"You anticipate that I will put that on? I could even be suffocated by it!"
"It was for you to greet the guests who will later visit the home, Milady, you see."
A young woman was sitting on her bed, her arms and legs crossed. She kept a close eye on the maid as the servant offered the dress the lady would be wearing for a significant occasion of the day while she was already on her knees in front of her.
Although the maid had already knelt to deliver the dress to the lady, it appears that she had never loved it because she shoved the outfit away firmly without thinking twice.
She couldn't even be carefree as the maid who handled the dress sobbed in her face. She doesn't even give the dress this maid has been pushing a second thought because the lady just cares about what she wants. Instead, she lifted an eyebrow as she observed what was happening, her eyes already getting smaller.
"What do you think I detest the most, Ana?"
She spoke to the tearful maid as the servant knelt deeper, but the lady's voice was low and she exuded power and the threat that if the maid made a mistake, she would eventually be punished.
"Milady, M-Milad———"
The maid, Ana, wanted to speak a few words to the girl, but as soon as something touched her face, she stopped.
When the lady disagreed with the maid at that moment, she did it in such a threatening, frigid voice that the weeping maid was terrified.
"Take this and don't come here again! The weakest individuals are those that cry in front of me and want to display their weakness."
The lady terrifyingly said when the maid was still immobile and when she was screaming earlier. Coming from the outside, servants dragged the wailing maid whom the lady had previously thrown her pillow at, and the lady only then turned to look at the maids pulling her outside.
'People like that are as obnoxious as ever, I tell myself!'
Only after the door shut and her view, which had never been compromised in this way, did she shake her head and resumed her previous task.
On a piece of paper that she had previously written, she was merely making plans for a specific interaction with some visitors to her home.
***
"My Lord, it appears Lady Charlotte has dismissed another servant."
He was in the Duke's office, according to the household butler. After hearing Charlotte act like she always did now and again, such information simply made the Duke's mind spin a thousand times.
"Oliver, tell me when Charlotte will change."
"..."
The old butler Oliver, however, never seemed to respond to what the Duke asked of him since he was aware that he was not in the right state of mind to make a proposal to the Duke given that the lady is the Duke's kid and the only child in the Carlile household.
"You might not even be as familiar with the solution as I am. However, I believe that individuals evolve throughout time because things were never like this before. Maybe everything happened because Livia decided to end her life, and I don't even blame her for that."
The Duke looked up at the ceiling of his office while seated in his chair, attempting to find the solution when it was clearly evident that he couldn't even obtain some answers from Oliver's mouth.
He appeared to have given up on Charlotte for a little period of time, just as he had on everything else about her until suddenly he heard birds chirping outside his window.
His attention was drawn at that moment, and as he turned to face the building's façade, he had the impression that time had stood still. He felt nostalgic when the birds sang outside his window.
'I know Livia, you keep making me think of things I had forgotten just when I was about to give up on Charlotte. I just wish you were somewhere better than where you are right now.'
His lips curled up as he watched the birds fly out of his window, and those eyes were actually grinning at them. Now when he was looking at the green surroundings, he briefly saw how the sun's golden flashes were mesmerizing them. He then turned to look at the trees and felt the soothing touches of the breeze. He felt at that moment that he needed some fresh air to go over his intentions.
"Oliver, if possible, send the servant to our rural residence for the time being."
"I see, My Lord."
"Oh! And Oliver, would you like to take a stroll?"
"My Lord?"
The Duke giggled for a while.
The Duke asked Oliver, "Are you prepared to run around the home for the time being?"
'I believed that my lord merely required a breath of fresh air.' The old butler thought.
When Oliver looked down at the Duke's desk, he saw papers stacked on top of each other, and when Oliver looked up at the Duke, he understood why he had asked him to abruptly move around the household.
'My master has been so overworked that he doesn't even have the energy to talk to Lady Charlotte,' Oliver thought.
'Perhaps it was the lady who, while realizing how much she had changed since that day, didn't have time to speak with her father. Well, going on a stroll with the Duke is very acceptable. Additionally, it will help him unwind.' Oliver added to his thoughts.
"My Lord, it is a privilege to serve you always——-"
Instead of allowing him to finish, the Duke interrupted him this time with a chuckle.
"Oliver, I'm not telling you to accompany me into the garden, I'm just simply asking if you're free to come with me around the place."
"Indeed, My Lord."
"Then let's leave!"
Oliver gave a final glance as the two left the Duke's office before sighing and leaving towards the garden.
'My master's upbeat personality has never changed. I hope he kept it up.'
***
"Stop now, Gore. Let's take a short break. After our lengthy voyage, I'm already too worn out!"
"I suppose we must, but we still must send the youngster back there!"
"If you give it some thought, would we be able to receive the funds that we were promised?"
"You're at it again, Div, always thinking the worst. If we send this youngster to that location, I'm positive he will never be able to return and will instead be kept there as a slave. What's more, we were able to kidnap him."
They had already managed to escape from the Glazier empire with a child, and two men were conversing in a forest. They were still escaping the Empire days ago as they rested in the shade of the trees and consumed leftover food. While eating, they observed the sleeping boy in their covert cart, which had its horses restrained to trees.
"Hey, Gore, you know about nobility and their desire for power?"
"Never does it change the world. It's still the same as it always was, and if we can get this youngster there, we'll be rich!"
"Yes, I concur! If the world is unfair, why care? as long as we can be wealthy and have a ton of money! Hahahahahhahaha!"
Then both men started to laugh. They were unaware that when the young boy abruptly opened his eyes, he did so to the bright, warm lights of the sun, which caused him to avert his gaze and shift his focus elsewhere.
He shook his head as he saw the two elderly guys who had taken him while he was confident he was in a secure location.
'I suppose I have already been abducted, but it doesn't seem like my family will find me useful. I'll only be tossed out of there one more if I return right now. Except for the elderly man who passed away before I was abducted, nobody wants me there. No, Louis; there is no need to get worked up just now. Let's imagine for a moment that we are asleep.'
"Alright! Now let's get back on course!"
The two elderly men immediately proceeded to board the wagon with Louis the young boy when they decided to do so.
The wagon was still rolling, but after a few seconds, the young boy noticed an opening and leaped up without hesitation and noise. He's just relieved the two elderly men weren't standing in front of him.
There he went, more like racing into the woods in silence till his feet hurt. He was ready to give up when he noticed a hole in a wall.
He entered the place without hesitating and managed to do so by crawling in with his little body until a shadow emerged in front of him, which caused his eyes to widen.
"Well, Oliver, it appears like a stray child has been wandering through the woods and into our home. But hold on, Oliver, and take a closer look at this kid."
The youngster had ropes on both of his hands and duct tape around his mouth, which caused the duke to sob at the last few words he had spoken.
"My Lord, it appeared as though the young boy had been abducted, my goodness!"
"Yes, we must let him into the house first before questioning him."
"Who would do such a crime?"