Sophia's tone took a wild turn as her joyful look disappeared and was replaced with a pensive one. She spoke calmly. Her voice carried not even a glint of emotion.
"Did you not notice the lack of magic in your surroundings? No one is showing off their barren skills. Everything is normal. Why is that?"
"Now that you put it like that…. I really have not seen anyone using magic." Tim muttered with a confused yet thoughtful expression on his face.
Apart from a few notable people back in the castle, not once Tim saw someone other than himself doing something fairy-tale like thing. Like she said, no one used magic like they should. It was there but no one was using it.
"Why though? Why is no one using it?" He asked again.
"Because magic is learned. Genetics are there but you were taught how to use magic. Your mother, the duchess, educated you since you were a mere child followed by countless mages who spent day and night chasing after you." Sophia sighed repentantly. "But no commoner shares that fate. We are never taught how to use mana. Some learn by themselves but how far can they go without a proper teacher?"
She learned how to use mana and the basics of manipulating it because of Leon. He gave her access to books and taught her. Without him, it was just a faraway dream.
"So, you are telling me that magic is scarce because the masses are never taught how to use it."
"Yes! Learning magic or mana manipulation is a privilege only granted to nobles or else you get chosen by the academy." The maid answered, sitting straight, with her poker face on.
"Chosen by academy?" Tim knew about the existence of educational institutions in this medieval era. They were probably used for educating everyone as educated people were the building blocks of any society. But if the crowd won't be educated then it was pointless to establish the whole thing.
"Yes, there are institutions who teach magic. The chosen are trained there and become warriors to serve this empire."
"The selected few only learn magic to serve their homeland. And others are just left on their own because they can't use mana effectively. Right?" He recited the first thing he read in the book.
"Don't believe everything you read. Mage association works for the nobles who like to keep power only in their hands. They never say or write anything that can cause problems for their benefactors." Sophia let out a deep breath. "If you look around, most people can do magic, whether they are genetically gifted or not. Mana is for everyone to use. But sadly, they are never taught. And after hundreds of years of repetition, no one cares about it anymore. If life can go on without it then it is practically unnecessary. They are living just fine."
"And all this for what? Power, control, money…." Tim responded, falling back on the long seat.
He was no foreign to these types of events where dictators wanted their people to be illiterate for them to stay in control. Because when educated, the perception of reality changes. Tsunami or any natural calamities won't seem like God's wrath, when one understands the underlying concepts behind it.
And this whole ordeal about mana uses was the same. If everyone became stronger, then who would control them? Who would answer their questions about their incompetent ruler? And if they became too strong, they would literally kick the ruler out.
The fear of losing everything… The greed was the leash around mana. By limiting its uses, they eliminated the fear of someone growing too strong to defy the rules. There would be no one to hold them accountable, no matter what or how they do.
Mana really held that much power.
"Yeah… That is what history tells us. Nine hundred years ago a group of mages annihilated an entire kingdom on their own. They were proved too hard to handle. Thus, they got rid of all the mages and the problem was solved forever." A faint smile appeared on Sophia's face as she too leaned on the seat, beside her lord. Not a servant-like behavior but it was allowed by her master.
"Things need to change!"
---
So, the last leg of the trip continued with nothing significant happening except Tim falling asleep on Sophia's lap. He just felt like doing it and she never objected. And after a few hours of riding, they reached the town called Nortion.
The coach was led straight to the mansion, before the main gates and Tim exited with a long yawn. He did a couple of stretching before all the servants awaiting his arrival and went inside.
The mansion was not enormous like the castle, back in the duchy but it was moderately huge. The corridor connecting to various rooms was lit by the same magical orbs requiring no electricity.
"Welcome Lord!" A man probably in his late thirties came into view, bowing down courteously.
Tim nodded, saying nothing as he inspected the man before him. He wore a three piece black suit and white gloves in both hands. His features were rather sharp compared to his age.
"I am Maxith, butler of the house. Available in your service." said the butler bowing down once again. He was trying his best to cool his rising anxiety before an infamous master whom he never expected to serve.
"Good. Now if you are kind enough, then please show me my room." Tim let out another yawn. He was tired and Maxith's slow and careful introduction was not the first thing he wanted.
"As you wish lord."
Maxith guided him into his already prepared room followed by Sophia. And after some minutes of traversing and some courteous words from the butler, they finally reached.
The room was prepared in the same minimalistic manner, like Tim wanted and he was happy to see the result. Leaving Sophia and Tim in the chamber, the butler left and once again, the maid got into action.
She placed all the clothes brought from the duchy in the closet. Thoroughly checked the bed and room. Went to the bathroom to prepare the bath and lastly got ready to undress her lord.
Tim just stood in the middle of the room dumbfounded witnessing her swift actions, one after another. 'Just how much energy she has?'
She moved behind Tim to remove his coat and he let her do whatever she wanted, asking no questions, until she tried to unzip his pants. Tim politely stopped her and she halted with a not so content gaze.
"Lord, if you excuse me, I have to check on others." Sophia said before leaving the room. Bath was prepared and she finished all her work in that room. Hence now she was required in the rooms where the other two maids stayed.
Seeing the door closing, Tim sighed again. "She is relentless, huh… Still, she does her job perfectly. No complaints there."
Tim undressed himself, wore the towel and went for a nice bath after finishing routine job in the toilet. Next, he quietly placed himself on the large porcelain bathtub, displacing some warm water in the process. His back leaned on one end and legs barely missed the other end as he completely submerged himself, only poking his head out.
And the relaxing phase began where Tim did nothing except closing his eyes, letting his body rest and mind wander.
Tim carried his own memories along with Leon's feelings and regrets. He could vaguely remember some details about Leon's past but there was always something missing. It was as if a dark veil was shrouding Leon's memories.
Sometimes, some fragments would escape but no matter how he tried, lifting that curtain was always impossible. And if he ever tried hard enough, the excruciating pain would return. It was just impossible.
Without the bigger picture, accepting himself as someone else was not easy. But sooner or later, the acceptance came. Tim did not feel like an imposter anymore. He accepted himself. Saw himself as Leonhart.
Tim acted like Leon. He became Leon. And now the only thing left was to figure out the shrouded past. He still had no idea why all this happened? If he was Leon, then where did the original go? What happened to him? Was he dead? Why? Where? How?
There were a million questions but no answer could be found. He tried his best but nothing was there. Everything was empty.
Tim slowly opened his eyes, observing the calm water. "What happened to you Leon?" He muttered, but like he expected, there was no one to respond. It was only him and the dimly lit room.
"I will figure it out." Tim whispered to himself, staring at his own reflection.
Tim exhaled deeply, as he repositioned himself in the water for a more comfortable experience. There was no point in thinking as long as he had no access to full information about Loen. So, until that time Tim decided to shift his attention to another important topic.
And that was about how he was going to rule this little land under the direct supervision of Wilhelm. Tim had to be successful in it to make his father proud and atone for previous mistakes. All sins Leon committed were now his to redress. And humiliating the image of the duke in public was one of them. He had to fix it now. He had to build himself from the ground.
So, he started formulating some basic set of steps to make things right and effectively manage everything.
The first step was to get the basic idea about this empire which he already did by reading every book the library had to provide about the history of the land.
This empire dated six hundred years back and now was in the transition between the late medieval and early modern era where technology was advancing rapidly, still the lives of people were the same. Nobles ruled the commoners as God's hand.
Feudal and religious systems were at their peak and the only one suffering was innocent human beings.
And if Tim had to rejuvenate Leon's name again, he had to make things right. Make things good for normal people who did not want any share in feudal matters. They just wanted a peaceful life and if he could give them that, then it won't take long for them to forget his wrong doings.
"It will work!" A wide grin appeared on Tim's lips as he now could see practical ways to solve every problem these people had. He was a modern man and with the help of his newfound influence, mixed with avant-garde ideas, he really could fix anything in no time.
Now was the time to act. He had an impending issue at hand which most could not risk to solve. But he could. Just needed a little more time, patience, and some screwing around.
"It is gonna be fun!" Tim smirked, lowering his head to completely sink himself in the water but soon rose. "But now is the time for me to relax. Right Leon…? … Yeah."
Tim had an infallible plan in mind. And was hundred percent sure that nothing could go wrong, if he played his pieces right. Thus, with a free mind and throwing all the worries outside the window, he closed his eyes again for a little nap.
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A/N - I stopped writing this novel a week ago and these backlog will run out soon enough. So if you guys want me to continue then please tell me in the comments.