Fate To Fake: Loved by the Fallen; Fated to Kill the Divine
Chapter 24: Merlin Hospital

Chapter 24: Merlin Hospital

After managing to step out of his room, hiding pride and acting like everything was normal, Leo settled onto the sofa in the living room.

The new woman—her aura drastically different from before—gently sat beside him with a lovely, almost motherly smile. Her presence radiated warmth, and yet Leo was sweating lightly, a drop trailing down his temple as he nervously wondered what on earth had come over this woman.

"I’m Mom now?"

She said it with a teasing smirk, eyebrows raised playfully.

Leo blinked.

The way she said it—half joking, half testing him—threw him off. Her personality had shifted completely.

Just moments ago, she was acting like a strict, no-nonsense teacher—the kind who would glare daggers at students who dared to be even a second late submitting their homework.

She had the sternness of a military officer enforcing deadlines.

But now?

Now she was leaning against him, her voice soft, her expression affectionate.

"Took you long enough... Hmph!! So, did you finally realise my worth?" she asked in a tone that was deliberately gentle, though her lips curled into a pout.

She leaned her head slightly onto his shoulder, "M-My brother would finally be able to rest in peace..." she whispered with almost teary eyes.

Leo stiffened.

He blinked slowly, trying to process the relation, then muttered hesitantly, "... Aunt?"

Her expression faltered instantly. That soft smile twisted into a hurt frown.

"Going back again?" she said in a small voice, clearly disappointed. She reached out and pinched his shoulder—not too hard—just enough to express her disapproval. Her lips pushed into a tiny, almost childlike pout that, for some reason, looked insanely cute in that moment.

Leo scratched his head awkwardly. A nervous laugh nearly escaped him, but he swallowed it back.

So, this woman... really was his aunt?

Or, more accurately, the aunt of the person whose body he now inhabited.

He shifted in his seat, suddenly unsure of himself.

What was he supposed to do now?

How should he behave around her?

What tone should he use?

What kind of relationship did they even have?

He never had a family before.

He had always been alone... Always kept to himself. Always meant to be alone, if he was being honest.

And now... sitting beside someone who looked at him with genuine affection, who smiled as if he mattered, who wept at the thought of him losing himself...

Leo felt... awkward.

The woman narrowed her eyes, her brows drawing together.

She was observant. Very much so. Something about Leo was bothering her.

No, it wasn’t just because of that awkward hug earlier.

It wasn’t about the surprise. It was more than that. She was catching onto the tiny cracks—his gestures, the way he moved, the subtle hesitation in his speech.

Even the way he spoke—which was normally formal and smooth—now seemed a little off... not refined and local?

She leaned back slightly, her eyes scanning his face carefully, trying to make sense of this growing discomfort inside her.

Leo felt her gaze like a weight on his chest.

"Is something wrong?" he asked cautiously, noticing the sharp shift in her expression.

She didn’t respond right away. Then, in a low, serious tone, she said, "Tell me what happened yesterday."

Her voice was flat. Dead serious.

"I know you," she continued, her tone growing firmer. "You’re not the kind of guy who shows up late to school... Heck, you’re the one who wakes me up when I’m running behind. You even iron my lab coat sometimes when I forget to! So what the hell happened yesterday?"

She leaned in closer, her face filled with genuine concern and sharp curiosity.

Leo stiffened. He had no idea what kind of backstory this body came with, what kind of expectations had been placed on it, what relationships and memories she was clinging to.

All he knew was that, from her point of view, everything about him now felt... wrong.

She had been away yesterday—tied up in some busy schedule, and she had told him she wouldn’t be home. But today... when she returned, the Leo she found wasn’t the one she knew.

Not even close.

Leo gulped.

Should he lie?

Should he twist the truth?

Tell her a part of it? Or just walk away?

After all, he had already blurted everything to a complete stranger—Valra—within hours of arriving in this world.

Why had he done that again?

Was he that desperate? That lost? Did he just want someone, anyone, to acknowledge the chaos he was stuck in?

And now... this woman. She was not a stranger. She was someone close. Someone who had been part of his everyday life—at least, to the original Leo.

Only he knew the aching emptiness of having no one.

No family. No warmth. No one to lean on.

And right now, she was offering all of that.

Leo drew in a shaky breath, coughed lightly, and spoke.

"You see... I... I kind of fell down the stairs at school yesterday, and..." he paused, glancing at her to gauge her reaction, "...ever since then, I can’t remember anything that happened before. Like... nothing. It’s just gone. So... yeah. I really don’t know who you are."

He let the words fall like stones.

What else could he say?

’Hey, by the way, I’m from another world, and I’m here to steal some ancient relic that grants wishes, so I’m using your nephew’s body?’

Yeah, no way.

The woman stared at him blankly. Her eyes blinked once... then twice. Her pupils dilated as the shock set in.

"SAY WHAT NOW!!" she screamed, her voice echoing through the room in sheer disbelief.

Leo winced and rubbed his ear, an annoyed look on his face.

’Why does everyone scream around here...?’ he grumbled internally.

"Y-You don’t remember anything?! N-Not even your father?!" she asked, her voice trembling.

Leo slowly shook his head.

Her expression crumbled in an instant. The colour drained from her face as her knees weakened.

"W-We need to go to the hospital. Right now!"

"W-Wait, there’s no nee—"

"NOW!!" she shouted, cutting him off before he could even explain. She darted to grab a white coat, tossed it over her shoulders, grabbed his wrist, and practically dragged him outside.

Leo sighed in resignation and followed her obediently. She wasn’t giving him a chance to speak or think.

"I guess... this is what having family feels like," he muttered under his breath with a soft, bitter smile. He looked back once toward the house.

There, peeking from the room’s corner, was Pride.

He caught her eye and gestured toward the living room table, silently telling her to eat the food before it got cold.

As he disappeared out the door with a woman whose name he didn’t even know, Pride blinked, watching the taxi pull away.

She turned her head slowly toward the table, where the packed food sat untouched.

"He told me to eat, right?" she whispered softly. Her fingers reached out with delicate care, slowly unwrapping the container like it was something precious.

Meanwhile, inside the car...

"Do you really not remember anything?" the woman asked again, her voice trembling with worry. Her fingers ran gently over his scalp, searching for any sign of injury.

Leo nodded slowly."Yeah... I honestly don’t remember anything at all."

She stared at him in stunned silence.

"Then... why did you go to school? You could have waited for me at home! Wait—how did you even get back to the house if you forgot everything at school?" she asked, throwing questions at him without pause.

Leo let out a weary breath."I really don’t know... I guess my body just moved on its own, and my name is Leo... That’s all I can say."

The woman bit her bottom lip hard, her face trembling as she looked at him. Her fingers brushed over his skull again, gently, almost apologetically. Then her tears began to fall, slowly, like water from a broken tap. She clenched her fists in frustration.

"I... I... I shouldn’t have... I should have been there—"

Leo scratched his cheek, clearly flustered by the sight of her crying.

"There’s no need to cry... I mean it. Even if I don’t remember anything... I’m still happy you’re here. I’m happy someone like you is in my life. So... thank you."

"Oh, Leo!!" she cried out, and without warning, pulled him into a tight hug. His face ended up pressed into her chest, soft and suffocating.

Leo squirmed, ’Not these two again!’ he screamed silently inside.

"D-Don’t worry, no matter what happens, your aunt will bring back those memories! I promise!" she declared, her voice shaking with emotion as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Leo sighed deeply, slumping into the seat, ’Maybe I shouldn’t have told her after all...’ he thought to himself.

And within just a few minutes, the taxi pulled up in front of a large white building.

Merlin Hospital

Leo blinked in surprise as he read the name engraved on the front.

’Damn... that guy must’ve been loaded,’ he thought, comparing it instantly to the name of his school—Merlin High School.

The school and the hospital were both owned by the same person!!

Suddenly, something sly entered his mind...

But he quickly shook his head.

’One at a time,’ he reminded himself.

He tried to walk at a steady pace beside the woman, but she wasn’t having it.

Instead, she grabbed his wrist tightly and all but dragged him inside with the ferocity of a lioness protecting her cub.

The moment they stepped through the pristine automatic glass doors, a scent of antiseptic and sterilised air greeted them. The hall was spotless, quiet, and looked more like a futuristic research lab than a hospital.

Immediately, one of the nurses at the front desk stood up and bowed slightly in recognition.

"Doctor? You don’t have any scheduled rounds today. Is there something you need?" she asked, clearly surprised.

Leo raised an eyebrow, blinking,

"Doctor?" he echoed under his breath.

The woman glanced sideways and smiled faintly, "I’ll explain everything later. For now—" she turned to the nurse,

"This is my nephew. He fell and hit his head on the stairs. I want a full neurological and physical evaluation. I want every department involved. And I want a complete report on my desk in an hour," she said with chilling precision.

The nurse straightened at once. "Of course, Doctor. Right this way. I’ll notify the full medical team."

Leo watched this unfold with wide eyes.

She could order people around?

Just who was she?

What kind of aunt had he ended up with?

Within the next twenty minutes, Leo found himself reluctantly changed into one of those dreadful, soul-sucking, blue patient gowns—

The kind designed to make even the healthiest person feel like they were two steps away from a funeral.

He looked down at it in disdain.

He already felt like crap.

And then the tests began.

CT Scan—check.

He was wheeled into a cold room. The ring-shaped machine hummed ominously as he lay perfectly still, the technician’s voice echoing:

"I’ll be waiting outside."

Leo’s lips twitched slightly.

MRI—check.

Another room, another machine—this time, a long, narrow tube that felt more like a coffin. He lay there, eyes open, the magnetic hum vibrating in his skull like an army of mechanical bees drilling into his brain.

"I’ll be waiting outside," the technician said again.

Leo almost smirked.

Neurological Exam—check.

"Follow my finger."

"Look to the left."

"Tilt your head."

Taps on his knees, a flashlight into his pupils, a doctor scribbling down notes with bored expertise.

Glasgow Coma Scale—check.

Apparently, he passed. Not that it meant much to him.

Memory Assessment—check.

"What’s your name?"

"Leo."

Neuropsychological Testing—check.

He was handed shapes, numbers, riddles, jigsaw puzzles, analog clocks to draw. He followed instructions, clicked through it all with detached efficiency.

The results?

"You’re very clever," one of the assistants said.

Electroencephalogram—check.

He lay there in silence as cold paste was smeared across his scalp and dozens of wires were attached like he was some kind of test subject. The room was dim, and the monitor displayed lines that rose and fell in eerie rhythm.

"We’re just checking your brainwave patterns. Looking for seizure activity," they said gently.

Leo stared at the screen.

Finally...

He was brought into a sterile white room.

The smell of alcohol swabs, clean sheets, and medicinal chemicals was so sharp that it made even a healthy person’s head spin a little.

He sat on the hospital bed, back stiff, shoulders sore, his eyes heavy from exhaustion. The endless tests had drained him. And now, his gaze settled on the woman seated before him, dressed in her white coat, glasses perched on her nose, expression unreadable.

She was quietly going through a thick report—paper after paper.

Leo stared at her... She really pulled this entire thing off... didn’t she?

A full diagnostic sweep in under two hours.

He didn’t know whether to be impressed or terrified.

The woman finally hummed, low and thoughtful.

She adjusted her glasses and looked up from the report, her tone calm but clearly puzzled.

"Report says... everything’s fine. No abnormalities. No damage. Actually..." she paused, tapping the page, "...it says your condition is perfect. You’re physically healthy. Every value is well within the normal range."

Leo shrugged with tired eyes. "Told you. I’m fine."

But the woman didn’t smile.

Instead, her face clouded with frustration as her eyebrows drew tight."Then why are your memories gone?" she asked softly, voice shaking. "There’s no explanation. No head trauma, no signs of swelling, no damage to the hippocampus or any cognitive region. It’s... impossible."

Her voice cracked. She bit her lower lip, hiding the pain in her chest.

Leo shifted closer, watching her carefully.

"Hey," he said gently, his voice a little rough, "Don’t worry. I’ll remember everything eventually. And even if I don’t... I won’t forget you. I won’t forget the woman who looked after me when everyone else left."

His words were low, sincere, and struck something deep within her.

The woman blinked, lips trembling as she moved toward him, then pulled him into another embrace—this one slow, heavy, full of emotion.

"Leo..." she whispered, her breath warm against his ear. "Even if you’ve lost your memories... you’re still you.... That never changes."

Leo closed his eyes. The warmth of her embrace felt oddly comforting, despite everything.

And for the first time that day, Leo didn’t feel like a stranger.

But he was definitely done with any more tests.

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