"It's said that the 'patients' here have been brought from various worlds," Edgar explained. It seemed so long since he'd doubted that theory, but he couldn't deny what he'd learned from his own experiences. "I've even met someone who was from the same place as myself, but brought here from a different plane of time somehow. I don't quite know how to explain it, but the possibilities have left me wondering about the homelands of everyone I've had the chance to meet."

His curiosity was piqued by Natalia's near miss with words- my kingdom? The thought that he might not be the only royalty within the institute was encouraging. He wasn't familiar with the region- then again, the chances he'd meet another person from his particular home world seemed remarkably thin- and he suspected she'd have never heard of his, as was the case with most people he'd met.

Still, he was willing to respond to her questions if it meant he could learn something about her. "A land without nobles or kings? You mean a democracy- I know of a few, though I come from a kingdom myself. Figaro."