ARC 1

The Fallen Millionbell

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Chapter 3

~rude awakening~

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Preparing a welcoming for Arion's father return wasn't exactly Kazuki's idea of a quiet Monday morning. Why didn't he just sleep in, instead of getting stuck in an impromptu meeting with the present Millionbells at the waiting room?

"Arion, if you are feeling unwell, don't hesitate to inform one of us." Eyes the same hue as Arion's gazed at Kazuki evenly, showing no sign of worry despite the speaker's words. If memory serves him right, the sharp-looking black-haired woman sitting in front of him is named Theresia. Crazy genetics must have played a huge role for her, since she barely had any wrinkles on her face despite being a mother of the Millionbell boys. With a stoic expression, she reminded him of Akiko back on Earth, except that the editor still smiled and joked around with him.

Beneath her cold exterior, Akiko's heart was warm. Theresia's seemed like it'd be as warm as an iceberg.

During his time in the manor, Kazuki hadn't seen nor heard from her until the moment she gathered her sons together to discuss the letter that arrived late the day before, written by Elias Millionbell, Arion's father. The man's message was brief: the family, including all of the servants were to gather each person's most prized belongings as they could, prepare a few carriages for travel, and await his arrival.

They executed the first two instructions without much protest, although each Millionbell questioned the motives behind them, but the last one exploded into a flurry of activity that ended with Arion needing to be on his best behaviour. Piece of cake for the 29-year old Kazuki.

"I told you, Mother...he's just weird, like usual. Give it another day or two, and he'll jump back to being a brat!" the person standing next to Theresia exclaimed heatedly - and wasn't it ironic that Arion had been called a brat by the actual brat around here? The brown-haired, grey-eyed boy with a near-permanent scowl was Lucian, the second Millionbell son and hater of all things that had to do with his younger brother.

In fact, for a reason that Kazuki knew he had never written down, Lucian hated Arion's very existence, judging by the glares that the boy gave him in the past week whenever they crossed each other's paths. Damned plot holes...

"Lucian, don't talk about your brother like that."

"I'm sorry, Mother...but -"

The oldest Millionbell son in the room leapt into the conversation just in time, cutting whatever excuse his younger brother had at the tip of his tongue. "Lucian, didn't you mention that Father promised to buy you a new magic tome?"

"Ah, you're right! Let's go and wait for him, then!"

Both of Arion's brothers dashed away, leaving Kazuki alone with Theresia. After what seemed like half of his lifetime, Kazuki cleared the hush with a small cough. "...Should I leave too?"

"You've never needed my permission to leave before," Theresia said after a while. The look that she gave him was as sharp as ever, but there was a glint in her eye that would have missed his observation if he wasn't paying attention to her.

Of all the people that would dare confront him about the discrepancies between the real Arion and Kazuki's traits, why couldn't it be someone that he had information about? Besides her personality, he hadn't developed Theresia's much, since she was just one face amongst the many that he killed off.

Wait...why would Theresia be amongst them?

Before he could get his head around that notion, Theresia spoke, "I hear that this new daydreaming habit of yours has been going on for almost a week."

At the rate that he was going, before the end of the first novel's storyline, someone would find out that Arion isn't really Arion. If that ever happens, how could he explain his condition without sounding like a complete lunatic?

Instead of cross-examining him, Theresia stood up from her seat. "Your father should be arriving very soon," she said as she followed the invisible trail left by Julius and Lucian. "We should join the others."

"Yes...Mother."

And again with her suspicious look! Maybe he should have said 'no'. Maybe he was supposed to call her a casual 'Mom', or even the overly affectionate 'Mama'. Maybe he should have just shut his mouth, except that it tended to blab faster than his brain could catch up.

"Apologies, agreements, amicabilities," Theresia murmured. "How peculiar."

With those final cryptic words, she left Kazuki with more mysteries than he could possibly solve.

///

Here was the dire situation that Kazuki hadn't anticipated until far too late, unfolding right in front of his eyes. One distraught Julius consoling a bewildered-looking Lucian, check. Theresia with a frown deeper than her usual, check. Elias, the stern-faced brown-haired man who had just returned home, yelling out orders at the servants as he darted here and there...check.

"You - you were not the culprit," Theresia started to say, only to earn a vicious glower from her husband. She didn't shy away from it, but she said nothing else.

"What use is the truth?" Elias' words were calmly spoken, yet the man couldn't hide the anger behind his stormy blue eyes as he tore through his belongings. "When the High Court spoke against me, I knew that there was no hope left to salvage. Charged with orchestrating the murder of a viscount's son, all ranks and titles revoked by the king regnant..."

There were two large powers that dominated most of Tellus: the humans, and the demons. Six noble families, each ruling over a territory - the closest equivalent to a country on Earth - made up the human empire's High Court. They act as monarchs of their established regnancies, bowing down only to the descendants of the first human hero that drove back the demons and established a safe haven for humankind.

"Other families have done worse, and yet they were never punished for their crimes...so why now?" Theresia's lament was proof of the unjust social hierarchy in Kazuki's story. Even with Elias' prominent standing as a high-ranked noble serving in the Fifth Regnancy, once accused of a crime by a member of the High Council, he couldn't do anything to defend his innocence. None of the other families would dare go against them. The last one that tried had been wiped off of the face of the world.

It wasn't a surprise to Kazuki, since the human empire he wrote about was a breeding ground for the corrupted and nepotistical aristocracy. Sometimes, or probably all the time, it was worse off than the demons' lands. Just thinking about all the events revolving around them could turn Kazuki's brain to mush...

"What will become of us? Of the Millionbells?" Julius spoke up amidst the awkward silence. His face bore a grim expression, unfitting for a youth who looked like he was barely in his teenage years.

Delivered by Elias, the reply held no hint of emotion, "All of our assets will be seized by the regnancy. What will happen to it afterwards...I have yet to hear any other news."

Lucian, who had been silent all this time, was the first to react. The boy was only nine, a mere three years older than Arion, but Kazuki saw that he understood the consequences of this issue. "All of our assets! Where will we go from now on?"

"I have contacted the previous Millionbell head regarding this...incident," Elias explained, shoulders hunched as if bearing the weight of the world. If Arion was only six, the man should only be in his mid-thirties, but the stress and grief made him look at least a decade older.

"You haven't spoken to him in ages...how did he take the news?" Theresia approached Elias from the side, attempting to guide him to a nearby chair, although he ignored her help and remained standing in place.

"Rather well. Anything signed under his name will remain in his possessions," the man continued. "As for us, the High Council allows us to take our personal belongings, as long as we - and the servants - are able to evacuate the premises by the end of this afternoon..."

So that was why Elias' letter told them to pack before he arrived, Kazuki mused. Rather than rushing to gather their belongings and miss a few precious items, it was better for them to prepare beforehand. A pity that the lunch banquet specially prepared by the cooks would go to waste.

"...and head immediately to the Millionbell's original estate."

"The first Earl Millionbell's home..." Theresia trailed off, recalling the last time she set foot into the place. "Is there no other choice? Won't your father shelter us for the time being?"

How can the memories of that place cause her to react that way? Was it better to stay with Arion's grandfather, the previous Millionbell head whom Elias seemed to have very little contact with and none of the children had ever seen, than move to this alleged 'first Earl's home'?

"The day that man acknowledges me as his son," Elias said bitterly," is the day my dead body arrives at his doorstep. No more questions - get ready to leave."

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

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Half an hour until the appointed time.

The day was somewhere in early May. The weather was mild without a dark cloud in sight.

Twelve housekeepers, cooks, and chefs that worked for the Millionbell family had departed earlier, thanked by Earl Millionbell for all the years of good service and paid the remaining sum of their monthly wages. Kazuki had thought that the servants would be glad to quit, considering that his notes described Arion's father as a rather unlikeable persona, but some showed their gratitude profusely, and some even cried as they parted ways with the Millionbells.

On the other side of the spectrum, while Elias and Theresia carefully guarded their expressions, Julius and Lucian looked absolutely miserable, left behind by the people they had grown up with for almost all their lives. As he watched the two brothers, Kazuki wished that he hadn't completely overridden Arion's memories with his own. Perhaps, if Arion were to become a part of him, he would feel a bit sad, too.

All he could feel was guilt, because it was his fault that all of this happened. The conspiracy against Elias Millionbell? A subplot that Kazuki devised and easily forgot since it wasn't that important for the main storyline. If he had to compare it to a game, it was like a missable side quest that didn't bother anyone except for gamers looking for perfect completion rates.

In the end, only two servants remained in place with their belongings all packed and ready to go.

"Basilio Ilvarn, at your service."

The red-haired butler, first person that Kazuki met, bringer of terrible-tasting health concoctions, and apparently now a permanent presence in Arion's life. His brown, nearly red eyes darted from one Millionbell to the next, settling on Kazuki for a heartbeat longer than the rest before shifting back to a distant look.

Kazuki could have sworn that Basilio had something else going on about him. The butler wasn't a major character, but one quirk made him stand out from the rest of the supporting cast. If only he could remember what it was...

Saving that thought for later, he moved his attention to the other servant, a emerald-eyed young woman with the most beautiful long golden hair Kazuki has ever seen. She also cast her gaze on each Millionbell, standing in place. Why hasn't she spoken at all?

"Primera? You're coming with us, too?" Julius said after a while, eyeing her with a contemplative look.

The girl nodded without smiling or saying a word.

Take that familiar-sounding name, add her refusal - or rather, inability to speak into the mix, and eureka! There was only one person in the whole story that matched the description.

Primera Vithar, a mute mercenary travelling with the hero's party to find a way to get back her missing voice, stolen from her when she was a child by an insane magician. She may be an important character, but Kazuki didn't remember the fact that she used to be a servant of the Millionbell family.

One thing he did know, though, that she was met with a tragic end: as soon as she got her voice back, she was killed by said magician's apprentice, who became one of the toughest enemies that the protagonists had to face. Her last breaths were dedicated to a childhood tune that she had always wanted to teach her friends. A song that strengthened the heroes' hearts and became the anthem to their victories.

Kazuki fought his hardest not to blush because if he could write something that sappy what other sorts of embarrassing events had he managed to come up with back then? No wonder the last part of that book review Akiko read to him said that his writing was somewhat childish. The power of friendship? Had he ran out of other ideas when he wrote that?

"This may be the last time we will be able to see this place," Elias murmured, eyes roaming over the manor he has lived in for nearly his entire life. "Basilio, Primera, load the carriages. We should be leaving soon."

While the two servants left to do their work, Elias and Theresia headed towards their carriage. The coachmen they had hired didn't make a move to open the door for them, but neither of them seemed to care.

"I - I'll go first," Lucian said weakly to his brothers, although he mostly avoided looking at Arion directly. "I'll, um, see you there."

The boy dragged his feet to another carriage behind his parents' and entered, closing the door behind him. Finally, there were only Julius and Arion left, standing side by side.

"What will become of us now?"

Hearing Julius whisper to himself, face downcast and utterly lost, Kazuki opened his mouth and murmured, "I'm sorry..."

"Huh? Why are you apologising? You haven't done anything wrong."

The guilt in his heart grew deeper. What would happen if he told the truth? How many events will change if Kazuki gave Julius the knowledge of their future?

"Arion? Are you...feeling a bit unwell?"

"I'm -" not fine at all, can't you see that Kazuki was the cause of everyone's suffering - "fine. I'm fine."

"Oh. Um, I see. If you start feeling tired, you can tell one of us and we'll...figure out something." Like Kazuki's talk with Theresia, awkward pauses and suspicious stares filled the conversation between brothers. "Basilio and Primera should already be finished with the preparations. We should be going now," Julius ended, not knowing what else to say.

"I'll...stay here for awhile."

"If - if that's what you want to do," Julius conceded. He left Kazuki alone, staring at the Millionbell's manor. The construct had been the first place in Tellus that he lived in, even if for only a week.

"What am I supposed to do now?" he muttered to himself. "What happens after the fall?"

The conspiracy against Elias Millionbell could never be resolved, and the man would spend the remainder of his life in anger and grief. Theresia - oh god, apparently he killed her off. Julius joins the hero's party, presumably because the family starts falling apart. Something happens to Lucian - what could it be?

And finally, Arion becomes an antagonist. His confrontation with Julius occurs in the capital of the Fifth Regnancy, with the former destroying nearly half of the city with his uncontrollable magic. How did Arion end up there in the first place?

"Y-Young Master Arion..." Unexpectedly, a small voice from behind interrupted his thoughts.

Kazuki turned around and froze when he recognised the other person. "You're...the girl who fainted?"

"I didn't mean to do that!" she exclaimed, cheeks red with embarrassment, before remembering that the person in front of her was the rumoured 'demon' amongst the servants' gossip. "Eep! I ap-p-pologise f-for the outburst, Y-Young Master!"

"It's fine," Kazuki told her. "What's your name?"

"I-It's Sant, Young Master."

A mob character. Supposedly non-existing in his notes, and yet she has a name. What reason did she have to approach Arion?

"I thought you had left with the other servants."

"N-No, I didn't go...b-because I would like to remain with the Millionbell family!"

The appearance of an additional character that Kazuki had never created. Dozens of things that he needed to know, but couldn't recall. So many things to consider, so little time.

Sometimes, Kazuki wondered if dying in that traffic accident back on Earth would be preferable to this miserable new life.

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- Author's Notes -

Thank you, dear readers, for your patience! The third chapter is finally out, after rewriting and editing the sequence of events for the nth time already! I wish I could write faster than this, but...sorry.

Worldbuilding, commence! Basilio Ilvarn, Primera Vithar, and Sant join the party! Feels like there's already Loads and Loads of Characters, even in the first few chapters...

Also, it has been decided: the Millionbells are earls (and countesses). Was about to make them dukes (and duchesses), but when I think of what would happen to their duchy...probably not a good idea.

Two things that Kazuki does too much: 1. Wonder about things. 2. Ask questions to himself. There are so many mysteries planned out that I'm inclined to add the 'Mystery' genre...except that it doesn't exist in this site. Too bad.

Why is my writing pace so. Incredibly. Slow. Must I write out every single interaction? Can't I just, y'know, make things go boom and whapow-slash-whoosh right now?

Um, I'll stop complaining to myself.

...Once in a while, autocorrect adds a 'p' in front of 'regnancy'...