26 Almir (1/2)
The child was very well dressed in clothes of fine linen, and his golden hair slightly reflected the sunlight. But it did nothing to hide the ominous words leaving his mouth.
”Y-Yeah? What kind of things do you happen to see?” Garett answered while forcing a smile. He personally wasn't good at dealing with children, and he always managed to somehow make them cry.
”Ah, Mother says I shouldn't tell it to other people.” The boy hesitated for a second before Garett interjected with patience
”You can always tell everything to the goddess, and 'She' will protect you.” He pointed to the symbol that hung from his chest before continuing. ”Have you prayed recently?”
”Yes! Every night!” The boy nodded promptly, his actions emanating anxiety.
”That means you see something every night?” Garett's eyes thinned as he asked.
'There's something off going on here… I'm not that lucky to stumble into something related to my mission so soon after arriving here, I didn't even look for it…' Garett's suspicious self started to give alarms inside his head!
”Yes…” The boy acquiesced in a low voice, his hands tightly grabbing onto one another. ”Father brought us here to flee from those things, but they followed us even here!”
'Flee from what? This boy seems to be related to something…' Just as Garett was about to press for information, a tall, pale-faced woman approached from the side while wearing a tight dress.
”Vincent! Are you bothering the other guests again?” She reprimanded the young boy with a stern voice before turning to Garett. ”Please forgive us, he's always talkative like that.”
'So that means he has talked with other guests before? I'll talk to Alice before deciding if it's something worth investigating…' Garett rapidly concluded before standing and putting his fist to his chest as it was proper in etiquette.
”Not at all, Mam'. There's no harm in the words of children.” He slightly lowered his shoulders before continuing in greeting. ”You can call me Garett, to whom do I owe the honor?”
'Shit! I don't know all that much about etiquette! I've barely studied it before, only the necessary to better my chances of being accepted at the College…' Garett felt sweat dripping down his back! He already felt that it was difficult to interact with people from the upper-class, and interact with an upperclasswoman was even harder!
”There's no need to be so tense, sir.” She chuckled slightly, a peal of gracious and subtle laughter resounded throughout the garden, somewhat washing away all of Garett's worries. ”My name is Cecile Almir, wife to Eddison Almir. You should have heard about our family.”
'Eddison Almir!?' Garett was dumbfounded, the Eddison Almir was a household name in Luxia kingdom, he was the owner of a line of factories and a banker on top of that! The money that flowed through his hands was only second to the royal family's vaults!
'Wait… Eddison Almir… fled? He was fleeing from something and came to Lhûn? That seems fishy…' Garett was finally able to calm down and notice the subtleness of the situation, he had a very deep inkling that Eddison Almir should be involved with the contents of his mission.
”O-Oh, the Almir household is a name known by every single soul living in our kingdom.” Garett stuttered for a second before being able to recoup himself and looked toward the young boy. ”I wish you well, young man. And I hope you are able to sleep soundly after praying to the Goddess tonight.”
This elicited a deep frown from the part of the lady, her face visibly souring after listening to the full extent of his words.
”You were talking about that nonsense of seeing ghosts again, Vincent?” She berated once more, not caring for the presence of an outsider at the scene. ”I think I told you to stop talking about that and to start praying to the goddess more! Everything will go away if you play wholeheartedly.”
”B-But… He's from the church!” The boy said as he pointed to the symbol hanging on Garett's chest.
The frown on Cecile's face deepened, her pale face gradually darkening at the child's behavior.
”A clergyman, you say?” She turned her face and refrained from scolding the child once more. ”May the Goddess bless us all.”
”May the Goddess bless us all.” He echoed with a nod before continuing. ”You could say that I work for the church, even if I'm not a priest.”
'Her expression seemed to worsen when noticing I came from the church… I wonder what is the reason for it, it's not common for a family of believers to be adverse to the church. Maybe I should just take my leave...” Garett calmly lowered his head to announce his intentions when he was interrupted.
”It is so? Nonetheless, it was a pleasure meeting you, but we should take our leave, it's time for Vincent's music lessons. We can't stop it just because we are not home.” Cecile abruptly ended the conversation with a fake smile in her face and left after giving a slight bow in his direction, grabbing the young boy's hand strongly.
'That was… strange. She seemed in a hurry to leave, what do I do about that? Should I directly inquire about what they are fleeing from? Maybe I should ask Alice's opinion first…' Garett suddenly felt he didn't wish to continue on the beautifully decorated garden, something about the young boy's greenish eyes evoked chills deep down on his soul.
”Yes, I'll do that. Even if she's unreliable most of the time, she's still a lot more experienced…” Garett turned to the stone bench and started to pack the documents he was studying when he noticed a crumpled ball of paper lying underneath the bench.