Words of Courage

The sun was shining brightly through the streets of town. It was unusually busy with flocks of people that were marching in the direction of the Seine University. Of course, those were not students, not even local residents, but visitors from afar. They were dressed neatly in smoking suits for men and lush dresses for women. The Fire of Prometheus is closer with each hour, all the preparations were set and only the traditional date is stopping people from flooding the front gates of the castle of Beaumont, where the restaurant stood. 

Among noble passersby was a familiar face, Eleonora von Schwarz, the customer Eugene served a few days ago. She felt his gaze and waved at the man with a smile, Eugene waved back, but did not come closer. The people she was surrounded with were intimidating to him. Some were old men that looked like Arnold, although with more grey hair and arrogant demeanour, one of them was even wearing an eye patch!

"Are you familiar with those people?" asked Lawrence, to which Eugene said, "Just with the girl over there, one of the more pleasant clients. Anyway, what did you guys want to tell me?"

Once again, Lawrence and Maurice exchanged gazes and in motion pointed at the pub near the café. Arnold surely would not approve of this idea, but he was the one who initiated an early leave for the man, thus all the blame could be laid down on Arnold. Eugene followed those two and to his surprise they did not order drinks, just some tea and water.

"We could as well drink coffee at Monso Rooster." said Eugene in confusion. Maurice, however, pointed out, "You were the one who rushed us away from the cafe! You also should be sober to hear this story, I can understand why people are calling this la Avise family crazy."

"Well, you can't judge everyone by one encounter. It was their butler who threatened us." added Lawrence, making Eugene raise his brow, "Ok, what the hell happened? Can you tell me the whole story?"

Lawrence looked at Maurice, who nodded and started speaking, "Yeah, so, after I talked with Lawrence, we went together to their manor. I wanted to apologize to Sylvia first, as you suggested earlier, but it failed miserably. We knocked on the door and the one to open was that weird man with a monocle, similar to the one Arnold is always wearing. We explained to him the situation, and he was totally listless about it, just asked us to leave. Then, we noticed another man inside who was removing a painting from the wall. Then, this asshole pushed us and took out the pistol from his pocket! Can you believe it? He was about to shoot, but we managed to run away. What is the fucking deal with him?"

"A gun?" asked Eugene in a trembling voice. Lawrence silently confirmed Maurice's story with a nod. The butler in question was certainly Vincent, the pesky lad that drives Sylvia back home. But why would he threaten visitors? Why not just send them away in peace? Perhaps, they saw what they should not have seen?

"What can you tell about the man with a painting?"

Lawrence was the first one to speak, "I saw him quite well through the butler's legs. He was wearing a messy suit, with spots of red and yellow paint all over the sleeves. Quite peculiar design, however, Douglas would certainly not approve it."

"I only saw his face and… he was a normal old man with a pointy moustache, he did face us, so I only saw his profile." added Maurice, setting the table for thoughtful silence.

Eugene immediately had an idea regarding the identity of that man, it was so bizarre and unlikely, that he immediately withdrew from it. But to be sure, he asked one more question, "What about the painting, do you remember how it looked?"

"I did not see it." immediately said Lawrence, though, Maurice hid his mouth under the palm to dive deeper into his memory. After a short while, he finally said, "It kinda looked like the one you have at Monso Rooster."

"Hello, everyone, how are you doing?"

The men jumped in surprise at this sudden greeting. But as soon as they saw the face of the newcomer, the tension in their faces loosened up, and they all greeted her with a smile. One man, Lawrence, even went further. He stood up and hugged the gal while saying, "Hi, hi, Cossette. You scared the soul out of us!"

"Hey, Cossette." timidly waved Maurice to her.

"As you can see, we are having some healthy afternoon. Care to join us?"

The woman hugged Lawrence back while giggling. Then, she faced Eugene and rejected his invitation with a sigh, "Unfortunately, I can't. I am in a hurry right now. By the way, have you seen Douglas? I can't find him anywhere?"

Lawrence released her from his arms and raised his brows, "Did you have a fight again? Why is he always the one to hide from you?"

Cossette smiled wryly and glimpsed at Eugene. Then, she said in a less cheerful tone, "Well, you could say we had a fight, but it is not big of a deal. Anyway, how is your relationship with that woman going, Eugene? Douglas told me about her more than necessary, but I would like to hear about Sylvia la Avise from the one who actually spent some time with her."

"The hell was Douglas even saying about her?" sighed Eugene, leaned on his chair and continued, "Well, we also had a fight, and now I am trying to figure out what the hell should I tell her. There is also problem inside their household as well. I think one of their home workers might be connected to the Phantom Cormorant."

All the on listeners remained silent. Eugene also was looking downwards in doubt, since his assumption is based on what Lawrence and Maurice saw at that time. Still, with such case, he could not be overly cautious. If the Phantom Cormorant was indeed acting under la Avise household supervision, it posed a threat to Sylvia. In the end, she was currently searching for clues to find the culprit, as well as Sofia, the reporter who figured out Sylvia's identity back in Paris.

The first to finally react to Eugene's words was Maurice, he said, "Phantom Cormorant? The one that stole the plate from the bakery in the park de la Piquette?"

"That is a brave assumption, but it actually would make sense why that butler pointed a gun at us." agreed Lawrence to this theory, which made Cossette gasp from shock, "Pointed guns at you? What the hell happened!?"

The one to explain the story was Eugene, "Long story short, they went to the la Avise manor, to apologize to Sylvia for the mishap that happened between me, Maurice and Sylvia in a game of chess. But there, they saw a strange man with a painting reminiscent of the one at Monso Rooster, and their butler did not like it and chased them away with a pistol."

"This is terrible…"

"Yeah, and now there is a possibility that Sylvia is living under the roof with the person she is trying to hunt down. Of course, we had to quarrel at this time. What even should I say to her, when I come? Blabber about the connection of Vincent to the Phantom Cormorant, or should I first talk about what happened at the Seine University? I do not know."

Now, Eugene leaned on the table, pushing away half empty cups of water and tea. This whole situation spiralled downwards way too hastily. Not only should he made up with her and get over the resentment, but also, explain the testimony of his friends, and not make it look like an excuse to see her once again. The two men were also silent, too immature to give advice for this kind of occurrence, however, the woman least familiar with the situation spoke to the man.

"Eugene, can you answer to one question?"

He reluctantly raised his head to face Cossette, who then said, "Sylvia is important to you, right?"

"What kind of question is that!?" protested the man, but she shushed him, "Just answer me."

"Well, I would say yes, she is my friend."

"Then it is enough of a reason to visit her. Eugene, we like to feel special, we like to be important for the ones we care about. It is a bit embarrassing to say, but I would love it if Douglas just came here and apologized, my heart weeps at the thought of being unneeded… She is waiting for your move, Eugene. I am sure of it."

The three of them dove into hush once again. Maurice slowly nodded in approval of her words, Lawrence sulked a little, and Eugene grimaced from a sudden wave of bitterness that went down his throat. If she truly waits for him, wants to see him, then why is he idling miles away from her?

Eugene stood up and left a coin to pay the abysmal price for the water. He walked to Cossette, took her hand and smiled at her, "Thank you, I think I know what to do now."

She smiled back and said, "Always ask older women for advice, Eugene."

He giggled and turned his back to the three who saw him off with their gazes. Before finally departing to the la Avise household, he said, "You are not much older than I am, though."