Chapter 16: 16: Recollection

Leaving the duchess in the drawing room both siblings got out speaking nothing to each other. Leon was pondering over his mistakes and Adel was busy thinking how she was going to spend an entire month with nothing to buy unnecessary things for her.

They passed through a long corridor and every servant they met greeted them with a scared expression. Things had gotten rocky within the castle and everyone was on the edge. Raising the energy shield to protect the castle was no small thing.

Now it would be the talk of the whole town as most people saw it happen with their own eyes. It was not a minor thing to hide by telling some white lies. No one would believe them anyway.

“Why that poker face?” asked Leon or rather Tim noticing Adel’s expression. He had long since accepted his mistakes and consequences but could not understand what was up with this girl?

“Well… because of you, I will get nothing for this month. It's just the first week. How the hell am I gonna live?” replied Adel in an annoyed tone, staring at Leon with hollow eyes.

“It is not like you pay for the food or pay rent to live here. It is free. And you won’t die even if you have no money for years.”

“It is true but the most irritating fact is I was punished because of you. I don’t care about the money… It is just why I have to pay the price for your mistakes.” Adel snorted, glancing away from her brother.

“Well…. Because you are my sister.” Leon smirked and the girl frowned.

“A sister whom you never cared about.”

“What? I care about you. I literally jumped into the river to save you because you, a little moron, wanted to catch fish and the best way to do that was to throw yourself into the water.”

“That was just one time.”

“Oh really. Then what you say about woodguard castle. What did you do there? Huh…”

“I…”

“First you played a pointless hide and seek with me and Eli. Then you both disappeared. I searched for a goddamn hour then surprisingly found both of you stuck with a horde of goblins who were ready to devour you.”

“That was an accident and I could have handled all that.”

“Really, then why did you cry like a two-year-old when I came to rescue? For the love of God, I had to kill them one by one a million times, still maintaining a shield around both of you.”

“Still, you were more worried about saving your little fiancé than your own sister.” Adel spoke in a mocking tone as she opened the door to her brother’s room.

“Oh, Shut up! I was not worried, she just jumped onto me. What I could have done, let her fall on the ground and pick you up.” Leon muttered with a scowl, sitting on the sofa as she sat on the couch opposite to him.

“You could have done that to prove your love and care towards your only sister. You know, I matter more than your fiancé.”

“Both of you matter to me. Ok.”

“Yeah… yeah.”

“And that proves that I have saved you many times, sacrificing myself which you need to return in gratitude. So, losing a month worth of stipend doesn’t even matter.”

“You are right. It does not matter.” Adel sighed, leaning on the soft seat.

“Thank you!” Tim added in a firm tone as he crossed his legs and fell back on the sofa. Honestly remembering all that and telling everything with minuscule details was tiring. Still, it was fun to reminisce about everything again, and her expression was always priceless.

“Whatever.” Adel waved off Leon’s words as she leaned forward. “But tell me brother, why the hell you thought, using a Grand mage level spell on the garden would be worth it. You know what it can do and the best thing was you conveniently forgot to control and limit it. One shot was more than enough to blow half the garden but no, you wanted more.

You know at least ten shots hit the entire area.  Some even touched the castle but the shield saved us. Without it we all would have been fried alive.”

In return Tim said nothing and she kept rambling which filled most gaps he had. He too wanted to know what happened in between when he was out.

“Then father risked his life to enter the battlefield you had created to save you. One strike even fell near him but he ran towards you and carried you back. Honestly, he was more worried about you than his own life. You should thank him.”

After witnessing the sheer chaos his little experiment had caused, Tim clearly understood the gravity of the situation. He should have never used any spell without knowing the cause and effect. It endangered everyone’s lives. Mostly the duke’s, who brought his motionless body back to safety fighting against all odds.

He now felt guilty of his doings. He should have never attempted anything drastic, having no idea of the consequences.

“I will. I will apologize. It is my fault for creating that mess.” Leon mumbled slowly, facing the carpet covering the floor.

“Still, you did not answer my question?” Adel enquired observing her brother’s behavior.

“And that is…”

“How on earth you forgot to limit your spell. You know once you fire it there is no turning back. You had to be in control of it to hit the spot you wanted. And why were you even standing that close to the tree? Did you want to die or what?”

“I should have…”

“You know brother, I never understood why you act like you are the most intelligent person and the dumbest person in the empire at the same time. You taught me how to limit spells, how to use them in close proximity areas. But then you forgot everything all together.

When I realized you were using archlight, I was expecting a concise bolt to hit. But what came down was the biggest arc of lightning I have ever seen in my entire life. How much mana did you even use in that one spell?”

“I don’t know… how much mana I used…” Tim had no idea what Adel was even saying in the first place let alone understand the limit and control.

Sigh!

“Whatever that is brother, just stop acting like a weirdo and act like the Leonhart everyone knows. I know you are not that dumb to risk other’s lives but, this time you did. What has gotten into you? You seem out of place.”

A faint smile appeared on her face as she finished speaking. Leon was not someone who would risk innocent lives for his gain but now he broke his own rules. It was just too mind boggling for everyone.

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“I am sorry Adel.  It was all a big mistake on my part. I did not know what I was doing. I just wanted to see how it worked and everything just blew up. I never wanted any of this to happen.”

Leon’s voice considerably lowered as his heart sank. His tone lacked the irrefutable confidence he carried mixed with the sad expression on his face. It was evident that he did not do anything knowingly and Adeline too understood that.

“Well brother, like mother said, don’t repeat the same mistakes and take some rest.” She got up and began to leave but halted her steps to say some final words. “And I should call Sophia for you.”

“Why?”

“Because you will get a good sleep once you stuff your face between her breasts.”

“What?” Tim rose from his seat and moved towards her but she closed the door within seconds and ran away.

***

It was now mid past eight with the sun already set. The dark clouds in the sky had disappeared long ago and were replaced with white ones from which the moon came forward, from time to time.

Hundreds of torches enlightened the non-existent garden and surrounding areas. Many guards and servants could be seen walking here and there, ready to get on with their shift. Some were talking with each other; some were inspecting their weapons. All in all, it was nothing out of ordinary for a ducal household.

And overlooking the entire scene, Tim stood on the balcony with an impassive gaze, leaning on the stone railing. He was still not over the fact of how devastating magic could be if not used properly.

It did not take more than a minute for the entire garden to be completely obliterated. And Tim had no idea how he did it. Just one word and everything was gone. No warning, no time out, nothing whatsoever.

Chaos was unleashed in a second, jeopardizing many lives and what he did? Stood there helplessly and then got blown away by the wind.

“I need to learn…” Tim mumbled with sigh, stretching his hands. If he was ever going to use magic again then he had to know how things worked. He had to go through basics despite having vague recollection of most things.

So, finalizing his next goal for tomorrow, Tim moved away from the balcony and entered the room where he found Sophia untying her hair which fell just above her waist, with a faint smile on her lips.

“When did you arrive?” asked Tim, flickering his gaze between the now locked door and her with mouth half open.

“Just now. I tried not to disturb you.” Sophia answered in a gentle tone, removing her clothes one by one.

“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready to sleep.”

“Where?”

“Beside you. Like always.” She giggled pointing at the bed, finally removing the last piece of cloth she wore except her innerwear which could never hide her well-developed parts.

Tim tried to avert his gaze but failed at last. He just wanted to look at her mesmerizing body. Touch her, embrace her...

“How long are you gonna stare?”

 “I am…”

“Come on.”

Sophia pulled Tim’s hands towards the bed and he followed without resisting. She got into bed first followed by Tim who sat there awkwardly for a minute before laying down.

She fixed the sheets and soon lay beside Tim with the same smile on her face.

“Did Adel tell you something?”

“No. You told her to tell me something?” Sophia cross questioned Leon with a confused expression.

“No.”

“Then…”

“Nothing, forget it.”

“Okay.”

Soon silence descended upon the room and the only noise heard was the ticking of the clock, hanging on the wall. The room was partially dim as the moon shone brightly, shining its rays on the glass door.

“Leon, you okay?” Sophia turned to her side with a worried look in her eyes. For the past few minutes, he was just staring at the canopy above him, lost in thoughts. It was totally out of his character to ignore a half-naked woman beside him.

“Yeah, I am fine. Just thinking about something.”

“Tell me…” Sophia placed her hands over his chest as she raised her head to look into his obsidian eyes.

“It’s just I should not have blown the garden.” Tim said softly as a broken smile appeared on his face. He was still not over his doings.

“It was a mistake as long as you acknowledge and learn from it. And you already learned. So don’t worry.” Sophia placed her head near Leon’s as she slowly closed her eyes. “Just sleep.”

“You are right!” Tim sighed, turning towards Sophia who didn’t open her eyes but happily accepted his embrace.

So, the night moved on as the maid and lord slept cuddling each other with satisfied smiles on their faces.