Trapped In Hisstory

"Shut up, old hag!" 

Milla felt Ruther's words hit her nerves, unfortunately, she cannot beat the guy up in front of Chance who has a face that screams 'kind and innocent'. Milla sighed and held back the urge to smack him in the face. She flicked his forehead and returned to the counter.

She took another glance at them and she saw Ruther rubbed his forehead and Chance laughed. She is sensitive when it comes to her age, it annoys her whenever she is being reminded that she has gotten old. She let out a deep sigh and rested her chin on her palm, "How fast time passes by, it feels just like yesterday when I won the beauty contest in my school." 

She looked at the guy that Ruther was with, 'Looks like that kid really believed I am 22. I deducted three years..' she thought and facepalmed. 

She has long known about the two of them since they were her regular customers. It was sad that he did not even know the owner who was always in the cafe. Thinking of it agai, it was not surprising because Chance seemed like the person who avoids everyone's gazes. 'He probably just comes here to order, take a seat and go on in his own world.' she thought. So it was not surprising that Chance did not know what Milla, the owner, looked like.

She found herself always glancing at their way, secretly watching them whenever they visited the cafe. She finds it interesting to watch over them, she was always curious about them. 'A grumpy dude who loves sweets and always looks like he is mad.' she thought, but there were times when she caught him smiling, as if he was always amused.

She shifted her gaze to the other one, 'I have often thought about it before and I am curious, why does he always look sad even when he smiles?' Milla thought.

Strangely, she felt her chest pounded hard so suddenly and she felt a strong gust of wind. She blinked, dumbfounded. Her cafe was not an open cafe, she immediately looked around if her staff put a fan inside but there was none. 'The hell was that?' 

She stared at Chance and remembered what she said earlier. 

"Nice to meet you, Chance. You know, I've just noticed it now. Looking up close, we look similar. You might even be mistaken as my younger brother!"

Milla laughed, "That is right, we both look alike. How nice it would be if Chance were to become my little brother." she muttered.

She saw Chance reach for his drink and sipped on the chocolate as he looked outside again.

Milla became curious when she noticed the historian stopped drinking and froze as he stared outside the window. Milla looked in the direction he was looking at and saw a man beside the old man in a wheelchair. 'Hm? Does he know the man? What's with that kind of reaction?' he thought, confused. 

"That's him." he whispered as he stared at the man. Ruther heard his whisper and glanced at him. "Who?" he asked, confused.

'I wanna ask, too.' Milla thought.

Chance did not seem to hear Ruther, because he was focused on the man. He felt his chest tightened again and he could even hear the beating of his heart. Ruther, worried about Chance, stood up and grabbed his shoulders, making Chance turn to him. "Look at me, what's wrong with you?"

Tears formed in Chance's eyes, "It's him. I saw him again!" he said. Ruther took a deep breath and shook Chance lightly, "I know, I heard you. But who are you talking about? Tell me so I can understand."

"The man yesterday! The one I told you three about, whenever I see him I just...I don't know, I feel like I could burst out at any moment." he said.

"Calm down, first. Where is he?" Ruther asked. Chance wiped his tears, "Beside the old man across the street." he answered.

"I don't see anyone beside the old man. Just some random children near him." Ruther said and faced Chance with a furrowed brow. "That can't be." Chance said he immediately looked outside but Ruther was right. There was no one there. ''Anymore'.' Milla wanted to add.

'He's gone. He's gone again,' Chance thought. He smiled, concealing the inexplicable sadness he felt, "I...I might have mistaken it." he said. He held Ruther's arms on his shoulders and gently removed it, "I'm sorry. I'm fine now, thanks for your concern."

Ruther dazed out, then realized what he had done, "Who's concerned?!" he exclaimed, flustered. His face reddened out of embarrassment. He sat back down and continued eating his dessert.

"I guess you're not that bully, grumpy person, like I thought." Chance chuckled.

"Shut it, I've just eaten too many sweets, that's why."

Milla wanted to laugh at Ruther's expression, 'Since when did Ruther become such a tsundere?' she thought.

She shook her head, 'But wait, I clearly saw the man earlier as well. Why did he say he had mistaken it?' she thought. She wanted to go over and tell him that it was not from his imagination but before she could walk towards them, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

It was one of her staff, smiling but Milla felt a sweat forming on her forehead. "W-why are you wearing such a scary smile, Miles?" she asked.

"Surely, you are not gonna leave again? We are short of staff, boss. Do your job…" Miles said while still smiling.

Milla glared at her, "What the- are you commanding your own boss right now?" she said in a serious tone, hoping she would fall for it.

Miles gave Milla a smile, but it was more frightening than before, "Yes." she said with emphasis. "Now, stay at the counter." she added and continued working.

Milla teared up, "Damn it, I failed to escape." she muttered and rested her head on the counter.

After receiving customers, she saw the two guys stood up and was about to leave. In the end, she could not talk to Chance or even say goodbye to the two of them. After the line of people disappeared, she rested her head on the counter again and sighed, "I am so tired...I need to get more people."

"I applied before and yet you didn't even accept me as if you were perfectly fine."

Milla's eyes widened and she immediately sat up. She looked at the one who talked and saw a familiar face, "Ah, it is this boy again." Milla muttered, changing her tone to a bored one. She fixed herself, acting like what a boss should be, "What are you doing here?"

He slammed his hands on the counter and put his face near Milla, "I am not a boy, I just turned 21 you know!" 

"Oh, well...uhm congrats for being a man?" Milla said, scratching his cheek with her finger, feeling awkward.

The man stared at her and facepalmed, "You really do not see me as one, huh?"

Milla waved her hand, "No, that's not it! I am serious so congrats, and belated happy birthday?"

The man gave up as he knew Milla would still act the same. He sighed, "Then how about letting me work here to help out?" he asked.

Milla laughed, "You do know that if you work here, I will be your master, right?" she teased.

The man sat down and grabbed her hand, giving it a peck on the back of it, "Then I will gladly serve you, master. No matter how long." he responded.

Milla somehow felt like she lost her cool vibe as she blushed, "That is not a good attack!!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Chance looked at the princess whose face could not be explained as she tried to explain her dream. He put his hand on his forehead and massaged his temples, "You mean to say that you dreamed of me and people you do not know?" he asked again, making sure he understood what she just said.

The princess nodded her head, "Yes, brother. You are the only one I remember in there!" she responded. "It all feels so real, then suddenly when I try to think about it, I do not remember my dream anymore." she said in a sad tone, disappointed to lose memories of her dream.

"Strange, you are the only one I could remember. I could have sworn I saw you there but you did not age, yet I did." she added. She raised her hand as if she suddenly thought of an idea, "Ah, maybe I dreamed of that because recently I keep wishing to grow up." she said.

Chance nodded his head, thinking that it was possible. The Crown Prince's brows furrowed, "Wait, you are wishing to grow up quickly?" he asked.

Princess Carmilla fell silent and blushed, "Uhm, well."

Chance glanced at William but the butler seemed to not be aware of what the princess meant. The Crown Prince then smirked, "I see…" he thought. 

"My dear sister, are you in love with someone right now?"