Chapter 4

"Father, you should dismiss Miss Atali today," Ailei said to her father after the terrible breakfast, her tone leaving no room for argument. "This chocolate soup isn't even made by her. The town's grocery store sells tablets for two sous each. She hasn't bought any fresh ingredients, yet she charges us five livres a day, not including her wages."

Although Ailei was sweet and adorable, she was still the daughter of the Gaudan family, and the bourgeois characteristic of being meticulous about money and profit was still present in her.

Mr. Rene listened to his daughter, frowning as he stared at the chocolate soup in front of him. It had lost its initial warmth and had completely congealed into a paste, containing flour, cocoa, coarse brown sugar from Saint-Domingue, haphazardly crushed almonds, and cloyingly sweet white sugar. This was the taste of two sous, and it was truly hard to swallow.

Mr. Rene lifted the silver spoon and stirred the paste, the sound from the dining table was unappetizing. Then the old man sighed, put on his pince-nez, and looked at Felix, "You will be the master of this house eventually. Despite many hardships, you will graduate from the church school in Rouen after this holiday. So, let's start training you in the skills of a male head of the household! Just like the king who rules this country, decide the fate of a minister or a noble." With that, Mr. Rene took off the key, placed it on the dining table, and took a commercial yearbook from the shelf, slowly walking to the living room.

After her father left, Ailei's voice suddenly became high and excited. She urged Felix, "Brother, you should give me the keys to the kitchen and the pantry. I've long hated Atali. She should have left the Gaudan house and garden long ago. Before a new cook arrives, I will take charge of your and Father's meals, and you can give me five livres a day as usual."

Felix spit a piece of bread he had struggled to bite off into his coffee cup, like a cannonball hitting the mud.

Fifteen minutes later, Felix stood at the door of the kitchen and garden, his hands in the small pockets of his vest. Atali, who had received the dismissal order, stood up with a sullen face, coldly bid farewell to Felix, and stomped up to the third floor to pack her belongings. It seemed she had anticipated being fired.

"Ailge," Felix then turned and instructed the young maid sitting on the kitchen bench, who immediately stood up.

To her surprise, Felix increased her annual salary by fifteen livres and assigned her the task of purchasing ingredients, which delighted Ailge immensely.

That night, on the second-floor staircase, Ailei pouted and asked Felix for a goodnight kiss. When Felix lifted the hair covering her forehead and kissed her gently, Ailei's amber eyes glistened with tears. "Brother, you must stay healthy. You must see me off to my wedding, and marry me off happily and richly. That way, you will also gain eternal happiness and wealth."

After returning to his room and locking the door, Felix took out all the books from the drawer of his desk. The colorful books indicated that the original owner of this body and mind had received a good education. He could read and understand the texts, whether they were love and adventure novels or encyclopedias.

"Damn it, I had already crossed over once and lived a peaceful and prosperous life to the end. I didn't expect to cross over again, and this time with my soul and consciousness. How should I handle myself in this era..." Felix propped his elbow on the desk, his hands crossed under his chin, and thought calmly.

Under the bright candlelight, Felix felt that in the room and within his own body, the old and new lives, the original body, and the knowledge he brought with him, were beginning to merge. "Pluto on the star chart represents passion, destruction, rebirth, and change. When I was forced to cross over to the Bohai Kingdom, it was a fate imposed by that snake-holding girl. This time, with the star chart shattered and my soul transported to this era and world, it must be the manipulation of a greater fate. Who is the mastermind behind it?" Felix muttered to himself.

The next morning, Ailei indeed lived up to her word. She laid out a fine blue and white checkered tablecloth, placed a clean glass jug of fresh milk in the center, and set up egg dishes and boiled eggs in front of Rene, Felix, and the "Abyssinian Princess." On the white ceramic plates were fragrant thin pancakes. Ailei, wearing an apron, solemnly used the keys given by her father and brother to open the pantry, took out the bread, sliced it evenly with a knife, and then toasted it, spreading it with excellent peach jam. Finally, she served a dessert of fresh fruit to ensure everyone's stomachs were thoroughly pleased.

When Rene raised his coffee, Ailei carefully scooped a bit of white sugar with a long spoon and poured it into the black coffee.

Rene tasted it and gave his daughter a look of satisfaction. The sugar from Saint-Domingue, costing three livres per kilogram, was a luxury. Ailei's measured amount made the coffee sweet and delicious without being wasteful.

Felix, who had been hungry for the past two days, eagerly asked to accompany Ailei to the church cemetery.

Ailei was very happy, but she controlled her joy. She came to Felix's room, combed his brown hair with a mahogany comb, tied it into a small braid with a black ribbon, and personally selected an embroidered vest for him, tying a gray, elegant tie. This color combination was suitable for visiting the church and cemetery. Ailei herself wore a printed cotton pleated dress, black lace gloves, and held a dark green umbrella. After everything was arranged, the siblings decided to walk, with the rosy-cheeked Ailge carrying a small leather box in front of them.

Felix had initially adapted to the Gaudan family's life and was very interested in the background of the blonde "sister" Madeleine.

Madeleine was buried in the Saint-Denis cemetery at the age of twenty-one.

"Sometimes I wonder, why is my skin similar to yours, but Madeleine's skin is so fair? And her eyes are so blue?" On the road between Saint-Denis and the Seine River, Felix held a cane, and Ailei held his arm. The siblings walked through the shadows of the poplar trees, their shoes and light yellow sand making a soft sound as they headed west toward a conical hill.

The cemetery was halfway up the hill, and on the other side of the hill was Rouen, the largest city in northern France.