To be sleeping still, when someone breaks into your house and kidnaps your sister—that was quite an achievement, if I do say so myself. It was after I had returned home the previous night that she was taken away, but it will be a while before I learnt that. When I woke up that morning, my siblings weren't really my first thought. Why would they be? It was now the second day that I was here, and I had to figure out how to return. I pondered about it for a while, quite a while, in fact, but nothing really came to mind, and after finally realising that Lune was yet to knock on my door, even though at this point it was quite late and I hadn't done my breakfast yet, I got up and left my room.
'Lune,' I called out.
No response.
Strange…
I looked around the house, but she was nowhere to be seen. It was unlike her to leave unannounced, which made me mildly concerned about her whereabouts. Did an emergency suddenly pop up? I checked the letter box, which aside from a few old bills, had nothing of importance in it. I went to her room, hoping to find something there. It was a rather ordinary room, but not humble in any way, especially if you compared it to my shabby old corner upstairs. This room was much bigger, with a bed that could easily fit two people. The floor was made of wood, and the walls were off white, except for the far right, which had an olive green wallpaper with a golden floral pattern on it. Her wardrobe was in the far corner, and right adjacent to that was a clock that wasn't working at the moment.
I examined her room, not prying too much, since at the end of the day, it was her room, but there was something that did catch my eye: a bunch of letters on the table, all of them addressed to her. Of course, it was quite wrong of me to read through her letters, but the one on the very top was a letter from Fjorcroft.
Curiosity overpowered any second thoughts I might have had, and I picked it up. There wasn't much: just random things about his day. The only piece of information that would be of any use was that he would be returning in a few days. He asked her to keep it a secret from me, and in his own words, 'I have a fun surprise planned for him.' I'm sure he explained in great detail what that "fun" was in the countless many letters by him that were also there, but I didn't look into them, no matter how much I wanted to. I didn't want to spoil the fun for myself.
I left the room, and with not much else to do anyways, I went ahead and freshened up, before making myself some poached eggs. That, and a glass of hot milk was my breakfast, rather humble for someone who should be a noble now, but what could I do about it?
I only wished to return to my own world, but Zoras, Fjorcroft and Lune had other intentions, their dreams too different from mine, and I was here dragging them away from that very dream. It was thanks to their father that they lost their titles, and ever since then Fjorcroft had worked tirelessly to regain it. For now, he worked in the government. He never did say what his job was exactly, but whatever position he held, it was important enough for him to be able to request a direct audience with the Monarch whenever he needed to.
I was sure Fjorcroft could do it, that he would bring his house back to its former glory. Perhaps that was the "fun surprise" that he talked about in his letters, but I quickly realised that it couldn't be the case. With how things were right now, being a noble would be far from "fun". I picked up the newspaper lying by the door. Zoras was the kind to read it religiously, almost desperate to keep up with what was going on, but if I were in his place, I probably wouldn't. After all, it was the same news, over and over again. I had no memories of the past month, which made me hopeful that the news might be a bit different, but that wasn't the case.
'Two murders in Canary Street, yesterday…and both nobles. To think the Marquess of Canary would be killed in the very street that was named after him…how ironic.'
Fear and discontent were at an all time high, and being a noble now put a much bigger target on my back than living here in the alleys. Though at the end of the day, I was still a fallen noble…I was only ever so safe.
'Just what is the Yard doing,' I said, rather frustrated at the current situation. Of course, I wanted nothing to do with whatever was going on in this world, but that didn't mean I didn't pity the people living here. I understood the perspective of the common folks, but at the same time, not everyone was evil. Lord Canary…from Zoras' memories, he was a kind person…someone like him shouldn't have been killed.
'Fuck this,' I said outloud as I put the paper back. Reading the news would only make me feel worse. 'I need some air,' I thought as I pulled my overcoat and my hat off the hanger and left the house.
I walked down the streets of Viellenne, partly to search for Lune, but that was merely an excuse to look around for a bit. It wasn't often you would find architecture this pleasing, and I wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste. I wanted to explore the city, and this time, and if I did find myself some unwelcoming company, I had my gun tucked away inside my coat.
I wandered aimlessly for a bit, like a lonely cloud drifting in the clear spring skies. Thankfully, I had Zoras' memories, so I didn't get lost, but if I were to be honest with myself, I wouldn't mind getting lost in these streets…after whatever Civil War was brewing ends, of course; I still valued my life, and more importantly, I couldn't die before seeing my wife again…and my parents.
But that made me wonder, if I were to die in this world, would I go back to my old world? Oftentimes in stories, I had seen the opposite happen, where someone dies in the old world and gets transmigrated or reincarnated into a different world, then is it possible for me to go back to my old world by dying here?
…did I die in my old world?
It wasn't likely…the last thing I remembered was myself going to bed after a long day of work, and the next thing I knew, I was here…but could a part of my own memories be missing too?
Let's not think about that now.
I brushed the thought aside. It was pointless to waste my time thinking if I had died or not. I only needed to know how to return back.
And before all of that, there was this one place from his memories that I wished to visit, an old cafe that Zoras would often go to sit down and relax. It was a small room, but it was one of the best cafes in the city, and it was pretty close to the University as well.
I walked down there, pushing open the door; the bell rang announcing my present.
'Welcome,' said the lady behind the counter. 'The usual?'
I nodded, taking off my hat, before taking my seat in the far corner, where Zoras would often sit alone, away from everyone else. Sometimes, he would bring with him his books and try to do whatever assignments he had, or just revise what he had learnt so far, but that was Zoras. I, on the other hand, chose this seat because it was next to the window. I looked at the street outside, the people walking by, everyone with a life of their own.
A mother carried her daughter in her arms, tired, yet still smiling as her happy burden slept peacefully on her chest. Another man rushed by, holding his hat in place with his hand as he dashed as fast as he could. A little further, there was a girl playing the flute. People gathered around her, dropping a few pennies in her bowl, before going about their lives.
Everyone of them had a life of their own, and while Zoras was far from the kind of person who would take pleasure in observing this, I was the opposite. In my old world, I would often find myself sitting in the balcony and observing the people below, and while I was in this little corner, busy in my thoughts, someone else walked into the cafe.
'May I sit here,' he asked.
Only now did I pay any attention to the person who walked in just a moment ago. His hair was a golden blonde, and his eyes were jewels of sapphire. With a smile on his face so gentle and warm, it could steal the hearts of a million people, he looked at me as he waited for my reply.
'Yes, of course,' I said.
He pulled the chair and sat down with grace, his legs crossed as he leaned behind. He radiated this air of innocence and purity, yet still noble and confident.
'Do you like the view from here,' he asked.
'I'm sorry?'
'I noticed you were staring outside.'
'Oh, yes. I do enjoy it here.'
'Hmmmm?' he smiled.
'I'm so sorry for the delay, sir!'
In a panic, the waitress arrived to our table, almost dropping the tray in her hands, but thankfully for all three of us, she didn't, and he gently placed the two cups on the round table, or as gently as she could with her shaking hands, before bowing her hand and apologising once again.
'It's fine, I don't mind,' I said, and she looked at me with gratitude before running away.
'Do they punish the waitresses here harshly for being late with their orders?' the man asked as he took a sip of his coffee.
'I wouldn't know,' I replied, taking a sip of mine. 'I don't believe we have introduced ourselves yet. I'm Zoras.' I almost gave away my last name, but decided otherwise, for once again, I didn't want to be murdered anytime soon.
'Zoras…are you perhaps Zoras of the House of Embers?'
I looked at him, surprised.
'You know of me,' I asked.
'I've read about you a long time ago. Though I must say, I didn't expect to run into a fallen noble in this part of the city. As for me, I'm Finn. Just Finn.'
'It's a pleasure to meet you, just Finn.'