"You've met my niece," the woman with the same black hair introduced the boy to Alicia while smiling demurely. "This boy needed to have a vacation, so I brought him here in Pella. At the least, in here, I have a pretty large garden he could play with."
The silver-haired girl glanced at the boy beside the woman. The dark-haired child noticed her gaze and as a reply raised one of his eyebrow as he lazily tilted his head.
Ingrid felt her current predicament was laughable. She was older than she appeared to be and yet she bickered with a child.
To be fair, the boy he argued with acted maturely that she almost forgot she was debating with a child. His arguments were hard to destroy and finding loopholes were nigh impossible.
The Astor girl remembered how the dark-haired boy mocked her and promised herself that she wouldn't get out of their mansion if she doesn't have a front tooth ever again. She would rather hide than be called out for it along with the lisping it causes. Combing her silver hair at the back of her head, she thought of what happened when she found the boy earlier.
They both decided to insult each other and surprisingly, the boy did not lose. The child even decided to drop some suggestions on how to hide herself inside her home and never come out again. Unfortunately, she could not reply since Alicia and her friend interrupted and that was what brought then to the current situation.
Alicia's eyes were filled with mirth as she carefully scrutinized the boy. Realization showed in her eyes as she covered her mouth in surprise. "This is the child of 'that' brother?"
The black-haired woman with soft features rolled her eyes. "Yes, 'that' brother I told you about, 'that' brother that would drag his boy in his shenanigans. My sister-in-law couldn't even say no so I had to take it upon myself to give this boy a break." She patted the boy's shoulder as she gaze at it with gentleness.
Ingrid was curious about the specifics of this 'shenanigans', however before she could pry further, her mother and the unknown woman herded the both of them inside the large villa. Throwing her curiosity at the back of her mind, she glanced around the villa to observe. The place was as homey as it could get and from what she could see, they only needed to turn on the fire place and drink a cup of hot chocolate to make it perfect.
The Astor girl narrowed her eyes as she looked up at her mother. "Are they the ones you told me before that you've met on Acre?" She obediently sat on the sofa while the dark-haired boy sat beside her, wearing an indifferent expression on his face.
"Yes, they are," Alicia hurried replied as she patted her head and whispered closely. "Stay here, we won't take long."
Acre was the largest country in this world and in terms of strength and economy, it had long surpassed the other nations. It was the stronghold that kept the neighboring places wage war with each other. Additionally, its citizens were the ones that built the foundation of technology and education.
These informations were not discussed deeply in the game "Rise of Greed", although it was mentioned once in a while. The in-game characters would talk about the largest country in every place that even the Ingrid, the villainess who was clueless about everything, had a deep impression about the place. War filled these lands hundred years ago — people of power could not seem to get enough of the luxury and authority that they decided to conquer other fertile lands and claim its resources for their selves. Human greed knows no bounds and it even crossed the barrier of time and space creating havoc in each world. Acre's technology was one of a kind and from what she heard, its advancement was what made it possible for the countries to fear them and sign a treaty of peace.
The silver-haired girl then realized how this world resembled her past one. She wondered if Earth had already gone to the third world war or if they were still in harmony.
Narrowing her eyes, she tried to remember if there would be any relatives affected if it ever happened.
As usual, she could not recall it.
"You're staring at nothing again." The boy casually remarked as he gazed at her with his black eyes. "Do you do that often?"
The girl blinked, surprised at his question. "Perhaps," she did not elaborate and comfortably sat on the sofa with her legs crossed.
Silence once again loomed and it gave her a chance to study the boy's facial features. White skin, tall narrow nose, large black eyes and long lashes; if not for his stoic face, Ingrid would wonder if he was even alive.
The girl remembered that Elizabeth said that she had a stoic face also and pondered if she also had these particularly cold features.
Ingrid rarely looked at herself in the mirror since the first time she tried to, the girl in the reflection felt foreign and cold.
"My aunt never liked talking to people and seeing her being open to another person was a relief," the unknown boy casually remarked as he crossed his arms.
Ingrid nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders when the child opened another topic. "My mother told me your aunt is her long time friend. I guess they go long way back." The Astor's lilac eyes gazed at the door where the two women disappeared. She then glanced at the boy on her side and said, "They must have missed each other to catch up this long."
"I guess." The child remarked, amusement evident in his voice. "Anyway, to let you know, you need the practice saying 'th', 's' and 'z' so that you won't lisp as much."
The silver-haired girl had this urge to throttle this boy with all her might.
• • •
It was a surprise to find out that this "otome" world does not only revolve around high society and romance.
Mafia existed in this version of "Rise of Greed" and surprisingly its foothold in Pella was very stable.
The silver-haired girl felt it was to be expected though. This world was not the same 2D game she played before and it doesn't have the same lousy world building at all. What astounded her was how it was not evident in her family that they have this large organization behind them acting as a support.
'Or maybe it was obvious, and I was not looking carefully at all,' she thought as she remembered her mother's gun collection.
Well, she thought Alicia have weapons because she was part of a military family, therefore, she did not further inquired why. Also, she had yet to see her father holding a rifle or even a pistol to confirm her conjuncture.
Imagining Ralph holding a gun made her feel awkward, his image on Ingrid's mind was that of a noble man after all.
Nevertheless, it does not mean her family was not part of the Mafia because inside of their library held tons of books concerning her family history. The Astor family does not only date back on their noble days but it also involved their dealings in the past.
The girl also realized that they were not the only family that had this sort of history. Unknown to many people, the dignified and gracious people of before had utilized all dirty means to stay in their position. It included slavery, illegal trading and especially, creating an organization that would not only protect their lives but if necessary, eradicate the lives of their enemy.
It could not be denied that these illustrious people had been overly anxious that they did something disagreeable. Nevertheless, Ingrid still thought that powerful people needed ways to protect their selves and their loved ones. What amused the little girl though was how, as time had gone by, these "dark" squads had become an independent organization of their own.
It became a wide scale organization that eventually attained the name 'Mafia'.
"Mafia, huh," Ingrid mumbled to herself as she slowly walked between the aisles of their library.
The silver-haired girl was currently searching for history books or if possible, historical records of the Astor Family. Luckily, she found one that dated back from hundred years ago. From what she could gather, there were no written accounts on how they formed their mafia however, she did found the names of the founders at the end of the book. It was written in small incomprehensible letters that she did not recognize.
The books discussed that apart from an individual squad that specializes on tactics, there was another group that had practiced and performed assassination exclusively. At first, it came as a shock since it was the first time she encountered such occurrence, she was a normal citizen in her past life after all. Things that were confidential in her past life were kept from the citizens to make them feel secure.
Right now, the tradition on who will succeed the position as the head of the organization depended on the previous leaders. It had been an ongoing practice where the families that were part of the Mafia in this world would slowly gather support to the next heir. This was to create familiarity and bond that would tie them until death. Betrayal was not unheard of; however, it helped decrease the risk of someone stabbing you on the back. Usually the parents and elders would help their children choose so that they could make sure of the stable position of their family.
In Ingrid's case, she had this gut feeling Ralph and Alicia were letting her do what she ever wanted to do. Although, that was under the impression that they would first introduce their candidates before letting her make a final decision. On the other hand, the silver-haired girl had no problem with it; she was fine as long as she got to choose the people she would be with.
Sighing to herself, the Astor felt the tiredness after a long day of staring at words and searching through piles of historical books.
Flipping through the records that she sneaked at the corner of the library, a yawn came out from her mouth as she silently cursed at her own body. Since she was still growing, she could be sleepy from time to time and given that she was going through records for the past hour, it was bound to happen.
Ingrid lightly rubbed her eyelids as she carefully closed the book. Dust spread in an instant, and the musty smell of the books invaded her nostrils. The girl frowned and covered her nose using her little hands. It seems that she could not finish her research in one day, it would be better if she would rest first.
The Astor girl remembered that she should remind her friend Elizabeth to bring her family's historical accounts the next time they meet, it would help her plan in the future. The blonde, for whatever reason, had decided to stick to her for the better or for the worst. Although the girl did not say it verbally, she understood her subtle show of support. The Bellay family did not express their disagreement with their girl tagging along with her so she guessed it was safe for her to assume their consent.
Clicking her tongue, she made her way across the room to the large door, her little feet with shiny red shoes created a ticking sound in every step she made. A yawn escaped her lips and her long lashes fluttered.
Her research could wait, she thought and rubbed the lids of her eyes when it became watery.
Ingrid needed to sleep before anything else.
• • •
"As I told you, at that time we only wanted to visit the Astor's heir." The child with golden hair offered a friendly smile as he shrugged his shoulders and leaned on his chair.
The boy with striking blue eyes nodded in aggreement. "We heard that you were the pearl on your parent's hand so we got interested." The boy jabbed the other child beside him as if telling him to agree.
"Hmm," the boy with brunette hair nonchalantly agreed as he carefully munched a cookie.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at their antics and glanced to look at her friend's reaction... which was still indifferent. The girl mentally cursed and asked herself why she even bothered to think that Ingrid would have another reaction rather than a stoic face. "If you were going to visit, why would it take a freaking month then?!"
"Hey! What's up with the bad reception, Liz," the golden-haired boy laughed, carefree, as he replied. "We are cousins after all, don't be like that."
The five children were seated in the garden of the Astor family. It was afternoon and they were having tea and eating some pastries. Elizabeth was irritated at how the three boys was being shameless. It was a common etiquette to wait for others to invite you before you go barging in someone's home and yet the three children decided to invite themselves.
The blonde girl had given up questioning the three boys and waved her hand tiredly. "I don't care anymore. Just don't visit here every day I don't want to see your ugly face, Lucien."
Ingrid closed her eyes in between their retorts and wondered what had brought them to this point. The three children, for whatever reason, decided to bother them for a whole month now. If it was not rude to chase out visitors she would have already done so. Sadly, the boys must have realized something after the first week of being incessant nuisances and thought that they might as well be permanent pests.
Opening her right eye, the silver-haired girl glanced at the Lucien, the 'always-smiling-for-whatever-reason' boy. His trait that made her remember him was not his hair nor was it because he was Elizabeth's cousin.
It was because he was the brother of Alexander Evroux, one of the capture targets in the otome game.
Lucien was a side character in the game and counting all those times she had seen him, it could only be counted in one hand. Perhaps it was because the boy was only Alexander's half brother and the developers thought it would be better if he would have a shorter screen time since creating him was just for making a background history for the capture target.
The two Evroux children do not really get along well and they rarely interacted from what she could recall. Alexander was the son of the first wife which had died after giving birth to him. Then the head of the family married a few years later and the second wife then bore Lucien.
Nonetheless, they decided to still make Alexander the heir since he was the first born and more capable that his half-brother.
The game's story line tagged Lucien as a good-for-nothing. It was not even discussed what happened to him at the end of the game.
Which brought her to the subject at hand. Ingrid was a little suspicious because from what she could observe for the last month, the golden haired boy was very skilled— gifted even. Under the guise of being carefree, he knew how to interact with others and play with his cards. The silver-haired girl could perfectly see that Lucien was far from a weak little boy and instead he was a wolf hiding under a sheep's skin.
Ingrid closed her right eye again and crossed her legs. If it was possible, she do not want to entangle herself with this kind of person. It would only result to a waste of her energy. Unfortunately, it seemed that being with him was inevitable since Elizabeth and him were closely related.
The good thing was although Lucien was the blonde's cousin, it doesn't mean that Elizabeth was also related to the Alexander Evroux. The blonde's mother was the sister of Lucien's mother therefore making them cousins.
"It seems that your cousin does not want us here, Lucien," the blue-eyed boy sarcastically remarked. "Although I think that was a little rude since it was not her house in the first place and yet she was trying to chase us out."
A snort was heard from the Elizabeth's side. "Yes I want to chase you out, Kyoya. Was it that obvious? Oh my, how rude of me to show my apparent dislike for you. I want to offer my deepest apologies, it was only because you look like dogs in the first place so I have the urge to chase you out." Elizabeth ran a hand through her hair and irritatingly rolled her eyes.
The silver-haired girl was amused at how Elizabeth easily lied through her teeth. The boy did not look ugly at all and what made everyone take a second look at him were his clear blue eyes. Ingrid was a little baffled at how this child came to because he had features from Asian descent and yet his eyes were a great contrast to the rest of his face.
Kyoya Kondō was a child from a wealthy family that deals with food. His families have restaurants all around the world and they also built culinary schools to supply manpower to their business. At first, everyone would have an impression that he was a calm child but under his innocent facade he has quite a venomous mouth for a young boy.
"But we visited this place because we wanted to, it would be a shame if we were to leave," the brunette boy beside Kyoya expressed in between bites. "Lucien, Kyoya and I heard that you were quite ugly so because we were curious, we went here to see if it was true." The boy glanced at Ingrid and stealthily took the plate of cookies in front of her.
"Were you satisfied?" Ingrid for the first time in the whole conversation spoke coldly. "I hope I met your expectations because I'd feel horrible if I didn't." Her nonchalant voice appeared extremely distant as if she was a celestial being being apathetic to worldly affairs.
"Well... I thought about it and I realized you were actually quite beautiful," the boy answered truthfully as he blinked and reached for a pastry on the table. "Also, you have tasty cookies."
"Carvell, you glutton." Kyoya rolled his blue-eyes and crossed his arms. Lucien, which was beside him only shook his head and smiled.
Carvell Forbin came from a wealthy family. They were traders in the past and successfuly built a corporation in just a few years. It was an extreme feat and to maintain their position despite having powerful rivals, it means something.
Ingrid clicked her tongue as she stared at the sky.
She still have to finish her research and yet she was still here in the garden, entertaining unwelcomed guests.
Ingrid tiredly closed both of her eyes again and decided she would do it later that day.