"Young Master," the retainer, a man that seemed to be in his late fifties, with a head full of silver hair and blue eyes, "are you sure you're fine?"
The old man was dressed in a neat black suit, with white gloves on his hand and a monocle on his left eye.
On the surface, one would think he looked like a kind granpa, but that was just a facade. The man was as dangerous as any Ardent top knight.
"I'm fine, Charles," Elijah...no, Elias responded, keeping his tone as neutral as the previous owner of this body usually did.
Charles observed him for a while, causing Elias to sweat internally.
"Pardon my assumption," he said after a while of observing Elias, "but it's just rare seeing you not getting ready for work."
"I just don't feel like going today," Elias answered, which wasn't surprising since this wasn't the first time he had uttered that statement.
It was just that he hadn't said it ever since he started working on that heart.
"I see," Charles nodded in understanding, "then the patriarch would like you to join them for breakfast."
Elias had a small frown on his face before asking, "father is back?"
"The patriarch returned last night," Charles explained, adjusting his monocle slightly, "along with Young Master Alric and Lady Seraphine. They arrived later than expected."
Elias thought about his words for a while, he was sweating nternally.
According to the memories he received, the entire Ardent family doesn't just casually gather for breakfast.
"Is any other family joining this breakfast," He asked after a moment of thinking.
Unlike his job, he couldn't just say that he didn't feel like partaking in the breakfast, so he might as well be prepared for the people he might meet there.
Charles seemed to hesitate for a second, wondering whether or not he should tell the young master...
But it wasn't like the patriarch ordered him not to, so with a sigh, he said, "the Rhavelles will also be joining this breakfast."
So a full on political discussion on his first day in another body, how great.
"I'll be down shortly," Elias said after a brief pause.
Charles bowed his head, satisfied. "Very well, Young Master. I shall inform the kitchen."
He turned and left the room quietly, closing the door behind him with practiced care.
The moment he was alone, Elias let out a slow breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
There were a couple of things that he noted from his conversation with Charles.
First, his father or rather Elias's father, inviting the Rhavelles meant that something big was about to happen.
From his memories, Elias recognized the Rhavelles as the greatest mage family in Aeldia just as the Ardent family was the greatest knight family.
But unlike the Ardents, the Rhavelles were related to the royal family, so they didn't just casually meet with just anyone.
Which meant Elias had to prepare himself for whatever was to come.
"No use overthinking it," he muttered, "let's just act as natural as possible, until answers start coming."
Which he wasn't even sure if they would.
***
A few minutes later, Elias stepped out of his room, wearing a comfortable white shirt that fit both his and Elias's style.
Though, unlike what he was used to, this material felt a lot more high quality than anything he could ever afford.
It was paired with comfortable black trousers and polished leather shoes, simple enough to not draw attention, yet refined enough to remind anyone who looked that he was undeniably an Ardent.
As Elias walked down the corridor, the unfamiliar familiarity of the estate struck him again.
The hallways were wide, the ceilings high, and the walls adorned with portraits of past Ardent patriarchs, all clad in armor and looking down at him as he continued walking forward.
He resisted the urge to straighten his posture too much. Overdoing it would only make him stand out and besides, the former Elias didn't care enough to acknowledge mere paintings.
Servants bowed as he walked by, he could see from their movements that they practiced countless times.
Elias returned their greetings with small nods, mimicking the behavior he'd seen in the memories.
Thankfully, his body seemed to remember what his mind struggled to keep up with.
Soon, he arrived before a pair of large oak doors carved with the Ardent crest, a sword crossed together and behind it was their most recent addition, gears.
So this was the breakfast hall.
Taking a breath, Elias pushed the doors open and was met with a sight that made his eyes almost widen, if he hadn't caught himself just in time.
The room beyond was spacious, sunlight pouring in through tall windows that overlooked the estate's inner courtyard. A long table sat at the center, already partially occupied.
At the head of the table sat a man with broad shoulders and a stern face, his dark hair streaked with gray.
His presence alone demanded both attention and respect.
This man was Patriarch Roderic Ardent.
To his right sat a young man not much older than Elias, with similar dark hair and sharp features, though his expression was far more relaxed.
Alric Ardent, his older brother, if the memories were right.
And then, on the opposite side of the table, sat the Rhavelles.
Elias' scanned the family for a little longer than he should, but that was mostly because of this body's habit.
The previous Elias loved puzzles, and magic was the biggest puzzle of all, second only to the Ethirum heart which he suspected was also connected to magic.
A man and a woman sat side by side, both dressed in elegant robes embroidered with subtle golden patterns. Their expressions were calm, composed, and utterly unreadable.
Beside them—
Elias' heart suddenly skipped a beat and he didn't know why.... Well, more than the fact that he didn't know why, it was more accurate to say that the reaction belonged to this body than he himself.
But even so, the Elijah understood the reaction.
After all, the girl that sat by the Rhavelles was beautiful without a doubt.
She had golden blonde hair that was braided into two neat plaits that fell over her shoulders, each strand catching the sunlight like spun gold.
A delicate circlet rested atop her head, understated yet unmistakably noble, its design elegant rather than ostentatious.
Her eyes were emerald green, and her earrings were the same, to match.
He immediately recognized her the moment he saw her,
Lady Aurelia Rhavelle.
Someone the former Elias Ardent had a crush on, hence the reason his heart just skipped a beat.
'This is going to be a pain."