Reincarnated as a step-dad in a fantasy world

Chapter 208 : Not a nightmare

"Coming here to rescue you actually allowed me to have a breakthrough that might have taken me weeks or even months, so, thank you," Lilia expressed with a gentle smile to Anita, who was bowing.

"N-No, you don't have to thank me," Anita hurriedly waved her hands, "it's me who should really thank you."

"Haha, if you say so," Lilia said, "now can you sit down? It's kind of embarrassing to have someone bowing to me for so long."

Anita nodded and was about to sit down when Alex finally spoke.

"See? I told you she was a great woman. She would make a perfect wife," Alex remarked casually.

Lilia let out an acknowledging sound and nodded her head, "yes, she would. When do we organize the wedding then?" Lilia inquired, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I would say to wait until her father wakes up and approves, but remembering how eager she was about the whole marriage thing, I would say that we do it very soon," Alex replied with a smirk.

"So, let's say, in a few days?" Lilia suggested.

"That would be better," Alex nodded his head in acceptance.

Hearing the exchange between Alex and Lilia, Anita couldn't believe what she was hearing. Wasn't she his wife? Then why is she trying to hook him up with another woman? The whole situation felt too surreal.

However, as much as she was confused, Anita was also greatly embarrassed, her cheeks turning into a bright shade of red. 

"Look, she is even blushing; she is surely very excited about the whole thing," Lilia remarked while pointing to Anita, her tone laced with amusement.

"It appears to be so. Maybe we should bring the wedding day closer?" Alex suggested with a mischievous grin.

'At this point, it's not teasing anymore; it's straight-out bullying,' Amelia and Anna exchanged knowing glances as they observed the teasing couple relentlessly tormenting Anita.

Amelia sighed and decided to come to Anita's rescue, noticing that her face was now as red as a ripe tomato.

"Hush, you two. That's enough," Amelia lightly scolded, "stop embarrassing the poor girl."

Hearing her words and glancing at the furiously blushing Anita, Alex and Lilia burst into laughter.

"Okay, okay, we are stopping," Alex conceded, trying to stifle his laughter, "Anita, you can forget what we said. The wedding will not happen in a few days," he paused for a moment, then added with a smirk, "though it will definitely happen."

Anita let out a sigh of relief and sank back into her seat, though, the blush on her face stubbornly refused to fade.

"Now you," Alex turned to Maya with a curious glint in his eyes "you mentioned knowing our identity. Mind telling me how you discovered it?."

Maya pushed her glasses up and leaned casually against the trunk of the tree where Grace and Anita were sitting. "It wasn't hard to deduce your identity," she said, then gestured toward their carriages with a proud smirk.

Alex furrowed his brow in confusion. The carriage they had taken didn't bear the emblem of the Eswald family, so he struggled to comprehend how Maya had deduced their identities from the carriage alone.

"Not the carriage, the pegasi," Maya clarified, "although not impossible, it is extremely rare for someone other than the Eswald family to possess pegasi, and even then, only the previous principal branch of the Eswald had the large possibility of pegasi. I doubted that you were from this branch the instant I saw the pegasi, but I became certain when I saw her," Maya glanced at Grace.

"Grace the tempest, one of the strongest individuals in the empire and a legendary figure. There was no way I wouldn't recognize her after seeing her," Maya said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Heh," Grace nodded at Maya's words, a hint of arrogance in her expression, and flashed the others a boastful smile, but her smile stiffened the instant Alex spoke.

"So you weren't certain who we were before you saw Grace, which means that it was actually because of her that you discovered who we were, right?" Alex spoke as he eyed the smiling Grace.

"Yes!" Maya exclaimed.

Grace's prideful smile vanished, replaced by a sheepish cough. "I made sure she wouldn't spill the beans; that's what matters here."

"Yes, she actually forced me to sign a contract stating that if I revealed your identity, I would die," Maya remarked, her excitement dying down.

"That's quite..." Alex's words trailed off. He was about to say that it was harsh of Grace to to pressure Maya into signing such a contract, but then he thought about all the problems Maya revealing their identities could cause, and he understood that Grace had actually made the right decision.

Though, he still felt a little bad for threatening a girl like Maya with such a cruel contract. She was barely the same age as his daughters, and she actually reminded him of them. He wasn't the only one feeling like that.

"You're quite clever; you remind me of our daughter Scarlett. She even rocks glasses like you," Lilia remarked with a gentle smile, masterfully diverting the conversation away from the tense atmosphere that settled.

"The difference here is that Scarlett only wears her glasses to play the part of a mad scientist," Alex chuckled. "Meanwhile, Maya is as blind as a bat without her glasses; those are her words, not mine."

"True," Maya nodded and took off her glasses. "Without them, everything is blurry," a hint of sadness could be felt in her voice as she said the last part.

"If you want, I can help you with your sight problem," Amelia offered.

 "I doubt there's anything you can do," Maya shook her head. "It's a condition I've had since birth. My mother bought numerous potions to improve my eyesight and even contracted a witch to specifically create potions to enhance my vision, but nothing worked. I can only see with these glasses, and even then, my vision is far from perfect," Maya smiled at Amelia. "Still, I appreciate the gesture."

"Don't worry, my methods are different from conventional healers. I can certainly improve your eyesight," Amelia replied.

Maya fell silent. She really wanted to improve her sight, but after trying dozens of different methods with no changes, she became a bit scared of trying something new. She didn't want to hope again, only to see that hope shattered. 

"Sigh, I guess it doesn't hurt to try," she gave Amelia a faint smile.

Amelia nodded, approaching Maya and gently resting her hand on the heiress' head.

"Will it be painful?" Maya inquired. Some of the methods she had tried were excruciating, so she was afraid of experiencing pain once again, just for her eyesight to not improve.

Amelia shook her head with a reassuring smile, "Rest assured, it won't cause any discomfort. At most, you might feel a slight sting."

Maya's case differed from Cedrix's, where she had to create an entirely new eye. Here, she would simply correct Maya's vision, so it shouldn't be painful.

Merely five minutes after commencing the process, Amelia withdrew her hand. "You can open your eyes now."

Maya nodded and slowly opened her eyes, hopeful yet bracing herself for the worst.

However, she soon realized her worries were unfounded. When her eyes fully opened, she was astonished to find the world around her crystal clear, every detail sharp and vivid.

Gone was the blurriness of her sight; her vision was now perfect!

She blinked in disbelief, marveling at the newfound clarity of her surroundings, then focused on the smiling Amelia in front of her.

"So, how-"

Before Amelia could finish her sentence, Maya practically pounced and tightly hugged her.

"Thanks, thanks, thanks, thanks..." Maya frantically thanked Amelia. She was so overwhelmed with joy that tears streamed down her cheeks, dampening Amelia's dress in the process.

"There, there," Amelia murmured as she gently tapped Maya on the back, comforting her as she cried.

"Congratulations, I suppose," Alex exclaimed, applauding.

After him, all the other women chimed in and congratulated Maya.

Was it the sound of their voices or the fact that he had been sleeping for hours, but it was at that exact moment that Cedrix finally awakened.

The old man sat up abruptly, his eyes filled with confusion as he took in his surroundings.

"Dad!" Anita hurried to her father's side. "Don't move too quickly; you might hurt yourself," she cautioned him.

"Ah, my sweet child, I wasn't dreaming. I finally found you," Cedrix smiled warmly as he gently placed his hand over Anita's cheek.

"Glad to see that you are still alive old man," Alex remarked.

Cedrix jolted in surprise upon hearing Alex's voice and cautiously turned to look towards him. "Ah, umm, greetings, Lord Alex," Cedrix greeted with a slightly shaky tone.

"Is everything alright, Dad?" Anita inquired, her tone laced with concern.

"Yes, yes, everything is fine. I just had a nightmare, and I'm still a bit shaken. Don't worry so much," Cedrix reassured her.

"Just curious," Alex waved to the old man, "was your nightmare about your daughter marrying me?"

"Huh? How did you know about my nightmare?" Cedrix inquired, his expression confused.

A wide and mischevious grin spread across Alex's face.

"It wasn't a nightmare, old man. Your daughter and I are indeed getting married, and judging by how eager she appears, the wedding might happen a few days from now," Alex paused, then said with the most serious tone he could muster, "we hope we will get your blessing and count you among our guests."

The old man's face immediately turned ashen. "Ah, I see... it wasn't a night...mare..."

Cedrix fell to the ground, unconscious.

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