Cosence 36th, 513

Sareid Estate – Duke’s Office.

“You wish to return back home?” Father asked from his desk. “What’s this about? Need a break from training?”

“No, sir! Not at all,” I said, a relaxed smile on my face. It was hard not to relax around him lately. Unlike Mother, Father was always welcoming and warm, even when he didn’t need to. 

“Why ask for a leave, then?” he asked, leaning back in his chair slightly. “Did something happen back home?”

I shook my head. “Nothing of the sort, Instructor. It’s just that… my birthday is coming up. My parents would like me to be home for the celebration.”

“Ah, your birthday!” Father said with a smile, his eyes widening with interest. ”What a coincidence. Carine’s birthday is just around the corner, too. When is it, exactly?” 

Wait… you didn’t know my birthday?!

Come to think of it, he never asked either. 

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you forgot your own birthday, haha!” he laughed heartily.

Yeah, this would be hard to explain… But there was really no way I could lie about my birthday. He would find out eventually, and if I lied to him now, that would just put some unnecessary weight of doubt on me.

And so, I took a deep breath and steadied myself.

“It’s on Cosence 43rd, instructor.”

His laughter was cut off abruptly. For a moment, he stared at me, his mouth slightly agape.

“Forty… third?” he parroted, his words slow and trailing behind. “You’re telling me… You share the same birthday as Carine?”

I nodded, holding my breath. “Y-Yes, Instructor.”

The silence stretched until it painted the whole room. Then, Father’s eyes narrowed. “My… What a coincidence…” The way he said it told me that, to him, this was beyond just coincidence.

To be honest, I had hoped he was researching about my Talents just like I was doing this entire time, but I only just learned that he didn’t even know about my birthday! So, perhaps this could trigger him to do research on his own. 

Two pairs of eyes are always better than one, after all… though, I already have two pairs… but you get what I mean.

After another moment of silence, Father cleared his throat, grabbing my attention.

“It’s a shame you won’t be able to attend Carine’s birthday party,” he said, turning in his chair to look at the inner courtyard beyond his windows. “We’ve prepared such a grand party, too. I would love to see you dance with Carine.”

Oh, thank god I have the same birthday.

“Ah, I nearly forgot,” Father said, turning back to me. “Your request for leave is approved. If you’d like, I shall prepare a carriage for you tomorrow.”

“Thank you very much, Instructor!” I gave him a deep bow.

Now, all I needed to do was pack my clothes.

As I was about to turn and leave.

“Feyt.”

“Y-Yes?”

Father chuckled slightly as he leaned forward. “Make sure you ask for permission from Carine as well, alright?”

I blinked, confused. “W-Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” He flashed a smirk. “I’m sure Carine is looking forward to your presence on her birthday. Wouldn’t want to disappoint her by not showing up unannounced.”

“A-Ah… right. I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Instructor.”

I gave one final bow before finally turning to leave. I left Father’s office with a resounding click of the doors closing, leaving behind the misunderstanding that I couldn’t even begin to unravel.

…Do I seriously need to excuse myself to myself?

—

Sareid Estate – Duke’s Office

Kyrat remained in his chair long after the door had closed, his gaze fixed on the spot where Feyt had just stood.

The young man had requested a meeting with him, and he had wondered what it could be. He never expected this, though. A simple request for leave had given him a piece of information he never thought he needed.

Cosence 43rd, the same birthday as Carine’s. 

Seeing as they were the same age, that meant that they were born in the same year.

Normally, Kyrat would’ve chalked this up to a happy little coincidence.

But no, to him, this was no longer a coincidence. It was a pattern.

Kyrat rose and crossed to the bookshelf near the window. With practiced ease, he shifted a few heavy tomes aside and slid open a hidden panel at the back, revealing a small, hidden compartment inside the shelf itself.

From it, he pulled out a leather-bound book. It was a personal note of his regarding his research into Carine’s Talents. He flipped open to the page regarding her Aetherian Symbol, and beside that original note for Carine’s, another was written with newer ink.

Feyt’s.

When he first learned that Carine only had two, he believed this was a curse of some kind. He had never heard of someone being born with fewer than three Symbols. What some sort of miracle, or perhaps tragedy, could cause such a thing?

But then Feyt appeared, and after learning of his symbols… it was an utter shattering of Kyrat’s beliefs. 

Two statistical impossibilities, not just in the same kingdom, but in the same estate.

Could that be a coincidence?

Then, there was a matter of their synergy. The way Carine and Feyt had fought was none other than what he had seen. Not even he and Reyna could coordinate that well without extensive planning, and judging from the way they fought Cornellia back at the exam, they were improvising on the spot.

Even beyond combat, they remained synergized with each other. Kyrat had never seen them argue, bicker, or have differing opinions, nothing. They were almost always on the same page without sharing a single word with each other.

Reyna had refused to comment about the entrance ball, but Leila had told him everything he needed to know. Carine and Feyt had danced wonderfully, easily grabbing the attention of those around them, and even those from afar.

They were, for lack of a better word, perfect for each other.

Could that be another coincidence?

And now, their birthdays. The final piece of the puzzle.

Granted, he didn’t believe it would be substantial information, and frankly, he did forget to ask Feyt… But now that he knew his birthday…

The coincidences kept piling up. No, they weren’t just piling up; they were forming something else.

The probability of two people sharing the same birthday, having the same impossible number of Aetherian Symbols, and matching each other so well in all aspects of their lives… the number of zeroes in that probability was mind-boggling. It painted a clear picture: this wasn’t some random chance.

Then, what was it?

So far, there were two theories in Kyrat’s mind.

The first theory was that they were twins…

…But that theory was immediately cast out the window. Carine never had any other siblings, he of all people would know.

And that led to the second, and more probable, theory.

It was a far-fetched notion, something he would have scoffed at under any other circumstance. But faced with this mountain of evidence, it was the only theory that fit all the facts.

Carine and Feyt…

Perhaps, they are those so called… ‘soul mates’.

Kyrat had read that term countless times from Ortensian novels, particularly from Ranette’s supply of them that she and Tenard occasionally shipped over from the main estate. 

I can’t believe reading them was actually productive.

Kyrat cleared his throat, as if clearing his mind before anyone could hear it.

Returning to the matter at hand, Kyrat sensed that it was a popular term there. From what he understood, soul mates are two people who were destined to be together throughout all time, even after death or perhaps even rebirth.

Setus had never held such beliefs, but if what Kyrat was seeing with these two wasn’t a universally improbable coincidence, then the idea felt less like fiction and more like the only logical conclusion left.

…or was it?

If his theory about this was truly correct… Then could the religion worshipped in Ortensia hold some meaning after all? Or was there some other theory he couldn’t quite think of?

‘…”

Kyrat closed the journal with a heavy sigh, safely storing it back into the compartment before hiding it behind the heavy tomes once more.

He sat back down on his chair, staring at the ceiling as he pondered.

Perhaps I need to expand my research once more.

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