"Get up, you sleepyhead... Wake up..."
Alan felt a small, soft hand shaking him awake. Opening his bleary eyes, he saw Rose trying to rouse him. "Hello, Rose. What's the matter?" he mumbled.
"Big brother, you slept for an entire day and two nights. Wake up," she urged him.
Suddenly sitting bolt upright, Alan looked at William and Lilly, who were standing next to Rose, both laughing at his expression. "Is it already the second day?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Al. Come, get ready. We will have our breakfast."
They left the room, leaving Alan to prepare. Within 20 minutes, he joined them at the dining table. "Good morning, everyone. Sorry that I slept for two nights," he apologized, bowing his head in embarrassment.
George smiled, "We can understand, dear boy. That old man had worked you extra hard, it seems."
"Not at all, Great Uncle George. I put in some extra efforts, that's all."
Everyone sat down and enjoyed their breakfast.
"By the way, everyone, be at the study room after breakfast. I have something to say," George announced, piquing everyone's curiosity.
Everyone gathered in the study room. Within 5 minutes, George entered with a servant carrying four wooden boxes of various shapes and sizes.
Surprised, everyone looked forward to seeing what was inside those boxes. After placing the boxes on the table, the servant took his leave.
"Well, I have a few gifts to hand over," George announced. He took a small box and looked at Rose. Delighted, Rose ran towards her grandfather to receive the gift.
"Take it, darling. This is for you," George said, handing the box to her.
Eagerly, Rose opened it and beamed as she took out the exquisite gold hairpin. "So pretty, Grandpa! I love it," she exclaimed, hugging the hairpin happily. Everyone was pleased to see Rose's delight.
"Next is for dear Lilly," George said, taking a thin and long box. Lilly went happily and took it from his hands. "Thank you, Grandpa," she beamed and opened the box.
She literally started jumping with joy upon seeing the present inside. "It's a bow... It's a beautiful bow!" she laughed loudly and took it out—a beautifully crafted wooden bow made from Oak. The grains were perfect, with no cracks on the wood, and it was perfectly sized for Lilly.
Once Lilly calmed down, George turned his attention to the two boys. "Do you boys really not want the 10% profit?" he asked again. They both shook their heads resolutely. He sighed and continued, "In these past 8 months, we have transacted with Mr. Marshal six times. Each time, the profit we received was 200% of what we had initially expected before including you in the negotiation—bringing the total profit to almost 500 gold coins per transaction. So, we got 3000 gold coins for six transactions, 1500 gold coins more than what we expected. We expect at least 20,000 gold coins by the end of these contracts." Andrews noded his head happily, Elena and Mary were awestruck by these figures.
"The best part is we are doing the transaction with peace of mind and zero risk, all thanks to you both. Honestly, I am happy to even give you 5000 gold coins each as it will not affect my initially planned profit," he said and looked at the boys again. However, he was taken aback by their uninterested response.
"Alright then, here you go, Alan, my boy," George presented a box. Alan took it happily, thanking him. When he opened it, he was stunned to his core.
It was the most beautifully crafted pair of twin axes he had ever seen—identical to the ones he had glimpsed inside Master Steve's room that day!
In shock, Alan looked up at George. "Great... great Uncle George... this is Master... Master Steve's..." He couldn't finish his sentence as his voice choked, and tears filled his eyes with gratitude. George smiled happily, walked towards Alan, and hugged him.
"Thank you for saving my family, my son. I know everything, and it will stay with me until you say otherwise. Compared to my family, all of my wealth is nothing in my eyes," he whispered in Alan's ears.
It took a few seconds for Alan to compose himself, and he bowed deeply to George. George returned to the table and spoke again, "Initially, I wanted to get you a sword, but Steve said you will be forging it yourself next week. That old fool looked so proud saying it, that I believe he will be helping you forge a reliable sword. He is the one who suggested these axes, by the way," George said, smiling.
"I can't thank you enough, Great Uncle George. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family," Alan said in a choking voice.
Elena and Lilly both went to Alan and hugged him. "Thank you, dear. Honestly, we are blessed to have you as a part of our family," Elena spoke with tears in her eyes. Mary smiled, patted Alan, and, along with Elena and Lilly, who were still hugging him, said, "Thank you for saving my life, big brother. Thank you so much."
"Hey, what about me? Why am I not getting any hugs? I was also there, right?" Williams asked, jealousy in his tone. Everyone laughed happily. Elena and Lilly both went to him and hugged him as well. William looked at Alan wickedly, "See, Al, you are not the only hero. Ouch... it hurts, Lilly." He rubbed his stomach as Lilly punched him.
Alan, Rose, and Lilly all started laughing loudly, and even the adults joined in.
"Now, Williams, this is for you, dear," George presented a box similar to Alan's. Before he took the box, George whispered the same thing he said to Alan, Williams was also stunned. He continued, "There is one more gift outside waiting for you."
Williams was surprised but accepted the gift happily and opened the box. Like Alan, he was also dumbfounded to see a beautifully crafted pair of dual axes. So beautiful, he smiled and took them out. Alan noticed they were also made by his master but lacked the magical essence.