It was a cold and windy night when Sol first arrived at the Melvire mansion.
When he awoke from his unconscious state, the sight that greeted him nearly sent his heart into a panic attack. He was dressed in silk pajamas, lying beneath a heavy velvet duvet in a room so magnificent, it felt like a scene from a painting.
His body even smelled clean, without any trace of the foul odor he was so used to, and for a fleeting moment, he wondered if this was what heaven was supposed to be like.
Just then, the huge wooden door creaked open.
A maid entered with silent steps, the silver tray in her hands gleaming in the lamplight. She didn't look the least bit surprised when she saw the little boy sitting upright on the bed, confusion scrawled across his face.
Continuing to keep her head low, she placed the tray gently on a table, and retreated with the same soundless grace.
Sol had been too stunned to speak. His mind, struggling to grasp reality, missed the opportunity to ask where he was or what was happening.
But he didn't have to wait long to find out.
A man dressed in a finely tailored suit entered the room after a while. He introduced himself as Draken, the master of the house. The man was the one who had found Sol in the dark alley and brought him here. But the one question resonating loudly in the little boy's mind was… why?
Sol glanced down at his scratched-up hands, thinking that he was probably the only dirty thing in this entire dream-like setting. Even if his body was clean, it couldn't hide the roughness beneath his skin.
No amount of soap could scrub the stain of survival from his bones, nor conceal the scars etched onto his body.
He sat nervously on the bed, watching as the man conversed with the maids, calmly giving instructions about ensuring the boy's comfort.
His attention was suddenly drawn to another creak from the door. As if sensing the same, Draken glanced in that direction and called for the person on the other side to come in.
A boy, who looked a little older than Sol, peeked through the door, and carefully stepped inside with refined movements.
Julius stood in front of them, dressed in a ruffled shirt and fitted black trousers. For a child, there was a dead look in his eyes, far more lifeless than Sol's, whose eyes still held a spark of life.
It felt strange, locking eyes with that emptiness–like staring into a well with no bottom, only darkness staring back.
Even after so many years, Sol could recall that day as if it had just happened yesterday.
It remained like a cold imprint on his memory.
"…"
"Are you listening to me?"
"Hm?"
Sol blinked, snapping out of his reverie at the sound of the warm voice that called him back to the present.
He found himself in the library, sitting beside Julius at one of the long tables bathed in afternoon light. Dust motes floated lazily through the sunbeams pouring in from the high windows, and their silhouettes lay stretched across the floor in quiet companionship.
"Sorry for spacing out," Sol said, eyes landing on the thick book in his hands. The crisp white paper was still open, but the dark text had long since blurred in his gaze.
Julius leaned closer, gently caressing Sol's sleepy face, making him squint with one eye open. "You look tired. Didn't you get enough sleep?" he asked with a gesture far too intimate for the setting, but not unusual between them.
"Nothing like that," Sol replied, closing the book absently, more inclined to lean into the gentle touch against his face.
"You must be bored here with nothing to do."
Julius's eyes scanned the flushed face with a trace of fondness. Yet behind the tenderness, there was always a shadow of something else. No one could ever quite guess what lurked underneath that kind gaze.
Sol smiled back innocently, placing his hand over the one resting on his cheek. "Why would I be bored when you're here with me?"
Julius's black eyes narrowed in a smile, and he gently guided Sol's face upward to meet his own. "I'm glad you think that way."
Sol felt like his heart would leap out of his chest with how hard it was pounding…as if he might fall headfirst into the dark eyes fixed so intently on him, drawn in like a stone caught in a whirlpool.
With no one else in the vast library but the two of them, it felt like they were the only stars suspended in an isolated universe.
A comfortable hush surrounded them, broken only by their words which reverberated in the wide room every time they spoke.
"…that."
Sol faltered, timidly looking away as he pulled back from the charge that was beginning to fill the air.
This was turning into a dangerous game. One he wasn't sure he could win.
He knew it would be wiser to cut off the emotions he couldn't name, especially if they were destined to lead nowhere.
But Julius's hand remained firm on his cheek, keeping him from fully retreating. The man had an easy smirk playing on his lips, as if he already knew what Sol was trying to escape from.
"In order to refresh yourself," he said suddenly, as if changing the subject, "how about going to the Water Paradise that opened in the next town?"
"What is that?" Sol asked, blinking up at him, a rush of curiosity overtaking his flustered state.
"Have you ever seen the sea?"
Julius asked as he withdrew his hand, the warmth on the flushed skin vanishing along with him.
All that was left behind was an emptiness.
Laden with a bittersweet feeling he didn't fully understand, Sol slowly shook his head. "No. But I've read about it," he murmured, his voice soft and wistful.
"Should we go there? There will be many things you haven't seen before."
"How about another time…"
But before Sol could finish the thought, Julius stood from his chair with a grin that spoke of mischief and certainty both. Then, without a moment's hesitation, that large hand grabbed his own and tugged him toward the door with purposeful steps.
"Huh? Are we going now?" Sol asked, wide-eyed and dumbfounded, barely keeping up with the sudden turn of events. But he couldn't deny the spark of excitement blooming in his chest.
Julius looked back over his shoulder with a charming smile. "Of course. Why wait for an adventure?"
Sol let out a small laugh and just shook his head in defeat, lips tugging upward in surrender.
There was no point in resisting and he let himself be swept away by the storm of a man.