Chapter Text
Lukas stood on the balcony of the Wittelsbach mansion as he stared into the dark void of night.
Lately, the duties of Nikolaus Ernst had been clashing with Lukas Askanier's, and it was difficult to keep up with both of their duties. Tomorrow was finally a day for rest. It reminded him of his days as a 21st century Archaic human, when he had acting as a job. Back then, he also had to keep up with his relentless duties and deadlines, but at least then his life wasn't on the line.
Lukas -or rather, the one pretending to be him- didn't usually think about this stuff often -or more that he tried not to- but he couldn't help it sometimes. The meaningless thoughts just rushed to his head, taking up unnecessary space. Even if he missed some aspects of his world, there was ultimately nothing left for him. It was sort of depressing, if you thought about it. No one knew who he really was, or that he wasn't from this world. He loved his friends, he really did, but he couldn't really relate to anyone. Well, that was always the case, even in his original world.
He had acting as a profession, and he was relatively well-known in Korea. Perhaps it was because of his popularity that he didn't have many people he could relate to, as they usually saw him as an idol, or someone to look up to. For that very reason, he couldn't get rid of this feeling of loneliness buried at the bottom of his heart...
"Lukaaa~!!"
An energetic voice rang out from behind him, snapping him out of his train of thoughts. Lukas felt strangely relieved at that.
He turned around. It was Elias, walking towards him with a grin on his face.
"Come inside! It's so chilly out here." He exaggerated an act of shivering as he put his arm around Lukas' shoulder. Lukas laughed, looking at his face. His platinum blonde hair gleamed in the moonlight. He looked back at him and asked,
"What are you thinking about? You always look so far away whenever you think about something special."
Lukas snorted at his remark and replied.
"That's called thinking deeply, Eli."
"No, no! When you think deeply it looks different. Your face tenses and your eyes narrow slightly, like this." He demonstrated, shifting his facial muscles to give the impression of thinking deeply. It looked a bit odd on his face since he wasn't one who usually made such meaningful expressions.. Lukas lightly laughed at the sight.
"Then what is it, if not thinking deeply?" he asked, genuinely curious.
Elias stopped his impression and tilted his head, as if looking for words to describe the feeling.
"Well, it looks like your mind is floating somewhere far away, as if you're floating on the moon, which is pretty funny since you're usually the one who is most down to earth."
"Is that how it seems to you?" Lukas' tone sounded surprised.
"I'm pretty sure that's how it seems to everyone."
Lukas shook his head and waved his hand as he changed the topic.
"So what did you really come here for? I doubt it was to call me inside just for fun."
"Ha! Luka being sharp as always~."
Elias narrowly avoided the whack that swung towards his head and got to the point.
"Adalbert has come here." A hint of scepticism was heard in his voice.
"...ah."
That was all Lukas could say.
Adalbert was a huge fan of Nikolaus, possibly the #1 fan...apart from the stalker. But did the stalker really count? Anyways, Adalbert had sent letters to Nikolaus wishing to meet him. He hadn't had many opportunities to meet Nikolaus lately, so meeting Nikolaus was probably on his agenda, along with greeting Eszett.
Elias ran his hand through his hair, ruffling it. "Imagine that guy's face when he finds out you're Nikolaus."
Lukas sighed. He still wasn't about to reveal that he was actually Nikolaus to the public just yet. It still needed more time. For some reason, he pitied the second son of the emperor a bit. Perhaps it was because of the shock he would receive once he found out that Lukas Askanier, a person he didn't view quite favourably, was actually Nikolaus Ernst, the person he'd been looking up to this whole time.
Recently though, Lukas noticed a change. Adalbert had come to him more often, seeking advice or just helping him work. Did he actually take a liking to him? Well, Lukas did go through a lot of trouble trying to gain favourability points from him, so at least he knew his hard work had paid off.
"Right then. It wouldn't be very polite to keep a member of the imperial family waiting, would it?" Lukas smiled sideways at Elias as he started making his way inside. Elias snorted.
"He's waiting in the common room. Let's have him meet you first, then Nikolaus! Oh this will be so funny to watch!"
Lukas let out an exasperated sigh as he approached the common room. He knocked on the door as a courtesy and walked inside. Adalbert was sitting on the couch looking out the window into the vast courtyard. He snapped his head to attention when he heard the two Eszett members enter. Lukas bowed his head.
"How have you been, Your Highness?"