Wei An had been on the terrace for a few minutes until a familiar voice greeted him, making him turn around only to see his attendant, Alfred, holding a piece of paper that looked like a check.
"Young master, your father told me to give you this." Alfred handed Wei An the paper, and as expected, it really was a check.
Woah. To think it would be this much...
Wei An looked surprised at the amount of money given to him by the duke.
I never expected to be given this much...30 million as an allowance? Converting this into my world's currency, it would be 20 billion... Just how rich is this duke? Even I, as a former prince and commander of my world, couldn't get this much! Haa...At least now I'm living a good life.
Wei An then lay down in bed, still staring at the check while his attendant stood there quietly. After a few moments he made up his mind and stood up.
"Let's go explore, Alfred."
Alfred looked puzzled by his young master's statement, "Don't you already know the whole estate, sir?"
"I meant the town; let's go explore there. It's been quite long since I went outside, right?"
"Yes, you're right, sir." Still a bit surprised by his young master, Alfred kept his expressions stoic and just agreed to what Wei An suggested.
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After what felt like a 30-minute ride, Wei An got down from the carriage with his attendant. The town was quite peaceful; children were playing around, and people minded their own business. After looking around his surroundings, Wei An began to walk and explore the stalls that were selling food and other accessories. The people greeted him respectfully as he walked by, and there were no troubles while exploring.
How peaceful. Looks like the town is still how the original owner, or shall I say 'I,' remember it. I guess I don't have to worry about anything right now anyway...
While in the middle of walking around, there was a small tail somewhat rubbing against Wei An's leg, almost tripping him. Wei An steadied himself and looked down, surprised. There was a small fox following them; he had thought that it was a cat, but unexpectedly this young fox ended up trailing him.
"Ah," Wei An let out a small gasp as he knelt down to reach the fox. The animal had a unique mark on the side, and its color was light, almost like snow; it was very different from the other foxes that the books described. What's more is that the fox did not run away; instead, it was calm, and it stayed near Wei An as if waiting to be picked up.
"Young master, would you like to take it home?" Alfred asked, while observing his young master pet the young fox.
It's not a bad idea; I guess I could use some company at the estate...
"Can I?" Wei An asked while finally picking up the fox and then getting up. Still puzzled that this fox did not bite nor attack him. Alfred nodded in response.
"Since there is no owner, we can take the young fox and raise it. It seems that the young master is quite fond of this fox."
"I guess so, then... I'll take it home with me, Alfred."
"Of course."
"Alfred, is it normal for a fox to be wandering around the town?"
"Young master, the town of Marion is home to many wandering animals; those animals usually go to the eternal forest, where most animals are protected by the Marion duchy."
"I see."
Both of them continued walking; Alfred had taken the fox into his arms and carried it. After an hour or so, Wei An decided to go back to the estate and rest. The ride home was peaceful, and there was no disturbance. After a while, they reached the estate. Wei An got down from the carriage holding the fox.
How peculiar. This fox doesn't seem scared or harmful.
He made his way to his room, observing the young fox's behavior. Reaching his bedroom, Alfred opened the door, and Wei An let the fox down, letting the fox tour around his room. Alfred has prepared a pet bed for the fox as well as the needed things like food and water for the fox.
Ah, is he always like this?
Wei An wondered if Alfred was always this attentive, but he didn't pay much attention and left his curiosity unanswered. He mostly focused on the young fox since he felt that it was weird that the fox did not attack him but instead seemed to be friendly.
After everything seemed settled, Alfred excused himself and left Wei An alone with his new pet.
"Ah, it's just us now..." Wei An got closer to the fox, petting its head.
"You're quite friendly." He spoke again while still petting the fox, slowly carrying it to his bed.
I guess now I have some company.
The fox lay on his bed, curling up to a sleeping position. For a while it was silent until a small charming voice that sounded childlike spoke up. Wei An looked around trying to find where the voice came from.
"Stupid human! I'm right here!" The young fox had perked his head up while looking at Wei An. On the other hand, Wei An looked stunned and stayed silent for a while. His mind went blank as he stared at the fox in shock.
After a few seconds of silence, Wei An now had a calm expression, still a bit puzzled by the fox. "You can speak?" Wei An slowly spoke.
"Yep! Human, are you scared?"
"No, just surprised. How are you able to speak?"
"Human, you're weird. Don't you know all of us animals can speak?"
"Ah, right."
Guess I'm still lacking in information about this world. I guess things really are different here.
"So... why did you follow me?"
"You felt familiar to me! You smell like nature."
"I do?"
"Yep!"
Wei An felt skeptical since the reason was vague; he couldn't tell if the fox was really telling the truth or if the fox wanted something from him.
Whatever the case, I guess it's harmless... For now.
"So, would you like to stay with me?"
"Sure."