Silent, steady tears slipped down my face as I tried to blink away the pain. The red flashes slowly became less frequent, and I could finally focus on the things around me. Lady Anne is going to have a field day if she ever finds out about this. I'm going to put a gag order on all of this if possible. I finally got on her good side, and look what happened.
Meng Jialin's heels cause the grass beneath her feet to break. My tiny shadow mingled with hers as she made great strides toward whatever second location she was taking me to. Kissae rushes after us, a little winded judging by the rising blue blush creeping up her neck towards her cheeks. I'm going to get her another cookie after this. I watch curiously as we get farther away from the mansion. The panic is fading, at least.
It's so much bigger on the outside than on the inside, for some reason. Like eerily so. It's like the walls were made extremely thick. But on the bright side.
I'm outside! Where there are trees, bushes, and so much pollen in the air. Old me would be wheezing and coughing up a storm by now. But currently, I feel pretty ok. If anything, I'm grateful for my eyesight. No glasses in this life, and everything is so clear. If only...No use thinking about that now.
Purple leaves and dark green branches. Small animals darting in and out of those leaves with certainty. Unafraid that they might miss a step and fall. Birds call out and fill the silence with their songs. This is pretty nice. But what's that smell…and that sound?
She loses no time dragging me along to the training grounds, which are shrouded by a small forest next to the mansion. One that I would have never seen without Meng Jialin. Multiple people are already breaking a sweat there by the time we step foot on the grounds. Mostly, shirtless men are the ones working out here, but towards the center, I see four familiar faces.
No way.When she said brothers, I thought she just meant the triplets.
She shouted in an animated voice towards them. Catching the attention of everyone within earshot."Boys! Guess who I brought?" I peer through her hair to see them.
In almost the same clothing as mine. Except there's is a little less conservative. They can have rolled-up sleeves and open chests. Figures. Erichean strikes swiftly at a dummy and turns around with a sharp look in his eyes. That softens as soon as he sees me. Hey buddy?
Then he's grinning like he won the lottery and sprinting towards me. I reach out, and he snatches me from her grasp. Ew. I pulled away from him when I noticed that he was wet from sweat. Gross. "Yuck. Go away!"
He refuses to let me leave his embrace and even spins me around in a circle.
His pleased tone reverberated off the trees around the training ground. "My baby sister came to see me! She must have missed me so much. Isn't that right, Ria?" I pushed his face, which was trying to smush mine away. Yucky.
"Depends." He refrained from smushing his cheek against mine and let me look up at him. His curious red eyes glanced down at me. "Hmm? On what?"
"How much gold you have on your person."
"..." Yes, I'm shaking my own brother down. Do you know how high my expenses are? I'm still barely scraping a runaway fund together.The life of a princess is not for the weak.
I open my mouth to take it back when he opens his palm and releases a stream of gold onto the ground. I watched in awe as it piled high. Money! I kicked his chin, causing him to release me so I could fall directly into the pile of gleaming money! My smile split my face as I opened my space bag and started vacuuming gold into my magical purse.
I giggled maniacally as I put it all away. There must be at least a thousand gold here. Stupi— I mean generous big brother. "I missed you so much!"
The training ground became oddly quiet while I lost my mind. Until it erupted in laughter and cheers. Rough soldiers and page boys in training laughed merrily at my expense, and I gave them the middle finger. They just cooed at me without showing any sign of being offended.
Meng Yucheng skipped over to me while the others stared at me in shock. Did I completely throw away all my dignity? Yes. Absolutely. But you would, too! You could feed a small country with this amount of money for a couple of years!
"You little money grubber! Don't you miss me too?" I stared at his attire and empty hands. Who are you calling grubby? Your boots are covered in dirt!
I replied snootily."You're too poor for me to miss."
"..."
Meng Yusheng snickered and pointed at his older brother while laughing. "She just called you a peasant!" His dark brown eyes glowed with mischief, and I could easily tell the difference now.
He yelled back, annoyed at his younger brother."Quiet!" Then he turned to me with an evil smile. Uh oh.
"Too poor? Yes, you're right. This brother is too poor. So please share—"
He snatched a few coins, and I squealed in distress. Then the other boys leaped at my money, too. Even the usually unbothered and solemn Meng Yuchen swiped quite a few for himself. "Eric! Do something!" I almost cried as I struggled to pilfer as much as I could away for myself. I need these coins. Ugh! Why do they have to be so annoying!?
I glared at the one who started it all. Yucheng! You don't understand. I need this. They have to stop. It's mine. It's mine. It's mine. It's mine.
All at once, my eyes narrowed, my small fists clenched, and the coins began to float in the air.
"..." I stared at them, bewildered.
One by one, they floated over to me, and Meng Yucheng was sent flying across the field.
…
What the fuck?
My jaw dropped as my mind glitched, trying to figure out what I just saw. All of the building rage left me like a deflated balloon. I sat in my little pile of money while surrounded by neatly arranged towers of money almost a foot tall.
Host, please refrain from using your abilities in public like so.
What? That was me?!
Yes, that was you. Didn't you feel a rush or any indication of such a thing?
I remember being pissed.
Hothead.
…
You're cleaning the chicken coop for the next two weeks.
What?! You can't do that!
My soul. My choice. You don't like it? Pay the rent and beat it!
…