3

It had been one week since Bryan had taken over the body of Leonard, within that time, no answers came to him as to why this situation came about nor was he in any position to find out.

Currently he was standing in front of a tall mirror looking at his overall appearance making sure he was properly presentable to his family this morning.

'I guess this looks good?'

Looking at his reflection stood a young boy with childish features, soft dark brown hair covered his head and deep brown eyes with an entrancing innocence. A healthy complexion on his pale skin accommodated his youthful charm. Wearing black pants and a white shirt neatly tucked in with a dark blue vest coat, his overall appearance gave the impression of a smartly dressed well up-brought child.

Opening the door into his room came Marie, observing Leonard for a moment as he finished adjusting his dressing in the mirror.

"Master Leonard, I believe we've been over this already, you know it's my duty to help you dress yourself in the mornings." A stern reminder attempting to set the young boy straight.

"Marie, I'm fine in dressing myself, really…" Moaning at her as he could only feign ignorance at her instructive reminder and raised eyebrow as she silently judged Leonard's overall appearance and choice of clothing.

Humming in approval she decided to ease her appraisal of him, "It looks like you are indeed capable of tending to yourself young master. Yet, within this family your mother's word holds a much higher authority than yours I'm afraid."

A small smile rose from the corners of her mouth followed by her reminder of the instruction recieved to care for him. "Meaning that until the end of this week, as per her instruction. I am to supervise you strictly to ensure your awakening didn't leave any long lasting issues to your physical health."

Sighing in defeat Leonard realized there was no winning this conversation.

"Okay, I'm sorry I went against my mother's wishes. I'll remember to follow them next time." Unable to hide his disgruntlement with the overall situation.

Looking towards the young child Marie's voice grew softer to his response.

"Young master, while it is pleasing to see you being more independent, please do not force yourself to rush the matter." She walked next to Leonard, crouching next to him so as to direct his attention to her.

"I know and I'm sure you do too as to why your mother asked for me to oversee your safety for this week. Whether it's guilt about causing them worry or shame in your weakness matters little. Let them care for you. And let them worry about you. They're your family and it's as much of a burden as it is a blessing for them to do so. So let this serve as a little morning lesson that you aren't alone and it's okay to rely on others."

Her words caused that lump to reappear in Leonard's throat. He knew inwardly that her words were true, even though there was more to it. Mentally he was over 40 years old; being more self aware and capable than anybody his age should be. Yet, his desire for familial love – that feeling of connection between others was something he'd sought dearly, even in his previous life. Something which the previous Leonard he'd replaced only got to experience for a moment of his lifetime.

Looking into Leonard's eyes Marie could see the flicker of vulnerability being laid bare to her, no words beyond that were said as she simply brought her arms forward and held him in her embrace. Silence surrounded them as their own little world took precedence over anything else, only for this moment between them to end all too soon.

Releasing Leonard from her arms she pulled back and fully stood up, her earlier stern expression easing up as she refocused on their current priority.

"Now, Let's be on our way young master. This will be the first proper breakfast alongside your family since your recovery. I'm sure they shall be happy to see you, especially Illiana." A hint of amusement could be heard in her words as she spoke of Leonard's older sister.

Looking back throughout the week Leonard's memory of his older sister could be summarized in a single word; affectionate. Overly so. For some reason she'd taken on the role as an older sister very seriously, having self appointed herself the duty of ensuring that there wasn't a moment he would be unsupervised throughout the week. In addition, whether it was his mother or Marie taking care of him whilst bedridden, Illiana would always be present with one of them, looking for jobs to help with. Bryan had never had siblings before, so this was an entirely new experience, yet, he didn't necessarily hate the experience of having been doted on so much.

"Let's just go shall we? Before I really do show up late."

Thus the two of them exited Leonard's room with Marie leading the way to the dining room.

As he followed along he couldn't help but look around the houses hallways and ponder about his situation as a whole. His family were by no means highly ranked nobility or wealthy merchants; their housing and staff were incentives and gifts to his parents for their abilities and success within the city. His father Brenton, was a knight frame captain under Count Tyrol Frederick whilst his mother dealt with management or something within the city. Unfortunately, he couldn't fully understand their positions as the original Leonard's memories didn't give much detail on the matter. He wasn't sure exactly why that warranted their overly affluent living arrangements but he wasn't going to complain about such matters. To the present Leonard, this was an entirely new world and he'd mentally resolved himself over the past week to learn and adapt to his new surroundings.

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Within a well furnished yet simple Victorian styled dining room was an immaculately carved wooden table with a length that could easily seat up to four people length ways and single individuals at the head of either end. Sitting presently were four people currently all beginning their mornings with breakfast and conversing on their plans for the day ahead.

Upon entering the room, Marie lead Leonard towards the table and smoothly pulled out a chair for him to sit on. As he did so he noticed that sitting next to him on his right was his older brother Ashton wearing similar clothing in style to himself. Both he and Ashton shared some resemblances in their heritage; dark brown hair, brown eyes and healthy complexions. Yet Ashton had a much more colder natural appearance on his face – his eyes holding a much sharper gaze compared to the rest of his family. Inside, Leonard knew however, that although his appearance was a little intimidating it wasn't a definition of his character.

At his core Ashton was a very caring person. Despite Illiana's aggressiveness this past week in tending to him, Ashton had still made appearances now and again to offer his assistance. He was somewhat reserved in his actions and speech compared to his sister. Yet, despite that he did his best to make his thoughts known or his actions meaningful, even just simple repeated conversations in ensuring how Leonard was feeling made his concern clear.

"Good morning everyone, I'm sorry for being late for breakfast."

"Good morning Len! Are you feeling okay?"

His elder sister Illiana being first to respond to his greetings with a smile on her face, though being this energetic and loud was immediately squashed by her mother sitting beside her on her left.

"Illiana. Manners. You will not shout at this table during meals and most certainly not in the presence of others. Especially in the mornings." Ailene admonished.

"Yes mother..."

Her voice losing energy as she looked down back at her breakfast with a small pout. Observing her from across the table, Leonard couldn't help but smile sympathetically as her neatly plaited dark brown hair hung down across her shoulder and her tomboyishly childish face held those beautiful emerald eyes she'd inherited from her mother turned to look saddened.

Unwilling to let her morning start off disheartened Leonard couldn't help but try to cheer her up.

"I'm feeling great thanks Illi, you and Ashton helping me over the past week was really comforting. I wish we could get together more often like that…"

Leonard returned Illiana's smile from earlier back to her.

The once saddened pouting girl was washed from existence, beaming back up to look at her little brother, showering him with that radiant smile of happiness. Glancing a little to his side; noticing his brothers natural frown recede a little also tickled his own heart.

He hadn't been lying about his comments though, as despite Marie's earlier teasing of him with Illiana's passion as his elder sister, he pleasantly enjoyed their time together and getting to know his siblings better.

"Leonard you're a little late coming into breakfast dear, is everything okay?" Ailene's words sounded a little worried as she looked towards her son.

"I'm fine mother, I was just having a conversation with Marie earlier and lost track of time a little".

Hearing her sons words she simply looked towards Marie who had seen to stand herself against the walls and confirm his words with a simple nod.

"I see. Then it's good that everything's well."

Unable to hide the small pigment of relief in her voice.

Leonard didn't participate much in conversation from there, he was more fascinated with watching how his family interacted with one another and enjoying a familial gathering like this for the first time. As such, breakfast from there was a quiet affair of gentle conversation with his family being happy in seeing Leonard moving about to what their plans for the day entailed.

His mother had been absent from work for nearly two weeks now. Emphasizing how imperative it was that she returned to her post physically to make sure that everything was still holding together.

In turn, his father would also return back to his station which he joked about not being as busy as you'd expect. Though Leonard wasn't sure if he could trust that statement given the stern looks his father received from both his mother and Marie.

As for his siblings, they would also go about their own tasks. At 8 years old it was deemed appropriate to begin studies for children in public classes. Thus both Ashton and Illiana would leave for their schooling – returning home close to early afternoon. The subjects taught at school related primarily on academic studies due to kingdom policies. In addition, it heavily encouraged after school lessons in early physical training specifically in combat arts for all ages and mana coaching lessons to those who had already awoken their cores.

Personally for himself, the words his mother left him regarding tomorrow lingered on his mind.

"Tomorrow your lessons begin with your home teacher. We did arrange for lessons to begin two weeks ago but given past events we had to push the date back a little. I know you'll do great and listen to what your teacher tells you. She was the teacher for both Ashton and Illiana upon their awakenings, so you can be assured she'll take care of you too."

Deciding togeta little ahead of tomorrows events Leonard made his way to the family study room. Upon entering he took in it's overall interior, on his right side was a blackboard setupagainst the wall, four desks suitable for sitting two people on either side of them with clear view to the board and four bookcases covering the back of the room full to the rim. Looking across from where he entered, the rooms windows gave way to the scenery outside offering full view to the well maintained garden and it's soothing vibrancy. All in all it was a relaxing and quiet room to be in, suitable for focusing the mind and getting away from outside distractions.

Following him of course as she had been instructed was Marie. At this moment he was thankful for her presence – fully intending on utilizing her knowledge of the world to help him fill in whatever blanks were missing about his new environment as well as his family status. He'd made a personal promise to do his best and this felt like a step in the right direction to achieve that.

Walking up to the windows so he could gaze outside, his earlier thoughts about his parents still lingered on his mind; unable to contain his curiosity any longer, he voiced out his questions, "Marie, what is it that my parents do exactly? Mother said she needed to return to her station but I don't understand what her responsibilities are. She looked… troubled."

Approaching the young boy who was focusing on the garden outside, Marie responded with her usual informative tone. "Your mother holds a very significant position within the city of Frederice. Ever since she was reassigned to this city her duties revolved around the oversight of supplies for both the city and the military as well as the transferral of personnel and equipment from Frederice to the Rift."

A number of things caught Leonard's attention from Marie's information, first of all being his mothers actual significance within the city. A small pit in his stomach developed as realization hit him with regards to her absence. "Doesn't that mean she's been missing for nearly two weeks all because of me?" sad at the realization.

"Yes, she was absent because of her tending to your health. but you needn't feed this thought much concern. Given the circumstances I don't think she'll be punished for doing so."

"Why not? That doesn't make sense."

"Two reasons. The first in simple terms is that your mother is excellent when it comes to her job. The management and allocation of resources within Frederice is incredibly important not just for the city itself but also the kingdom as a whole."An unexpected bout of pride welled up within Leonard's mind as he continued listening to Marie's explanation. "The second is that under Royal decree, the nurturing of young talents awakening their mana core is an overall benefit to the Kingdom. In your case, you awoke at an exceptionally young age master Leonard. Therefore your mother simply need only mention your awakening and all will be settled."

A moment of worry and suspicion sounded in Leonards voice, "Was I the only one who awoke early in my family?"

"That depends on what is considered the norm for early awakenings." No change in tone to Marie's answer, "You see, your brother and sister are considered to be early awakeners too. Thinking back, your brother and sister both awoke at around 7 years old and were also weakened because of it, however, their situation wasn't as dire as your own. And yes. Your parents also took time off to ensure they were taken care of too."

Leonards shoulders slightly sagged in relief, only to question worryingly, "Is it dangerous for people to awaken their core early?"

"It is. Our bodies are not born with mana naturally. At least humanity isn't, therefore we need time to allow our bodies to slowly develop an affinity with the aether in the atmosphere so that our bodies are strengthened to a point where our awakening doesn't cause us severe harm. As we've adapted to it's presence over time, it allows our bodies to channel mana safely through our awakened cores."

Leonard went silent. Trying to understand what Marie was referring to as he looked inward, nothing felt out of place and he couldn't get a sense of anything mysterious like mana.

"I don't sense anything."

A small crack appeared in Marie's stoicism as a hint of a smile appeared on her face, finding amusement in her young masters attempt at self discovery. "Of course you can't, you've no idea what to look for. In addition, I'm going to have to ask you to stop trying to experiment with your newly awakened core. You'll receive proper instruction tomorrow and your teacher won't be enthused about having to heal you again if you somehow hurt yourself by making mistakes with mana. There's no need to rush master Leonard, you're already at the starting line so to speak while everyone else your age hasn't even arrived at the track."

Conceding to Marie's discouragement he decided to at least tackle another matter that had him curious as well. "Then what about father? He's a knight captain isn't he? How come he's able to return from duty so frequently and then go back to the barracks like its nothing?"

He turned, looking back at Marie and could see that the smile had faded and her eyes narrowed a little as she too now looked out the window just as Leonard had. "First. He is a Knight Frame Captain. It's important you remember that. Secondly, you're right. He'sbeenoverly neglectful of his duties of late. Even though knight-frame pilot's are not needed on a frequent basis when it comes to patrolling the city's perimeter, him not being there is a negligence of duty on his part."

A cold sweat ran down Leonard's back as he realized he may have just set his father up for trouble of some kind, "Surely father isn't that irresponsible. I mean, like you said it was a trying time and given my awakening some sort of leniency is allowed right?"

Marie still looking outside simply shook her head, "Maybe you're right… perhaps simply just letting him know that his own 5 year old son made comment about his lack of diligence to his duty he might just realize how unprofessional his attitude has been recently…I'm sure your mother would have a few choice words for him should she realize just how much time he's spent away from his position as well…"

Leonard fully turned around at this point looking at Marie only to realize she too was looking at him and noticing the glimmer of amusement in her eyes again as she matched Leonards stare. "You're teasing me again…" a childish pout appeared on his face by reaction.

"Then stop fretting about matters that are out of your hands young master." Her voice soft yet affirmative. "You've already stated about wanting to be more independent but how can we trust you with that independence when you focus so much on matters that aren't your own?"

His minds focus changing as he looked at his overall attitude towards matters so far as they came into perspective. "I just want to be able to do the best that I can."

"And you can, but you rushing into matters won't benefit you in any way. I'm positive that in the future you will go on to become someone special. You're already very intelligent for someone your age, maybe you'll go on to inspire others with that intellect. Perhaps a knight as grand as the 12 Generals themselves. Who knows, you could even be the most charming man throughout this entire kingdom winning over any number of ladies." Amusement flowed through her words as she painted various possibilities for him, finding entertainment in it herself. "But for now; enjoy these moments. Don't just focus on what the end result will achieve, when there's so much more to it, from the wonder, to the experience, the entire journey itself. Every step leaving a trace of who you once were as you grow older."

He looked inward. Rekindling old memories of how he had dedicated himself to work in order to hide from his pain. No family to lean on or friends to communicate with. He simply kept his contacts at a distance unsure of how he should proceed in life as time flowed and the events leading to his death arrived.

"You're right, I'll try to take it more easy from now."

His easing agreement sprouted a small glimmer of pride in Marie as she watched her young master take an important step forward in life, only for that earlier light tickling of amusement to reappear in her voice.

"Well lets not go taking it too easy though shall we? I don't want your teacher hunting me down and condemning me because you didn't apply yourself enough."

He could only inwardly question how bad his teacher was if Marie was making her out to be so zealous regarding his studies. Then thinking back on his original objective in coming here Leonard realized he'd been thoroughly distracted by his curiosity, "Marie, do you think you could help me then? I want to know more about Frederice about where we live and what happens here."

Marie pondered a moment turning her gaze towards the bookshelves at the back, "Very well, though we'll limit our focus to Frederice only." Reinforcing her prior concerns of over doing matters, "Anything outside of it and it's surroundings can be explained by your teacher and at a later date."

Nodding his head in agreement Leonard turned towards one of the tables choosing where to sit whilst Marie went towards one of the bookshelves looking for the appropriate title to begin their impromptu study session together.

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Seated at her desk within a sharply organized and uniform office was Ailene as she read over reports that had managed to pile themselves up on top of her desk during her absence. She knew prior to arriving that there would be a need to catch up on matters that couldn't have been handled by simply having Marie act as an interim, but the abundance of it all made it concerning how vital her position was overall. Pushing such thoughts out of her mind, she refocused her efforts back to the task at hand only to be interrupted by a knocking at her office door.

"Enter."

Opening the door gave view to a woman of older age to Ailene as she entered accompanied by two maid attendants following behind her.

Wearing a pair of tight white trousers accentuating her well toned legs along with a pair of black knee high boots. Her dark blue uniform coat tailed jacket with golden accentuated buttons and trimming was buttoned up giving narrow view to the white shirt hidden underneath. Whereas her belted white harness tied around her waist gave rest for the sheathed rapier to hang on display, purposefully enhancing her resplendent figure. All of which gave platform for her dark blonde hair loosely hanging to the bottom of her neck and although aged her beauty still didn't diminish giving her a much more mature appearance highlighted by her soft blue eyes and the hidden wisdom held within.

"It's good to see you back in the office Ailene, I was beginning to think you didn't like your work environment given your missing presence these last two weeks." Her voice playful yet no doubt authoritative.

Upon seeing who was entering the room Ailene pulled herself out from her desk and gave a sharp salute to the newly arrived woman; legs together straight, chest outwards and left arm at her side as the right arm crossed over her breasts as her right fist rested clenched on the opposite shoulder. "Countess Evelyn. It's a pleasure. To what do I owe the visit?"

Evelyn Frederick was the wife to Count Tyrol Frederick the count of Frederice. Having an already solidified position amongst the nobility prior to their marriage the moment it was officiated she wasted no time in scouting and hiring multiple talents that she'd encountered throughout her career in the military prior to her wedding. Ailene and her husband Brenton were two of those talents, leading to a greater prosperity for the city and establishing the groundworks for multiple knight frame squadrons to be established. Which served as a statement to the cities newly acquired wealth and authority.

She started looking around the office for a brief moment, wiggling her nose in dissatisfaction and then part way looked back to her maids, "Wait outside. We have matters of import to discuss." Her tone instructive leaving no room for debate.

Following her command, both maids bowed forward professionally then turned to leave the room in an organized manner.

Once gone and the door fully closed, Evelyn looked Ailene square in the eyes for a few seconds, her once scrutinizing gaze gently softened into one of sympathy as she and Ailene rushed forwards, gripping one another in a tight embrace.

"I'm so happy he's safe Ailene." Whispering her heartfelt relief for her best friends son's recovery. "When Marie informed me about Leonard collapsing from his awakening I was frantic in finding some way to help you and Brenton. How are you feeling? You know I'm here to help however possible, right?"

"I'm doing fine Eve, thank you. And yes I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you for all the support you've given the two of us since you took us in." Her friends audible display of worry and concern only lead to Ailene sinking into the hug a little more as she truly felt grateful to have such a wonderful friend in her life.

The pair of them had known one another since childhood and despite Evelyn being older than Ailene it didn't mean much when taking into consideration some of the ages of the other races within the kingdom. Their parents having been good friends growing up had hoped that their own children would share in the same friendship they had. So overtime, through regular family meetings, noble gatherings and their own military careers the two daughters became good friends and supported each other whenever possible. Thus when her marriage was sealed did she waste no time in getting Ailene to transfer over to Frederice's logistics division, having already been impressed with her previous work and accomplishments.

Pulling away from their embrace the two walked holding each other by the waist side by side to the sitting area, intended for in office meetings. The couch being the most suitable given the circumstances they simply sat next to one another, allowing their emotions to settle before continuing with their discussion.

Releasing a deep breath Evelyn eased in to the couch; her curiosity winning out from holding back questions, "So how has Leonard's health been since his awakening?"

"In all honesty, ever since he awoke from his coma he's been perfectly fine. In fact he's become overly energetic, throughout this past week he's been insistent on letting himself be more active physically and a tad needy in being a little more independent. Despite putting up a strong front, he's been a little reserved in his expressions of late…"

Evelyn shot her friend a sympathetic smile, "Perhaps he's feeling guilty about all the worry he may have caused you and the family… sounds like he's very self aware for someone so young, you just might have a genius on your hands Ailene." She teased, attempting to clear a little of the subdued atmosphere.

"Maybe…" Her mind was elsewhere however, ignorant of her friends teasing.

Sliding closer, Evelyn pulled Ailene's hands into her own, holding them tight – smothering them in her warmth, "Its really shook you up didn't it?"

Ailene's response was an instant whisper but her breath faltering, "I nearly lost him Eve. I felt so helpless as he just laid there, sweating, gasping for breath, unable to eat properly. And now that he's awakened…" The emotions that had been held back for the entirety of the last two weeks were slowly beginning to surface now that time was being given for a chance to look back and ruminate.

"It's over now though, you've seen yourself how healthy he is. Burdening your consciousness with what ifs and maybes isn't going to help anybody, certainly not yourself and most certainly not him."

Taking in a deep breath Ailene could only helplessly lament, "But he's so young Eve, the attention he'll attract because of his awakening will no doubt begin to put pressure on him. Not to mention how we're trying not to gain attention given my background and the mess that's caused me and Brenton…"

Evelyn silently processed the whole of her friends ordeal; only to come a sudden realization, "How many people know about Leonard's awakening?"

"Not many, we kept it quiet because we wanted to ensure Leonard's recovery was handled safely. So, only Brenton, the kids and all three of the staff – Marie, Jenson and Wesley. Then there's just you and… Emilia. She helped a lot in Leonard's recovery." Ailene's voice trailed off, wondering what her friend could be up to now.

A small shiver ran down Evelyn's back at the mention of Emilia, she was someone whom she'd rather not get too entangled with given her colourful history. "Then we're going to keep it that way." Her voice silent but strong, "Lockdown all knowledge on Leonard's awakening. I'm assuming you'll still have Emilia act as his teacher similar to how she did with Ashton and Illiana in both academics, combat and mana…" He words leading to an assumed answer.

Ailene simply nodded, only with a slight complicated gaze upon mentioning Leonards mana training, "He has to have Emilia as his trainer. Nobody else is qualified." Leaving no further comment.

Nodding in confirmation, Evelyn carried on, "Then he'll still undergo that training with her only it'll be in secret. Outside of that, we'll ensure that nothing about his core awakening gets out."

Ailene was shocked, she hadn't dare to consider the possibility of keeping Leonard's awakening a secret. However, given the number of people who knew about it in total the idea didn't seem so impossible. "I-I don't know what to say… Evelyn, if word of this gets out; never mind me and Brenton, you and Tyrol could get into a lot of trouble. An awakening as early as Leonard's has never been seen outside of the royal family… They'll no doubt be interested in him." Her voice ending in whispered realization.

"Which is why it needs to be kept a secret. Yet, now that I'm looking at the matter more closely, it isn't just for Leonard's sake…"

Openly confused she could only respond, "What do you mean?"

"It's for your sake too Ailene."

She voiced no response only to see Ailene maintain that same confused look.

"Think about it, both Ashton and Illiana had their awakenings at 7 years old – early awakenings yes, but nothing unheard of or too rare. Now normally that would be fine. But now that Leonard awoke at the age of 5 some nobles might get the impression you are the key to that…" Evelyn finished her thoughts, letting the moment of silence settle between the two as stark realisation soon hit her best friend.

"I dare them to even so much as attempt to put their hands on me let alone pull me away from my family!" Anger flaring, Ailene couldn't hold back her emotional outburst.

Keeping her own emotions in check, Evelyn could only try to appease Ailene's rising fury, "Which is why we need to get ahead of this now… Take the rest of the day off. Pass the message onto the rest of your family and make sure that nobody else has been made aware of this knowledge. Hopefully we can still make it in time and prevent any nasty surprises."

Ailene took a second, gathering her thoughts as she took a moment to plan out how to proceed with warning her family. "Okay… I'll head home first and get Jenson, Wesley and Marie updated and have them inform Brenton and the children… Leonard and Emilia I'll inform separately." A steely determination was now plastered on her face as she realised getting ahead of this was important.

Looking at her friends resolve Evelyn couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as she compared the child she first met to the now talented grown woman turn into a mother and establish herself as a vital part of her own family's city. The pair of them stood up from the couch as the main issue had been addressed and Evelyn moved into Ailene for one last hug before she departed.

"Remember, you're not alone in this Ailene. If any sign of trouble should come to your attention in regards to you or your family please get in touch. I'll do what I can to help."

Tightening the hug for a brief moment Ailene could only feel blessed and thankful for having someone as close as Evelyn in her life, "Thank you Eve…" Her words carrying a whispered gratefulness for her friends continued assistance with her troubles.

With that, they separated from one another. Ailene gathered what belongings she'd need from her desk and pack them away to take home whilst Evelyn left the room first, closing the door behind as her maids waiting outside followed in tow behind.

Taking one last look at her office, she could only lament at the still intimidating stack of documents remaining on her desk knowing she'd need to dedicate more time into dealing with them once she her resolved current affairs. Releasing a small sigh, a heavy grip of determination rose from within as she decidedly left the room, lock the door and making her way home.