Chapter 4

Later that night when all was sound and the girl had retired to her temporary room in one of the many guest rooms that the House of Arundel have rarely used, Louis finally gets the chance to do some work in his office. Although it was quite late into the night, just three hours before midnight, Louis could not turn into bed for he is now the master of the house. And as a master’s role, he should oversee things under his watchful eyes from the usages of his lands by the people who use them to make sure that there has been no tax frauds. Easy as it sounds, for a boy just fifteen years, it can be quite a handful. But no matter the pitiful words of the older nobles might’ve become more restless, Louis has proven himself as a true master of House Arundel.

“Master, would you care for some tea while you work?” A servant of House Arundel knocks lightly before saying the words behind the oak door leading inside his office. “I’m quite alright,” Louis answers, and after a short while of silence, the servant made a quick comment that should he need anything else, to call for a servant before bidding a good night.

He does not reply as he busies himself in the work that had begun to pile up the days he was momentarily out of the city, and ultimately, his estate. “The aristocratic faction wishes that I join their side?” He says out loud and soon sighs as he thinks this. “These noblemen of the aristocratic faction won’t stop until they get more power to overthrow the royal family, hm?”

House Arundel haven’t showed the slightest sign of interest in the silent battle between the two faction since the days of when his father was master of the house and so, Louis takes on the same stance. “Father..” At the call of his father, his eyes glistened in sadness though no tears were shed. “I won’t let your death remain unsolved.”

With that utterance under his breath, he scraps the letter from a member of the aristocratic faction and return to work and dare not let any other thought make their way inside his mind. That is, only until once the hand struck an hour past midnight. By then, Louis still hasn’t finished the work on his desk yet he is ready to turn in for the night.

He loosens his tie and unbutton one button near his collarbone as he makes way down the now darkened halls. The manor is not much different than it was in the day but it gives one a tinge of sadness as the young Louis recalls what happened within these walls of supposed comfort. It was a night such as this where Louis was absent from the house that his father went to bed to only never wake up again.

He stuffs his hands inside the pockets of his pants. If a person were to cross paths with him right now, none would be able to understand what he is thinking under those eyes that held emptiness.

In his own world, he didn’t notice that there was someone other than him awake this late. It was only when he was parallel to the door that he was snapped back to reality. Sobbing? Was the first thing he mentally noted. He looked down on either side of the hall before confirming that the sound emitted from nowhere else but from inside the door he was facing. The room was no other than the only guest room that held a particular little girl, and the only guest in the house.

Hearing her sobs, he wanted to check up on her but felt awkward to even catch her crying this late. It was then that he remembers that it was around one o’clock in the night, a time where children should be asleep, that he decide that he should check up on her.

Clearing his mind, he softly knocks on the door. When he did, the crying stopped, confirming that she was crying and is awake. “Pardon me for intruding you this late, I was a bit concerned for you,” Louis says on the other side of the door. “If you do not mind, may I enter the room?” There was no answer from the other side of the door which worried him so he took it upon himself and open the door slowly. There, he sees the girl looking right at him with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks.

Although he knew what was happening, and he had seen her cry earlier that day, he was still quite struck to see her cry in this state that words failed to leave him. Catching himself staring for too long and having her look down to avoid his gaze, he dispelled an awkward atmosphere and walked over to her bed.

“Are you alright?” He asks, crouching down so she would have no choice but to look at him. As expected, she doesn’t reply and averts her eyes to the air beside him. Even so, Louis was patient and look at her with gentle eyes.

Though, after a while, you could hear him sigh and stand up. Thinking that he would leave soon, she continues to avoid looking at him, but he does the opposite and sat down on the edge of her bed and held her hand that clutched the blankets tightly. Surprised by the action, her head shot up and see him and his unwavering small smile of comfort.

“I know I can’t be of much help, seeing as we’ve just met, nor can I ask you to open yourself to me as I am still a stranger, but should you need comfort, I am here,” he softly speaks. Again, he receives not a single word out of her but what he does receive are her tears.

He does not know what is going on her mind but he is betting on their earlier conversation where she could not recall her own parents’ names, voice, or face.

Looking at her, he is reminded of himself when he was around her age. Just like the sight before him, he cried this way after hearing his father’s passing. Though they do not share the same story, he can sympathize at the feeling of losing someone.

~♡~