Chapter 39 – Fiona and Xue meet each other

Sara turned and gasped with a smile when she saw the well-dressed Aile, "Oooh, I am so good at picking clothes."

"Now everyone will definitely be attracted to you."

Aile and Sara talked a little more. Aile's mood improved. Soon Sara left, and Aile too had to go to Jack's mansion to meet Fiona and Xue.

Aile wore his dark robe and mask and became "Shadow."

Aile first went to where Diana lived. Once he reached there, he removed his mask and robe and knocked on her door.

"Who is it?" came Diana's voice from the other side.

Aile chuckled at Diana's cautious nature. He was actually happy that she valued safety.

He replied, "It is me, Aile. I have to tell you something before leaving."

Diana opened the door with a smile and asked, "Hello Aile, what can I do for you?"

Aile smiled, seeing the happy expression on Diana's face.

Aile was too accustomed to her melancholic look, and her happy expression made him contented. He said, "I will be leaving tomorrow. You know that the security is not safe here if anything happens someone will come and take you to a safe place. So if someone approaches you and they say that they are working with me, you should not fight them. Especially if it is a female, you can trust her."

Aile had told Emily to protect her if something happens, he wanted Diana to be aware of it so that she does not end up fighting her.

He did not want to tell her of the mansion as her son Danny will have regular visits there. Her going there would make it possible for them to meet. This would not allow for Danny to gain his independence, and Diana too would be constantly worried. Distance would be the best solution for both of them.

He also did not tell her about Emily, as he did not want to divulge her information.

He likewise did not specify that the person that would come would be female, because Emily would not always be able to keep track of all of them. Thus she would use the 100 gold coins to hire people to help her.

Diana was delighted to see Aile care about her and nodded.

"Goodbye, take care of yourself," said Aile as he gave her a gentle hug and left.

Aile then went to Fiona's place.

He knocked at her door.

Knock

Soon the door opened. Fiona dressed in a similar black cloak and mask came out. She playfully said, "Hello, Aile!"

Aile had his mask and cloak on too, he had changed his voice deeper unconsciously and said, "Hello, Fiona!"

Fiona giggled at his voice again for a few seconds and then said, "Should I call you Shadow from now on?"

Aile nodded and replied, "What about you? Do you want to use your actual name or are you planning to use a fake name too?"

They had started walking as they talked.

Fiona ponder for a while, and the asked Aile, "What do you think I should do?"

Aile closed his eyes and figured out the blindspots of the guards and slipped away from them while holding Fiona's hand. As they were traversing the area that had a lot of guards and they would be able to hear them, Aile did not reply quickly. This also gave him enough time to think about the question.

They soon got out of the estate and Fiona was perplexed at how easily Aile avoided the guards. Aile thought about her question and finally answered. "I do not want people to know that you are related to "Shadow" and the business we will be running. I am worried that it will make you a target if they find out. So I think that you should avoid mentioning your actual name as much as possible."

Fiona nodded and then asked, "What about Xue, should I tell her my actual name and how to find me?"

Aile nodded, "She would be responsible for quite a bit until we have trustable people of our own. So I think it would be unavoidable to keep your name from her. But you do not have to directly tell her now, take your time and evaluate her. If you find her trustable, you can tell her then. Is that fine with you, Fiona?"

Fiona said emotionally, "Yes, that would be fine."

Aile noticed her tone and asked "What is wrong, Fiona? Are you not comfortable with this arrangement?"

Fiona squeezed his hand that she was still holding, and said shyly, "No, I am happy that you care about my safety so much... Thank you!"

Aile nodded and said in a firm tone, "I will make sure to prevent people I care about from facing danger."

Fiona had a lot of emotions on her face, but it was all blocked by the mask.

She then said, "Let's go!"

Aile and Fiona then went towards Aile's new estate. They soon arrived at its location. He was planning to enter sneakily again.

However, he heard Xue's voice arguing with the guards. He nudged Fiona and told her the situation that the new guards are not allowing Xue to enter.

She understood the circumstances and was about to leave, Aile held her back and told her, "Make sure to change your voice when you speak."

Fiona then looked at him and nodded then she asked, "By the way, what should I call myself if Xue asks?"

Aile replied, "Whatever you want!"

Fiona thought for a while, then giggled, "I will be called, Phantom."

She did not let Aile reply or think about her new alias.

Fiona then quickly went to the guards to solve Xue's problem, and Aile infiltrated as he would meet them inside the house.

Aile dodged the guards and went towards the house. However, the security here was much tighter then Hazel's place.

It took Aile 15 minutes to bypass it. The experience this time was much different than before. He did not see any maid or workers. The estate seemed lifeless after Fiona fired everyone. Aile wanted to hire trustable people, and having the previous employees would be a security risk for him.

Inside the mansion, there was no one as he walked, and once he reached the Study where they were meant to meet, he actually arrived later than the girls.

Aile arrived and nodded at them.

Xue was the first to talk in a negative tone, "Hey, you invited me here and did not even tell the guards! If she did not come, I would have left already."

Aile knew it was his fault, so he said, "My bad, I had forgotten."

Aile then turned to Fiona and said, "Thank you for bringing her in."

Fiona nodded, then there was an awkward silence for a while.

Aile then continued and broke the silence, he pointed at Fiona and said to Xue, "This is Phantom, she will be in charge of the financial control of here. You should talk with her regarding business from now on."

Xue was surprised, "What? What about you? Are you not going to be a part of this?"

Aile replied, "I will be. But I have a lot of things to do so she will be my representative."

Xue humphed and an expression of displeasure was clearly visible on her face.

Aile then just left towards the treasure room, he needed some protective equipment for his journey. He also wanted Fiona to exert her dominance and take control of the situation as Xue will work under her.

Aile gently removed the bookcase and saw the door. He had an embarrassed look on his face because now he had to ask Xue to open the door with her tools. Fortunately, the mask hid his expression.

He looked at Xue, and she understood. She did not act pity and opened the door, but the displeased expression did not go away.

Click

The door opened, and Aile quickly entered.

Aile then went inside the treasury and looked for defensive treasures.

He looked through a lot of treasure, and in the end, he picked up a sturdy looking light chainmail. He took a few talismans with different uses. He also took the glass storage of the relatively expensive herbs that Fiona needs to make the healing cream. He wanted to carry some with him to Cape Tie. He then just sat there, thinking if he will need anything else.

He pondered for a while, and he was woken up from thinking when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching him.

He looked up and saw Fiona and Xue walk towards him. They were talking in a calm and friendly manner.

Seeing their close nature, he was happy that they were getting along.

It was the first time Fiona was looking at the treasury. So she was going around and looking everywhere with curiosity. She was doing this very professionally, making one think that she was evaluating the worth of the different treasures here.

Aile was just observing them as they walked around. Fiona finished seeing everything and then came to Aile.

She then said with excitement, "Ai... Shadow there is enough of stock here to make a suitable merchant hall."

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