Chapter 02

Every Tuesday and Saturday, at exactly nine o'clock in the morning, no more than a second, Ethelbert will precisely enter this ancient teahouse called the Enfleurage as a pre-programmed activity for life.

Perhaps a miraculous fate had let him know this teahouse with a less attractive appearance. At one time, when he was called by Celton Vincent - a friend who works as a city inspector, he was called to a location two streets away from this place to solve a case. When he returned, he was lost. The weather was not very favourable at that time when a thunderstorm came. Reluctantly, Edward Ethelbert had to find shelter from the rain in time. At that moment, he found this little tea shop and dropped in.

Ethelbert is a biology student at the private aristocratic academy Yophiel - one of the most famous schools in the world thanks to its glorious reputation and rich cultural history. Ethelbert walked up to the attic and took a familiar spot at the table by the window. While waiting for Coronis to prepare tea and cake, he often has a habit of sitting blankly and staring blankly into the air to think deeply about something strange.

Strange – that was exactly the word for Ethelbert in other people's minds. If you glance at it, no one would expect that the classic and elegant student, like an aristocratic man with a luxurious, melancholy style, beautiful like the portrait of the light god Apollo in that painting, is a genius. He is the most singular student of the famous Yophiel. No one would have guessed that the young man with a contemplative appearance was the youngest son of the Mafia tycoon family who used to call rain and wind to the world for a while. But perhaps because of his obnoxious perfection, he made the gods and the angels jealous. Despite his unique background, extraordinary intelligence and outstanding appearance, Gotha Edward Ethelbert had to suffer from strange diseases. Since childhood, he was a quiet child. When he was three years old, his family doctor diagnosed him with genetic autism. At age five, Ethelbert was discovered to have another strange syndrome that made him particularly sensitive to air and scents; more specifically, even very ordinary scents can make him hallucinate. The teacher who had taught him since childhood, who really cared for this unfortunate child of the Gotha family - encouraged him that it was a special ability when he had "a memory of scent". Everyone has a different way of feeling and exploring this world, and it's just that he is a little bit more special than them. It was not worth it for him to be hated or isolated by everyone. Therefore, over time, Ethelbert gradually accepted to be satisfied with who he was and was grateful for what he had.

Even though his world is a chaotic, confusing universe of a genius that most people are hesitant to set foot in. Over the past twenty years, there were only a few people who made him feel like he had found a place to belong. That feeling does not come from repetition over time to form a habit. Because even his family didn't give him that feeling, it is the feeling of being understood as a soul's destiny. It was something he could "smell" from the very first contact.

This Enfleurage tea house, the Buckwheat cake or the É'sphora tea here were all things that made him "smell" that feeling.

And that girl also, Coronis Emma.

"It's done, sorry to keep you waiting, sir." Coronis's clear voice sounded, not the kind that made people startle and uncomfortable because of the ungainly noise, but extremely thin but still fresh and lively enough to wake Ethelbert back from the endless stream of thoughts.

Ethelbert took tea and cake from Coronis's hand. She just smiled quietly and stood aside to see if he had any more requests without helping him arrange the glasses and plates. Coronis observed and knew it was one of Ethelbert's original and strange eating principles from the very beginning. Before eating, he will consider the table in front of him as his universe and necessarily arrange them according to his strange principles. The teacup should be placed exactly 45° from the top left corner of the table. He arranged the cake on the right and the cutlery set below in a very neat, meticulous and elaborate way. Coronis felt he was only one step short of taking out a ruler. She once teased him with such a sentence and received a very serious answer:

"There's a ruler in my head."

Coronis thought about that, which made her laugh, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. Ethelbert was still sitting upright like a robot on one side, his hands still adjusting the tablecloth to the exact coordinates he had drawn in his head.

"You're one of the most interesting guests I've ever met." Coronis said honestly, as an excuse for not being able to hold back his smile. She was afraid that he would misunderstand that she was laughing at him.

"Hopefully one day, Lord Ethelbert will be kind and willing to teach me." Coronis softened her voice.

Just as she turned to walk away, Ethelbert suddenly said:

"Are you sure you really want to learn?"

Coronis was a bit taken aback, and she didn't think someone as serious and seemingly stiff as Ethelbert would respond to her joke just now. But the moment she turned around when she saw his silver-grey eyes that were like golden light emitting a cold, soul-grabbing light. She knew he really took it seriously.

"Yes," Coronis said with a firm voice, and she had just changed her mind. She wanted to seriously investigate, seriously dive into his world.

Ethelbert began to enjoy the tea. The quiet footsteps he heard on the floor indicated that Coronis had left.

She was a girl too, strangely, thought Ethelbert. Because so far, no one has ever appreciated his strange personality, nor is anyone sensitive to recognise and respect these strange principles of his in life. She was also the only person who had ever seriously listened to him spend three hours talking endlessly about Sperm whales from the first meeting. When asked by her, "Do you have any further instructions?" he also asked seriously: "Do you really want to hear it?"

"Yes," That was her answer at the time. And she had agreed to spend more than three hours listening to a strange visitor talk about a creature she had never seen before, with great sincerity and attention.

Coronis is the girl whose scent reminded him of a strange space. It was as if she didn't belong here.

Will she sometimes feel as lost as he does?

If that was the case, he wanted to hide her.

Hide her from this world.

"Ring" The ringing of the phone interrupted his deep thoughts today. Ethelbert looked at the screen and saw a familiar name – Vincent Celton.

"Hello, Ethelbert. I have a favor to ask of you." At the other end of the second, Vincent's voice came urgently. Ethelbert guessed it wouldn't be good news to make this guy want to call him.

"There's a new complicated murder case. I'm counting on your help this time!"