Chapter 76: Laughter

After the night had passed, Lumière re-circled the care home, arriving once more at the front entrance in the morning. He tipped his hat to the attendant who had been guarding out front previously, unaware of his nighttime visit, and walked inside. There was another attendant, a clerk sitting behind a desk inside the entryway. He casually approached her, removing his hat as he smiled genially. When she glanced up towards him, he spoke.

"My name is Lumière- ah, Lumière Cassidy Croft." He had become unused to using his middle name. It just wasn't common in the lower borough to do so. However, he thought he may as well act proper, given the circumstances. "I'm here to visit my mother, Collette Soleil Croft. I've been informed that she hasn't been feeling well of late."

Of course, he knew better. It was only a formality that he had to portray. 'Lumière' shouldn't have known of his mother's death. That would have required sneaking into the care home during the night, which would land him in trouble if known. To retrieve his mother's corpse, it was necessary to act as an unknowing son.

The clerk's gaze widened, her mouth agape. She let out a hesitant breath, and stood up. "Mr. Croft, there's something that I must inform you about, please follow me."

In the following moments, the clerk led Lumière to his mother's room. She told him of his mother's death, and subsequently, he became visibly distressed. He had to stop walking at times to kneel on the ground, supporting his weight against the wall as he heaved and gasped for breath. As the clerk watched Lumière fall to his grief, her eyes softened with pity. 

She was patient with him, guiding him slowly through the intricate and regal care home, holding his hand and placing hers on his back in comfort as they walked. Of course, she had seen such a reaction many times before. The clerk had grown to know that death was an inevitability, and so was grief.

However, it was all just a lie.

'It seems she's fallen for it.' Lumière sniffled, wiping a tear from his eyelid. 'Now I can retrieve Mother. It's worked out well. Still, what a kind woman she is. An angel apart from this world.'

After Lumière had been shown his mother, and continued his grieving performance for the sake of the clerk, he began to inquire about burying his mother. He wanted to make sure she wasn't dumped on the side of the road. He wanted her to be buried properly.

"For fifty Len, we can give her a very extravagant burial. However, I'm not sure if you're that type of person. For ten Len, we'll give you a plot of land and the necessary preparations to bury her. It's very personal." The clerk explained.

"Thank you, I appreciate the consideration. You seem to know me well."

"Knowing all sorts of people comes with the job. It's no big deal, really."

"What is your name?" Lumière asked, curious. 

"My name is Cecilia. Cecilia Yuran."

Lumière's eyes widened slightly, unnoticeable. 'Yuran? Where have I heard that name before? How strange. Should I ask Poe's Gnosis? But it only seems to have information regarding the Sinner's Labyrinth and magical domains. Something like that can't be all-knowing…'

"Thank you for your help, Ms. Yuran. It was very comforting." Lumière smiled genially. "You're very amazing at your job. It was a pleasure to have your assistance."

"It's no problem, Mr. Croft. It's just my job, after all." 

Lumière nodded. "That is so." 

Then, bidding his goodbyes, he left. He hired a passing horse-drawn carriage, the cheapest of travel options, and coaxed the driver into assisting him in lifting the casket. Telling the man of the plot of land he had bought from the care home, he was subsequently driven a short distance, dropped off along with the casket.

'Is this how most burials go? In the lower borough, bodies are just dumped into the waterways of Etten-Leur, or burned in large quantities… how strange.'

He brought the casket containing his mother to the specified plot, feeling strangely wistful. He felt sorrow, certainly. His mother had died, and he grieved that he had both known and not known her. However, it felt to him like he had nothing at all, and that was a freeing experience. It almost felt motivating.

And even as he dug the hole for his mother's casket, he couldn't help but smile. He wondered if she was looking down at him with disdain or happiness.

"Sorry, mother…" He whispered, laughing. Tears fell from his eyes unknowingly. "I can't remember where father is buried, much less remember him at all… I hope you can find him, wherever you end up."

After burying his mother's casket, he stayed on his knees, staring at the ground. His hands were covered in dirt, slowly turning into a mixture of mud as tears dripped off of his chin, staining his skin. He shut his eyes tight, bowing his head as he stopped digging. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He muttered incessantly. "If this world was kinder, more just, maybe you could have been fixed… maybe I could have been your son instead of an intruder in your house… I was lying when I was smiling. I don't care if you don't know me, and I don't know you, just please don't leave. Please. I'll change the world. I'll make it more welcoming, ready to help you, just please… stay."

His gaze shot up towards the heavens. His eyes were filled with a mixture of sadness and fury. "Please, you monster wrapped in thorns. Hear my pleas and abandon your egoistic throne. Give me the people I love back."

Unknowingly, his blaspheming ability activated. His words became heard by the heavens, and the madness of the sky blessed him with enhanced power. He began to bleed black from his eyes, madness seething in his brain, and his mind became quicker and more agile, but only a repeated sentence was plastered within. "Don't continue to take from me. I'll change your world to spite you."

The air was silent, cold. It nipped at his skin, seemingly ignorant that the summer months were supposed to bare sunlight. Then, silence faded.

Suddenly, dozens of people began to surround him, coming from the nearby streets. Not noticing them through the haze of tears, the crowd that surrounded him began to cry alongside him. It was loud, unsettling, harsh weeping. It was a cacophony of dramaticised sadness. Lumière glanced up to eye the individuals, his expression faltering. The sadness that he expected to see was revealed to be a multitude of inhuman, cruel smiles staring back down at him.

The crying individuals, their bodies shaking, began to laugh in unison. They weren't laughing with no purpose. They were laughing at him. 

"What- what are you doing? Who are you all?" His voice was shaky, broken. "Who are you!?" It grew angered. "Why are you here!?"

He stood up, facing one of the people who was laughing at him. His gaze was stranger than before. It wasn't just sadness and anger. It was also madness and confusion, a swirling mixture of emotions that made the man before him tremble even more than he had been. The man's expression dropped, becoming one of horror. He suddenly grasped at Lumière's arms, distraught. "Who are you!?" He cried. "Why are you burying my mother!?" 

Lumière's gaze shook. "Your mother? What are you talking about…?" His mind churned, the madness festered within. Unaware of his faltering state, unable to switch to an alternate persona, falling to it seemed to become inevitability.

Through those that gathered around him, Lumière spotted an infuriating smile, a bastard's smile, a clown's smile. A man with fiery-orange hair glared at him with an emerald gaze, amused.

'White, you really chose to mess with me immediately…'