act29side

Interesting. I've never read about that.

A little anecdote, the kind you hear all over Zwillingstürme. Hardly even a story.

Well, danke. For the directions <i>and</i> the story.

Incidentally, you're not old enough to be buying a graduation cap, are you?

Oh, I'm waiting for someone.

Oh...?

If we happen to be heading to the same place... would you like to come with me?

...Thank you for the offer.

But the music of the Kaiserinnen will guide me.

Very well.

May the melody of Zwillingstürme be ever long and winding, like the rivers and the clouds.

...You can come out now.

Explain your actions.

That was an Empresses' Voice who just passed by.

She seemed decent enough, but unfortunately we're not walking the same path.

You're a little later than we agreed on, Viviana.

I met... a remarkable young man on the streets.

Now I'm sure we're not the only ones looking into this case.

You sound a little sad about that.

Ja. The spy was practically a child.

And...

You stopped. What's the matter?

I'm listening.

The music of the Kaiserinnen is still playing.

Zwillingstürme still bathes in their wonderful melody.

But... can a melody played by divergent wills remain in harmony forever?

You fear the Empresses' Voice. Is your employer an enemy of the Empresses?

Are you out of your mind? Don't ask that question out on the street!

We'll be entering the alley soon. I will ask then.

Fine. You want to know if I'm in league with the people who killed Loris Bordin? Absolutely not.

I'm a Lupo, which I would hope is obvious. I was born near Siracusa.

In the early years of the Witch King's reign, not long after Siracusa broke away from Leithanien, how do you think he and his followers treated my people?

I was inquiring about you personally, not the history of your family.

Is there a difference?

I had assumed that you made your own choices of your own free will.

Free will? Not in my family. I was born to carry our destiny.

Just like the lady who recently became an Empresses' Voice. She went from Leithanien to Kazimierz, and from Kazimierz back to Leithanien. Was any of that her own choice?

I am inferring that it's complicated. This will make it difficult to discern friend from foe.

Hah... Why do you think they call Laterano Paradise?

Stop.

What's the matter? Karl Schmidt Street is just ahead. The Empresses' Voice went there. Maybe Bordin really did find something.

The alley has changed from before.

It is too quiet.

Are these pieces all by Frau Seemann?

Ja, meine Dame.

All drafts of <i>Der Tod des Hexenkönigs</i>.

I didn't dare touch them, nor did I understand them, so I left them where they were.

What about anything else from the past few years?

The past few years... There's not much to show. She often said that her passion ended that autumn, twenty-three years ago. Would you like to peruse her earlier works?

If you don't mind.

Frau Seemann's early works are characterized by refined touches and bright, lively colors.

Frieda Seemann wanted to capture authentic emotions with her brush. She had an excellent memory, and made good use of Originium Arts to recreate snapshots in time.

She was still young when I saw her in the Witch King's Spire for the first time.

She had an almost Minoan liveliness to her, less of the stiffness of your average Leithanian noblewoman.

Her easy-going nature attracted people from all walks of life.

Frieda's friends used to hold poetry gatherings here in this alley... Your parents were among them.

My parents? They came here too?

Did they never tell you? This is where they met.

Your father wasn't a Kurfürst-in-waiting quite yet. He came from Sturmland to Einwald, and often participated in gatherings of young people in Marigold Alley.

One day, a young woman of common stock mustered the courage to read a little poem she wrote at Frau Seemann's poetry gathering.

And that was my mother?

She never told me any of this.

Her brow's always been furrowed, for as far back as I can remember...

Lucinda Droste was a shy, gentle girl with soft, gleaming eyes. Gazing upon her was like sitting by the lakeside in summer, with a gentle breeze brushing by.

Werner fell in love at first sight, almost missing His Majesty's summons.

If Brandt hadn't covered for him, he would have been part of a statue in front of the Spire by the time House Hochberg's soldiers arrived at Einwald.

This was still during the reign of the Witch King?

Hard to believe, isn't it?

But that era was resplendent in its own way, much like the painting before you.

A resplendent... marigold.

This painting looks familiar. I think I've seen it before.

But where?

'Viviana.'

'I'm sorry, but I need to take this painting away.'

'Your mother is gone. I'll have someone clear out the room.'

'I couldn't possibly leave you here with no one to take care of you.'

'Someone will be here to take you away soon.'

'Don't cry. You'll meet new friends out there. There will be people who love you, even without Mutti and Vati.'

'You'll see the marigolds with your own eyes.'

'See for me if they're blooming, like in the painting.'

...A flower chasing the sun.

The clouds above Sturmland rarely clear up. It was cold and wet up in the spire. Father tried many things, and hired many casters, but could never get them to survive in the flower pots.

But here in this tiny Zwillingstürme alley, they're everywhere.

It's... warm.

Where are you going, Viviana?

...An enemy?

Viviana!

The music is faint, almost imperceptible.

It seems distant, but also nearby.

It transcends time, transcends memories, linking them in the same space.

You're going back.

Ernst's condition deteriorated rapidly. Even the best healers the Twins could find couldn't save his life.

Which means you could be the new Kurfürst of Sturmland.

When I first came here, I thought I was going to be a poet.

What about Lucinda?

I certainly hope she'll come with me, but I won't force her. She's talented. She could become a great painter under Frau Seemann's tutelage.

You love her, and she loves you.

Which is why I can't lie to her.

I'm no longer the carefree youngest son of the Hochbergs. From this day forth, my life belongs to Sturmland and to House Hochberg. Not to myself.

The nobles will have a whole gaggle of young ladies lined up, all vying to be my wife.