Trying to Fit In.

Howard opens the door and walks in to find himself in the worst scenario possible. Seated on a comfy wooden chair inside the opulent royal dining room was a muscular man with long black hair, and a pair of aqua-blue gems settled inside his eyes. On the other end sat a beautiful blonde woman with long hair, a curvy hourglass figure, and a similar pair of eyes. 

The two wore their respective royal attire; a loose-fitting outfit dyed in bright blue color, with each garment embroidered with complex patterns using gold threads. In their case, both of them were blue to match their eye color. 

To their left and right were empty chairs meant for their children to sit down and eat with them. To their front was an empty wooden desk, covered in a decedent white tablecloth. On the table itself, were a few silver plates covered in a cloche, hiding the food from eyes and nose. 

Despite looking as if they were in their early 30s, the two individuals were around 60 years of age, and could possibly live past 200 hundred if they didn't develop cancer around the age of 70, like most powerful mages do. 

Howard put on a calm exterior while screaming internally about his luck. He hoped that at least one sibling would be present with him. That way, he can at least divert some attention from himself onto others. It would have also been a great opportunity to get some information out of the others and to learn more about the world in general. Despite the circumstances, Howard managed to keep his cool and adapt to his situation, like he always had.

"Good morning mother. Good morning father. I hope I am not late for breakfast," he spoke, perfectly mimicking Kant's mannerisms. It was much easier than he thought, trying to speak in an alien language in a very foreign accent. He walks towards the dining table and takes his seat.

Kant's brain started serving Howard with some juicy new memories ranging from childhood to adulthood, about all the interactions he and his family had at this very dinner table. Though the information provided was valuable, he didn't have much time to digest it all as the parents decided to spark a conversation between themselves and their 'son'.

"Good morning my child. Are you feeling better today? Are you sure you can eat with us?" Malinda spoke up with her soothing, calm voice. 

"I feel fine, mother. I am a lot better now thanks to all the care the healers and maids have given me," Howard answered. 

"Are you sure? You don't have any headaches? Any fatigue?" she queries. 

Maybe a little, but it is very miniscule. It was much worse when I first woke up. I felt very weak and dizzy. I didn't want you two to see me in such a state," Howard lied. 

"I am glad you are alright. We were all worried about you. Sofia, Lisa, Edward, and Reena came back to see you. We all thought you would never wake up." She turns her head away from Howard to Danial.

"Everyone except your father that is." Danial gave out a chuckle while giving Kant a pat on the shoulder. 

"You see, honey? What did I say about our boy? I told you he would recover quickly. He is our child after all!" he proudly proclaimed. Howard bit his tongue and kept silent, knowing full well that Kant's soul had either passed on to the afterlife or taken over the body of some other poor soul. 

Just then, he felt his warm, fuzzy feeling permeating throughout his body. What was this? Was it… affection? Love?

"How the hell am I feeling affection for these two?" he asked himself, his thoughts fully concealed to himself. Using Kant's brain, he whipped up a hypothesis to explain it away.

"Maybe this is a side-effect of my consciousness taking over the prince's body? I mean, I am using his body and brain. Although I didn't have anything to do with these people, I am feeling this way because the owner of the original body did as well," he thought to himself.

It was a good hypothesis, as it had explained away his current situation, for now at least. Howard didn't have much time to think about it though, as he had two powerful wizards he needed to fool.

"I am sorry for making you feel worried about me. I am glad that I have supportive parents like you. I don't know what I would have done without you by my side," he replies while putting up an innocent little smile. 

The conversation was interrupted by a subtle knocking on the door. Danial, Howard, and Malinda all turn around, as the door slowly swings open to reveal 4 new figures, 3 feminine & 1 masculine, standing behind it. 

To the left was a very tall blonde teenager adorned in all-white attire. To the right were twin teen sisters with short hair, One having black hair while the other was blonde. At the very center of it all was another woman about Kant's age, with long flowing black hair, a curvy hourglass figure, a tiara on top, and a pair of aqua blue eyes inherited from their parents. 

Their names? Edward, Lisa, Sofia, and Reena. The other children of Danial and Malinda Icarus Maybale. They apologized for being so late, seeing that Kant had somehow managed to arrive earlier than them, before walking right in and taking their seats. 

"Are you alright brother? You didn't look too good these past few weeks," Edward, the blonde boy, asked Howard. 

"I am fine. Better than I ever felt," Howard answered his question politely.

"Good. Good. Because I was worried about you. We were all worried about you," Edward added. 

"So I have heard," Howard remarks. 

"Where is our breakfast? Shouldn't the table be filled with plates of food by now?" Sofia, the blonde twin of the family, asked her parents as she set up a napkin on her lap. 

"It will arrive soon, my dear. Please be patient," Malinda spoke up. 

On the opposite end of the room, was a smaller door connected to the kitchen where the royal chefs prepared their dinner. They were just about finished with preparation and were now pouring the product into a white ceramic pot, or a large silver plate. They were then put on multiple food utility carts made of metal and wooden wheels. 

With the food ready, they were brought over to the dining room by a bunch of men in all black, servants to the royal family. They place the food on the table and leave the room, only returning to either take the finished food back or if they were ordered to come back. 

Howard took some time to examine the foods. There were some items that were familiar to him, like bread, fish, chicken, steak, butter, broccoli, and so on. However, there were others that he did not recognize at all. Vegetables from strange plants, and meat from strange animals. It hinted at the world's own unique ecosystem, mixed in with a few of the stuff back in the old world, Earth. 

According to the memories, the meat came straight off the demons and beasts roaming around outside the city walls. Though fearsome creatures, they are surprisingly a good food source for the poor and an energy source for anyone able to cast magic. 

Though Howard was very curious, he made the decision to only put the items on his plate he knew Kant would enjoy.  He had all the time in the world to experiment with foods later. Right now, he does not want to attract any attention. 

As he ate his food, Howard was free to take in the information the memories had presented him. He looked through each memory, examining Kant's recent behavior to mimic, as well as the personality of the other family members. 

"Kant? Are you alright? You have been awfully silent…" Reena spoke up, turning the attention on him. 

"Oh, I am fine. I was just listening to you all talk. That is all," he quickly answered.

"Say, do you all mind me asking what happened while I was in a coma? Did anything unusual or interesting happen?" Howard brought up, shifting the attention back to the others. 

"As far as we are concerned, not much dear. Reena engaged with a few demons, while your siblings learned a few new spells from their instructor. Nothing much," Malinda spoke. For whatever reason, Kant's gut feeling told Howard to not buy into it. 

Howard sensed Malinda was downplaying her other children's achievements. However, without further evidence, he was unable to verify if this gut feeling had any validity or not. With no other option, he decided to sour his memories, to see whether she had done something like this before.

Surprisingly, the opposite was true. She had a history of constantly bragging about her other children's achievements at the dinner table, acting as a subtle jab at Kant, to vent out her possible disappointments with the child. This attitude only appears to have shifted AFTER Kant had got into whatever traumatic injury that left most of his bones broken in two. 

As he delved deeper into these memories, a sense of dread, misery, anger, envy, and disappointment, mixed with a great desire to prove himself intensified within. Howard started to piece together what had happened.