The next day, Cosette was up earlier than usual to make lunchboxes. Leo also helped her, knowing the young miss would make her first lunch box. To her surprise, more servants were present to cheer her on.
"Let's put some smiling face here," she muttered, designing the food cutely just in case it would somehow catch Maxen's heart.
Leo smiled subtly as she looked content with the outcome of the lunch box. But, he couldn't help but ask why three lunch boxes? She told him about the cat, but what about the green one?
"Young Miss, can I ask why you're making three lunch boxes? Is it for a friend?" Leo raised a question, watching her raise her head and smile.
"Hehe." Cosette just giggled playfully and everyone would soon find out the answer.
****
Conrad quirked his brows, gazing at the green lunch box in front of him. He veered his eyes at his daughter, who was holding it with a wide smile. He was about to leave for work when Cosette called him and hurriedly caught up to him in front of the mansion.
"This is yours," she repeated with the same smile. "You have to eat it, Papa, since your daughter put her heart in preparing you a lunch box."
"For me?" he asked, stunned, and saw her nod profusely.
A shallow breath slipped past his lips as he accepted the lunch box. "Thank you," came out a soft voice as he gazed at the lunch box with gentle eyes.
"Make sure to eat it on time, alright?!" She nagged with a pout, although she already knew Conrad would surely eat it willingly.
"Mhm." He rocked his head, smiling subtly as he gazed at her in her uniform.
Since when… did his daughter look so bright? Her uniform in the academy was surely better, but somehow, in his eyes, Cosette looked lovelier than ever. She was finally acting her age and his heart warmed up.
"Would you like to ride with me?" he offered, something he had always wanted to ask her but was afraid she would turn it down coldly. His heart almost melted when her face slowly brightened up and nodded.
"Yes!" came out a cheerful response, giving joy to his heart more than she could ever imagine.
With that being said, Cosette hitched a ride with her father. Conrad offered he would drop her off at the school, but Cosette insisted on taking the bus. He had heard that his daughter's chauffeur would only drive her to the bus stop and she would commute from there to her school.
"Bye, take care." Cosette waved as she bent down out of the car to take a peek at her father in the back passenger seat. When Conrad nodded, she jogged towards the shade to wait for the next bus.
As they sped away, Conrad's eyes were fixed on his daughter's figure. He couldn't help but smile again, thinking that Cosette was always too intelligent. It was her idea to switch schools for her character development, and everyone was pleased with her gradual change.
"Master, it seems the young miss' new school had some positive effect on her." Suddenly, his assistant, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, looked back to see his boss smiling.
"Mhm." Conrad hummed and glanced at the rear mirror to see that Cosette rode the bus. "Can you believe she spent all her day yesterday cooking, instead of studying the company affairs?"
Warren, Conrad's assistant smiled. His boss had been bragging about Cosette at every opportunity he would get, and he even told him about his date with her since he told him to empty his weekend schedule.
"I'm glad then," Warren politely remarked before noticing the lunch box next to Conrad. "It seems you had a great weekend, Sir."
"I did." Conrad smiled as he gazed at the window. "It will be nice to spend every weekend like that."
"Then I'll rearrange your schedule."
*****
Cosette was slowly getting the gist of Maxen's pattern. Whenever he would go to school looking exhausted, he would skip class. So when lunchtime came, Cosette followed him to the rooftop excitedly.
"Maxen!" she called as soon as she barged through the door, making him nearly jump at her energy.
Maxen furrowed his brows as he watched her storm her way towards him. It was her first time calling his name. Did she decide to take on a different approach this time?
"Go away. I'm tired." He grumbled and clicked his tongue, but Cosette enthusiastically sat beside him.
"Don't sleep yet!" she said while rummaging through her bag and taking out two lunch boxes. "Let's have lunch first! You know it's not healthy to skip class with an empty stomach."
"…" His mind momentarily lagged as her remarks sounded so wrong. Skipping class was not healthy in itself.
Cosette meticulously laid a handkerchief on the floor, serving the pink and black lunch boxes. "Here's yours and here's mine."
"Who said I will eat it?" his tone was dead, not pleased with this new approach she was making.
"Even if you don't like it, you should at least try, right?" she frowned as she looked at him with puppy eyes. "I spent the entire weekend practicing how to make you a lunch box."
"You've wasted your time."
"Well, I will continue to waste my time because I planned to make lunch boxes every day!" Cosette stubbornly argued with him as that had always been her plan. She knew Maxen would reject this kind gesture, but she was not the person to give up.
Maxen studied her stubborn expression before a sigh escaped his mouth. He clicked his tongue, feeling helpless as it seemed she was determined to do what she pleased. This was only for them to get it done and over with.
"I will eat it… but this is the first and last time. Don't waste your time in making this shit." He gave in, picked up the black lunch box, and opened the lid. His brows creased as soon as he saw the smiling face on the rice.
"It's cute, right?" he glanced at her as she proudly held the pink lunch box.
"This is the first and last." He repeated, ignoring her last remarks just to make that clear.
"Hehe. Sure…" Cosette giggled and averted her eyes while biting her tongue. Her reaction was obvious that she automatically ignored his words. That she planned to do this the next day and the following days.
'Just what will make her stop doing this?' he asked himself as he forked out steamed broccoli. 'What will you gain by doing this?'
Maxen glanced at her as he chewed the broccoli, watching her eat happily while glancing at him from time to time. Deep down, even though he wanted her to stop tailing him, he was had been constantly looking over his shoulder to check if she was there.
The last weekend felt boring, although it was just like any other weekend. He never liked school, and he was only attending for the sake of a 'better' future. But now… he didn't know anymore.
When Maxen tasted the main course, his brows furrowed. She said she just learned to cook and the taste might not be that good, but for someone like him who had never eaten good food, this… was delicious that touched a part of his heart.
"How was it, Maxen?" she asked with a bright smile with anticipation in her eyes, while he kept his poker face.
'It's good,' was what he wanted to say, but he kept silent and just chewed the food down.
"Hehe. I'm so happy!" she giggled while staring at him. "I should make you more large portion."
"I said this is the first and last."
"Right, right?" Cosette whistled as she averted her eyes, making him feel helpless as nothing would stop her for sure.