Crossing Paths

If it was this country's Duchess and not a foreign one, Mattheus had an idea who Sophily might be. The surname suggested it was a local noblewoman too, being the name of the reigning royal family of New Albion.

(Mattheus had done a lot of reading up outside medical texts, considering he arrived with only the Original's spotty memories. The most basic was finding information on this country he found himself an aristocrat of.)

Honestly, Mattheus wouldn't be surprised if Brunilda ended up possessing the only sister of the King. But that brought a completely different issue than if she had been a regular citizen (like he half-expected. Modern expectations, he supposed). It wasn't like he could just walk up to the Duchess and start talking to her, even if he was from House Crown.

First, he had to find her though.

He had no idea where to start and Avalon Central Station had over a dozen tracks and almost as many platforms. The sheer search area was rather daunting and the System was being rather unhelpful—just because it improved a little bit didn't mean it was all that better, after all.

What was new? Version updates always seemed to just bring new issues to light.

Mentally dismissing the System window, Mattheus decided to rely on the old school method of using his brain. His brows furrowed as he mentally brought up the map of the area he memorized and looked around to try to pinpoint his current location.

The coachman had dropped him off at a side entrance on the off-side from the main plaza. Most of the people around him were middle-class because he had asked to get him to the station as fast as possible, else the coachman would have looped around for the much grander plaza.

This was fine though. He didn't stand out too much from the other gentlemen at first glance and walked into the crowd, weaving around the hectic groups and individuals along with the occasional luggage trolleys.

His drop-off point actually allowed him to go through the station, an advantage if the Duchess was leaving.

Silver eyes flicked toward the board that listed arrivals and departures, pinpointing that the next train to leave would be on Platform 5 in twenty minutes while another will arrive ten minutes after that on Platform 8.

His feet never stopped moving as he tried to pay attention to any large crowds and the murmurs of the travelers and commuters around him. As Sophily Morgaine was royalty, it would be inevitable for the woman to be surrounded by a retinue of some sort—no matter how low-key she might be.

(And if she was Brunilda and planning to leave the Capital incognito for some reason, the System would hopefully update to an actual location rather than a waypoint with a time limit.)

Checking the time, he thought it was more likely the train on Platform 8—or the train leaving to Hathe after—that the Duchess might be arriving from or boarding.

"Excuse me. Pardon me. Oof, here you are, madam." Mattheus headed in the direction of Platform 3, considering the arrangement of Avalon Central Station.

"Thank you, young man!" the matronly woman said as she made sure her luggage stayed upright while her maid apologized for being distracted.

"Simply doing my duty as a gentleman," Mattheus replied distractedly as he was already several meters away.

Thank god he was used to rush hour in the subway, even if it's been over a year since he dealt with such crowds. He supposed it's one of those things a person simply didn't forget—like riding a bicycle. How to navigate human obstacles when they stand in the way, that is. New York City tourists were awful when it came to blocking the sidewalks and this situation was not much different.

Maybe it was the ease he moved through the crowd that the group of pickpockets he spotted (or they might be working independently and just happened to be in the same area) avoided him despite the fact he looked young and his suit was clearly of a wealthier make.

He did feel a bit bad for that mustachioed man with the daughter (or young wife) getting pickpocketed in broad daylight but it wasn't as if the transmigrator had the time to intervene.

"Harold, dear, I feel a bit faint from the noise," the now-proven wife dramatically made a swooning motion.

"We'll head to the hotel right away, pet." The man with a bit of a generous waistline returned to look at the station staff. "Well! Did you hear my wife? We need you to move our luggage to—"

Then again, it was kind of their fault for being so blatantly nouveau riche.

With decent time, he arrived at Platform 3 with fifteen minutes left before the incoming train will arrive at Platform 8. He walked down the platform until the more humble outfits started becoming richer as he got closer to the front of the train.

Not hearing or seeing anything that stood out as he searched, he eventually snuck into a passenger car that wasn't being guarded by a worker.

There was an aborted feminine scream, considering the speed he ducked in. Mattheus turned to see two young women he apparently frightened and automatically gave them a disarming smile and nod of acknowledgment, "Ladies."

When he turned and walked the opposite way and heard the titters, the man made a face. Being good-looking really did make the world go 'round.

Reaching the end of the first-class cars, Mattheus checked the time left on the quest before deciding to check the Plaza. If the Duchess was on the arriving train on Platform 8, she would need to exit via the Plaza considering her station, in any case.

He was getting tired with all the rushing about either way. Clearly, Mattheus Crown's stamina needed to be worked on—he hadn't even walked all that much!

Maybe it was all the healing earlier?

Mattheus wandered to a cafe in the Plaza and bought a cup of tea and a twisted doughnut. He sat at an empty table and started eating the cinnamon sugar-dusted pastry as he leaned back, surveying the wide space of the Plaza.

Finally, his ears picked up the mention of the Duchess by passersby. His eyes immediately trailed to where the two women kept looking back at, to spot one of the more gilded carriages waiting around the Plaza.

When the door opened and the woman stepped out with the aid of a footman, Mattheus's eyes widened. He immediately grabbed the cup of tea and drained it, healing the scalding of his mouth and throat with magic as he stood up.

"Sir, do you want a—"

"Sorry, darling, but I'm almost out of time," Mattheus blurted out to the owner, flipping a coin to land on the table as he started walking toward the carriage. He tugged on his waistcoat and straightened his coat as he scrambled for something to say to reveal he was Theo without being too suspicious to others.

When he spotted the woman, it became obvious not only was the Duchess but also Brunilda. Unlike himself, who ended up transmigrating to a very different-looking body, Duchess Sophily looked like a pale-skinned, dark-haired version of Brunilda.

It was supremely odd, the picture she made wearing a dated dress and coat while a large blue cat was tucked in her arms, but she certainly did look like royalty…

Cat. Cat… Didn't Endlewood mention a cat being his patient before?

Mattheus, now having a potential idea in why he was coming up to greet a royal family member was a bit more confident as he made his way toward the woman who was obviously waiting for someone—

"Mattheus?"

Silver eyes flickered to the direction of the platforms, on the opposite side of the Plaza from where the carriages were. Equally pale eyes on a stately face of a handsome middle-aged man with slightly wild white hair stared back.

"Mattheus, what are you doing here?"

It was his father, Albert IV, Earl Crown. He was amongst another group of well-to-do gentleman, at least wealthy if not noblemen themselves.

Right. Edgar did mention their father was arriving in the Capital today. Mattheus didn't expect it to have been by train but maybe he should have. His father was on the extremely practical side and it wasn't like the man was traveling with Countess Crown.

Nonetheless, the older man probably expected a response, so Mattheus gave a somewhat nervous smile. "I heard you were arriving today, Father."

"Your younger son, Earl Crown?" one of the men in the group murmured.

Albert IV turned around to the group, "Hm. Yes. I will meet you all later, I suppose."

Mattheus was a bit startled at the easy way the other men took his father's rather abrupt parting remarks. He quickly adjusted his expression by the time the white-haired Crown turned back to face him, bowing slightly toward the group of older gentlemen as they left.

"Let's go to the townhouse, then."

"Of course, Father. How was the trip?" Mattheus asked perfunctorily. His eyes glanced as the group of men walked right up to the Duchess and internally grimaced.

What a missed opportunity.

Almost mockingly, the timer from the System counted down to zero, blinking red a few times before disappearing.

"Long," was the Earl's simple reply as they walked toward a carriage with the Crown heraldry. "Have you gotten better, Mattheus?"

"Welcome back, my lord." The servant waiting before the door to the carriage looked a bit startled to see Mattheus with the Earl but did not comment. He only greeted the head of the house and opened the carriage door for the two Crowns and an assistant to get in.

The younger man was suddenly reminded Edgar had decided against telling their parents about the memory loss until they could be told in person. "Ah, well, my head wound has long healed but I am having issues with my memory," he replied as he sat across from the Earl.

Albert IV frowned.

"Doctor Endlewood has been writing a report to give you over my… case." Mattheus quickly added, which seemed to settle his father slightly. "Um, Father…"

"Yes?"

"Who were the gentlemen with you?"

A brow hiked at his question. "Memory issues, hm? Other than Rodan and Hawke, whom you should have remembered, the one who did not know who you were is a foreign diplomat from Mithral. Count Gunther."

"A diplomat? Is that why Duchess Sophily was there to greet him?"