Taking a deep breath Tim opened the door and entered the room, ready to unveil the mystery of his family or rather Leon's family. He was now sure that something unexplainable had happened to him or how he could wrap his head around becoming a literally new person.
Inside the room was a large desk where the duke sat behind, going over paperwork. A small library within the room covered the walls, mostly filled with books of direct importance to managing the realm's affairs.
Leonhart's father was a tall and robust man with regal facial features, with short blonde hair, a matching beard, and sky-blue eyes. In front of the table, sat his mother, a black-haired, busty beauty, who looked at him with her obsidian black eyes in a perplexed manner.
Just looking at them gave a surge to a very familiar emotion inside Tim. He had never met them or never known them but felt like knew them for as long as he could remember.
"Father… Mother…" Tim spoke involuntarily as his brain filled him with the information he needed followed by the same mild headache. But that pain mattered less as Tim had now vague memories of himself with them.
Tim could now rarely distinguish between himself and Leonhart as his current recollections changed everything. He could vaguely remember laughing with them, playing with them, crying with them and many other things, which now fluttered his heart.
He did not know how this was possible but now it seemed like they really were his parents. They were precious to him. Something he had lost very long ago.
"You want to say something?" asked the duke, looking at Leon's puzzled yet pleased expression.
"No…" Surprisingly, Tim didn't feel sad or felt like crying. He genuinely felt happy and relieved for some reason.
"Then sit down. Your mother wants to talk to you."
The duke focused again on his work and Leon sat down beside the duchess on the huge luxurious settee.
"So, Leon my son, where have you been for the past seven days after abandoning me and your sister?" said the lady with a soft voice yet fearsome expression on her face, which was more than enough to send chills down Leon's spine.
"I…"
And in the next moment his brain did its work which worked like a search engine. Once it heard a keyword it sent the information he needed to know and that was a coming-of-age party he had ditched.
Tim never ditched any party but now had memories of leaving his mother and his sister whose face was still blurry before going to some other mansion to go drinking.
'Wait…what?'
Tim could recall everything but not with vague details. Everything was clear as day for him. He left them, went to a separate mansion, drank a bottle of wine before sleeping with a beautiful woman.
The next few days also went like this. Drinking, wasting time and sleeping with the same women every night. Just how much of a playboy this guy was?
"I knew it." Sighed the duchess, closing the ledgers she was overlooking. "Frankly, it is not a problem. I already expected you to do that. But without you I had to deal with so much nonsense, that I swear to God, I wanted to burn that place down to the very ground."
"Then why didn't you?" added Leon's father in a mocking tone without averting his gaze from the paper he was reading.
"You want me to wage a war against the emperor?"
"Well…"
"You know dear, I am very much inclined to do that. It is you who will have to clean up the mess. So, what do you say? I can finish him right now if you want."
A faint smile appeared on the duke's face as looked at his wife. "No, my love. I am very much occupied with cleaning up the mess your son made. I can't handle more, for the time being that is."
"If you say so, honorable duke," responded Leon's mother in a sarcastic tone with a sly smile on her face.
"Thank you, milady."
From this little interaction between husband and wife, Tim got the idea that they were a happy couple, just like his long-gone parents. He too chuckled witnessing their action but his mind had another query.
"Guys!" Leon raised his hand to get both of his parents' attention. "What mess did I make?"
"Oh. You forgot. That is not new."
"Well, my son, you didn't attend the coming-of-age celebration of the imperial princess." Replied the duchess observing Leon's behavior.
"But you said, that is not a problem."
"It is a problem." Added the duke, putting down his pen as he leaned back on his too fancy high back chair.
"How can it be a problem and not a problem at the same time?" asked Tim with a confused expression on his face. He couldn't understand why both were contradicting each other's words.
"Seriously, why do you act like you are the dumbest person in this empire? You know it is an issue that requires your attention no matter how your mother puts it." Leon's father raised his tone a little as he rose from his seat slightly.
Leonhart could have understood the gravity of the situation by now but Tim who had only fragments of his memory, didn't. He still had no idea what they were talking about.
"I have no idea…"
The duke sighed again as he looked at his wife, gesturing to her to explain but she was not in the mood. "No. Milord. It is considered a problem by you. So, you are the right person to enlighten our son."
"That's why I need my daughter. You mother and son are always the same."
"Well, we are the same. Right?" The duchess patted Leon's head as if he was a kid, with a satisfied grin on her face and Leon, nodded with a smile.
Tim was more than happy perceiving this little family talk. It reminded him of how he was happy with his family.
"Whatever." The duke waved his hand as he spoke in a distinct tone. "Leon you are turning twenty this year and soon going to be engaged to Elizabeth, yet you missed her coming of age party. She will be your wife in less than a year and you missed it. Great, right?
"Elizabeth…" Tim mumbled the name as his brain did the rest of the work.
"Yes. You ditched her party where you should have been from the very beginning. Our relations are already strained with them and you just made it worse."
Elizabeth was the only princess of this empire and was to be married with the son of duke Esper after she turned sixteen. Seven days ago, she passed that age and was introduced to the noble society where her soon to be husband must greet her and ask for first dance.
But Leonhart ditched her like nothing, meaning he didn't value the relationship with her. It was a straight insult towards her and the imperial family. Something no one dared to attempt.
Leon already had a past record of affronting everyone so it didn't come up as a surprise. But still it was something he should have never done because of its fair share of consequences.
And now the duke was just trying to salvage the situation.
"Oh." After processing all the information his brain and the duke provided, Tim rubbed his forehead. No one in their right mind should try to play with the egos of big people and Leon was just doing that.
A needless problem which seemed like it was waiting for only and only him.
"So, you will go to the palace and apologize to her. And it must be done by tomorrow evening. Understand."
"Yes, Father." Replied Tim in a firm tone as it seemed it was an order and something inside him told that it wouldn't be a good idea to disobey this man.
"Very Well then. You are dismissed."
The duke focused on his doings and Leon got up from his seat, bowed one last time and began to leave but his steps halted once he heard his mother calling.
"Leon, go check on Adel for me."
"Sure."
Leaving the office Tim, again navigated through the estate towards the garden where Adel was supposed to be. After hearing her name, he now had a vague recollection of days spent with her. Most were good ones but some were too annoying to even think about.
Soon Tim was greeted by many servants on his way and an old man wearing a three-piece suit. There were also some guards carrying swords on their waists. They didn't bow but just nodded and in return he did the same, keeping a straight face.
Tim was not a fan of too much attention, so he avoided it. But now, for some weird reason he felt like he was used to it. He neither evaded nor cared, just walked on his way.
Exiting the inner gates of the estate Tim stepped on the grassy lands, as the cold yet warm breeze brushed past his skin.
It seemed like it was nine or ten in the morning as the rays of the sun were not that harsh. But he was getting hungry and there was no one except Sophia who could help him on that or she was the only person he knew here, to ask for anything.
Tim planned to ask her about the food after checking on Adel which should have ended soon but it did not exactly go as planned.
He moved through the garden towards the area where voices of some girls were heard. Tim expected to see Leon's sister but was welcomed by a pure arc of lightning heading at him.
Time seemed to move at an awfully slow pace as his eyes widened in horror. Somehow Tim knew what it was, as his body shuddered but hands came forward on their own. Legs moved automatically and his hands swiveled to the right as if controlling the bolt.
And strangely it obeyed his command. The bolt of current hit the ground just a couple of meters ahead of him in the same slow motion. Tim felt relieved but had clearly forgotten about the after effects.
Boom!
"Shit!"
Time again flowed on at its usual speed and Tim was thrown a couple of meters backwards from the shockwave hitting the ground with a thud. The impact obliterated the earth, making a small crater.
The deafening noise alerted everyone inside as the guard rushed at Tim unsheathing their swords as a yellowish hue enveloped their body. Soon the hue was gone but was replaced with a full plate, heavy armor of steel.
Some assisted Tim getting up shouting on top of their lungs and some cleared the dusty smog with just swings of their blades. But he didn't pick anything as his ears were still ringing from the sound.
Within some moments Tim was back on his feet groaning in pain, as he took a clear look at his surroundings. The first thing he saw was scared looks on everyone's faces including three girls, probably fifteen-year-old.
"Oops!"