The whole room was filled with utter silence. The duchess' hand placed over her heart, anxiously breathing in as she looked worriedly at the mage.
The Mage couldn't help but show a surprised expression. This was the first time she has ever seen such an intense emotion from her other than when she first met her. He slowly strokes his beard, contemplating her words deeply.
"... Do I seem like the type of person who would teach a child to use magic to kill?"
The sitting empress lets out a quiet scoff before walking towards the Mage, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You do."
The Mage couldn't help but puke out blood as he heard those painful words. He stood dead for a minute before quickly composing himself, coughing the remaining blood out. "W-Well, it seems like I'm giving out the wrong idea towards you, Isabella."
He slowly looks back at the duchess, smiling as if to try and ease her worries. "It is not my intention to lead his life for the purpose of killing the future enemy. In fact, I detest the meaning that Magic is used to kill people."
He stretches one of his hands in front of him and a blue flame appears before him. "They say that the creation of fire was used to burn the enemy, burn the corpse, and reduce the number of people that inhabit the world. But… I believe that, instead, the creation of fire is to bring warmth into the land."
The color of the flame shifts into a melancholy pink, still burning fiercely in his hand.
"This warmth signifies life and new creation. Fire is the first warmth that the skin of a newborn experiences first in their lifetime. It's not meant to burn, but to embrace that warmth before embracing in what you call the warmth of another being, guiding it into what you call trust, care, and love."
The Fire soon floats towards me, and spreads throughout me, before dispersing into thin air, without a single burn in my body.
The Mage puts both his hands behind him once again and closes his eyes.
"You're indeed right, Isabella. To teach a child to use magic is not to kill, but to learn how to embrace that warmth, giving him a reason to protect."
The Duchess's eye gives off a sense of relief upon hearing those words.
"... Teacher..."
The Mage walks towards the Duchess and stands in front of her. He places his hand on her shoulder and smiles brightly.
"That is why the warmth that he must first learn about needs not to be learned from me, but from his own mother… I have seen too many children grow up to be victims of such teachings. I don't want this child to be one of them.
The Duchess tensed her body after hearing those words.
The mage smiles once more at her. "Teach him about the world first… so that you can then teach him what magic will bring to his life, and what he must use it for.
He removes his hand from her shoulder and slowly walks to the door. Just before he was about to leave, he looked at the duchess one more time. "Don't forget, Isabella, that a child needs the care of those around him… True care so he can attain the meaning of hope and value."
The mage then leaves, leaving the duchess standing there in the cold silence. The duke walked behind her and placed both his hands on her shoulder, trying to console her.
The Duchess reacts to the touch and smiles at the familiar warmth, placing one of her hands on top of his.
The empress watches the romantic situation develop with a slightly cringing expression. She slowly walks up to her throne and sits down. "It seems like you have a lot in your mind, Isabella. I think it's best that you rest while Laurence and I continue our conversation."
The duchess looked anxiously at the empress. "But–"
"No but's. Getting a good rest will help clear your mind. You also need to take proper care of your child. From the looks of it, he may be hungry."
The duchess stands motionlessly before slowly nodding.
The duke began to move the pram out of the room, while the empress and duchess slowly walked behind. The empress continued to cheer the duchess, but she just nodded apathetically without responding.
We walk towards the opulent and detailed corridors. After a while, we reached a new room, the doors were opened by the servants that were following along. Inside the room, the wallpapers were a dark red shade, once again filled with opulent furniture and decorations.
The Empress remained outside while the rest of us entered the room.
The duke places the pram near the couch and takes the hand of the duchess, gently leading her to sit down on the couch. Once he confirmed our well beings, he carefully inspected the surroundings before looking at the duchess one last time.
"If anything happens, don't hesitate to signal me." He hands her a small, red crystal shard.
The duchess nodded emptily once again. He let out a bitter sigh before placing a kiss on her hand. His gaze slowly shifted on to me, displaying the same warm smile that he was showing to the duchess.
Come to think of it… this is the first interaction I have with him other than the time I almost suffocated… But seeing this caring side of him, I can kind of guess that it wasn't on purpose. Of course, some people might disagree…
After showing me his warm smile, he slowly stretches his hand towards me. He carefully, and gently, places the back of finger on my cheek, slowly caressing as he smiles even more warmly. "I'll be back, Lysander."
He gently pulls away, and waves goodbye at us before leaving the room. The duchess flinches as she hears the sound of the doors closing. After finally seeing that the duke is going, her expression slowly turns dim.
The duchess lays her head on the couch pillows, and stares at the flowers that were placed on the table right in front of her, unable to decide on what to do.
The empty silence went on for a few minutes… Just before my stomach started to rumble.
"Ah… I haven't eaten anything since I came into this body…"
The duchess flinched once again before properly sitting up, tidying herself up. "Ah... I shouldn't be distracted."
She stood up from her seat and went to where I was, she gently carried me into her arms and sat down once again on the sofa. I stared deeply just like any newborn would towards their mother.
Can I call you... my mother?
The last time I called my original mother "Mother", she looked at me with pure disgust. Since then, I refrained from using such terms such as "Mother" or "Father" and spoke to them just like any stranger would.
The way she warmly smiles at me makes me remember the inconvenient times. All these hateful memories… I just wish I could forget…. I just wish I can become a proper human being.
But even then… Her warm smile also brings in a familiar emotion: Happiness.
She tried to remove part of her clothing to breastfeed me.
At this point… I think it's inevitable. I just have to bury my dignity down and properly act like a baby.
Thankfully, her clothes were too tight to remove, so I can still hold my dignity for a little while. while. Her expression turns troubled as she gives up. "What should I do...?"
But in this dire moment, she quickly remembered something.
She let go of one of her arms that was carrying me and placed me closer to her body.She then stretched out the free arm before snapping her finger.
Soon a blue insignia appeared and dispersed with blue light fragments.
A baby bottle soon appeared in the middle of where the insignia was. She quickly grabbed it and shook it a bit. "Thank goodness Mia prepared this right before we left…"
After shaking it a bit, she begins to put the bottle near my mouth.
As the baby bottle slowly entered my mouth, I began to have these lingering thoughts…
Just what am I going to do in this new world? Why was I brought to this world?
I felt the sense of warm milk in my mouth. I must admit that it tasted better than I anticipated...
I burrow my brows. My thoughts are a complete mess right now.
But one thing is for certain, I was given a second chance to live a new life. A life where I can enjoy the many things I was unable to do.
Just maybe… Just maybe I can call this place my home...
The baby continued to suck on the bottle until it finished. The duchess smiled before gently patting the baby until he burped before placing him back into the pram where he lay asleep.
She continues to watch the baby with utter love and care, her pessimistic mind slowly freeing itself from the negativity.
She slowly leaned towards him, and gently placed a kiss on his forehead."Lysander… I'll make sure to carry on my duty as a mother for you."
The baby smiled happily as he felt the warmth of her mother near him.
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ .
In a separate room, the duke sits across from the all mighty empress, the powerful and leading figure of the Izora Empire.
The empress playfully holds the cup of tea that the butler beside her made. She peacefully smells the aroma of the tea, and slowly takes a small sip, careful as to not waste a single drop.
As she finishes taking the sip of the tea, she gently places it down on the table. Her closed eyes slowly opened. Still smiling, she carefully fixes her gaze onto the duke. "The Duke of Blood... Shall we continue our earlier conversation…?"
The duke flinches at the word before stoically looking away to the window. He looks at the beautiful scene outside. The grand stature of the palace from high above, able to view the mighty fountain he saw before the meeting.
He couldn't help but subtly smile. "... I'm sure you're well aware of the seriousness of the situation."
The empress couldn't help but sigh. She flicked her hand towards the butler, signaling him to leave. The butler quickly bows and exits the room
Shortly after, the empress snapped her finger. A single second of the snapped sound echoed through the room before a large insignia surrounding the whole carpet of the room appeared, before slowly dimming until it's gone.
"With this, there won't be any rats listening to our conversation."
The duke's face stiffens for a moment before looking anxiously at the empress. "What about Isabella–"
The empress scoffs before apathetically flicking her hand to him. "Relax. I made sure to have her room secured and guarded. She's also a capable fighter, just like us."
The duke looks even more anxious. He doesn't want to risk putting her in any more danger. He already failed yesterday, so he can't help but be even more on guard.
But in the eyes of the Empress, he looks no more than a dog worrying about its owner. She couldn't help but sigh. "... You really are a sucker for your wife. If you really want to see her that badly, then talk."
The duke flinches once again before coughing. He straightens his posture, and looks stoically at the empress just like before. "... An assassination attempt was attempted yesterday towards my son."
The Empress flinches at his words, slowly stroking her chin. "Things are looking dire then… The same thing happened yesterday with my son, Augustus."
The duke looked shocked. "Does this mean..."
She nods. "Yes, the group intended to target both the Heir of the Imperial Family and the Blakesty Family."
The duke anxiously fiddles his thumb against each other, trying hard to understand the intention of the assassination, other than to just eliminate the heir. "... I tried to follow up against the magicians who were responsible. I was only able to capture three. Unfortunately… they all committed suicide after being imprisoned."
The empress couldn't help but sigh with frustration, rubbing her forehead to ease the sudden headache. "I see..."
The duke grits his teeth and clenches his hand into a fist. "It was him...!"
The Empress looks directly at his hateful eyes, showing bloodlust of the man he is talking about. "... Count Avington."
His eyes trembled as he heard the name. His aura increasingly grew more furious. After a while he soon calms down and takes a deep breath. "Yes... I was told that he was the one who initiated the attack… But I just don't know for what reason…"
The Empress stands up and faces the window, looking at the beautiful scenery of the palace with the majestic orange sunset brimming the cloud gold. The autumn leaves slowly glide around the air, crossing along the view of where she was looking.
"The Noble Faction seems to be taking a grand gamble. They also dared to try and assassinate my son..."
She continues to watch the beautiful scenery in front of her. Her lingering eyes are so cold and emotionless, but they slowly regain their color after looking back at the duke.
"A las, even if I wanted him gone, he is a swordmaster of the seventh ring being guarded by many other swordmasters of at least the fifth ring. Not even you can face them all alone."
She folds her arm and leans towards the edge of the window frame. "... And he has the support of that so-called husband of mine..."
His face looks disappointed but acknowledges the situation in hand. "... I see… Eliminating him doesn't pose a problem for me, but will lead to friction between the Noble and Imperial Faction.
"Yep. I know you want to kill him. So do I… but we just have to be patient. We have to find the perfect time."
The duke sadly nodded. He then looks down at the tea he was served. He sees his sadden expression being reflected on the surface of the drink. He goes on to contemplate the ordeal, figuring out what to do next.
"... Poisoned, isn't it?"
The Empress stands upright and walks towards the table, sliding her finger on the edges of the cup from where she drank from. "Indeed. Well, not that it has any effect on us though. The butler from earlier is probably packing his things right now, trying to escape. He must've also been sent from the Noble faction."
The Empress looked at the window from where she was standing once more and smiled sinisterly. "Well, I can't have that happening... That's why I prepared a fun little spell in advance."
The duke looks at the Empress, knowing her true personality, quite calmly.
The Empress quickly turns around, smiling innocently despite her sadistic words earlier. "It's my way of releasing stress over this incident!"
She calmly and elegantly sits down on her chair, picks up the teacup once more and drinks the tea filled with poison. "Come one, take a sip. You can hardly smell the fragrance of the poison."
The duke stares at the cup in front of him for a minute. After moments of contemplation, he carefully picks up the tea, bringing it close to him before smelling the fragrance emitting from it.
A light and rich apple scent… He slowly brings the cup to his mouth, drinking it carefully before putting it back down with no reaction. "... It stings..."
The Empress chuckles a bit. "I only said that you can hardly smell it, not taste it."
The duke stays motionless before raising the teacup once more and drinking it again and placing it down. "This burning aftertaste..."
The Empress closes her eyes and has another drink of the tea before putting the empty cup down, staring at it with glee. "Yes... this burning aftertaste. It reminds us of the failure that we have made. Unable to protect the people closest to us."
She turns her gaze from the cup to the duke. "Ah… It really is telling us just how much of a failure we are. People may think we're cruel. People may think we are self-centered. People may think we're emotionless… But those who judge us without hesitation are the true emotionless people."
Her smile turns hollow, her eyes reflecting the golden hue of the sunlight shining on her from the window. "But even then, they don't know us… They don't know what we're trying hard to protect… There may come a time where we'll even fail to protect what we care… and prove their words right."
She breathes in for the last time, trying to calm her saddened heart. "But in the end… All we can do is accept the words that this cruel world says about us, even if it hurts…"
The duke stares at the Empress with a cold, yet saddened, gaze. "... Your words... they sting more than this poison..."
The Empress closes her eyes and hums at his response before opening them once more on the cup. "This conversation... It might last a while. Should we prepare more tea?"
The duke looks at the half empty cup in front of him. His reflection filled with insecurities, but his eyes showed a new wave of motion. "... I'll take you up on that offer."
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦ .
My eyes feel swollen from sleeping for so long. I slowly opened them, and I saw the familiar ceiling decorations in front of me. I guess I returned home…
No other light can be seen, other than the one from the moon. Its white light illuminates my very being, reaching out to me… all alone…
This lonely feeling… I'm all too familiar with it. But that doesn't make it any better…
Being in the crib, laying down and unable to get up. Unable to do anything I wish my body to do… It's just like my previous life.
But this time, I'm just an infant. No expectations are currently being held for me.
Expectations…
Should I… just continue my facade once more?
No... That doesn't seem right. Is it alright for me to be in this body of the character known as Lysander?
Doesn't that mean that no matter what I do, my ending is predetermined?
This life is even more cruel than my previous one… was I brought on this world only to suffer once again? Can I never live a normal life?
A familiar flame appeared right before once again while I was in deep thought.
"It's you again…"
"Glad that you remembered me."
I froze. Can he read my mind?
No response was made. But the flame knew what he was thinking.
"It's not mind reading. But if you wish to communicate with me using your mind or other sources, I should be able to respond."
"I see... then can I ask who you are?"
The flame flew a bit farther away from me and expanded a bit, not replying for a moment. "I currently have no name to go by. You can address me however you wish."
The flame grew closer and shrunk once again.
"But to respond to your full question. I am a being that is here to guide you in this new world and help you adjust to your situation. You're also free to ask any questions that are within my disposal."
My mind froze for a bit before a sudden thought emerged from my head. "Can you tell me what happened to my siblings?"
"That question is out of jurisdiction."
"Then… can you tell me who sent me to this world?"
"That question is out of my jurisdiction."
"Then... can you at least tell me why I was summoned here?"
"That question is out of my jurisdiction."
"... What can you tell me?"
"As stated before, I can only answer questions with the authority I am given. As of now, I can only answer certain questions with the authority currently given."
Questions… The only question I have is about the current wellbeing of my siblings. Nothing else matters to me right now other than the answer to that question.
But still… I guess it's better to ask questions about the future.
The flame backs away and turns green, expanding with fierce flame at the questions that the infant will ask.
"Now… What questions do you have about the world, oh lost one?"