When I was at the Eastern house, there was an odd incident that took place. It was when Field Marshall Jurgen had visited, and there was a fierce argument with Lieutenant Otto of the Eastern House. At that time, Lieutenant Otto was close to the then Eastern second-in-government, Commander Dieter. The argument was not an anomaly though. Days later, the Lieutenant started to behave weird enough that he broke ties with the Commander, as well as stealing an item of great importance from the treasury.
I remembered that the sigil outside of Lieutenant Otto's room was one similar to the one which I saw. It reflected his family emblem, and the design of the Eastern House was combined with it, which is usually a sign of loyalty towards the military. The case was even more shocking for me considering this.
Afterwards, Lieutenant Otto was 'retired,' and the case seemed to have closed without any great suspicion towards anyone. There was a sudden shift in power after that. What took place just afterwards was the formation of Field Marshall Jurgen's special unit composed of those who are skilled at using the 'Rausch' series.
"Hermann, we are here."
This time, Heinrich accompanied me. I was made aware by the spread of rumor from the higher-ups that he was outstationed to the Northern house as well, on the premise of surveilling me. I remembered the sigil which he wore when I first saw him, and I realized that he must be from a branch of the Eastern House. The Raven in between was proof of it.
I was being glared at, and I thought that it must be due to the Northern House sigil. It seemed Heinrich was not bothered though.
"Heinrich, are you aware of the incident with Field Marshall Jurgen and Lieutenant Otto?"
"I have second-heard it. I was not there at the Eastern House during that time"
While we were not given permission to free-roam, I would rather not meet with the current Commander to be granted free reign for the mission at hand. He was not on good terms with Lieutenant Klaus, and would likely not allow it. Even in the military, the political landscape was not great. The Eastern and Northern House were on especially malicious terms.
I was sneakily navigating my way through. I signaled Heinrich to conceal his presence, as the hallway was crowded and this was an especially privileged area. Among the first lessons in training was concealing and detecting other's presence. I had practiced it enough that it had grown on me, and I was able to do it without anyone detecting it.
"It is quite a strange feeling to not be welcome in your own home."
Heinrich seemed to let out his frustration for once, and I smiled back. After all, I shared the similar experience some days or another.
Concealment was supposedly categorized as part of the wider category of the 'Pawn' series. 'Rausch' belonged to the 'Pawn' series as well, while psychological interference, 'Giestig,' belonged to the magic series of 'Rook,' which was put in it due to the "Raven" mixed with the 'Rook' word. I had memorized this association well, and I recalled it now with a perplexing scrutiny at the 'Rausch' series' function.
It seemed the door had not changed, and no one inherited the room. The sigil was definitely similar to the one which I saw in the Lieutenant's eyes: at the end were curls, and the middle was composed of what looked like a throne with two crosses at opposite sides. I touched it with my hand, scanning its design. It felt like I had seen it before, but it was not from a memory of mine, but of Oulanem's.
I heard a gunshot from behind, and it was directed towards me. I looked at the bullet flying towards me. I knew I could not avoid it, although I felt that time had slowed down. Then, I knew exactly what to do, which I felt was from mere instinct. I let my blood drop from my thumb, placing it on the sigil. Now, I saw the gun, the door, and blood again. It seemed I had completed all the 'requirements' of this sight.
I felt time go at its normal pace again, and a crow came in front of me to absorb the bullet. It almost was like I had commanded the crow, but I did not remember doing it nor did I know how I would go on with it. I loaded my gun, and pointed it to the direction of where the bullet came from, which seemed to be across the hallway. Heinrich did the same.
"Who is there?"
From the back, a figure of a small height with grey hair showed itself. From just this distance, his eyes radiated pure black.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Oulanem, or should I say, we meet again."
I did not remember meeting him previously. I kept my gun pointed in his direction, waiting for any show of malice. Then, I heard the noise of gun loading from behind me.
"Heinrich, what do you think you are doing?"
"Do not move, traitor!"
I opened my eyes, and the sight seemed to fade. But, the figure still stood in front of me.
"Do you understand what I can do?"
Now, I remembered that he must be behind the voice which I heard at the mansion.
"What do you want?"
The figure seemed to stand in confusion, leaning his head on his left shoulder.
"It seems you have yet to know."
I realized that he was the person who guided me to the town when I was Hermann, but it felt as if it was a hint left by him even though I seemed to conclude it out of my volition. Soon, birds gathered around him in swarms, and I could understand what they were saying. They were all laughing in mockery. The air seemed to shriek, and I saw blood on my hands. A question then arose suddenly despite being a witness of this sight multiple times: Whose blood was this?
I snapped out of it, and fired at him. The figure seemed to disappear into thin air, leaving me gasping. It seemed there were forces beyond my understanding acting, and I could do nothing but watch.