Marcus' new friend

After the initial shock, everything just felt like a blur.

She only remembered crying and swearing.

A lot.

Truthfully, if it had happened to anyone else, say to an unfortunate main character in a funny story she was reading, she knew she would have been the first one to laugh at such bad luck.

But instead, this absurd situation was happening to her, of all people!

To recount everything that had gone wrong in the last few hours of her miserable existence :

First, she had died because of her ice cream obsession ( how humiliating !).

Then, she took a hit (quite literally) for a grandma and mistakenly got sent to the afterlife, where she got kidnapped by a she-devil in heels.

And to top it all off, she ended up getting reincarnated (against her will !) into the body of a ten-year-old boy living in a foreign world…

Was that all? Or did she have to mentally prepare herself for more misfortune ?

Her only ray of light in this bleak and unknown world had been the sweet and absolutely adorable Marcus who had stood beside her for half an hour, gently patting her back, like the sweetheart that he was.

He had had an awkward expression on his face all along, as he clearly wasn't used to comforting people.

Ah. What a sight for sore eyes. 

Life had given her one good thing in this world, after all.

On the other hand, Marcus couldn't really understand what was going on with his new friend. One minute, the brown-haired boy was laughing and having fun with him, then the next he was crying and plotting murder.

[He didn't really know how to feel about the last one.]

When Kieran seemed to finally calm down, Marcus suggested to go down to the party and look for the boy's parents, to which the kid responded by freezing up in panic.

The reincarnated girl was yet again stuck in a difficult situation.

How in the hell was she supposed to recognize parents she had never seen before?

Without leaving her much time to think it over, Marcus had already taken hold of her right hand and proceeded to guide her through the corridors leading to the reception hall.

Noticing her uneasiness and mistaking it for worry, he kept reassuring her that her parents were probably worried sick and actively looking for their dear son.

[If only he knew she was more worried about getting busted more than anything else…]

She said nothing in return and let him drag her wherever he wanted.

After all, the kid had a point.

If she didn't recognize them, they in return wouldn't fail to recognize their own flesh and blood.

But as they finally arrived in front of a pair of lavishly decorated wooden doors and entered the hall, she figured she had clearly underestimated the crowd she was about to join.

The said party was something else, entirely.

She felt her jaw go slack at the sheer luxury of nearly everything around her.

Decorations, murals, ice sculptures, buffets, marble fountains, golden chandeliers…and many other expensive things with names out of her vocabulary!

Everything seemed straight out of a fairy tale!

Her eyes glowed in amazement and she failed to notice Marcus chuckling next to her.

Marcus had noticed that his new friend was acting funny again.

First, the weird boy didn't recognize him (which was pretty weird in itself, having thought that his eye color was already a big hint to his family lineage), then he looked curiously at everything around him as if everything was foreign to him.

But wasn't he a noble too?

His finely tailored clothes clearly indicated his social status.

Wasn't he used to all of that already?

The moment was quickly lost as Marcus felt dozens of eyes set on both of them (particularly on him), not long after setting foot into the reception hall.

His smile slipped, replaced by a practiced cold and indifferent look.

Of course, the vultures were watching.

[They always were.]

The boys had probably little time left before those leeches in noble clothing would try to latch onto him to suck up to his family.

It was for this very reason that he loathed social gatherings.

He usually stayed clear from any preying eyes, choosing to seclude himself in his private library, reading books all night long.

His father had long since given up on making him come out of his shell, fully conscious of the harsh reality of the upper-class world and probably wanting to shield his only son from hungry hyenas.

Talking about his father, there he was, standing in the middle of a crowd.

He looked as if he was fighting a war, staving off advances after advances from admirers.

He was at the heart of the party, forced to socialize and lead a flock of squealing nobles.

Marcus had to admit, his father was really good at pretending he cared for idle nobility chatter.

But it was all about keeping appearances.

His father was still quite young, barely over thirty and pretty handsome, if the sheer number of women flocking his sides were anything to go by.

Since his mom had died in child-birth, Marcus' father was a highly preyed-on bachelor.

Marcus sighed.

Who was he to complain about attracting unwanted attention?

His father had it way worse than him.

At least nobles only threw young playmates at him. His father had to deal with women being thrown at him from left to right.

He scoffed internally.

As if he needed a new mother…

[How annoying].

Unknowingly, his grip on Kieran's hand got firmer.

Said boy, sensing his new friend's uneasiness, stared back at him in confusion.

"Is something wrong ?" Kieran asked, with a small tilt of his head.

Marcus found it weirdly adorable, to say the least.

Kieran was a bit smaller than him in height and also thinner, making him seem like a pretty frail and cute little boy (not that he looked manlier himself).

He was still towering a bit over him so that he could easily look down on his face, where two green orbs of ocean blue melting into forest green were staring back in worry.

The dual eye color reminded him of nature and summer breeze.

He wanted to stare longer into them but his new friend was getting fidgety.

He decided to tell the truth.

He felt like he could trust Kieran.

"The crowds." He began. "I am not very good at dealing with attention."

"Oh, I get it! Me too, I am getting a bit intimidated by all these finely dressed people. I feel like I don't belong. " he chuckled nervously.

Marcus couldn't quite correct him.

How was he supposed to tell him that, unlike his friend, he was more annoyed than actually nervous?

But it was true that he too, felt like he didn't belong.

Only his reasons were of a slightly different nature.

Then Kieran seemed to notice someone in the crowd of people.

"There !" he pointed at the figure of his father. "That man looks exactly like you! No, better yet. Isn't that just your grown-up clone of you or something ?".

Marcus stared for a few seconds then snorted, trying not to burst into ungraceful laughter.

It was a first.

No one had ever described his father as "his" clone.

It was usually the other way around, people gushing about how much he took after his father's looks.

And what with that strange wording?

His "grown-up clone", had he said?

Kieran was definitely one of a kind strange fellow.

"No" he finally admitted. " That's my father there."

"What !?" Kieran exclaimed in surprise. "But.. but isn't he a bit too young for…you know…for …"

The brown-haired boy was pointing back and forth from his father to him in a confused state.

"I know he does not look like it, but he is already 32 years old."

"Oh," Kieran said. "But still the resemblance is mad crazy !"

"Mad…crazy ?"

The reincarnated soul berated herself internally. Of course, no one here knew slangs from her old world.

She ought to be more careful and try to tame her urban tendencies in order to mimic the speech pattern of young noble.

Easier said than done.

"Ah. I meant the resemblance is …uh-uncanny! Ha-ha" Kieran laughed nervously.

It was at that exact moment that an unfamiliar voice chose to interrupt them in their conversation.

"My, oh my. If it isn't my son that I see finally coming out of his lair. What a pleasing surprise!"

Kieran turned around towards the source of the voice and nearly choked in surprise.

It was Marcus' father!

How had he approached them without them noticing ?!

The man was towering over them with a warm smile directed at the pair.

[Ugh. His smile was too blinding!

She would definitely turn blind any second now !]

Marcus, on the other hand, seemed annoyed by the intrusion.

He even gave his father a sulky face.

"Father…What are you doing here ?"

"Can't a father come to see his beloved son when he wants to? " He feigned hurt. Then a twinkle shined in his eyes. "Or maybe, am I interrupting some bonding time over here ?"

Marcus flushed beet red in embarrassment.

"Father !" he complained while the man laughed with a burst of joyful laughter.

Watching the two interact, Kieran found this man very nice.

And handsome to booth.

[No snap out of it! This was Marcus' father !

Bad ! It was bad !] 

"Oh, how impolite of me. I haven't even asked for your name yet, little one ?" he directed his attention on Kieran.

"I..uh..my ?" the boy stuttered. "My name is K-Kieran..M-Mister…" Kieran said, hopping that leaving his unknown surname out of the conversation wouldn't be seen as too rude.

[Mister ?]

Duke Valian blinked in surprise. 

No one had ever called him that before.

Usually, nobles, young and old knew to address him by his name and status.

[Could this boy actually…]

A quick glance towards his son's expression made it clear that this boy knew nothing of their family or who they were.

[What a refreshing change!]

"It's okay, you can call me Duke Valian. But I wouldn't mind if you called me 'uncle Valian', as I am sure we will be close in no time. My son seems so fond of you already." the man was clearly teasing both children at the same time.

Marcus was glowering, grasping Kieran's hand harder as said boy was blushing.

[What a cute pair~]

Kieran couldn't believe he had messed up again...

Calling a Duke, "Mister" ?! Did he want his head to be chopped off?

After taking a good look at his son's new friend, something seemed to strike the Duke.

"By any chance, little one, wouldn't you be Baron Lawley's son? You seem to possess the same unmistakable striking blue and green eyes as him ?"

[Lawley ? That name began with an "L", right?

Could it be ?]

"Yes. That is indeed my idiot son you have there, Duke Valian."

A new voice made its apparition and a man in his forties joined their side as he put a what felt like a massive hand on Kieran's head.

"He has a tendency to run off and get lost. I sincerely apologize if he did inconvenience you. I usually avoid bringing him to social gatherings…since the last time I did, he hid under a banquet table and nearly scared Duchess Millicent to death."

"That! That was your kid ??" Duke Valian was laughing hard now. "I heard she has been afraid to look under tables ever since !"

"Unfortunately…" Baron Lawley sighed.

Kieran looked up at his new father. Large build, brown locks, and pretty blue and green eyes.

"Well, I hope little Kieran here would accept bringing Marcus with him on his future adventures? My boy seems to only like books and his library. " Duke Valian said feigning despair.

"Please don't encourage him…" Baron Lawley looked down to his son disapprovingly then back to the amused figure of the Duke. "Then, if you'll excuse us, we will be taking our leave. It is already past midnight and my son has long since gotten past his curfew. This mischief-maker gets very cranky in the morning if he sleeps too late. " he said ruffling his son's brown locks.

Kieran did not like his hair to be abused like that and a pout appeared on his face.

Marcus was watching him, starry-eyed.

Unfortunately for him, his father had noticed his behavior and was chuckling.

"Then, Marcus will be sending an invitation for your son to come by and play. You see, my son seems reluctant to let go of yours." the sneaky Duke pointed at the boys' intertwined hands in amusement.

Marcus wanted to die of embarrassment as both adults laughed at his predicament.

[His father was a traitor!

His vengeance would be unforgiving…]