RSTUM 107 (Patreon)

107: A Chat

"You enjoyed bathing in the river?" Annabelle asked with a shocked laugh.

"How can I not? It is just a simple pleasure while on the road." Leon replied with a bit of a shy face as he looked down in the bathtub.

She was right across the room and he was told by the head maid to bathe himself as he wasn't in the best shape.

Annabelle wasn't even going to let him off her sight no matter what. Even in the bathtub, she would send him what he needed from a distance with her magic.

"So you met Vadim in Karanberg, escaped together during the riots, and traveled all the way here while avoiding trouble." She asked him after he told her the heavily censored version of his journey.

"More or less." Leon replied.

"It is funny that you keep avoiding telling me about the trouble you got yourself into." Annabelle laughed.

"It won't be proper to tell you about them now." He replied as played with heavy soap foam on the water surface, "Also, there is much I want to know."

"Mhm." Annabelle smiled knowing that Leon is being sneaky around the subject of his misdeeds, "Ask away."

"Your Golems, quite the impressive collection you have created." He said.

"You think so?" Annabelle looked at the window beside her and watched her destroyed work that was getting cleaned by the butlers in the garden, "You managed to defeat a Pottery Golem, a Ceramic Golem, and trapped both the Boulder Golem and the Sand Golem in the bond. I think you are the impressive one here."

"Fine. So your specialty is Golems?" He asked.

"You would know that already but I guess there is a lot you can no longer remember." She said and seemed a little bit disheartened.

"I apologize for that." He said and didn't face her.

"I don't blame you. Unlike love, memories aren't eternal, that's why there is forgetfulness." She said, "We will have to make more happy memories from now on, though."

Leon almost thought that Annabelle would try to make him remember the old memories of Leon, just as the others did. However, she did no such thing. He smiled and looked back at her.

"As long as they last." He said and grabbed the towel from the nearby table and taught meaningfully before muttering, "As long as this lasts."

"It will." She said with a confident smile.

He spread the towel and covered his waist as he stood up from the bathtub. He then walked behind a wooden screen and started changing as she waited for him.

After dressing himself, Annabelle snapped her fingers and three individuals walked into the room, a young man and two young women.

"Oh, you three." Leon said as he recognized the three of them.

"I believe that you have acquainted yourself with them. Dana told me you took down Maximilian and Elise last night." Annabelle said.

"It was a light greeting." Leon said while looking at those Maximilian and Elise fellows.

Maximilian was a tall and thin young man with black hair and brown eyes with a handsome face. Besides him was Elise who had platinum hair and blue eyes with a cute face and a medium stature. Those two were the ones that went out to attack Leon last night but got their asses handed to them. As for Dana, she was the one behind when Leon beat them down last night and pointed him away.

"Well, those three will be your personal attendants from now on… if you don't mind them, of course." Annabelle said pointing at the three.

"Three at once?" Leon asked.

"They can do a lot of things. They are also quite capable. Each one of them is around level 15." She said.

"Ah! I know." Leon could see all their levels and stats just by a glance of his eyes. They seemed not to notice him too which meant they are not that sensitive to Magic.

As for Annabelle, she was watching her son with pure interest but rather than asking him about his newfound abilities, she kept making mental notes of them one by one.

"My Lord."

But at that moment, Maximilian walked ahead facing Leon, and bowed before him.

"My name is Maximilian. If you were to accept me, I will be your faithful servant."

Leon didn't know what to do and he had never had someone being his servant ever before.

Annabelle nodded to him and with her hand, she gestured for him to be confident and full of himself as he accepted this servant.

"Fine. I will accept your service." Leon said as he puffed his chest up following Annabelle's gesture.

Dana and Elise did the same and Leon accepted them. Just as this little ceremony ended, the three surrounded Leon immediately and seated him in front of a mirror. Maximilian brought out a pair of scissors, a razor, a brush, and a cup of shaving cream before starting to take care of Leon's facial hair. As for the girls, they clipped his nails and fixed his hair.

"This is nauseating. I've never had this many hands on me since I fell off a building during training and got taken to a hospital." Leon said in discomfort.

*Gasp!*

Annabelle seemed shocked but Leon smiled and turned to her.

"A different lifetime, I assure you." He said.

"It will only take a moment, sir." Maximilian, however, assured Leon that he was almost done.

Annabelle brought her chair near Leon and looked closely at him.

"Promise me you will take better care of your body." She said with a serious face.

"I actually do take care of my body." Leon said with an equal amount of seriousness.

"Good." She nodded and left the matter be, "You have gained a newfound ability but your foundations aren't that good yet."

"My foundations?" Leon asked.

"I see how nimble and capable you are but all you can do isn't your core power. You have just leveled up a lot and it will start to negatively impact you." She explained.

"Vadim said something similar." Leon replied as he stood off while admiring his clean-shaven face, well-trimmed hair, and clean finger and toenails.

He took a peek at his status from the System Upgrade and found that his charm has increased to 46%.

[A/n: The Charm (or Charisma) is the new stat that Leon acquired from the Philanderer's Stone, the Pink Gem he got after defeating Prince Edward. After the system upgrade, Leon can now see the Social Interface (dating system) and has his own charm points which come in percentile that goes up and down regarding his appearance rating.]

"Give your hair more time to grow and you will look even better." Annabelle said smiling.

"Right." Leon smiled back at her.

"And the last thing for this morning…"

As she said that, another butler walked in and pushed with what seemed to be a suited mannequin on a trolly.

"Oh, hell no!" Leon backed away like a scaredy cat immediately.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" Annabelle asked.

"Have you ever seen a t-shirt guy willing to just wear that?" Leon asked with a serious face.

"What's that?" She asked.

"T-shirts are the true evolution of any modern form of clothing. They make a man or a woman look at their best shape possible. They don't get wrinkled, they don't need ironing. Just the pure goodness of fabric that stretches over the body like butter on a hot pan. They are…"

"Alright, hold him!"

From his blind spot, Leon was overpowered by the two butlers and was put to wear the things he abhorred the most.

A Suit!

***

< Charm: 67% >

"AHAHAHA! My word, lad! I almost couldn't recognize ya." Vadim saw Leon and he burst into laughter. 

"Firearms! You said you'll show me firearms! I need firearms!"

"Hey! Let go of me beard! Not the beard!"

"Gunz! Firearms!"

Watching this exchange from a distance, Eleanor and Annabelle kept their calm and stayed quiet for the most part until Erielle joined them.

"Look at those two, it is almost as if eight years have never passed!" Erielle commented and looked between the two, "You are awfully quiet, the two of you."

"Erielle, I haven't thanked you yet." Annabelle turned to Erielle, "For returning my son to me, you have my eternal gratitude."

"Don't mention it." Erielle turned to Annabelle but the two weren't smiling just the same as Eleanor.

It is strange how they could do it but those three ladies were always on the same frequency with their ideas.

"Let's hope this lasts." Erielle added.

Eleanor reacted to those words and turned to the other two.

"Leon is back with you, Anna. So our deal stands." She said.

"It always stood, Eleanor." Annabelle replied.

"And you?" Eleanor asked Erielle.

"Now that Leon is back, things will change radically but lucky for us, the boy single-handedly bought us an incredible amount of time." Erielle said.

"I have heard from Eleanor. Leon stirred Karanberg and created a weapon for the revolutionaries. Now the city is broken and the Palace is trying to expel an entire district out of the city." Annabelle said and turned to Leon, "It's amazing how such a little thing can impact the world?"

"A little thing?" Eleanor asked and her tone didn't seem alright.

Annabelle frowned but Erielle was aware of what goes on inside Eleanor's head.

"She thinks Leon is too much to handle now." Erielle spoke.

"You and your…" Eleanor turned to Erielle with a menacing glare but Annabelle on her left was looking at her with a poker face, "I am not thinking like that."

"We had an argument at the Main Palace last night." Erielle said to Annabelle and turned to Eleanor, "I was thinking she now hates the fact that Leon has evolved and how his newfound talent will threaten her daughter's position."

"I only stated my worry based on his actions. He alone turned Fort Marth into a bloodbath and whenever he gets cornered, he doesn't mind taking innocent lives." Eleanor said and made her stand clear, "He also never listens to any teachings from his seniors and takes matters into his own hands in the most reckless of ways."

"The only one he doesn't listen to is you, Ellie. The boy listens to me and Vadim just fine." Erielle said.

"Because you keep showing him your crazy experiments and he always had a good relationship with Vadim." Eleanor said.

"You have invested a lot into my son, Ellie." But it was then that Annabelle joined the conversation.

Just her involvement alone made both Erielle and Eleanor stop bickering.

"I know that investment was for the sake of Alice and you know I had no problems with that. In the past, the two kids were head over heels for each other. I also know that you want Leon and Alice to climb to power together which is something I have always appreciated from you."

"Thank you." Erielle nodded awkwardly and avoided eye contact with Annabelle.

"I hope that things remain the same with Leon and Alice but now, we all have to adapt to the change. Leon turning out to be a late bloomer is only a matter of how we handle and cope with it." Annabelle said.

"A late bloomer?" Eleanor was baffled by what Annabelle was saying.

"This is gonna be fun." Erielle, on the other hand, was anticipating what kind of shenanigans Annabelle is coming up with this time.

"You do realize that a late-blooming talent can only be late for 3 to 4 years at the very best, right?" Eleanor asked

"And the later a talent blooms, the more unusual it becomes." Annabelle said.

"What are you trying to say?" Eleanor asked.

"All I was saying is that this will be our explanation regarding the talent Leon will show in the future. Leon hadn't had any Talent Assessment for years after the age of 8 and so he could have awakened his true talent at any point in time. It just was not discovered in the confines of my husband's care." Annabelle said. 

"Hah!" Erielle laughed, "That's the old Anna we all know and love."

"As for now, the reality behind his talent is going to be a very complicated one and I intend to go through it with Leon as slowly and as carefully as I can." Annabelle added.

"So you know something?" Erielle asked.

"I know something alright but the matter of putting it into words is a very odd one and we shall understand it together once it becomes clear to me and clear to Leon too."

Annabelle gave them nothing but thanks and promises thus far. All matters regarding Leon are very sensitive to the group and must be dealt with very carefully.

"We still haven't talked about the most urgent problem." Erielle said, "By now, the Elders should have realized that Leon managed to enter the Garden Palace and they will come to take him away. They tried many times to leverage him into coming to them along the way but Leon acted as if he was about to be assassinated and evaded them rather skillfully."

"He did?" Annabelle asked while smiling, "The Garden Palace shall open its gates for guests but let's see who would dare to come. I have something prepared for each and every one of them."

Erielle grinned widely looking between Annabelle and Eleanor. Eleanor shook her head and looked away while still possessed with worry because to her, Leon wasn't going to be an active player in the coming plans. That's the agreement at least but with his attitude and newfound talent, she doubts that even Annabelle would be able to hold him still.

After last night in the confines of the Ducal Palace of the Dark Duchy, Erielle, Eleanor, and Vadim went into the palace to get some of the sleep they missed the night before. Leon and Annabelle were the only ones left alone in the garden.

"Sit, Leon." She said and offered Leon the seat Eleanor sat on.

He sat but then looked towards the main gate of the palace.

"There are people gathering outside." Leon said.

"The Elders." Annabelle replied.

"Will everything be alright?" Leon asked.

"Of course." Annabelle said then leaned forward, "Let's you and I chat for a bit and keep the wicked held outside."