[center][h2][i][b]C[/b]hapter 2: [b]T[/b]he [b]C[/b]hateau de [b]S[/b]ophie[/i][/h2][/center][center][h1]~[/h1][/center][center][h3][i][b]???[/b][/i][/h3][/center]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ1Dh1PWHO4][sub]♫ Naoki Urasawa's Monster OST - Close Your Eyes[/sub][/url]

	A figure stood in the centre of a chamber, drinking from a glass. As he did, he was staring at a gorgeously crafted portrait of a beautiful young woman who had long and wavy light golden blonde hair, deep silver-tinted blue eyes, and healthily pale skin. She was clearly Caucasian, and was wearing a long white dress. The setting of the portrait was a shore, gazing out into the ocean. The wind seemed to be blowing against her blonde curls. The man simply stood in silence, calmly looking at the painting.

	Things were about to move forward. Would it be the end, or perhaps a new beginning?

	"I thought I might find you here..." another man spoke, "Am I interrupting...?"

	"No, it's fine Albert..." the initial man replied calmly, "By all means, join me."

	The second man entered the room and walked over to the first, the two now looking at the portrait. The first man poured his companion a drink, filling a second glass with wine from a large bottle on the table next to him, not really being the type to drink more than a single glass anyway -- that was assuming he drank at all.

	"Is this... alright...?" the second man questioned, as if suggesting that it was not his place, but the initial figure simply smiled with a melancholy look on his face, holding out his hand as if to say 'think nothing of it, it's fine'. The second man said nothing further, feeling nothing but the utmost honour.

	"Five hours from now... it all begins..." the first man spoke, causing the second to slowly nod his head, "Do you have any reservations...?" the first questioned, apparently genuine.

	"No..." the second man replied earnestly, "I will follow you in whichever path you choose."

	"Then let us walk this purgatory until the [i]bitter[/i] end..." the first man spoke with a poetic tone.[center][h1]~[/h1][/center]
[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/b7d72d6e-ad00-4684-8eba-5e52ef2c5ca1.png[/img][/center][center][h3][i][b]H[/b]otel, [b]I[/b]nside | [b]A[/b]pril 14, 2012 (02:13 [b]PM[/b])[/i][/h3][/center]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_O1RgGjCBc][sub]♫ Baccano! OST - Manhattan Bridge ni Kakeru Yume[/sub][/url]

	`I guess she didn't understand what I meant...` Sven thought as the woman - who introduced herself as 'Sonya' - explained that it was social conventions that concerned her.

	Sven had used the words 'widely accepted' in order to emphasize that most - not all, obviously - people in France accepted public breastfeeding, but apparently that part of what he said went over her head. It was possible that she simply did not hear him clearly though -- she seemed kind of on edge; in fact, she seemed [i]really[/i] on edge. It was not that Sven could inherently read her mind or anything, but a combination of how cautious she was being around him together with her apparent intentions not to use the escort made it clear to him that this young woman had a difficult time trusting people -- there was no other reason he could think of for why she would insist on [i]walking[/i] to the estate, especially alone when she was already basically lost. Though, in all fairness, Sven had no plans to use the escort either, but he planned to get a taxi.

	While he gave no particular visual indication of it, Sven did make a mental note about how cautious Sonya was clearly acting. With the way she looked almost like a beggar - together with what he could vaguely make out as bruises, alongside her seemingly timid aura - it might have been safe to assume that she was afraid of being attacked. Certainly, she had made enough of a point about not wanting to anger people over her breastfeeding, and Sven got the impression this had more to do with simply wanting to be polite. Generally speaking, people did not seem this fearful if all they wanted to do was show decent manners.

	Regarding Dmitri's nickname, it had been something of a coincidence that he knew about it. While information was something of a specialty of Sven's, he was not exactly dedicated to research into Russian culture or anything, so it had merely been something he picked up as a bit of side info to something else he was looking into, and thanks to his memory he had retained it. An amusing little coincidence, which was presumably all it could be.

	Before Sven could say anything, intending to comment on the whole 'breastfeeding is widely accepted' misunderstanding, Dmitri hurt himself and then Sonya lost grip of her belongings. As she was getting everything together and trying to calm down the baby, her son pulled on her hair and the woman seemed to become more distressed than previously. Sven did not give it much of a reaction, and just maintained his friendly atmosphere as Sonya apologized to him. For the most part, the expression on the Eurasian man's face indicated that she had nothing to say sorry for, since it was perfectly understandable. Turning around, he put the envelope back in his bag, but pulled out his laptop afterwards, turning it on. A few moments after the machine activated, Sven input a password to access the main screen.

	"It's fine, and you don't need to worry about breastfeeding here." Sven pointed out as the laptop was still starting up, "Sure, some people likely have an issue, but the majority of people in this country accept it; I mean, it's only natural, right?"

	Thinking for just a few moments, Sven was in his own world for a couple of seconds. He shook his head as he looked at the laptop, and then continued speaking.

	"If you can't read French, will you be alright walking there...?" Sven asked calmly.