Chapter Text
Kaveh had never felt so offended in his entire life. And that is saying a lot.
“ONE THOUSAND MORA??? You think my work is worth ONE THOUSAND MORA???”
Kaveh steps away from the living room and into the adjacent room to catch his breath. He gathers his thoughts.
Remy Tiste is my first client from Fontaine, but even then… I can’t believe the difference in etiquette and standards that I am witnessing right now..
Kaveh looks back towards the living room to where his blueprint, work desk, and client are located.
Next to his desk, a short-statured man wearing a top hat and monocle is seen adjusting his bowtie and suspenders before crossing his arms impatiently. He checks his stopwatch and sighs. As his eyes veered towards the other room, he spots an annoyed Kaveh looking back at him.
Remy rudely points at Kaveh with his index finger. “Mr. Kaveh, I am a very busy man. Can we finish this negotiation already?
Kaveh gives a very forced smile. “I’ll be right there, Remy!”
Remy continues to wait impatiently. In the spur of the moment, he scribbled something onto the blueprint. Remy thinks to himself. Hmph, Kaveh has no idea I actually value his drawing very much… But at this rate, I’d be better off taking it for my own…
He stands in front of it to hide what he has done.
Meanwhile, in the next room, Kaveh takes a deep breath. Ok, I’ve dealt with unreasonable clients before. Maybe things will end smoothly this time. He reluctantly heads back towards the living room, bracing for any emotional damage.
Before Kaveh says a single word, Remy blares out his thoughts in the most snobby attitude Kaveh has ever heard.
“I say! *scoff* If you don't take these drawings seriously, how can I pay you any part of my fortune? Pff. I can’t believe you were the top of your class. I don’t think your work is worth a SINGLE Mora! "
Kaveh’s temper broke. “I AM SICK AND TIRED OF BEING SCAMMED! I’m going to go on a walk and when I come back, you better treat me like the architect that I am!
Kaveh rolls up the blueprints without noticing what Remy had wrote and he places it on the top shelf behind the work desk, right underneath his suitcase. Kaveh proceeds to stomp his way out the door before slamming it. The impact knocks all the other papers in the room to the ground. A very offended Remy sits there shocked in disbelief.
For the next 5 minutes, Kaveh marches around, mumbles to himself and waves his hands angrily. He catches the attention of many bystanders, including a patrolling Matra on the side who’s on his coffee break.
The Matra looks at him and pauses. He was about to investigate but after a moment of consideration, he shrugs and continues to sip his coffee. Nothing new here , he thought. He has heard from his co-workers that a blond angry architect walking around is a regular occurrence in this part of Sumeru City. Too bad. It was his first day and he was hoping to do some actual work.
Meanwhile, Kaveh has already walked a fair distance away from his house before realizing what he had done. He stops and thinks to himself.
Wait a second. Am I the one in the wrong here? Maybe it was my fault because I didn’t put enough effort into the drawing. He may be rude but he’s got a point. And he’s the only client I have right now. Beggars can’t be choosers, right? I gotta get Mora somehow…
Kaveh sprints back to the house in a panic, and knocks on the door rapidly.
“Hellloo! Remy? I take back what I said, let’s continue negotiating!”
There was no response. Kaveh suddenly remembered that this was his home and wondered why he had knocked out of habit. He tries opening the door and hears the lock clicking.
“Huh, that’s weird. I don’t remember locking this door when I left? Good thing I have my keys though!”
Kaveh slaps his pockets and much to his dismay, he finds that they are completely empty.
I swear I had them on me this morning…how am I supposed to go back in? Remy isn’t answering either…Something’s wrong. Maybe I can get his attention through the door’s window?
Kaveh looks between the translucent window pane of the front door, and squints his eyes. His eyes immediately widened. He sees part of Remy’s body lying on the ground. Remy’s head is barely out of sight.
Kaveh starts panicking internally. Oh no, did he faint or have a heart attack? I gotta get help!
He runs around and spots the same Matra that has been peacefully drinking his coffee earlier. Kaveh could barely explain what he saw to the Matra but the words he managed to sputter out was enough to convince the Matra to come along with him.
Together, they break down the front door. Kaveh stumbles in and takes a closer look at Remy.
At that moment, Kaveh gagged. He grips the nearby desk to prevent himself from fainting on the spot. He had never seen so much blood, let alone blood coming from someone he just talked to 5 minutes ago!
The two stare at the now-deceased Remy Tiste for a few moments before the Matra breaks the silence.
“Oh my Archon! This guy is definitely dead! We gotta find what happened! You, blondie! Who’s house is this?”
Kaveh barely regains his composure and answers the Matra without thinking: “Um, mine?”
“And who is this guy?” asked the Matra.
“He’s my client. We just had a dispute.” answered Kaveh.
The Matra spots a fancy-looking briefcase next to Remy’s head. Its corner is covered in blood.
“This must be the murder weapon…do you know what it is?”
“Oh, that’s mine. It’s my briefcase.” answered Kaveh.
The Matra looks away for a few moments, scribbles what he just witnessed in his notebook, and slowly connects the dots. He turns around abruptly and locks his eyes with Kaveh’s.
Kaveh, completely unaware of what he just said, slowly addresses the Matra:
“Um…why are you looking at me like that?”
The Matra flashes him a trigger-happy grin and exclaims: “Oh boy, I can’t believe it! I’m going to make my first arrest!”
Kaveh gives an open-mouth smile in anticipation: “Oh really? You know who did it?”
The Matra giddily whips out his handcuffs and slaps it onto Kaveh’s wrists.
“Yup! You’re coming with me, pal!”
Kaveh is at a loss for words: “..what?”
The Matra pushes Kaveh out the door and drags him towards the Akademiya. “You know, blondie, murder is illegal in Sumeru. You’re definitely going to jail!”
As Kaveh processes his arrest, he thinks of one last thought before he passes out.
Oh, what have I just gotten myself into? First bankruptcy, and now a criminal record too? My bad luck just never ends!