"Hmm-hmm…"
A young man lying on a bed stared up at the ceiling, humming.
This ceiling... it spoke of home, one that he hadn't seen in so long.
"Hmmmm~."
A gust of wind whistled into the room, slipping through a cracked window to his left.
It made the scene look picturesque, all the more so with the room filled with the scent of roses and fresh air.
"Hm-hm-hm!"
Quite cozy, and not at all unusual... yes.
Especially not with the young man's humming.
Nothing about this was unusual.
'Hm.'
Ignotus sat up, feeling the unnecessarily fluffy mattress under him, and slid off the bed.
Looking forward, his eyes met a mirror, and he gave himself a look-over.
'Yeah... I'm really back.'
He looked no older than sixteen...
His once magnificent beard was gone, making him feel naked without it...
And his hair was no longer a grayish white, returning to its true color, a pure white, ridiculously so, longer than most girls, reaching his back.
It wasn't the cool platinum kind, but more like somebody had dunked him in white paint and left him there too long. It was to the point that it almost seemed to be permanently highlighted.
His face was pretty decent, with a sharpish jawline, clear skin, and eyes the same gray they'd always been.
Oh, also, he was thin as Hell.
And if it wasn't stated enough, he was tall as Hell too.
'Six foot seven inches, maybe…'
All in all, his young self wasn't too bad.
Click...
Just as he was done admiring himself, somebody opened the door, not bothering to even knock.
It was a young woman wearing the classic black-and-white uniform.
Indeed, it was a maid.
"Ignotus."
She looked at him dismissively.
"Please..."
Her voice held obvious hate for him.
"Your parents request your presence at the meeting table."
Ignotus raised his brows.
"...only Ignotus, huh?"
The maid tilted her head, appearing exhausted already.
"Yes? Obviously. What else do you want me to call you? Gods, how useless can you be? Try to act less like a halfwit for once, would you? The entire House already pities your existence."
Not listening to a word she said, Ignotus nodded, a satisfied smile gracing his face.
'Well, I could give her the benefit of the doubt...'
'Maybe she's a westerner... they use Von over there.'
'Right, Von this, Von that; instead of honorifics, she probably got confused.'
'There's no way a maid could treat her son's employer like that, right?'
'Yeah, yeah, no way. Nobody is that arrogant and stupid.'
"Are you deaf as well as stupid?"
The maid snapped and stepped closer.
"Get moving. Don't make the rest of us get in trouble because you're too busy gawking at your own reflection!"
Ignotus flicked his head back at her, and his eyes widened.
'Oh.'
He had truly forgotten how he was treated in this 'time...' it felt novel almost.
'Still, that doesn't change what needs to happen.'
Ever so casually, he walked up to her and stopped right in front of her, towering over her.
"Are you going to throw another tantrum?"
Instead of flinching from the sheer difference in stature, she smirked, lifting her chin, staring right at him with open disgust.
"That's all you're good for, after all. A pathetic, spoiled coward—"
Smack!
Her smirk exploded into shock as his hand cracked across her face, snapping her head to the side.
"—Uggh!"
Clutching her reddened cheek, she staggered, fury flashing in her eyes.
"You… you dare—!"
Smack!
He struck her again before she could finish, harder this time, sending her stumbling into the wall.
Her trembling eyes widened, more in disbelief than pain, and she nearly choked on the sob that tried to escape her throat.
'Hm… was that too hard?'
Stunned, the poor maid continued to stare at Ignotus, terrified and bewildered in equal measure. They locked eyes in silence, predator and very, very confused prey.
Neither made a move, or that was the case until Ignotus lowered his hands, coughed lightly, and straightened up.
'That shut her down quick...'
Chuckling to himself at how simple that was, he flicked his hand at her dismissively.
Shoo.
That, she certainly did, not wanting to be before him even a second longer.
If it wasn't obvious by now, this "Young Lord Ignotus" was unhinged, as he, still without a change in expression, walked over to the bathroom to freshen and fix himself up.
Insane or not, he had manners and something of a fixation on wearing nice clothes.
'Good enough.'
Stepping back into the hall, he took his home sweet home all in.
The place was huge, with thick red carpets running along the floor, wooden walls hung with old oil paintings, and the occasional mounted sword or shield. On his left, light streamed in from tall windows, casting everything in a morning glow.
It was beautiful.
If Ignotus wasn't so, well, himself, he would've stopped and admired the view for a second.
But because Ignotus was Ignotus, he continued on his way... yet, eventually even he wasn't immune to stopping in his tracks.
He paused before a big painting on the wall.
A family portrait... his own.
Five people stood proudly in it: his father, Genus, behind a graceful woman with matching green eyes and a kind smile; a cocky-looking young man, similar to his father in appearance, only shorter; a beautiful young woman with a reserved expression... and finally, a slightly younger version of him.
Except, of course, his eyes were gray.
Everyone else had royal, vibrant green.
Ignotus shook his head.
'We share nothing but blood.'
Of course, he thought of them as family, but that was all it was. A word. They were strangers wearing the mask of kinship; never had they acted like family in his past life.
'I wonder if it'll be any different now...'
Thinking that, he continued on his way, passing maid after maid who looked away, acting as if they didn't see him.
He did the same, though not on purpose, as his attention was taken by the views outside.
Below and far out on the green and the marble, he saw people celebrating, waving large flags that held... Runes, seemingly screaming the same thing over and over.
They, of course, were celebrating the Day of Runes.
After all, the Ascension Hall would open up soon.
Ignotus would be going there.
Well, he would if he survived what was coming next...
And yes, what he stood on the precipice of was most difficult.
The likely awkward and dramatic scene of him reuniting with his family!
...May the Gods help him.