Kilian was momentarily surprised by his sister's sudden, impassioned interruption.
Hearing her accusations, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk touched his lips.
"Hmm, I guess if you think about it, she's actually not that far off," he mused inwardly.
Before the King or Queen could voice their potential decline, swayed by the plausible truth in Vivienne's words, Kilian interjected smoothly.
"Ooh, Sister, you almost got it right!"
He then shifted his gaze back to his father and mother, his expression earnest.
"I am actually trying to make the girl I was saying... my shadow."
The Queen tilted her head, a confused frown creasing her brow.
"Your shadow? Why?"
Kilian paused, allowing an inner monologue to form his thoughts.
"A 'shadow' in the game was any character the player chose to link with another character."
"There were events, dungeons, missions, side quests, and more that only two people could enter and get stronger together, while their experience was split between the two."
His thoughts drifted to his current reality.
"But in this real Aethelgard, I assume that it's mostly the same, but the only difference is that it gives me more freedom to use a shadow or make them follow me in more places that in the game was restricted by codes."
He clarified his strategy.
"If Elara is a person by my side that tends to my needs and orders, I want Domina to be my shadow that boosts and assists me in getting stronger, protecting me while I am still insanely weak."
He finally spoke, his voice clear and confident.
"I saw it with my own eyes, Mother. The talent and effort that will be perfect to stay by my side and be my sword."
The Queen was speechless, her surprise evident.
The King, however, remained scrutinizing.
"Are you sure that's all?" he asked, a hint of suspicion lingering in his tone.
"Yes, Father," Kilian affirmed without hesitation, "but I also believe that her two younger siblings and even her mother will be an asset for this kingdom in one way or another."
"How can you be so sure, son?" the King pressed, still not entirely convinced.
Kilian's smile returned, brimming with an unshakeable confidence.
"Because my eyes and guts said so. And I always trust my judgment."
A rare smile touched the King's lips as he heard his son's words.
He reached out and gently tapped Kilian's shoulder, a gesture of approval.
"Okay, son. I'm allowing it."
The Queen beamed, seeing her husband happy and clearly proud of Kilian's newfound conviction.
"What?!" Vivienne exclaimed, her voice a mix of disbelief and utter defeat.
The King looked at his daughter, a playful twinkle in his eye.
"Well, daughter of mine, how can I decline such a thing? He explained himself and made good points."
Feeling utterly defeated, Vivienne glared at Kilian.
Before she stomped away, she pointed a finger at him once more.
"I will be watching you! I can't let you destroy another person's life and their family."
Kilian, far from being offended, simply smiled at her declaration.
"Thank you, Sister," he called out, his voice sincere.
"I will always feel safe knowing that you are watching out for me."
Vivienne stopped dead in her tracks, utterly shocked by his unexpected response.
"What?! That's not what I mean! You know what, whatever!"
She threw her hands up in exasperation before turning on her heel and marching away.
Seeing this hilarious exchange, the King and Queen burst into laughter, the grand corridor echoing with their genuine amusement.
The King and Queen were still chuckling softly when the Queen turned back to Kilian, her eyes filled with a gentle warmth.
"You've changed, my dear," she said, her smile widening.
"From your actions during last night's incident, I thought I would never see you like this."
"What happened to you? Why did you suddenly change?"
Kilian took her hand, his gaze earnest.
"I had a life-changing realization, a wake-up call this morning, Mother."
Elara, who had been quietly observing from a respectful distance, smiled subtly, understanding the deeper meaning behind Kilian's words, that he had literally woke up in a different body, beginning a new existence.
"I want to start changing now," Kilian continued, his voice resolute.
"Not only for myself or this kingdom, but also for the people around me." His expression clouded slightly with regret.
"I'm sorry, Mother. I wasn't able to change sooner."
"I might have changed too late already, given my reputation, and as you saw earlier, my sister already hates me a lot."
The King reached out and gently tapped Kilian's shoulder again, his expression firm and encouraging.
"No, there's no such thing as changing too late, son."
"This is just the real start of your life, and I believe it will only go upward from here."
Without another word, Kilian instinctively pulled both his parents into a tight embrace.
The King and Queen, surprised but touched, returned his hug, holding their son close for a moment before finally releasing him and heading down the corridor, their laughter and a renewed sense of hope trailing behind them.
Kilian watched his parents depart, a sense of quiet satisfaction settling over him.
Then, he turned to Elara, a faint smile touching his lips.
Elara, who had been observing the familial exchange with her usual quiet attentiveness, met his gaze and offered a gentle smile in return.
"Let's go, Elara," Kilian said, his voice thoughtful.
"I actually have something to ask you too."
"Yes, Young Master," she replied promptly, her loyalty clear.
They walked side by side through the quiet castle corridors, their footsteps soft on the polished stone, until they reached Kilian's chambers.
Once inside the large, luxurious bedroom om, Kilian turned to Elara, his expression serious.
"Elara," he began, "can you tell me everything that happened last night at the supposed party?"
"I need to understand what precisely angered Vivienne so much, and what led to the original Kilian's... rather dramatic state this morning."
He paused, his gaze earnest.
"I need to know everything about what happened."
Yes, Young Master," Elara began, her voice steadying.
"You must first understand that the past you... was a raging alcoholic."
"I don't know what could have happened in the past that made him like that, but as far as I have heard from the other older staff and maids, or from rumors, it happened slowly."
"He gradually changed throughout the years, and in the end, he ended up as an alcoholic at the age of seventeen."
"Seventeen?!" Kilian exclaimed, genuinely startled.
"He ends up that wasted at the age of seventeen?"
Kilian thought for a second, "Wow, they don't tell these things in the game, well why would they, the game is a Turn-Based RPG not a game of life or bit life."
Then Kilian stated, "Oh, you probably don't know this, Elara, but in my world, it's not even allowed to drink if you're not at least eighteen."
Elara blinked, a hint of surprise in her own eyes.
"Really? But here, you're even allowed to have a family at the age of fifteen if you wanted and can provide for them."
"It's because most of them are young knights or hunters who already have a wife after a year or two of fighting monsters."
She then paused, a faint blush dusting her cheeks, and her gaze shifted, no longer meeting Kilian's directly.
"I'm actually sixteen already, Young Master, if you were wondering, that is."
A soft chuckle escaped in Kilian's mouth.
He reached out, his fingers gently tracing her chin, and with a light touch, he guided her face up until their eyes met.
A playful, almost sarcastic smile played on his lips.
"Hahah, so cute and subtle, Elara. I almost didn't get why you said that."
It was silence for a second, then Kilian let go of Elara's chin, his expression shifting back to one of serious inquiry.
"So, let's start with what happened last night," he prompted.
"What do you know about it?"
Elara, now out of her daze, composed herself and began retelling the events of the party.
"It was the after-party of your sister's awakening ceremony," she explained.
"She turned sixteen and was able to get a tome of arcana revived and chose her as the new owner."
"It was supposed to be a fun party, but you were so drunk and ruined the party."
She paused, choosing her words carefully, her gaze flickering away for a moment.
"You started by openly mocking a prominent lord's new ceremonial robes, loudly questioning if they were hand-me-downs from a jester, which, as you know, is a grave insult to his family's tailoring lineage."
Elara continued, her voice softer, almost apologetic as she recounted the more egregious acts.
"Later, you made... very inappropriate advances towards a high-ranking lady, publicly commenting on her beauty and suggesting she abandon her husband for a life of 'true excitement' with you."
"Her husband, a duke, was furious, of course."
"And finally, you stumbled through the crowd, bumping into several high-ranking guests, before ultimately collapsing near the main fountain, and... you were quite ill there."
"It took several maids to discreetly handle the situation and escort you to your chambers."
Kilian listened, his face a mask of utter disbelief turning into mortification.
He ran a hand over his face, a groan escaping him.
"I did all that? No wonder Vivienne hates him... hates me."
The sheer scale of the past Kilian's debauchery painted a grim picture, one far worse than he had imagined.
This wasn't just a party ruined, it was a diplomatic incident, a social catastrophe.
He felt a wave of secondhand embarrassment and genuine shame for the actions he couldn't remember.
"So that's why Vivienne was so enraged this morning," Kilian murmured, more to himself than to Elara.
"And why the King and Queen seemed to have lost all hope in me."
***
/I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If its alright, please drop a comment or a powerstone to help me keep making this world bigger!