A Simple Villa?

I wake up in cold sweat, breathing heavily as I sit up straight.

That was quite the nightmare…

While I slowly get my breathing under control, I take a proper look at the surroundings.

On first glance, despite it being an unfamiliar room it's quite beautiful. The ornate wooden furniture with seemingly hand carved designs, gold painted edges. The chair lined with beautiful red velvet along with a matching carpet over the patterned tiles. The bookshelf next to the bedside table…

The wall mounted lamps with moody lighting, the lit candelabra, a random suit of medieval armor in a corner and an obscure wooden sculpture… Is that… a gargoyle?

On second thought, this is a haunted house isn't it.

Must admit I do love the aesthetic despite its creepy nature.

Well, first things first, to find out where exactly is this place? I have an instinctive feeling that there was perhaps more to that nightmare from earlier…

I get up from the bed and walk towards the desk that's beside the bookshelf.

There's a bunch of open books as well as other items lying on the desk.

I pick up the topmost item which seems to be a newspaper of some sort. Before trying to read it, I take a close look at the paper itself, as well as the ink.

The paper shows no signs of ageing and the printing on it looks fresh too. So, it is reasonable to say it was published recently if not today itself. Maybe someone placed it there while I was asleep.

The language written on it is actually English. A little cursive but still readable.

"The Talevria Herald" is what it is titled. Perhaps that's the name of my current location.

On the corner there's a date written, "31st August, 548"

And the next thing of note is that the entire first page consists of a single article with the headline "Next academic year starting in Ashonia's Magic Academy"

Huh, a magic academy?

The article seems to give a surface level overview of academy's history,

"The first of its kind. Located in the Duchy of Talevria, a magic academy that teaches from all schools of magic rather than specialize in just one, it has recently also added courses in swordsmanship and other martial arts and has seen great success in its 30 years of operation…"

"Its main objective in fact being to promote peace between the different races and nations that align with the gods of order or are at least neutral…"

"It started off as fairly small but has come to prominence in the recent years with up to a third of the students being non-humans. Representation from the elves has been low and almost negligible from the dark elves but the lizardmen are known to be enthusiastic learners-"

Could it be… This sounds like the plot from that game Suzie was talking about.

"There even have been cases of half-monster races joining the academy like the vampires, lichs, undead ghouls, werewolves, dragons, phoenixes, sirens-"

A wish, and an accompanying trial…

The rest of the article goes into more depth about enrollment and its requirements which I skip. I quickly skim over the rest of newspaper as well, the headlines seeming foreign to me since I lack the context for them. A thing of note however might be that there are no advertisements here, could it possibly be a state sponsored newspaper?

I put aside the newspaper and slowly ponder the situation I find myself in. Despite it sounding like something out of a fantasy, I instinctively feel like it's real.

There's a dressing table nearby which I didn't notice before. Well at least that completes the whole bedroom set. The study must be elsewhere.

As for that suit of medieval armor next to the door… No way I'm touching that.

Must be a trap of some kind.

My instincts say so.

Something did feel odd earlier but I finally notice it properly when I stand in front of the mirror…

The first thing that catches the eye is definitely the pale, porcelain white skin. It must be the lighting… I hope. After which is the silver hair that extends to the shoulders, a little wavy but giving a keen sense of sharpness which is only matched by the ruby red eyes that almost seem to be glowing. I'm dressed in a fitting nightgown which is also plain white, designed like some sort of overcoat.

Maybe I am a vampire after all.

Nah, that couldn't be, since vampires can't see themselves in the mirror… right?

I look around and find the pair of blackout curtains, which are also colored red to match the theme. I part them to reveal the sun in the distance, if I had to guess the time, it is probably late in the morning.

Not weak against the sun either, I'm definitely no sparkly vampire.

The scene outside is quite pleasant. The villa must be on a small hill as the surroundings seem a step lower. Rolling meadow-like gardens filled with colorful flowering plants of all sorts and a woodland in the distance. Perhaps this place is a bit further away from the city since no other buildings are visible, or it might just be the angle.

I'm sure there's some philosophical point somewhere to be made about the seemingly terrifying interior contrasted with the outside which is beautiful. But nothing comes to mind right now.

Well, back to the definitely-not-ghost-manor. I once again look at the bookshelf which has other books as well, but information I most likely don't need right at this moment.

"Disadvantages in School of Fire spells"

"Martial arts preferred by Elves"

"Methods to counter-spell School of Ice"

"Swordsmanship of the Lizardmen"

"Torture methods learnt from Dark Elves"

Can't say that isn't a diverse range of books to have.

As for the desk with the opened books strewn all over it, most of those books also have similar titles. They also seem to contain some handwritten notes scribbled on top. But a quick glance over said notes yields nothing of interest.

Thus, I proceed to close and put the books away to reveal what was lying underneath.

It's a map.

In the very middle is a piece of land titled 'Duchy of Talevria', well that was simple enough. The map is also painted in a very detailed manner.

Talevria itself seems to be a peninsula, connected to land only to its east.

Towards the north-east is a forest labelled as 'Old Wood' past which is drawn a bunch of tent symbols titled as 'Beastmen tribes' followed by a symbol of a red skull. I guess that means the Beastmen tribes are hostile. The forest itself also has an orange skull label which I interpret as also dangerous but less so than the red skull.

To the east and south-east are marked different territories, the capital and 'Duchy of Strudel' respectively. The capital seems to have a crown symbol next to it so it's probably where the royal family is. Also, a small text next to both the territories reads 'human'.

Hmm, that's odd, why'd it be specified as human?

To the rest of sides however is a fairly enormous sea with one notably big island on it which is shaped like the letter 'c'. That island is marked as 'elves' along with an even smaller label of 'dragons' possibly to signify their rarity.

On the other sides of the sea are different territories marked with the different races, dark elves, lizardmen and more, as well as a cluster of tiny islands with mermaids. The territories spill over the edges of the map so of course it couldn't be a complete map of the world.

There are dotted lines on the sea connecting the different regions and countries in a closed loop. That should be trade routes. The tiny ships drawn and what seems to be a merchant's scale just confirm it.

Speaking of, there really are a lot of trade routes connecting Talevria to the other countries and races. It makes sense that they'd build the academy here. I suppose diplomacy does begin with trade.

Finding nothing else of interest in the map, I put it away. There's nothing else of note on the table either, only a few more posters of the magic academy.

Now, time to check out the rest of this haunted villa.

I did manage to get my hands on the general setting but I'll still need some individual information on other people and well, myself. It's not like I got a convenient memory transfer as soon as I woke up. That would surely have been helpful.

Maybe I can attempt that "I suddenly woke up with memory loss." But I'm not too enthusiastic about it. Well, they probably won't just randomly attempt to kill me. That'll be the last resort then.

I open the door leading to the hallway. Halfway at first to check if there is anyone outside.

"Your Highness."

!!!

I barely had the door open before a voice came from behind me almost making me jump.

I close the door and turn around, did I miss someone right inside this room?

The suit of armor that I had been ignoring earlier just walks off its platform and kneels towards me. The visor lifted up in curtesy but it's empty on the inside.

Of course. What else did I expect to happen?

I cover my eyes using my hand to save myself the embarrassment, but I don't know if the ostrich technique helped.

"Mistress Eclair asked me to remind you to check the study. A letter arrived from the lady along with an artifact." The suit of armor says with a gravelly voice, which somehow doesn't sound unpleasant.

After which it went back to its post, visor down, eerily lifeless as if it never moved.

Reigning in my surprise from earlier I start to ponder on what just happened.

Maybe it is some kind of defensive puppet? That would make a lot of sense especially since this is the bedroom. Because it didn't wait for any responses from me like it was performing a recording of some kind.

It referred to me as "your Highness" as if I were royalty. However, if I recall correctly then the heroine should have been the sole princess of the royal family. Which means I shouldn't be royalty. Something seems off here.

As for this 'Mistress Eclair' I'd assume is the chief steward or something similar. After all it is a noble household.

Regardless, back to where I was. Guess I should be heading to the study. If only I knew where it was.

I swiftly open the door once again. No surprises this time as I step into the hallway.

The aesthetic is still as beautiful as ever, ornate wooden furniture with a red accent and a little bit of gold.

And of course, I can't tell one door from the other. There probably are some subtle differences but this moody lighting hides them away.

Assuming that the nearby rooms would also be bedrooms, the study is probably at the end of the hallway wherever the stairway to this floor is.

I calmly walk down the hallway while looking around for any more hints. It's filled with decorations but placed brilliantly in such a way that it doesn't seem excessive. The handiwork of an expert, must be.

There's even a table with what seems to be a small sculpture of… an angel kept on it. Well, I can only assume so since they aren't bat-like wings I'd expect from vampires. Along with a delicately carved expression of piety.

At the end of the hallway, it opens up into a grand stairway.

A giant structure fitting such a house. I'm on what seems to be an interior balcony and can see a clear view of the entrance to the villa. A beautiful chandelier seemingly made entirely out of crystals hangs right above the stairs, which I'm sure I'll worry about dropping on my head each time I use them.

There is a door right next to the stairs which seems a bit more elaborate than others, as if to mark its significance. And to match that there's also two suits of armor to its either side, in the same style as the one in the room I woke up in.

An important room that's close enough to mine but also to the entrance, that's probably it. I calmly walk up to the door as the suits of armor stay motionless. Or at least they are pretending to be.

Well, time to test if my guess was correct.

I open the door and walk inside a room the decorations of which could be described as… Showing off in a subtle manner. If the previous decorations could be called as being on the verge of overbearing, then this place is definitely overbearing despite the otherwise fewer decorations.

It would be a suffocating atmosphere for any guest, whether welcome or otherwise.

A single large table and accompanying chair that seem as if they are meant for a king. An unknown creature's head mounted on the wall behind said desk. A few paintings and small sculptures that all seem to be looking right at the person entering the room as if saying a single bit of disobedience would be met with swift punishment.

I suppose such a suffocating atmosphere would fit the villain.

I walk to the desk where a letter is kept. The room loses half its effectiveness when I consider that it belongs to me in the first place. At least I think so.

The letter itself would be fairly simplistic if not for the elaborate wax seal stamped on it. Since it is the study, the lighting here is a lot better thankfully.

An elaborate design conveying the grandeur of an ancient noble house, at least from what I can make out of it. It's a creature, seems to have the body of a lion but also bat-like wings, the rest of it isn't as clear. I'll probably encounter it elsewhere too so no hurry.

I pick up the letter knife which looks like it's made entirely out of silver, which is probably correct. It was kept thoughtfully close to the letter. I sure have some great retainers huh.

I break open the seal and pull out the letter. A small and quite thin object also drops out from it and onto the table.

The handwriting is exceedingly beautiful but it is hardly written in the proper format of a letter.

"To my dearest brother, sorry this beloved sister of yours wouldn't make it in time for the first day of the academic year. I have been investigating the ruins as you asked and there was this interesting compass I found in that ancient temple. I've sent it over along with the letter. Charlotte's been having a lot of fun too exploring the ruins. Be back in about two weeks. Much love."

Well… That certainly feels more like a post-it note rather than a letter…

Regardless, judging from the contents, that thing which dropped down from the letter must be what was mentioned.

I pick it up and observe it closely. It's an ornate pocket compass. Made entirely out of that timeless brass and beautifully patterned with ancient-looking symbols. It certainly has a few scratches and dents marking the passage of time but it seems the sender performed some restoration work on it.

When I open the cover the needle inside starts to spin around a bit before stabilizing and pointing towards a specific direction. My instincts tell me that it isn't pointing towards north but rather towards something else entirely.

As much as I'd like to follow straight towards where the compass is leading me, there are still a few things left to do.

The door to the study opens up behind me as I ponder what to do next.

"You are finally awake."