It's been a month since I adopted Louie. I've been meaning to move out of the knight's dormitory and buy a house in the town. It really isn't that far but the petty bastard just had to refuse.
"You could just reside here with him. The manor got more than enough space for both of you," Lucius said while flipping through the documents as always.
"No, I don't want to. I want to grow him in the town. He could meet and play with the other kids," I refused.
"You're my personal knight. It's easier if you live here."
"I could just come and go. It's not that hard—"
"Then you'll leave him alone during work? In that town?" He looked up, raising an eyebrow. "How concerning."
Lucius kept on giving me reasons to stay. It was a long argument that lasted for a whole hour when eventually, I admitted defeat. He only allowed me to move out of the knight's dormitory and into a room in the manor's left wing, first floor. Actually, we got an entire level as the building was rarely occupied.
"I'm sorry, Louie." I kneeled to match the boy's height. "I hope you could still be comfortable here somehow. I'm sure you'd like to live in the town but I'm not able to do so just yet."
Just as what Lucius had said, Louie hardly caused any trouble. He's a very well-behaved young boy who listens well. He never even complained about anything for as long as I know and always been grateful for anything I gave. Perhaps he's the child of an angel? Had I been blessed with his presence?
"I don't mind at all, sister!" Louie shook his head while falling into my embrace. "As long as I can be close with you, I don't mind anything!"
My arms immediately tightened around his small frame. Look at him, instead of throwing tantrums or wailing, he always choose to comfort me. It might take some time for him to adapt with this new environment but knowing Louie, he'll be adored anywhere he goes!
"Some of the servants and maids had brought their children here. A few of them are even the same age as Louie! So play with them while I'm at work, only if Louie wants to. And if Louie ever wishes to do anything, just inform this sister, alright?"
"Uhm!"
And that's the summary of what had happened about a month ago.
Currently, I'm just staring at the office's door while Lucius was looking through the documents, again. The only difference was that he's drinking a cup of tea today. Being a noble sure is harsh. Their works kept on piling up. Multiple problems arises daily, demanding to be solved. Monthly conference in the royal palace to attend to, discussing on a bigger issue. There's also the household's matters to be handled for the unmarried Marquess of Leonhart.
*If Lucius got married, the lady of the house will took care of all of those. But the Santa Butler had told me that Lucius rejected all of the marriage proposals he had ever received. Too bad," I sighed.
The Leonhart march doesn't do as many trades as the others since they were more focused on their military power. So that saves the troubles of dealing with cunning merchants. The only trade done was one that involved mana stones. Since they got a whole ton of mana stones procured from monsters, their wealth could last for a few more generations!
Occasionally, we also went to check on the people of the march. Last time, a few thugs had been unfortunate enough to cross their path with us. Before Lucius could do anything, I had already beaten them up half to death. They're lucky that I'm the one who went against them. Had they fought with Lucius, they'd be lifeless already.
Getting bored of reminiscing the not-so-sweet memories, my feet began kicking the air. "I want to see Louie…" I muttered.
"It's barely afternoon. You're getting worse at this, Catherine. Last time you could hold still until evening."
Feeling deprived of Louie's comforting presence, I slumped onto the nearby couch. I believe that knights were not supposed to sit nor even move out of their respective stations. Fortunately, Lucius doesn't seem to mind even if I laid flat on my back or even rolled on the floor.
"Not like I'm doing anything here," I continued my complain. "The only thing I did was watching you work day and night! Even if any danger appeared, you could have easily handled it, anyway. I'm of no use here, you know? Totally useless."
"Isn't it great, then?" Lucius replied. "Since you got paid for doing nothing?"
Since his statement was absolutely true, I failed to retort back. My feet began to tap the carpeted floor impatiently as I fiddled my fingers around. The ticking sound of the clock sounded even more painful as time passes.
"I guess time could cost as much," I sighed to myself.
Suddenly, a knock was heard on the door. It sounded light, rapped three times and stopped for a response.
"Come in," Lucius said without raising his head.
At the sudden company, I sat up and got back to my position. Brown hair stuck out from the crack of the door and sparkly golden eyes peeked into the room. Just from the familiar sight, I could feel a grin stretching on my face.
"Louie!" I gleefully rushed towards him and swiftly picked him up into my arms.
"Sister!" Louie giggled happily as a response to my welcome.
When I felt Lucius's gaze on us, I carefully placed Louie back on his own two feet. The child's attention was still fixed on me as I did that.
"Why did you come here, Louie?" My hands instantly reached to squish his recently plump cheeks.
*I sure fed him well~*
"I-I brought something I made!" Louie said as he pulled out a small round container from his little pouch.
"Hm? What is it?"
Louie placed the container onto my extended hand. As I twisted the lid open, lavender's scent filled the air. It was a pleasant fragrant, one that people would use in a scented candle. Instead of a candle, the container was filled with greenish-white cream.
"This is…." My voice trailed off. I could've never imagined that such a thing would be successfully made by a child.
"It's an ointment! It could also moisturise the skin!" Louie explained proudly.
"Don't tell me…did Louie really made this?" I was still in disbelief.
"Yes! I mixed in arnica flowers, calendula, coltsfoot leaf, comfrey leaf, echinacea, elder flowers, lavender flowers, lemon balm....." Louie excitedly continued on but I failed to focus as I've lost in my own thoughts.
Did I not pay enough attention to Louie? I didn't even notice him learning all of these. So that's why he had been collecting all those gras—no, herbs whenever we went out to town. Despite the existence of healers like water attributes, these kind of items could be of great help for people like me when we are on our own as we can't heal ourselves.
My index finger glided over the cream, taking a bit of the ointment before rubbing it onto the scratches I got on my wrist. I don't even remember where I got it from, but who cares? The ointment was very well made based on its smooth texture. It even gave off a cooling effect that could ease inflammations. Albeit being a tad bit oily, the ointment was excellent!
"Louie, you are a genius! I'm so proud of you!" I showered Louie with praises while ruffling onto his brown locks.
Louie beamed very brightly, happy to impress me, it seems. Enjoying the affection he received, he even leaned more into my touch. Looking at him now, he's more like a cheerful little duckling under my wings!
"Oh my gosh, Louie," I looked back at the ointment, still astonished by his creation. "It's very, very good and I'm not even exaggerating!"
"Did I do good? Am I good?" Louie bounced excitedly as he shot me those questions.
"Very! Totally! You did so well!" I lifted him up in the air again, wanting to brag about him to the whole world. However, our celebration was cut short by a sudden interruption.
"Samuel had been praising him for a while," Lucius said.
"Elder Samuel?" My focus was turned back to him. "That old physician?" I asked.
"Yes, he took a liking on your brother."
"Is that so?" My eyes widened at the news before exclaiming enthusiastically, "My Louie, you are so great!"
"Hehe!" Louie started giggling as I swung him around.
*Hm? Now that I think about it…* As a thought suddenly intrudes my mind, I turned towards Lucius once again.
"So…you knew all along?" I looked at him with a hint of annoyance.
"I'm the head of the house, after all," he replied with a shrug.
"Tch, you didn't even bother telling me," I complained, unhappy to be the last to know about Louie's achievements.
"You'll find out eventually. Besides, he seemed like he really wanted to surprise you."
*Ah, that might be the case,* I thought.
Louie had been such a bright child and proven to be very talented. He had successfully concoct something like an ointment at such a young age! His medicinal knowledge must've grown significantly after spending some time with Elder Samuel. Not to mention that he even went to wars as a healer previously. Louie could be made as an excellent physician, given the chance. Unfortunately, he doesn't have the qualification.
*Since we are commoners,* I sighed.
"Samuel suggested that he should be sent to the academy."
"Academy?" I perked up at the mention. "Isn't it hard for commoners to enrol?"
"Not if you have a sponsorship," Lucius replied, a hinting smile tugging at his lips.
"Are you telling me that….you wished to sponsor Louie?"
Not answering my question directly, he continued on, "Samuel will be jumping in joy if he got him as his successor."
"And you also want my Louie to be the next physician of Leonhart?" I confirmed. At the moment, my heart was filled with anticipation. The offer was so grand that I thought I might be dreaming. After pinching myself, I realised that it was indeed happening.
"Why not?" Lucius said, as if it's not that big of a deal.
However, it is that big of a deal. With this, Louie's future will be secured! Only if he wanted to, of course.
"What do you think, Louie?" I asked. Louie had been silent all this while, listening intently to our discussion about him. "Do you want to go to the academy?"