"It's cold... mother... everything feels cold."
Little Allen struggled on his little bed, looking for warmth around him, but Allen found nothing there, he couldn't find a blanket, nor could he find anyone who could hug him to keep him warm. He opened his eyes, then looked around. There was his mother standing near him, her face was gloomy and dark, looking at him expressionless.
"Mother..."
He couldn't lift his body up. His body felt heavy; he wanted to get up and call out to her, but he couldn't. His voice wouldn't come out of his mouth; he tried repeatedly to call her until finally, she walked away from there.
"Don't leave me…"
Then appeared Isabelle, who was doing the same thing. Looking at him with a pitying face then, she turned to leave.
"Don't go! Don't leave me!"
And finally Felicia. Felicia just stood there, looking at him with a pitying face. Then slower than the others, she started to turn away.
"!!!"
Allen's eyes snapped open, jolting him awake from a nightmare-filled slumber. He found himself in his bedroom at the Boldenville residence, his heart racing and sweat beading on his forehead. Without hesitation, he leaped out of bed and went to the second floor, where Felicia's room was. Frantically, he burst through the door and find Rachel massaging her stomach.
"Welcome; I'm sorry, but could you come out until I'm done?" Rachel said.
Allen sighed, then closed the door.
"I did it again..." muttered Allen.
Allen, a boy who did not have the status of a nobleman, should have been prohibited from entering Felicia's room. Moreover, Felicia's state at that time was only wearing a piece of cloth because Rachel was massaging her entire body. But Rachel's reaction was indifferent. It was because she was too tired to reprimand Allen. Allen had done the same thing many times since they arrived at the Boldenville residence.
That night... after Felicia sacrificed herself to save many people…
When Rachel was not by her side, she took Reynold and Ayde back to the rental house, and when she returned, she saw Felicia had fallen down after using her god's blessing on others.
Quickly, Rachel chased after her and picked up her body. Alicia ordered her to be given to the royal physician. After she was brought there, the physician diagnosed her with extreme exhaustion. Due to the excessive consumption of stamina potions, Felicia would not wake up for three years at the latest.
"Three years?! No way... Lady Felicia... How can that be?"
"Normally, the stamina potion won't work after you drink it more than two times in a day or seven times in a week. Not only does it interfere with health, but the function of the potion itself will disappear if people consume it frequently. But this girl can drink more than 200 potions a night and maintain the potion's effect. I'm more surprised why she's still alive after doing so."
eaglesnovɐ1,сoМ "Are you saying that she should be dead?" asked Reynold.
"No! That's not it, my lord! I'm just saying that this girl was strong enough to withstand the potion's effects."
The next day, the Boldenville family traveled straight back to their residence, arriving within a day and a half. While Carla's matter was put on hold, she went with Reynold to the Boldenville residence.
Since Felicia might not regain consciousness for three years, as a precautionary measure for the after-effect, the doctor recommended moving her body daily, wiping her body, and feeding her nutritional potions twice a day. Rachel took on the responsibility, and every morning she would massage Felicia's body and carry out the prescribed body movements as instructed by the doctor. On the first day, Allen burst through Felicia's room, which made Rachel angry and chase him away.
On the second day, he did the same thing.
Until one week passed, Allen was still doing the same thing. Rachel knew that Allen had no bad intentions. She felt that she more or less knew what was on Allen's mind, and it was possible that what he was thinking was the same as hers. That's why she was tired of reprimanding him, so as soon as Allen entered Felicia's room, she would immediately ask Allen to come out.
"Allen, you can come in now," was also what she said when Rachel had finished her routine.
But just like the previous days, Allen was no longer standing at the door...
Allen...
He always had nightmares, and they were all the same dreams. He dreams about losing people who were precious to him. Since arriving in the capital, Allen has rarely used Reig as his scarf. But now he uses his scarf again, and he was wearing a fairly thick shirt; he was back to the way he was when he first came to Wolverlope's residence.
As he returned to Boldenville's residence, Allen's demeanor resembled his initial arrival at Wolverlope's residence. His expression was devoid of emotion, and he often kept his gaze downward, speaking only on rare occasions. Within the confines of the house, Rachel was the only individual who made an effort to communicate with Allen. She would frequently enter his room with meals, attempting to engage him in conversation despite his apparent disinterest.
Since he had not done anything for three days, Rachel gave him servant jobs, such as sweeping, mopping, and buying groceries at the market. At first, Rachel thought that he would refuse like he used to do, but Allen just nodded and obeyed what Rachel said, and he did so with the same face, a desperate and expressionless face that obeyed whatever was told to him.
He was like a slave who had given up on life.
Then a week passed, and Reynold finally called him to his workroom, followed by Rachel. The call from Reynold worried Rachel because she knew that Reynold was still in a bad mood.
"Allen... you're fired. You can no longer live in this residence and never see Felicia again."
Rachel then looked at Allen.
With his dark eyes, Allen looked at Reynold with a shocked face. His eyes widened, his pupils shrank, and he gaped slightly.
When Rachel thought he was about to say something, he closed his mouth and bowed.
"Allen, do you know why I fired you? It's because you're no longer useful here. I know Felicia's current situation is not your fault, but at the last second, I realized that you had left Felicia outside alone. You've failed as a knight."
"S-sir! with respect. Allen didn't do nothing! He replaced my work while I tended to Lady Felicia's body!"
"It doesn't change anything; we don't need extra manpower to clean up. He is now nothing more than someone who feeds, drinks, and sleeps for free. Allen doesn't need to be Felicia's knight anymore."
Bowing her head, Rachel thought,
'No... that can't be. Allen still can't leave, I still need him, Lady still needs him! I have to think of a way to keep Allen here!'
But before Rachel could find a solution, Allen said,
"Alright..."
Allen turned around and walked toward the door
-GRAB
"Wait! Allen!" Rachel firmly grasped Allen's hand as he was about to leave.
"What?" Allen answered briefly.
Allen's answer.... and his face when he said it... made Rachel sure of something.
'Ah it's useless... This boy, he won't listen to anything I say,'
Rachel slowly released her hand. Then she took something out of her pocket and gave it to Allen.
When Reynold saw what she had given him, he immediately shouted at Rachel.
"Rachel! Don't do anything nonsense!"
Allen looked at the thing that Rachel put in his hand,
"This is... a knife?"
"The Boldenville family's knife, it's a family symbol given to you by Lady Felicia. I kept it because I thought you might lose it anytime."
Rachel turned back towards Reynold and bowed her head,
"With all due respect and apologies, I in no way meant to act against Lady Felicia's wishes; everything I did was for her sake, and I in no way meant to go against Lord Reynold's decision.
Allen will remain Lady Felicia's knight, but your decision to dismiss him was correct, and your reasons were the most reasonable. However, all decisions will remain in Lady Felicia's hands. With this, Allen should be able to get a chance to return to this house."
Reynold was annoyed that his servant was acting out of turn, but he could not reply to what Rachel said at all. What Rachel did was a criticism of the nobility; Reynold could have fired her or whipped her legs 50 times as punishment. But he knew Rachel's worth. Not only did Rachel work very well, but she also had a god's blessing that was good for the family's safety.
With a heavy heart, he sighed and said.
"Whatever. Get out of here."
Rachel bowed her head, gratefully saying,
"Thank you very much for your consideration. May God always bless the Boldenville family."