Chapter 5 - Homecoming

"Let me read Papa's letter for you, baby Johannes" his mother cutely said. "Do you miss Papa? I miss Papa too, ajujuju, I love you my cute baby boyyyyyyy! Alright, I'll read it aloud now.

"Dear Mademoiselle Buenafort, my life for the past few months has been dark and cold; as if I were taken away and imprisoned in the deepest depths of the Royal Dungeon. My love, my life, I know that you know but I just want to reiterate again that you, the most beautiful woman in this entire world, are my dearest wife, my sun, my light. There is nothing in this world that I crave for more than your..." Johanne's mother, Mademoiselle Buenafort, suddenly stopped reading the letter out loud. She then continued reading, but silently. She grinned sheepishly for a while, then shed some tears, then in the end, smiled. That smile was the brightest smile he ever saw his mother make. It should be said that Madam Buenafort was a very gentle and cheerful woman. She always smiled at the people around her, so Johannes was already used to her smile. However, this smile made him feel light. It was the most beautiful smile he ever saw. Perhaps his father's description of his mother as a sun and light was not an exaggeration.

"Eh, wait a minute my love! Papa just has a few words for Mama that I can't share with you, hehe. Papa also has some words for you, though, my loveeee." His mom said shyly. He realized then and there that his parents were both crazily in love with one another. However, he didn't judge them. He thought that it was cute how ironic it was that his deadbeat father and elegant mother could strengthen their love with just one letter. He couldn't help but remember his past life. In his world, cellphones, e-mails, and a lot of messaging applications were used. Even though electronic messages were utilized for communication and relaying information, it always felt lacking- as if there was always something missing. That something would probably be emotions. That's why companies back then attempted to express emotions on their applications via emoticons, gifs, and the like. They tried hard, but it wasn't enough to relay this important aspect in communication.

At that moment, he saw how a letter, a very dated way of communication could communicate not just words, but feelings and sincerity- as if his father bestowed every part of that letter a piece of himself that was able to let his mother feel that her beloved husband was never away from her; that he was always with her and their child. In the end, he couldn't help but feel a painful tug in his heart. He remembered the face of his lover from his past life. He wondered if his lover really felt the extent of his love for her. He couldn't help but regret how he wasted a lot of time thinking about how to make her happy. If only he knew that anything given with sincerity and love was more than enough to convey how much you cared for someone, he would've been able to express how much he loved her, how much he cared for her, how important she was to him, and how thankful he was that she stayed by his side amidst all the storms in his life. If only he knew it back then, he wouldn't have carried this regret in his new life.

Johannes' Mother continued reading her husband's lengthy letter. He expressed in the letter how much he regretted not being able to stay by Johanne's mother's side during childbirth as he was sent by The King to lead the army of Altherea to defend the Western Borders against the Kingdom of Metallium, a neighboring Kingdom who assaults the border of Altherea from time to time. His father mentioned in his letter that even though he was not there with them, he would make sure to end the battle and return before Johanne's 1st birthday. He promised to be there at 'my dedication', which is something that Johannes didn't understand, but he believed to be something close to baptism.

His Father also believed that this year's assault would be over soon once they are able to fend off one of Metallium's assaults. The enemy's main army tried to overrun them with superior numbers as they charged at Altherea's ranks. He detailed how they were able to overturn the favor to their side when the enemy kingdom charged at them despite the latter's superior numbers. He said that they were only able to win because he used a high level magic that made the enemy fall into disarray. However, when they tried routing the enemy, he noted that there was a person within the enemy's ranks that also used a high tier magic that halted their route. Johannes was only able to understand bits and pieces of the letter as he still didn't understand the rules of this world.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been three months since that event. His father kept sending letters, making Johannes decide that his initial impression of his father was unfair. He patiently waited for his father's return; after all, there's nothing he could do yet since he's still a baby.

However, six months after being born, he woke up one day because of a commotion within the estate. He could hear cheering and drums from far away. It was as if somewhere outside their unbelievably huge estate, something very important was happening. After a few minutes, he perceived something drawing near the mansion. A powerful presence was getting nearer and nearer. Johannes tried concentrating on this presence; he felt that this presence was weird, as if a lot of things were revolving around him. The more he concentrated, the more he could see those things, yet he still couldn't understand what he saw. He saw different colors- Red, Blue, Brown, and White; the colors revolving this entity varied in intensity, but he knew that these little things were something very important.

When the presence was just outside the mansion, a manservant shouted, "The Lord has come home!"