The doors of the grand hall made a sound as they opened up, revealing its interior.

Lucius's eyes directly went to the man who was sitting at the head of the hall at the very back. A throne had been set up for him and he sat on it with his back straight, a letter in his hand.

His hair was neck length and dark brown with a few grey and white hairs mixed in. A coarse beard covered his face all the way to the base of his neck, and an amulet hung on his neck. The amulet was the same as that of the crest of the Inanis family, a dragon with three tails.

Lucius compared the features of this man and found him to be quite similar to Asher. Though if he compared the builds, they were far apart, as the man was rather muscled and buff.

Lucius was now sure that the man in front of him was no doubt Count Gabriel.

The opening of the doors caused Gabriel to look up and spot Lucius approaching him.

~step~

Gabriel stood up and walked ahead to meet Lucius midway before hugging him.

"My son… I'm happy you are safe." He said in a tired voice.

It was evident that he had exhausted himself rushing all the way here and had probably not taken a rest the entire time.

"I am pleased to finally meet you, father." Lucius replied perfunctorily, but the man did not seem to mind it.

~pat~pat~

Gabriel lightly patted his son's back before backing away.

"I am proud of you for fighting against the enemies courageously but I am also angry at you for being so stupid, rushing into the battle like a fool." Gabriel said as a serious expression dressed his face.

"Now there, both of you don't just stand there and come sit. The guests should arrive soon as well." Lita, who had witnessed the entire seething from the start said.

She had been standing at the side and discussing something with the steward of the mansion when Lucius had arrived. She was dressed in a rather beautiful dress and had some tasteful jewelry on her as well.

"Yes, let's sit. I want to hear how you are doing. Even if I've read the letters nothing can compare to a first-hand account." Gabriel said before inviting Lucius to sit on the chair beside him.

"How are your memories? Can you really not remember anything?" Gabriel said with concern.

"Indeed, father. Except for some basic concepts and things, I seemed to have lost everything in my memories. Though, now that I have spent some time with everyone here, I seem to get a familiar feeling that comes from deep within me.

So I guess there is a part of me that still remembers everyone in a different kind of a way." Lucius said, giving a rather cheesy answer.

This was something Lucius had direly picked from one of the many books of his world and was a rather overused part of the prose. But he had no doubt that it worked on Asher's parents as he could already see the faint change in their eyes.

Before they had a lost look in their eyes when they looked at him, but now there was a rather unique glint, which he could only guess was love.

"That's good… at least Etara has saved you," Gabriel muttered.

"Yes, father. Goddess Etara and Alana's grace saved me from the curse." Lucius replied.

As soon as Lucius said the word 'curse' Gabriel gripped the hand rest of the throne hard. As a change in his expression could be seen.

"That damned curse! I'll rip those tribals limb to limb when I meet them and if I ever find out who schemed this against you, against the Inanis Family, I swear my life to Etara, I'll slaughter their clan." Gabriel declared in an imposing voice.

"Dear! This…" Lita said, feeling shocked.

Even the expression of Kiana and the other servants were that of shock, and it could be perceived that what Gabriel had said was nothing usual and was very serious.

Lucius was a bit impressed by this as he could tell from his experience that this was no common man. Gabriel was a man of few words and a man who showed the way through his actions.

If he had said something, there was an absolute chance that he was going to do that. Such was his way, the way of the Inanis family; he followed it, his father did, and so did the ones that came before him.

After his declaration, Gabriel looked at his son and spoke again.

"Well, now that you are healed, I forbid you from leaving the city." Gabriel suddenly said.

Now, this was not something Lucius had expected, and he could sense the anxiousness hidden in those words.

"I understand father," Lucius replied straightforwardly.

Gabriel raised his brows in response, as he felt a bit confused.

"This is… unexpected. You used to protest a lot before and would have asked many questions before agreeing to something like this." Gabriel said.

Lucius was about to answer him, but Lita interrupted him.

"Dear, it seems like our son losing his memories had changed him a lot. I had a talk with master Kain before and apparently, Asher has become much smarter than before. He actually finished learning a couple of months worth of language studies in a single day. I reckon he has also gained a little more wisdom along with that." Lita praised with a chuckle at the end.

"Etara taketh and she giveth!" Gabriel recited. "Seems like while Goddess Etara let your memories be taken away, she still gave you something in exchange. I hope you will make good use of it." Gabriel added.

"Yes father, I will not let Goddess Etara's grace go to waste," Lucius responded with a nod.

"Good! As for your contributions, the kingdom has not forgotten them. The king has sent you a gift for it." Gabriel revealed.