act29side

I'm going out. Would you like to come with?

...Alright.

Give me a moment.

What is it?

Drei, zwei, eins...

Frau Seemann, guten abend!

The window facing the street opens in response, and a woman with a furrowed brow holds a paintbrush, gazing into the distance. The young girl waves to her, smiling as bright as the marigolds lining the alley.

Frau Seemann takes a break and opens her window every day right at this time. She paints all morning, then looks into the distance, listens to music, relaxes, and looks for inspiration.

That's odd, looks like she's in a bad mood today. She closed the window without waving back. Maybe she's having trouble with her art. I should go see her with Mutti tonight.

You know the neighborhood well, Vivian.

You mean Karl Schmidt Street? Of course I do. I've been here all ten years of my life!

Did your parents always live here?

They were away for brief stints a few times, I'm not sure why... But they always came back.

When you compare it to the rest of Zwillingstürme, Karl Schmidt isn't anything special. We've got a few flower shops, a bar, paint stores, and some stout buildings. We don't even have a spire.

The people here are ordinary, plus a few struggling artists and nobles... but my parents really like it here.

Have they ever had any trouble?

Vati mentioned some trouble before. But he's been prepared for anything since he decided to stay.

Did Werner von Hochberg find a way to become common?

Vati's not so common! He may only teach literature at the commoners' school in Wein, but the big kids there respect him a lot.

I see...

He probably used all his connections in Sturmland and Zwillingstürme, spent all his savings, maybe even changed his appearance...

It's no small thing to give up everything one has.

By the way, Vivian, is that a cake you're holding?

Ja, the lady next door taught me. The marigold's stamen has a bitterness to it, but when ground into powder and pinched into a cake, its fragrance helps balance the sweetness.

Mutti found a job in Bachshof, earning a bit more than before. She's working as an editor for her favorite poetry journal! She gets home very late though...

So I said I'd bring her lunch for a whole month.

Isn't that exhausting?

Mmmm... you smell that?

What?

When the breeze picks up, the fragrance of the coffee shop up ahead wafts on over.

I help with as much as I can so Mutti and Vati won't be so tired. At least enough that they can take me to Frau Seemann's gatherings on the weekends.

They hold my hands as we walk down the long alley to her house. There are so many interesting people there. They play the piano so well, and speak so eloquently.

I like it here. I don't think it's exhausting.

...I'm glad of that.

Viviana.

This is a wonderful life too.

What's this? Wasn't that... Lucinda?

How could such a well-behaved commoner have offended anyone? Did she write something she shouldn't have? Why did the authorities come so quickly? Is there any explanation?

They were gone as quick as they came, what else can we say? (Whispering) Be careful what you ask. It probably has something to do with her husband.

Werner?

I've heard he's actually the heir to the Kurfürst of Sturmland, living incognito with his wife and daughter on Karl Schmidt Street for the past decade.

I've gotten along with them so well all these years, I'd never have guessed. He's hidden himself so well...

Oh, how could that be!

Rumor has it Werner didn't show up to class this morning. Who knows if he was taken away by a Hochberg vassal or the Empresses' Voice?

Odds are it was Frieda Seemann who gave him up. That woman's out of her mind.

Shhh, keep your voice down.

The cake thuds as it falls to the ground.

Viviana hears sobbing. The fragile shoulders before her tremble, like flowers battered by the wind.

She holds the girl's hand tightly.

Vivian... Don't look.

Seniora Yulia Schüler, I perceive only vague silhouettes of the remnants. Could you clearly point out the locations where they may be hidden?

My patron firearm may be of use. I will guarantee your safety.

Um...

Herr Executor, you may have misunderstood.

Those men aren't here to do anything to me.

When I first saw the masked people, I would keep my distance and hide, but I later found they weren't concerned with me at all.

Their appearance in any particular part of 'Zwillingstürme' usually means there's a new threat... they're more like a 'signal.'

'Threat'?

Not a true threat, I... I don't know how to explain it.

It's like... a natural disaster beyond human comprehension, abnormally bad weather, or a waking nightmare...

The atmosphere in 'Zwillingstürme' has taken a turn for the worse, especially recently. The clouds are heavy, and even the sunset looks faded. I'm always hearing loud, thundering noises.

Several times, I awoke to find a whole chunk of 'Zwillingstürme' completely empty.

So many prominent buildings seemingly dug away by something, leaving only an empty space where they once were. Like a whole section of history had been erased.

The threats erase the spires of different eras without a trace, gradually consuming all of 'Zwillingstürme.'

And sooner or later, the small alley I live in will be next.

So you jumped out to prevent me from using my patron firearm.

You've been protecting this place.

Ja. I've never seen you before.

I've had a powerful premonition this time.

A premonition.

Such feelings are usually nothing more than psychological indicators. Without backing in logic, it is difficult to take action upon them.

But the Witch King's remains have indeed appeared...

Herr Executor, when you live in a place for five or ten years, when you become a part of it, you develop senses like a fowlbeast, and can smell the storm before it comes.

You would aid the 'Echoes of Herkunftshorn'?

No, this is my own thing. Even if they didn't appear today, I'd find a way myself.

But how will you fight against those disasters, the weather, or the waking nightmares?

With those Arts devices you're carrying...?

The truth is, I've been going to different places at around this time each day. Especially to those blanks and the edges where buildings have vanished.

That's dangerous...

But I collected enough devices from those places.

They seem to be some sort of echo device that collects Arts information.

Frau Giallo, if the masked men truly are the Echoes of Herkunftshorn, then these echo devices must be what the Witch King used to deal with his enemies.

They'll surely come in handy!

Are you... going to renovate the street yourself?

Marigold Alley is on the outskirts of Bodenshof, very inconspicuous. No one comes here deliberately, except some tourists, painters, and wandering poets.

Even all of Bodenshof, taken against the twenty-two districts of Zwillingstürme, isn't all that special.

And in <i>this</i> Zwillingstürme, with its many storied historical spires... maybe no one would even notice such an ordinary alley.

But it's where I was born and raised... No one knows it better than me.

I know when it's lively, and when it's quiet.

I know all its sounds: the singing of wandering troubadours, the humming tunes of pedestrians, the busy footsteps on the cobblestones, the sound of rain against the marigolds and awnings...

I know where the resonance pipelines buried beneath the street are still functional, I know which Arts sculptures on the corners can replace the broken parts...

And how to connect them all in the most convenient way, and then activate them with these echo devices!

But you don't know what the modified resonance pipelines will even do.

These devices left in those empty areas suggest that—

Oh, but Frau Giallo, there's something I have to do.

And I can always do something.

I told myself as much, when I was very young.

I said I'd take good care of Jan and myself. And not be like our parents...

Your parents?

They passed away a long time ago, I think it was 1077.