The Reborn Magus and His Prince

Chapter 18

As he went deeper into the alley, several people started to appear. Some were idling and smoking in front of their houses, children with rag clothes running all over the place and there's even a group of three or four gambling with loud voices. They noticed the singularity that was him, not fitting into their crowd. Their gazes with scrutiny stayed on his body until he made his first right turn. 

The same treatment he got earlier but he took no notice of them as he resumed his pace in reaching his destination. On the second turn, there was only one small dilapidated house with broken windows and a rusty small gate, one side of the gate was tilted due to missing pieces. On the front of the house was a small lot that he presumed was once a small community garden. But now, all plants were dried up even the trees devoid of any leaves.

Yulian after making sure no one's around, pushed the gate open. It made a scraping sound before completely falling off from its hinges. He step over it and made his way to the door.  

The door's lock was broken, either someone had forcefully gone inside or just plain broken through the years of being unattended. The inside of the house was as bad as the outside. The floors had some missing boards and the way it creaks when he steps makes him more attentive in putting his feet down. Dust and cobwebs covered the whole house, broken pieces of furniture, and a pungent smell. Good thing he covered himself up with a robe and mask.

He carefully made his way upstairs. Only three rooms. He made him to the master's bedroom. An empty room except for a bed and wardrobe. He found nothing but some insects flying away when he opened the wardrobe. There's nothing under the bed and practically, everything's nothing. It was the same with the other two rooms. He found no suspicious objects, people, or even clues.

This address got him nowhere.

Hmm... Tim must just put it here just for formality's sake to get accepted at the academy and not give away any personal pieces of information about him. A fake location, and Tim's and Minnie were nowhere. 

The abandoned garden that once only have dried twigs and fallen leaves have now an addition to that scenery. A bald six-foot muscular man sweeping the area was what greeted Yulian when he exited the house.

The both of them stilled upon seeing each other.

The bald man recovered first. "Oi! Did you come out from that house?!"

"Uhh... Not really."

The broom was tossed aside and the man came towards him with his arms flexing. "Don't lie! You came to steal didn't you?"

"What's there to steal? Some woods and dust?" 

Yulian calmly met him halfway. 

The scowling face straightened when thrust with a logic.

"Well, yeah, nothin' to steal in there but what are you doing entering someone's else house? And you're a highly suspicious person."

Yulian shrugged his shoulders. "This is a hobby of mine, don't mind me. I'm pretty harmless and I am looking for a Timothy Dan. You heard that name?"

The opposite still cast him doubtful eyes however upon hearing the name, something clicked on his mind.

"Wait, I don't remember any Timothee but I'm pretty sure Dan was the name who once lived in that house." He pointed behind Yulian.

Finally, a clue! Yulian rejoiced in his mind. This trip won't be for naught. 

"And where is that Dan now? Do you remember his name and face?"

"Hmm..." the man had let his guard off, hearing the enthusiastic and young voice behind that guise. He rubbed his chin in trying to recollect that particular memory around eight or more years ago. 

"That house was once owned by my pops but he sold that to some fallen noble who was stripped off from their title. Though I can't remember what title, marquis? count? Don't know, that time the palace was in a bloody battle."

"And that noble's family name was Dan?"

"Yes, I vividly remembered cause not long after their patriarch was prosecuted leaving the wife and two sons here in that house."

Yulian rummaged for the photo he found from Tim's and presented it to him. "Is this them?"

The bald man craned his neck to look closely and even squinted his eyes. "Yes, they kind of resembled them. I only saw them once, twice, you see, when they moved here and when they were rescued."

"Rescued? From what?"

He shook his head and felt pity when recalling that particular scene.

Some children were playing in this garden. Sometimes made fun of that house in front of the garden but never dared to go near. The adults say that a lunatic lived there but they never saw anyone or any signs that someone's lived there. One boy, due to his friends' constant teasing made him dare to go to that house and see what's inside. Only for minutes later, that boy came running out of the house like he had seen a ghost, screaming in tears. The locals then found out from that boy that he had seen a ghost of a woman hanging from the ceiling. It turns out when they came to investigate, it was the body of the wife and she'd been dead for days judging from the pungent odor it emitted.

The bald man was one of the locals who had helped in getting the body. He later found the two boys hiding in the wardrobe of their mother. The scene was tragic, two boys with no light in their eyes when they were ushered outside, foul smell coming from them and looking like they had not eaten for days. And the trauma of seeing that body of their flesh and blood hanging in front of their eyes, truly unnerved him how these young kids survived. The younger boy was clutching his brother's clothes, afraid to let go, and the brother obediently followed every adult that came to them. Later, the two were taken by some distant relative of theirs and that was the last he heard from them. 

Yulian sighed after hearing the story. He questioned the man for some more pieces of information however he was told that that was the most he could remember. The one who had taken the boys was a man but for some reason, he could no longer recollect his face nor his name. 

Yulian said his thanks to the man and bribe him with some silver coins on not mentioning his existence if ever someone's comes here. The man happily accepted the coins and agreed to his terms, in this area, one silver coin cost you a month's meal let alone a few of them. He wished in his heart this mysterious being would come back here in the future. He had finished counting the coins on his hand and wanted to thank his benefactor but his eyes met only the depressing house. No one's insight and he was all alone in the street. 

Yulian was back at the shaded place near the entrance of the alley. He took off and hid his robes and mask. The carriage was still there where he left it. 

"You found it what you're looking for, Mr. Albertine?"

The coachman was waiting patiently and opened the carriage door for him.

"Sort of. At least I got something from this tip."

"That's good to hear." He closed the door when he saw that he got settled inside. "Then off we go."

Back at the academy. He went straight to Orphys' office just as she instructed. He told her the house had been abandoned and no one knows where Tim and his family had moved. He left out the tragic part of the story. He felt that it is better that no one must know about Tim's circumstances as to avoid inflicting innocent people in getting involved on this matter.

"Now, what? I have not his withdrawal letter and have to find that boy to who knows where?"

The professor slammed her hands on her desk, she then collapsed on her seat. 

"Whatever, I'll just have to file a report and have his force withdrawal. You may go, now."

She made a shooing gesture at her student and prepared for her dramatic and persuasive report. In any case, the higher-ups won't care about one student with no family to back him up.