Chapter 9: House of the Hearth 2

Two weeks have passed. We are a few hours to Fontaine, we have passed the snowy terrain and are now in a temperate forest. The world is much bigger than the game. There are many other trees and flora that aren't in the game. 

We spent one night camping before continuing forward. The air and climate here are way too different from those in Sneznaya. The cold wind is still there, but instead of chilling cold, there's only a slightly chilly wind. This is a new experience for me.

Morning came. We continued forward and finally reached Fontaine. I couldn't suppress my curiosity and looked outside the carriage; Leon did the same.

"Wow!" We both exclaimed.

From the buildings to the clothes, everything is different. The elegant dresses and gentlemanly attire are very different than those of Sneznaya. I guess that's a given, considering the very cold weather there. People here have more freedom in what they wear since they never worry about freezing to death.

"Don't lean too far, you don't want to fall," Papa warned.

"Papa, what's that?!" Leon pointed his fingers at one of the mechanical humanoids that were patrolling the area.

"Oh, that's a Gardemek, they are used here to uphold the law," Papa answered. For some reason, his eyes showed some greed.

"Papa, I want one!" Leon begged.

"Hmmm, how about this? If you manage to beat one of my guards I'll buy you as many Gardemek's that you want."

"Really?! That's a promise?" 

Papa chuckled. "Promise."

Well, good luck with that Leon, you'll never beat them at this time. 

Papa is a Harbinger, he also doesn't have a vision and as far as I know, he is also not someone strong. So his retainers must be quite the powerhouse. 

"How about you, Leo? Is there something you want?" He looked at me and smiled as he asked.

"There's no-" I stopped myself midway. I remembered the story of the House of the Hearth. Currently, the Harbinger in charge is Crucabena I don't know the current timeline, but considering she is still alive, means that Peruere is still young, at most she is already 16 years old and in a few more months she will kill Crucabena. But if she is younger then...

"Papa, I don't need anything right now, but I want you to promise to fulfill a request from me in the future." Papa frowned. His title is Regrator, there's no doubt he knows what I'm doing right now is the same.

"Hmm, Leo," He smiled at me, not his usual smile, but a more frightening one. The look on his face was scary, I found myself frozen in place.

"You're being too greedy." He patted my head. I closed my eyes, knowing that he was angry. A few seconds passed and he raised his hand from my head.

"But I don't hate it," He continued.

"I will fulfill one of your requests in the future, but you have to do something for Papa, okay?" His usual smile came back to his face.

"Okay! Papa!" I replied enthusiastically. Papa seems pleased, ecstatic even. I didn't think this through. This is probably the worst decision I've made.

We rode till we reached Hotel Debord. My memories are quite hazy about this place in the game. But I remembered the fact that this place serves good food.

We already had our room booked, so we instantly went inside and left our bags. 

We spent the whole day with Papa. Eating food, strolling through the streets, and shopping for toys. As we walked through the streets, I couldn't help but wonder about the huge theatre in the distance. 

"The Archon of Fontaine..." I muttered.

"Is something wrong Leo?" Papa seemed to notice. I decided to ask what he knew.

"Papa, what's that big castle over there?" I pointed at the theatre.

"Oh, that's the courtroom of Fontaine, that's where their archon and the Ludex, judge the case of mortals and decide their sentence."

"That seems like a fun place!" Leon commented. 

Papa chuckled and looked like he genuinely liked what I call "acts" performed inside, rather than the situations and issues discussed. 

"Papa let's go there!" I asked, wanting to take a look inside and get a glimpse of the archon.

I can see Papa thinking about it but in the end looks like he doesn't want to take us, or just Leon inside. 

"Maybe next time, such things aren't appropriate for children your age." He said. 

Since the time we talked about my answer on the test, Papa seemed to have taken a liking to me. He keeps looking my way and even makes things convenient or inconvenient for me. On the way here, he asked me what I thought about the guards. It was such a weird question but I answered nonetheless. I told him that without them, we couldn't go on such travels since we're too weak, and his response was "You're right, that's why you should take good care of the strong that follows you and discard anyone weaker or no use."

His answer gave me chills. Papa is slowly showing me his true nature and I don't know what to do about it.

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We slept in the hotel. Papa, me, and Leon shared the same room. It was the first time we slept together as far as I could remember.

It was comforting sleeping in Papa's arms. I felt like it was the safest place in the world and momentarily forgot everything else.

Morning came and it's finally time to visit the House of the Hearth. I was nervous. I don't know what to expect or what to do. In the game, the events inside the orphanage were nothing but inhumane. Kids get brainwashed to kill each other and if they are disabled or have no more use, they'll be sent to The Doctor for experiments. Most of the kids don't survive till adulthood. It was hell disguised as heaven.

"Here we are. Remember, always follow what I say and always stick to me." Papa once again reminded us. 

We passed the gates of the orphanage where there were guards placed. Inside, there are some rooms and buildings, some of which have children playing. We passed them by and walked until we reached a building where a woman was waiting along with some children.

They all looked like they were from different nations. But my eyes instantly recognized two of them. I then muttered.

"Peruere and Clervie..."