Grrrmmm!!! Grrrmmm!!! Grrrmmm!!
"This," Richard exclaimed, feeling up the leather of the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon he sat in, the sensation unlike anything he had felt before—the leather of a wyvern.
His hand, as if caressing the skin of a woman, continued to stroke the leather as he looked outside the window, the wind brushing through his hair.
"How is the view, young master?" Winston's voice reverberated from the front as he drove Richard, continuing their tour.
"It's great..." Richard answered, his tone composed, yet his eyes sparkled like a child.
"How big is this place anyway..." he couldn't help but ask, as they passed by a large lake, stationed at its shores yachts and small boats.
"Thirty square miles..." Winston answered, Richard's eyes widening in shock.
"That is about the size of a city," he thought, having underestimated the Aurics estate.
He knew it was big, but as a city? That never crossed his mind.
"I really struck it big..." he grinned unconsciously, his gaze still on the vast land before them.
The estate stretched endlessly before Richard, luxurious and practical, housing facilities for the workers, most of them bowing as the jeep drove by.
Vast fields of trimmed boxwood covered most of the estate, trimmed to perfection, works of art of strange creatures Richard could not recognize.
Though strange, they were all graceful—like the phoenix, which was the most prominent statue in the estate.
Everywhere you turned, you would see it: golden, with ornaments carved into its body.
The boxwood shrubs also served as borders to the other facilities—barns, stables, kennels, mills, and other structures that powered a city.
Even a power plant could be seen on the horizon, a self-sustaining estate.
"I don't think I have ever seen this in all of the 53 years of my life." His grin subsided, his expression turning solemn, then into awe and admiration, as it now seemed ridiculous.
Such wealth, such luxury.
His own life wasn't bad—a bachelor with a four-digit salary a month, not great, but considering he was a bachelor, it was enough, with the leisure to enjoy some luxury.
His gaze unconsciously drifted from the side windows, looking straight in front, the solemnness in them turning into curiosity.
A large greenhouse could be seen, as big as a stadium if not larger, the sun's luminance bouncing off it, making it hard to see what was inside—but he was sure there was a greater light coming from within, the same light that had caught his interest back at the balcony.
"We are almost there, young master..." Winston, seemingly sensing Richard's curiosity, commented.
The jeep engine roared as they increased the pace, the smooth road making the trip a smooth one.
Whirr-chunk!
They came to a stop, a few meters away from the glass coliseum structure—the green house even larger up close.
Despite their close proximity and the transparency of the glass, it was still difficult to perceive what was inside—a strange sensation of blur and lack of focus.
Richard got out of the jeep, his expression distorted in discomfort, his eyes narrowed as he tried to perceive what was inside, yet failing, unable to determine even the closest vegetation.
"Don't strain yourself, master. An illusion spell has been used on it—even I, a C-rank awakener can't perceive what is beyond it..." Winston explained.
"Huh, but didn't you say a gate is located here..." Richard questioned, his brows raised.
"Yes, there is a gate here—or at least, that is what we have been told. A gate connected to a garden...," Winston explained once again, further confusing Richard and losing the little credibility he had in his eyes.
Winston, an observant butler, quickly noticed his master's expression of distrust.
"No one can access the garden unless they're direct bloodlines of the Auric Dynasty... I have only heard rumors of it myself..."
"Oh, okay..." Richard nodded.
"So it's like a private garden..." he concluded.
"Yes, young master..." Winston confirmed.
"I am curious to how it looks like..." Richard thought, somewhat compelled by the greenhouse—or something coming from it.
"Can I check it out?" he requested, already moving towards the gate.
"You may, young master. I can't accompany you, though..."
"Don't worry... just be around. If there's anything, I will let you know..." Richard reached the entrance of the giant greenhouse, his vision still unfocused and blurry, the strange compelling force increasing.
"Okay, young master." Winston bowed, stopping a few inches away from him, a strange glint in his eyes as his gaze passed Richard, looking right at the greenhouse.
His gaze unlike Richard seem focused, as if he could see what was beyound.
Richard unaware reached his hand for the ornamental door handle, shaped as a golden phoenix.
Tsss!! He quickly retracted his hand after feeling a burning sensation.
His palm reddened, slightly bleeding from the thumb.
"What the..." He wanted to inquire but paused, noticing the phoenix handle glowing crimson red from the point where his blood seemed to have made contact with it.
"A magic passcode..." he thought to himself, not completely alien to such ideas, being one of the many people to have watched Harry Potter.
The handle glowed for a couple more seconds, subsiding only after releasing a small, barely audible screech, the door opening slightly.
"Can't they just use a regular locking mechanism?" Richard furrowed his brows, not impressed by the excessive lock mechanism for the greenhouse.
His palm still burned, pulsating in pain every now and then.
"See you in a while..." He ignored the pain turning to Winston, the latter smiling back at him.
With that, he stepped into the greenhouse.
A rush of warm breeze greeted him, his eyes squinting from the sudden gust of wind.
Slowly, he opened them, his mouth agape at the sight before him—a canvas of paradise, a never-before-seen beauty in both worlds.
He believed the gardens in the manor were exquisite and beautiful, but compared to this, they paled—dulled, even.
The very definition of heaven on earth.
Trees of strange origin stood tall, their leaves subtly glittering like emeralds, the light fog adding grace and divinity to their glow.
A beautiful blend of cherry blossoms and Japanese black pine.
Numerous trees—each unique, each more beautiful than any tree in the world—could be seen, their leaves amber, purple, and many more colors, harmonizing with each other, all glowing subtly.
Shrubs, weeds, and grasses weaved through the spaces between the trees, emitting a strange glow, glossed with multicolored fireflies, each blending with their surroundings—only visible when they crossed opposing colors.
Streams of water crossed like the net of a leaf, the main line seemingly dividing the garden in two.
"Wow..." He finally let out a breath, unconsciously stepping forward.
Ribrrip!!
"I stepped on something." Feeling a strange sensation beneath his shoes, he looked down, his pupils dilating at the sight of what he had stepped on.