Act 2: His Family

One thing about this world, I forgot to tell. This book was originally 'non-fiction', that's true. But because of many fantasy concepts like magic and the ascension of urban fairytale, it was already deemed by the readers fictional. Some even joked that marriage between the same gender was a good comedy act.

Even for me, I don't get why the book was so serious (prior to transmigration). The author was an anonymous historian, it said so in their profile description, but the way the book was written was like a research paper rather than a novel.

After a few days of walking and secretly riding in the backs of unknowing carriages, by dusk, Mikko arrived to a small hilltop that opened to a view of a whole bay encircled with higher hilltops.

On the summit of this hill, the freezing wind rushed in. It seemed that the winter air hasn't fully disappeared yet, it was really too cold for warm bodies.

The view of the serine bay wasn't the only thing in this place however, beside it was a door attached to a tremendous tree with a few windows hanging on its thick branches, the wide leaves were the roofs of this house, and its crown laid a good shade for warmth.

Most desolate families live like this. Only the middle class or the rich could afford actual houses be carved for their solitude.

When he arrived, Mikko immediately saw his...no, it wasn't his. The original owner's older sister and her husband cooking in the kitchen. His other siblings were upstairs making noise, while a few were already on the dining table.

They saw him but none batted an eye as if he never left the house, make sense because the original Mikko most likely never did, explaining how there was a faint smell of wet leaves in his hair he can never remove.

These faces were nothing important as they weren't seen in the story...however, there was an exception.

He climbed the ladder to the third room and immediately saw his youngest sister praying by an open window, the moonlight and the light of the candle diffusing in her youthful appearance.

What she whispered couldn't be heard, until Mikko slowly approached her muttering: "I pray the duke accepts our present, so we may eat without getting punished for stealing gentry's crops and materials."

Hearing this, Mikko quietly waited across his sister.

This was true. They couldn't harvest or hunt good materials even if they wanted to. All of the land belonged to the powerful, meaning that the scraps of herbs and paltry livestock belonged to those willing to bend their frozen knees. They were fortunate enough to live in a land where the wealthy would share their prospering stocks, the only misfortune was being in an infertile land.

Mikko was deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice when his sister took the flame from candle to lamp, illuminating the little room filled with cardboard boxes with leaves as beds for the children.

His sister stared at him for a while before shaking her head, "did you see the look in older sister's face yesterday? She was very upset."

Mikko blinked and shuffled his clothes, putting cloak and shirts on his side of the cardboard. "Mm..." he took out the pouch slowly.

"She probably received the messaged from the House Kaladin..."

Mikko stayed silent for a while only giving a slight nod that the girl ignored as she proceeded to pry him. On his mute side; however, he took his sister's box from the shadow, opening it slowly as to not make a sound.

Despite the box being quite vintage, the red velvet cushions was stitched with intricate spider fabrics and making it very rigid and luxurious even in the dark, the small stones on the lid was covered in leaf wax which would shimmer in the day. This box, no matter how comfortable it looks to be a pillow, cannot be laid on even for the infants of the family.

This was the gift his sister was going to give tomorrow. But, the problem was what was inside it.

"Mikko, I'm going to represent our offering," she said, her nose scrunching up, "and, I want you to come with me to the Central."

Mikko's ears perked up. Tomorrow was the day, wasn't it?

He glanced at the box, then to his sister. A deep relief was in his heart.

The day he'll die, it was finally here.