Victorian accompanies me in silence, walking two steps behind as if I were some important lord. Well, technically I am, but no one here needs to reinforce it that much, much less with his robotic gait, which looks ready to kill a bear with his bare hands if I ask.

The garden is absurdly calm, which is strange for this castle that is usually full of noise. The smell of the flowers mixes with that of the freshly cut grass, and the distant sound of the fountain completes the scene of "peace and tranquility" that usually precedes some kind of disaster in my life.

My father is there, sitting at a table under a white gazebo, with a steaming cup of tea and that relaxed posture of someone who has no debts, political problems, or problematic children. The sun hits him in an almost cinematic way, trying to convey the message that Duke Moonlight is a respectable figure.

At first, I even feel good, thinking it will be easy and all, until I see the PROBLEM. The creature I least wanted to see right now is sitting on the other side of the table, wearing a plunging neckline in a black bat-like dress that would attract any clueless male, like me. Ravenna, the witch who tormented my memories and almost gave me a breakdown... I didn't want to see you so soon.

Her smile is fake and cordial, but her gaze... her gaze is that new one that I can't get used to, cold, calculating every reaction of mine and seeing everything like a chessboard, where every move has already been thought out. My stomach knots up and I almost trip on the steps. I don't know why this bitch is here, but the feeling I get is that someone put a grenade on the lace tablecloth and said "drink your tea and act normal".

"Darius" my father greets me with a calm nod. "Good to see you."

I look from Ravenna to him and back to Ravenna. Victorian stops outside, upright, attentive, and I'm sure he also noticed that something is wrong here and won't even come close.

"I... I didn't know you got along with criminals..." I say, trying to keep my voice neutral, but it sounds more like "what the hell is she doing here?"

Ravenna calmly crosses her legs, places the cup on the table, and stares at me with that provocative half-smile.

"We were just talking about political matters..."

Ah, great, this is going to be bad. They are too calm for my liking. What's the chance she told my father anything about yesterday? Thinking about, it's very unlikely that the Duke would believe her, considering Ravenna technically carries the stigma of a criminal, no offense intended.

"Can I have a word with my father, then?"

"I'm afraid not" he replies briefly, getting up from the chair and straightening his waistcoat. "I need to go back to the prisoners' wing and confirm some things with my own eyes. Your... affiliate helped me a lot in clearing up certain doubts. Do you mind staying with her for a while? It's brief, I won't take long."

"Wait, but it's urgent!"

The Duke doesn't even care and walks off, completely ignoring my presence. Son of a bitch! I don't want to be near this woman at all, especially here and now, after what happened at the lake! Victorian might also overhear, which would only bury me further in this grave.

"Hey, get lost."

"But weren't we going to talk about your desire, my lord?"

"Just get out of here! Now!"

The big guy takes a step back, that brute appearance melts into a pair of sad eyes as he shuffles away. Damn, I lost control unintentionally, that wasn't supposed to happen.

Alright, I can apologize and recover from this embarrassment what I need to do is find a way to deal with this crazy bitch in front of me. I pull out one of the chairs. I can sense there's poison in the teacups hidden in the honey tail, or even that I'll be destroyed from within by an evil curse coming from witchcraft.

"Did you talk about me?"

"If I were to tell Duke Torvek Moonlight what I saw, we wouldn't be having this conversation, and I would be hanging by a rope around my neck in the public square."

She's not wrong, there's really no chance my father would believe this woman after the hardships we've been through, but it wouldn't hurt to have a political connection to use later if necessary. I cross my legs under the table, resting my elbow on the back of the chair and trying to control my nervous expression so as not to betray any anxiety.

"Still, your little secret catches my attention..." she continues, leaning forward. "You shouldn't exist in this world, Rafael."

A shiver runs down my spine. I've never been called by that name here, so much so that my memories have difficulty accepting that this was my name in my past life. It's even hard to understand, because the more "Darius" is spoken into my ear, the more hazy the memories of that time become.

"Just tell me what you want from me."

"Nothing exactly, I was just intrigued by what you kept in your head. It was also my method for testing another ability, and I loved the results..."

"Are you treating me like a rat to use your weird things? I never agreed to this in the first place, and secondly, you are now a danger to me!"

"All strong people are a danger to you, Darius. The difference is that I'm on your side and I don't intend to reveal this secret."

I doubt it! This is literally a weapon against me! You could easily blackmail me into doing various things, even forcing an arranged marriage with the Moonlight house and thus accumulating influence under the Galbraith name.

My teeth grind against each other. I feel my patience slowly dwindling, and I also don't have the courage to face her for long because that emotionless expression gives me the chills. I don't know what kind of changes she went through post-Silver Scar ritual, but I guarantee it's not normal!

"I hate that you hide all these things with mysteries and aren't direct to the point..."

"Hah. You are very stubborn. I'm just repaying the favor, isn't that enough?"

"Knowing your personality, no. You take maximum advantage of the situation and is quite sneaky. If it weren't so, how would you join the Libertarians and also kill your uncle Vandric?"

"You know me so well, I'm flattered..."

"It's not a compliment!"

Ravena takes a sip of the tea while I'm on the verge of pulling my hair out. I have the impression that at any moment my heart is going to jump out of my throat and knock the teapot over onto the table, because I tried to maintain a half-decent disguise as a bastard son, even keeping the personality!

Sometimes it was genuine bastardry, I confess, but most of the time I was acting as much as I could to ensure a peaceful life! If the church finds out... damn, they'll try to exorcise me and put me on a cross, and if it's the Magistrate of Sages, there's a higher chance I'll be dissected!

"In any case, I don't plan to tell the truth" Ravenna replies, as calm as if there weren't a life at stake in the middle of our conversation. "Perhaps the Duke would feel betrayed if he found out, or perhaps many things would make sense if this were revealed... however, some things have been quite clarified, even if I can't understand which country or dimension you came from."

"Like what? The fact that I changed from a drunken bastard to a crisis-solving rebel?"

"Not necessarily that, but the reason why you wanted to claim a favor from me after I performed the Silver Scar ritual. You want to get in touch with your old world, don't you?"

"How do you..."

"Only powerful witches can perform such a thing, and considering the circumstances, that is my most plausible theory."

Damn it.

She said the secret out loud, the secret I wouldn't even let slip while drunk. This bitch just threw it on the table and now she's analyzing me from head to toe, trying to play the innocent one. The collar of my shirt tightens around my neck. I feel like there's a rope pressing around it, ready to end my suffering.

"You're rambling. Me wanting contact with another world? Ravenna, what are you smoking?"

She just raises an eyebrow, like someone listening to a child making up flimsy excuses. Her silence gives me the feeling that I'm naked, practically caught in the act taking a shower or doing something inappropriate. This feeling is horrible, to the point where I know my expression must be giving the truth away on a silver platter.

"I'm not an idiot, Darius." She rests her chin on her hand, looking intently at me. "Your eyes betray you. You don't belong here, and no matter how much you try to act, there is always a crack in your disguise."

"Disguise? I was born here, grew up here, and became this... a walking disaster, but a legitimate disaster of this world."

"Rafael", she insists on the name, acting like a knife sliding across my skin. "You can deceive everyone. Your father, your allies, even the king, but not me."

I take a deep breath and clench my fists under the table. I should tell her to shut up, I should get up and leave before it gets worse, but my legs are chained to this chair. This is the first time someone has thrown this in my face so freely, and now I don't know what to do.

"What do you gain by poking at me like this? Do you want to see me lose control? Do you want to force me to admit some bullshit you made up just to feel powerful?"

"I already have enough power, Darius. I don't need to take anything from you. All I want is to help you."

Her teacup lands on the table again with a delicate clinking sound, while the air between us thins and seems about to explode. Ravenna stands up, extending her open hand to me, in a kind of demonic offering that I know I will fall for.

"Do you want a glimpse of where you came from? I will offer you that, and then we will be even."

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