Chapter 30

At the Von Knightley house, Tiara and Eliza side by side walking slowly through the hallway. Tiara suddenly stops at three sections of the hallway. Eliza overshot a few steps forward after Tiara makes a sudden stop. Eliza quickly moves backward wanting to stand beside Tiara. Tiara looks in her left direction and there was a door that leads to Alan's room. Tiara gazing at that door too long unsure whether she wants to visit or not.

"Are you alright, my lady?" Eliza worried about Tiara after seeing Tiara gazing at their left hallway. "Had Alan already went to the dining room for the luncheon?" Tiara asking Eliza while looking at Alan's room. Eliza looking at Tiara's face for the moment. At Tiara's face, Eliza knows that Tiara is worried and cares about her son even though Tiara gives a cold shoulder towards her son.

"I already telling young master but he says he not in appetite. I offer him to send his lunch to his room but he rejected and says he will come down when he is hungry." Eliza telling to Tiara about Alan. After hearing from Eliza, Tiara didn't respond and keep silent. Tiara lifts her right hand and uses her fingernail to move forward and backward as a sign for Eliza to get closer to her.

"Prepare our lunch to his room, I will having luncheon with him." Tiara orders Eliza to bring their lunch into Alan's room. "Understand."Eliza quickly does her job leaving Tiara behind. Suddenly the door to Alan's room was knocked on by someone while Alan was laying down on his bed. "Eliza, I don't have any appetite today, please leave!" Alan shouted from inside of his room not to let Eliza in his room. The door keeps knocking but Alan ignoring it and he uses his blanket to cover his whole body for reducing the knocked sounds.

"It's your mother." Tiara spoke while she knocking on the door. Alan that covering his blanket he quickly wakes up from his bed. Alan's mind was in mess and he starts to feel anxious after he hears her mother's voice because he feels shame about facing his mother. He lays back on his bed but this time he tilted opposite the door, he doesn't wanna see her, he really doesn't wanna see her mother.

Tiara opens the door but Alan kept ignoring her getting inside his room. Alan was disturbed by Tiara's noises, her footsteps, and pulling something that makes screeching the floor. All that annoying sounds make him want to watch what exactly her mother doing but he stills follows the decisions that make him keeps holding not even giving a single glance towards her mother. The noise that coming from Tiara as she walks over to Alan's bed to get the chair. Since Tiara was still in recovery from her injuries, she can't lift the chair but the only she can do is pulling the chair improperly causing the sound of screeching between the chair and the floor.

Tiara puts the chair beside the bedroom opposite to where was Alan tilted his body. She sits on the chair and gives a long stare towards Alan. Aven Alan can't see that Tiara keeps staring but he can feel somewhat likes an aura of her mother keeping her eyes on him. Tiara keeps waiting for Alan to wakes up from his bed while Alan keeps closing his eyes tightly waiting for Tiara to leave his room.

"How long do you want to keep pretend asleep?" Tiara knows Alan pretending his sleep but he can't hold herself waiting. Alan didn't respond nor looking at Tiara, he just kept silent. "You hate me so much that you don't want to look my face." Tiara was hurt a little bit after Alan was treating her like this. Tiara starts sighing, "I won't force you to look at me but at least a single respond is enough for me." Suddenly Tiara spokes to Alan very gently.

"It's not like that." Alan responded while waking up from his bed but he still didn't look at his mother. Tiara silently waiting for the answer from Alan because she knows that he needs some time to tell her. "I'm ashamed of myself even I can't facing you, mother." Alan telling a reason while he grips his blanket very tightly. "I'm not strong enough to protect myself. How am I supposed to protect other people." Alan releasing the blanket from his grip and then he looks at his hand.

"I… was not born that have a stronger gift, don't have any skill nor talent. I'm just a commoner who living as an orphan. No one will help my living expenses, so I start some chore jobs to survives. I start saving up my money but there is a problem, my surrounding that living at the alley." From behind the door of Alan's room, Eliza already standing there bringing the food but she didn't disturb them after listening to both Tiara's voices from behind the door. So, Eliza let them having their conversations.

"Some people in the alley treat me like trash and stole my money. No one helps me even the guards or police that doing their patrol, they only can do is just see me in pain." Tiara starts her scoffing remembering about her past. "So, I start fighting and of course I lose at first but I didn't give up even I keep receiving bruises and wounds. I keep fighting until I finally win. After that, some stranger found me and take me as his pupil learning swordsman." Tiara's voices are a little bit down at the end of her stories. Alan that hearing full stories feels sad how much hardship her mother get through.

"My son, I tell my stories was not the sympathies I'm after from you. I want to tell you that we are not suddenly becoming what we expecting, we are not perfect. But from there we learn it, practice it to be sharpened as a sword so the people wouldn't touch it." Tiara gives some advice to Alan while he just bent his head down trying to understand to himself. "Eliza, bring our meals here before it becomes cold." Eliza enters Alan's room after being called by Tiara. Eliza quickly brings the table and prepares their meals.

Tiara starts eating but before she taking a bite from her mouth, she stopped her eats. She saw Alan didn't toches his meals and he just keeps staring at his food. "If you let your regret trapping you, you will not gonna improves anything." Tiara's words make him heartache but she was right, he needs to change himself. Alan starts eating ravenously with his tears dripping from his face, from his expression can see his earnestness wanted to fix himself to becoming more stronger.

On the next day, Ruddy coming with the physician to Von Knightley's house to do some medical checkups for both Tiara and Alan. At Tiara's room, the physician checking Tiara's pulse and also her wounds. "Hmm… the pulse is stable and there are no infections in your wounds." The physician checking Tiara's conditions while writing down his notes. "Congratulations my lady, you are better now. You can do all the activities that you want." The physician gives good news to Tiara about her condition. Tiara starts swinging her right arm trying to do some stretching. "Thank you very much, sir." Tiara replied her thanks to the physician.

Tiara looks at her surroundings, she feels strange. "Will, where is my son and duke Ruddy?" Tiara asking Will who was beside her. "My lady, both young master and duke Ruddy were at the training ground, I presume they were sparring." Will answers Tiara's questions whereabouts of Alan and Ruddy. When Tiara heard about them were sparring, she stands up. "Unexpected but it will be good entertainment for me to watch both of them shows their skills." Eliza coming inside Tiara's room helping Tiara changing her clothes while Will leaving her room continues his duty as a butler.

At the training ground, both Alan and Ruddy sparing together shows their swordsman skills. After seeing both of them were sweating a lot, maybe both of them already spar less than an hour. Even both of them were sweating but Alan looks exhausted than Ruddy. "Come on, there are more skills I need to show to you and maybe you can learn." Ruddy makes his stance by putting his left hand at his back and the other hand holding his sword pointing at Alan.

Alan starts grunting trying to stand up. He takes a deep breath so it can give him more focus for him to attacking and defending towards his opponent. Ruddy swings his swords up and down offers Alan to let him be charging the attack to him first. At this time, Alan changing the game. He rejected Ruddy's offer but he offers Ruddy to charge the attack on him first by doing the same movement as Ruddy. Ruddy smiling after seeing Alan's offer. "I hope you you prepared." Ruddy warns Alan and very fastly charges towards Alan like a flying bird.