C122: Double meaning

Sunday arrived.

As morning broke, sunlight filtered through the tall windows of the mansion, illuminating dust motes drifting in the air.

Izzy directed Arnold to greet Erin, their newly acquired tenant. The girl was uneducated, yet she had willingly offered to clean and maintain the mansion. Izzy saw no reason to reject the girl’s choice.

Afterward, Arnold prepared to leave.

He wrapped a bandage around his head, covering the burned skin. He stepped out through the mansion gate, the iron hinges creaking as they opened.

Perched on his shoulder was a small bird. Inside his coat, a mouse nestled close to his body.

The moment Arnold stepped beyond the mansion grounds, the forest greeted him.

The air was cold, clinging to the skin. The ground beneath his boots was soft, layered with leaves and mud. Insects buzzed incessantly, their irritating hum blending with the distant rustling of unseen creatures moving through the underbrush.

Tall trees stretched endlessly in every direction, their dense canopies forming a fractured ceiling overhead. Sunlight struggled to break through, spilling down in thin, scattered beams that painted the forest floor in uneven patches of light.

As he pushed through a thicket of ferns, Arnold spotted a figure sitting in silence atop a fallen, moss-covered tree trunk in the center of a small clearing.

“Hmm?”

This unknown man seemed preoccupied with the forest floor. He held a thin tree branch in his hand, using it to trace meaningless patterns into the dirt. It was a drawing of ribbons and small, detailed button shapes.

Without drawing attention, Arnold’s hand slipped beneath his coat, holding the familiar handle of his hidden knife. He kept his stance low and cautious, his gaze locked onto the stranger.

“Who are you?”

At the sound of his voice, the figure paused and looked up.

The brim of a top hat tilted slightly, his features emerged clearly.

The man looked utterly ordinary; there was nothing that stood out. He wore a well-tailored black suit, buttoned neatly from chest to waist, with silver thread trimming along the cuffs and lapels. A tailcoat was draped over his suit, matched with a white bowtie.

He looked like any refined gentleman in this era. He must be a wealthy person simply exploring the world.

The man immediately rose to his feet.

With smooth motions, he unbuttoned his cuff, removed his top hat, and revealed clean blond hair, neatly parted down the middle.

He bowed with a flawless posture and offered a polite smile.

“Good day, sir, I’m a traveler—”

‘Hmm?’

Through Arnold’s ears, Izzy heard the man’s perfectly normal. It was the sweet voice of a man who belonged in high society.

However, in Izzy’s ears, the one in the Mindscape, a completely different word transpired.

“I know you, sir, most likely don't remember this, even after we have met many times already,” his voice whispered directly into Izzy’s mind.

“What do you mean?” Arnold frowned. Inside his mind, Izzy herself was momentarily disoriented, struggling to reconcile the voice in the vessel's ears with the voice in her own.

“Hm?” The man paused mid-motion, his fingers still lightly adjusting his cuff. A flicker of genuine surprise crossed his face.

He quickly recovered, dusting off his sleeve as if nothing unusual had happened, before offering another polite bow.

“Allow me to introduce myself. The name is Mister Gentle. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, sir.”

That was what Arnold heard.

However, in Izzy’s ears, the words changed into something else.

“I didn’t expect you to hear my true voice.”

Without another word, he turned his back to Arnold and walked deeper into the trees, gesturing for Arnold to follow him.

Skeptical but driven by an intense need to understand the anomaly, Arnold followed the man in the top hat, watching closely as the gentleman’s fingers continued to nervously, continuously fiddle with his silver cuff.

Arnold hesitated for only a moment before following cautiously. The hidden knife was still held tightly in his grip. His eyes remained fixed on the man ahead.

Mr.Gentle walked at an unhurried pace, continuously fiddling with his cuff.

“May you elaborate on what you meant earlier?” Arnold probed carefully. His hand remained hidden beneath his coat.

‘What does he mean by we have met many times before?’ Izzy wondered suspiciously through Arnold’s eyes. From every angle she examined it, the statement made no sense. This was their first encounter. Izzy had never seen this man before.

Unless—

“I mean exactly what I said, sir. Three times? Four? To be honest, even I am no longer certain how many times I have had this conversation,” the man replied.

That was what Arnold heard.

Yet once again, Izzy heard something entirely different.

“It’s fascinating that you, sir, can hear me now. What is the difference? This is strange indeed.” It was as if the man were talking to himself rather than Arnold.

‘Ugh…’ Izzy grimaced inwardly. Hearing two completely different conversations simultaneously through two separate layers of perception made her head throb. The overlapping voices created a dissonance that was difficult to process.

“How did you do that…?” Arnold asked, shaking his head to clear the headache.

Gentle paused for a moment, his fingers stilling briefly at his cuff.

“Is it too rude of me to speak like this? The fair lady did warn me not to indulge in such behavior every time. I suppose, being a gentleman of my station, I should refrain from such confusing displays.”

“?” Arnold tilted his head, clearly confused.

“Forgive me, sir Arnold. It was indeed rude of me” Gentle said, his eyes finally meeting Arnold. “Has your mind grown stronger? That is very odd...”

“My mind…” Arnold murmured. Inside the Mindscape, Izzy tapped her chin thoughtfully.

‘The black monument didn’t mention anything about this man.’

Was this meeting a new occurrence in this iteration? Or was it the first time they were capable of noticing him? What was the difference this time around?

‘It’s probably because of the gift,’ Izzy concluded after a brief moment.

[###’s Mind], the one that would sharpen her intuition and resist cognitive interference. That was the only logical conclusion.

‘Then, am I…?’ she furrowed her brows. ‘What did I just think of again?’

As they continued walking through the forest, weaving between trees and stepping over tangled roots, Gentle casually plucked a small twig from a nearby bush, twirling it idly between his fingers before tossing it aside.

“I really hope you won't be too harsh with Miss Miller, sir. She is a remarkably hard worker, I know.”

‘Hmm?’

This time, the voice aligned. The disorienting double meaning in his speech disappeared. Both Arnold’s ears in the real world and Izzy’s perception received the exact same words.

‘This is so strange…’

She returned to Arnold’s perspective, as Arnold shook his head to steady himself.

“You know Erin?” Arnold asked.

“How could I not?” Gentle smiled, his fingers returning to his cuff, unbuttoning it, fastening it again. “All things considered, I am the one who guided Mister Glen Rindell and his little group into the forest.”

‘Huh?’

Arnold’s heart skipped a beat, a sudden jolt running through his chest.

“‘Ignore any intuition and complete the final deal.’ Something along those lines, perchance?” Gentle added, tilting his head slightly as if recalling the exact phrasing. He paced in a small circle around a cluster of mushrooms at the base of the tree.

Arnold’s heartbeat quickened, a frantic drumbeat of sudden panic.

It felt as though he had just stumbled upon something important, and yet… he couldn’t grasp it. The information remained just out of reach.

‘Why am I like this…?’ Sweat gathered along his palm, dampening his grip. His eyes fixed on Gentle, warily.

“Do not trouble yourself, sir,” Gentle said lightly, his tone returning to that same calm politeness. “It is nothing of great consequence. It is not as though you will remember any of this conversation once we part ways.”

Arnold winced. “I see…?” he replied. Slowly, he loosened his grip on the knife beneath his coat, allowing his posture to relax.

“Although it may be a little early,” Gentle continued, casually adjusting his cuff, “perhaps it is time for me to meet your master, sir Arnold.”

“I don’t have a master,” Arnold rebuked immediately.

Gentle only chuckled. “I know, sir. You have said that a number of times already.”

“Then why are you still— hmm? A number of times?” Arnold frowned, his brows knitting together.

“As I expected, she has already noticed it from the beginning. She is quite the strategist,” Gentle noted, stroking his clean-shaven chin in deep thought. “Your master appears to be a remarkably cautious lady. Cautious enough to make you believe she is not your master at all.”

‘What is this man yapping about now?’ Arnold’s confusion deepened with every word.

The more Gentle spoke, the less coherent everything seemed. Inside the mindscape, Izzy felt a spike of frustration rising in her chest.

Gentle, however, seemed unconcerned. He lifted his gaze toward the sky, where the light filtered through the dense canopy, and let out a sigh.

“Regrettably, time is running short. I am not entirely certain what that old gentleman has done to this forest, but it is undoubtedly nearing its limit. I can sense it.”

His fingers moved again, unbuttoning his cuff only to fasten it once more.

“I understand that the seed is important. But at this rate, everything will be lost if she fails to awaken and perishes,” he continued, his voice thoughtful, “Perhaps it would be wiser not to rely on the plan proceeding smoothly…. Extracting her and relocating her elsewhere might be the safer alternative.”

“What plan?” Arnold asked, his heartbeat quickening again.

For some reason, he felt as if this man was speaking of important things, yet at the same time, it felt as though the gentleman was only yapping about unknown and irrelevant nonsense.

Gentle turned to him with a faint smile. “I understand, sir, that you may very well be an outsider. In truth, I am rather relieved that you are not ‘it’.” He lifted a finger to his lips in a subtle gesture. “Still, I must advise, it would be quite impolite to pry into matters that do not concern you.”

“My apologies…” Arnold bowed slightly. A moment later, he blinked, his brow furrowing.

‘Why did I suddenly apologize?’

The thought lingered for a moment, but quickly faded. After all, it was rude to intrude into another person’s affairs. That much made sense.

Gentle spoke calmly as he adjusted his top hat, settling it firmly back onto his blonde hair. “This will likely be the final time we share such a peaceful conversation, sir Arnold. Brief as it was, I must say, you have entertained me greatly.”

He raised his hand and gestured toward a direction beyond the trees, where the outline of the village emerged.

“The village lies that way, sir. And as a final word of caution, though I suspect you already understand this, please refrain from wandering through the forest again.”

He offered a final, pleasant smile. “There is nothing there.”

Arnold nodded. He offered a small bow in return, and walked toward the village, his boots crunching over the fallen leaves.

Behind him, Gentle remained where he stood. His fingers once again moved to his cuff, unbuttoning it, fastening it, repeating the motion as his smile deepened.

Without another word, he stepped backward into the shadows of the trees, his figure gradually dissolving into the darkness of the forest.

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