The Herb King

From Albert's perspective, it looked like Julie Irish was kissing Aethelwolf and this made him feel suspicious about the relationship between the two of them. 'What's going on here?'

Julie Irish adjusted her posture and moved away from Aethelwolf. She then noticed that Albert was looking at her and Aethelwolf with a questioning gaze. She frowned at him.

Ehem!

Albert coughed dryly as he looked away. He decided to focus his attention on his food.

"Does anyone else know?" Julie Irish asked.

Aethelwolf shook his head lightly. "Other than me, only Olivia knows it." He replied.

Julie Irish heaved a sigh of relief when she heard his words. "How did the meeting go?" She switched the topic to lighten the atmosphere. Aethelwolf was an important business partner so she didn't want their relationship to turn sour.

Aethelwolf glanced at her and shrugged. "We just discussed how the academy would operate. I also decided to leave the upper positions in the academy vacant for now. I don't want the faculty members to think that I'm favoring other people."

Julie Irish nodded her head. "That was a good move."

Aethelwolf smiled at her words. "By the way, I met one of your relatives. She is a smart woman. If she does her job well, I would consider giving her a nice position." He said.

"You mean Madilyn? She is my cousin. When the academy was still under construction, I was the one who recommended her to become a teacher. She is a Level 2 Engraver, but because she was born out of wedlock so her position in the household is quite awkward. Becoming a teacher in the academy would give her a higher status in our household." Julie Irish said.

"Why are you telling me this?" Aethelwolf stared at her in confusion. Why was she discussing their family matters with him?

"I just want to tell you that she is a pitiful woman so you have to take care of her well."

"Don't worry. Since she will now be working for me, I won't mistreat her." Aethelwolf casually replied.

Olivia pulled his sleeves and said. "Papa, I'm done."

"Alright. Let me wipe your face first. Come here." Aethelwolf carried her and placed her on his lap. He then wiped her face with a towel.

Olivia smiled as she looked at his face.

Seeing her adorable face, Aethelwolf pinched her cheeks. "How is the food here? Did you like it?" He asked.

Olivia nodded her head. "The food here tastes good, but your cooking is still better." She replied with a smile.

Aethelwolf chuckled at her words.

"His cooking tastes better? Does your papa know how to cook?" Julie Irish asked as he looked at Aethelwolf in surprise.

Olivia stared at her and nodded her head. "His food is the best!"

"Oh? So the renowned Sir Aethelwolf is actually a talented chef. How about you invite me to your home for a meal? I'd like to try your food..." Julie Irish wanted to check if Aethelwolf knows more about her.

Aethelwolf glanced at her speechlessly. "I thought you just had your meal here?"

"I did. I can stay at your place and I will have my dinner there." Julie smirked beneath her veil.

Aethelwolf's eyes twitched when he heard this. "I think that won't be possible. I will be refining pills later so I won't have the time to cook for you." He said.

"Papa, didn't you say that you will teach me etiquette later-" Aethelwolf immediately covered Olivia's mouth to prevent her from speaking.

"Hmph! You just don't want me to go to your mansion! Are you not confident in your cooking?" Julie Irish snorted.

Aethelwolf sighed in defeat. "Fine. You can come with us. We are about to go home anyway." He then stood up and held Olivia's hand.

They all went out of the restaurant and boarded the carriage.

"Let's go back to the mansion." Aethelwolf said.

"Yes, Sir Aethelwolf."

Soon, they arrived at the Lassiter Household's mansion.

"Did you buy the land around your mansion?" Julie Irish noticed that the buildings around the mansion were being demolished.

Aethelwolf nodded his head. "Yes. We hired a lot of people so we needed more space. I plan to build houses for our servants." He didn't plan to keep it a secret so there was no harm in telling her.

Julie Irish stared at the guards of the mansion. They were dressed in sleek silver-colored armor. Each of them has a sword and a diamond-shaped shield tied behind their backs. 'These people are no ordinary guards. All of them are Espers!' She exclaimed in her heart. The weaker guards were mostly armed with Rare-Rated pieces of equipment, while the stronger ones possessed Refined-Rated pieces of equipment.

The value of the equipment added altogether was enormous and only a business mogul could support the purchase and their maintenance.

"Welcome back, Sir Aethelwolf and Young Miss Olivia." Hyacinth greeted them. "Hello, Miss Julie Irish Urgel." She smiled at Julie who nodded at her in response.

"Hyacinth, please bring the wine that I have been keeping in the special storage of the cellar." Aethelwolf said.

Hyacinth stared at him in surprise. "Yes, Sir Aethelwolf." Her boss didn't even take it out to serve the second prince and the other nobles who visited them. What was special about Julie Irish? She thought suspiciously.

"Follow me upstairs first. I have to change Olivia's clothes." Aethelwolf said to Julie.

Julie Irish glanced at the little girl's clothes and noticed that there were some food stains so she nodded her head. "Alright."

Aethelwolf brought her inside his room and let her wait for him in the study. "Please wait here." He then lifted Olivia and put her down on the bed.

Julie Irish stared at them silently. Aethelwolf seemed to show a lot of care to this child even though she was only his adopted daughter. 'Could she be his true daughter? If not, why is he so good to her? I can't understand this man sometimes...' She thought to herself.