บท 20: CH 20 - Day Two (Part 2)
"–Luca?"
Hmm?
"Young master Luca? Are you awake yet?" Denise's voice sounded nearby.
I rolled the bedcovers off my face and squinted at her. She was looking down at me from a few steps away.
My eyes moved towards the window, letting the sunshine pour into my bedroom.
Damn it. Another sunny day.
"I brewed you a new cup of tea. You were unresponsive when I first came by." She set down the tray with the tea and a washbasin.
"How's Micah? Did he get home fine?" I groggily sat up in bed.
"Yes, he and your mother returned late from the palace. He is downstairs finishing breakfast with the rest of your family."
Good. I was indeed on my second day, and Micah was alive and well.
"How is Jasper? Did the doctor come by?" I reached over to pick up the cup of tea.
However, a gag reflex took me over as soon as I saw the tea inside.
"Are you alright!" Denise appeared alarmed. "Did you drink too much at the ball?"
Drink? I didn't even get to eat anything.
I set the teacup down. The red liquid with little chunks of brown flowers floating at the top reminded me of the two exploded necks of Bob and Bob the Second.
"I'm alright," I lied. "I assume the doctor saw him already? What was the prognosis for Jasper?"
Denise straightened and regained her usual stoic expression. "The doctor said he just needs rest. He had provided medicine to help Jasper sleep better."
I frowned.
"Please have another doctor come and take a look at Jasper. I want a second opinion."
Denise blinked. "Why? The doctor said it wasn't anything serious."
"No. It's very serious. Get another doctor to look at him by this afternoon," I ordered.
Denise looked a little perplexed, but unlike her, I knew that Jasper's illness would take his life soon.
"Very well. Understood. I'll have someone come by right away." Denise bowed and headed out of my room. "I'll contact another doctor and will come back to help get you dressed."
"Thank you," I said.
With Denise gone, I got out of bed and began my usual routine of washing my face and tossing the tea into my potted plant.
I had thought it might have been just the first day Denise's tea was undrinkable, but the second day was equally as bad, if not worse.
I rubbed my temples.
There's something wrong with me.
I recalled that I could drink my morning tea just fine in my original life. And Jasper, in this life, drank Denise's tea without a problem either. And it was just her tea that caused issues. I drank tea prepared by the other maids just fine.
What's wrong with me?
I shook my head.
Oh, forget it. There are bigger things to worry about.
My eyes landed on the bright blue sky outside.
My favorite information broker wasn't working today either.
I guess I'll go see Natalia again.
***
"Henry, do you have any siblings?" I asked. I decided to ask him the same question I had asked Remlend since I didn't know much about Henry either.
Henry sat across from me on the carriage. This time I remembered to take one into town. I didn't need to be huffing and puffing, trying to walk a few blocks to the Ashford Bakery.
"I do! I have five younger siblings," he replied brightly. "They all live in the countryside, though. My parents have a farm where they grow various vegetables."
I frowned.
"Where is the farm located?"
"It's in the west, within the Genuiver Dukedom," he answered.
"Ah, is that so?" I said.
Damn it.
I rested my chin on my hand and looked out the carriage window at the pastel-colored city buildings.
Anastasia Genuiver will take over that region in two years as its new Duchess. And once she does, it'll be a complete disaster. In my original life, she had allowed water to be redistributed towards creating a new lake. I had heard it was a beautiful lake. But, its creation caused half of the dukedom to undergo a devastating famine.
I knew it was ironic for me to criticize another heir, given how shitty an heir I was. Still, at least I didn't single-handedly cause a quarter of a million people to starve to death.
Should I do something about it?
I looked at the smiling Henry, gazing out the carriage window.
Damn it. How many more people will I have to add to my 'to-save list'? I'll think about it later.
The carriage halted. Henry jumped out and held the door open for me to get out.
"I'm going to go inside again. You can grab something for yourself." I tossed Henry a coin.
"Will do!" Henry replied and ran over to the end of the line of the Ashford Bakery, which seemed somehow even longer than the previous round.
I went inside and looked around the bakery. Like the outside, it was full of young and wealthy individuals chattering away and enjoying their food. I frowned, spotting the eccentric Daylan man from the ball sitting at one of the tables. He smiled and toasted his cup of tea at me.
I ignored him and walked over to the same young man wearing a red cap as yesterday.
"Good morning. I'd like the special menu," I said.
"Certainly," the young man nodded. "My mistress is currently out but will be back soon. Would you like to have breakfast in the back garden while you wait, or did you prefer to make an appointment?"
My stomach growled in response.
"I think breakfast will do nicely." I smiled.
"Wonderful, please follow me in that case."
The young man led the way to the same wisteria garden I had met Natalia in last time. I sat in the chair I had sat in the day before.
"What would you like?" He set a menu in front of me and pulled out a notepad.
I glanced down. The prices on this menu were far more reasonable than the 'special' menu.
"A cup of black tea and a stack of crepes," I said.
"Wonderful. Someone will bring that out for you shortly." The young man took the menu and went back inside.
I glanced around the wisteria garden.
It was a small space surrounded by pastel-colored buildings on all sides. Purple wisteria trees encompassed the entire center area, and along the building walls, white star jasmine climbed its way up.
It was a relatively peaceful area, and the surrounding flowers' fragrance was quite pleasant. I closed my eyes and let them rest while I waited. I was running on barely three hours of sleep.
"Hello, Luca Frey?" A plump woman came over with a tray of food and tea.
"Yes," I said.
"Here is your order. Oh, and the pastry is complimentary." She smiled brightly.
I picked up the pastry and noted the red filling spilling out.
"…it's not strawberry, is it?"
The woman shook her head. "Oh no, it's a raspberry and cherry mixture. It's a new dessert."
Hmmm.
I smelled the pastry. It even smelled of strawberries.
Or maybe my nose was off.
I took a tiny bite from the corner to test it.
I looked up as I gauged the taste.
It even tastes like strawberries.
"It's not strawberries?" I asked again.
"Nope," she replied.
I waited for the familiar blue screen warning me that I'd been poisoned to appear, but it did not.
"Huh. I guess it's not." I smiled and bit into the pastry again. It was awfully delicious.
"Please enjoy!" The woman left.
There really is something wrong with my nose and taste buds.
I finished the pastry and crepes faster than I intended. And downed the meal with a cup of black tea.
"Ahhhh…" I sighed and leaned back.
That really hit the spot.
"Meow."
I blinked and glanced down at the fluffy white cat near my legs. It rubbed itself against my leg and meowed again.
I reached down and petted it. Its fur was incredibly soft. It felt as luxurious as any fur shawl Mother owned. It was something out of this world, especially with the slightly violet hue at the tips of its fur.
"Where did you come from?" I smiled down at the cat, continuing to pet it.
"Meowwww."
The cat looked up at me with its giant golden eyes.
"You brought your cat with you today?" Natalia walked into the wisteria garden. Her eyes twinkled. "I always saw you as more of a dog person."
"Ah. This isn't mine," I said.
"Really?" Natalia raised a brow and sat down across from me. "Well, he's certainly taken a liking to you."
The young man with the red cup came behind her and placed a cup of tea before Natalia.
"Now then," Natalia picked up her cup and took a sip. "What brought you in today?"
I clasped my fingers together and leaned forward.
"The Selvine and Mentisun families. What do you know about them?"
I decided to start with the most prominent and enormous headache in my future.
The Selvine family was a good friend and partner to my parents. We did quite a bit of business with them.
The Mentisuns were an ancient family that had been part of Adovoria's history for many centuries. They ran a merchant guild as well. While we competed for business with them, overall, the relationship was friendly.
In my original life, these two families had orchestrated my family's downfall. The reason for the betrayal was a piece of the puzzle I never figured out, but it was likely obvious. Money and power.
Natalia's eyes twinkled. "That's a rather broad request. I know quite a bit of gossip regarding them. Any specific area of focus?"
"Their relationship with the Frey Merchant Guild. Any gossip that could indicate a strain," I said.
"Hmmm…" Natalia smiled. "I assume you have something to exchange again of equal value?"
I nodded.
"Well, let's have it. I'll reciprocate," she said.
"Lord Blanche had recently won the phoenix eye pendant of the first queen of Adovoria," I said.
"I heard." Natalia's long purple nails tapped her saucer.
"He's had it exchanged for a replica and resold the original."
"Oho?" Natalia smiled.
"He has a massive gambling debt," I continued talking. "He has also been selling off magic stones belonging to The Order to help cover his debt."
"How's your source?" Natalia picked up her cup and took a sip. "I recall you said I had to double check, didn't you?"
I smiled. She was taking my advice seriously. Perhaps she might survive in this lifetime.
However, it did complicate things for me. Anything I offered, I had to back up. And I couldn't just say the source was myself from the future of the original timeline.
"The pendant was sold to a Daylan Princess on the black market. She had lost to Lord Blanche in the original auction and had purchased it from him under the table," I explained. "She's not stupid enough to wear it out, but if you check some of the private events she attends, you should be able to see her wearing it. And she'll acknowledge that it's the real deal. She's too prideful not to."
"Meow."
The cat under my legs stirred for the first time.
I glanced down and saw it staring up at me with its golden eyes.
"Hmmm, and the magic stones from The Order?" Natalia tapped her long purple nails on the table.
I turned my attention back to her.
"You can check the records against the royal storage. You'll see they don't match. And the guard in the front will complain to anybody that hears about having to repeatedly open the storage up for Lord Blanche's inspection. Or rather his thievery."
Natalia's expression was intense. It was uncharacteristic of her. "This is beyond mere gossip. If this continues and Adovoria were attacked–"
"We'd be at a complete disadvantage," I completed her sentence.
She looked up at the wisteria in thought.
"This is severe information. But, I think I have a buyer in mind." She turned to look at me, and a smile grew across her face. "I'll send over the gossip regarding the Selvine and Mentisun families like last time."
I nodded and stood up from my seat.
The young man with the red cap had come by and took my plate and cup.
"Mistress, your next appointment is here," he told her.
"Well then, this has been a pleasure, Luca Frey. Feel free to flutter in again!" Natalia cheerfully said.
"I will." I walked back inside the bakery. At the front desk, I noted the hooded individual waiting to meet with Natalia.
Someone certainly likes their privacy when obtaining their gossip.
"Meow."
The white fluffy thing had followed me out of the bakery.
"Young master Luca!" Henry jumped up from a bench. "I wasn't sure how long you would be."
His eyes moved down to the furry creature, and a giant smile filled his face.
"Did you get a cat?" he asked and bent down to attempt to pet it. However, the cat wouldn't have it and trotted behind my legs.
"Hmm. It just followed me," I said.
I gazed down at the elegant little thing rubbing against my legs. There was something about it that felt oddly familiar. I couldn't quite put the finger on it.
I looked up at the sun in the center of the sky. It was the afternoon already.
"Let's go home, Henry. I'm sure the doctor had already come by and checked on Jasper."
My family's destruction was still years out. Jasper only had two months.
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