Pitch-black darkness everywhere.
Darkness, only darkness remains.
I can't feel my body, but my mind is ever the same. Fast and writing at the speed of light, and at this point that I'm currently thinking about my predicament in this dark room. I tried to move my head and look around, but I could not.
Is this limbo? Or is it a place of torture in solitude?
No, this is not solitude. This is just void, pure void..
As if the world answered my cry of desperation, the walls trembled and released an organic sound that I could not decipher other than stare in bewilderment. Suddenly, I felt my entire body appear — strange, it's smaller than I thought? Thoughts running wild.
Could I be underneath the ground, in a grave, or perhaps I am in a coffin above ground?
And one last thought that brought hope and sadness, Am I still alive?
My body suddenly were being moved against its will, seemingly sliding out as if dragged across the ground by the force of a conveyor belt. Bright lights immediately assaulted my eyes, and I immediately closed my eyes to avoid burning my eyes out.
What on earth?
I opened my eyes and saw people, both men and women standing around. But my eyes are immediately drawn to the man in front of us. Piercing blue eyes, sharp and unyielding that seemed threatening or rather stern at the same time. "Hm.."
Is this..
"It seems that she inherited none of the red hair, but my blue eyes and our unique hair." Now that I analyzed the man deeply, it seems that he wore a long dark coat with leather gloves. His clothes seemed to be in combination of white and black. His hair is raven-haired that is light grey despite looking so young.
I felt my body being cleaned with a towel, wrapped into one giant bundle and carried to someone. A woman with intelligent void black eyes and red blonde hair wrapped into a pigtail.
"Indeed." sighed the woman, regret clear in her voice and yet happiness blooms inside.
"What will be her name, then?" The man spoke, staring at me.
Wait… what?
Keep in mind what you wished for indeed….
Reincarnated, huh?
The man seemed to think deeply about the choice of the name, though, now that I think about it — the relationships between these two seemed rather different than a normal relationships in modern days. It seemed rather forced? In another universe, that I was born unlucky.. Could this be? It better not be..
The woman spoke up, "I beseech the gods to bless the name of the Scarlet Family, of our daughter, Remilia." My eyes rapidly widened, and I could barely hold back a gasp. The man crossed afterwards with a short amen. The light that enters the room from the window seemed to brighten and darken at the same time.
Born as a lady, or rather a female?
A different route of reality, or is this the same way as before to modernity?
Remilia Scarlet… Why have they given me this chance?
I couldn't hold it back anymore. I do not know whether it was instinct or merely driven by the fact that I was from home, far from my friends and my previous dream. A life unclaimed and claimed by death. I cried, something that an infant should do when it exited the womb.
"Sheesh.. When I've thought that those eyes are intelligent.." The man spoke with exasperation, the woman merely smiled. The year of 1900 has come, on the day of third of January — she was born, similar to the day he was born in the previous life.
In another perspective, the glint of the blue eyes held in the eyelids of the daughter of the Scarlet Family seemed to glimmer intelligently. The man may thought it as impossible for an infant to have a fully-grown mind, but nature is not as forgiving to possibility in this world. Impossible? No, it's possible.
Common sense rarely do apply to beings of great power after all, even if that being is still a newborn and not even a being but a human at this point. As the year progresses, so did the existence of nobility on Earth. The United Kingdom seemed to be the only country in the world to still have nobility, ruled by a Queen and nobility itself.
The green bushes of the lush land rustled as the winds went against their body, the cloudy sun above seemed to relax me more than anything. Even that should be rather ironic with my name in this life, "My, I am quite glad that my family does not force me to go somewhere rather loud." She said with a smile, the blue eyes glittering like sapphire.
By her family, it was rather strange for a child that has reached about eight years old and does not have any desire to have fun. I politely explained to my father that my idea of fun is entirely different to their idea of fun.
They realize that I gained entertainment from relaxation and studying, though, my mother seemed rather disappointed with the fact that I have no desire to be with the other children outside. My father seemed to be pleased, though.
My previous thought were correct, my family were created through the betrothed from another. Nobility still exists in this world, as I would have thought that it ended in 1800 or earlier before. It's the year 1908 today, though.
In a world where nobility still exists, my parents had to be restrictive and stern. I did not protest or defy when they subjected me to social studies, mannerism of a lady, and the fragile chains of nobility and royalty. Though, I was severely not amused when my parents tried to give me a children tale of nobility itself.
A mere propaganda, at best. To make that children believe that nobility is the state of the arts and the light within darkness, when the hierarchy itself is corrupt and cruelty ran rampant in the route of the common. In the modern days, it would be a story that fulfills the wish of the reader or at least source of entertainment.
Though, in the era where the nobles and common ran rampant. I prefer to read the studious books not the entertainment that fills the library with its words. Even that, she still has the storage of entertainment stored in her mind — the source of modern entertainment.
A sound of a step broke her thoughts, and she immediately looked up. Her light blue hair waving in intricate pattern, and eyes seemed to glimmer in focus and intelligence. At this point, she resembles more to the Patchouli Knowledge that does not exist in this world.
A man with brown coat and dark leggings, his hair swept in a dark blonde hair and an average brown eyes. Aristocratic face seemed to stare back at her, and she had thought she was staring back at her old friend but those eyes seemed to betray her thoughts. All nobles in this land has that same aristocratic face, but sometimes it reminds her of the past.
Her eyes narrowed, "May I have the pleasure of having your name, sir?" She inquired politely, the man stopped immediately and bowed his head in acknowledgment before introducing himself. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Remilia. My name is Avarentino de Gilles, heir of the Gilles family." Sounds… familiar.
"Of course. And I introduce you to myself, my name is Remilia Scarlet, heiress of the Scarlet Family." I curtsied as I stood, not too respectfully of course as I have no idea what of his intention on approaching me. "Indeed, it is true after all that the heiress of the Scarlet Family tends to be lone."
My gut twisted, there is something with this man that gave me a terrible feeling. It was not comparable to when I died in the past life, but it was still dangerous and tense. My guard immediately raised itself, and my teeth grinds against each other with the tense atmosphere that suddenly rose.
And where have I heard of the Gilles family before? The name sounded familiar, but I need to recall much of my memories to the forefront from where I have read it. "In these era, it is best to stick to knowledge more than entertainment, is it not true?" I answered neutrally, searching his body language for any signs of intention.
"Hmph, that is true. To my knowledge, is it true that knowledge tends to bring ruin to those that they have not known?" snorted the man, my eyes merely narrowed at the upcoming banter of political word-play. I immediately answered as soon as I found the words fitting for this conversation, "If those that have not known is foolish, yes."
The man eyes immediately narrowed in irritation, and those eyes glinted of something rather malicious. "What is it that you want, de Gilles, from this conversation?" I spoke bluntly as my mind whirls through memories with the speed of a solid-state drive.
A blunt conversation can lead to something, but it is also a gamble and may make yourselves look foolish and rude. The man exhaled, the breath was tense and it seemed the man was filled with rage from me answering. A hatred of knowledge? Not impossible, or rather this is a rival of my family? Likely and more possible.
"Atypical answer of knowledge," said the man dully, stepping back with an almost mechanical movement. As my mind seemed to click in place, the family of Gilles was disbanded ten years ago by a family with a focus on intelligence and knowledge. Completely different to that family and ours, so rivals are out of the way.
Revenge, then. The man is driven by rage by the fact that knowledge can bring the family to ruins and therefore the heir of the family went going to search for something similar to their fall and he found me. "So, that's what is going on here.." I mumbled, jumping back to appease the danger in my gut.
"Avarentino of de Gilles family, I present you an opportunity to be part of our family, if you so wish it." I curtsied and held my hands out to him, the man stared at my wrist with increasing rage and suddenly, my instinct raged and I immediately pulled my hand back as a sharp dagger struck the air where my hand were.
My eyes became cold and freezing, a trait that I've gotten from my mother — it froze Avarentino in his tracks, but he is still enraged by his thirst of revenge against knowledge and myself. "So, that is what you wish then." I said coldly.
"Obviously, despite your knowledge, I was an unknown until I struck you. Admit it."
"Of course, I admit that. We do not attempt to be gods, after all." I said sarcastically, dodging under a sweep of a knife that seemed much more slower than I expected. Difference in skills is to be expected after all, and with grace, I immediately dodged to the left when he did a vertical slash with the dagger.
"Daughter!" A familiar voice shouted from behind, and I did not become foolish enough to look back and become distracted by my father. "Father, call the guards!" I shouted out as I nimbly dodged above a horizontal sweep with a jump, my body is much more lightweight in this life which is quite the advantage.
"Why do you hunt knowledge with such ferocity, de Gilles, when clearly that it is the family of nobility at fault?" I tried to catch the dagger in my hand by putting my finger on the flat blade of the dagger but merely got a bleeding finger as a result. "My family could not have gotten beaten by simpletons wielding knowledge in their filthy mind! It's within their trickery to be beaten like this!" shouted Avarentino and diagonally slashed the dagger downwards.
"You've contradicted yourself, Avarentino." I simply spoke as I caught the dagger in my fingers as he went for a horizontal slash, I twisted his wrist and caught the dagger hilt in my hand. The man eye's widened, "Pride, it is then." I softly spoke with pity.
Pride is the death of all things, and so do not hold onto your pride with strength but loosely hold it in your mind and hand.
I rotated my wrist backward and aimed for his limbs to slash off and let him enter the temporary sleep of darkness, and awaken with possible prison or execution perhaps with the guillotine. "You went too far with your range control with the dagger, Avarentino. Perhaps, you could try again later?" My voice seemed cold and freezing, but it held a tone of pity and kindness.
From his shoulder to the waist is a long wound resulting from the slash from the dagger, blood splattered against the white and blue ribbon dress. The man screamed, a shattering scream that scared the birds away from the trees. It reverberated in my ears and similar to before, the satisfaction and shock came back.
Then guilt came as quickly as it did when no death came for her now. Did she go too far? She drops the weapon in her hand as she stared at the man at the ground, the man with a dull stare that looks back at herself. "Daughter!" My father seemed to have already come back with the guards, it seems.
"My lord.." One of the guards seemed to curse in disbelief, while the other went backward to fetch a doctor and heal the supposed prisoner and intruder of the family. "Are you alright, daughter?" My father seemed to be worrying himself with me, but for the time being, I felt a smile curl up in my face. It seems, no matter what world, what time, that I will still be lucky for the time being.