"Good morning! Welcome to Ridgewood County!" Standing by the Villa front porch, a man in his late thirties greeted them with a broad smile upon ascending to the last steps. He then stretched his hand over Zelenia and introduced himself. "Greg Mason, at your service."
However, before Zelenia could lift her right arm, Xanther had already stretched his arm and shook Greg Mason's hand.
"Alexander Jang… General Manager of Smith Enterprise."
Both Zelenia and Greg became speechless. The latter glanced at the former before his gaze fixated on the man who shook his hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Jang." Greg Mason smiled awkwardly as he shook Xanther's hand.
"Hmm…" Xanther just hummed coldly as he let the other man's hand go.
Observing from the sideline, Zelenia smiled apologetically when Greg glanced at her.
'Typical of him, eh?' Luna spoke, and Zelenia shot a warning glare at her familiar. The former shrugged a shoulder and led the two children toward Mr. Robert Mason, waiting at the door frame. "Let's go, kids. Are you hungry?"
"Yes!" The twins replied. They followed the middle-aged man inside the villa.
As the situation outside was unlikely, Zelenia took the initiative to introduce herself after Xanther treated the man coldly.
"Zelena Henderson… I'm pleased to meet you." Upon saying it, she extended her arm, and Greg accepted it happily.
"The pleasure is mine, Miss Henderson. If you need anything in the future, please don't hesitate to request my assistance."
"How nice of you, Mr. Mason…."
"Please, you can call me by name."
Greg cut Zelenia off to displease Xander, rolling his eyes when the former showed his perfect teeth to the mother of the twins.
"Um… Alright… Thank you, Greg." Zelenia formed a slight smile that disappeared immediately when Xander glared at her. 'What is his problem?'
Zelenia found it odd.
General Manager Jang has spared no attention to her in the past, which is very convenient for her. However, she noticed something had changed lately, and he had become weirder.
"Please come in, Miss Henderson, Manager Jang. Breakfast has been prepared on the back porch."
"Oh, thank you… Are you?" Zelenia paused and scanned the man in front of her. Greg is wearing an apron; thus, the former had guessed that he was the one who prepared the meal.
"Ah! I forget to take off my apron! Haha!" The man laughed embarrassingly, but pride flashed in his eyes, which Xander did not miss noticing. He snorted.
'Shesh!' Xanther rolled his eyes but didn't let the other man see it.
However, Zelenia senses the silent hostility the former had felt toward the other man. Yet, she overlooked it and shrugged her shoulders.
"That is so kind of you, Greg." Snapping out of her thoughts, Zelenia smiled and ignored the other man, who deepened the frown on his face.
"Don't mention it." Greg beamed as his chest filled with warmth when Zelenia complimented him. "Please, come in."
The man ushered them inside and brought them straight to the back porch. They exited the door, descended a few wooden stairs, and walked five meters, trailing down stone steps.
Greg led them toward the middle of the garden, where there was a long table filled with food.
At the dining table, the twins had already munched a piece of the pancake while Luna poured her teacup with tea.
Zelenia smiled upon seeing her twins adequately seated on the dining chair and eating happily; even though Kian fed them throughout the flight, her kids didn't turn down the older man's invitation to have a meal.
"Have a seat, Miss Henderson." Greg pulled a chair beside Aisha.
Zelenia thanked the guy as she sat down.
As she picked up her cutlery, the chair on her right was pulled out. She turned her head and saw it was Xanther. She blinked and watched his every move, which left her mouth agape.
The latter picked up a pancake and placed it on her plate, then next were a few strips of bacon and ham. She wanted to stop him but didn't want to embarrass him; thus, she thanked the guy and pursed her lips with a faint smile.
Zelenia chose to eat quietly while she appreciated the beautiful garden. The place was exquisite and breathtaking, especially since the air they breathed in was fresh, unlike the breeze in the city. She loved those climbing roses that became arches in the pathways.
At that moment, Zelenia has the desire to return to the countryside and have a garden like this one. Living in a place like this was a little reminiscent of what her garden looked like in the Celestial Universe.
"Mommy, it was so nice here," Aisha whispered, which snapped Zelenia out of her daze.
"Indeed, honey. It was too pleasant here!" Zelenia smiled and returned a whisper to her daughter's ear.
Across the table, Greg was seated after Xanther's position next to Zelenia. He witnessed the mother and daughter whispering to each other.
"Miss Henderson, your daughter is the spitting image of you." He had a broad smile as he spoke.
Unbeknownst to them, someone contracted his pupils upon hearing the comment from the other guy. He shot a sharp glare at the man across from him, but the latter ignored him and continued to chat with Zelenia.
"Miss Henderson, if you wish to tour the entire town, I can drive you around."
"Sure, Greg. That would be wonderful." Zelenia was honest and didn't see any wrong with the idea. However, someone was sulking in silence.
"Then Mr. Mason can accompany me to the site while Zelena and the kids take some rest. The two of you haven't had a wink since we took off." At that moment, Xanther sounded like a father.
Seeing him behaving like this, Zelenia's hand, holding a fork with a portion of ham, stops halfway. It amazed her how the latter spoke that way casually: neither cold nor cheerful. But the twins had other plans.
"Mommy, we aren't sleepy yet. We wanted to see the whole place. It looks like fun here!"
If it were the other kids who lived in the city for a longer time, they would probably complain about how quiet and boring there was.
However, it was quite the opposite of how the twins behaved. Their eyes twinkled with excitement at seeing more of this town.
Unknown to the adults, Aisha and Janus could not wait to summon their familiar and begin training. They found this place perfect for doing that.
There were vast giant woods surrounding the lake and almost no houses around. They believe they could sneak into the woods and wander around with their familiars.
Janus and Aisha shared a knowing look, which was obvious to Luna what they had in mind. Her lips pursed, and she spoke to the priestess.
'You and the kids should go, priestess. Let me and Sora stay here to put up the magic barrier.'