"Oliver, don't you think my daughter has changed over time?"
The Duke was in his office, looking out from his window as he watched his daughter do what he thought she would never be able to do in her lifetime
"Yes, my lord. It seems the lady has calmed down in recent days - after Louis joined the household chores. It seems he changed the lady for the better."
An old butler of the household had spoken in such a soft and calm voice that the Duke had to laugh a little
"As you know Oliver, my daughter has been a little devil these past few years, hasn't she? But it seems like everything changed this year."
Fred was still looking at her daughter - who was already laughing while Louis taught him how to garden. There, at the moment, Fred couldn't help but giggle at hearing Oliver's tone of voice and the way their daughter was having fun while learning new skills
'I guess Oliver had some faith in Louis and it was the first time I've met him like that. That old man's trust is hard to earn - but this little boy named Louis earned it the moment he walked into my household. Well, I guess that's it for today, Livia. I hope that wherever you are you are already seeing our daughter's smiles and laughter just like the day you left us.'
"Oh I forgot mostly, did you say there will be a gathering from the Howler Duchy this week?"
A curious voice had asked as Fred averted his gaze from outside and walked over to his desk, only to take Oliver seriously
"Yes, my lord. It was Duke Crelium's son's birthday party."
'Hmm, come to think of it, I haven't seen Crelium in ages. Well, I guess I'll have that to attend the meeting. Besides, Charlotte must have forgotten the child again. One day they will meet, so why shouldn't they meet, right?'
As if Fred had made up his mind about his decision - finally he smiled at Oliver, which made the butler's spine tremble a little
"When I always see the Duke smiling like that - I already know he has something in mind that he's already planning and I know it's never going to be good."
Oliver couldn't even say anything to the Duke when he made that face, because it made the old butler — shudder. How he remembers the past - where he made that kind of expression again back then
"Whenever the Duke has made them - there will always be trouble and I hope my intuition is wrong this time."
"Okay, since it was Crelium's son's birthday party - why don't you invite Charlotte then, right?"
'That's it! Gosh, didn't the Duke remember the time Charlotte bullied the boy?! I guess he had already forgotten that or was he even aware of it? I distinctly remember that before coming to the Carlile, the Howler's family member had that kind of smile that made the family leave the house immediately and it was just because of the lady!'
Oliver was already trembling - but the duke couldn't even tell. The way the old butler's hands were shaking was the way his teeth were doing the same. Just that – Oliver's movements stopped after the Duke spoke again
"Well, for now - if Charlotte attended the birthday party - why don't you run Louis through the household again, Olive. Besides that - I hope you can teach him a lot of things while he's still here. I know that. The boy is very intelligent. One day he will leave this household and pursue the dreams he wanted to have."
After saying those words, Oliver's movements had calmed down and the corners of his mouth had turned up while his eyes did the same. Taking his eyes off the duke, he caught sight of someone outside, only to see two people laughing as they tended the garden
"My lord, I hope that day will come - he will still be able to visit the household."
"Yes, Oliver - I hope so. That's why I gave him the badge of privilege. I saw so much potential in the boy."
After saying those words, Oliver's eyes widened for a second as he realized what the Duke was talking about
'Did he say the badge? Well, that was new to me - but it seemed the Duke had grown fond of someone younger to him. Well, I can say that Louis deserved it all - knowing that he is a very intelligent and respectful boy.'
"Yes sir - I hope so too"
***
"So, when you wanted to arrange things like that and you wanted to do it like this, Charlotte. Don't force the plant into the ground - you have to be gentle enough, okay?"
"What's the difference, Louis? These are all difficult things, aren't they?"
As if Louis' expression went serious - he just sighed for a second and returned to look at the lady - after looking at the plant they were struggling to plant in the ground - because of Charlotte
"Lady Charlotte - even plants have life, alright? They were here to give us life. Things always have value Charlotte and we may never know when they may live or die or even be destroyed or disappear. That's why - we have to be gentle and careful with them"
Charlotte couldn't utter a word for a second. After saying those words, her attention had been on Louis for a while. Something had dawned on her about him, but her brow furrowed as if she wanted more, and Louis only sighed for a moment
"Well, to explain briefly - things always have value - let's talk about your notebook Charlotte, you might not need it today - but in the future, you might need it for a different reason and purpose, so we have things which we now have their value, so don't throw them or hurt them or they'll disappear one day."
After saying those words, Charlotte's eyes softened, but she felt like her heart had started beating a little unnaturally for her. In the beginning, she was having fun while Louis was doing the same. However, when she is the one being taught - with a wrong move she made - Louis explains to her the value of things and that plants have a life too.
However, the moment she heard Louis talking about things that might one day go away, the vision of Louis walking away from her came to her mind
With her heart at the same intensity as the heat of the sun that surrounded her, Charlotte immediately hugged Louis, even causing the two to stumble to the ground. With the sudden actions Charlotte had taken - she couldn't even realize it until she heard Louis' voice
"M-Milady?"
Rather than feeling such pain that led Louis to lay his butt down on the grass, his mind wandered to whether the lady was alright and whether she had seen anything that made her stumble from the spot and hug him. However Charlotte - stayed for a while hugging Louis as she finally calmed down
Her heart, which had been beating so painfully before, had calmed down again.
But her face was still as red as ever and her eyes felt like water would eventually come for any second - so Louis fixed his sitting position on the grass and gently removed Charlotte from him in her embrace
Back then – only Louis sighed deeply as he looked at Charlotte seriously
"Milady - are you alright? Is there something that hurt you? If so, then let me..."
Louis wasn't able to finish what he had just said as he saw water pour down Charlotte's face.
This caused his mouth to open without any words coming out and even if he didn't want to say some words - he felt his throat was holding them so he stayed that way for a while. But his hands should wipe away Charlotte's tears when they were interrupted by the lady herself
"Louis - just tell me that, tell me you'll never leave!"
At this point – Louis' eyes widened, he had the feeling that she had seen a different side of the lady that she couldn't see for the first time. There only Charlotte's hands guided Louis to wipe away her tears
'So that's why she suddenly acted like that. I thought something hurt her, otherwise, I really won't forgive myself.'
"Yes, my lady - I will never leave your side, no matter what"
He said in such a confident voice that it made the lady smile the cutest
'I might have lied to her - but if I saw her smile like that, I wouldn't think twice about saying those words again. However, the future is uncertain – I think living like this at the moment is a memory that will stay in my mind and heart.'