After my father and Earl Stamfort left the great hall, heading to my father's office to continue their GO games, what left in the great hall is only me and Celes, my sister and Sir Anthony, and maids and servants who busy cleaning the aftermath of the banquet. They moved the chairs and tables back to the storage or wherever they placed before.
"Sis, what're you going to do next?"
I asked my sister about her next agenda.
"Mmm…I'm inviting Sir Anthony to have some tea with me, so we can get to know each other better. What about you, Henry?"
"Hmm…I want to take Celes to take a walk around the castle"
"Alright…have fun, both of you"
After that, my sister and Sir Anthony left the great hall together while holding each other hand. I'm not going to join her tea party with Sir Anthony to give my sister some privacy.
"Celes, I want to take you to a walk if you don't mind"
"Sure, where we're going to?"
"Oh, not too far, still inside the castle thou"
"Okay, let's go then"
I take Celes to leave the great hall while holding her hand. When we about to leave the great hall, suddenly I remember I haven't told my father about tonight's dinner. Fortunately, Mr. Nicholas is coming to the great hall to inspect the work of maid and servant who clean up the great hall.
"Mr. Nicholas, what a coincidence! I have something to say to you"
"What I can do to help, young master?"
"It's about tonight's dinner. Please inform my father that Mr. Rudolf and Mr. Gandolf will join us for dinner tonight. Also, I will be late for dinner so just start without me, I will join the dinner later"
"Alright, I will inform master Harvard about that"
"Thank you, Mr. Nicholas"
After giving Mr. Nicholas the message for my father, I and Celes continue to leave the great hall. We walk through the castle corridors before arrived on the garden entrance. I spend a couple of minutes to pick some flowers in the garden before we continue our walk.
"Henry, why do you stop and pick those flowers?"
"Oh, we're going to meet the most important person to me. I feel bad if I'm not bringing flowers"
"This person….is a woman?"
"Yup, you guess it right"
Celes' expression slightly changed when heard the person who we will meet, and that important person to me is a woman.
"Did I ever meet her before?"
"No, you haven't. She's not live in the castle, that's why you never met her before"
"I see…."
Celes replies with a gloomy tone in her voice. I didn't notice it because I'm busy picking flowers. After picking some flowers, we continue our walk through the garden until we arrived at the inner wall of the castle. I open the door which connected the inner area of the castle with the outer area of the castle. I hold Celes' hand and guide her walk through the door.
"Henry….this is…"
After we pass the door, what lies in front of us is our Harvard family graveyard.
"This is our Harvard family's graveyard. I want to visit my mom's grave and tell her the good news"
There are not many graves in the cemetery, only three graves there, only my father's parent and my mother grave. I walk to the newest grave there, my mother's grave, and stop on the edge of the grave. The graves were clean and well maintenance, no wild grass grow there. I bow my back before start speaking.
"Mother…it's been a while…today I come here with a girl, it's your future daughter in law. Her name is Celes, she's a good and kind girl who I will spend my life with. Although you're no longer with us, I hope your spirit give us blessing and strength to us, to overcome any hurdles that may come in our life, to keep us together until time separate us. Bless our children too, and let them grow healthy and become a splendid person who we can proud of. And lastly and most important, please bless us with a happy and peaceful life"
After finish saying what I had in my mind, I start to arrange the flowers that I pick up before in my mother grave.
"Henry…let me help you"
"Sure…here, have some"
I handed Celes some of the flowers and she helps me arranged the flowers in my mother grave. After we finish put the flowers in my mother's grave
"Henry…I also want to speak to your mother"
"No problem, go ahead"
Celes bow her back to my mother grave direction before start speaking
"Auntie, my name is Celes. Today I and Henry, we formally engaged and will be married in the near future. After that time, when I visit you again I will call you mother in law. You have my thanks for giving birth to an excellent son, who already become a splendid man and now stand beside me. Please bless us for a happy and harmonious life. I promise you to always love your son, caring him in joy and sorrow and never let him down. I will try my best to become a good wife for him, raise our children and educating them to make them grow as splendid as their father right now. Please watch and guard us against heaven"
After that Celes finished her words. I hold her hand gently as my appreciation.
"Thank you, Celes, I believe my mother also be happy to have you as her daughter in law. Shall we return now?"
"Yes, thank you, Henry…for bring me here"
We walk be to the castle with still holding each other hands. When we passing the garden, Celes suddenly say something.
"Henry…I'm sorry"
"Eh? For what?"
"When you mention about to meet a most important person and that person is a woman, I get jealous when hearing it"
"Hu um…I even think that I'm not important to you…what a silly me"
I stop my step and hug Celes tightly
"Yes, that's a silly thing, but I'm not angry with you, instead I feel happy when hearing you jealous. You get jealous means you really love me, right?"
"Yes….I really love you, Henry"
"I love you too, Celes. And you should know that you're also an important person to me"
"Can I become your most important person, Henry?"
"Uh, that places still occupied by my late mother….but you can try to get the second place thou"
"Henry...you cheat…it's impossible to compete with the person who already passed away, you know. But I will try my best to be the second one, and if I keep trying hard, maybe the first place will be mine eventually"
"Yes, please do so Celes"
I release her from my hug and look at her a bit teary-eyed, she also looks at my eyes. We both make a smile when our eyes meet then continue hugging each other for couple minutes later before we continue our walk back to the castle.