A cooing sound of a white owl interrupted Kim's peaceful slumber as he lazily raised his head. Quattro, the pet snow owl of a friend, was standing in front of him patiently. A letter was held on its small black beak. He rubs his eyes before reaching for the letter. Thanking the owl, he gently took it. The paper looked old, a bit rough to touch, and light brown, probably torn from an old book. Unfolding the letter revealed a short message from a certain friend.
Dear Kimmy,
I hope you are awake when you receive this letter of mine. I have a few things I have found in an abandoned cottage that seemed to belong to your father. However, my father stated that he was nowhere to be found and had found no trace of him being there for a long time. I was there with my dear parents investigating, and I found a few belongings of your mother that you might want to take in. I will come by in the morning at eight. I'll see you soon.
Nia
"Of course.. See you, Ms. Hunter." Kim mumbled as he folded the letter back and reached to close the book that he was reading before he fell asleep, and placed it back on the shelf where it belonged.
Deciding to head back to his room, he stood up and began to walk back to sleep there till morning arrived instead of staying inside the library, while the white owl soon flew out of the open window, vanishing into a cloud of mist, leaving no trace.
The next morning, small pecks and chirps on the window had easily awoken Kim, sitting up slowly while yawning and stretching his arms and back. He gets off the bed, slowly putting on his slippers and robe to go make a simple breakfast for himself and his arriving friend, it wasn't much like how most people prepare their morning food. But for Kim, it was enough, he may be the new earl of Abria, but he's used to rather.. Simple yet casual lifestyle due to growing up with his mother before he was introduced to his noble lineage.
The maids greeted him as they arrived, as they were used to the sight of their young master always awakening first before them and wanting to cook his breakfast. The maids helped Kim bring the breakfast to the table as he soon went to quickly fix himself up and wait for the clock to strike eight.
Nia arrived at the estate at the exact time she had said in the letter. She was dressed rather in her own fashionable way, her ebony fedora brought out the complete style of her outfit, consisting a white dress shirt with a dark brown vest, a maroon red skirt, black tights and leather boots. Each piece of clothing was trimmed with gold and decorated with golden metal rose pins and small bronze gears.
She was escorted by the head butler of the mansion, Falles, the oldest member of the staff of the Cox Mansion. He was a man in his early 70s, still standing tall with his white hair slicked back and his mustache groomed perfectly, wearing a black tail coat and a bolo tie around his neck and a monocle in his left eye. He brought her directly to the garden where Kim was waiting. Nia went to Kim's side but not before giving the head butler a small wrapped package and asking him to place it in her friend's office. The garden was filled with blue roses and white lilies, and butterflies freely roamed around.
"Good morning, Lord Cox!" The daughter of the famous detective greeted cheerfully while Kim smiled on return, waving.
"Good morning, Ms.Hunter." A silence occurred for a minute before bursts of giggling and chuckling occurred. Kim stands up as he pulls the chair for Nia to sit, which she gladly does while thanking the young lord. To them, being formal with each other was hilarious despite their rank difference in the society of the empire. Kimberly is a noble, and Nia is a commoner. They did not care for society's norms, as they grew up together and did not care for most of the rules at all unless it is necessary.
"How have you been, Nia? Any news from Lord Banner?" The blue-haired boy teases as the red head blushes and rolls her eyes a bit from the second question, and soon eyes the simple yet tasty breakfast. French toast, bacon, and avocado slices served with fresh apple juice.
"Quite alright. And no, I haven't heard from Elson. What about you, Kimmy? You seem still stuck with simplicity rather than with what's supposed to be your thing as a noble. It's been years. You're too humble." The girl notes as she grabbed a plate and began eating while Kim picked at his food before plunging the fork into the bacon, as he shrugged.
"Living with my mother has made me content with living with simple things before knowing I was the only child of a mighty lord," Kim says as he stuffed his mouth with food. "It was hard to believe my father was a noble… not a humble merchant that I believed to be when I was younger."
Nia nods in understanding before chugging down half of her juice. The two soon finished breakfast as they walked together back to the earl's office. The door was opened by Kim himself, and he immediately saw the nicely wrapped box. He immediately knew it was his mother's things that Nia was talking about from the letter last night. He settled down his staff on a chair while Nia sat on one of the plush red couches as she watched Kim handle the box gently.
He rips the wrapping slowly, and it soon reveals a wooden chest with a simple lock. Gently flicking the lock open, he moved the lid up. Nothing much was in it except an old book, a ring, and a scroll. The young man took out the ring first. It was small and silver. With an amethyst as the main gem of the ring, surrounded by creamy pearls. It had one word engraved inside.
'Belladonna'
Kim mumbles the word written in it as he gently sets the ring back into its cushion inside the box. And soon grabbed the small old book, blowing off the dust. Nia just watched carefully from the other side of the room, fingers fidgeting with her locket or her red hair.
Gloved fingers gracefully ran across the cover of the book, before it was opened, revealing its rusty brown pages and an old English language being used for the story. The title embedded on the cover, 'Angel', to which Kim chuckled slightly. It was a tragic love story between a farmer's son and a famous ballerina, a story he had seen his mother always read whenever she finished chores and took a tea break.
He soon laid down the book on his desk and reached for the scroll. It was held by a fuchsia ribbon, and he untied it swiftly, revealing an old sketched portrait of his father, his mother, and him when he was still a young boy in an old-looking piece of light brown paper.
Young Kim, sitting on his mother's lap, smiling brightly with a stuffed bear in his hand. His mother was smiling with a soft look on her face, she looked so sweet and beautiful. His father, meanwhile, remained with a stoic look, a hand on his wife's shoulder and another on the back of the chair.
"I'm assuming that the box held something more interesting than expected?" Nia asked while Kim gave a small nod in confirmation.
"Well, I can't say it's that interesting.. For the book and my family portrait when I was young. But the ring is important. It's my mother's ring. One that she was gifted by her father." The bluenette says as he lets out a small sigh before gently putting back the two things in the small box.
"Your father is tricky to find."
"First time trying to?"
"Oh, don't get started on me…" Nia groans as she turns away, pouting. All the while, Kim chuckled and shook his head. "You know that I'm helping you find out about your father's whereabouts. He's very slippery to catch."
"That's what one of the many things people hate about my father." Kim sighs as he sets aside the box beside the papers on his desk. "Along with his passive and cold attitude..."
"For whatever reason, your father left you for.. It's up to you with what you do now, Kimmy… You are the one who holds the position as Earl of Abria, the Crow of the Queen. It is up to you on how you lead, not your father." Nia puts a hand on his shoulder as if to lend comfort.
"I know. But.. even years now, it's quite funny that my father is still the hot topic among the society of Abria." The young man chuckles softly and sighs soon after.
"Well, your father might have a bad attitude and has done well… well… you know, 'unspeakable' things." Nia waves her hand in circles. "But he's done so much good for the kingdom, just like you and the rest of the past earls have done. So it is still quite unbelievable for him to leave his wife and son and then vanish into thin air without a trace."
Kim hums, his eyes soon landing on a few signed papers that lay on his desk. He lets out a huff, sitting back down on his comfortable chair.
"I just hope that whatever he may have crossed that leads to his disappearance." He sighs once more. "I just hope I don't come across it as well shortly."
"I doubt that will happen, people say that, including my father, that you're smarter than your father. So I doubt what he may have come across. You won't be easily swayed by it." Nia smiles as she comes over and gently pokes his cheek.
"If you say so…" Kim sighs. He gently takes her hand that poked his cheek, leading it near his soft lips before he places a kiss on her knuckles. Nia blushes red with his sudden show of affection before pulling her hand away, making Kim chuckle.
"You do realize that you're better off with me than Elson, yes?" He asks her with a teasing smile making Nia smack him on the arm out of embarrassment after she snaps out of her flustered state.
"Oh, hush!"