Read Kingdom Of Twilight :: Death And Dreams (2)

So I'm not dead?
I woke up to a pretty maid splitting the curtains. The sun trickled into my room and I was able to really admire the wealth that lay in it.

Besides the bed I was on, there was a settee with a coffee table in a corner. A large writing area in another corner, and a massive wardrobe that was not full yesterday. Each piece of furniture was exquisitely crafted, and seemed to be worth more than its weight in gold. But the most attention-hogging part of the room was the massive glass windows that overlooked the beautiful lands of the Kim Archduchy.

"Young master, please get changed and refresh yourself. You are expected to meet your family soon in the garden." Hugo walked in, holding a large timepiece.

It seemed that nothing had changed from last night. Welp, at least it's not hell. And with what I can deduce from the calendar, maybe I had been reincarnated?

Ha...

This sucks.

I followed Hugo's instructions and changed into my new clothes. A pair of black shorts, a grey waistcoat, and a white shirt accompanied by tall socks and polished black shoes. I looked like a wuss, but I was rocking it.

I walked down the halls of the house alone. Hugo had disappeared somewhere, but I knew where I was going. I had been in this mansion before, and nothing much had changed in two centuries. The path to the dining room was a short one, but it passed through a corridor adorned with portraits.

The first was one of the duke and his family. They seemed happy in the picture, and I saw for the first time, the face of the boy who I had replaced. Mesgen was smiling brightly, holding a young Emma in his arms. Seated beside him was his mother, with Elaise on her lap, and Duke Arman standing proudly behind them. They seemed to never have gone through a hard day, and it hit me that if this was the future, what happened to the war?
"I need to get my hands on a history book," I said out loud.

"Why?" A gentle voice asked from behind me.

I turned around to face the duchess. She stared at me intently, bending slightly to bring her eyes close to mine. It seemed she was waiting for an answer, but I couldn't form any words.

Well, what else could you expect from a thirty-year-old virgin? I'm still an adult despite my body, and this lady was quite the looker. Duke Arman, you lucky bastard.

"You don't need to be so tense. We'll be seeing each other a lot from now on. Besides, as your... mother, I- I am someone you can say anything to." She kneeled in front of me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Look, I know you are probably confused. Even I am. You are still just a child, but that is why we need you. I didn't say anything to you yesterday, but don't feel like you should distance yourself from us. Arman's just in mourning, but soon he'll be back to his jolly old self." I could tell she was trying to be friendly, as her personality seemed so angelic.

"And your new sisters too won't treat you any different from how they treated Meggie. Well, they don't know that you aren't the real Mesgen either, so there's that." She smiled and I nodded. "Ah! And by the way, my name is Marigreen Kim. Nice to meet you properly."
"Nice to meet you too," I responded. Marigreen, huh? That was my real mother's name as well.

"So... I lost track of what I was trying to say. Oh, yes! Why did you want a history book?"

"To read, please. I always wanted to learn about the world, and I thought I could do it here, your exce- I mean duche-"

"Call me mother," She cut me off, "And you can learn anything you want here. We have a grand library where you can pass the time reading whatever you wish to."

She stood up, and as she did, I realized how tall she was. Compared to the towering duke, she seemed small, but in reality, she seemed to be five-foot-eight, or maybe even five-foot-nine.
We walked together towards the garden, where I joined my new family for breakfast, and after a quiet meal, the duchess led me to the library.
I stayed there the entire day, reading books about history, and she kept me company, reading a novel in the corner, but always glancing up to observe me for a few moments. I enjoyed the quiet presence that she and the occasional maid had, as I was able to read a lot about what had happened in the past two hundred years.

After fifty years of continuous war, the Kimar kingdom's knights were able to subjugate the Dread Forests...

...and unite the five nations under one ruler, which we know today as the Kimaron Empire...
...many lives were lost, but through the turmoil, the nations of man, allied with the draconians, were able to seize victory... ...against the shallows, and sign a treaty of non-aggression with the elves, dwarves, and giants...
...although not quite extinct, the population of shallows is reported to only be a tenth of what it once was...

Notable figures include his majesty Regil Kim, who signed the treaty, and later became the first emperor of Kimaron...

So Sir Regil became king? That must mean Arman is his direct descendant then.

...along with the rulers of the other four nations, Damitia, Hirunika, Ormania, and Tygeria...

...and the great knight Gamiese Karr, who died facing the warlock...

...his line continues to this day in the Karr archduchy...
Me?
Karr archduchy?
But I never had a next of kin after my brother Gamon died.
This is worth looking into.

"Found something interesting?" the duchess questioned.

She must have seen my surprised reaction, and I realized that I probably looked really stupid being so shocked over boring history.
"No, your- I mean... No mother." I replied.
She didn't seem convinced but returned to her book. It wasn't too big of a deal to press on about.

I'd better do some reading on the Karrs then, I thought as I returned to the book.
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