"James... James... Wake up...!" (a faint female voice)

James woke up with a jolt. His eyes were teary, whole body was covered with sweat. His eyes frantically darted around, trying to find out where he was, but to his hopes, it was the same room he was in yesterday. These nightmares were becoming too real for him to handle, it was as if he was back in his world, but he wasn't. He was still in Espedor.

His works had always helped him cope with the pain, but now he had nothing to do, so the nightmares were back again. It would remind him of the day when everything went into flames, when everything was lost, the day when he became all alone.

James was for here at least 10 days by now and still couldn't explain how he was here to himself. There was no logical explanation for this phenomenon he experienced. He really was inside someone else and that someone was the son of some powerful duke in some unknown country. No matter how unbelievable it sounded, it was irrefutable.

But as the more time progressed in this world, the recurrence of nightmares also grew. Now he was experiencing it more frequently and with that, his mental health was also deteriorating. He just couldn't keep going like this. He had to find something to divert his mind otherwise the history would repeat itself. And the answer to all his worries was Esvet.

Knock! Knock!

Soon he heard a knock on the door and the maid named Sophia entered the room with a bowl of water and a towel. She placed the bowel on the table and tried to say something but was interrupted by Leonhart, who also spoke simultaneously.

"What's the plan for today?" James's voice sounded serious, which was more than necessary. It was not a facade, he really was irritated by the nightmare.

"Af.... After breakfast with Lord Michael we will depart from here." said Sophia. After 8 days, the man in front of her sounded like the man named Leonhart. His voice was icy and heavy, just like she was used to.

"Good."

...

In the dining hall, again James was seated in the head seat and other participants were the same as yesterday. But the atmosphere carried a heavy air. It was not cheerful like the day before. James kept staring at the plate, saying nothing, lost in deep thoughts. As the man with most authority didn't eat, others also could not proceed with their food.

"Lord Leon, does the food not to your liking?" asked the Marquess in a soft tone with a smile. He did not know about what had transpired last night cause it was early morning and he hadn't got time to chat with his daughter.

"No... It isn't. I was just... lost in thoughts." Said James. It was daytime, but he was feeling down. Thoughts of his deceased family were passing through his mind. Days like these were common, but today was the first after coming here.

"Come on Leon. Don't be like that. Tell us, what are you thinking so seriously? I bet it's about my beautiful sister." said Karl jokingly with a massive grin on his face. He was trying to loosen the heavy atmosphere, but was also trying to get some reaction out of him. He was positive that the seduction plan had worked and Leon was busy thinking about the consequences he would face after this.

"..." James kept staring at Karl with a deadpan look in his eyes. The enmity he felt towards this guy and now these stupid jokes. It certainly was getting under his skin.

"Leon I..." seeing the icy stare, Karl tried to say something but was cut off by Leonhart's words.

"No. I wasn't. I have other important matters to think beside your sister." said James in a bitter voice.

"I... I am sorry." said Karl lowering his head.

Leonhart's behavior not only surprised Karl, but it was a shock to the whole Abercron family. This man was silent and was acting all shy and uncomfortable till last night, but today he was acting like a whole new person. His voice, words, hand moments carried an entirely different vibe.

As Karl lowered his head, James started eating the food, which was getting cold. Throughout the breakfast, no one dared to mutter even a single word, fearing his reputation. James also realised how absolute the authority was of the duke's son.

Soon the breakfast ended, and after bidding farewell to the Marquess, Leonhart boarded the carriage and once again continued his journey towards the barony named Esvet.

***

Inside a luxurious carriage, which was moving along the road and surrounded by guards in horses, sat two individual. One was a handsome man looking at the changing scenery outside the carriage and another one was a girl wearing dress befitting of a house servant looking at the person who was looking at the scene outside.

Throughout the journey and the bumpy ride in the carriage, not once had Leonhart groaned or showed any sign of discontent like the day before, which was a real shock to Sophia, who expected him to cry out about his discomfort the entire tour.

Sometime he would sigh, sometime he would lie down, sometime he would try to speak something but just won't complete the sentence. From the very morning, Leon was acting more weird. He was not that cheerful like yesterday. It was like something preoccupied him.

And surely James was preoccupied with the thoughts of his long gone family. He had tried to set his mind elsewhere, but it didn't work. Countless memories with his family, both happy and sad, would play inside his mind like some broken recorder.

Thinking about the memories, a faint smile appeared on James' face, but it didn't last long as it was soon again interrupted by the memory of the conversation he was having with his family at the very moment everything ended. It was painful no matter how long it's been.

With another sigh, James looked at Sophia, who was also looking at him with a worried expression, but said nothing. He couldn't believe he was stuck with a girl for that long time and she didn't show any annoyance. Even if she was annoyed, he would never know, cause she would never tell, as a servant, it was part of her job to not show any displeasure towards her masters.

"Hey Sophia, what's the plan for tonight's stay?"

"Tonight we are going to stay at Count Tassilo's residence."

"Does he have a daughter?"

"Ye... Yes." said Sophia hesitantly.

"Then No. We are not staying there."

"Whhhy?" asked Sophia. The preparations were done beforehand and couldn't be changed on a whim. There had to be a significant reason for his denial.

"What do you mean by why?"

"I mean, why aren't we going to stay there?"

"Because... I.... I don't want to." said James in a shaky tone. He was trying to find excuses for not staying in the Count's house as he didn't want to repeat what had happened last night. His assumptions could be wrong, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

"Milord..."

Before Sophia could say something, the carriage slowed down and stopped. Then a knock was heard on the door, signaling them to exit the carriage. The carriage had stopped cause the horses needed rest and had to eat something. They were pulling this huge ass box for over 5 hours by now and also the whole convoy had to eat. With Leonhart, there were over 20-30 guards and other servants were traveling.

As James exited the carriage, he was approached by the commander of the knights named Hansh, who was a man in his early thirties wearing steel clad armour carrying the insignia of the Esper duchy. He informed him about the reason for this break and it was understandable cause horses were also living creatures.

They had halted near a lake, from where water was brought for the cooking and drinking purposes. As he roamed around the area a bit more, he was greeted by another group of men wearing the same armour as the commander and other servants also bowed down seeing him.

The lake was at a remote location, covered by tall trees, and an enormous mountain could be seen in the distance. James was irritated by the nightmare, but seeing the scenery in front of him, his anxiety calmed down a bit.

"Milord..."

Hearing the voice of someone calling him, James tilted his head to look in the direction, and it was Hansh who carried a puzzled expression on his face.

"Yes."

"I heard from Sophia that you don't want to stay at Count Tassilo's residence."

"Yes, you are right."

"But why? Do you not like Count Tassilo's hospitality or..." asked Hansh. He just couldn't wrap his head around Leonhart's decisions.

"It's nothing like that. It's just... I don't want to stay there." James just couldn't blurt out that the daughter of the Marquese Michael had tried to seduce him, and he was expecting the same thing would happen again if he stayed at the count's residence. So he tried to show his discontent without telling them any reasons.

"But... Is there any particular reason?"

"No... there isn't."

"Then..."