Chapter 3: Hard mode
Kill.
Fuck.
Izaya should have expected as much seeing as this family seemed to be fairly close despite their aristocratic status. But he hadn't expected them to suspect anything so soon.
Where did he mess up?
His mother's eyes looked pained. Well, it wasn't like Izaya cared all that much about a person he had barely even seen twice, but it was inconvenient nonetheless.
Right now, as it was, he lacked the information and power to do anything worthwhile.
Slipping away from the scenery without being seen he trailed back to the study.
The calmth and peace of the place he had spent hours in proved to be somewhat soothing despite lacking any genuine familiarity.
"Alright, what now?" he mumbled quietly. Hand to chin and arms crossed he let his head thud against the doorframe.
Did he want to stay here?
Not really, he couldn't care less about this family.
But moving around on his own with as little knowledge as he owned at the moment was quite stupid.
Soft clacking of dishes caught Izaya's attention for a moment as one of the maids entered the hallway. Breakfast was apparently over or canceled as she carried a set of dirtied plates. Gold, silver and expensive porcelain was carefully tended to.
Seeing as this family was wealthy and apparently well standing in society he should do the utmost to retain his status.
The mother was easy, she seemed all too ready to accept him as her son, the sister was easy to fool as well. It was the father he had to convince.
He had to find out what the lord's son behaved like prior to his death and Izaya's resurrection. And what was the easiest way to gather such kind of intel?
Right.
By conversing with the servants.
Light was shining strongly past the silky curtains at the corridor's windows, and the shadow cast was even longer than usual as Izaya approached the maid.
"May I help?"
Lifting her gaze the woman looked up- nothing but a gentle smile was presented by the successor to the mansion and yet it was as though all color had been wiped off her expression immediately.
"E-excuse me, sire-" quick, stuttered and awfully scared she grasped what she was carrying tightly before quickly heading down the hallway, leaving a very flabbergasted and confused Izaya behind.
"What?"
What the hell was that?
He was being nice wasn't he? He hadn't said anything out of line. The opposite, he had offered his help.
… maybe that was exactly what he shouldn't have done.
He was an aristocrat after all.
Maybe the act of offering help was something considered an insult to the maids, to do their job faster or anything of the like.
Certainly, now that he thought about it the approach had not been bullet proof after all.
Inspired by new ideas Izaya glanced to the right. A window was settled within the thick stone wall and freed the view to a quite astonishing garden.
A garden- filled with servants.
Izaya hadn't really figured out yet what kind of season they were having, but considering the soothing warmth seeping inside the cool castle's halls he figured it was either late spring or early summer.
Busy bustling of hardworking maids, gardeners and various other servants was to be watched from above as they cut what had grown too high and trimmed what was deemed too ugly.
They were rich after all.
Izaya hadn't been quite sure about that fact as it was one thing to own a set of expensive dishes- but it was an entirely different matter to sustain this many servants.
And they certainly looked anything but dissatisfied with their jobs.
Well except for the fact that they ran as soon as they laid eyes upon Izaya of course, but that was a different matter.
Smile spreading across his lips he pushed the soft silk of a low curtain aside, to broaden his view.
Anyway, he had scared away one maid, okay, but there were dozens others to choose from. And so he circled down.
The grand hall was gallantly ignored, as well as the dining room as he wasn't quite keen to run into his new father before knowing how to act inconspicuous. Same went for his mother, the ace he still held up his sleeve as she was quite gullible in his favor.
And so he went out.
Gardeners were addressed, maids approached and various butlers called over.
All accumulating to a grand result: A void of nothingness.
They shunned him.
From the first second he appeared in the garden all chatters were brought to an instant halt. Smiles were wiped off their faces and all expressions reverted to nothing but plain diligence as they continued their work.
Of course every single one of them turned when being addressed.
After all, Izaya was the successor to the mansion. The one who was ultimately going to inherit all their services in the event that his father died earlier or later.
But apart from waiting for straight up orders there was nothing to get.
Not a shred of small talk, not a glimpse of gossip or glance that even remotely resembled something close to intel.
Sighing heavily, Izaya let himself sink onto a beautifully carved bench. It was built of marble.
Quite cold and freezing his butt upon touch of course, but Izaya couldn't really care less as he folded his hands in front.
Great, how was he supposed to find out how his former body had acted without him in it when no one was willing to speak to him?
It was funny, considering getting information had been his previous job and his probably best skill at direct disposal it was pretty ridiculous to turn up with nothing decent after exerting this much effort.
He felt as if he were playing a game. Usually being the best at it he accidentally turned it to hard mode and now he didn't even make it to the goal.
"... my lord."
Startled from the unexpected approach, Izaya's glance jerked to the side.
A maid.
She seemed quite nervous talking to him. It was obvious from the way her hands fidgeted and her eyes looked anywhere but directly at Izaya's face. But it was one of the servants nonetheless- Quickly straightening his body Izaya flashed his gentlest smile. Careful now. "What is it?"
"Today's banquet-" Hesitating for a moment the maid swallowed before continuing. "I'm sure you needn't attend it but your lordship is still waiting for an answer."
… a banquet? Held by whom?
Their mansion? His father?
Or someone else?
Time passed faster than Izaya liked it to as the maid waited for a decision.
But what was the right choice? Considering he knew close to nothing about this Raphael Montiquieu it was a hot gamble to even try and think about appearing to a location where he might meet even more people that could grow suspicious of his character.
He also didn't know how to stay in character considering the answer itself.
Had Raphael been someone who enjoyed parties? Was he confident? Insecure?
A loner? They were of high standing so Izaya's hunch tended to a more boastful type of man, but it also wasn't uncommon for high standing families to have that one black sheep in the family. Maybe Rapahael had been highly intelligent and reserved.
Turning down the offer to show up at the banquet would be the only right choice then.
But was he?
"You can surely be excused in order to rest," the maid suddenly added, not realizing just what it was the successor was worrying about.
But a smile flashed across Izaya's expression as those exact words had given him the hint he had needed.
"No, I will gladly attend." At that the maid finally glanced at Izaya's face.
She seemed relieved.
Another indicator that he had come to the right conclusion.
"Very well," she bowed and with that she left in the direction of the castle.
As soon as she was out of sight Izaya let his back thud against the backrest.
… that was a close one.
Had he been any worse at reading people's intentions and gestures this could have very well been the end of him.
Be excused in order to rest.
This sentence alone, along with her connotation that made it seem like she was bringing sad news gave Izaya the hints he needed.
In other words, he was usually attending all banquets and parties as soon as the opportunity made itself apparent. Which meant it was absolutely the right choice to do the same right now.
"My lord." A butler, not too far off, had appeared at the end of the garden. "The carriage is ready."
That was fast.
Although, looking at the height of the sun it was probably somewhere past midday and if they needed to travel somewhere they surely wanted to arrive before any darkness fell.
Pushing himself from the bench he quickly nodded towards the servant.
Time to shine.
The carriage was just as Izaya had expected it to be.
Boisterous and unnecessarily large.
A family of ten would have easily fit inside it, but seeing as theirs only consisted of four members it was definitely anything but a crowded ride.
"Can you help me, mother?"
Izaya had already gotten inside the vehicle, his sister was next. Wearing a dress that probably weighed more than the poor child she was struggling quite a bit to lift it enough to step on the small stair.
"Hand." Surprise flashed across his sister's face as she looked at her brother's extended hand but she quickly took it without second guessing Izaya's actions.
She was obviously more than positively surprised- and Izaya noted that this was the first and last time he was going to offer any help.
Eyes growing distant and somewhat apathetic, their mother did her best to avoid Izaya's eyes.
He had fucked up again. Courtesy towards his sister was obviously nothing he showed on a frequent basis. Taking a deep breath Izaya quickly calmed his nerves.
Whatever.
He shouldn't think too much of it. His mother had already argued in his favor. Saying how he had fallen from the window and just needed a little bit of time to regain his senses really saved him a lot of trouble. All in front it was time he received.
Acting weird for a day or two was nothing to fret over as long as he kept it low. But if he slipped upon beyond that was where the real trouble would start.
A week was really not a lot of time to study a person from head to toe.
Harsh and jagged, the carriage finally moved after the last of the family had joined them inside the vehicle.
He had been last and therefore thankfully not been a witness to Izaya's latest slip.
Stares were cast, not a single word was spoken.
Awkwardness hung in the air so broadly even a blind man would have seen it.
Raphael's sister was sitting next to her mother, brushing her hair with a small golden brush spiked with jewelry from tip to bottom. Quiet hums that may or may not have been a unique composition of hers left her soft lips. She was obviously looking forward to the banquet.
And considering the effort she was putting into her looks it might as well be the first time she was allowed to join.
"Raphael, how does this look?" Casting the brush aside she quickly faced the window in order to show Izaya the back of her head. A beautiful set of strings joined by a large clip sat in the middle of two braids and kept everything neatly in place.
"You need not worry, you look astounding," Izaya smiled, and his new little sister turned with the brightest smile on her face.
"Really?!"
Ah.
That was a little bit too much joy for a simple compliment.
"How rare for you to complement your sister." Like the shot of a gun his father*s words pierced Izaya's skull.
Yeah.
Figured.
He had acted out of character again, hadn't he?
"I find it appropriate. It is her first show after all," his mother was quick on the defense and Izaya quickly showed a professional smile.
"I too think it would be best to show her confidence instead of shrieveling hesitation, don't you think?"
Silence wavered in the noise carriage for a moment, making room for nothing but the sound of hooves meeting the ground and wheels dragging along dirt.
Reluctance hung in his father's words as he spoke. "A fair point."
He wasn't quite convinced.
Of course not.
Not wanting to seem like he was waiting for his reaction or anything, Izaya forced his eyes to look out of the window. The scenery was quite astonishing. Seeing as no form of industrialisation had taken place in this timeframe there was nothing but nature's beauty to be seen.
Forests, mountains, lakes and animals undisturbed were to be seen everywhere. It seemed awfully peaceful compared to the situation inside the carriage.
His mother was a bit reserved when it came to her son, but she was definitely acting in his favor.
But the father …
Every word he said seemed to be wrong.
"Raphael, are you looking forward to the banquet?"
A trick question.
Izaya knew as soon as he heard it and the expression his mother showed only confirmed his suspicion. She had tensed considerably and her lips pressed tightly upon each other just as her hands did. Almost as if she were praying.
Both, a negation as well as a confirmation seemed to harbor some kind of risk.
Then-
"Depends," he shrugged as nonchalantly as he could manage. Aversion.
He had to stall and buy as much time as he could- possibly change the topic of the conversation entirely. "I fear I am not quite aware who we will be seeing today. The fall, it must have impaired by memory."
Silence.
For a moment Izaya's breath hitched and his father's brow twitched.
And then- he laughed.
And nothing surprised Izaya more than that. He hadn't said anything funny now had he? But his mother's stance relaxed and before she knew it a smile tugged at her own lips.
Whatever it was, something about what he had just said seemed to have been perfect.
"As if you ever had," his sister chuckled and finally Izaya understood.
This.
Raphael was not interested in politics, nor other people's standings.
… to be in this position yet not hold any interest was either extremely stupid or part of a certain goal.
Seeing as his little sister laughed and his father seemed relieved and amused at the same time it was probably the former.
A good for nothing son? Not quite. Or else he wouldn't even have taken him to the banquet.
No. There were definitely a few important traits yet to be discovered, but at least Izaya was slowly starting to get an idea of what kind of person he was trying to impersonate.
Confidence and curiosity of a playful kind started to fill Izaya's mind as his own lips curled into a grin.
This was actually fun.
Like a riddle that needed to be solved. It was challenging his intellect in a way he hadn't quite expected.
"We have arrived."
Coming to a stuttering halt the horses in front of the carriage neighed as their reigns were pulled closer.
The door was opened by one of the servants and before Izaya knew it he was presented with the view of a mansion even grander than their own.
A fontaine was the first object in view, settled right before an enormous flight of stairs leading to the entrance.
Various people were chattering and laughing in the garden left and right as they prepared themselves to enter.
The faintest hint of music was to be heard from afar. Violins and a piano or anything similar Izaya guessed from what he could perceive.
Without further adue the family rose.
A grand hall was presented as soon as the massive door opened and a butler of some sorts standing next to the entrance cleared his throat.
"Lord Montisquieu and his family," he announced curtly and the people present in the grand hall turned their heads to look.
At first Izaya thought they were just being polite, but then he saw it.
The stares. The hushed words leaving quiet lips.
The gossip. Everything stopped in order to turn their heads towards the freshly arrived family.
They had already heard of his fall and unexpected survival.
Amazing.
Technology had yet to be invented along with phones and the internet but they already knew the latest news.
Nosiness was not to be underestimated- and usually he wasn't quite fond of people who used its kind but this- was going to work in his favor.
to be continued~
Soon, soon- so far so good, Izaya is having a good time so far. The mother is nice, the father suspicious of him, but apart from that everything is fine.
You know what this is calling for C: We can't just have boring peace like this right? So let's throw everything into chaos, shall we? C: C: C: C:
See you next Saturday~ C;