BXBX NOVEL Chapter 269 - Rewards
Zero exited the carriage and showed himself and the token to the guard on duty.
The guard inspected the authenticity of the token for a few seconds and looked at Zero. "Good morning, my lord!" he said.
"Good morning, Ador! The family is expecting our arrival today," he said.
"I know, my lord. I was informed about your arrival," the guard signaled his comrades to open the massive gate.
Zero went back inside the carriage. They proceed inside the huge lawn where fountains and gardens can be seen through the carriage window. And up ahead are six huge manors erected at different areas of the 10-hectare land, and the biggest of them all is the manor of the leader, the one that was looming a few meters away.
A servant guided the carriages at the back, passing the biggest manor, heading to the last manor located at the end of the property.
The carriage stopped in front of the front yard of the manor.
Zero looked at Nini. "We finally arrived at your parent\'s manor! Let\'s get inside!" he said.
"Okay!" Nini replied excitedly.
The two exited the carriage.
They were ushered into the living room of the manor by a servant.
Waiting on the couch were Nini\'s parents and siblings.
Zero greeted the couple. "Good morning... my lord, my lady!"
The couple smiled at Zero and stared at the girl beside him.
Zero glanced at the girl standing beside him. "This is Nini, your lost daughter!" he said. "Nini, they are your parents and siblings! Your mother\'s name is Lady Evelyn, and your father\'s name is Lord Tony. Your sister\'s name is Angela, and your brother\'s name is Aron," he said and concluded his introduction.
The couple looked at each other, misty-eyed.
"Wife, our daughter looks just like you!" Tony told his wife.
"Yes, she is the younger version of me!" Evelyn said as fresh tears streamed down her face due to happiness. She rushed to Nini\'s side and hugged her tightly. "Welcome home, daughter!" she said lovingly.
The mother and daughter hugged each other for eternity.
"I\'m so happy that you\'re finally back in our midst!" Evelyn said jovially.
Nini\'s eyes were overflowing with tears the moment her mother hugged her. Her heart was filled with gladness. She felt the same feeling of tenderness every time her deceased nanny hugged her when she\'s still alive. She missed her beloved nanny so much!
After hugging her daughter, Evelyn let go of her. It\'s now time for her husband to hug his long-lost daughter.
The father and daughter hugged for a few minutes.
"Welcome back, daughter! We finally found you after twenty years of torture! We are so happy right now. Our family is finally complete again!" Tony gushes, feeling emotional a bit.
Nini was speechless and felt overwhelmed. She found herself staring at her older brother and sister.
"Welcome home, sis!" Angela said happily and hugged her.
"Welcome home, sister!" Aron spoke.
Zero watched the happiness glowing on Nini\'s face and that of his entire family.
Today is indeed a memorable day because they were united again after twenty years of separation.
Tony addressed his family. "Everyone, let\'s proceed to the dining hall and eat breakfast!" he said. He looked at Zero. "Come with us, young man! Celebrate with us!" he ordered.
Zero smiled. "Thank you, my lord!"
Evelyn holds her long-lost daughter\'s hand and guided her toward the dining hall.
They entered the dining hall and gathered around the table, and settled on their seats.
Tony raised her wine glass and watched the happy faces of his family. "To my long-lost daughter and my beloved family, may our happiness will last for eternity! Cheers!" he said.
"Cheers!" they said in unison.
Everyone raised their glass and smiled at each other happily.
They ate breakfast in comfortable silence.
After they finished eating breakfast, they went back to the living room.
Evelyn looked at her husband. "Angela and I will bring Nini to her room upstairs so that she can freshen up and take a rest," she told her husband.
Tony replied, "Go ahead, girls!"
The boys remained in the living room.
Tony looked at the young man who found his long-lost daughter. "Can you tell us about this soothsayer\'s prophecy about our daughter?" he requested. He already knew the whole history of how his daughter was found by Zero and the life of his daughter in that parallel universe. No matter how hard he tries, he can\'t remember offending someone living in another parallel universe.
Zero nodded his head. He only mentions in his detailed report that Granny Menedelia has a prophecy about Nini, but he didn\'t elaborate on it. He wants to tell them in person. And now it\'s the right time to inform them of the prophecy.
He cleared his throat. "The soothsayer was able to see a glimpse of Nini\'s future and told me that your daughter will bring calamity to the whole Helix Vanguard Clan. We didn\'t inform Nini about it," he said.
Father and son looked at each other in shock.
They were dumbfounded for a moment, shaken to the core by the shocking prophecy.
Tony asked curiously, "W-what specific calamity that old woman was talking about?"
"Granny told me that Nini will slaughter the whole Helix Vanguard Clan sometime in the future," Zero replied.
A stunned Tony stared at Zero for a long time. He was taken aback by the soothsayer\'s outrageous claim.
"That\'s nonsense! My sister has just returned to us. Why would she do that to her family?" Aron blurted.
Zero released a deep sigh. "I was also doubting the whole thing," he agreed with Aron.
Tony was silent for a long time, then he finally smiled. "I think that old woman was just spouting nonsense!" he said, trying to ignore the nagging thoughts that are making him uneasy.
"I know, right!" Aron agreed with his father.
Tony patted Zero\'s shoulder. "Let\'s forget about the nonsense that the old woman was telling you because I don\'t believe her prophecy. Now, let\'s talk about the reward that my wife and I, and the rest of the clan have agreed with to reward you..."
Zero smiled. "No need for the reward, my lord! It\'s just my humble contribution to our clan!" he said shyly.
"No, we must reward you for your great contribution in finding our missing daughter!" Tony insisted. "You never get tired of finding her until you finally got a breakthrough. We are thankful for your efforts. Because of your untiring dedication to the cause, our family is complete again. We owe it all to you. So, aside from the gold coins, we would like to reward you with our daughter\'s hands in marriage! We want you to marry our daughter! We want you to become our son-in-law!" Tony declared proudly.
Zero\'s eyes widened in shock. Holy shiit! Granny Menedelia\'s prophecy is finally happening. They\'re going to marry Nini to him as a reward! It\'s all coming true! Therefore, there is a big possibility that Nini is going to massacre her whole family and relatives!
Tony noticed the expression of shock and uneasiness that were plastered on Zero\'s face after hearing his declaration. "What\'s wrong, lad? You don\'t like the rewards that we\'re about to give you? You don\'t like marrying our daughter and officially become part of the Helix Vanguard Clan? The rewards are not enough for you?" he asked in bewilderment. He was expecting that Zero\'s face would display elation, but quite the opposite. He was bothered by his lack of enthusiasm with his rewards.
Zero released a deep sigh. "It\'s not like that, my lord! I\'m satisfied with the rewards. But now that it comes to this... I\'ll tell you about the other prophecy that the old woman has told me," he said.
Aron\'s face registered curiosity. "Another prophecy-?"
A frown appeared on Tony\'s face. "What is the other prophecy? Can you tell us about it?" he requested.
Zero cleared his throat. "The soothsayer told me that Nini\'s parents will marry her off to someone the moment she returns to the capital," he said.
The father and son looked at each other for a few seconds and then smiled.
"That\'s nothing impressive! Anyone can make a random guess like that. The soothsayer just got lucky and nailed it. But I don\'t believe in her first prophecy that our long-lost daughter will massacre us and the entire Helix Vanguard Clan living in this area. That is too extreme to believe!" Tony dismissed the prophecy. "Besides, you are going to marry our daughter, and she will become your sole responsibility. After the wedding, she is now your wife, and you are going to take care of her for the rest of your life," Tony elaborated further.
Zero was speechless for a moment. Why are the lord and his son aren\'t worried about the prophecy? Why they\'re quick to dismiss the danger sign? He can\'t understand why? He was the only one worrying about it. "My Lord, can I say what\'s in my mind?" he asked.
"Sure! Tell me what\'s on your mind..." Tony said.
Zero took a deep breath. "I was deeply puzzled by the reason why someone would take an interest in kidnapping the nanny and the baby and imprisoned them inside a room for twenty years? Then suddenly, released her just like that? That doesn\'t sound suspicious to you?" he said.
Tony and Aron looked at each other for a few seconds.
"Father, Zero got a point! I also have that kind of question running in my mind right now," Aron told his father.
Tony fell silent while rubbing his jaw. "Good question, son!" he said. "Don\'t worry, now that my daughter is finally back. I will spend some time interrogating her about her life in that prison room. Maybe, I can find some hints as to why this faceless enemy has done it to my daughter?" he assured him.
Zero nodded his head feeling satisfied. "That\'s all, my lord!"
"I understand that you must be aching to go home and meet your family. You may go now and returned tonight with your family for the welcome party of my daughter," Tony said.
"Copy, my lord!" Zero replied and rose to his feet. "I\'ll take my leave now," he said and walked towards the entrance of the manor.
Tony watched his future son-in-law exited the door.
Aron looked at his father. "I\'m bothered by Zero\'s last statement..."
"I know!" Tony released a deep sigh. "But let\'s not think about that right now. Today is a celebration for your sister\'s coming home, a reason to be happy. Let\'s join the girls upstairs!" he said.
The father and son climbed the staircase and joined the women on the second floor of the manor.