CHAPTER 5: Realization, Strong bonds, Promises

Grendell cant believe his ears when he heard Ekiel asking him to go out of the town with his new friend named Owen. He cant help but tear up in the office alone as soon as the boy exited the office with a happy face after recieving the consent from him.

"Youre crying again, Sir Grendell." Pete, the most trusted butler of the Ulyss household spoke as he gave the weeping youngman a clean handkerchief.

"My nephew... just took initiative to go outside the mansion." Grendell spoke as he wiped off his tears and looked outside the window where he Ekiel sitting in the garden doing his homework after playing with his friend.

"I was planning to take him to the town a month ago, but Im glad he chose to go out himself with someone." Grendell sighed in relief after crying for the nth time. "If Luca is here, she'll really be delighted on seeing how happy her son was."

"Maybe she already knew." Pete said softly and sets the newly brewed tea on the table for Grendell to drink.  "Now,  please drink the tea before it becomes cold, Sir Grendell."

"Yes..."

Then again, Grendell weeped just by thinking the rapid growth of his beloved nephew.

♡︎♡︎♡︎

As Saturday comes by, Ekiel immediately dragged Owen in the mansion, introducing him to the servants in the mansion specially to Yor who became a nanny and Grendell who temporarily took care of the manor.

"This is my friend, Owen." Ekiel said softly as he patted the other 12 years old boy beside him.

"Hello, I am Owen Koneb. I am Young master Ekiel's friend."

Yor and others who went at the hall blinked their eyes twice in sync as they looked at the beautiful kid infront of him. Its shining gray hair and pretty black eyes, almost mistooked as a girl if his hair is longer!! What a beatiful foreigner...! Not to mention its pretty delicate soft fair skin exposed on its arms and neck.

"Hello, sir Owen. I am Yor, the headmaid of the Ulyss household."

The introductions made Owen flustered as he looked at Ekiel by his side who genuinely looked very happy at the moment. His nervousness made him forget that their hands were linked at each other.

After a while, Owen found himself getting dragged in the carriage for some reason. Infront of him, there is Ekiel who wore simple looking clothes but Ekiel's looks just made the clothes look extravagant in a way.

"Have a safe trip and be back before dinner." Grendell said as he ruffled Ekiel's head softly flashing a fond smile at the navy haired boy.

Ekiel excitedly nodded in agreement flashing a bright smile at the temporary master of the Ulyss household.

With that, the 20 minute trip from the Ulyss househodlbto the town began.

♡︎♡︎♡︎

In the midst of the trip, Owen talked about new things about the town. As he talked, he can see the glint of interest on Ekiel's eyes and he didnt even noticed that the other boy was already inching closer to him as he continued to talk.

"Ah, cotton candies! I heard that they look like clouds and they're re~ally sweet!"

"It is. They also come in any colors that you like."

The conversation continued until the carriage topped in the center. Ekiel's eyes widened st the lively atmosphere of the centre filled with kids playing, many stalls and chatting villagers everywhere.

"This is the centre plaza." Owen smiled softly as he helped Ekiel to get off from the carriage. "Thanks to the normal carriage without your family Crest sent by sir Grendell, we wont be that noticeable for everyone."

"Ah, there are so many people."

"Are you scared?" Owen asker as he looked at the nervous Ekiel from his side.

"I think I am—"

Suddenly, Owen grabbed his hand softly and interwined their fingers just like they always do if someone is scared between them. Ekiel looked at Owen who was smiled at him and suddenly felt washed by relief.

"Let's hold hands until youre not scared anymore."

"Okay!"

With that, they started strolling in the town. There was no moment where Ekiel wasnt amazed by the sight of the harmonious town.

Ekiel was also fazed on how polite the people here even if they knew he was the former Baron's first son. Instead, they even treated him warmly to avoid scaring Ekiel.

Just like about what they talked about, Ekiel got to taste many things from the town. From the meat skewers, icecream, candies, and the cotton candy. Ekiel cant get enough of it.

But of course, he got scolded by Owen when he tried to eat more.

"Dont eat too much. You'll get a bad stomach if you do."

Ekiel nodded and followed Owen hand to hand. Ekiel noticed that the villagers loved Owen, too. Owen seemed to be quite famous at the town judjing by the town people's reactions.

This time, Owen bought Ekiel in their bakery to give him the new recipes his grandfather made.

"Ah, this time, this really goes well with the milk." Ekiel said as he bit down on the soft cookie. "The cookie also floats in the milk and turns into chocolate as its drenched in milk."

"Im glad you liked it, Youngmaster Ekiel." The old man said as he smiled fondly at the small boy.

"Everything is so good... I cant choose what to take home."

"You can't take everything at once or they'll spoil if you cant finish everything." The old man said softly and went back on the kitchen to get a new batch of baked goods.

After the small tour in the town, Owen bought on the top of the clock tower to have a let him see the breathtaking view of the small town. There, Ekiel can see the mansion that was separated from the town afar. It was his mansion.

Even the small farms owned by the farmers of their village can be clearly seen from the clock tower. Also the small houses and the stalls on the plaza centre.

The Ulyss territory seemed to be huge despite of having a low title.

As they sat on the small bench quietly, a comfortable silence dominated the atmosphere between them.

"Are you still scared?" Owen asked as he first broke the silence between them.

"No."

"Then I should—" As Owen attempted to unclasp their hands, Ekiel's grip went tighter refusing to let go. He soon noticed the soft sobs coming from Ekiel's direction, as well as the tear drops on their hands. As Owen looked at the young master's small face, a majestic sigh unfolds before him.

Behind Ekiel, The pretty shades of sunset was painted in the sky, contrasting Ekiel's crying figure. As tears dropped down the ground, it seemed to glow like a crystal as the sun rays hits the small drop of tears.

At that moment, Owen felt something throbbing on his chest.

"Im so happy." Ekiel spoke as he looked at Owen who was currently looking at him in an unreadable expression on its face.

"Ah–why are you crying?"

"Im just so happy..." Ekiel continued to cry as he tried to wipe his tears from his face using its free arm. "A-after my parents death, I always use a smiling facade infront of everyone to know that Im okay...but Im not."

Owen was taken aback by the sudden information exposed by the boy infront of him. The longer he looked at Ekiel's broken figure, the painful the pang on his chest intensifies.

"I cutted off my connections to the other noble kids because they mocked me when my parents died...I-i was so sad every night and I used to cry a lot."

Owen cant help but pull Ekiel on his arms despite the slight size difference between them. He untangled their hands and used both of his arms to hug the broken boy on his arms.

"Then when I met you, i got mixed expressions because I used to avoid people aside from the servants and uncle Grendell in the house. I was scared." Ekiel said as his voice was muffled on Owen's chest. "Im scared that what if you do the same thing the other noble kids did? And the list goes on..."

"But when you become my friend, I was so happy to the extent where I cant help but think about you every night non-stop. I always think of what should we do every morning before my classes... I was so happy to the extent where Im very scared."

Owen didnt noticed the tears falling from his eyes as he continued to listen at his dearest friend's story.

"Im scared because what if one day, you'll leave me. Or one day, I'll change and we might not be close like this in the future. And then, I'll be left alone again—"

Owen softly cupped Ekiel's face with both of his hands as he smiled at th boy infront of him.

"Dont cry, Ekiel." Owen softly said as he brushed off his tears. "And there's no way I would leave Ekiel alone here." 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶.

Owen immediately stopped talking. What...?

"Owen?"

"A-ah. Remember, I'll be here always, okay? You've become one of the dearest friends I have so I can't afford someone dearest to leave me too." Owen smiled.

"We'll be best buddies forever, I promise."

"But what if...?"

"Why do you keep saying negative things?" Owen laughed as he wiped off his own tears.

"I might get jealous if Owen will have someone like how my dad have my mom." Ekiel huffed. Tears already dried off from his cheeks.

"Ah really? Then—"

"Then if we'll be adults soon, can we be like my mom and dad?" Ekiel asked once again. "If thats the only way to keep you by my side forever, then..."

Owen was again, taken aback by what Ekiel said at him with pure intentions. He wonders if Ekiel already knew the meaning of it...?

Maybe not. Ekiel is still a kid like him. But unlike Owen, Ekiel hasn't experienced many things so this might just be a confusion to the kid.

"Okay." Owen said as he interlocked their hands once again. "If young master Ekiel still remembers this promise, then..."

"Then—" Ekiel lifted his other hand and showed his pinky finger at the air. Owen followed in suite, interwining both their pinkies and bursted into happy giggles as they looked at each other.

At the moment of twighlight, both young hearts of the boys developed another feeling that neither of them expected to grow.

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𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫!!

𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬 (𝟑𝟐)

-Black hair, purple eyes. The 4th son of the Borres household. He was the younger brother of Luca Borres who was Ekiel's deceased mother. He was the youngest child of Count Borres. He decided to help Luca's son and daughter because Luca and him are very close and wanted to repay her for something. He was the current temporary leader of the Ulyss household.

𝐏𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐨 (𝟑𝟏)

-Brown hair, black eyes. He was the most trusted servant of the mansion. With the former Baron of Ulyss' help, his mother with a serious illness recovered and devided to work for the family of Ulyss when he was 17.

𝐎𝐰𝐞𝐧'𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 (𝟓𝟔)

-Fading Gray hair, black eyes. He was Owen's grandfather who just moved in the territory of Ulyss 4 months before Owen and Ekiel met.

𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐚 (𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬) 𝐔𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐬 (𝟐𝟔)

-Black hair, purple eyes. The beloved wife of the Baron Ulyss. Mother of Ricell Ulyss and Ekiel Ulyss. The first daughter of Count Borres.