It had been far too long since I had seen her so the first thing after my wonderful sword strike, I was running towards her house.
Her mansion was not that far from ours so a quick run would suffice. I was speeding past the empty roads while Celes was right next to me.
She couldn't go faster than me since she didn't know where the Zocraten family lived.
It's good that nobles spend more time indoors since it leaves the roads on the western side empty. We could speed up any worries.
"Elina should have seen the thunder. It's my signature greeting call so she will be welcoming us at the door." I told Celes. I wasn't wrong.
In front of the massive white mansion surrounded by green, lush gardens stood the tall figure of the one I was devoted to.
I came to a stop and patted myself clean. I quickly asked Celes if I looked fine and she said no comment. She considers herself unable to judge the looks of men unless they look downright horrendous.
Lined up in front of the gates were 2 rows of maids in their classic uniforms. They had a slight bow and had their eyes closed. At the end and middle of the rows stood the members of the Zoacraten household.
Elina stood in the very center. She wore an elegant black dress with gold and light blue embroidery.
She was also wearing her favorite black hat. She looked perfect as always with her golden hair and blue gleaming from the sun shining upon her.
Her ears were oddly unadorned unlike usual but I would change that.
I walked past all the maids and stood right in front of her. I looked Elina straight in the eyes.
The memories from years back started to replay in my mind. The times we spent vandalizing local shops. The time we spent blowing up the city sewer and stinking up the city.
The time spent doing so many unruly things together.
"I've missed you." She said softly. I smiled.
"I missed you too. I'm sorry for not being with you for so long." Seeing her smiling so gently and looking at me with those loving eyes, I can't help but regret leaving.
Attending that school really wasn't worth it. If they hadn't compensated me so well for my loss and if I hadn't found Celes, I would have pulled out my hair in frustration. It did not teach me the things I wanted to learn.
"It's fine." She reaches out her hands and cups my face in them. "You look so thin. You better not skip a single meal from Auntie."
"I won't." For some reason, I could see a faint drop of water forming in her eyelids. I must have hurt her more than I thought.
I could only make up for my mistake by staying beside her. I hope the gifts I brought will make her at least a bit happier on the inside.
We didn't stay outside as it's considered rude to stand on one's doorstep too long without entering or leaving.
Elina took a single glance at Celes who was maintaining a slight distance from us. I could see a slight frown on both of their faces.
------------------
I sat down in the guest living room. I wasn't allowed to sit in the main living room since we were not family yet.
I sat right next to Elina while Celes sat right across from us.
"Introduce yourself," demanded Erina with her authoritative tone. Even though I sent letters to Elina that spoke about my relationship with Celes, she still seemed pissed off about her.
"The name is Celes Von Ederton. A former student of the Supreme Sword Sect and a former adventurer from the Nomara Province." Celes said calmly even though she was annoyed by Elina's tone.
She never liked people talking like that to her, especially if they were of the same or younger age.
"Hoh, former student you say." Erina seemed surprised as she looked at me with her brow raised.
"About that, she didn't want to stay in that school without me so she withdrew." I explained. This seemed to make her even angrier as I could hear a small, yet cute, grunt.
"An adventurer huh...what rank did you make it to?" asked Erina. Her tone was still condescending.
Erina was definitely trying to get on Celes' nerves and was doing it spectacularly.
"C rank..." said Celes while notably grinding her teeth. This was a sore spot that Celes had and I had clearly told Erina about this.
"Erina, why are you doing this?" I can't let this go any further. I could not tell why she was treating Celes like this but it had to stop.
"What do you mean dear? I am just questioning a beautiful lady who accompanies my future husband while visiting me for the first three years. Is there anything wrong with that?"
When I heard this, I realized where I had fucked up. In my letters. I had never described Celes' appearance. I forgot how important looks are to women in this society.
Though Erina would never consider Celes to be her rival, it was still uneasy for women like her to see their lover be with someone so attractive.
I took Erina's hand into my own as I squeezed it lightly. "I'm sorry. I should have described how she looked. I know how jealous you get. This truly is my fault."
"Jealous? Me? Hmph, never in a million years. Tell me what I am to you."
I grinned and went up close to her face and said "You are my goddess."
People would say that I was too enamored and people back on my home planet would probably call me a 'simp' but I don't care. I've lived so many lives and been to so many worlds but she was the first woman who was able to understand me.
Yeah, this wasn't my first life and it wasn't my first relationship but that doesn't change my loyalty. My parents in all lives have taught me to be loyal.
I intend on not taking more wives than just her even though nobles could have a maximum of 5. I probably couldn't handle more than her she she was already a handful even before marriage.
"Ugh, you two lovebirds are disgusting. Get a room." Celes does a faux vommiting gesture as she glares at us.
"We would have gotten one if you didn't come with me." I retorted. She could have come another day but her impatient ass could never wait.
I decided to pick up a pillow and throw it at the laughing Celes and she did the same. Despite being adults, we are still children. We start a whole pillow fight.
"Cough! It's not the best time for this. I have some urgent news." Erina interrupted us as we hadn't decided on a winner for our fight yet. I reluctantly listened even though I wasn't in the mood for official business.
She wouldn't interrupt my fun if it wasn't serious.
"Our entire plantation was burnt down yesterday using a specialized mana bomb." she revealed.
I sat there and thought about what she had just said. There were already a dozen possible culprits that I had in mind and a dozen different ways to find out. I was already thinking of what I could do to make them disappear accidentally.
I was about to enter a trance trying to think of our next steps when-
"Relax. I already know who did it. I just don't have any proof." Erina said
"Huh! You do? How?" I was bewildered. As creative as Erina was, she wasn't very good at scheming or spying. Neither was her father or mother.
They had a very incompetent investigative team and are infamous for this severe weakness. There was no way they found out anything this fast.
"Just trust me okay? I know who did this and I want them to pay. I just need to you find some proof and help me take care of them. Can you do that?" she said in the last sentence with a mellow tone that I couldn't help but want to melt in.
"Of course. Give me 3 days...no, give me 1 day and I will find the evidence." I declared. I was confident that I could find the evidence as long as I knew where to look.
"Who was it then?" asked Celes. She seemed eager to know and was caressing her sword on the side. Don't worry Celes, I will let you handle the bloody bits.
"Don't be surprised okay," Erina asked while sighing.
"I won't! You know how hardly anything surprises me." I said proudly.
"Hah, I warned you. It was Uncle London."
My brain froze when I heard this.
"Huh? Uncle London? You're joking right?" I was stammering. My brain was about to become ice even though that wasn't my element.
It can't possibly be him, he's Aunt Jenny's husband!