This chapter is brought to you by Way Back Home by SHAUN.
Edited by: bafflinghaze
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Neo started his morning by being dragged out of bed by Rainier. The valet had good reasons for this.
He had found the youth buried beneath a nest of bed sheets and pillows and was deeply concerned. He dug him out quickly.
It was a lovely way to start the morning.
Rainier washed his face with a wet cloth, gently wiping away any remnants of debris. Then he brought over a water bucket for Neo to brush his teeth.
The master and servant exchanged no words throughout the morning routine. It was a quiet morning for both of them. One of those days where silence was preferred in such early hours.
Soon, Neo donned his uniform and Rainier carefully buttoned his shirt and adjusted his tie and waistcoat.
Once his shoes were on, the two of them left the room.
Neo was greeted with the sight of Aurelion sitting alone at the breakfast table with some impressive dark circles under his eyes.
His complexion was even paler than his own. He appeared somewhat disheveled—with his tie strangely crooked and his hair haphazardly brushed.
The servant behind him wore a tight smile on her face. She did a once-over of Neo and shot Rainier a piercing gaze, which Rainier made a point to ignore with a charming smile.
Neo dropped himself on a seat across from his brother.
The two of them tiredly stared at their empty plates. They both grabbed a cup and simultaneously took a long sip of air.
The female servant and Rainier's reactions were immediate. They began filling the plates with food, casually taking the brothers' cups and filling them generously with coffee.
The brothers took another sip.
Aurelion's brows scrunched together with distaste. He set his drink aside.
Rainier piled on more food for Neo, 'watching' as the food disappeared rapidly into the youth's stomach.
The servants waiting by the walls gawked in amazement. Servant rotations for the dining hall would change every three weeks. For this new batch of servants, it was their first time bearing witness to the Eldest Young Master's newfound appetite.
Neo eventually grew more alert as time passed. His eating pace slowed considerably. He ate without tasting anything, his mind preoccupied with his nightmares.
They came with a vengeance last night, in a way he hadn't experienced since his first night back—and there were no effective drugs within reaching distance to knock him out.
There was an option of Nightshade Petals inside his drawers—and he had, at one point, considered swallowing one when the clock struck three—but the chances of him falling into a permanent coma were rather high...
He was quite tired, waking up so early after a night with little sleep.
Rainier poured him another cup of coffee.
"Is Mother and Father joining us?" The dining hall felt empty with just him and Aurelion.
"They left at sunrise. There's a meeting in the palace," Aurelion remarked, stirring in a large amount of sugar and cream into his morning tea—his coffee forgotten, pushed aside in favor of something better.
"Oh."
They continued eating quietly.
"Good morning, everyone." A cold voice broke the silence.
Guinivere joined her brothers at the table, looking ever radiant in the eyes of everyone in the dining hall.
She appeared extra icy this morning, frost chipping from her eyes and seemingly forming on the tips of her white-silver hair as she appeared like a snowstorm.
There was a freezing silence before anyone said anything regarding her mood.
"Good morning," Neo was the brave soul who dared to ask, "... Are you well?"
The warm spring temperature in the room rapidly fell into a cool winter chill.
Aurelion felt the change and raised his head to give his brother a look.
The brief eye contact became a simultaneous glance directed to their younger sister with great concern.
A few seconds passed before Guinivere nodded regally.
Her voice was like ice as she informed them, "It has been adequate so far."
"You don't seem very happy despite the morning's adequacy," Aurelion murmured under his breath.
A look of discontent flared in Guinivere's eyes. "It will be—once I beat Polonius into a pulp during our next spar."
Her lips curled into a wicked smile.
Ah, so it was one of those days.
Neo and Aurelion smartly shut their mouths and went back to eating, making no effort to comment when Guinivere demanded a large breakfast of meats, eggs, and milk—along with a generous side of grains and vegetables.
After the morning meal, the three siblings boarded their carriages.
Aurelion and Neo stayed by the door, allowing Guinivere to leave first with the carriage Neo usually took.
However, before the youngest could depart, she reached out a hand to her brothers and demanded, "I need a tokened favor."
Neo wordlessly brought out one of his handkerchiefs.
Guinivere eyed it before shaking her head. "It has to be embroidered. Your initials."
Again, Neo wordlessly tucked the rejected handkerchief into his pocket and brought out another with his initials on it.
His siblings both looked at him weirdly.
Aurelion frowned. "Why do you have so many?"
Neo shrugged.
Guinivere raised a perfect brow. "You are so high maintenance."
She snatched the handkerchief and jumped onto her carriage. "I will beat all my classmates in your honor, brother. Look forward to that." Her carriage quickly drove out of the gate, no doubt ready to break a dozen traffic laws under the Odum name.
Neo and Aurelion silently prayed for this Polonius fellow—and the rest of their sister's classmates—and mutely boarded the last carriage.
---
Professor Rickman dramatically entered the classroom with a swish of his teaching robes.
"All of you have read the play last week and have gotten the chance to read aloud. This week, we will begin rehearsals."
Everyone in the class looked at each other in confusion.
"For the spring play, you nitwits. It was in your syllabus!"
There were a few "Ohh..."s and "Ahhh..."s and "... Nooo..."s, and even "... Whyyyy..."s in the room.
"Quiet!" Their professor demanded. "For this quarter, your grades will depend on the spring play. As per tradition, the second-year Senior Department is to perform the Tragedy of Ohmlet before the summer holidays. I have modified the scripts with a few creative liberties so to speak, as we are not going to copy Professor Dogstar's version from last year. Odum, Meyers,"
Neo and another boy sitting in the front of the room, Frederick Meyers, straightened in their seats.
Rickman wasn't impressed. "Congratulations. Since the two of you received the highest scores on the quiz, you will play the lead roles for the performance."
A round of applause went around the room.
Neo's mind rapidly fell into confusion.
Wait, weren't the leads—
"Odum, you are Lady Rose."
He and Frederick paused.
Say what now?
"And for Meyers, Sir Gilde."
The room suddenly fell quiet as realization caught up with the class.
Tybalt raised his hand.
"Wait a minute, Professor—"
Rickman cut him off.
"Odum, I will be honest with you." He cast a stink eye to the black-haired youth, "I did not want you as Lady Rose, but your score was high and your Fine Arts Professor claims anyone can be an actor if they put in the right effort. I sorely doubt this, but it was my fault for using a quiz to assign roles in the first place. I will very much regret my life choices for the following three months, so I beg of you, please, find a way to get your acting on par with Meyers."
Neo, who was assigned to a role he didn't get in his last life as Nazareth; and didn't want in this life either:
"Yes, Professor..."
Seeing his compliancy, Rickman clapped his hands. "Rehearsal starts next week. Lady Lettuse, since you were the first to request a position in technicians, I will transfer you to managerial duties and narrations. For your previous role as the Nurse, it will be given to Benedick. Please inform him once he is back with us."
Lady Lettuse smiled gratefully.
"Yes, Professor."
---
They spent the next four hours re-reading the play—and identifying all the alchemy jokes placed in due to creative liberties.
Eventually, Professor Rickman dismissed them for lunch.
Neo put his script away and stood up.
There was already a sea of students trying to get out of the classroom, but they all parted to make way for him, Finneas, and Tybalt.
As the trio reached the halls and began walking away from the classroom, he remembered a rumor regarding the Phelan after the incident with Titus. He turned to his lavender-eyed companion.
"Tybalt, how is your family?"
He received a beautiful smile, bright enough to nearly blind him. "Amazing. Thank you for asking." And kicking Titus' ass, went unsaid.
The response showed where Tybalt was currently at.
Neo decided it was better not to touch the topic any further.
Tybalt always hated his family. Even in the past, despite being a Phelan, he enjoyed misfortune befalling his house.
Neo suspected his confidence came from having a source of income to fall back on, regardless of what happened to his house. Tybalt had a variety of networks and businesses under his belt by the time he became a second-year senior. The only reason he never revealed his strength had to do with his father.
It was a complicated family situation, and not one Neo wanted to get involved with. Tybalt had been handling everything and manipulating the playing field to his favor for years, so there was nothing to worry about.
"Let's go to the dining hall." He changed the topic, not only due to Tybalt's reaction but also for personal reasons.
He and Aurelion planned to look over some information for their investigation. The younger needed to meet with his own circle of companions first, so they decided it would be practical to meet up during lunch.
Both Finneas and Tybalt paused in their steps.
A perplexing emotion showed clearly in Tybalt's eyes while Finneas tilted his head toward the ground to hide a confused scowl with little success.
It was a reaction Neo hadn't anticipated.
The more puzzled he grew, the colder his face became. He accidentally spoke in a chilly tone when he asked, "Is there a problem?"
The inquiry came out in a threatening manner.
Finneas and Tybalt froze.
"You..." Finneas began. "You... you..." He sounded like a broken record, lost for words and hesitating.
Neo patiently waited for him to finish.
"What Finneas is trying to say," Tybalt interjected when Finneas took too long to communicate—he had always been great at handling these situations— "is if you are alright with seeing your brother."
"... Aurelion?"
Neo couldn't help but say his brother's name with a tilt of his head. What did Aurelion have anything to do with this?
Did they think... he was going to do something?
"It's fine," he told them, his voice thawing slightly from its chill. "We have recently spoken. I plan to meet him there." He thought back to him and Aurelion sniping at one another in his office. The banter was light-hearted and hadn't crossed any lines.
He was even quite happy when Aurelion took an interest in his brewing.
The look on his companions' faces turned... skeptical, for lack of a better word.
It was like they were expecting him to shank Aurelion in the dining hall.
Which... alright. They had every right to be suspicious if that was the case.
When Aurelion became a first-year student in the Senior Department, Nazareth began actively avoiding the dining hall.
Breaks in Noble Academy were organized into two lunch periods. Each period took up a full hour, allowing students time to eat, rest, and roam. Junior Department students typically ate an hour before noon while Senior Department students ate an hour after noon, to prevent students from overcrowding the dining hall or the hallway.
Since Aurelion moved up into Senior High, his lunch period was the same as his. For this reason, because Nazareth didn't want to see this younger brother of his, he ate in other places instead.
No wonder both Tybalt and Finneas were so confused. The two of them followed him like loyal companions—minus the loyal part—and made for decent company.
"Still..."
Neo made a face that was both offended and amused. "It's fine," he started, and before his two companions could say another word, he continued, "The two of you presume too much. We have an understanding with each other."
Tybalt stopped pushing once he heard this. "Family, huh?"
Neo calmly stared ahead. "The incident with your brother has opened a case to investigate. Father has ordered us to work together. It's either we cooperate and succeed, or fail our father's expectations."
The Phelan bastard whistled, sounding impressed.
Neo looked down at his feet. There was a feeling of melancholy surrounding him as he felt a strong wave of remorse.
His fatigue was making him weird. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "If I'm being honest, I think it's time to stop all of this."
---
If not for the fact that the rest of the student body had already wandered off to lunch, the three of them would have made an interesting sight to behold.
Tybalt admitted the school hallway was not the most fitting of places to have a conversation like this, with all this sudden spike of emotions erratically dancing around them.
On a normal day, the three of them would use the empty corridors as a place to plot and scheme. No one would bat an eye if they were to overhear their conversations. They would only deem it as another troublemaking scheme made by the infamous Scummy Troublemaker himself.
For the last week, Naza had been acting strangely. A new haircut, a change in his behavior, a calm presence with no wicked schemes in hearing range.
The three of them hadn't even mentioned killing Aurelion all week.
No one had gotten food poisoning, the new intern professor hadn't been fired, and there was a strange lack of laboratory explosions...
Tybalt assumed it was an act.
But this? To stop all of... whatever their goals were... it was a drastic change no one had been prepared for.
What did Naza mean when he said "Stop all of this"?
To commoners—who weren't educated in the art of two-faced backhanded speaking etiquettes, such a statement could be used as intended.
It was a bit different in Noble Society.
Stop all of this.
How sincere were his words?
What tricks lie beneath promises that could be easily twisted?
Naza didn't lie, but he couldn't be trusted.
It had always been a well-known fact.
He was the least trustworthy of any honest man.
So... why had this logic suddenly been derailed?
Two weeks ago, they were plotting mischief. Royce was there too, but his sudden absence from class has caused confusion among their classmates.
Naza, Royce...
What the hell was the world coming to?
The loyal dog-like fodder was missing. The tyrant bastard was... not crazy.
Tybalt was adaptive and cunning, but change was still difficult for those who believed in permanence.
It was Finneas who finally broke the awkward silence.
"Odum," he began, and Tybalt recognized the venom in his tone. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
---
Blunt and crude. It was absolutely his style.
Finneas was related to Professor Rickman on his mother's side. Viscount Dagon was quite the masochist. If not for Odum overshadowing his less-than-stellar speaking habits with his mere presence, his Rickman traits would have shown themselves by their Junior year.
Alas, knowing what a crazy psycho Odum could be, Finneas opted to stay quiet and curse the ever-loving fuck out of the bastard in his head.
The thing was, he spoke like a common delinquent, but he wasn't stupid.
Acting like a socially awkward crybaby was going to keep his ass safer than his natural verbal flaws.
Too bad it fucking backfired on him! Being instantly taken under the wings of the crazy bastard of the Odum Family was like being chosen as a maid to scrub the master bedroom after a wild night of debauchery with overly eager participants.
It sucked ass!
—But Finneas could handle this type of behavior. He was a Dagon and a Rickman, after all.
What he couldn't handle, however, was the current situation before him.
Odum had shut down.
It was obvious by the blank expression on his face.
He and Tybalt watched him rapidly freeze into a glacier, like the rest of his family.
The Odums were terrifying creatures. Someone like Finneas, with a mediocre magic core and a whole lot of spite, was insignificant.
He should have never been under Odum's radar, but shitty luck was shitty luck, and he found himself somehow roped into the chaotic mess that was Nazareth Odum.
Finneas didn't give a damn anymore.
They had spent so long aiding a brat believing he deserved something out of his reach.
The title of Heir was never his, to begin with. He should have been satisfied with what he had. Duke Odum no doubt helped him secure a future in whatever he wanted in life, and what did he do in return?
Try to kill the heir, make trouble for the school, stamp fear into the student populace, and lower the reputation of the Odum Family.
Being a bastard child in Noble Society could be hell.
Just look at Tybalt!
So why was Odum so ungrateful for what he was given?
Finneas could never understand him.
Odum attempted to speak, his mouth opening and closing as if he was lost for words.
Honestly.
"Do you despise me for all the years I've troubled you?"
The question sent a torrent of tremors rushing into Finneas' head.
He might come to regret it later, but fuck this.
"You wasted all my years in this school trying to kill a legitimate child of your family," he snapped.
A lump was building in his throat, and he soon found himself face-to-face with Odum.
Every person had a small glass bottle in their heart. It collected bitterness and pain and anguish.
Some bottles were much better at collecting the hurt they felt, dumping them out when they knew it was time to get rid of them.
Others preferred to shove as much as they could into their bottle, slowly accumulating each emotion, drowning the heart until it was nothing but hateful poison.
—And when the heart became too dark to be recognized? There was no other way to process the agony. It needed to be removed, flushed out from the body and into the air.
"You always believed you could do anything without any consequences. But surprise, Odum! There are fucking consequences with every decision you make! Why couldn't you have lived peacefully?! I've wasted years trying to please you because I knew of how little you thought of my life. Being treated like shit by someone like you—did you seriously think we were friends?"
The bottleneck broke with years of pent-up frustration and resentment. It had brewed itself within the heart of a boy and the heart couldn't hold it anymore.
In another life, the bottle might have continued to stir, until it aged into old remorse and regret and despair. Perhaps in another life, the boy would have taken his life in a lonely little villa in the countryside when all was over, lost in his own madness and grief from the tragedies that transpired.
He would have been a few years older, being haunted by the shadows of trauma long after the villain died at the hands of his brother.
No one would know of this future, not even Neo. It was better this way for everyone.
In this life, when the villain who caused it all poked Finneas one too many times, the emotions came with a surging roar, leaving the body like a soul of its own.
Finneas had been stimulated by a few simple words, but those words were the most important to all three of them.
What would did mean for their little group if they stopped all the scheming?
Would they still be friends?
There was tension in the atmosphere.
Tybalt's usual smile faded.
Finneas had gone off-script.
They couldn't continue to perform this little show anymore. It went on for too long, and the two of them were tired of it all.
As for Nazareth?
Tybalt watched as his expression softened into a helpless smile.
---
Many times, he reminded himself to be prepared for any confrontation in this lifetime.
Whether it was Aurelion or Guinivere or Tybalt, every person he'd wronged in the past deserved to be heard.
Forgiveness... could you imagine such a thing for someone like him?
In his nightmares, Neo often saw a cliff.
Sometimes, he found himself remembering his cruel nature.
In the rare moments, he relived this lifetime quickly, all the sins he committed piling on top of one another.
He always ended up by the cliff. The edges hung low and the last of the winter storm crashed the waves against the stone.
The night he died... there was no light. It was so dark, and he couldn't even see the stars with the storm clouds brewing overhead.
The child of a whore died in disgrace despite escaping the red lantern streets.
He died with nothing, a karmic end to his beginning of destitution.
But was it not fitting for someone like him to die the way he did? How many people had he broken down until he could sate his need for their misery?
Why did he choose to be evil and drag others down with him?
How could he bear to ask for forgiveness?
Feel no pity for the way he died. It was a pathetic end for a pathetic man. He sowed discourse and reaped tragedies, and spring would never come for sowers like him.
There were those who died for him or died by association. Exile, execution, or prison. No one was spared.
Finneas had every right to be angry with him. Even at this point in time, he caused the other to feel distressed and worried for his own life, and that of his family's reputation and safety if he took one step out of line.
How could Neo expect any friendship based on fear and intimidation? Was he ever deserving of companions?
"I..." His voice came out hoarse. He raised his head to face Finneas but paused.
Plop.
Why do you cry?
Tybalt stared in shock.
Neo didn't know what to say.
Finneas glared at them, face stained with tears. His shoulders trembled, and his breath came out short.
How much pain did he bear? How could he be so brave?
Plop. Plop. Plop.
The tears fell rapidly.
Finneas was no coward. All he wanted was to live.
Neo pursed his lips.
What should he do?
"I..."
What should he say?
The dam had broken along with the bottleneck.
Neo was never much of a hugger. He didn't think anyone would enjoy his touch.
But Finneas looked in dire need of a hug.
Would he accept one? Even if it was from him?
They stood in front of each other, energy muted by feelings of regret and sorrow.
"I'm sorry..."
Words were worthless and actions spoke louder, but actions could wait—because sometimes, people needed to know when a person was sorry.
Finneas could cry as much as he wanted. This was his moment.
"I'm so sorry... Finneas..."
Guilt and remorse choke him like a rope. They tightened around his throat and tried to smother his breath.
Finneas continued to stare at him through tears. He blinked and they continued to run down his face.
"Finny..." Tybalt called his name, his tone strained with emotions.
"... I'm sorry..." Neo said again.
The bottleneck grew empty with time. The three of them remained in the hallway.
Tybalt saw Naza bring out a handkerchief from his pocket.
He held it out to Finneas.
"I don't deserve..." he started but quickly paused.
Finneas was far too good to be crying in front of someone like him. A scummy troublemaking bastard.
But he couldn't say that. Not now.
Not until the three of them could work things out.
So instead of saying anything, Neo reached out and gently wiped the boy's face with the handkerchief.
"Your tears are wasted on someone like me," he spoke, voice soft and devoid of the aristocratic accent he once tirelessly honed to perfection.
The soothing manner of speaking was taught to him long ago, in a room filled with brocade and women. This was where he first learned what it meant to be kind.
He had... neglected to practice the kindness he received back then.
Was it too late for him to try again?
Finneas refused to look at him, eyes red and swollen from his tears. But he didn't move away when Neo continued to wipe his tears.
Tybalt stood beside him, his hand on Finneas' shoulder, acting like a source of comfort.
Perhaps, if Neo hadn't been so wicked, there would have been a lifetime where he and his companions were faithful.
He could imagine what a life that would be. Every day would be precious and valuable.
No one said a word. None of them were truly ever good with words, so the three of them were silent.
Neo wiped the last of Finneas' tears and Tybalt helped him look presentable again.
The boy wore a pissy expression, but his eyes made him look even more pitiful, like a cornered rabbit in the wild.
He had his arms crossed, checking to make sure no one was going to come down the corridor.
"Let's go to the dining hall. I'll pay for the meals," Neo offered.
"Tch. Whatever."
He smiled bitterly. "Do you want a quiche?"
Finneas stared at him strangely, confused and likely apprehensive.
But then, he said, "... I want two."
And Neo burst out laughing.
It wasn't a burst of wild, manic laughter with no sense of reason.
No. Those bits of laughter were fake, indulging in a moment of madness to better fit another narrative.
True laughter came from the heart.
Few knew this, but there was a second jar. It slowly collected every piece of happiness and delight. Only when it was full to the brim, will the happiest of laughter come out pealing, leaving every part of the body warm with joy.
And as Neo's laughter died into small hiccups and chuckles, Tybalt and Finneas could only wonder if the change would be permanent.
---
Step 15. Always carry lots of handkerchiefs. You never know what could happen.