Shun POV:
One month later.
I pressed my back against the corner as I stared at the floating blue window.
[Mission: Escape from Chloe Ravendawn
Difficulty: S
Chloe Ravendawn has chosen you to be her servant. Escape from her grasp as soon as possible.
Time Limit: -
Rewards: Freedom.
----------------------------
Make contact with the following people within the Ravendawn Estate:
· Head Chef [0/1]
· Housemaids [0/2]
· Housekeeper [0/1]
· Butler [0/1]
· Gardener [0/1]
]
‘...’
My hand passed through the floating screen, dispelling it in the process. The tasks had once again reset; it had been this way daily for the past month and no matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn’t figure out the reason why.
The system had its own agenda—I knew that. You could argue that the resetting of the tasks meant I hadn’t found the right information yet. On the other hand, you could say that there was no ‘right’ information.
Just like in my own world, everything came down to choice. And that choice was often decided based on a plethora of variables, which usually all had one thing in common: knowledge.
Knowledge of an individual, knowledge of a circumstance, knowledge of past events, the list goes on. To me, a subconscious decision would default to the underlying set of values or knowledge I not only acquired but believed in.
For example, Chloe believed that she was truly expressing her love towards me by continuing to rape me for the past 2 months. She stripped away what was left of my character in a never-ending cycle. I thought at some point I’d grow numb to it, but unfortunately, I was a sensitive guy. Maybe my natural disposition had increased the threshold to reach that state, or maybe this was something you never could become numb towards.
Whether it was by choice or not, those were the values she had determined were normal in her life. Naturally, she was an extremity, as even my protests went ignored. Chloe brushed them aside in order to satisfy her own warped desires, but enough of that. She already occupied all of my time at night; I didn’t need her in my head space once I got the time to be alone.
I pressed my trembling hand against my forehead as a small sigh escaped my mouth.
‘Let’s... Think over it... Once more...’
Every week, I made it a habit to force myself to recall every facet of information I had heard from those working in the Ravendawn Estate.
‘Herb... Let’s start with you...’
A faint flash of light flickered through my mind as I replayed all of my interactions with the man known as Herb Moss.
***
“Oho~ Little Shun, what brings yous’ here again?”
I pointed to the Reverie dancing in the wind while Herb’s lips spread into a wide grin. He shuffled towards me and stroked the plants.
“‘s relaxing, ain’t it?”
My head bobbed up and down. I shifted my gaze in the direction of the flowers swaying in a rhythmic motion in the wind. They moved in unison, gliding back and forth in harmony. It felt like the weight on my shoulders was lifted ever so slightly as I entered a point in time where I felt a little at ease.
It was beautiful.
“I didn’t order any extra extract for ya... But, I have a couple of em’, you know, spare ones.”
His deep brown eyes swivelled towards me as I clasped my hands together and bowed. It was the only way I could express my deep gratitude for his consideration.
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Herb’s gaze rested on me for a while, but he didn’t say anything else. He spun his head back around and began tending to the flowerbed again while whistling to himself.
‘...’
I waited for the extract by immersing myself in the beauty of nature. Half an hour came and went. Herb moved to various spots along the gravel pathway.
“Ya still struggling to speak...?”
His feet came to a halt, and he glanced at me. I opened my mouth, but no matter how much I forced my tongue and vocal cords to work together, no words came out.
I cast my gaze to the ground and my eyebrows furrowed fell with it. I balled my hands into fists that shook with rage, only to see a small hand grip them.
“Easy, youngin. Easy.”
Tears pooled at the sides of my eyes as he rubbed my hand. Once I had calmed down enough, Herb moved back towards the Reverie. A long vine shot out of the flowerbed and stroked its prickly head against my cheek.
“Would ya look at that? She’s finally grown fond of ya, little Shun.”
The corners of my cheeks rose. I ran my fingers over the vine in response, but it shot back into the flowerbed. The gentle breeze caused the grassy patches in the distance to rustle.
“Shun... Let’s talk a little...”
A rare, solemn expression coated his usual bubbly demeanour as he beckoned for me to follow after him. I walked by his side while we travelled down the long strip of land that connected to the front garden.
“Lady Chloe... Have you thought about giving her some flowers, like I suggested?”
His accent vanished, further highlighting the seriousness of the topic at hand. I placed my hand on my heart and nodded my head.
“C-c-c...”
I sounded like a newborn, stuttering and tripping over my words, getting nowhere in the end. Herb’s eyes narrowed while he pulled his lips in. Despite his effort to hide it, I could make out the overwhelming sadness within them. He had watched my condition deteriorate in real time.
“It’s fine. Don’t try to speak, just... just listen.”
He pulled the large farm hat all the way down to his brow while he walked on ahead of me.
“If you’re planning on giving Lady Chloe Reverie, then you need to know the meaning behind them.”
He placed his hands behind his straight back. He looked up at the clear blue sky as we continued to walk further away from the mansion.
“As a gift, Reverie are seen as a blessing. To a lover, they take on the meaning of a love so pure that it feels like a daydream; it is a wish that the purity, that the bond the two of you share will only grow deeper.”
Herb’s feet stopped in front of a large forest marked out by the tall trees I had seen in the distance. The inside of the was poorly lit and hundreds of dead leaves were scattered along the ground.
“As a curse, Reverie represent incoming death. They are given to those trapped inside their own minds, unable to face the reality in front of them.”
I felt a shift in the air that made me shiver as I gazed at Herb’s back, which seemed a lot broader than before.
“Shun, you better be careful. You’ll only get burned if you play with fire, but if you play with the Ravendawns, you’ll never see the light of day again.”
‘!’
His finger pressed down on the farmer’s hat as the air exploded around him. The trees swayed, and his clothes fluttered from the force he was exerting.
I collapsed to the floor, unaware of what was going on. I couldn’t physically see anything around him, but I knew that he had to be releasing some kind of energy.
I grabbed hold of my chest, struggling to breathe as I stretched out my hand towards him. Herb cocked his head to the side and glared at me out of the corner of his eye.
“Little Shun, remember my words well.”
The pressure vanished and two transparent bottles containing a dark purple liquid rested in the palm of my hand. I got to my feet and looked around, but Herb was nowhere to be seen.
‘Warning...’
I slipped the two vials inside my inner pocket while gazing at the entrance to the forest. One day, I would have to run through this place in order to escape.
‘Soon...’
I turned around and made my way back towards the mansion. Herb seemed aware of what I had planned to do, but he didn’t seem confident that I would succeed.
It was understandable.
Chloe Ravendawn was not an ordinary woman. Family background aside, she had monstrous strength that defied common sense. Yes, this world had a power system, but I was convinced that even without it, she would still be beyond strong. Put plainly, she was different; she was an outlier.
‘Tch. I’m gonna kill her.’
It didn’t matter to me if she was superhuman or not; I had resolved myself to end her life. I would watch her soul leave her body and only then would justice be served. My lips spread into a wide smile as my eyes curved upwards with glee.
‘Wait for me, Chloe... You’ll soon breathe your last breath in this world...’
“...”
I shook my head and regained my composure. The familiar sound of Herb whistling drifted into my ears as I reached the top of the pathway.
“Took ya time, little Shun.”
His bright demeanour returned, and I bowed my head. He walked up towards with me a wide grin and placed a vase in my hand containing an assortment of Reverie.
“Good luck.”
Herb gripped my arm before returning to his work. I pressed the vase against my chest as my lips curved into a thin smile.
***
‘...’
My eyes opened once I finished recalling all of the important information for this week. The other conversations focused on trivial topics or more about botany and the vast array of different plant families inhabiting this area.
‘Interesting...’
I dragged Herb’s name to the neutral category on the table that I envisioned in my mind. The purpose of his warning was to make me weigh up the pros and cons of my actions; it’s possible that my drastic decrease in health spurred a change within him or perhaps this was just who he was.
In the end, it didn’t matter.
Even if Herb told Chloe that he gave me some Reverie extract, it wouldn’t change anything. I couldn’t use the extract in its current state anyway, but that too was part of my plan. After all, being neutral didn’t always mean not getting involved; it could mean that Herb was helping both sides.
I pulled out a bunch of now withered lavender flowers that I had snuck into my pocket whenever I went outside. Valerian would have been more ideal, but I couldn’t find them in the Ravendawn Estate. I observed them for some time before my gaze shifted to the jar hidden at the bottom of the cabinet.
‘It should be good enough to use soon...’
I slipped the withered flowers back into my inner pocket, planning to discard them well before Chloe returned. I observed the muscles having spasms in different locations around my hands, causing them to twitch.
‘This could be a problem...’
A careful and delicate approach was needed to handle the extract, but in my current condition, it seemed like it would prove to be too difficult.
‘...I have two tries anyway.’
I squeezed my hands together as I moved on to the next name on the list.
‘Let’s focus on you now... Rollo.’