CHAPTER 9 - I - AT THE BRAUNHAUER HOUSEHOLD

 

After dinner, there was a bit of time before we head to the talks with the Duke of Braunhauer.  While waiting, and aware of the ‘hidden’ enemy inside the Braunhauer guesthouse, I took my free time to rest outside, in the courtyard.  The mood within the manor was heavy—at least between Maddie, Lily, and me.  I knew it’s a futile attempt to escape here; but it’s a welcome breather to the otherwise suffocating atmosphere inside.

 

“…”

 

Well, to be honest, Amaranth was a beautiful place.  Unlike the dull grayness of my world’s urban setting, and the sinful opulence of the Holy Palatial Gardens, this kingdom was of a green, simple and homely environment.  The rolling grasslands that surround the Duke’s place were, as far as my eyes could see, interrupted only once by the town of Coventry nearby.

 

To be honest, I’d like to settle here than in the city of Kamran, which is my original plan…

 

“Oh?”

 

I heard a voice somewhere near me.  Turning around, I saw the familiar tiny figure of Eris walking towards me with a book in her hand.  Behind her was the Ban of Kistral, following her as if he’s her chamberlain.

 

“Ah, hello there, Eris—I mean, Lady Eris—”

 

“Mister Kuro, Eris wanted to be called just by her name!” pouting, she corrected me.  I could still remember that she asked me to refer to her just like how I do it back at the Holy Palatial Gardens.  But I knew my limitations; this was her turf, and because of that, I had to mind my manners.

 

“Haha!  My apologies, Lady Eris, but I’m afraid I can’t do that.” I answered, “Your father might get angry if a commoner like me doesn’t give you the respect you deserve.”

 

“Indeed, Your Excellency.” the Ban told her, “You shouldn’t tolerate such a brazen display of ‘commoner courtesy’.  Please be aware of your social status.”

 

“Daddy?  Nope!  He’s okay with it!” Eris replied, dismissing our objections, “Eris doesn’t know about her mommies though…”

 

“I’m sure the ladies wouldn’t assent to this disrespect.” the Ban reminded her.

 

“Sir Stefan, Eris had told you earlier that she wanted to be alone.” the young duchess finally confronted the arrogant guy, “Could the Ban leave her be?  She wanted to have a private talk with Mister Kuro.”

 

“Your Excellency, your father had strictly asked me to watch over you.” he glared at me once again, “Not everyone who says they’re your friends is your real friends, Lady Eris.”

 

What?  You suspect me of doing something bad to this kid?  You wanted a fight, douchebag?  Well, I won’t give it to you…just yet.

 

“Eris feels safer with Mister Kuro, thank you.” Eris brilliantly countered him.

 

Heh!  Take that, you mustache-wearing bastard!

 

I could tell that the Ban was taken aback by Eris’ rebuke of him.  However, not wishing to embarrass himself further, Sir Stefan swallowed his pride and took a bow before the young duchess, and headed back to the Braunhauer guesthouse.

 

 

Now that the douchebag left us, Eris’ disposition considerably lightened.

 

“Eris doesn’t like him,” she confessed to me.

 

“Hoh?  Well, what a coincidence!  So do I!” I told her, “That guy’s been angry towards me ever since we came here.  He’s been glaring at me back when we arrived at Devyere.”

 

“Sir Stefan is from an old noble house.” Eris explained, “Maybe that’s why he doesn’t like commoners that much, Mister Kuro?”

 

“Maybe…I don’t give a damn about him.”

 

Eris laughed.

 

“Well, Lady Eris—”

 

“Muu!” the young duchess pouted, “Eris told you to call her by her name!”  

 

“Err…but your mothers might don’t like it!”

 

“B-But…Eris is e-embarrassed…Mister Kuro is her friend.”

 

Well, she had a point, “Alright, if it’s okay with you, then why don’t I call you like a friend whenever we’re alone?”

 

The young duchess smiled and nodded.

 

“Well, great!  So, what brings you here, Eris?”

 

“Oh…Eris saw Mister Kuro went out for a walk, so she thought he would like someone to accompany him?” she suddenly sighed, “But then, Sir Stefan came along with Eris, and he made Mister Kuro feel bad.”

 

“I don’t see any problems with it if it’s fine with you!”  Honestly, I didn’t know what’s the deal with that guy, but I got other matters to attend to.  He’s irrelevant.

 

“Eris is fine—no, happy, to accompany Mister Kuro!”

 

“But what about that book?” I pointed out, “You can’t possibly read while walking!”

 

Eris laughed, “No, Mister Kuro, that’d be silly!  Eris brought this along because she was reading earlier, before she saw Mister Kuro go out.  The library is far, so she has to bring it with her.”

 

“Oh…alright…”

 

“Hm?  Mister Kuro, are you interested?  It was a book Daddy gave to Eris as a gift before.” she showed the title of the book she was reading.  It’s all about the history of the Amaranthine kingdom.

 

I was like a light that was flipped on.  I love history, and for her to offer such a thing to me was just irresistible, “Uh…E-Eris…if it’s uhm…okay, can I borrow it?”

 

“No problem, Mister Kuro; just let Eris finish it first!” she laughed, “Eris loves it when she sees the sparkles in Mister Kuro’s eyes whenever he reads a book!”

 

“Haha!  Well, I really love them.  When I was your age, I would rarely go out of my house to play with other children; I would just immerse myself in fantasies while reading books.”

 

“Hoh?  Looks like Mister Kuro has read a lot of books!”

 

“Well, not really…” I admitted, “I only read 7,901 books so far, out of 129,864,880 titles.”

 

“Seven thousand—whoa!”

 

“And that’s not all, there were still uncounted books that don’t reflect in that 130 million number.  It’s a conservative estimate, really.”

 

“Wow…it’s a lot of reads!”

 

“It sure is!” I told her. “There were millions of books I like that were published already.”

 

“What books that Mister Kuro wanted?”

 

“I love history, philosophy, politics, and general knowledge.  And some romance and comedy novels.  Basically, it just revolves around those.” I returned the question to Eris, “So how about your preferences other than history?”

 

“Eris loves to read philosophical books as well, Mister Kuro!” she answered, “So that Eris would be a big help to Daddy in the future.”

 

“I see…that’s a wonderful goal, huh?”

 

“Haha…yes, Mister Kuro.  Eris could only hope that she’s helpful; most of the time, she’s always being scolded by her mommies because of her mistakes.”

 

“…”

 

There was a strange silence between us when Eris said that.  I also noticed that; unlike back in the Holy Palatial Gardens, she was frequently being corrected here.  Is Eris that unreliable and clumsy before?  If I recall, there was never a time that she could not finish a chore, even if she was being overworked by her bullies.

 

What happened here?

 

“Mister Kuro?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Is Eris stupid?”

 

“Eh?  Where did those words come from?”

 

“Well, Eris tries her best to be as perfect as big sis.  But she always ends up making her mommies angry at her.  Only dad would praise Eris, but it’s very rare.”

 

I could only stare at the young duchess, “I think you’re wrong, kid.”

 

“Huh?  So, it’s true?  Eris is stupid!”

 

“Wait, no!  I did not say you’re stupid.” I was frantically explaining to her, “I mean, you’re wrong in assuming that you’re stupid.  You see, I believe you’re smart; you gave us useful information about the situation here, better than Princess Jessica.  Do you remember that?”

 

The young duchess nodded.

 

“Well, maybe there’s something that you did your mothers didn’t like?   For example, at the dining table earlier.  You didn’t follow how your family ate their dinner.”

 

“But Eris believes that Mister Kuro’s manners are much graceful and dignified!  That’s why Eris is imitating you!”

 

Haha…I couldn’t say anything back to that.  I’m also of the same opinion as you, Eris.  If the nobility here would only watch the table manners back in my world, I guess they’d be put to shame.

 

“And Eris is just repeating big sis’ actions because they don’t scold her as often as they do to Eris!”

 

Makes sense.  If that’s indeed Eris’ reasons to do those things, then it could be said that she’s just looking for the approval of the people she looked up to…which would be the Marquise and me.

 

“!!!”

 

I fully understood Eris’ problems, so I couldn’t help myself but give her a head pat.  I mean, the kid’s doing her best to be a dutiful child, and yet, her efforts were being ignored.

 

“You know, you’re not stupid, even if others say you are.  Don’t believe in those words.” I told her, “Listen, I believe everyone has a strength and a weakness as a person.  For example, I can always explain the histories of things and places around me just by reading a book, while in combat, I’m basically useless.”

 

“But big sis told me before that you fought in the Battle of Cullen!”

 

“Well, I did, but it was after your sister, the Marquise of Monfort, taught me how to.  If she didn’t, I’d be long dead by now.  Haha…”  Recalling those angry men who rushed forward to kill me brought me the shivers once again.

 

“Your sister was a great warrior, yet she’s dismissive towards books.”

 

Eris laughed, “Oh yes!  Eris would always get angry with her every time she uses books as her pillow.”

 

“Heh, try smacking her head too.” I knew it’s bad to teach children to do bad things, but hey, I didn’t enjoy destroying books either, so this would be our revenge, “Anyway, my point is, all of us had something where we were strong and weak, so I guess we shouldn’t always try to run after someone else’s shadow.”

 

“So Mister Kuro thinks we should create our own path?”

 

“Exactly.  We’re all different.  Copy some prominent people to a certain degree, but carve your own story.  It’s much more fun than imitating someone.  If you did the latter, you’ll only be number 2 beneath that person, see?”

 

Eris smiled and nodded.  I could tell that she was pondering on my words.

 

“Give it your best, Eris.  This world is enormous and sometimes intimidating.  However, don’t let it swallow your identity.  Create your own legend.  I’m sure it’s worth it in the end.”

 

 

Our talk had gone from that topic about individuality to several other matters concerning politics, philosophies, and similar issues.  I really enjoyed the time conversing with the young duchess, and she could keep up with my pace, much to my pleasant surprise.

 

I could tell that Eris was well-read and informed on things going around her.  If she’s a student back on Earth, I’m sure she’d be one of those called ‘prodigies’.

 

“Your Excellency Lady Eris, Sir Kuro…”

 

“!!!”

 

A maid suddenly came in and interrupted our talk, “My apologies for butting in, but Her Holiness is calling for you, Sir Kuro.  She wants you to come to the main living room as soon as possible.”

 

“Oh, right!  So, it has begun, huh?” I turned to Eris, “Anyway Eris, I guess we should cut our talk here for now.”

 

“Can Eris have a chat with Mister Kuro again sometime later?”

 

“Well, sure!  If you have the time.” I winked at her.

 

“Right this way, sir!” the maid then led me, as Eris followed us.