"Fate?" Fudge asked as he tilted his head. "Is that a new nickname for me?"
Lylia picked up the violet slime and took him into her arms. "No, you silly puppy. The partnership of that girl and Michael is ordained by nothing less than the universe itself!"
"What do you mean?"
Lylia looked at Yuna on the side of the street. She didn't recognize the little girl at first because she had grown up so fast in just a few years. However, Lylia did recognize the female ogre that greeted Yuna with respect.
She wouldn't forget that face. That ogre had a permanent frown, red eyes, and a single horn on her forehead. She was none other than Agnes, the famous battle maid of the Montgomery family. And if she was escorting that little girl, then Yuna must be none other than the youngest daughter of the Montgomery family!
"You didn't tell me her last name was Montgomery," Lylia said as she squeezed Fudge aggressively.
"BUMF—sorry, Madame, I forgot hehe…But why does her last name matter?"
Lylia watched as Yuna's bus set off and rode out into the street.
She could have stopped them and introduced herself, but Lylia chose not to. She wanted to let fate play out without her intervention.
"When Michael was a child, I arranged for him to be married to Yuna," Lylia said.
"REALLY?! Did you already know back then that they would be a perfect match?" Fudge asked, amazed at the Madame's prescience.
"No. I just saw her as the youngest daughter of the Montgomery family. The union of the two was purely political," Lylia explained.
A political marriage between the two was completely beneficial to all parties. Yuna was the youngest daughter of the Montgomery family, and Michael was the youngest son of the Vanderbilt family.
But even though they had a direct lineage to their respective families, they weren't exactly the foremost candidate for the succession of their inheritance.
Lylia wanted to secure Michael's future. She knew from the start that Michael wouldn't be given much in his inheritance, especially since Yze Vanderbilt had a lot of sons and daughters who were up to inherit the wealth.
So, she thought that if she could connect with the Montgomery family, Yze Vanderbilt would favor Michael as an important member of his family, and therefore be given a lot more money from the inheritance.
Yuna's parents also accepted this agreement because they wanted Yuna to be favored by her grandmother.
The Vanderbilts had money, the Montgomerys had connections. By tying the knot, they would solidify their connections with each other and allow them to strengthen their claim to their family's legacy.
"Does that mean they are engaged already? We don't have to do anything and she'll become my Master as well?!" Fudge asked, excitement filling his jiggly body.
Lylia sighed in disappointment. "Unfortunately, the engagement is not official."
"What?! Why not?!"
"When Michael showed his talents in the Mystic Arts as well as in his Business, Bart and I decided that he didn't need the Vanderbilt wealth any longer. Michael could take care of himself even without his grandfather's help.
Coincidentally, Yuna also showed off her talent in the Physical Arts as well as her Diplomatic relations. She became favored by her grandmother through her smarts alone.
They both turned out to be geniuses in their own right, which meant that they didn't need a political marriage to boost their value.
So, I talked with her parents and we mutually decided to call off the engagement."
Fudge listened to Lylia's story and couldn't help but feel as if it was a waste.
"They look so perfect for each other!" he said. "If they were still engaged, then we would only have to wait until they're at the right age and they can be married!
Can you still talk with her parents and arrange another marriage for them?"
Lylia shook her head with a smile. "We don't need to. Don't you see? Even the universe itself wants to get the two of them together!
We just need to let the two of them meet, and they will figure out on their own that they are made for each other!"
If they had made another engagement agreement behind their backs, it could have the complete opposite reaction they want. Michael valued his independence, so he wouldn't react positively to an engagement he didn't agree with.
"But…that could take a long time," Fudge complained. Fudge wanted to be pet by Yuna and Michael all the time!
"Fufu," Lylia chuckled with a mischievous smile. "Of course, we can also push the two of them from the shadows. That's why we have our little 'club', right?"
Fudge picked up on Lylia's words. "Yes, yes, Madame… you are so very right. Master won't know it, but he has already fallen right into our plans!"
…
…
…
"Hachoo!" Michael sneezed. "Is someone talking about me?"
"Boss, is there something wrong?" Lolo asked, stopping his progress report.
"No, keep going."
Lolo nodded and began to inform Michael about the new additions to their territory.
Ever since the Nation of Reborn became front-page headlines, almost every demi-human living in the Kings region had heard about the Paradise in the Parched Lands. So, they came to check out the rumors. And once they saw everything that the nation had to offer, they didn't hesitate any longer and signed up to become a citizen of Reborn.
This doubled their numbers overnight, turning their small 'village' into a territory with 10,000 demi-human inhabitants!
Although this had doubled the workload to maintain the nation, it didn't matter in the end because the workforce had expanded with the new surplus of citizens that had just recently awakened their talents.
Kong didn't even have to return to the Nation to supervise the construction of new houses. There were plenty of engineer demi-humans who could do the work without him, which was good because Michael expected to see more demi-humans joining them in the near future.
But what he didn't expect was that even humans wanted to become citizens of their nation!