Someone, Call the Archduke

Artie Shen knew for a fact that her father's hands were the steadiest. Even if he hadn't held her for a long time, she knew the kind of dependence she could get even from just relying on those hands for strength.

To see it shake like that made her heart race in terror.

A pair of dainty hands suddenly held onto them, and the scene immediately changed before Artie's eyes. She twitched when she realized that they were suddenly in a VIP hospital ward. She was seated on the bed, and her father was in a wheelchair.

On his arm were IV drips, and a nurse was holding onto his outstretched hand. His face had turned ugly and old like a decaying ancient tree, and his lips shook as if he was trying to say something.

"Artie… why won't you come home?"

!!!

Artie's eyes tore open as she gasped so loud. The scene before her was the four-poster bed of the archduke. At one side came the soft light of a candle, and Artie figured Larkin was still on the bed by then. She was lying on her back that felt so drenched so she turned to face him.

Like expected, Larkin was seated on the bed, legs on the mattress and back against the pillows and headboard. Unlike last night, he was already in his proper clothes. Moreover, he was reading through some documents with the help of the candlelight as if working so early in the morning.

"The first bells hadn't rung yet. There's still time to rest." He then slid his eyes towards her. "Unless you suffered from a bad dream?"

"Y-Yes, I dreamt of something… terrible..." Artie held onto her forehead and shook her head as if trying to forget the image. "I must have overstayed. I'm heading back to my room..."

She then lifted her face from her hand. "About the morning graces, do you… do you pray to demons?"

"Demons do not listen to prayers. We thank and pray the land for its gifts." Larkin hummed. It was normal for the angel to ask since she wasn't from their place. Moreover, the people of the devildoms used to pray to Heaven before the angels abandoned them. "Will you pray with us?"

"...it won't hurt to see it." Artie only smiled bitterly. The nightmare was terrible—too terrible for her not to distract herself with the strangeness of this new world she was in. At least, she could ground herself… that this was her new world now. She could never return to her father.

She failed to come home.

Artie moved to the other side of the bed and drew the curtain to find her way out of the bed. However, when she did, she saw a terrifying red glaring from outside the open veranda. Even Larkin threw the documents onto the bed and circled around to take a look outside.

"What's going on?" Artie got up swiftly as well, even colliding against Larkin's body. She was only caught as she wasn't ready by what she had seen.

A portion of the city was on fire! Unlike yesterday that there was only one tower of fire, an entire portion was being devoured by flames. It wasn't even the same spot as the single flame tower!

Larkin pulled on her to steady herself before he moved fast towards the door, almost in a panic. "Stay here—"

"Reporting to the Archduke!" One of the soldiers called out from outside the room. He then opened the door before saluting at the archduke. "Your Grace, the whole marketplace is on fire!"

"Find the marshal and tell him to send knights to ensure the safety of the people."

"Yes, Your Grace!" The soldier quickly ran off.

Larkin turned to the angel. "I don't have time to wait for you to get decent. Stay—"

Bright light encompassed Artie's whole body, and she turned into a brown rat. She quickly ran towards Larkin and up his shoulder. At this, Larkin paused for a moment as if he was inwardly horrified… or that he was scared for someone else… before walking off at a faster walking pace.

Actually, when he felt it was too slow, he ran at full speed!

The archduke—a nobleman with high stature and was known to be filled with grace—burst into a sprint along the hallways and jumped out of a window, crashing and breaking into the glass. Not even Artie was ready for a sudden churn of action!

The rat squeaked as she screamed while clutching at the archduke's collar. When she looked down, she saw that Larkin actually hopped from the third story of the castle—which was comparable to the sixth floor in her world. Surely, they would die if they landed poorly, right?

Shadows wove in midair as if they guided Larkin glide down towards the gates of the castle, his cape flapping out like wings behind him. From underneath came a black figure that soon appeared to be a horse. Larkin landed straight at the horse's tough back, and he held onto the reinless black horse.

"Kodiak." Larkin caressed the horse's rich mane once before holding onto the rat on his shoulder. "Take me to the heart of the fire."

The horse neighed, but it was so low and eerie that Artie was so sure that the Black Kodiak was anything but a horse. She even cried inwardly. 'This is Lupina's conquest?! This is not even a real horse! How was this thing going to give her a baby?!'

A huge maw of a gap then welcomed them. The soldiers were only starting to lower the drawbridge, but Kodiak completely evaded it and stepped into the cliff. A black mist drew underneath his hooves and helped him cross the distance while the drawbridge lowered in the background.

[You have unlocked a random event! Make use of your skills to complete the timed tasks to gain parameter points!]

[You have unlocked the skill: Whispers of the Heart!]

[In times of intense despair, the voices of the people will echo in your heart. Follow these voices to find those who need to be graced by you.]

[Complete the first active task to unlock character parameters!]

Artie's eyes widened for more than one reason. Not only was the Black Kodiak crossing an invisible bridge since the drawbridge had not been lowered yet, but she was getting notifications about a random event. Moreover, she had to complete timed tasks!

'So I do have parameters! Then again, I have to complete my first task before getting them?!' Artie almost went crazy with all the surprises hitting her face, but she was trained to have grace under pressure. She easily ignored the less important points and focused on her task at hand.

It's just that…

["The marketplace is burning down! A few families are yet to escape! The soldiers are outnumbered! How can we stand here in terror while children perish?!"]

["We… we didn't start the fire, did we? No, that's impossible..."]

["Quick! Someone, call the archduke! Someone! Anyone!"]

["We're burning his effigies! Will… will the archduke still come when we call him?"]

Artie frowned as she heard the whispers inside her head. 'The citizens dare burn effigies of the archduke, and yet they call on him in terrifying times? Are they really that ungrateful? Then again��' She turned to the archduke. 'What can he do with a massive fire like this?'