Chapter - 3 (A Letter)

Stepping out of the carriage, Eric noticed a black carriage waiting in front of his house. Assuming Uncle Smith had guests, he turned to his carriage driver to settle the fare. Handing over twenty silver coins for the ride from the Sunshine Restaurant to the grocery shop and finally to his home, he entered towards his room.

After a few minutes, a knock echoed at the door. Perplexed, he wondered who could be visiting at this time. Opening the door, he was met with the sight of a familiar figure.

Linda?

"Why are you here?" I questioned, my confusion evident. Arrogant behavior in the afternoon, yet she had the face to meet me?

"I forgot to give you this," she explained, taking out the letter that Elizabeth had prepared for me, obviously taken by Michael earlier. Now, she seemed inclined to hand it to me. I wondered why they seemed arrogant in the afternoon. In Eric's memories, Michael appeared to be a nice guy and Linda was a kind girl, but my first impression as Mukesh gave him an F grade.

"Oh, thanks," I replied, accepting the letter and tucking it into my pocket.

Observing she hadn't left, I inquired, "So?"

"Eh, about today's... I'm sorry for that. I also apologize on behalf of Michael," she expressed in a subdued tone.

"It's okay. No need to apologize. After today, we won't be meeting anymore, though," I muttered.

"It's okay."

Thank you; With that, she departed, and I returned inside.

Linda reached the streets where the carriage awaited. Stepping inside, she heard Michael's worried voice, "So, what was it? Will he attend the party?"

"Well, I think he might consider it based on the letter, but knowing his personality, he won't show up. We've known him for nearly a decade; flashy parties aren't his thing," Linda replied.

Curious, Michael chuckled and asked, "About that, what did you write inside the letter? Did you confess?"

"No, of course not! If I did, he would immediately know that the letter was fake. Eli would never say those things in her letter."

"True."

"Okay, back to the topic. I don't want him to get affected by this incident. He shouldn't know about anything."

"Yeah, you're right," Michael agreed. Linda then pulled out a letter from her pocket, the obvious original version written by Elizabeth.

"So, what's written in the original letter?"

"I don't know; I haven't seen it yet. My instincts say that it is dangerous inside. It probably would be the cursed items of those wicked cultists."

Inside the room, Eric sat on his chair with the letter in his hand. Unfolding it, he read, "Dear Eric, I am not writing this letter for an invitation, but just as a friend."

"I heard that you failed to pass the graduation, which makes me sad. This was probably my fault; if I hadn't been friends with you, you would probably have passed these exams. Because of my status, you were likely affected by it. I know how you are feeling right now—depressed, suicidal, anxious. But I will help if there is anything I can do to fix it.

I am going to the capital after the end of the celebration, I probably won't be coming to this city. I will be busy there for a lot of work. If you ever come to Felion, come to the southern streets. You can find anyone there and ask about my name, and they will tell you about my location.

Your friend, Eli..."

If it really was original Eric, he would at least meet with her before she went to capital. But, he isn't the Eric she used to know. He is Mukesh with his Eric's body.

Eric read the letter but didn't feel anything. He sighed, If you feel sorry, then catch that professor and report him to the police for failing a regular student because of his poor status. Then, he thought that there was something more to it. How could the professor not fear the count's daughter's status and offend her by attacking his friend? Even Linda and Michael turned their back on him, considering they were close friends in university; they should have shown some friendship.

"Ahhh... Whatever, I have already failed; now that's it. There won't be any novelistic situation where a famous newspaper has the contents that I passed and was mistakenly missed in the graduation ceremony. That only happens in fantasy."

.....

In the upper block, inside a palace, a blonde-haired woman stood near the window, gazing at the scenes, with a view extending to half of the lower block.

"Lady! The 'Facet' has been stolen," a maid in a thick-skinned outfit kneeled and pleaded for mercy.

"Is it?" she said coldly. "Why didn't you disappear then?" A black aura emanated from her palm, and the maid's body slowly started to age. The maid screamed before turning into a lack of old bones, which then decomposed.

"Search for it!" she commanded in low tones towards her shadow.

Down in the lower block, Eric, who had just finished reading the letter, was about to sleep when another knock echoed at the door. Opening it, he found the landlord standing there.

Seeing the owner, he immediately smiled nervously, "Landlord! Has the due date already come? As far as I remember, there were still ten days left."

"Haha, Eric, how can you say that to your uncle?" the landlord chuckled. "Just call me uncle Pot."

"Okay, Uncle Pot, did Auntie find out that you were flirting with the old tenant's daughter?" Eric asked curiously, so you want to hide here!

"Cough, cough... Nephew Eric, what are you talking about? How do you know?" Uncle Pot immediately became alert.

"Hahaha," Eric laughed.

"It's about this, it's about your little brother and sister. They have exams next week. So, I want you to help them in their study. Don't worry, it's not free. I will clear your due for this month. Haha, you know, they don't like to study. But how can they not study when they are children of Pot? Hahaha..."

"Of course, you can send them here tomorrow."

"Of course... hahaha."

After seeing the landlord off at the door, Eric settled into a night of peaceful sleep. "Ahhh, finally, a peaceful sleep."