Reason [Ch-3]

"I'll begin the communication with the Madam now Young Master."

The old butler had promptly finished setting up the small circular device and connected it to his smartphone-esq device. After tapping away at his handheld device, the circular device began running.

-Whirr-

-Whish-

-Beep-

A small, scanning wave of light emerged from the device and processed the surroundings; after finishing it's task, a small beep resounded in the carriage. Right on cue, the device's top opened up and a small hologram popped up and began to hover above it.

'Marvelous.'

I couldn't help be amazed at this surreal sight; seeing such a sight in reality was truly different from a game screen. But I shouldn't dwell on the technology; rather, I had to focus on what the hologram was depicting.

An older petite, well-dressed woman was sat with a dirty lab coat adorned in a well-sized room, her arms resting atop a large table. A plethora of scraps of various materials, books, and tools were scattered atop the table. She looked directly at me via the holographic device, through the black circles around her eyes and with a bittersweet smile.

'So the butler's words were true.'

Even I could tell that the lady in the hologram had been running herself ragged. The woman who was this child's mother —as confirmed by the similarities between her in the hologram and my recollection from the photograph— had likely been hard at work.

It was obvious that she had been pushing herself in order to find the cure for this body's condition.

"Good morning, Raziel, dear! How are you feeling today? Excited to finally enter the academy?"

She asked her questions energetically, with a slight glimmer of hope in her tired eyes. It was obvious that she was used to this routine, and by the way she was acting, she was unfortunately used to getting no answers from this child.

But this time it appeared that Greeves's words had provided her some hope for a different result.

'...I'll play along. It's the least I can do for this child's exhausted mother.'

Given my past experiences, familial interactions weren't my strong points; it had become quite the foreign premise to me.

Still, I was rather skilled in manipulating people, and at this point it was quite obvious what I had to do to make this poor mother happy— it was obvious what she wanted most... it was just to talk to her son.

Though I couldn't actually make it happen, I could at least simulate it to the best of my abilities and give the lady a bit of comfort... Yes... anybody with basic decency would have done the same thing as I was about to do.

I reassured myself as I opened my mouth.

"Good morning to you too, mother... Though I appreciate your efforts, I hope you do take care of your health, after all what good would it do me if I were to lose my precious mother? In that case, curing myself would be pointless no?"

I spoke, trying to emulate concern and care for family the best I could, hoping to raise her dampened spirits and allow here to see my own spirits, after all I couldn't allow the person who eventually invents the cure for my condition to fall apart.

"R-Raziel! I-I can't believe it! Y-You're actually talking-"

Her eyes began to tear up as a wide smile and expression of relief and pure glee dawned upon her face. A rare sight, for me.

However, she was unable to complete her words as some other voices erupted from the background of the hologram.

"R-RAZIEL SPOKE AGAIN! MY SON IS SPEAKING AGAIN!"

"BROTHER! Y-YOU'RE TALKING!"

The door of the room within the hologram flung open as the loud-sounding father and brother of this child, who were likely eavesdropping on the conversation, rushed into the room and gathered around the holographic device on their end.

They seemed to have just returned from some form of conquest. A mixture of dirt, dust, blood, and grime was sprawled around within the combination of their silver and golden hair, though it was more prevalent on their clothes; obviously meant for combat, looked like a mixture of noble attire and modern-day military armour.

"..."

A soulless look had replaced the tears of happiness in the tired lady's eyes. A cold sensation began to creep into both the carriage and, likely more prevalently, the room on the other end of the call.

"Gilcrest... Leon... Did you two bother to at least wash up before eavesdropping on my conversation with Raziel?"

She spoke with an unnerving amount of annoyance in her voice, causing the both of them to start slowly going pale; oddly, a similar phenomenon was occurring in front of me, with Greeves.

"N-No dear, b-but you can't blame us! After all, it's good that we didn't! If we waited, we wouldn't have been able to catch Raziel's first words after such a long time!"

"W-We had no choice mother, we had to rush over since Greeves had told us about the conversation you were having!"

They responded with the best logic they could think of, hoping to avoid retribution for their wrongful actions.

"Oh my... Greeves was the one who told you?"

'I see, that's why he was also turning pale.'

I thought to myself as I observed the poor butler turn completely white; at this point he had begun to resemble a ghost.

"Raziel dear, I'm very happy to finally talk to you, but could you excuse me for just one minute? Forgive me, I'll call back immediately."

She asked me the question, though the manner in which she had done so made it feel more like a command than a request.

"Of course, mother."

"Thank you, my lovely son. It seems I have at least raised one of you well."

Thankfully, It would appear my emulation of the child's personality was successful. Keeping that in mind, I made a mental note of my behavior for future reference.

She spoke, eyeing her golden-haired child behind her, causing cold sweat to start forming on his brow. It seems he knew what was to happen, and judging by his reaction, it was by no means anything good.

-Click-

With a gentle click, the device shut itself off; nonetheless, shivers ran down my spine. The intuition that I had built up from experiencing various situations was telling me to avoid angering her at any cost. How oddly terrifying this lady was.

Greeves must have had the same thought since he was stuck in his position like a robot. He was still white as a sheet as he stared at the device that had just shut off, attempting to remain calm. But he couldn't fool my eyes; he was definitely as terrified as the two who had managed to annoy the lady, maybe even more.

As the minute quickly passed, a notification popped up on the butler's handheld device. He quickly but stiffly tapped away at the device, and the hologram projecting device quickly booted up again. 

-Whirr-

-Whish-

-Beep-

The same room appeared, but with the two men who were kneeling on the floor, still in their muddy and bloody clothes, repenting with expressively terrified expressions on their faces. Surely their complexion had far surpassed the paleness of a ghost.

"Oh my, you don't have to be so concerned about them, Raziel, dear."

Noticing my slightly bewildered expression at the scene, she cleared up any doubts regarding the fate of the two poor souls, that too with the most innocent smile and refreshed expression plastered on her face.

"They'll just have to help me out in trialing a few of my new artifacts! That's all!"

Upon hearing her words, the expressions of the two men in the background who were still kneeling hardened even further. It would seem that these 'Trials' were not an enjoyable experience for any of the two forced testers.

"From new willing volunteers for trial runs of my artifacts, and more importantly, I finally heard your voice after months of waiting! I couldn't ask for a better start to my day."

She looked at me warmly; her relief at the premise of me conversing was clear as day; it must have weighed heavily upon her mind.

"Now then Greeves, shall we have a quick-"

"M-Madam! Did you know the Second Young Master had been practicing his speech and etiquette ass and ? He said it was meant as a surprise for us!"

"Really now? I did think you were behaving and speaking differently Raziel, you must have worked hard. I'm proud of you, but next time don't completely stop talking to us, okay? Despite your reasons, that's too much for my labored heart to bear."

I politely nodded as she continued after turning around, looking at a relaxed Greeves; he must have thought he had avoided any punishment that he would have received from aiding the child's father and brother in their act of eavesdropping.

'Poor man, he doesn't know that he's not safe yet.'

"... And Greeves, how many times have I told you not to interrupt! This isn't done; though I admit that you informed me about the good news regarding Raziel, I've also come to understand that you were the one who helped these two buffoons in eavesdropping on conversation with my dear son."

"Y-Yes madam, but please know that I did tell you first! And I even sent you all the pictures I took!"

He spoke, trying to avoid the punishment he knew was coming his way, seemingly at any cost. Even if it meant antagonizing the two men, who were making sour faces behind the lady. It seems like the two kneeling family members—he too was terrified of the petite lady in the lab coat.

"Greeves! You had pictures? As his father, I should have gotten them too!"

"Yes, Sir Greeves! You should shared it with the entire family, not only mothe-"

The woman had slowly turned back and given them a certain look; though I couldn't view it via this hologram, the look had caused them to immediately turn right back into church mice.

"Why don't you two calm down? Did you think that I wouldn't share the pictures with the group? I was going to do it after the call, but given your behavior, maybe I should reconsider."

The smirking butler was looking at them squirm helplessly, but his time too came as the mother turned back to look at the holographic device.

"Still, Greeves, I don't think I can forgive you so easily.."

"B-But Madam-"

"How about you help in just 1 trial run?"

"Consider it done, Madam!"

The butler immediately accepted his punishment; it was obvious he knew that arguing would only worsen his punishment, likely from past experience.

By this time, all three of the relatively large and toned men on this call were behaving sheepishly and squirming uncomfortably under the watchful gaze of the petite lady, who barely reached the shoulders of either of these men.

"Ha..Ha."

I couldn't help break character, as a wry chuckle escaped my lips. The situation was utterly ridiculous to me, hilariously so.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

-Click

-Flash

The unexpectedly sudden silence was interrupted by the sound of a picture being taken; the faces of brief astonishment disappeared upon hearing the sound.

"OOH! A RARE RAZIEL LAUGH! YOU MADE YOUR FATHER EVEN HAPPIER!"

"THE LOST SOUND OF THE YOUNGEST'S LAUGHTER HAS BEEN REVIVED!"

"MY BABY CHUCKLED! HE REALLY DID! IT'S BEEN SO LONG!"

"I TOOK THE PICTURE. I'LL SEND IT IMMEDIATLEY!"

This time the whole family erupted into boisterous conversation; even Madam Cynthia, who had appeared calm and collected before, joined in on the display.

'How ridiculous.'

I observed them, this time with an expression true to how I was feeling; though I wasn't good at emulating this, it was fine; the laughter with which I was joining in had, in a rare personal moment, my real emotions. I watched on expectantly as the hullabaloo just grew with each content expression I made.

'This was it.'

This was the type of family I had idealized in my past. The rare family, who despite the socio-political situation of the cultural elites, were happy. The type that didn't care what others thought about them and just enjoyed each other's company. The specific family that had happy parents, beloved children, and warmth that couldn't be mimicked.

A family that truly symbolized such words stood before me. Though it might sound rather cheesy, they had bonds that far surpassed social and cultural boundaries, bonds that were pure of heart and exuded gentle comfort.

'I've found it.'

Though just moments ago I had been resolved to accept my unseemly fate, I unfortunately don't think that doing so was a possibility any longer. Especially now that I had gotten a taste of what I had only ever been able to idealize, a true family.

'Screw it.'

Rarely did I have as rambunctious of thoughts as I was having now, but given what I had just gained, I wasn't about to let it slip away.

Even now, as I sat aimlessly laughing without purpose, though unnatural, it felt ever so relieving. It was as if the turmoil in my mind was slowly being washed away. And though it might be twisted, I also felt as if I had been given a chance to actually form a happy family rather than destroying it like I had done once before.

This was it; I had found it; I had found my reason. Something for which I could wake up every morning and live on for another day. And if protecting it meant that I had to alter the story a little bit, so be it.

Though it might seem unfair to the real Raziel, I hope that protecting his family from the upcoming doom would permit him to forgive me for taking his place.

'If I ever, somehow meet you... I'll apologize.'

"Alright! That's Enough!"

Her loud voice put an end to my bittersweet thought. and the chaotic laughter within both the carriage and the large room on her end of the call. Calming herself and the rest of the group down, she spoke with her prior demeanor.

"We can continue this later! I too want to talk and enjoy my time with Raziel, but I'm guessing that the carriage has already reached midway through the journey to the harbor?"

"K-Kehum! Yes madam, just a little bit across half-way."

"Good, and I'm guessing you haven't started explaining to Raziel what all to do regarding his condition?"

"Y-Yes madam, but it was because I was stuck taking photographs as per your req-"

"T-That's alright Greeves. I understand that you were busy... So Raziel dear, do you understand your condition?"

She asked me, cutting him off, attempting to change the subject and hide the fact that she had paid the butler off to take photos for her. Though I disliked it at first, I now found it oddly charming, so I happily played along with her charade.

"It's a curse, correct?"

Though they were simple words, the mood began to tense up at their mention.

"Yes dear, specifically, it's a Curse of Demonic Manifestation. Do you know how we got to know of it?"

"Yes, mother, I could tell from my darkened eyes."

"O-Oh? You knew about the curse already? I didn't think you would have known the intricacies of your affliction. Maybe I don't need to explain anything else to you."

'That would be bad.'

Though I knew how the curse worked, it was all information that I derived from a game screen. I needed legible information on how the curse worked in reality now that I actually had this curse.

"I only know how to identify it and its name mother; as such, I'd appreciate any other explanations you could offer me."

"Very well then dear; I'll begin explaining it to you now. I'll try to be concise so that I can finish explaining it before you reach-"

"Ugh.."

An involuntary grunt of pain left my body, interrupting her. My body suddenly began to feel extremely fatigued; my joints felt as if they were melting as aches and pains of unnerving proportions consumed me.

"AARGH!"

I couldn't hold myself back from yelling; it was that painful even for someone like myself who had an absurdly high pain tolerance.

"M-Madam? What's happening to the second young master?!"

"Raziel! W-What's happening to you? Cynthia! W-What's going on?! Is he alright?"

"Brother?!"

Even in my manic state, I could see the panicked and confused expressions of all the members of this child's... no, my family. All but one had such a face, the mother. She had an expression of just pure horror and disbelief.

As the brief second passed, I couldn't observe the scene anymore as black cracks appeared on my skin and black ooze started to drip from my tear ducts, worsening my sight. The pain worsened and my vision became even hazier; I was beginning to lose consciousness.

"Greeves! Give him that medicine!"

"B-But Madam! You said that it's still unfinishe-"

"Just give to him! NOW!"

The bickering that I could barely hear concluded, and I barely felt the sensation of a round pill in my mouth. Quickly consuming it, I immediately felt a burning sensation on my back.

-Shwoom

A gentle light exuded from my back as my complexion got better, and though I was still in extreme pain, my vision managed to return, and I managed to stay conscious just long enough to see the crying face of my mother as she explained something to the horrified and dredged expressions of the rest.

'Damn it. What in the actual hell is going on?'

With that thought, everything went black. I had likely fainted.