Roderic opened his mouth, but no words came out. He glanced desperately at Lucian, as if pleading for some kind of support, but Lucian merely tilted his head, pulling a facade of obliviousness. Why would Lucian help him out, when he was just moments ago trying to extort him for money?
"Well, regardless, I'm sure Lucian is perfectly capable of deciding where to place his generosity, if he so chooses." Kaldor's tone hardened slightly, his playfulness vanishing.
"Yes, Professor…" Roderic mumbled, slumping his shoulders in defeat.
He shot Lucian one last, baleful look before shuffling down the hallway, his steps no longer as heavy or confident as they used to be. He was mentally defeated, not only did he not get his hall tax from Lucian, but he'd also been reprimanded by one of the scarier professors of the academy. It seemed he'd have to keep a low profile over the next few days.
Silence reigned in the corridor as Kaldor watched the boy's retreating back, his expression was unreadable. Not even Lucian could guess what he was thinking at that moment. Then, he turned to Lucian, still with a blank look on his face.
"You're different." Kaldor suddenly blurted.
He stated it plainly, as if he were just commenting on the weather. His eyes gazed over Lucian imperceptibly, like he was dissecting him with just a look. This was a skill Lucian quite admired, but it wasn't pleasant to be on the receiving end of such a gaze.
"Not the same meek boy I remember." Kaldor spoke again, doubling down on his suspicion.
Lucian blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the man's perceptiveness. He wasn't expecting to be suspected so early into his transmigration.
'Have I been caught out as a transmigrator already?' He thought to himself, unsure whether to reveal the truth or not. It would be a huge risk if he did so.
For a split second, Lucian felt the urge to break into a full smile at Kaldor's comment, and he almost broke under his own pressure. It was amusing how quickly people noticed changes when they actually paid attention. He could almost see the gears turning behind the Professor's piercing gaze. Like there was an intense and complex clockwork going on behind those piercing eyes of his. But it wouldn't do him any good to reveal too much.
He might have inhabited the memories of the previous Lucian, but as was evident from his encounter with Roderic, he actually had to focus hard enough to be able to recall them. Lucian instinctively had a feeling that things would mesh together as time went on, though, with the previous Lucian's memories becoming his, with no need to sift through them or decipher their meaning.
And in the current moment, he didn't quite understand enough about this world to go around revealing such a big secret. For all he knew, it could be like the Middle Ages in Europe, where people even suspected of magic or heresy were executed. In fact, judging by the architecture and manner of speaking these people had, he had no doubts this might be the case.
The distinct lack of anything electrical or industrial was all the evidence he needed to see that this world was far, far behind his previous one. Right now, he didn't know the customs of this place, so it seemed he had to tread carefully with his words and actions for a while, at least before he understood the laws of this land a bit more. But that was only while he still had a grip on things. His momentary lapse with Roderic would have to be the only time he could slip up for the foreseeable future.
Once he learned more, understood more about this world and educated himself enough to call himself knowledgeable about this place… Well, he had no doubt that he'd continue his experiments from his previous life, just like they had never ended in the first place. And his job in his previous life wasn't exactly… legal.
So for the time being, he decided that he should start to act more like the previous Lucian would and gradually make changes to his outside persona over time, rather than act like his real, old self out in public.
'This time with Roderic will have to be the last, a one off until things settle down,' Lucian reminded himself.
He mulled over his options, swiftly crafting up a response that would hopefully convince Professor Kaldor. He wasn't particularly willing to out himself so quickly after transmigrating. He had plans — things he'd like to accomplish, and he wouldn't let a small hurdle like this stop him.
"Changed?" Lucian questioned.
He shrugged lightly, sculpting his expression into a mild, uncertain face that his predecessor might have worn. For someone with so much control over their emotions like him, it wasn't a difficult thing to put on an act like this.
After all, he put on an act every single day for the first 25 years of his previous life — a few more years in this place was not a big problem.
"I suppose I just… got tired of being a doormat." Lucian finally spoke, revealing his reasoning to Professor Kaldor. He offered a light-hearted chuckle, like it pained him to speak about it.
"I guess it was more like… a wake up call." Lucian added on.
Kaldor's gaze lingered on him, uncomfortably sharp, as though it were peeling back each layer of his mind to examine it under a harsh, unforgiving light. He seemed suspicious, rightfully so, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why…
Lucian swallowed, allowing his body to tense just slightly. A trickle of nervousness, something Lucian hardly ever felt, could sell the story.
He had to appear vulnerable enough to match the expectations of the people who were in regular contact with his body before he inhabited it, while showing just enough of his new resolve to satisfy the professor's curiosity.
"A wake up call, you say…" Kaldor muttered, more to himself than to Lucian directly.
Kaldor's tone was neutral, but there was something beneath it that Lucian was unable to place. It was almost like a spell, or a trick. In fact, Lucian started to feel like his mind was slowly starting to loosen up a little, and his eyes gazed into the deep abyss of Kaldor's own, seemingly sinking deeper and deeper within the longer his gaze lingered.
'What… is this?' Lucian questioned.
For the first time since he found himself in this place, this body, Lucian felt genuine confusion. Something was taking control over his own mind. Something he couldn't contain. Something he couldn't control. He had no idea what was happening to him — whether it was related to his transmigration, perhaps another influx of memories or knowledge was about to hit him — or if it was related to Professor Kaldor.
One thing he knew for sure, though, was that this was not a good moment for such a thing.