The shears clicked shut, and Sebastian stepped back to admire his work. The hedges were perfectly trimmed, not a single leaf out of place.

Then, the sky ripped open.

Something shot down at alarming speed.

From a manor window, a servant squinted. Is that a shooting star? A pause. No, it’s broad daylight— Their expression twisted. A bird? A… HUMAN?!

With a violent crash, the figure plummeted straight into the rosebushes. Petals and dirt exploded into the air.

Sebastian lowered the shears, blinking once.

A person lay sprawled in the wreckage, tangled in thorns and gasping in shock. Their clothes were bizarre—unlike anything of this era. Their eyes darted around in disbelief, locking onto him.

Draped in strange, ill-fitting attire, lay sprawled among the crushed flowers, groaning. Their clothes were bizarre—far too modern, with fabrics and stitching unfamiliar to this era. Their shoes, scuffed and unmistakably out of place, stuck out from the greenery like some tragic art piece.

Sebastian sighed, adjusting his gloves. ”How troublesome.”

His shadow loomed as he stepped forward, crimson gaze unreadable.

“Now, where exactly did you come from?”