Meeting Again

Austria, November 1st 1796

10:03 AM

Lukas and Elias were in the carriage as it got closer to the mansion where Tobias and Violett lived. The vehicle soon stopped in front of the big building.

When Lukas left the carriage, he was truly astounded by his fiancée's house. It was even bigger than his!

Lukas immediately frowned 'How can this be?! Since my mother is the Head's daughter, it would be natural that she would live in one of the most lavish houses that the Von Neumann house has to offer, but apparently not,' he thought.

Lukas put his thumb on his lip. 'Besides, it also doesn't make sense that she lives in Salzburg, and not in the capital of Austria, Vienna. I can't think of many good reasons for her to live there! Perhaps to govern the lands that the Von Neumann house owns there? Who knows,' he thought.

Lukas then sighed and glanced once again at the big mansion in front of him.

Elias, meanwhile, also left the carriage. "Let's go," he said.

Lukas raised his brow as he looked at him. "What? Are we going inside?" he asked.

Elias raised his brow. "Of course we are. What did you think? That they would be waiting for us here, outside, with everything ready? The members of the Von Neumann house are arrogant, we will probably even have to spend one night here before we get back to the road," he said.

Lukas sighed. "Don't exaggerate," he said.

Elias shrugged his shoulders. "You'll see, then," he answered.

So, the both of them started walking towards the mansion. When they were in front of the mansion, a maidservant received them.

"You must be Lord Lukas and Lord Elias. Please, come inside, Lord Tobias and Lady Violett will be meeting you soon enough," the maidservant said, smiling.

The maidservant kept looking at Elias, waiting for him to answer, however, he just walked inside the mansion, without even looking back at her, however, the maidservant just kept smiling like nothing had happened.

Lukas was taken aback by Elias's action, and then looked at the maidservant with a smile. "S-Sorry, thank you very much for your hospitality," he said, before hurrying to the mansion.

The maidservant widened her eyes at Lukas's statement and turned back to look at him. 'W-What is with that boy? D-Did he apologize to me?' she wondered.

Meanwhile, Elias was still walking in the mansion, when Lukas finally reached him. "Hey! What's wrong with you?" the blonde boy asked.

Elias raised his brow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't play dumb! What kind of attitude was that with the maidservant?" Lukas asked as he gritted his teeth.

Elias sighed. "You don't know most servants from the Von Neumann house, they don't know how to react to sympathy. The ones who work in our mansion are an exception," he said.

Lukas raised his brow. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Elias then turned at a corner and opened a door. "Okay, this is their waiting room. Let's wait here," he said as he headed to the couch and sat there and started reading a book he had taken with him.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Lukas said as he stood in front of Elias. "What did you mean with that?" he asked with a serious expression.

Elias didn't seem willing to speak, however, it didn't matter since steps could be heard coming from the door, making Lukas sigh in frustration.

Then, the blonde boy sat beside Elias and waited patiently for Violett and Tobias to arrive.

Not long after, the door opened, and Tobias walked in, immediately followed by Violett, making Lukas and Elias immediately stand up from the couch.

Lukas had not seen Violett for more than 2 years. Violett and Lukas probably only had the chance to see each other when Tobias and Elias had businesses to take care of.

Violett's smile immediately lit up as soon as she saw Lukas, meanwhile, he just waved at her with a slight, but happy smile, he didn't dislike Violett.

Tobias smiled. "Hello, Lukas, Elias. It's been a while we do not see each other," he said.

''What a fake smile," both Lukas and Elias thought at the same time.

Tobias then walked towards the both of them and shook their hands.

After that, it was Violett who stepped up and shook Lukas's hand. "Hello, Lukas. I'm so happy to see you," she said with a wide smile.

Lukas smiled back. "So am I," he said.

After that, it was Elias who Violett had to greet, which she casually did. "It's nice to see you, Uncle Elias," she said.

Elias just nodded his head. Even though their first meeting had not been very pleasant, Elias and Violett had quite a cordial relationship.

So, Elias and Lukas sat back on the couch and Violett and Tobias sat on the other couch, across theirs.

Tobias showed a smile. "Firstly, I would like to welcome you to our home. For political matters, neither of you could see our house until now," he said.

Lukas raised his brow. '"Political matters"?' he wondered.

"Secondly, I must show my happiness that Austria and its allies won the confront against France. They didn't stand a chance," Tobias said.

'You say that, but we had to make a team with many nations. By the way, now that I stop to think about it, the party will be filled to the brim with people! The main nobles and Royal Families of... 6 countries? Oh, God, it's gonna be difficult to spot Nathalie in there,' Lukas thought.

Tobias looked at Lukas. "Lukas, I heard that you enrolled on the military academy. How's it going?" he asked.

'Boring,' Lukas thought. "It's going very well, Uncle Tobias, thank you for asking," he answered.

Tobias nodded his head with a smile. "I see, I'm glad to hear that," he said.

Then, Tobias looked at Elias. "I bet you two are tired from the trip. Why don't you stay over night and we will depart early tomorrow?" he asked.

Elias just glanced at Lukas as he showed him a quick smirk, after that, he looked back at Tobias.

Meanwhile, Lukas just showed a sulking expression.

"Thank you very much for your offer, Tobias. Yes, we will stay here overnight," Elias said with a satisfied smile.

Tobias then stood up as he gathered his hands. "Excellent!" he said.

Then, Tobias turned to a maidservant standing on the corner of the room. "Sophia, please, prepare two rooms for our guests," he ordered.

"Of course, Lord Tobias," the maidservant said as she bowed. After that, she left the room.

Tobias then looked at Violett. "Violett, why don't you show the house to Lukas while I talk to Elias?" he asked.

Violett immediately stood up and nodded her head. "Of course, dad," she said, smiling.

Violett then turned to Lukas. "Please, Lukas, come with me," she asked.

Lukas nodded his head as he stood up from the couch. "Okay," he answered.

Lukas and Violett left the room, after that, she turned to the blonde boy with a radiant smile. "Please, follow me," she asked.

Violett's smile immediately sent a shiver down Lukas's spine. 'That's too similar to my mother's. If I knew it was impossible, I would truly be suspecting that she is my mother's daughter, however, our birthdates don't support it, she was born in June and I was born in August of the same year,' he thought.

As Violett walked Lukas to the spot that she wanted to show him, a question invaded Lukas's head. 'I wonder if her mother is okay now? We were not invited for a funeral, so she's probably still alive, however, she might have improved a bit. I don't wanna ask that to Violett, though, what if she's worsened?' he thought.

After going up a set of stairs and walking for a bit, Violett arrived to the place that she wanted to show Lukas.

"Ta-dah! My room!" Violett excitedly said.

Lukas then looked around. 'Well, this was the place that I least expected she was going to show me,' he thought.

Violett then walked to a shelf and tiptoed in order to reach a book there. After that, she showed it to Lukas. "Look, Lukas! It's that book you recommended me!" she said, smiling.

Lukas widened his eyes. "Oh... I didn't think you were actually going to read it," he said.

Violett giggled. "Hey, I do what I promise! I haven't finished it yet, though, my particular teacher has been giving me a lot of work. You know how it is, right?" she asked.

"...No," Lukas answered.

Violett raised her brow. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"...I don't have a particular teacher, and I also don't go to school," Lukas said.

Violett widened her eyes and walked closer to Lukas. "Wow! I didn't expect that!" she said.

Lukas showed a smug smile. "Well, that's because I don't need it, you know?" he said.

Violett held back her laughter. "Pfft! You are so cocky," she said before putting the book back to its place.

After that, she walked back to Lukas and stood in front of him. "Besides, you are taller than me, now! How can that be?" she asked.

"...I would be impressed if I wasn't," Lukas said.

Violett raised her brow. "What? But I heard that girls usually are taller than boys at our age!" she complained before pouting.

Lukas shrugged his shoulders. "Yep, but I have a lot of training every day, and I am sure that some of those help me to grow taller," he said.

Violett tilted her head. "Really?" she asked.

"Well, nobody told me this, but I bet it," Lukas said.

Violett pouted and then headed to her bed and sat on it. "Well, I guess happiness doesn't last very long," she said.

'It actually lasted longer than it should. I can't believe I had to train for 5 years in order to grow taller than you! Not even when I met you two years ago was I taller than you!' Lukas internally complained.

Violett giggled as she looked at Lukas's expression, he always had that expression when he was deep in thought. "Hey, wanna finish reading that book with me?" she asked.

Lukas took a brief glance at the book and then looked back at Violett. "Great idea, I'm going to fetch it," he said.

So, Lukas walked towards the bookshelf, when he stretched his arm to take his book, his stomach started growling.

When Lukas heard his stomach growling, he immediately placed his hand on it as he blushed deeply.

On the other hand, Violett bursted out in laughter when she saw Lukas blushing. "I had never seen you like that! So cute!" she said.

Lukas didn't answer Violett and just took the book without saying anything.

"Should I ask a servant to bring some snacks?" Violett asked with a smile.

"...Yes, please," Lukas said.

Violett laughed and then stood up. "Okay, I'll be right back," she said as she walked to the door.

Violett then opened the door and then left the room, closing the door behind her.

Lukas then sighed and laid on the bed with a deep breath. 'I can't believe this happened,' he thought.

Lukas briefly closed his eyes. After a while, he abruptly opened them back. 'S-Should I look for her mother? I saw a few nurses around, if I follow one of them, I'll spot where she is!' he thought.

Lukas then stood up and hurried to the door, however, before he could grab the handle, the door opened alone.

There, was Violett holding a platter with tea and some snacks on it.

When Violett saw Lukas, she smiled. "Sorry for making you wait," she said.

"...Oh, it's okay," Lukas said. 'Now that was fast,' he thought.

Then, Violett headed to her bed as she hummed a song and sat on it. "Come here," she said with a smile as she patted the bed.

Lukas then sat beside her and immediately brought one of the snacks to his mouth. "So... where did you stop reading last time?" he asked.

Violett hummed for a bit. "I don't remember," she said, before turning her head to Lukas and smiling. "I guess we should start from the beginning."

'...Shameless, she actually didn't even start reading it,' Lukas thought.

So, the whole day passed by with the both of them reading the book and discussing about it. They had a break for lunch, however, it went strangely well, nobody argued, and Tobias and Elias were talking calmly and cordially.

-----

Austria, November 1st 1796

8:04 PM

Lukas and Violett were finished reading the book. They were sitting on the bed across each other as they laughed.

After laughing for a while, Lukas sighed and then showed a sad face. 'I... feel bad for doing this to Violett. I don't feel anything romantic for her by any means, but... I like her, a lot,' he thought.

Violett raised her brow. "What's wrong, Lukas?" she asked.

Lukas sighed and then looked straight into Violett's eyes. "Violett, you never got to choose a husband, so... sometimes I wonder if... are you happy by being engaged with me?" he asked.

Violett made a short break and then started laughing. "Oh, Lukas, you are so silly!" she grabbed Lukas's hands. "Lukas, I don't interact with many boys besides you, but... I'm sure that I couldn't have chosen a better husband."

Each word was like a stab to Lukas's heart, why did he have to ask this question.

Still, Lukas forced a smile. "I'm glad to hear that," he said.

Violett then hugged Lukas. After a while, she looked at him. "I'm glad that you asked this. It means that you do feel something for me," she said as she blushed.

So, Violett slowly approached her face to Lukas's, however, she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Violett then fell behind with a high-pitched scream as her face went beet red. "Y-Yes, come in," she said.

So, the door opened. "Lady Violett, Lord Lukas, dinner is ready," a maidservant said.

Violett then showed a forced a smile. "V-Very well, we are going," she answered.

The maidservant just nodded her head and left.

Violett took a quick glance at Lukas and then quickly left the room.

After that, Lukas sighed in relief. 'I'm so glad this didn't happen! I couldn't have simply pushed her away,' he thought.

After that, Lukas jumped out of the bed and also left the room.