Chapter Text
In some Alleyway in Belobog.
"Date me," Stelle stated blankly. Gepard blinked, taken aback by the unexpected request. His face flushed with embarrassment as he struggled to comprehend thewords.
"Huh- Why?" he stammered, his voice betraying his confusion.
Stelle leaned in, their ethereal presence lending an air of intrigue.
"Listen, my spirit cannot find peace for no reason. It seems that my soul is lingering with too many regrets!! BUT I FORGOT MY MEMORIES!! So, help me! NOW!”
Stelle's boldness left Gepard speechless, and he couldn't help but feel completely in their power as he gawked at Stelle's demanding demeanor.
For better or for worse, he was somehow powerless to refuse!
"Yes! i'll help you!" he exclaimed, his voice exuding a boyish excitement.
"Well then! Our contract is bonded!" She said as Stelle flew through his body
Stelle's incorporeal body sent chills up Gepard's spine, and his breath became heavy as her spirit entered his body, sending electric tingles down his spine. A nervous smile spread across his face as their spirits merged, and he felt a powerful connection between them.
"So... what now?" Gepard spoke aloud, glancing at the spot where Stelle's incorporeal hand had just been.
He felt a certain kind of emptiness now that it was gone. It was strange, but he had already missed their ghost touch.
"I'm yours... I guess that's just the way it goes," he muttered, his words carrying a mournful undertone.
"H-hey! Now you have to help me, Mr!"
Mr?
Gepard opened his mouth to ask, but stopped himself before he could. After a few moments of consideration, he nodded and said, "Alright, I'll do anything for you, my new spirit friend!"
He paused, contemplating how they could be partners, and then added, "It's weird... Why do I feel like we've been friends for years?" A small smile spread across his face as he looked at Stelle, his eyes shining with sincerity
But Gepard can't remember who she is correctly.. It's just that his intuition kept telling him that he met her before.
While Gepard couldn't remember the exact details of his and Stelle's prior meetings, he did feel a strong connection with her, as if he knew her deeply. Perhaps their spirits had met even before this mortal world, a feeling reinforced in the young noble's heart as he listened to her haunting singing voice. Their silence made Gepard uneasy, and he wondered if he had said something to offend her.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, his voice quivering ever-so-slightly.
"Nothing wrong... is just that im confused about where to start.. I lost my memories.."
"You did?" Gepard's eyes widened with surprise as he leaned towards Stelle, the question having caught him off guard. His head tilted to the side in intrigue.
"What do you remember?" he asked, a hint of sympathy dripping into his voice.
"Nothing. Except that my name is Stelle. And have an intuition that i know you." Gepard's eyes widened at their answer, and he felt his heart ache at River's words.
"You... don't remember anything else?" He asked, his voice trembling as he tried to find the right words.
"Not even where you grew up or who your parents are?" he added.
To Gepard, the thought of not being able to recall those things was unsettling. It was hard to grasp that someone could simply lose such critical parts of their life story with no way to get them back.
"I don't remember how i even died.." Stelle whispered with a sad tone.
Gepard flinched at their words, and he felt a deep sense of sorrow for Stelle's tragedy. To think that they could have died in such a tragic way, only to later wake up as a spirit without most of their memories...
It was heartbreaking.
"I'm sorry," Gepard said quietly, his voice filled with genuine concern.
"This must all be so confusing and difficult for you." He placed a hand on Stelle's shoulder, then spoke again after a brief pause.
"But you're here now. I'll do my best to be a good spirit guide for you."
"Thanks.. anyway, your hand is now inside my shoulder.." Stelle said as she pointed his hand
"Oh..." Gepard's eyes widened as he quickly moved his hand away from Stelle's shoulder. He felt somewhat embarrassed by his blunder, but he was still trying to figure out how to act around her.
"...Sorry," he muttered, looking at his hand as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Guess I'm not used to hanging around spirits."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, then looked back up at them. "How about you show me what kind of things you 'are' used to doing?"
"Before meeting you?" Stelle think for a moment,
"i don't exactly remember, i think i was sleeping in this alleyway and the suddenly wake up when i hear your footstep."
Gepard nodded, taking in the information Stelle was sharing with him, and he raised an eyebrow in surprise when he heard about her sleeping location.
“You were sleeping in an alleyway?” he said, his voice laced with a hint of disbelief.
“Did you... um... do that a lot?”
"I guess.. i don't know exactly how many days, because this alleyway is so dark, im also too afraid to go outside." She explained as she flying around his head
"I guess.. i don't know exactly how many days tho, because this alleyway is so dark, im also too afraid to go outside." I explained as im flying around his head
"It sounds like you've had a hard life so far," Gepard remarked, his eyes full of understanding.
He leaned in closer and asked, "Why were you afraid to go outside?"
In his experience, he knew that there are a lot of reasons that could cause a spirit to be shy and wary of others, and he wanted to know what had motivated Stelle to do what they did.
"Im afraid people will see me." Now im floating above his head
"People?"
Stelle's comment caught Gepard off guard, and he frowned in confusion. The young noble wasn't sure what they meant, although a vague suspicion dawned on him as he spoke.
"What's so bad about people seeing you?" he asked, still puzzled. "Don't most spirits... enjoy being seen?"
"I- i lived in the 1920's... im just afraid i will see my friend's reincarnation.."
Gepard's eyes widened in surprise, and he blinked several times to process what Stelle had just said.
"You're from... the 1920s?" he sputtered, his voice full of disbelief.
He wasn't sure what era she had come from, so the revelation was quite the shock. "What was life like back then? Is there anything you miss about it?" he asked, his voice full of curiosity now. While he had read history books, hearing directly from Stelle would allow him to get an authentic insight into life in the 1920s.
"Why are you saying as if it was a long time ago? Today is still 1927 right.?"
"What?! No, it's not."
Gepard stared at them with an expression of disbelief, his eyes wide as he tried to understand what they were saying. Their comments seemed to contradict each other, and he was struggling to grasp their situation.
"Are you telling me that... you came from the 1920s?" he said, his voice trembling as he spoke.
"I... I didn't think that possible..." He leaned back against the wall and stared at her, utterly baffled by this revelation.
"Why do you think it's impossible?!" Gepard put his hands in his hips.
"Can't you just looked at my clothes?!" she said as she continued floating around
"Well, I-"
Gepard was at a loss for words, unsure of how to react to the sudden explosion of anger from Stelle. He felt somewhat startled by the unexpected outburst, but he tried to remain calm and focused on the important task of helping her.
"It's not impossible," he backtracked swiftly, holding up his hands as if to quell the ghost's ire.
"You're right, it's... it's just that I'm having a little bit of trouble comprehending it, that's all." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, his tone filled with shame.
"To be honest.. your clothes are unique... are you rich perhaps?" she asked as she flew through his body again, looking at his outfit closely
"Rich?" Gepard chuckled, then said confidently,
"I think you mean fabulous."
His voice held an air of pride as he spoke, and he glanced down at the outfit he was wearing, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
"And of course I'm rich," he added, his tone brimming with self-confidence and ego as he raised an eyebrow.
"I'm of noble birth." He paused for a moment before adding,
"And I have an eye for style."
"Cih! what a snob!"
"A snob?"
Gepard's jaw dropped at what she said, and he recoiled in shock. He felt a deep sense of irritation, and it was clear that her comment had struck a nerve. He took a deep breath to try and steady his temper before saying,
"First, I'm not a snob, and second, you can't talk to a noble like that!"
His eyes widened, a hint of outrage in his voice. "Show me some respect, spirit! This is the Landau family we're talking about here!"
"L...Landau?" I stuttered.
"Y-you guys... W-wait what exactly is the year now?!"
"It's 2022," Gepard stated blankly, his face impassive as he spoke.
He could tell that this was surprising news to Stelle, and he realized that whatever had happened to them must have been quite traumatic.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice laced with genuine concern. Though he wasn't sure what the right thing to say was, he wanted to make sure that she felt safe and comfortable. Even though she was a spirit, he still thought of her as a person and wanted to offer her a support.
"L-Landau... i felt like i knew it somewhere..." I think
"You... you do?"
Gepard's eyes widened, and his ears perked up in anticipation. He tilted his head slightly as he waited for her answer.
"Tell me everything you know about the Landau Family, please." He placed a hand on his heart and said,
"I promise you I will listen to everything you have to say." He leaned in closer, his eyes filled with intent.
"A-Ah.." Stelle suddenly have a light headache.
"Oh yeah! He's the Captain that fought in the war!" she said brilliantly
"My ancestor fought in the war?"
Gepard's eyes widened in surprise upon realizing that his family had been involved in such a monumental event in history. He had read about the world wars in history books, but now he had the chance to actually discuss them in person with someone who had witnessed them firsthand. He considered this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he was fully invested now in the story that he was hearing.
"What can you tell me about it?" he asked with genuine eagerness in his voice.
"Captain landau.. he.. is one of the family that survived, does your family have a potrait of him?"
"A portrait of him?"
Gepard was not expecting this, and he raised an eyebrow as he spoke. To his surprise, he realized that he had never seen a picture of this Captain Landau.
"No, I don't think so... " he said, his voice tainted with a hint of regret.
"I think it must have gotten destroyed, or maybe lost. But now I'm very curious."
"Is there anything else that you remember about him?"
"Really?! He is really famous back in the day, i don't know why his ancestors doesn't cherish his soul by hanging a picture of him.."
"That's true, it's quite odd." Gepard crossed his arms in thought, wondering why his family hadn't made more of an effort to honor their ancestor's memory.
He wondered if there could have been a scandal that had made his family distance themselves from him; maybe he had done something disgraceful that had made his descendants not want to celebrate his legacy.
"Maybe there was something that happened that we don't know about," he said carefully, unsure exactly what had happened to make Captain Landau so forgotten by history.
I whispered to myself, "Manx Landau... what happened to you when im gone....?"