Chapter 43: Empathy

Chapter 43: 43: Empathy


He had seen the name mentioned. And it was a name that hinted at an upcoming war that was supposed to happen in the novel.


A war that wasn’t written yet.


What the hell is happening here? Eden panicked.


He wondered if the plot was somehow changing and he was already getting to the war scene that wasn’t even written before he entered.


It couldn’t be possible. Eden prayed it wasn’t so.


Firstly it wouldn’t be a good idea for the book to have such skips and jumps or something. And most importantly, he wasn’t freaking ready for a war!


"I have to do something..." Eden mumbled "I can’t let it happen"


Eden jumped down from the carriage.


Elvis was still trying to speak logically to this old man who didn’t wish to listen.


But Eden knew Elvis wasn’t going to convince the old man like that.


Elvis might be one of diplomacy. One who always was rational with his talks and all. But in a situation like this, Eden knew he would fail.


And failing was the last thing Eden wanted now. Especially when it meant a huge time skip in the storyline towards a huge ass war he wasn’t ready for.


"Excuse me..." Eden interrupted the diplomatic talk as he approached the old man


Eden and Leo had their eyes on Eden now.


The old man frowned "And who are you?"


Eden smiled "I want some tea" Eden saw the tag above the house. They sold tea.


The old man stared at him and then stared at Elvis and Leo.


"You’re with those two. Another noble. I don’t sell teas to such people" The old man insisted.


Eden blinked. He really needed to find a way to speak with this man and convince him to end this. That was the only way he knew he could potentially stop what was hinting at happening.


"But if you’re discriminating against people.. what makes you different from the hypocritical nobles?" Eden asked.


The old man paused and stared at him "What do you mean? What are you talking about kid?"


"You claimed the nobles do the same. And so you detest them. But you don’t even want to serve me tea even though you don’t even know me and we haven’t had any encounters. So what makes you different from the hypocrites?"


Eden hesitated "I mean... What morals then are you upholding?"


The old man paused for a while. He thought for some time while staring at Eden. His words sinking deep into him.


For a while he was speechless as he looked around.


"Well..." the old man said "What tea would you want? You can come inside and have it" He found Eden’s words meaningful.


Eden smiled "I’ll have the best you have. And don’t worry, I’ll stay out here and drink it. Just bring it here for me"


Eden had a bubbly smile on. One that could be tagged contagious. One that was used to describe a ball of sunshine. And it seemed the smile worked on the old man.


With the man gone, Elvis glared at Eden "What the hell are you up to now?"


Eden rolled his eyes "Just watch and see how the job is done"


Leo simply observed without saying anything.


The old man was soon out with a cup of tea. He handed it to Eden as he took it and took a sip.


Eden had achieved his first step in breaking through the old man’s walls.


Having heard the man’s bitter words, Eden understood him and his pain. He took pity on the man and completely related to his words.


So now Eden would find a better way to speak to him in relation to his pains.


"Your tea is so nourishing" Eden smiled "Reminds me of the ones we served at a restaurant I worked in"


"You worked in a restaurant?" The old man was surprised.


Even Leo and Elvis glared at him, shocked and confused.They wondered what the hell he was talking about now.


An evil wizard who was out destroying things working in a restaurant? That didn’t make sense to them at all.


"Aren’t you a noble? How can you work in...?"


"Who says nobles can’t work too" Eden said "Some need to have the rents paid." Eden guessed he couldn’t tell them about his job in the modern world.


"That’s really inspiring..." The old man expressed "I haven’t met a noble who volunteered to do such work. You really are..... different"


"And so are you" Eden said, beaming a smile at the old man.


The old man stared at me. He didn’t say anything but Eden could feel the confusion in his eyes.


And so Eden continued "I’m sorry. For all the hard life you’ve been through"


"Why are you....?" The old man was confused but moved.


"I’m sorry for all you and your people have been through. It must have been a terrible experience having to leave your kingdom to settle in another place. Only to be treated like trash"


"It must have been terrible...not being able to return to your home no matter how much you’d love to. I’m sorry for all that"


He continued, now his expression was fully covered in sorrow and sympathy "I’ll apologise. Even if no one will. I will apologise. Even if I’m not a crown prince or a duke or someone big, I’ll still apologise for what you’ve been through. No one deserves it"


"I know how it feels. So..." Eden said.


"How would you know..." The man had a sad expression on. Both hands behind him as he began recalling the sad moments he had been through.


"Because I passed through it"


Elvis stared at Eden. And so did Leo. They were utterly confused and shocked at how Eden was blatantly lying. Or so they thought.


But behind Eden’s attempt to console the man were genuine words he wished to share. One he related to.


"I’m an orphan" Eden said "I lost my mum and dad. And they died trying to make ends meet"


Eden continued. He had a soft smile on as he spoke. A smile that read sadness beneath.


"Back then, we were also forced to move away from where we stayed. To a different place. So it was difficult to make ends meet. Mum was sick and dad was having a hard time coping with everything"


"They tried for me. Even though they had to sacrifice a lot. But in the end, I guess their efforts weren’t enough. They died"