What Makes a Monster?

 Viv brushed his teeth lazily, getting ready to go attend a free tutoring session that will teach him the basics of literacy until age 13, essentially it was academy prep.

 How convenient everything was, despite the fact that he was only a Baron in name, he gets handed special treatment all for free.

 Elva was also able to follow him because of the nun's suggestion of keeping Viv company, so the court official let the two of them be taught together despite Elva's status.

 The pair were silent as they got ready, before they waved goodbye to the sisters at the church and walked down the street, following a map for directions of the tutor's house.

 Viv raised an eyebrow as he examined the streets, the seemed to be more somber today, and a street boy held newspapers with a sullen face, as he sat on a crate.

 "How much for a newspaper?" Elva took the initiative to ask the boy, who held up 2 fingers.

Giving the boy 2 coppers, Elva took the newspaper and frowned.

"There's no pictures." He declared confidently. "I don't get it at all."

 "Give me that." Viv snatched the papers from his hand, and scanned the paper, squinting at it. Unfortunately, the language here was different than on Earth, and Viv only had basic reading knowledge from the little lessons his mother Mayble gave him.

 "How do they expect commoners to read this?" Viv frowned, as he squinted at the text.

 "They don't, that street boy sells to the distinguished gentleman. But he found out anyways what the news ways from the town crier last night."

 "? What was he yelling?"

 "I don't know, I was too far away to hear. Only gentlemen have the problem of living too far away forming the announcing zone." Elva snorted. "If you can't figure it out either, let's just ask the boy."

 "I think I can read it." Viv stared at the paper. "A Royal...fell...ledge...dead."

 "Tch! How does a Royal fall from a ledge and die? I thought royals were supposed to be great..." Elva snorted mockingly, it seemed he had a grudge against nobility.

"I thought it was something important, turns out it was just this." Viv threw the newspaper into the trash. "Do you think we could get your coppers back?"

"Not after you just threw it away, stupid."

"I'll have you know I'm probably smarter than you."

"You wish, monster."

"Keep calling me that and I'll eat you when you're sleeping."

"Y-You don't scare me!"

"Stupid." Viv clicked his tongue and stopped teasing Elva, and they finally reached the place located on the map.

There was a paper sign hung up on the door.

"...what does it say?" Elva turned to Viv.

"...Lesson...closed...today..due to event."

"What?! So you're saying we came all the way here for nothing?" Elva sighed, angrily kicking a piece of trash.

"It seems so."

"Let's go back, damn people think they can just waste others time like this."

Elva led the way back, as Viv followed behind, looking at the streets. For some reason, a bad feeling kept aching in his stomach...

—

 That night, Viv yawned as he looked out the window. It was a full moon today, he should go pay that brat a visit.

"You're leaving?" Elva woke up from Viv's faint jostling of the bed.

"Yeah, go back to bed." Viv frowned. Ever since that incident, Elva slept really lightly, something that amazed and amused him. After all, he used to sleep like a log before.

Elva didn't respond, as he just silently watched Vivillian.

"Tsk, don't blame me if you get scared." Viv scoffed, as his body twisted, his bones creaking as he turned into a black dove and flew away.

The moment Viv left, Elva's expression paled as he felt sick.

Not good, it'll take a few years off his life if he sees that again...

—-

Viv flew in his familiar flight route, before pausing and stopping in his flight. Below him, a candy vendor was selling special sugared fruits.

"...The Princess would probably like that." Viv swooped into an alley, transforming back into a boy before buying 3 candied fruits for 2 coppers.

The money system in this otome game was relatively simple, 1 copper was basically a dollar, a silver 10, and a gold coin 100.

Some commoners lived their lives never seeing a gold coin before, but the nobility thrived in them.

After securing the candied fruits into a pouch, Viv dove into an alley, and soon a bird holding a pouch appeared and flew towards the big and tallest building, the palace.

He ignored the various security that seemed to be amped up around the place, probably because of that one Royal that fell down from a window. Vivillian bet it was some drunken bastard who did it too.

Reaching the little princess's balcony, he paused as something felt amiss, the curtains were closed unlike usual.

He didn't immediately turn into a human, instead hopping onto the balcony floor and used his bird eyes to look inside.

Inside, a lone dark haired woman sat on a chair, facing the little Princess's bed. She wore a dark, mourning dress, her eyes devoid of any emotion as she just blankly gazed at the bed.

 On the bed, a small portrait of a familiar little princess that he knew.

 "..." Vivillian felt his heart began to pound, his brows furrowing as he made sense of the situation.

A royal had fell to their death from a window...

A woman with a mourning dress, and a picture on the bed...

 There's no way that she died.

I'm sure she was an important npc...!

 Not wanting to look anymore, Viv gulped and flew away, leaving behind the candied fruit pouch.

 How did she fall down the ledge?

 This question rang in Viv's mind, how could she have fallen down? She's afraid of heights, she wouldn't have gone over the safety fence...

 Viv slowly drifted to the ground, as he turned into a boy again, and found a bench to sit on, blankly looking at the ground. It seemed he was still in disbelief at the sudden, unexpected death.

—

 "I enjoy having you here, Angel...everytime you come, I feel as though I can fly too! E-Even if I don't have wings like you." The little Princess giggled, handing Viv a piece of candy.

 "I don't want it." Viv frowned, turning away the candy.

 "But I saved it just for you..."

 "I don't like sweets."

 "Then what do you like?"

 "...I like salted nuts."

 "Alright then! Next time you come, there will surely be salted nuts!"

—-

 "..." Viv sat on the bench, his head leaning on the wood. He wasn't particularly sad, he wouldn't be. After all, he had only met her a few times. It was just disappointment, that's all.

 Letting himself even tolerate an npc's behavior was his first mistake, he shouldn't have fallen for the sympathy card when she said she was sick. He didn't even know that girl's name for goodness sake, and nor did she know his.

 They were just beneficial acquaintances, that's all, nothing more nothing less. To him, she was nothing more than a useful princess, and to her...she probably thought of him as just a tool to access the outside world.

 "Angel, it's nice to know you're younger than me...meeting you truly was my reward for fighting for this long."

 Her voice echoed in his mind, causing him to pause.

 "To be honest, my only friends are my maids, but I don't think that counts...ahem, d-don't tell anybody I said this but...I consider you my first actual f-friend."

 "..." What a stupid girl, putting so much trust into a boy whose name she didn't even know.

 And how stupid of him, everything and everyone is fake, just a bunch of code strung together. Only he himself is the true real person in this accursed world.