In a secret forest and inside the small hidden cottage beside the woody door stood Ellmer, silently listening to the story being told rather earnestly despite how silly it seemed to him. The man sat on the bed with the light from the window softly covering him, talking with a gentle smile as if he wasn't profoundly injured and just woke up from a near-death experience with bandages all over his body.
"There was a novel my sister took good care of… the main character is a unique kind of vampire who used to be a doctor. He worked really hard to help humans despite him being a vampire. A very long story of how he discovered what both humans and vampires have done to his dead family. How he decided to erase the existence of all the vampires and destroy the humans who heartlessly took advantage of his dear family. He managed to kill almost all the vampires. And as for the humans, he targeted the wealthy families that were behind what happened to his family… do you know how he destroyed them?" the tan colored man didn't look at Ellmer; he couldn’t see with his eyes even if he turned to look at the teen, as the bandages covered one eye and the other covered with his long black fringe. He maintained his smile as if amused, "He simply stole their roles one by one. The whole theatre became his." the man turned to where he knew the teen was standing and glaring grumpily at him.
"The audience didn't know. There were still different actors in the play displayed before them after all, and the fun show goes on with no sign of disturbances."
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The Red Flower
Chapter. 24
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Ellmer sat on his bed in silence in his small dark room, not minding the cold air around him as waterdrops kept dripping from his wet hair to the towel on his shoulders. He looked intently at the floor as if it held all the answers he needed. His head was jumbled after his discussion with his brother; he recalled it all from the start. He tried to think carefully, but every time his brain took him back to the day he first heard of That novel from the wounded man.
Piecing everything together… he felt like they were living in that novel. Again and again, Davante's words were repeated in his mind.
"This may sound… very confusing, and maybe doesn't make sense… so Lucas worked for Anfinrud for some time then went missing with no trace of his whereabouts. Mother always expressed her fear of 'Baldrick', who is her ex-husband, while Alucia always called her father 'Lucas'. You also got to know your father by the name 'Lucas'. Baldrick was unknown to everyone except our mother, only 'Lucas'. However…" Davante paused as he carefully thought of how to explain his guess. "I suppose you know this already… Lucas Feldstain kidnapped Alvis' kids, one of them was the victim, and that's Elois. But Alvis asked me about 'Baldrick' some time ago, not Lucas… you told me he received a box after the disappearance of his kids and wife, along with a letter by the name 'Baldrick Alastair' reminding him of a certain threat… even though, Xenos was the only one who threatened him of leaving the company. Unsurprisingly, he would first assume that Xenos and Baldrick could be the same." Davante collected his thoughts carefully and looked back at his brother.
"Since Lucas was the one who kidnapped them, we can assume he is also the one who sent the box to Alvis. And keeping my mother's words in mind along with the whole thing about the letter, we can say… Baldrick and Lucas are the same person, right?"
"I… suppose so…" Ellmer started to get where Davante was going with this… he was more stunned by how sharp his little brother was to think of all that more than the issue itself.
"Next, based on what you told me of Lucas' records in the company… Xenos and Ral changed at the same time, acted the same some way, and took similar actions together… this all happened ‘After’ his disappearance from the company. Let's just say for now that Baldrick worked in Anfinrud for some time as Lucas to observe Xenos from a distance for some reason. Then he left once he took control of Xenos' body in some way somehow… because now there is no need for the real him to stay in the company anymore…"
Ellmer thought deeply before asking. "Let's say that's all true for now. Then what about Ral? There was no trace of Lucas in Cavalon's company, so how…?" he looked intently at his brother, who lightly brushed his hair as he looked down in deep thought, looking unsure.
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"Seems to me that he targeted Xenos, knowing it would be easy to target Ral at the same time. I mean, it was clear they were best friends…" Davante said with an uncertain look in his eyes, "These are all assumptions… how he stole their roles? Why would he do that? I have no idea at all…"
Ellmer sat casually with his chin resting on his palm. "This is too much to handle…" he lightly tapped beside his eye with his finger. "I shouldn't be surprised… I should've taken his words seriously back then… that novel…" he smirked before standing up, calmly drying his wet hair with the towel. "There is no way he told me about it just for fun in that kind of state after That incident after all," he hummed in thought. "Would it be best to visit him soon…?"
His phone rang abruptly, breaking his thoughts for once. He sighed and took his phone from the bedside table, checking the caller’s name on the screen before picking up. "Yes?"
-Hey, I've read your message.
Said the other one with a chuckle at the end, a hint of exhaustion in his voice, however.
"So, what do you think?" Ellmer asked, walking casually to the long window and looking at the night lights through the crack of the curtains.
-Well, I believe every bit of Davante's theory. My friend has some news for us that could help prove his theory.
"Do tell," Ellmer waited patiently.
-Okay, so. Xenos allows anyone to visit him in his office from early morning till 5 in the evening every day, and no one ever seen him leave the office even once after that hour.
"That's all old news," Ellmer added.
-Yup, but here is the thing, my friend thought it would be better to keep an eye on Xenos' mansion for some time. Still, he has never seen Xenos go back home, no matter how long he stays up to keep watch. So the idiot decided to somehow sneak into his office at night and try his luck one day, but Xenos wasn't even there.
Ellmer kept silent and allowed Owin to deliver the news and complain to him about his friend as he liked, the guy sounded pissed yet proud, and it was honestly amusing in a way.
-The first day he wasn't there, then the next, the next, and so on. It's almost insulting that he didn't even care to place any cameras around as if he was fooling around. My friend tried sneaking in at different hours after 5 and found no one in there every time. He kept watching the whole time and was sure Xenos didn't leave at all, also no trace of escaping from the window, given the height, or any secret escape route. So let's be even more ridiculous and say he teleports! Because he isn't even the real Xenos!
"…okay, let's all lose our minds, alright. You sound so excited to tell me more, so go on." he held back a chuckle and smirked with his eyes closed, amused by the other's apparent excitement while still complaining. He reached for a bottle of water from the small table in front of the window; he suddenly felt thirsty after all the events and theories.
-Alright, so listen to this. He also kept an eye on Cavalon organization. I think you know that Ral is still alive. He also prevents anyone from visiting him after 3. So my very adventurous friend decided to try out his luck again and found no one in the office!
"Same pattern, then…" Ellmer concluded, Davante's explanation repeated in the back of his mind.
-Yup. So really, Davante didn't jump so far with his theory. But the most important thing is…
"…Owin?" Ellmer lowered the bottle; the other's voice took a turn down suddenly.
-He kind of found out the location of the abandoned lab…
Ellmer widened his eyes slightly. "You mean the one Xenos talked about with your father?"
-Yes… and it's somewhere in this Academy…
"...!!" Ellmer was rendered speechless.
-He doesn't know where exactly, but it's close…
"……alright, anything else he found out?" he couldn't find the words to comment on the matter. He needed time to take all this in, think of what to do next, and very carefully.
-Uhm… actually, he was caught by his teammates. You know he works in Cavalon as a spy and all. They've been suspicious of him for some time now, but I guess this is the end of his investigation so far.
"And why do you sound so calm? They could kill him any time now…" Ellmer knew the other should be more on edge by the news, knowing how he is and how close he is with 'this' friend after all.
-Don't worry. I know my friend so well. He's quite a handful. You should know by now after everything I told you, haha. At least I can finally see him now. About the time I put a limit to his suicidal brain.
"So, you're saying he's coming here?" he heard a happy chuckle.
-Yup! I'm sure he'll manage to come in one piece! God, I'm so excited to see him again!! Kinda glad they caught him sneaking, ahaha!
Well, if Owin was sure of his friend’s safety, then he didn’t need to add another idiot to his list of idiots to worry about, Ellmer thought.
.
.
Meanwhile—
"Sorry, Diara…" the group of black suits lowered their heads, ashamed. A girl with messily braided pigtails; walked silently toward them with a stoic face, calm yet seemingly pissed. "He got away, huh? Tsk…"
"We're not sure. He did jump off the balcony…"
She walked to where her team members pointed and looked down with her sharp eyes. "Seriously, no one could survive jumping from this height…" she narrowed her eyes before turning to her members. "Still, keep looking everywhere for him. We have to catch the damn rat."
They all straightened their backs. "Roger!" and each rushed in a direction.
Diara stood in silence; she glanced behind her back at where he jumped from. "I know you're not dead, you rascal." she walked away with her boots hitting hard on the floor.
A guy with black hair pulled up in a tiny ponytail kept silent as he hung by the railings. He skillfully pushed himself and jumped over the bridge with a wide smirk, "Phew~ That was close!" he casually brushed off the dirt from his black suit before standing up to strike a silly pose for the phone camera in his hand. He stuck his tongue out playfully and winked with the peace sign, then pressed send along with the text that read, "Still alive lol."
He pushed his phone into his pocket and turned around with a grin, "Time to finally leave this silly place~"
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The End of CH. 24