2

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Behind the wrought iron towards the horizon, there was a wooden building lying ahead. It was a large Tudor-style structure, where the wall's paint resembled chocolate milk. They lined up in symmetrical lines that resembled piano-like keys. The windows were perfectly symmetrical and flanked by old white shutters.

"---- The château is gorgeous!!"

The young girl dilated her eyes, she gasped in astonishment at the same time dumbfounded. The beauty and bliss made her continue to gaze at the château from a far view. Meta shot a warm smile and expressed his remark of the Château. He knew it would thrill his little sister at the sight of the magnificent building.

"Was there any— Sorry, I've talked too much."

Moments later, she darted her eye toward the ground and then turned her head away from the gate. It riddled her face with a distraught face. It wasn't a pleasant surprise to Meta when the girl awkwardly apologized to him.

As Meta noticed the sudden change of aura surrounding his sister, he curved his mouth into a frown. As if he could no longer hold himself, but stared at the girl with a worried look on his face. Whereas it filled his eyelids with complex emotions he couldn't express.

He knitted his brows and suppressed his wary feeling afterward as he raised his hand and—

Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank! Clank!

"Mistress Sjögren! We came here for a visit! If you hear us!... Please allow us to enter by opening this gate!! I'd like to discuss something important to you."

He knocked the metal plate on the wrought-iron gate with the tip of his bare knuckles. The metal clunk noise had traveled all over the vicinity in the hope the owner might hear them.

Meta continued knocking the plate until they saw the owner of the building come out to greet them in person.

Minutes passed, and nothing happened for a couple more minutes. The owner of the Château never came nor responded to their call from outside. The front door was untouched, and the lights of the room never faltered as if she never moved from her comfort zone.

His hand stopped hitting the metal plate, up to the point, where there was no point in continuing this farce. He walked 2 steps backward and stood still as he let out a deep sigh with a disappointed face

"She didn't hear us, Meta. Are you sure that you and mistress Sjögren did not quarrel the last time you two met? That explains why she never went outside to answer us if you disagreed over something I shouldn't know of." The young girl stared with an unfazed expression.

"I- I, ahem. I am positively sure, she isn't the type of person who takes no, for an answer in any kind of situation. She's an understanding person, lil sister–that seems out of character for her, hahaha. Honestly, it might be the Château's wall that hampered the sounds we made."

The young girl replied to her brother's knock with a soft and undertone voice.

Meta's body and eyes twitched as if her words had punched through his abdomen. It felt dubious in Meta's ears that his sister made a far-fetched assumption that happened long ago when they had last spoken.

"How so?" The girl questioned him.

"It could be the walls are soundproof, which blocks sound that comes from outside. Usually, she isn't the actual original owner of this building. There are a lot of questions about this place you aren't familiar with. Even I cannot answer everything you seek."

In correlation to her response, he responded with a proud look on his face as he remarked about Meta's understanding of the foundation from the building's wall.

He had a good hypothesis. In theory, the reason their cry was never made inside the building was because of the possibility that the noise could only travel a few blocks right before reaching the entrance of the Château's front doors. Though in a logical sense, It's plausible the walls of the Château were soundproof from the start.

"If it's soundproof… Try throwing pebbles at her window then—"

"—No. I reckon you do not desecrate her place, for my sake. "

"Understood..." The girl said in a gravelly voice.

The girl suggested throwing a pebble at the château's glass panel however, Meta quickly objected to her suggestion as it would lead to an act of vandalization without the homeowner's consent.

KRAA!!

"Hmm…? What do we have here?!"

As the strange cry alarmed the siblings right beside the gate's pillars from above. Meta turned his head and glared toward the direction of the hoarse cry where he saw a feathery-like creature, the color of their feather resembled the color of burnt wood. They knew this eccentric creature as the—

"It's a raven, Meta," she muttered.

"I think I have a solution." Meta turned his head and smiled, "Just sit over there and relax comfortably while you wait, Okay?"

"Okay."

This creature, who'd appeared before them, was known as the raven. Meta then turned his head and pointed his finger towards the nearby wooden bench from where the young maiden should sit and rest. As the girl left Meta's side and walked towards the bench, he turned his attention again towards the raven and shouted.

"Excuse me once again!— Err. Maighstir raven. I know you're one of my mentor's friends. Could you please let her know that I, Metaphor Von Asteri, am here to speak with her, urgently?" Meta lowered his black top hat onto his chest in hopes of a response.

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• • •

The raven glared at the nobleman with a doubtful expression in its eyes. As they took their time to reckon his request, to see their master in person.

Kraa! Kraa! Kraa!!

They replied with a gurgling caw made at the back of their throat at Metaphor. The raven raised their wings and flapped as their body was airborne for a few seconds. As they maintained their body up in the air, they glided around Metaphor for a few 3 laps before they soared through the opened Château's window.

The raven was nowhere to be found in his sight. Metaphor Smiled and turned his back as he walked back towards the gate.

3

Sitting comfortably on top of the birch bench. She glanced at the passing vehicle that had zoomed past through the lane in an excerpt amount of speed they made. The cool breeze of air gently swept her long straight hair. It resembled the metal platinum where it was found in a mine shaft, her hair blew towards the right like petals. It's always cold during the night.

Staring at the vast emptiness of the lane that had gone silent. Her white astonishing fair skin was soft and smooth for a body of an endowed figure; She gave a pleasant aroma that smelled like the fruit, cherry. She had an awed look with a pensive expression, feeling what was all left in her patience, without being irritated by the waiting game.

From her neck area. The young lady fiddled with her bright red gem necklace for quite some time as she bared a wary expression on her face. She clenched the piece of her frilly light-blue dress skirt as she murmured.

— How will she react to my face? Should I–

■■■■ placed her thumb into her lips, — keep it on, during my stay? If so… Her long, large, sharp canine sunk through the upper late of her thumb. The familiar maroon hue liquid was slowly pouring out from her thumb, created by the cut of her teeth.

—Ngggh, I hope my appearance doesn't disturb her.

Clack! Clack!

She jerked her head where the clacks from the boots had slowly approached in her direction. As each step closes in, the lingering of deep thoughts cause her heart to pump frequently. The noise stopped. She turned and saw her brother towering over her with a blissful smile as he said.

"Let's get going, ■■■■. My mentor had sent her maid to accompany us within the Château."

Metaphor raised his dominant hand and stretched towards the back with his index finger pointing at the female figure. He introduced the woman with maroon colored braid hair in a black long dress with a white accent and a short-sized top hat surrounded with laces on her head, where she bowed behind Metaphor with a smile.

"Hello, it- it's nice to meet you…" ■■■■ stood up and faced the woman.

The young girl turned her eyes away quickly from the woman as she lowered her head. The woman made an anxious look with a wry smile. She wasn't expecting the girl would turn away from her, whatever the reason it was, It made her think she made a mistake, making her uncomfortable.

"I apologize for her attitude, Miss. My sister had… Communication issues with others. Aha ha ha." Said Metaphor

"No worries, our dear guest. I understand her situation. No need to apologize."

"Please lead us to your master, if she's available for the moment."

"Sure. This way dear, guest."

She stretched her palm toward her right and pointed at the wrought-iron gate. Metaphor followed her from behind, ■■■■ soon followed them right after as together they entered the gate. They had a better view of the Château with each step they took on the long stone-brick straight path, which lies with the entrance door for the Château.

Walking straight down the brick path that resembled the color of a reddish-brown, along with the trimmed but varied shape of the bushes and hedges on both sides of the pathway. The more steps they took, the Château's size doubled its overwhelming presence.

—I didn't know she was a maid until I'd gotten a closer look at her attire.

■■■■ kept her gaze towards the lady's head for a while. With an inquisitive look on her face, there was something from the Maid that caught her attention.

It had a triangular shape as the ship was sharp, but softened, for that kind of shape it doesn't appear to be human. She squinted her right eye as she slowly got a closer view right behind those strands of hair.

"It's an elf."

It was Maid's ears that caught ■■■■ attention. She widened her eyes in surprise knowing she was an elf.

"Is she really working with Mistress Sjögren? I hope her job isn't a burden for her." She lowered her head and made a gloomy look.

They had arrived at the stone porch's archway, leading to the entrance of this building. The servant bowed a nearby bust, resembling a male figure, and proceeded to knock on the 2-way panel doors before she grabbed two of the brass knobs and turned it clockwise. The doors slightly opened, and the maid calmly walked inside the building as she called out to her master.

"Mistress. Sjögren, your guest has arrived."

"Oyah! Is The man in the coat, Metaphor, and his sister here?"

"Yes, Maam. Both were on the porch with me."

"Fufuhu, when then. They have my permission to step~~ into my beloved home."

They heard a young and soothing voice across the entrance; it was the sound of a woman, or we should all know by now that it belonged to Meta's master. The siblings have their ears blown away by how smooth the sound of her voice is.

"I'll brew you and the guest with some tea while the three of you discuss. Pardon me."

The servant sprinted towards the back in the opposite direction and opened another door that led to the kitchen.

Metaphor turned his back and found the young girl all curled while sitting on the paved stone porch from the edges of the staircase. She had her brows knitted in an anxious look as she stared at the wrought-iron gate from afar.

— !!?

"Sorry to interrupt you, ■■■■. Before you get excited, you have to–"

" — I'm not. Can't you see my face, brother? It tells everything you want to know."

"Uh, Uh — right…. My apology. Just stay right where you are. I'll be having a conversation with her with no delay. Would you like to join us instead of waiting?"

She raised her head as her left shoulder felt heavy and uneasy at the same time. She turned her head and saw her brother. With his brows furrowed while baring a frowned mouth, he politely asked the young girl to reduce her high expectations of his mentor, only his voice was interjected by the young girl's remarkable evaluation.

■■■■ turned her head around the back, straight through Metaphor's face. She made a brief pause and said—

"No. I'll remain here until your discussion is over. After all, It's a private conversation between 2 adults. It's not my place for a fifteen-year-old to be in the same room where adults talk."

"As you wish. We'll call you after we're done chatting."

Drenched in sweat, he curved his mouth into a wry smile out of embarrassment at her assessment. Her words did not annoy or offend him as he came to accept her critical comment. He lowered his torso and apologized from the bottom of his heart.

Metaphor lifted his trench coat from his right side, underneath lies a pocket, he stretched his left hand and pulled out a raspberry leather book, titled:

— The War In South Ariana —

By Sir Conan Dubhghaill

"Here. Read this if you get bored."

With the book in hand, he placed in front of ■■■■'s face, occurring in her vision. She darted her eyes toward the book with a bewildered face. Caught by surprise, she gently took away the book from his hand, with two of her hands. She turned her head to Metaphor and saw him wink with a warm smile.

The girl was dazed and didn't appear to have anything to say to Metaphor.

"Well, take care. Enter if we need you."

■■■■ nodded her head

He turned to his back and walked back to the entrance door, where he was slowly walked out of ■■■■'s view. As Meta left his sister alone and unprotected for hours.

The girl opened her book and scanned the paragraph on the first two pages. The single moment She set her gaze towards the night sky under the shimmering full moon, wondering what was her brother discussing with his mentor.