reincarnation

ch.7 - tragedy

It's been over a month since we went to the prince's birthday party. Aside from it being one of the very few social gatherings I have attended so far, It also brought some pleasant surprises. One was getting to know the crown prince, while the other was that my father got the king's permission to let me freely enter the palace library. This was quite a delight for me since this library contains by far the best possible conditions, an enormous amount of books some of which you can't even find anywhere else. 

Due to my frequent visits to the palace library I have met Edward and Adele for quite a few times, they were both very friendly and we all got along very well from the start, so now whenever I visit either of them comes over to have a little chat with me or study together. At our first meeting after the ball, the prince seemed to be very flustered, probably because of what I said to him during our departure. Well I can't particularly say that I feel bad about saying something like that, it was the truth and as an addition, his reaction was very cute. 

I always snicker inwardly at the thought, cuteness is really my weakness. Other than that nothing important has happened throughout the month but for a few days now mother and father seem tense and worried about something, Richard is constantly going back and forth somewhere and he seems to have even more paperwork to take care of than usual, Alice on the other hand seems very tired and sad, she doesn't even come out to have meals with me and Rose, dining in her bedroom instead. 

I tried asking what was going on but they didn't tell me, father only mentioned that I would know of it once he dealt with everything he had to do...I was curious but didn't pry further, I can be patient when it's asked of me.

"brother what's wrong with mom and dad? They are acting so strange" Rose asked worriedly, she has been trying to stick to mother's side for the last few days but was always sent off due to mother not feeling very well. This made her feel quite down and sad so she often came to me for comfort, even when I was studying, which was something she hasn't done before. I sigh and answer honestly, gently running my fingers through her golden locks of hair

"I have no idea Rose, I asked dad earlier but he didn't tell me anything. And today morning he went somewhere again, this time he seemed to be in even more of a hurry than yesterday" Rose pouted for a moment before suddenly creeping closer, whispering into my ear

"today I overheard some maids talking about mom. They said that she hadn't left the rooms since yesterday. They also said that they heard her cry....I wanted to go to her but I wasn't allowed in.... I wanna see mom"

Rose had tears in her eyes at this point, she is merely three now and it is no wonder that she is distressed, not being able to see her mother. Sometimes I wonder, just how long she will be able to preserve child's innocence, I lost it early on in my life, but unlike me when I was a child in my previous world, Rose is living in a loving family, it'll be great if I can keep her out of harm for as long as I can.

This is certainly not the time to be thinking of such things, but even after all these years, this kind of trance-like state sometimes appears. When I was a toddler, I would fall out of reality for some time of the day, but now it appears randomly, lasting only a couple of seconds. If my guess is correct, this could be a type of mechanism to let my mind rest. For a six year old with the mentality of someone over 20, it's obvious that my thought process is quicker.

"...big brother?"

Rose's timely call finally snapped me out of the trance, clearing my thoughts. I stood up from the armchair, grabbing Rose's hand "let's go over to her, I'm also worried" Rose immediately nodded, eagerly following after me. Mary was standing right in front of mom's room, not letting anybody inside. To be fair, she is probably the one best cut out for doing that, everyone in the mansion, even some of father's assistants are terrified of her.