Little Boy Belmont (Richter x Olrox)

Chapter Eleven: Home

Richter himself has only heard about his ancestral home from stories. But seeing the ruined foundation of the mansion above makes him choked up. They arrive a few hours before sunrise, the air crisp enough that it burns in Richter's chest with each breath.

Olrox lands near the foundation and lays on the ground. Belmont gets off first and helps Edouard down.
"This is the place?" Edouard asks, looking around at the long ago burnt stone that used to be the Belmont mansion.
"This is it, from what my mother described," Richter whispers as Olrox turns back into his vampire form.
"It used to be a fairly massive mansion, judging by the layout," the Aztec murmurs, touching one of the crumbled walls with his hand.

"I'm surprised your family never rebuilt it," Edouard states softly, glancing at Belmont.
"I am surprised about that too," Olrox admits, scanning the ruins with concerned green eyes.
"Come on, help me look for the entrance to the Hold," Richter sighs, wanting to get far down enough below so he can bury his sorrows and anxiety in the countless books.

Olrox and Edouard help Richter search for the entrance. Tossing rubble aside while kneeling down, Belmont jumps back when the pile he's clearing out suddenly crumbles into a hole on the ground. Both vampire and night creature rush over to Richter at the sudden sound.

"Looks like this is it," Richter sighs, looking down at the dark stairwell leading deep into the earth. The Aztec glances up at the sky.
"The sun will rise soon. We should go in before people start appearing," he murmurs.
Belmont nods and leads the way downstairs.

The stairs lead down to a circular room lined with tapestries showing the Belmont crest sewn with gold stitching. A large portrait showing off a young man with short blond hair and blue eyes posing in armor hangs on the furthest wall.
"Who is this striking young man?" Olrox asks with amusement in his tone.

Richter walks forward to the large painting with a sense of longing and wonder.
"This is Leon Belmont, my ancestor," Richter explains.
"I see the messy short hair is a family trait," the Aztec jokes lightly, walking forward as well.
Olrox glances between the portrait and Richter.
"You have his eyes," he says in a quieter voice, observing in an almost loving way. "Such a pretty blue."

Belmont prays the room is dark enough that Olrox can't see his cheeks pink. He tries to brush this off and goes to the only door leading to the collection of his ancestors.
He opens the door and it groans on its hinges. The area in the doorway is pitch black.
"Hm, comforting," Richter mutters, squinting and blindly reaching for a torch to light.

His hand grabs a handle on the wall and pulls it. With a jolting hum, a blue light flares on close to them, making him and Edouard jump in alarm. More blue lights gradually turn on, revealing different levels filled with books leading even deeper downwards to the marble floor five stories below.

Richter scans the area with wide eyes. Even Edouard and Olrox are silent in awe. Belmont turns back to them with a wide smile like an excited child.
"Welcome," he grins, hand on his chest as he bows a little, "to the Belmont Hold."
****
"Richter, this is incredible," Edouard smiles, the three of them reaching the main floor below.
"It certainly is," Olrox agrees, scanning each shelf.
They end up splitting up, looking through random books they find. Richter finds books written in Latin, Greek, French, and other languages he doesn't even recognize.

Belmont opens a thicker book bound in red leather and is surprised when a slip of paper flutters down to the floor. Curious, he picks it up and unfolds it. The ink is somewhat faded and written in cursive, but still legible.
He decides to read it.

"To my dearest Mathias," he murmurs, head tilted.
"The long military campaigns have only gotten longer and colder without you by my side. I know the Church has assigned you on a different excursion currently. Even so, I hope this letter reaches you if God wills it. Every night in my tent, I pray for your safe return and hope we will meet again soon. Perhaps we will be able to joke once more over a glass of spiced wine.
My regards,
Baron Leon Belmont."
He flips the letter over, seeing nothing written on the back.

"What secrets did you have, Leon?" He whispers and walks out into the open again. "Hey, guys? I think I found something."
Olrox and Edouard walk over in curiosity.
"What is it?" the night creature asks.
"I found this folded in one of the books," Richter explains, handing it to them both.
The Aztec reads the letter and tilts his head.

"It looks like your ancestor wrote this," the vampire observes. "And perhaps never sent it either. I don't see a date."
"Who is Mathias?" Edouard asks.
Richter shrugs, the name not sounding familiar.
"But I know this was written sometime before Leon left the Church. He still refers to himself as Baron in this," Belmont murmurs, arms crossed.

Olrox scans the text again.
"With the way he phrased it, this almost reads like a love letter. Whoever this Mathias was, he clearly meant a lot to Leon," he observes.
Richter feels his face heat up at reading a page in the equivalent of his ancestor's diary.
"Close friends tend not to phrase whoever they're addressing so sweetly," Olrox murmurs, too busy looking over the words to see how flustered Richter is.

"Let's keep looking around," Richter says, turning away quickly. Part of him does hope that he finds more of Leon's pages. He doesn't know much about his ancestor, so reading each private letter will make him feel closer.