When they finished having their breakfast, the doorbell rang.
The helpers were here. The cook noticed that they were done with their breakfast, so she skillfully cleaned the table. She went to the kitchen and busied herself with the unwashed crockery.
The gardener was outside, trimming the overgrown hedges. The cleaner was upstairs, cleaning. The hustle and bustle made the house come alive. It felt very homely.
Adrian went into the study to prepare for his expedition, and Arella went to the Beastnet to look for aptitude enhancing tips. At present, she was in the spiritual grass gathering group, along with other E and D ranked people.
TOI 7000 e had a lot of forest cover. Some forests were dangerously deep and home to various animals. These forests were used as hunting grounds for the wealthy. After they had hunted, it was the turn of the spirit grass gathering group to enter the forest.
They scouted for spiritual herbs that could be used as nourishment for newborn beasts. It was fairly easy to spot them. They glowed. It was a low level, time consuming menial task, hence given to the lower strata.
In their team, they had a few birds. But with lower aptitude, they couldn't fly high or far. So, they had to be on their feet to cover the entire forest. Once they were done, a high ranking bird would fly over to inspect their work.
If the bird couldn't spot any more spiritual herbs, the forest would be closed for rejuvenation, and their team would get another forest. It was a never ending cycle.
Arella did not like this task, but she had to do it. It was because the other viable options weren't exactly lucrative.
One team of E and D ranked group was tasked with cleaning the furs of higher beasts. Nobody liked to be drowned in the furn of other beasts! While the other groups were tasked with taking care of the newborns. Newborns were impulsive and unbridled. Arella wasn't fond of newborns.
Considering the alternatives, Arella knew at a glance that the forest group was the best! Moreover, it helped her in improving her stamina! Thanks to her occupation, now, she could walk from morning to evening without feeling dizzy!
As she was looking at her current situation, the doorbell rang once again. Somebody was at their door, again.
She went and opened the door. In front of her was the attendant who had followed them like a shadow during the ceremony.
"Good morning, Madam!" The attendant greeted her loudly.
Arella's wide smile went stiff! She politely responded while maintaining a stiff smile. Inwardly, she hoped and prayed that her ears weren't bleeding! Why did he have to be so loud? She wasn't deaf!
Adrian had already come down. The loud greeting and Arella's stiff face couldn't escape his eyes.
The attendant felt a sudden chill. When he looked up, he saw the frosty face of his chief glaring at him! No, no! Why was his chief in such a foul mood? Did he do something wrong again? He didn't want to be punished! His body was still aching from all the training he had undergone recently!
Masking his nervousness, he greeted his chief in another loud voice.
"Do you think we are deaf?" Adrian's cold response chilled his core.
Oh no! This time he realized what a blunder he had made!
"Sorry, Sir! I won't repeat it!" Afterward, he bowed in front of them. This time learning from his past mistakes, he apologized in normal decibels.
"Okay. But be cautious next time. No more mistakes allowed!" Adrian was still in a bad mood. He thought that sooner or later, people around him were going to scare his little wife away!
"Arella, this is Andrew. He is an Eagle, C ranked. He works as my personal attendant. If you can't reach me, you can contact him." Adrian looked at Arella and introduced the loud attendant.
"Oh! Hello, nice to meet you!" Arella greeted him warmly. Admiration filled her pores. A C-ranked eagle! Wow!
"Pleasure is all mine, Madam!" Andrew politely responded.
"Sir, Madam! Listening to the happy news of your union, a lot of people have sent you blessings and gifts." He gestured towards the two parked trucks in the grassland.
"Put them in the guest bedroom. Make a list of senders and send them a thank you note and something befitting in return." Adrian was precise in his directions.
Soon, people started moving the gifts to the guest bedroom. They were packed in big cartons. Arella could not make out anything about the contents. She tried guesswork, but looking at the number of gifts piling up, she soon gave up.
They were very clean in their actions. Within an hour, they unloaded everything and went away.
"When can we open the gifts?" Arella asked Adrian with a hint of excitement. She had never seen so many gifts in her entire life!
"Let's do it now," Adrian said softly to the beaming girl.
Looking at her enthusiasm, he thought it wouldn't be bad to open the gifts now.
"Okay." Arella heartily made her way towards the guest bedroom. Adrian followed closely behind.
The entire room was jam-packed. There was no place to sit in the room. Both of them first made way and reached the bed. And then, started opening the boxes that were on the bed.
The movers had emptied their cartons in the room. Colorful papers reflected the sunlight and a rainbow formed on the walls.
Looking at the girl, who was impatiently opening the packages, Adrian unknowingly felt a sense of peace and happiness. To him, receiving gifts was normal. Everybody wanted to curry favor with him. He had never paid attention to the gifts he had received earlier. But this was different.
These were their wedding gifts. Watching her opening packet after packet, Adrian felt a hint of excitement budding inside him. He too felt curious as to what was in the boxes.
Adrian did not know that unwrapping gifts could be such an exhilarating experience. Let's say, he learned another thing today.
The gifts included jewelry, cards, items, paintings, perfumes, spiritual stones, and exotic herbs. Everything looked expensive and exquisite. Arella couldn't help but marvel at these!
Meanwhile, Adrian was observing her. He wanted to find out what his little wife liked the most. Then, he could buy her more of that. But to his dismay, she paid no particular attention to anything. Everything made her surprised but none made its way to her eyes.
In the pile, a particular gift caught Adrian's sight. It was a gift given by Andrew. Adrian wasn't expecting that! Being his assistant, Andrew very well knew that Adrian didn't like gifts. Everything would be sent to the warehouse. But still, he gave them a gift.
Adrian grabbed the packet. He wanted to know what his silly attendant had given them!
When Adrian opened it, he found a book inside. And the title was "100 Ways to Chase My Wife." Adrian hurriedly hid the book behind him. Fortunately, Arella was busy unwrapping another present.
Adrian had mixed feelings for Andrew's gift. Should he feel happy? Should he feel mocked? Never mind, he will keep it aside for now. Who knows, maybe he could use it in the future.
Adrian kept the book aside and looked up at Arella. She was sitting in a trance with her gaze fixed. And in her hand was a fiery, blazing ruby.