0004 Francis Hunt

“This is my assistant, Ralph Hall…”

Inside the car, aside from the young man, there was another one who looked a bit older and less… flamboyant.

Yes, Evely’s neighbor was a bit more colorful than his friend. Now that she’s sitting next to him, she noticed that he was wearing a rose colored suit. It contrasted well against the other man’s black ensemble.

Evie had no idea how to call the young man. She searched her memory for a word that people used to address strangers, and recalled what the kidnappers called her earlier.

“Er… Boss.”

The young man and the assistant were dumbfounded for several seconds before the young man let out a chuckle.

“Evely, are you talking to me?” the young man asked, but he did not make things difficult for Evie, when it was obvious that she had no idea what his name was. “Call me Brother Cedric.”

Brother Cedric? Evie wondered why she had to call him brother, but did not bother asking. She was too tired. However, something bothered her.

The carriage looked pristine inside. She was suddenly more than conscious of the dirt she was already putting on the seat.

“Brother Cedric, I’m dirtying your carriage,” she said, feeling a bit guilty.

Even with their strong personalities both she and Evely didn’t like inconveniencing other people who had nothing to do with them.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Cedric said, and when Evie still looked hesitant, he waved his hand as he grinned. “It’s not my car.”

Evie’s eyes widened, making Cedric laugh.

“But don’t worry. I am planning to have this car cleaned well before I return it, so don’t worry about dirtying it now.”

Oh…

Evie was still a bit confused as to why Cedric looked alright with messing other people’s things or why he was helping her, but she listened to him and relaxed. In any case, she was too exhausted to argue and just wanted to go to Evely’s house to rest.

The trip towards Hampton Hills took thirty minutes. Evie was glad that Cedric did not talk much and let her close her eyes to replenish her energy. The next thing she knew, there was someone softly tapping her shoulder.

“Hey Evely, we’re here,” Cedric said and Evie opened her eyes.

Outside the window was a familiar looking mansion beyond a familiar looking gate. It’s the Hunt Family home— Evely’s home.

Evie turned to Cedric and gave him a grateful smile.

“Thank you for the carriage ride Brother Cedric, Brother Ralph,” she said before getting out of the vehicle.

“Evely, here!” Cedric called, and when Evie turned to him, he handed her a gold and a black card with numbers. “Call me or Ralph when you need help.”

Evie blinked several times, not understanding how calling them had to do with  cards, but took them in her hand anyway. She wondered if the cards had some type of magic in it that could summon or call them. In any case, Evie would figure it out later.

“Thank you brothers,” she said, and Cedric waved at her before raising the window again, and the carriage left to go down the street where he probably  lived.

She stood in front of the tall, iron gate and wondered how to get in. She searched Evely’s memory, and then realized she had to have a key to the gate. But she did not have the key with her since she was taken and buried. The only other option was to push a magic button from the wall and the people inside would be summoned.

“What was that called again?” she muttered as she searched her memory. “Ah!”

Doorbell.

She wondered where it was as she went to the side of the gate and scrutinized the wall. Sure enough, the magical button was there. Evie quickly pressed it. She was embarrassed as she was a bit nervous and excited as she did it. In Evely’s world, it was one of those things that fascinated her when she watched her in the mirror. In Evie’s world, the only way for someone to know there’s someone at the gate or door was to either holler or hit the brass knocker against the door itself. But in this world, they had this tiny button that could call people outside without much ruckus.

Evie waited, and sure enough, a handsome, but middle aged man stepped out of the door and looked at the gate where Evie stood.

Ah…

Evie knew who this man was. She had seen him in Evely’s memories and seen him in the mirror over the years that she was very familiar with him.

Francis Hunt— Evely’s father.

Evie noted his grim expression as he approached the gate, and she could not help remembering the argument she had seen in the mirror. That was supposed to happen around this time.

“Stop right there Evely! Are you trying to anger me to death?”

“Am I succeeding? I do hope I anger you to death.”

Evie sighed. This man did die, but not out of anger. Francis Hunt died of a broken heart when he found out that his beloved daughter had died.

Francis Hunt opened the gate and stepped to the side to let her in without speaking. As soon as she was inside, he quickly closed the door and marched silently towards the house.

Evie watched his retreating back and let out another sigh. It was obvious that he was high-strung. He was just trying his best not to lash out at his daughter, but even if he did, Evie had no complaints. He was just obviously worried about her.

This was something that the original Evely misunderstood previously. But that was also because she thought that her stepmother was trying to get rid of her and was very defensive.

Evie followed Francis into the house, and her eyes noted the grand staircase where the father and daughter had their argument in the past life. The corner of her eye caught sight of movement, and she guessed that it was Evely's— well, now, her stepmother who came to see what’s going on but was scared to come forward in case Evely got angry.

Ah… Evie reckoned she had to start considering herself as Evely to avoid confusion. After all, she was in her body now.

“Why did you come home late?” Francis asked, and when Evie turned, a stub of cigarette fell from her clothes to the floor.

Since Evie looked at it, Francis’ eyes followed her line of sight as well, and was visibly enraged upon seeing the cigarette butt.

Ah.

“Since when did you start to smoke? Are you planning to die early? And what happened to you? Why are you so dirty?” Francis Hunt’s rapid questions fired one after another.

In the original life, Evely had ignored her father and ran up the stairs. But Evie had no plans on doing the same. She believed that all misunderstandings would be prevented if people would find the courage to speak the truth.

But how to tell the truth? Evie thought about her “father’s” questions and decided to answer them one by one clearly.

“I don’t smoke. Someone threw those at me. I hope I don’t die early but someone tried to kill me earlier. I got hit on the head but it’s not that bad, I think,” she narrated, not noticing the horrified expression on Francis’ face as she continued to speak.

“Oh, and the dirt— I got it when those guys buried me after hitting me on the head.”