Chapter Text
“Lord van Zieks, are you sure this is a good idea?” Kazuma asked, all while looking through the windows of their carriage, into the green fields surrounding the van Zieks’ state.
“I dispose of multiple guest quarters and neither of you have a better place to stay at,” was the man’s response, not moving from the cold and formal tone of his profession.
“C’mon, K, can’t ye just accept a gift?”’K’, that was the nickname Inspector Lestrade had given to call him after way too many failed attempts at saying his actual name. Toby was currently sleeping on her lap.
“From Lord van Zieks? Never.”
Van Zieks turned to look at Kazuma when he said that, but didn’t respond, just giving a short ‘mhm’.
“Geez… why’re ya like ‘is…”
They stopped talking after that. Kazuma used the time to think about his current situation.
He was allowed to prosecute, but he required a co-counsel with him. Van Zieks would serve perfectly, as not only was he a beast in the courtroom but also was already his mentor as a prosecutor.
His travelling was also restricted. Going out of London unless absolutely necessary was out of the question until further notice. Fair enough, considering what had happened last time . He could move within the city, but he must inform someone else, preferably with authority. Van Zieks again or even Inspector Lestrade would serve for that purpose and he was genuinely considering going for the latter, especially now that they were going to share a residence.
Surprisingly enough, he had been allowed to keep his sabre. He suspected that a certain prosecutor must have moved some strings for that. Still, any minor offence would grant it revoked.
The last demand from the authorities were weekly reports. Nothing that he wasn’t already used to.
“Gentlemen, ms. Lestrade, we have arrived,” the conductor of the carriage suddenly announced.
Van Zieks nodded before giving him a generous payment, since he could afford it. Lestrade jumped straight out of the carriage the second the doors were opened, very energetic and waking Toby up. The two prosecutors stepped down with more manners, to say the least.
“Welcome to my residence,” Van Zieks said. “Treat it as if it were your own home, as it is now, just please, respect the servitude.”
The residence in question was a great mansion of an antiquated, yet elegant, architectural style. It must have been here for decades already. The house was clearly well kept, no surprise since the head of the home was of noble blood. Around it, one could see an extensive garden going into green planes and not so far away, dense forests.
Kazuma stopped to think, to think about how his father must have spent countless time here, to think about how this place must have felt back then. He wondered if Lord van Zieks often reminisced about that, about how life was back when his brother and his wife were still alive.
“Erm… K, ya ok?”Oh, Lestrade must have noticed him reflexing.
“Yes, I’m fine, I was just thinking.”
“Thinkin’ ‘bout wot? Men?”
“Inspector!”
Was it just him or could he hear van Zieks laughing…?
“Let’s just go inside…” the man finally said.
Van Zieks opened the door with his key, revealing the interior, just as big as one would expect. The entrance hall had a good space to hang coats, though neither Lestrade nor Kazuma used it. There were some stairs leading up to an upper floor and multiple doors that he would need to explore later. Close to the entrance there was a maid standing there, waiting to receive people. Van Zieks politely saluted her, making some small talk about her husband.
While they were doing that and Lestrade was busy being impressed by the place, Kazuma instinctively went for his boots and started undoing them. Toby went to smell him, making him laugh a little bit.
“Asogi, what are you doing?” Van Zieks asked. He seemed to have no idea, but there was a hint of knowing in his eyes.
“My apologies, it’s a Japanese custom to take off your shoes inside of houses,” he explained, unsure of what reaction that would cause on the other man.
“You…” Kazuma froze for a moment. “You learn something new everyday. Now that I think about it, your father also did it. You two really are similar”
“Oh.”
Well… That went better than expected.
“Anyway… Mary, show those two to the guest quarters. Whichever room you feel like.”
She vowed and so, the three of them walked up the stairs.
Mary was an older woman. She had brown hair going grey and almond eyes. She wasn’t precisely eye-catching, just another Londoner who happened to work in service. She was wearing a striped light green dress with a frilly apron over it and a matching cap. If he looked closely, he could notice it was probably home sewn, but the quality was still impressive.
“It just occurred to me that I haven’t presented myself yet,” she suddenly said as they were walking down a hallway. “I’m Mary Robinson, head servant of this household.”
“Kazuma Asogi, glad to meet you.” He stopped to give a small bow.
“Inspector Gina Lestrade, ready for action!”
“Asogi…?” This time it was Msr. Robinson who had to stop. “...My condolences…”
“No… It’s alright…” Kazuma lied. He should have expected to be recognized by that name, he really should have. At least, it felt nice to be met with sympathy rather than hatred for once. Her knowing what had happened did surprise him, but it did make sense, being so close to the van Zieks.
It was soon enough that they reached their respective rooms, which were side by side, probably for convenience. Msr. Robinson set down their things and after excusing herself, she left them alone to accommodate themselves.
Lestrade rushed into her room and Kazuma could hear her jumping straight into the bed. On the other hand, he went to take off his cloak before starting to position everything to his taste.
The room was classy, but it was clear it hadn’t been used in a long time. There was a single wooden bed by one of the windows. The sheets were pure white. Maybe he could ask to have that changed, he prefered more colour. The walls had a red wallpaper which he quite liked. There was also a simple wardrobe, desk and a potted plant.
All of his papers, mostly legal stuff, went to the desk, while his clothes went into the wardrobe, of course. He didn’t have much, so the little space there was didn’t bother him.
It wasn’t much, but it was definitely a step up from his previous lodgings.
He had actually sent a telegram requesting that his things in Japan were shipped to him. He had sent it to professor Mikotoba. Thankfully, it wouldn't be long until they arrived.
This… was now his home. He would need to get used to that.