ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴀʀꜱ ᴀʟɪɢɴ ❅ 𝐕𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐈

ѕιχ

𝚃𝚒𝚝𝚕𝚎: 𝔄 𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔴, 𝔞 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔬𝔴

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° . *

Raphael wasn’t always such a scatterbrain. That’s his best friend’s job, not his.

However, that does not stop the forces of the universe to make him forget his wallet in Princess Constantin’s office at the Council Hall and he had to trudge back there to retrieve it. He had told the princess to go to the town first without him, unsure if she would follow his suggestion.

Regardless, Raphael went back to the office room and found his wallet on the coffee table.

Just as the young boy was leaving, a sudden gust of wind in the room made him turn to the open window with white curtains fluttering due to the moving air. Raphael felt the need to close those windows, knowing that Constantin had forgotten to do so before she left the room.

Once in front of the windows, Raphael squinted his eyes at the sudden glare of the midday sun. The view from the window left him breathless and stunned.

A place that appeared oddly familiar. A large oak tree with gnarly-looking branches casting a wide area of shade in the sunlit meadow.

It was eerily silent.

This was the kind of atmosphere that he could seek solace from and also the kind of atmosphere where the school’s witch thrives.

A memory of his when he was 10 years old resurfaced in his mind.

It was the year his parents died in an unfortunate plane crash and all their assets were left for him and his sickly grandmother.

He hated every party the school hosted. He even hated going to school and being in the same class with other nobles of his age. Raphael didn’t want to leave his grandmother alone in the Touraine Estate back in France with the servants but it was the only choice.

Raphael Touraine was now the young Duke of France and needed the knowledge and ability to manage his fortune.

The aim of every high society party is to gain possible allies and form a network of collaboration. Raphael Touraine, now a duke, forced his young self to attend the start of the year party, unbeknownst that his attempt at making connections would fail miserably.

At first, all the nobles who had wronged him before swarmed him like a mob as soon as he set foot in the ballroom.

Raphael was overwhelmed by the unkind scrutiny and words of congratulation and concern.

Any ordinary person would be fooled by their faux concern for his well-being but Raphael was a trueborn nobility, born and raised to distinguish the true meanings of every word uttered in a high society event.

“Congratulations on becoming Duke of Touraine,” said one. “My condolences to your unfortunate loss, such a pity.”

[Quite unfortunate that your parents died and left their fortune for you.]

“Due to the funeral being a private event, we couldn’t intrude.”

[Our absence at the funeral is not our fault. You wanted a private event.]

“Your black hair has grown quite long over the summer. It does remind me of Prince Ciel’s beautiful golden locks.”

[Your black hair looks unkempt. Are you trying to imitate the French Prince?]

“Oh how could that be? Their styles and shades are so different.”

[You and the French Prince are from two different worlds so don’t try imitating him.]

The sight of their sharp stares masked with ingenuine concern made the young duke nauseous. It was suffocating to be surrounded by people who hated his very being while insulting him under the guise of care.

He didn’t remember much about fighting his way out the ballroom but there he was, moments later sitting under the old oak tree by the Council Hall. Raphael hugged his knees close and buried his face.

The nightly serenade of bugs took over the silence.

Thinking he was alone, he let out a muffled scream.

It was a bad decision on his part. Towards his left, he heard a dull thud; like something large had fallen from the tree. Timidly, he took a peek and then froze in fear. His golden yellow eyes widened staring at the girl in front of him.

The wild look in her eyes scared him. He didn’t dare to breathe.

Ever Realm Academy is known for its bounty of haunted tales and undiscovered mysteries.

The girl—he hoped she was a human girl—was the first to speak.

“You’re the ghost boy!” she exclaimed.

Raphael burst out crying. Sadness overtook his fear as he wailed pitifully into the night. The wails drowned out the girl’s words of apology. He didn’t stop until he heard her mentioning that someone might come investigating.

Raphael didn’t want others to see him cry, especially not the teachers. He could never live with another torment of insults from the rest of the noble population. He covered his mouth, forcing himself to stop crying.

Time passed unknowingly as he sobbed in silence.

A glare of flickering lights piqued his attention. The girl from before was holding a jar of floating lights and was wearing a sheepish grin on her face.

She spoke.

“Raphael!”

Violently brought out of his trip down memory lane, the dark-haired Frenchman promptly closed the windows shut and locked it. He glanced over his shoulder to see an angry-looking Princess of Romania at the doorway.

“My apologies,” he gave her a grin. “I got lost.”

A glassy look overtook her pitch black eyes.

“Looks cloudy,”she commented. Raphael had been her friend long enough to know she wasn’t talking about the weather. He nodded, agreeing to her with a smile.

“What’s your plan today?” the princess threw the question at him in hopes that the answer would slip from his tongue. Unfortunately, he was cautious enough to not fall for it.

Chuckling, Raphael said with an air of mystery, “A surprise wouldn’t be a surprise if I let you know too early.”

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° . *

a/n: I limited myself to writing short stories. If there are enough requests by the readers, I might consider continuing the memory.

p.s. I have a problem as I left the story too long, forgive me if my writing style changes.