A Knock at Midnight

Galaxy 20,000 Years Later Series
First Installment：The Dream of Foundation

Part Seventh：Arkady Darell
Episode 2： A Knock at Midnight

The night on Terminus was enveloped in silence. Inside a spacious room in the Darell family mansion, Arkady Darell sat at her desk, the only sound being the scratch of her pen gliding across the paper.

On her desk sat a peculiar device—a translation and writing machine equipped with a hidden listening function, courtesy of her classmate Olinthus Damm. Arkady had whimsically named it “Meeter,” inspired by the meteors she often saw outside her window. Its surname, “Mallow,” held familial significance as a tribute to her admired grandmother. (This device would later undergo mysterious changes, evolving in unforeseen ways.)

“I’m going, Meeter！” Arkady suddenly declared, standing up with a triumphant grin.
“Perfect!！When I invited Olinthus Damm on a date, he built me a special listening device. Now I can eavesdrop on my father’s secret meetings！ Late-night gatherings like those are far from ordinary.”

Meeter, unfazed, responded in its usual reserved manner.
“Miss Arkady, that is quite a daring plan.”

“Stop calling me ‘Miss Arkady.’ Just call me Arkady, okay?” she retorted, slightly annoyed, as she returned to her desk.

She glanced at the paper before her and continued.
“And speaking of daring plans, I’m still furious about my essay getting rejected at school. The reason they gave was absurd! They said it was so brilliant it had to be classified as a state secret because I’m the heiress of the prestigious Darell family. Can you believe that？”

Meeter chose its words carefully.
“Arkady, your writing is certainly unique. But even I must admit, it reads more like an unorganized collection of thoughts.”

Arkady slammed her pen down and glared at Meeter.
“My thoughts are unorganized？ Meeter, you’re impossible!”

At that moment, a soft knock came from the window.
Knock, knock, knock.

“What was that？” Arkady looked up, startled.
Meeter immediately activated its alert mode.
“Arkady, someone is knocking at the window.”

“Yes, I heard that.” Arkady frowned, gripping her pen tightly. “But who knocks on a second-story window in the middle of the night？Suspicious doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

“Excuse me,” came a young man’s voice from outside the window.

Peering through the glass, Arkady saw a figure standing under the pale moonlight.

“My name is Pelleas Anthor,” the man called out. “I assure you I’m not a suspicious person. Could you open the window, please？”

Arkady crossed her arms, unimpressed.
“Not suspicious？You’re knocking on a second-floor window in the dead of night. Even a thief wouldn’t bother with such a stunt.”

Peallas gave a sheepish smile.
“No, really, I mean no harm. I just . . . have something important to discuss.”

“If it’s that important, you could ring the doorbell downstairs. But no one’s going to answer. The staff is away, and my father is likely in the basement for one of his secret meetings.”

For a moment, Pelleas seemed at a loss for words, but then he spoke with determination.
“I need to speak with your father. Please, just open the window.”

“Even if you beg, the answer is no！” Arkady snapped, turning her back to him. “I’m busy. I don’t have time to deal with you!”

Meeter quietly observed the exchange, its AI intuition sensing that Pelleas was no ordinary intruder.

“Arkady, perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to hear him out,” Meeter suggested cautiously.

“Meeter, not you too! What’s gotten into you？”

Before Arkady could continue, Pelleas spoke again, his voice calm yet urgent.
“Arkady Darell, you are destined for something far greater than you realize. I came here to tell you that.”

The words froze Arkady in place. Slowly, she turned back to the window, her gaze locking onto the man outside.

“Destiny？”

A heavy silence filled the room as Arkady felt an unfamiliar yet undeniable sense of foreboding rise within her.

To be continued . . .