The Emperor's Secret Luna

Chapter 7: Anestin City

Anestin City. The land was vast and was divided into four villages. The city was located in the western area outside of the capital city, which would take almost 3 days to reach.

The Grasmere Village was where the rich and powerful people lived, the Swinford Village was commercially developed, the Cromere Village was where the middle class gathered, and the Berxley Village… an abandoned village and was inhabited. Locals also call it the ghost village, as no one has lived there for many years.

However, Berxley Village was bustling today, because some strangers visited there, though no stranger had visited the village for a long time. It was said that the leader of these strangers was a gorgeous girl in a snow-white dress who looked like a celestial being walking out of a painting, and no woman in the entire Anestin City could match her.

When the locals of the other villages heard about it, they all rushed to see her…

“Young Lady, rumors have spread that Berxley Village is a cursed land. Are we going to settle down there? We could find a place to stay in the other villages.”

At this time, in the abandoned land of Berxley Village, Esther followed Alvira. She looked at the desolate land and asked with a frown. “His Grace would not like it if you stayed here. This place is uncleaned and there might be wild animals that have inhabited here. It would be dangerous for your safety, Lady Alvira.”

Alvira nodded without hesitation, “This is mine, so we should settle here.”

The corners of Esther’s mouth twitched, “But Lady Alvira, if you only want to make this place flourish, that would take time. Why do you have to suffer living in such a forsaken place?”

Alvira paused, looked back at Esther, and said, “We can only make this flourish once someone has settled here… And we will be the first villagers of this desolate village.”

She didn’t tell her the real reason!

Anestin City was part of the Islomore Empire and the imperial family had eyes everywhere. Every situation that would commence in the city would be reported back to the emperor without a doubt. Berxley Village is the safest place for her to stay in the city as it was once owned by Grand Princess Cecilia. No one would dare to spy on the property once owned by the imperial sister of the emperor.

Aside from it being her land, no one would dare to spy on her because of the rumors circulating about the village. She could plant the Chantrea army with ease and made them guard the place without precaution. Making the village progress might be hard, but she had absolute freedom in this place. No matter what she did, the imperial family would not intervene. That was why she chose to settle in Berxley Village.

Alvira gazed at Sir Hillard Adams, one of the guards escorting her, and solemnly ordered, “Sir Hillard, I’ll give you a month and during this period, I want you to lead our troops to build houses for us to live in for the following months.”

Sir Hillard smiled, “As you wish Lady Alvira. I would order some of our highly trained guards to build us temporary tents later. We will make sure that you will be able to rest comfortably while the construction is in progress.”

“Just a bed to rest is fine for me.” Alvira said, clasping her hands behind her back, “Esther and I will walk around Anestin City for a while to get familiar with the environment.”

“Yes, Lady Alvira!”

***

In a luxurious mansion in Grasmere Village, a middle-aged man slowly put down the teacup in his hand and squinted at the servant standing in front of him.

“Really? Someone was planning to live in Berxley Village?”

The servant respectfully answered,” Yes, Your Lordship. Construction materials are being delivered to the village as we speak. And I think that they were led by a young lady. But they looked like someone who came from a noble family.”

“Hahahaha,” the middle-aged man smiled with contempt, “Is that young lady stupid? Anestin City had so many good lands yet they chose to settle in that abandoned village. Collect more information about them, then report back to me.”

“Yes, Your Lordship!” The servant made obeisance and retreated respectfully.

Hearing his words, a young woman who was standing beside the middle-aged man frowned, and a light flicked across her beautiful eyes. “Father, what are you going to do with the information?”

“Making money, of course!” The middle-aged man sneered, “If they are someone who came from a noble family, we will be making fortunes because of them.”

“Father, what are you planning to do?”

The middle-aged man slightly narrowed his eyes and a sly light flashed through his eyes. “Our Campbell family owned land in Cromer Village and it’s a total waste. No matter what crops we tried to plant, nothing survived or ever grown, so it is a useless piece of land. I will sell that to her since she seemed to be clueless about land.”

The young woman didn’t expect that her father would sell that wasteland to that stranger, which caused her expression to be surprised. But, regardless, she still felt uncomfortable after hearing the description that the servant had said to them. He said that the woman was stunningly beautiful.

She was the most beautiful lady in the whole city and she would never allow anyone to take that crown away from her. So, she must see who this woman was…

Meanwhile, the woman they were talking about was busy strolling in the streets of Swinford Village. It was bustling with noise and different stalls and shops were lined up on every corner of the village.

In the busy, shop-lined bazaar, Esther looked around with her big, bright eyes, and her eyes were full of curiosity. Suddenly, a parrot bird locked in the cage caught her attention.

Purple-colored, the parrot bird had colorful feathers and long tail feathers, with bright pink and white stripes decorated on its two wings. Because of its appearance, many people are still attracted by its beauty and appearance.

Alvira noticed the interest in her maidservant’s eyes and asked, “Do you like it?”

Esther nodded, “It’s so beautiful Lady Alvira. I heard that this kind of colorful parrot was very rare and can only be brought through auctions. I didn’t expect to see it here.”

“Since you like it, I’ll go buy it for you.” Alvira had never been stingy with the people serving her. She wouldn’t mind buying this parrot, no matter the price, as long as Esther liked it. After all, she had never been someone who lacked the money, to begin with.

Esther’s eyes widened as she immediately shook her head, “It’s okay Lady Alvira. I was just spouting nonsense! There’s no need for you to buy it for me. It’s enough that I have seen it in person!”

“It’s fine. Consider it as a gift for serving wholeheartedly for the past years.” With that said, Alvira headed towards the shop and ignored Esther’s continuous refusal.

In front of the shop, everyone was looking at the parrot bird placed in the doorway, but no one asked about the price. They were all attracted by its beautiful appearance but they were certain that it was at an astronomical price. Who would want to spend so much money on just an animal?

“Everyone!” the shop owner came out and said with a smile, “This parrot bird was just recently captured by our hunters and it was the last of its kind. It was said that whoever owns this parrot bird can accumulate a tremendous amount of luck in love. So, for those who are still single, you can buy this parrot bird and I’m certain that you would definitely meet the one destined for you.”

The shop owner looked at the crowd and continued, “To be honest, if I wasn’t married yet, I would definitely keep it for myself! In this world, being lucky in a relationship is such a rare blessing! Only those who have accumulated a tremendous amount of luck can have a successful marriage. And so, anyone paying me six thousand coins of silver can take her away!”

Six thousand coins of silver is not a high amount yet for a pet, it is definitely not worth it. Even if what the owner said was true, no one was still willing to buy it.

Alvira slowly walked to the shop owner. During this process, she never looked at the parrot bird as if she had ignored her. “Here,” she handed down a money bag full of silver coins. It was so heavy that it totaled six thousand coins.

“Can I take it now?”

The shop owner took the money bag from her hand with a smile and nodded after checking it out. “Of course. Since this young lady had already paid me the amount, this parrot bird is yours now. I will ask the servants of the shop to send it to your home.”

“Wait a minute!” Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

The crowd parted to let the speaker pass. At the end of the road, a woman wearing a silver dress slowly walked toward them, followed by a group of maids. This woman looked beautiful and elegant, like an otherworldly celestial being.

“It’s Miss Vera, from the house of Campbell!”

“Miss Vera Campbell is the most beautiful woman in Anestin City and the dream of countless single men. I wasn’t expecting her to be there. Is she also interested in the parrot bird?”

“Do you know where this white-dressed woman is from? She looks even more beautiful than Miss Vera. It seems that she was not from Anestin City or else we must have already heard of her.”

In this city, if a person wanted to be remembered by the public, they had to be the greatest. A great genius or the greatest beauty.

Vera Campbell walked up to Alvira and gave a graceful smile, “Miss, I happen to be interested in that parrot bird as well. Can you give it to me? I will pay you several times the amount you have paid.”

After hearing her words, everyone gasped in surprise. Vera Campbell was also interested in this parrot bird.

“I can’t. My maidservant likes this bird so I can’t give it to you.”

If they were surprised by Vera’s generous offer, they were stupefied by Alvira’s response.

In Anestin City, there were 2 great families, which were the house of Campbell, which was headed by Baron Hayden Campbell, the richest family in the city. And the house of Connor was headed by Marquess Anton Connor, the one who held the highest noble rank in the city. If Baron Campbell controls the economy of the city, Marquess Connor controls its political governance.

Vera Campbell was the only daughter of Baron Campbell, so she had been spoiled since birth. All the things she wants will be given to her without difficulties. With her family background, how dare this newly arrived woman refuse her?

Vera still smiled, “There are so many other birds in this shop. You can choose another one for your maidservant.”

Alvira raised her eyebrows and glanced expressionlessly at Vera’s graceful face. “My maidservant liked it so she would get it.”

Esther worriedly glanced at her young lady as she whispered, “Lady Alvira, let’s just give it to her. I can choose another one. I’m afraid it will cause you trouble.”

However, Alvira ignored her words and still looked at Vera without backing down.

A maid beside Vera could not bear it and she stood up and snapped, “Do you know who our young miss is? She is the beloved daughter of Baron Campbell! You should be grateful that she did not punish you for not showing respect as soon as you saw her! How dare you still try to take what our young miss liked?! Get out of here if you don’t want to die!”

“Freeda,” It wasn’t until the maidservant had finished speaking that Vera pretended to stop her, “Let’s be polite even if their ranks are lower than us.” Then she turned to Alvira and gave an elegant smile, “Miss, as you can see, this parrot bird is very delicate. I want to buy her because it is a way for her to survive. Our family-owned a vast land that enabled it to fly freely. Besides, taking care of this bird is very costly and needs special treatment. If you really like this bird, why not give her to me and give her a chance to survive?”

She meant that she wanted to buy this parrot bird not because she liked it, but because of kindness. She just wanted to let the bird survive, even if she had to pay several times the normal price to buy it.

In the crowds’ eyes, Alvira suddenly became selfish and didn’t care about the life of the animal.

“Miss, I suggest you give the bird to Miss Vera. Miss Vera is right, among all the families in the city, the house of Campbell is the richest. They could provide all the basic needs and the special treatment that the parrot bird needed to survive.”

Someone among the crowd stood up and righteously blamed Alvira.

Esther became so angry after hearing the contempt in the crowd’s voices towards her young lady. “My young lady is not poor! How dare you point fingers toward my young lady?!”

Hearing this, the crowd could not help but burst into laughter. “Your young lady is rich?! How can you prove it? Even if she is indeed rich, can she be compared with the house of Campbell?!”

In Anestin City, the house of Campbell was so prestigious that no one would ever doubt their strength. Since most of the locals had never gone out of the city and it is located a bit far from the capital city, no one had seen nor recognized Alvira. No one was able to connect her to the great duke nor thought that she was the heiress of the ducal house of Chantrea in the capital city.

“Miss, I’ll pay you one hundred thousand silver coins. Just give her to me.” Vera looked at the parrot in the cage with pity. “I really wanted her to survive and not let her go extinct.”

Because of Vera’s pitiful appearance, the crowd was completely irritated.

“Why are you so cruel?! Why don’t you just give the bird to Miss Vera?!”

“I thought that beautiful ladies must be kind and generous just like Miss Vera, who would have thought that I was wrong. It seems that some are wicked by heart! No one is as kind and as pure-hearted as Miss Vera!”

Everyone was speaking righteously, as if Alvira was a heinous villain.