Chapter 11

"Has Kieran finished?" Ivie politely asks, pushing her hair behind her shoulder as she gives her bag to the maids.

This time, the insides of her bag are filled with the necessary things Kieran would mostly need than her throughout the long day.

The maids who were waiting for her nodded their heads respectfully in response.

"Young master has been waiting in the dining area, young miss."

One of the maids chided, extending her arms to receive her bag and grasp onto the expensive material that costs more than what her life can afford with supplementary care as they follow her lead towards the dining area.

Their faces were calm and relaxed, far from distress despite the incident that had occurred earlier as every servant envisioned.

It was yet once again a catastrophic arrangement.

They didn't dare spill information regarding the young master reprimanding his unfortunate attendants to lay out all the white clothing he has in his walk-in closet in less than a minute like he was running late from something. Not to mention the pressure the newly hired and under-supervision maids endured from the arrays of clothing inside his closet that are endless.

They do not desire to lose their jobs so they kept their mouths sealed for their safety.

They had held their heads down, shivering in their places silently as they were reaching nearer to their destination.

God knows execution is likely to happen when they lose their position, unable to leave this mansion alive without undergoing the young boy's inhuman methods.

When Ivie arrives inside the large dining area, her eyes immediately spot Kieran's small frame sitting on one of the wingback cushioned chairs at the long dining table.

His eyes were bright upon seeing her.

When her gaze darts down to what he was wearing, both of her eyebrows rose in surprise to see him in a white thick wool sweater, black knee-length shorts with white stripes on both sides, and a pair of white Adidas shoes she had bought him recently.

She grins at the thought he, too, had dressed modestly, and coincidentally their outfits matched for the day.

With a warm expression, "Did you wait long, sweetheart?" She asks, her voice the softest.

He relentlessly shakes his head from side to side.

She continues to stride towards the long table and can't help but laugh at his enthusiasm on the way. He looks far too excited, and she completely understands why.

So cute . . . plus he does look too thrilled. When she reached by the seat next to him, Ivie gently pinched his soft cheeks between her slim fingers and kissed his forehead before occupying the empty seat beside him.

The young boy had his eyes studying her every movement from the entrance until she finally sat down beside him. His thoughts were apparent from any worries at the sight of his dear mother's warm smile.

White clothing really does suit her.

The butlers standing on the sidelines are finally able to breathe freely in the presence of their only savior entering the room. They had stayed in this suffocating area of silence for approximately thirty minutes.

And none can say that those thirty minutes were comforting.

They could no longer feel their numb napes from enough strain and pressure from lowering their heads. Everyone was unduly frightened to move a muscle in fear to commence any mistake or discomfort that might offend the youngest master in the house.

Ivie's stomach lurches as her eyes settle on the steamed and hot dishes served in front of them. They were appetizing and mouthwatering. She blinks, her lashes fluttering as she paused at the sudden realization.

Something's missing.

"Dig in, mother. The scallops are—"

"Where are the broccolis?" Ivie turns and asks Butler Yang, who strides nervously forward to her side. His fingers were sweating behind him at her plural statement, 'broccolis'.

"My deepest apologies. The chefs are steaming the broccolis just as you requested, young miss." Butler Yang responded with a meek bow. He took a quick glance at the frozen child sitting beside their lovely heiress, and his young and piercing eyes were distant upon meeting his old and unfocused ones.

Not too long, another butler strolls his way towards the table while carrying a steel tray in his hands where a circular plate with newly steamed broccolis is placed.

"Thank you." She said to the Butler who just came in.

The young butler bowed to his waist to repay her greeting. They were already used to her kind and warm behavior towards them. Even if they were below her level, she had never mistreated them nor looked at them differently like the rest of the family would.

It was the very reason why she could easily capture the hearts of everyone working under her.

Ivie shifts her attention to her side, glancing down at her quiet son, who is currently wearing an unreadable expression on his face. His deep green eyes were glued on the dishes she set in front of his empty plate.

She placed two large spoonfuls of rice on his plate next to the two large pairs of healthy and fresh broccoli, making sure he had no escape before she finally turned her attention to her own plate, adding rice with tiny mouth bites from different dishes laid before them.

"Dig in, sweetheart."

She sweetly said to him, pointing her finger towards his plate while putting a clean table napkin around his neck to make sure there wouldn't be any unwanted stains to splatter on his white sweater.

Kieran continued to stare at his plate like it was foreign to his sight while poking the green food with the ends of his fork.

He lowers the utensils in his hands to the table and peeks toward her side.

"After you, mother." He nudged back at her though his frown was slightly visible.

He has a manner of not touching his food before she does.

Ivie cut the scallops in half and placed the other half inside her mouth, chewing it silently only then she added rice to pair with the rich and flavorful seafood in her mouth.

Seeing she had already eaten. Kieran followed to eat his fare in silence.

Though she had recoiled not to give in to his pitiful schemes, Ivie stabbed half of the scallop she cut and offered it to him.

Her child glances up at her in surprise, opens his mouth, leans in to bite the scallop off her fork, and smiles.

Right there, Ivie begins adding different savory parts of dishes next to his piled broccolis from time to time.

She was happy he did not have the time to argue with her, instead he seemed happy to tolerate her behavior of adding dishes to his plate to ease the flavor of the vegetable inside his mouth.

The chefs, who were expecting for a huge disaster to happen in the dining area, drop their knees helplessly on the floor in relief at the splendid response from the butler that hell was peaceful today.

They nearly burst into grateful tears worrying about their own families they had to support when this job position offered them a higher wage than any restaurant can, especially the head chef who thought his whole career would cease to end at the vegetable dish that ranked first in the black notebook.

The heavens must have presented them with another miracle.

God is truly merciful.

They praised and thanked each other for their hard work before getting back to their own counters with wide and successful smiles on their faces.