The silence stretched on, unbroken save for the faint, measured movements of fabric and soft breathing.
Thorsten, even while savouring the high-class meal, was in awe of how there was nearly no sound as they ate; no cutlery scraping against plates, no slurping your drink or even the sound of anyone chewing.
He had been worried that he would stand out due to this, but Thorsten's body had already grown accustomed to minimizing the sounds made while eating and drinking. It was to the point that one would have to strain their ears to hear anything.
During breakfast, he had been so preoccupied with his thoughts that he had failed to realise it then, but Thorsten's body had already grown accustomed to always maintain proper, textbook like, from.
From his ramrod straight posture while seated, to how carefully he was holding the fork and knife in his hands—every movement held a sort of mechanical precision that seemed strangely inhuman.
He had noticed it a bit earlier, but this body had an unnatural eye for noticing details; an inconsistent tile on the bathroom floor, Mr. Kleins uneven moustache, the pillars with designs that didn't match with the other ascetics, and most recently, the loose thread hanging from bow on the maid's uniform.
All of them were small, insignificant imperfections that would normally go unnoticed by most people unless they were paying attention. Yet here he was, able to spot them without actively searching for them.
It was almost as if his eyes were drawn to even the smallest imperfections.
'Was this ever mentioned in Records of the Heroes Rise…?' He wondered, trying to recall anything he might have overlooked regarding Thorsten's character.
'Hmm…"
Nothing came to mind.
In the game, Thorsten had been the usual hack–and–slash characters. Someone who wielding a sword to strike down his enemies and slay monsters, which left little room for an ocular ability to shine through.
'Thorsten's character did have a really high crit rate,' he recalled. It was listed as a bonus trait—one that could be obtained by completing his mini-training events without a single mistake.
Even then, the stat gap was negligible early on and could be easily made up for with the right gear later.
There was also the possibility that this bonus was a result of developing Thorsten's keen eye for detail and symmetry into a tool for battle, but that answer felt a little too convenient. So, he pushed it to the back of his mind.
'If anything, the absurdity of it all makes it all the more believable.'
Dinner in the palace quietly continued, with all those present lost in their thoughts; some more than others.
He was finally snapped out of his thoughts as he finished his dessert; a bowl of mixed fruit with what tasted like yoghurt, drizzled with a little honey.
'It's good.' Thorsten thought, in-between small spoonfuls of dessert.
Ferzen's deep voice resonated though the dining room, breaking the silence that had persisted throughout dinner.
"A letter arrived earlier from your mother. It said that they will be returning to the palace a few days later than intended."
"Oh, did something happen?" Leon asked, a spoonful of dessert hovering inches from mouth.
"It nothing serious," Ferzen started, "Your brother just happened to fall off of a griffin and broke his arm, is all."
They'll return after he's seen a doctor and rested a little."
"Hmm, sounds like he had fun." Leon acknowledged, thoughtfully rotating the spoon in his mouth.
"Makes you want to try and ride one yourself. Don't you think so too, youngest>"
He curiously turned to Thorsten, who was still struggling to come to term with what he had just heard.
'A griffin… wait no, their brother broke his arm?'
Maybe it was because he wasn't expecting them to brush off something that sounded that serious so casually, but he couldn't help but be caught off guard by what he had just heard.
For a world that wasn't nearly as advanced in medicine as Earth, it was a little bit jarring to hear people converse about a broken arm as if it was just the days weather.
No, it was more likely that there was no need to worry about such injuries. Not when magic existed that could mend such injuries without the lengthy procedures that would have been required back on Earth.
'I think it was… magic of the gods, right?'
There was another one he was struggling to remember, but the point still remained that there was really no need for such advancements when such convenient means existed.
"Hello? Youngest, not a fan of griffins?"
"Huh—oh, no... it sound like a fun idea." He finally said after a moment of thought.
"…"
Leon stared at him wide eyed as his response replayed in his ears, and when Thorsten's words were fully registered, he couldn't help his face from lighting up with a smile so wide it squeezed his eyes into waning crescents.
His neck snapped towards his father, whose eyes were still on Thorsten, with the swiftness of a barn ow; that had noticed a vole in a field.
The smile had been wiped form his face, but the slight upward tilt of his lips belied his calm visage.
"Father~" He drew out the last sound with barely contained excitement in his voice.
"Would it be alright if the youngest and I went to see visit grandfather in Singorn next spring?"
Instead of saying that he wanted to see them directly, Leon was hoping that Ferzen would be more lenient if he framed the visit around going so see his grandfather.
Ferzen set his teacup down with a soft clink, before turning his attention to Leon, who was basically beaming in his direction while still maintaining a straight face.
"As long as Sir Charion does not mind, then I do not see a reason as to why you couldn't go."
"Yes!"
Hearing those words made Leon's face light up as he withdrew any reservations and outwardly celebrated his success.
But Ferzen's next words made him feel as though a bucket of ice had been dumped onto his head, as they dimmed the flames of his excitement.
"As long as your mother agrees, there won't be a problem."
"Oh…"
Thorsten watched them with curious eyes as he wondered silently on why Leon had not just gone with his brother and mother.
It was something that was answered rather swiftly with a quick skim through Thorsten's recent memories—it wasn't that Leon didn't want to go, but the circumstances at the time prevented him from going along with them.
During the time of their departure, Leon had entered into a critical period of his training which prevented him from leaving rashly before his condition was stabilised—which just so happened to be three days ago.
When he found out, he decided to remain here instead of going because he already 'missed the griffins'.
"Sorry, youngest," Leon turned to him with a sombre expression. "Maybe we'll be able to go next year."
As if he'd had all his previous energy drained out of him, Leon calmly dismissed himself after wishing them goodnight and left like the dining room.
Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, but it looked like Leon had a dark cloud hovering over his head as he stepped past the door.
"..."
With Leon having retired for the night, it only left Ferzen and Thorsten at the dining table.
The former was already a man of few words, and his youngest son was not exactly the most chipper of the three siblings, leaving them to finish their desserts in silence.
Thorsten didn't really mind them not talking, he actually preferred it that way. But despite that, he couldn't help but still feel a little awkward in his presence when he recalled what had happened between them earlier that afternoon.
To Ferzen, that may have seemed like a conversation between him and his son, but that didn't apply to him who had taken began using his body.
He just wanted to finish his dessert quicker and retire like his brother, but his smaller hands and mouth made eating it take a lot longer than he would have liked.
Quickly scoffing it down was also an option, but when he tried to, his body was somehow resisting anything that strayed from any form of uniformity.
So, all he could do was tread carefully and hope that Ferzen wouldn't start a conversation and he could retire to Thorsten's room in peace.
He was so close to completing his goal, but the moment he had set down his spoon and prepared to leave his chair, Ferzen's voice froze him in its tracks, as well as crushing the fleeting hope in his heart.
"About the letter from earlier…" Ferzen began, his gaze settling on Thorsten.
"Leon and I will be heading back to the main estate as planned, but you may remain here a little longer if you would like."
Thorsten was caught off guard by his sudden proposition, and seeing no reason to decline, graciously accepted his father's offer.
"…I'd like to spend a bit more time here first, Father."
"Very well… I understand."
Ferzen did not say anything more.
And taking that as his signal to leave, Thorsten finally rose from his seat and left the dining room, pausing at the door to wish his father goodnight before exiting.
*****
With the sun having set, the palaces hallways were now lit by wall mounted candles that cast a warm light though it interior.
Thorsten walked with small, practiced steps towards his room. Making sure to keep head down and eyes centred on the carpet beneath his feet to in an attempt to keep his eyes from anything misaligned that might catch his attention.
It was going well for him up until he reached the final stretch to his room and noticed a loose thread in the silver embroidery running along the length of the carpet.
Thorsten's left eye twitched slightly as he resisted to urge to simply rip it out and be done with it. But he just sighed and decided to distract his mind by setting sights outside of a nearby window.
Two full moons hung in the night sky, their silver-blue light streaming through the windows and spilling into the hallway.
He swallowed lightly as he took in the sight of the two celestial bodies shining brightly among the stars in the night sky.
"That's not supposed to be like that…"
He muttered, feeling a chill run down his spine.