"Young master, Luca." Remlend was ready as always to attend to me.

Unlike the flimsy excuse for an umbrella Gerald had used, Remlend was well prepared with an immovable umbrella that was large and sturdy enough to protect a family of four from any rainstorm. Water poured from the dark sky, but Remlend's hand held the enormous red umbrella firmly in place.

I chuckled.

But what's the point when I'm only walking from the courtyard to the front entryway and am already soaked?

My hair had dried on the carriage ride, but I had grown keenly aware of the dampness of my shirt and jacket.

"I'll have a bath run up right away," Remlend said, noticing my miserable state. He pulled up a sleeve a spoke into a red communication cuff link ordering someone to get the heading mana stones to be brought to my room.

With Denise and Jasper six feet in the ground, Remlend took on all duties relating to my care and was given authority over other household staff to help him attend to me.

I gazed out at the courtyard and noted my father's and mother's carriages being rolled out to the stables.

"Your parents have just arrived," Remlend confirmed my thoughts. "They are attending to business matters at the moment but will come to the main dining room for a late breakfast. Your sister has also only just awoken. Will you be joining them?"

I felt my stomach tangle in a knot. I wasn't sure if it was just out of hunger or guilt.

Unlike in my original life, none of my family members had ever seen Jasper die. Everyone had died before him. However, I messed up this round enough to get him killed far ahead of schedule.

"Yes, I'll be joining them," I replied.

Remlend pulled the umbrella down as we stepped inside the manor. Light stones in the chandeliers lit up the mansion like they always did, but somehow, everything felt darker and gloomier. It felt eerily quiet apart from the continued downpour outside.

"Has Leona, my bird, returned?" I asked Remlend. The talk of breakfast reminded me that she would typically attend the meal.

"No, I'm afraid not. None of the staff has seen your bird since yesterday," Remlend replied.

I bit my lip.

Leona was a phoenix. She was powerful and capable of torching anything that stood in her way. However, she was still a child, born only eleven days ago. She had the benefit of her ancestors' memories. Still, she lacked knowledge of the current world in which phoenixes were an existence that was synonymous with the talk of myths and legends.

What if someone captured her?

I didn't see how this was possible. Leona allowed herself to be held by me in moments of crisis. It was out of self-control to avoid hurting me that she didn't break free, not for lack of strength.

Thus I had two conclusions. Either Leona had wandered off on an adventure of her own without leaving me a message first—perhaps she was upset with me? Or, someone that could entrap a phoenix got ahold of her.

That second possibility worried me.

I should bring this up with Micah.

 

***

 

Breakfast was a somber occasion.

Elda's eyes were so red and puffy from having cried the night prior that they seemed to be attempting to compete with her hair color. She moved the dumplings on her plate with a fork without putting them in her mouth.

"You should eat," Leonard whispered. He sat beside her with his own plate empty. He and his mother were up when I was leaving the manor, so he likely had already eaten and was here just for company.

I learned from Remlend that Leonard had been consoling Elda yesterday after she learned about Jarvis' death. While I was glad the two children were getting along so well, the circumstances could have been better.

Mother and Father spoke about business matters and held one another's hand like usual over breakfast. However, there was an obvious cloud over them.

"Master Terrell." One of the servants ran over and handed him a small message scroll.

I watched Father's eyes move through the message and stand up from his chair without looking up.

"What is it?" Mother asked.

She gazed up at him. The obsidian and black diamond earrings on her ear dangled with her head's movement.

Father glanced at Elda and me quickly before replying. "One of the parties related to Jarvis's death is here."

Elda's green eyes turned up. They were wide, and then her brows furrowed in anger.

"Alive?" Mother asked.

"Yes, for now," Father replied. "I will go attend to this with Micah."

He hurried out of the room.

I tipped my cup of hot tea into my mouth and let its warmth envelop me.

As the dining room door closed behind Father, I noted that he had turned right.

Whomever it was must have already been in the cellar.

Who? Is it someone from the Silver Eels? The Spiders? Or someone else entirely?

"Leonard, I heard that your mom has completed a prototype of the mini-portal?" Mother changed the subject.

"The testing will start today." Leonard nodded his head of golden curls.

"And how large and what types of objects will be tested?" Mother asked.

"For now, we'll be testing with objects that could fit into the palm of one's hand." Leonard grabbed a hardboiled egg from the table. "We'll run tests with inorganic material objects and then test with food."

Mother nodded at this with a smile.

"I'm impressed how quickly Sarka Jarbez has been able to put this together," she said.

Leonard shook his head. "It was just a matter of resources, and the Frey household has been kind enough to supply everything needed."

Mother turned her head toward me and smiled.

"I suppose Luca is to thank for that. He's the one that suggested bringing in Sarka Jarbez in the first place."

I forced a smile.

There was nothing to thank me for. Preventing the Spiders from taking hold of Sarka Jarbez, one of the most brilliant inventors of our century, was something anyone with half a brain would have known to do. It was like knowing a winning bet ahead of time.

However, I messed up this round and allowed Jarvis to pass away. My meddling changed future events, both more and less than I had thought possible. On one hand, I managed to expedite the deaths of so many people, including even the Daylan Dynasty's Queen. However, at the same time, some events played out just like always. Denise and Jarvis died in the same way as in my original life, just much earlier.

"When is Jarvis's funeral?" I asked. "The rain doesn't appear to be slowing down."

Mother's expression turned harsh, and her eyes glanced toward Elda.

A sob sounded. Elda's mouth turned downward, and a stream of tears poured out of her already exhausted eyes.

Leonard patted her back in condolence.

I realized I messed up. Mother and Leonard had been attempting to take Elda's mind off the funeral, and here I was, bringing up that Jarvis was dead back to the forefront.

"Jarvis's will stated that he wished his body cremated and his ashes used to mix with soil to plant a tree called the Hazel Willow," Mother replied. "That is something we can do within the confines of the manor's greenhouse. The funeral will be in an hour, as per schedule."

Jarvis had a will? He was but a child. He was twelve years old, yet he already had a will set up?

The Frey manor was attacked and burned down shortly after I learned of Jarvis's passing; thus, if there was a will, I was not made aware of it.

I glanced at Elda.

Did she have one as well?

When Elda died in the explosion of my original life, I didn't wonder about the funeral our parents had set up for her. I did note that it was uniquely to her taste, but it was likely because it was upon her request from the start.

Was everyone in my family ready for death to take them at any moment?

I felt a lump in my throat.

The thought was depressing. My family had all prepared themselves for the day they would die, and knowing my original life, they had indeed all died. However, I wasn't going to allow them to pass away this time. Or at least not on my next round.

I had half a mind to restart my life and not go through the painful motions of having to bury my brother, but I was finally close to some much-needed answers. I had to wait three more days for Freida Stran to come back with much-needed information for my next round.

 

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

 

"Is this the one?"

Micah turned toward his father's voice, who entered the room through the two metal doors of the cellar. His father sounded calm like always.

"Yes," Micah replied and turned to look down at the young man with faded pink hair and a pair of enormous hooded blue eyes. "This is Kleave. He's Kathy's, the Poison Maker's boyfriend."

His father pulled a chair towards Kleave and Micah. The wooded legs scraped loudly across the uneven stone floor before he set it down and sat down with his arms crossed.

"Micah here says you know who was responsible for my youngest son's death. And that you had come here of your own accord. Why? You must be aware that we know that it was Kathy who leaked the information about what Jarvis was working on."

Kleave nodded his head.

Unlike most individuals brought down to the cellar, Kleave wasn't tied down in place, nor was he missing any limbs. Instead, in his left hand was a saucer and in his right a porcelain white tea cup, from which he was sipping black tea.

Micah had it brought down because Kleave mentioned that he hadn't slept all night and kept yawning and dosing off.

It was a perplexing space to have a cup of tea. The room was dimly lit and empty, apart from a slew of instruments gracing the walls and floorspace whose use was to gather information through less than delicate means. And then there was the smell. Micah had grown used to it, but the cellar had a particularly unwelcome odor that no amount of cleaning would have dissolved.

Kleave sipped his tea without the slightest bit of concern for his environment, however. Given what Micah knew of Kleave and his profession, this dark cellar was right at home for the pink-haired punk.

In fact, he looked bored. Or perhaps just tired. It was a far cry from the usual reaction anyone exhibited when taken down here.

"Kathy had no intention of Jarvis dying nor his research being swept under the rug," Kleave said. "Once she discovered there was a hit on him, she attempted to prevent it."

"But he did die," Micah's father replied, his voice remaining even and calm. "And thus, if this is an attempt to avoid the consequences of being brought down on your girlfriend, I'm afraid you'll need to provide something better than a mere excuse."

Kleave downed the remainder of his tea and set the cup and saucer down on the cold stone floor with a clink.

"That wouldn't be necessary," Kleave replied. His bored expression remained unchanged, but his tone had a slightly bitter edge. "I'm not here to make any amends or provide excuses for what's come to pass. See, Kathy was killed as well."

Terrell glanced at Micah.

This was news to them both.

Kleave pulled out a folded-up parchment paper and handed it to Micah.

"Here's who ordered the hit on your brother through both the Silver Eels and the Spiders. It's the same person responsible for having Kathy killed."

Kleave stood up from his chair and adjusted his jacket.

"I don't want anything in return except perhaps his death. Unfortunately, he is untouchable to me. But I have a feeling the same restrictions do not bind you."

Micah unfolded the parchment paper and clicked his tongue.

I shouldn't be surprised. But this does pose a challenge. I didn't intend on taking on any of my future in-laws quite yet.