Wealth (5)

"I believe we have more of the right to control her diet. We have been with Rika for more than ten years. We know what is best for her," Alex refuted her claim.

"What is the real reason you don't want her to eat my cooking?" Grandma confronted them.

I awkwardly stepped away from grandma when Alex began to point out the faults in how she cooked. The lack of sanitary tools, starting from the dirty way she washed them to how she dried them. The harmful chemicals in the washing products she used, listing out what each of them did. The filthy oven, opening it to reveal the charcoal and burnt areas. The operating system, the unhealthy smoke and their consequences. The dust inside the house landing on the food, dandruff and other tiny bodily particles adding to them. The ingredients she used, going through the harmful side effects of each one he could find.

"None of the food we provide for Rika has the same issues. Our family chefs work hard in following our strict guidelines," Alex finished.

"They're exaggerating everything," I tried to console her.

However, grandma was convinced by them, and her eyes shimmered with guilt. She was doing the best she could, and she had no access to the advanced technology we had. This was the way she lived, feeding her family through the same cooking for decades. I could feel the warmth behind her dishes, which was much better than the cold robots. Was it wrong for me to want to experience the same love? I was always choking under Luke's cold and vicious family.

"I really don't mind. I know how hard you work to cook them for us. Several bites won't do much harm," I added.

"Would you be able to cook a meal to your satisfaction using the current tools here?" Grandma helplessly asked them.

"I can, if it is for Rika, I will find a way," Luke instantly answered.

"If I show you a way, can you give us your entire control over Rika?" He took this as an opportunity.

"I would like to see," she wanted to learn.

I was equally curious, knowing Luke had never cooked with his own hands before. Since they were crazy about making sure things were sanitary, cleaning took most of their time. My family watched them combine different products, eventually leading the kitchen to sparkle and appear like it was new. Their attention to detail ensured no spots wouldn't be untouched, revealing all the areas grandma was careless in. When I took a peek at my parents, even my mom frowned from some of the dirty areas.

"I never knew," grandma threw apologetic glances to my parents.

Using sheets of paper, they combined them to create a filter, and placed them on the windows. I was surprised by their resourcefulness, applying everything we learnt in school. Once they began to cook, it resembled the cleaning as they thoroughly washed the ingredients. The second step nearly consumed the same time as the prior. They also had excellent control of large knives, most likely coming from their sword spars. It was unfair how they seemed to be perfect in nearly everything.

The end result was a bowl of salad mixed with healthy fish and nuts. It reached the same level of the robots, artistically arranged and almost a masterpiece. When Luke urged me to take a bite, it was a bit lacking since the ingredients weren't the best. This was when I realized my tongue had evolved from living with them. Other than sweets and junk food, everything else tasted plain or disgusting.

However, my family was impressed by the healthy taste, and quickly devoured their plates. My mom eventually asked them for the recipe. This led grandma to have no choice but to give them the complete right over me! Maybe it was a mistake to have her attempt to convince them. I should have done everything in secret. Meanwhile, grandma was taking notes of everything they did, attempting to correct her mistakes.

"These are the same standards we hold our family chefs to follow," Luke emphasized.

"I apologize, it was due to my carelessness," grandma shamefully faced them.

"I will never give harmful things to Rika, every decision I make for her considers all these factors," he continued.

"Your plate is barely touched," my dad noticed.

"I'm not hungry," I pushed my plate away.

"He worked hard to make this for you," my dad was on their side.

"The taste is a little weird," I hesitantly revealed.

'The ingredients,' I mouthed to Luke and Alex.

"We don't mind. We only require her to eat the normal set of plates," Luke understood me.

"You're really picky with your food," grandma noticed.

"It has something to do with my illness," I lied.

"It must have been very hard to take care of Rika," my mom thanked them.

"We're family," Luke repeated the usual answers.

After the hectic events, the day ended with the usual study session. I pretended not to notice my family's newfound respect for them, especially them treating Luke and Alex as adults. Everything was unfolding the way they wanted until my grandma revealed, "my eldest daughter is bringing her kids and husband with her to visit me next week."

"Are they my cousins?" I looked forward to meeting them.

"It's your first time seeing them," my mom went through her memories.

Although I wanted to ask for more details, time quickly passed, and I didn't have the chance to get familiar with them. In fact, I was hit in the face with my aunt and uncle and their children coming through the entrance. They were a rowdy family, surrounded by lots of chattering and mini fights. Once we were in front of each other, my aunt's entire family stared at us, frozen and studying us in amazement. When my aunt unfroze, she pushed her three children towards us, introducing them, "Ally is in high school, April is in her last year of elementary school and Adam is entering kindergarten this year."

"Who is our cousin? I can't tell," Ally seemed excited.

"This is my daughter Rika," my mom gestured.

"She looks so pretty, isn't she a doll?" Ally nearly squealed.

"Who are they?" April interrupted her, admiring Luke and Alex.

"I am Luke de Impalia Roselia and this is my cousin Alex de Monete," Luke introduced.

"Are you sure she is our cousin? She looks more like Luke than aunt or uncle," April bluntly pointed out.

"Pretty," Adam pulled my dress, sucking on a lollipop.

"Let's go inside," grandma urged them.

Sitting around the table, Alex's smile became brighter, annoyed from Adam running around, screaming his lungs out. Meanwhile, Luke's face nearly went expressionless with April continuing to stretch his shirt to have him pay attention to her. In addition to Ally pestering them with many questions, "why do you guys look so similar? Is it true all of you come from the first district? You have Roselia as your last name, is it related to that bank we always use? Your cousin's last name is Monete, the same name as the vacation hotels we visit!"

"We usually live in the first district. As for your other question, my family owns and manages the Roselia banks as one of our businesses while my cousin's family similarly does the same for their Monete hotels," Luke politely answered.

"Your family must be rich! You own banks and you're good-looking too!" Ally's eyes sparkled.

"He's stingy with money even when he's the heir to this great fortune. In fact, both of them are stingy and petty," I tried to break her illusions.

Maybe even my parents didn't know, they began to view them in a new light, getting answers to the splendid wealth they previously showed. Meanwhile, grandma's face slightly flushed into pink, recalling the harsh way she treated us the prior week. In addition to my uncle and aunt uncomfortably shifting in their seats, not knowing how to interact with them. I silently cheered inside my heart, knowing there was no way we could conduct the study sessions from their presence anymore.

I started to like April when she began to pull out the accessories in my hair, curious about the dazzling jewels. Luke urged her parents to control her, "if it isn't too troublesome, please let your child know to not touch others' possessions without their permission."

"I want them as my birthday present!" April tugged my bracelets off me.

"April, behave yourself! Return them to your cousin," my aunt understood his intention.

"I don't want to. I want the same things," she played with my accessories.

"Can you tell us which stores you bought them from? The product and the price," my aunt apologetically smiled at Luke.

"I bought them from the boutiques in the first district, to name a couple, 'La Rose', 'Equinox' and 'Luissa'. The products are custom made and the prices range from ninety billion to a half a trillion dollars in the currency of the third district," Luke looked at each one.

"April, immediately return them to Rika!" My aunt was stunned by its expensive price.

"Do all of Rika's accessories cost this much?" My dad reluctantly asked.

"They're around the same price range for the normal ones she wears. The ones for social events have a higher range," Luke nodded.

"What about her clothes?" My mom wondered.

"It depends on the occasion. The one she is currently wearing cost four hundred billion dollars while the ones for social events cost around five to nine billion dollars," he recalled the prices.

Although it seemed like a large amount of money, it was due to the conversion rates from the third to the first districts. A billion dollars represented one thousand Aris, nearly resembling the high price to convert Aris into Memors. My family went speechless, and began to cautiously study everything I was wearing. Meanwhile, my aunt managed to convince April to return my accessories, leading her to cry and wail as she claimed it was unfair.

"I just want one, one bracelet," April quickly swiped it.

"April!" My aunt tried to take it back.

I stayed silent, watching the chaotic mess my cousins were playing out. None of these clothes, shoes or accessories were actually mine. I didn't have the right to give them to other people. My eyes widened when the bracelet they fought over snapped, the delicate chain not able to withstand the pressure. Taking this chance to warn them, Alex revealed, "this is the bracelet I have bought for Rika. The chain is made of real gold and mixed with pink diamonds. It cost around five hundred billion dollars. Please compensate us for the damages if you would like to break more of them."

"I really apologize, I will make sure this will not happen again," my aunt's eyes trembled.

"Buy one for April too! I want the same ones!" April tugged on Alex's sleeve.

"I would appreciate it if your daughter doesn't damage my clothes," Alex icily turned to my aunt again.