainfall, and most particularly, the species of grapes used.

And as anyone who has tried their hand at winemaking would know just how moody the process is.

Even a negligible change in the raw material’s quality could yield a subpar product.

Even the mere act of simply harvesting the grapes from its stem required skilled hands so as to do damage to the head of the fruit.

So if Alexander was to try his luck running this ornate vineyard with his own men, without the guidance of these experts, this huge, so painstakingly crafted, beautiful, money making machine would surely become a rotting heap of compost within a few years.

And then to show off his prized possession, on one magnificent September afternoon, Alexander even hosted an unusual, large, open air party there to commemorate the group’s arrival.

There he introduced the various nobles to his wives, his four children as well as Lady Nanazin and the twins.

But most importantly of all, he also named his two new children there, for their mothers insisted that they would only be named after they met their father.

Mean’s son was given an Adhanian name- Afshan, while Ophenia asked Alexander to let her daughter’s name be- Ophenia.

‘Master, although I very much love my new name- Tayin, I do not wish for the word my father gave me to disappear. Please let his memory live through her,’

She had sincerely asked of Alexander.

And Alexander was more than happy to oblige.

𝑖.𝘤ℴ𝘮