Sabrina’s lackey quickly dug up information about Lionel Hudson. “Miss Sabrina, he really is a member of the royal family.”
“Isn’t he an Astronian?”
“But his wife is a noble from the Yatruinian royal family. You’re probably familiar with her…” the underling hesitated. “It’s Lady Natasha.”
Her expression changed immediately. “Lady Natasha? Are you sure?”
It was fine if it were anyone else, but why did it have to be Lady Natasha, the most famous female ambassador from the Yatruinian royal family?
“Miss Sabrina, if Rachel ever tells them about us…”
“She will never get the chance.” Sabrina’s face darkened. “I will never give it to her.”
Over the last few days, Rachel had remained at the homestay at the foot of Somerset Mountain. Her daily routine, except for meals, consisted of walks with Justin. Regina’s ankle hadn’t healed fully, but she didn’t stop trying to go with them.
“I’m bored here all alone. Take me along, Rachel!”
“The mountain paths are difficult to walk on. We can’t take you because you’re in a wheelchair.”
“I can walk on my own.” As Regina said so, she rose from her wheelchair. Rachel stared at Regina’s legs, noting that the girl did not dare to place her hurt leg on the ground.
“No. You have to stay here.”
Justin could not let this continue because he knew that Regina would think of how to torment everyone if she didn’t get her way. Therefore, he decided on a compromise. “Look, you can come with us. But if we reach a part where the paths are too difficult to walk on, we have to turn back.”
“Okay,” Regina answered enthusiastically.
“You don’t have to listen to her. How can we go hiking when she’s with us?”
Justin looked behind Regina. “Bobby’s coming too, so we probably don’t need to worry.”
Bobby, a boy who worked at the homestay, had cared for Regina over the past few days and followed her wherever she went. So when he heard Justin’s words, Bobby scratched his head and smiled toothily. “If it’s too difficult to walk, I’ll carry Little Sis on my back.”
“Who’s your little sis?” Regina glared at him and said in annoyance. “You stupid boy.”
Despite being insulted, he wasn’t angry at all as he chirped, “I call anyone younger than me my little sis.”
“I’m one year older than you!”
He was only fifteen—younger than Regina— but he had lived and worked here year-round, making his skin very tanned. So, it was true that he didn’t look younger than her.
Nevertheless, she was adamant about being the eldest of the two. “You should call me Big Sis!”
He shook his head and refused to change how he addressed her, looking peculiarly stubborn.
“Not talking again? Talking to you is a waste of effort.” Regina rolled her eyes and urged him. “Come on, let’s go. I’m bored as hell after staying in this place.”
Rachel felt resigned as she watched their interaction. Regina had a temper; if not for her good looks, no one would care about her. There was no help for this world that prioritized one’s beauty over everything.
Rachel and Justin had been walking up and down the mountain every morning, afternoon, and evening, so they were extremely familiar with the trail. So naturally, they quickly left Regina and Bobby behind.
“Rachel, wait for me!”
“At least help me up faster.”
“Oh, you are so dumb!”
Rachel could hear Regina’s distant complaints about Bobby, and she was speechless. “Even with how she’s acting, Bobby hasn’t lost his temper. Village children are really well-behaved.”
“She treats him really well, to be honest.”
“Huh?” She was surprised. “How?”
Justin smiled. “Don’t you know? She’s teaching him Latin.”
“Really? When did this happen?”
“I don’t know when it started, but I found out today when I heard her correcting his pronunciation outside earlier this morning.”
She was amazed at this. Somerset Mountain was an autonomous region with a sparse population and remote location. This was why the education resources for the area weren’t sufficient; normal children would stop studying to help out at their homes after graduating junior high. Even with the bonus-point policy, there were very few children who would make it to senior high.
She had heard the homestay owner mentioning that Bobby had the best academic results among the children in their town and had the chance of moving out of the town to study in senior high.
“Maybe she had the spontaneous urge to do so. Nevertheless, I don’t believe that she would continue teaching him.”
“Rae.” Justin’s tone was a little resigned. “You treat everyone else with generosity, so why are you so mean towards her?”
“Mean??”
“Kind of.”
Rachel frowned, then hunched her shoulders and continued walking.
He caught up with her and grabbed her hand from behind. “Are you angry?”
“No.”
“You definitely are.” He couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t get angry. I’ll show you something before they arrive.”
“What is it?”
“Come with me.”
Justin led her into a small path in the mountains. It wasn’t part of the tourist trail; it was a forest trail only the locals used, with many twists and turns.
“Isn’t that the place where we met?”
“Yup, Regina and I came through this way.”
“I came from the foot of the mountain.” Rachel smiled. “I avoided buying tickets by following the owner of the homestay. You guys bought them, right?”
She didn’t hear Justin’s reply but instead heard the sounds of chickens clucking. Rachel raised her head and froze when she saw the scene at the bottom of the mountain. She stopped where she was and looked at him.
At the bottom of the slope was the courtyard where she, her mother, and her grandmother had lived. The place had been torn down, and weeds had grown in its place. That was what she had seen before.
Yet, what she saw now was a scene from twenty years ago. There were three blocks surrounding a yard. Cabbage grew on one side of the fenced yard while chilies and string beans grew on the other. In the yard, two chickens walked freely in the yard, clucking as they went.
Rachel stumbled as she walked into the yard. She was back here again after more than twenty years, and she couldn’t believe she could see everything from her childhood. Even the string of chilies and garlic hanging from the rafters were the same.
The door creaked as she pushed it open and saw an empty room. From behind her, Justin said, “I ordered someone to restore the place as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I wanted to make it a surprise, so I had to rush everything a little. Since you haven’t said what you had in your home, just tell me all about it, and I’ll get someone to make them and place them inside here.”
“It’s only been a few days. How did you manage this?”
“It wasn’t difficult. There were only three blocks to build, so I got more workers to help.”
He looked at her with affection. “You have a home.”
When she heard him, her eyes turned red-rimmed, and her tears welled up. Everything here was too realistic and reminded her of memories from more than twenty years ago. It felt like she could open the door and see her mother and grandmother again.
Yes, she had a home.
