In my mind, I have three questions.

1. What's the last thing I remember?

2. How did I get here?

3. Why am I so handsome?

 

Let's see, for the first question. The last thing I remember was lying on my bed and reading a book. For the last 20 years, my sister had been urging me to read some of her books. Ever since little, she loved romantic stories. So, later she became a well-known author by writing such stories.

I, myself, am quite not fond of such novels. Love, care, neither am I a believer of such things.

But, when she came to me with such innocent eyes. How could I have denied it? Thus, I read one of her novels.

Which, brings us to the second question. Now, I rest on a wooden chair in a vast room. The room's window's curtained by black clothing—an animal pelt attached by the floor. The wolf's skin served as a decoration. Many notes books jumbled by the study table. A wide bed, along with few wardrobes. On the table few mugs and cups. From, the smell I reckoned it to be tea.

So, now here I am, sipping tea from this old-fashioned golden metal cup. The cup gives off some metallic texture, which disrupts the tea's taste. As for the tea, it's quite pleasant. It's sweet, but it rather feels natural. And, seeing as how it's helping me, keep my composure. I must say, I am quite pleased.

While I delight in the pleasantness of this tea, my gaze continually falls on the mirror attached to the wardrove. Which, brings us to the third question. My facial features are really something to brag about with warm copper shade hair, hazel eyes, with the color golden most dormant. No freckles or dark spots. Almost symmetrical face and porcelain skin. And a lean body, currently covered by a long red coat.

As I gulped the tea, I noticed my hand slightly shivering. It made me wonder, no matter how many harrowing experiences one has experienced. No matter how much a man realizes that panicking won't do any good, sometimes the human body just doesn't listen.

During my time in the military, I faced many life-threatening situations. After, much experience I become confident in making rational decisions under any circumstances. At least, that's what I thought. But look at my hand, shivering.

I, myself, find it quite pathetic. But, well, my current circumstance is also strange. It's not life-threatening, at least not directly, but just something unprecedented.

This face is not mine, the chair I rest on is not mine, this room is not mine. This world is not mine.

Last night, I fell asleep after reading a Novel. And in the morning, I woke up in an unfamiliar bed. After running various scenarios of what could have happened. I concluded. This place is Abrington City. One of the places inside the Novel, 〖Embers of Quiescent Love〗

A Dark Romance Fantasy, Novel written by none other than my sister.

The key that leads me to this conclusion would be the sword hanging on the wall. A blue sword with a blue scabbard and a bright blue gem embedded on its handle. One of the swords forged by the ancient dwarfs.

The next key thing, being memories. Some of this character's memories flashed through my mind. Not all of the memories, just some glimpses. And, I still feel a lot of pieces missing.

I did think of alternate scenarios, like what if I am still dreaming? But, dreams usually are not this vivid and detailed. No, matter how much improbable it might seem, it did happen. Denial only gets in the way of rational thinking. The best action would be to accept the current scenario and make plans based on those assumptions.

I vividly remembered many parts of the Novel as I had started reading the Novel just a few days ago. This sword played a significant part in the story. As for the man, whose body my soul seems to have transmigrated in, he played no role. But his family did.

Here I am, Isac Ives Heulin. That's the character I have transmigrated into. I found that out from the notebooks jumbled across the study table.

I don't remember the exact words, but my character got mentioned in one line,

〔The 2nd son of the Heulin family, Isac Ives Heulin, got assassinated while traveling back to the Khoral Empire〕

A brief mention, when the Novel described the history of the Heulin family. I played no part, but my family and my death played a significant role in the plotline.

If I remember correctly, my assassination became one of the mysteries of the Novel. It becomes one of the turning points for the Novel when one of the protagonists finds out the reason behind my assassination.

The reason being the heirloom sword that I carried.

The sword still hanging on the wall, and the fact of me, being alive indicated the main storyline had yet to begin.

For a while, I pondered, how could I return to my world? Would I return if the storyline gets completed?

Then again, I only read three volumes out of 7 books. The first three volumes had board worldbuilding, intriguing mechanics and characters, and slight romance. It started with a slave boy escaping his prison and awakening his innate ability—a thriller story of survival. But, from volume 4, the narrative narrowed down, and its primary focus became the relationship between various characters, especially romantically. I got bored to my very core, so I stopped reading around half of the fourth volume.

But, I wanted to know at least how the Novel ended. So, I just grabbed the final volume and read the final page.

〔On her hands rested his severed head. She cried as she looked on to his dead eyes.〕

That first line made my interest die out, so I just glimpsed the last line.

〔As eternal darkness engulfed the world. The animals, the plants, the rivers, the mountains, they all cried out. In fear, in despair, they cried out as they realized the end of the world lingered above them.〕

At that time, I simply thought, 'Oh, wow,' Then went to sleep.

But, now, let's think of the worst-case scenario—the scenario where I am unable to return to my world. I would have to adjust to a new lifestyle here which I don't find much problematic. The problematic thing being the phrase, "the end of the world lingered above them"

A vague sentence, which just cannot be ignored.

Sigh, the sudden turn of events and all this thinking tired me out.

So, I grabbed my hat and took some coins out of the table's drawer. Ten gold coins, all of them had the face of a dragon with two horns carved on it.

And left my room, I needed some fresh air.

______

I could feel the bright sun rays falling on my skin, along with the breezy air brushing past my skin. Just the perfect atmosphere to calm my brain.

The shops looked rather lively.

"Free cookie with every coffee until 4 PM with this flyer."

"Want 50% off your first wedding dress?"

"Get half-price cocktails during midnight with this flyer."

People smiling, couples on a date, some children roaming the street. I must admit, the people seem more privileged and noble here than on Earth. I can see a couple across the street. Both of them seem to be in their 20's, but their behavior looks elegant. On Earth, couples in their 20s would be making out in public places without a care of the world. But, here, even their clothes look elegant. The girl wore a pink gown with barely any revealing skin and a hat matching the dress's color. Meanwhile, the boy wore a green coat and black pants, with a layer of fur around his shoulders.

And the carriages, soldiers patrolling the street. Not bad, not bad at all.

As I strolled. Two gentlemen walked past me in the opposite direction.

Hm...soldiers. They seemed to be keeping their identities secret. Both of them wore green coats and had blonde hair. At first sight, they appeared to be regular citizens. But of course, no disguise can escape my eyes.

Heulin family is one of the 12 families under the Royal Supremacy.

Descendants of all 12 families have a unique trait distinguishing them. The unique trait of my family being, hazel eyes, with the color golden most dormant. These eyes have the ability to discern even the slightest change in the shade of any color. The ability is more useful than it sounds.

The color of their eyes gave those two gentlemen away. It might have looked like normal black eyes to an average person, but I could tell their color was indeed not natural thanks to my character's eyes. Hence, they must have used some orthodox methods to hide their natural eye color.

The only reason one would go to such lengths, to hide their actual eyes, would be if they had unique eyes, which would distinguish them from an average citizen.

The ones who have such eyes, would be someone from the 12 families.

Abrington City, is a place for scholars. Violence is nearly nonexistent in this city, at least on the surface. Mostly, students like my character would live here. And only people permitted by the Royal Supremacy would be allowed to do business here. So, what would gentlemen who look like to be in their mid 30's, be doing here, under a disguise?

I thought of taking a fresh breather. That's why I came outside. But when opportunities arise in front of you, you don't turn back on them because you're enervated, but cease it no matter the cost.

So, I stopped. Not just in a random place, but in front of a shop.

〈All In Bloom〉

Yes, A flower shop.

Transparent glass made up the exterior and a wooden door to enter inside. Red, blue, violet, white, I could see all kinds of flowers placed inside, from here.

Creak!

As I entered inside, I could not help but admire the aromatic smell of the flowers. My gaze fell on the white rose, placed on the shelves.

"Would you like to buy those, sir?"

"No," I said, as I turned my gaze towards him.

Every Novel has an antagonist.

The one who greeted me had black hair, one black eye and one red eye, and a gentle smile on his face. He stood at the same height as me wearing a simple white shirt.

"But, I would like to buy a lilac flaire."

"Ahh, excellent choice sir" He had an appealing voice

"This way, sir" He waved his hand, showing the direction.

The room seemed to have many compartments, all separated by shelves of colorful flowers.

On the 3rd shelf by the back, he showed me, the blooming lilac flowers, with sharp petals, all spiraling around, almost like a rose.

"They, are quite a rare breed. This is all we have," He said

On the same shelve, above the lilac flaire, was the amber flaire.

"I see" I looked at him and gave a light smile, "I would like a bouquet of these flowers."

"Sure" "Please, wait by the counter as I prepare the bouquet."

I excused myself. From, what I could see, this place had a door behind the counter.

The novel〖Embers of Quiescent Love〗had been a large-scale novel with many characters. It served a multiple characters narrative. The readers who read the Novel declared three people as the main serving Protagonists, while two people as the Main Antagonist. The Novel itself never clarified who was the Protagonist or the Antagonist.

He returned, with a bouquet of flower in his hands and went behind the counter.

"That would be 30 silvers."

"I see, if I wanted to buy, the entire stock of lilac flaire and amber flaire. How much would that cost?"

"All of them?" He asked

"Yes"

He seemed surprised.

"Considering, both of them are rare breeds. 4 gold coins. sir"

"Ahh, just perfect" I smiled, took out few gold coins from my coat's inner pocket, and placed them one by one on the counter.

He looked at the four coins for a moment the glanced towards me, "You must be quite rich, sir."

I slightly titled my head, "Well, I do come from a rich family."

"Then, is there anything else, you would like to buy?" He also smiled as he handed over the bouquet.

"Yes, yes indeed there is," I gently grabbed the bouquet from his hand, "Slaves."

His body's flinched. "I'm sorry sir, did you mean slaves?" I noticed his gentle smile had turned into a nervous smile

The flower shop served as a facade.

〈All In Bloom〉 This served as the birthplace of Infernal Scholars. A group formed by a highly talented group of scholars and lead by a man named Ivone Aldis.

One of the main antagonists and the man standing right in front of me.

"Ahh, no need to be so nervous" I maintained a light smile on my face. "I have many connections. My friends told, me they had bought quite an amount of enchantment rituals and, slaves-"

His face turned pale

"So, I thought, why should I not buy some?"

After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, "Sure, we have plenty of those"

I sighed inwardly. I took a massive coming risk here. After all, behind that gentle face lies a ruthless killer. I didn't come here to make an impression. I had another goal, and to accomplish it, avoiding meeting him become inevitable.

Frankly, I made a plan on the spur of the moment when I saw those two gentlemen. A big risk, but if I succeed, I can avoid the downfall of the Heulin family. If I cannot return to my world and have to remain here forever, then it's better I live with high status and wealthy life. To ensure that, I need to avoid the downfall of my family.

And I would also prefer not to die.

He turned back. Besides the wooden door, there rested another portrait painting of a knight wounded in battle. He touched the portrait with his finger. White light emanated through them, and a part of the wall opened. A hidden door, I see.

"Right, this way sir" He waved again with a smile. I found his smile quite annoying.

I followed, still holding the bouquet with my left arm. After the door, lied an underground passageway.

Following the passageway, we arrived at an underground prison. A passage, on the middle, and on both sides of that passage, cells.

He turned back and looked at me, "What kind of slaves, would you like to buy sir?"

Seeing how the lilac flowers were still available and those two gentlemen roaming the city, I would say there's still one year before the storyline begins. So, his age would be….

"Childern, of age 15-16"

He looked at me with weird eyes and said, "Well, everyone has their own preferences.", He started walking again, I followed.

Every moment, every step, I continually thought, how am I going to handle the situation? According to the storyline, I get assassinated on my way back to the empire from this city. I thought of a few scenarios to avoid that. My concern lay with the protagonists.

"Here, they are"

"Hm," I got startled as I was thinking of something else.

Beneath the prison bars, I could see four kids wearing rugged clothes. Their face covered in dirt.

All of them looked malnourished.

As I looked at the kids, I could feel Ivone's gaze on my face.

I tried to ignore his gaze and gave a light, friendly smile. They all looked wary of me.

"Do you like flowers?" I asked as I showed them a bouquet in my hand. The flower turned out to be quite tempting for them. The subtly sweet fragrance of the flowers and their beautiful rose-like look. All of their gazes fell on the bouquet.

"Do you want this," I asked in a friendly tone.

No one replied. They all lied against the wall, far from the bars.

The prison bars had a gap between them. I entered my hand, holding the bouquet.

"Here, you can have them."

I patiently waited. All of them held each other's hand tightly. Suffering together must have developed a sense of brotherhood between them.

One of them decided to take one step forward. The other followed. Then another step, soon, one of the kids arrived in front of the bouquet.

He glanced towards me. I simply smiled and said, "You can have them."

The kid stretched his hand and took hold of the banquet. I let go of the hold and took out my hand from the prison bars.

"Those were some expensive flowers," He commented. I could feel my actions had caused him to feel a sense of wariness towards me.

"Indeed, they were," I turned my gaze towards him, "As someone who works in a flower shop, you must have a deep understanding of them, yes?"

"Certainly" He seemed startled with my question but answered confidently.

"Then, do you know, why the amber flaire, and lilac flaire always grow together?"

"….."

"So, there are things, you do not know about."

His pale turned pale

"Have you heard the story of the Sun God and the Moon Goddess?"

"No"

"Then, let me give you some invaluable information."

According to the Novel, there was a time, when the Sun God walked the surface. There he met a breathtaking woman. Soon, they fell in love. But, one day, the Sun God disappeared without any notice. The woman felt heartbroken. But then, she spotted some amber flowers on the surface. She thought those flowers were for her. But when she tried to embrace those flowers with her hand. Her hands got burnt. Later, she realized those flowers were not for her. Before the Sun God disappeared, it seems he had also mated with a human. The human bore his child. Those flowers were meant for his descendants in order to give them strength and protection.

"When Moon Goddness found out, what do you think she did? On, the very surface which bore the amber flaire, she bore her own flower. So, every time, a amber flaire would boom, so would a liliac flaire."

Ahhh!!!!!

Ivone heard the scream and turned his gaze away from me, to the prison. I looked at his expression; finally, I could see some loss in his demeanor.

In prison, Ivone saw three kids screaming with sobbing eyes. The bouquet on the ground. And the one kid who first took the bouquet from my hands, petrified, turned into stone.

"If the Sun God's descendants, ever came to mountains, then before they could embrace the amber flaire, they would get enticed by the lilac flaire. Unable to resist, they would try to get closer to the flower and obtain it no matter the cost.

Like, how with a stone heart, the Sun God had abandoned her, the scent of her flower would also turn his descendants, into stones. This was her retribution."

Ivone's gaze again fell on me. He looked at me with narrowed eyes, and this time there was no smile on his face.

A huge gamble, but he needed to know the story, and the kid needed to die. As of now, the time to make the final deciding move had arrived.