HDHWD 21

<Chapter 21>

“Why… is that?”

“You remember what happened between my mother and me, don’t you?”

Lucien nodded.

“I also made a promise, you see. Just like you did. My mother asked me to become a fine butler like my father.”

“If that’s the promise, then it’s already been fulfilled. Benedict—no, the Duke would say the same.”

“Thank you. You always speak so kindly, Lucien. But… that wasn’t all of it.”

Lucien didn’t ask out loud. She simply stared intently at his face.

“My mother had a keepsake.”

“A keepsake?”

“It was a necklace with a pendant. She said she received it from my maternal grandmother on her wedding day.”

He picked up a small picture frame on the desk and showed it to Lucien.

Inside was a portrait of a woman with soft brown hair, just like Alfie’s. His mother.

She wore a white dress and held flowers—likely painted to commemorate her wedding day.

“The pendant’s in here, right?”

Just as he said, the woman in the portrait wore a pendant with a green jewel. It was an oval shape, almost like an egg, designed to hold a photo or a lock of a loved one’s hair.

The artist must have known how meaningful that necklace was to the bride—he had painted it in meticulous detail, so lifelike you might think you could feel its texture by touching the canvas.

“My mother entrusted it to me and asked me to deliver it to my grandmother. Of course, I swore I would. But then…”

He lowered his head more and more, as though trying to hide his expression.

But the backs of his hands, clenched and trembling on his knees, made it easy to guess what kind of face he was making.

“Why was I even holding it?”

“Butler…”

“When I was rescued and came to, there was nothing in my hands anymore. If I had just worn it around my neck right away or put it in my pocket… things would’ve been different. I was such a fool.”

“That’s not something anyone could blame you for.”

It was hard to think clearly right after an accident.

Despite Lucien’s protest, he didn’t lift his head and remained motionless.

“But that was… my mother’s last request.”

“The end of her life,” he murmured quietly, then fell into silence.

“Then… all this time, you’ve never gone? Not even once?”

To where his mother and father were buried.

“……”

Alfie slowly lifted his head.

Meeting her eyes, he wore the same gentle smile as always. As if hoping Lucien would smile too.

But she couldn’t bring herself to smile.

* * *

‘That’s just completely unfair!’

Lucien stormed out of the butler’s office with her arms full of books, fuming.

In her eyes, Alfie clearly loved his parents, and they loved him back. And yet, he couldn’t visit them because he had to worry about how his grandmother or other relatives might react?

As she stomped down the corridor, the stableman Carter came in through the back door.

He glanced around briefly, then spoke with the maid Juliet near the entrance before quickly stepping back out.

What were they talking about?

They say not to meddle in others’ business, but Lucien’s curiosity got the better of her and she hurried over to Juliet.

“Looks like you’ve been studying hard again for your rosy future.”

Juliet looked delighted by the stack of books in Lucien’s arms.

“Your jokes are always so funny, Juliet.”

Lucien giggled, and Juliet responded seriously.

“It’s not a joke. Rumor has it around the mansion that you’re extremely smart.”

“What?! That kind of rumor can’t be going around!”

Lucien felt the urgent need to correct it—just in case someone looking to adopt showed up.

“I think it’s because I got a perfect score on a test… but honestly, I guessed most of it! I didn’t really know much!”

That should be enough to make her seem like a careless student, right?

Failing to take a test seriously—classic behavior adults would hate.

“Oho! Isn’t that even more amazing?”

“…No, it’s not.”

“Guessing correctly every time? I knew it—my rosy future has already begun! You must continue striving for my sake.”

You don’t have to encourage me that much…

Lucien felt grateful to Juliet for trying to cheer her up.

“By the way, what was Mr. Carter here for?”

“Oh, he asked me to pass a message to the parachute.”

“Huh?”

“I mean the butler. He said he’ll be taking tomorrow afternoon off.”

Juliet glanced at Alfie’s closed door and made a face like she’d bitten into a live bug—just like yesterday.

“Did he say why?”

“Nope. But he said the butler would already know the reason.”

Juliet didn’t seem to know Carter and Alfie were related. Or about the tragic events of the past.

If she did, there’s no way she’d mention it so casually.

So, that means… tomorrow must be—

The day his mother passed away.

* * *

Late at night.

Lucien lay in bed, still annoyed with the stableman, and kicked her feet in frustration.

But thinking of what Alfie said, she realized his words weren’t the biggest problem.

“Mother probably wouldn’t want to see someone like me anyway.”

Even if Carter hadn’t said something harsh, Alfie still wouldn’t have gone to visit her.

Because he couldn’t forgive himself for losing something so precious.

“What if, just maybe… the pendant was still out there somewhere, and I could find it…?”

But how?

She couldn’t just waltz over to the accident site.

Even if she could, how would she find anything after all these years?

“…There’s no way I could help.”

Alfie had said as much himself.

Feeling helpless, Lucien fiddled with her hands under the covers, then brought them together.

“Please… Your Grace.”

The words slipped out like a prayer to the late Duke.

“I know I’m not someone who should be asking anything of you. But this is about the butler. And you cherished the Bell family too, didn’t you?”

Lucien clasped her hands tighter, recalling every detail of the pendant from the portrait.

“Please bring it back. That pendant… please…”

Her desperate wish continued a little longer.

But in the end, a prayer was just a whisper. No matter how sincere, it wasn’t going to change reality.

Feeling defeated by her powerlessness, Lucien drifted off to sleep.

Unaware that the hands she had clenched so tightly… had begun to glow.

* * *

At dawn the next morning.

Alfie woke, washed up, and changed into the clothes he had neatly pressed the night before.

Then he added a coat, pulled on gloves, grabbed his hat from the hook, and stepped outside.

There was a scheduled avalanche inspection in a neighboring village today.

It was an important event the Duke used to oversee himself, and with the new Duke Benedict in the capital, Alfie was filling in.

As he stepped out the back door, the cold clung to his cheeks like stone.

He quickly climbed into the carriage, escaping the chill.

And then, as if fleeing from something, he told the coachman to go.

* * *

When Lucien woke up that morning, the first thing she noticed was a strange sensation in her hand.

What is this?

Still groggy, she slowly opened her neatly clasped hands.

A pendant. The very same pendant she saw in the portrait Alfie had shown her.

“This… this is impossible!”

Sure, she had prayed for the pendant to return.

But it was crazy to think that just because she wished for it, it would suddenly appear out of thin air. That’s something that only happens in dreams…

“Ah, I see.”

Lucien closed her eyes again and started counting in her head. One… two…

Her mind grew fuzzy.

Just a dream, after all.

She felt a little disappointed. Even if it had been sudden, it would’ve been wonderful if it were real.

If it were real, she could return the pendant to Alfie and help him finally visit his mother.

A while later, Lucien woke from a light morning nap.

That was a nice dream.

She blinked slowly and rubbed the soft surface of her pillow.

Felt like I actually helped the butler solve his problem.

She scolded herself for such a silly fantasy and shifted under the covers.

Rustle.