~10~ Finding the Lady and the Maid in the Park

"Hey, I'm very grateful for your help, Louis"

The chef of the household had complimented him while smiling at him and Louis did the same, returning the chef's smile

"It's never a problem, Sir Viel"

"There you are again - as you are already part of this household and must think you have become the lady's new butler - you should just speak to me my name. I have already given you permission - Louis."

"Like you said, it was truly my honor to serve the household, Viel, so is that all? I think I need to see the lady now."

In a voice so gentle that no one could be irritated - Viel smiled at Louis, who was already waving his hands

'One day - this young man will be someone in the Empire - considering he's so gorgeous and so intelligent.'

He was just thinking a lot as he shook his head and hummed as he grabbed each ingredient from the brown bag Louis had brought earlier.

Louis, on the other hand, after going to the kitchen to drop off the ingredients he had previously bought, had gone into the lady's room, expecting that she would do something there or even do her homework for the day.

But while he was at her door - he seemed to like the fact that it was too quiet, so he didn't get a chance to knock on the door when he already turned the knob only to find there was no one inside.

That was the time one of Louis' eyebrows rose. He didn't waste a second looking around the room - searching everywhere to find out that the lady was just hiding when in fact she wasn't in her room. Then his eyebrows finally drew together.

'Did Lady Charlotte leave the household? If so – I should have been by her side, right? Then why did she suddenly disappear?!'

Louis knew there was no room for panic just because he couldn't handle the lady properly, that's why.

He searched every corner of the household only to find that Lady Charlotte was not there. That's why he had decided to resign from the household and when he stood at the gate - he was confused because

if the lady had gone out - then the knights would know for sure, so he suddenly had an idea

"Greetings, gentlemen, did you see a carriage leaving the place?"

Louis was smart enough to ask the knights without mentioning the lady who was inside.

It's because they would know if there was one or not even if they didn't see who it was in the carriage. One more thing - the knights are already informed when one of their masters is going out with any carriages.

However, after asking such things of the knights, they looked at each other and then back at Louis, only to shake their heads in return

"We're afraid we've never seen a carriage leave, young sir. The duke and lady must have been around the house busy on their appointments to even leave the place for the time being."

"Oh! Is that so! I think I imagined it, sorry for asking, gentlemen."

"That's never a problem, young sir. Ask us anytime if you have any questions."

"Hmmm! I am very grateful to you and my honorable gentlemen. So now I had better go!"

Then Louis left the knights - who were kind enough to lie to him

'The knights seemed so honest that they found it difficult to lie. Plus, they're friendlier than ever. So there's only one way to find out.'

Without hesitation - Louis went where he thought he might get a clue, only to find that the small hole in the back of the household he had crawled into when he first appeared in the household was widening a little had changed and was now larger than usual.

By that time he had already known that the lady must have been able to leave the household without the servants noticing, and took the path behind the household

'If she had taken this route, she would probably be in the forest now - but will she be able to leave the forest? For goodness sake, it was huge and the place was huge! I was lucky enough to find such and such a place even make a hole to crawl in!'

Louis thought for a moment before finally deciding to leave the household - crawling out of the hole unnoticed, only to spot a few tracks right at the start.

That was the time when - he wasn't even aware that he was already smiling at the lady

'So it seems to be the first time I've been wrong in my intuition. The lady seemed wary that she could mark the path she had walked just like that - so she wouldn't get lost again. But it wasn't the case. Now I'm worried about how she's going to get out of this huge forest, right?'

Louis sighed - for a second - before shaking his head and looking straight ahead gravely. Then, without wasting a second - he was walking towards the markers that would lead him to the lady on foot in a few minutes - he was already out of the forest and onto the market.

That made his eyes widen as he got here earlier than he thought. Only to find that he could even smell the lady's lingering perfume - her natural cherry-scented perfume.

"It seems like the lady used to go to this place like me - but for what ​​reason? I'm glad - I was really glad that this lady managed to get out of the huge forest and towards the market coming but I'm worried now about the reasons why she suddenly went to this market and i'm thinking 'that she might be in danger if she's alone like that!'

Louis was now running everywhere to find out where the lady could be, he had searched every store asking her about her features when everyone didn't even know what he was talking about and instead of giving him the right answers they just flinched the shoulders.

She shrugged her shoulders. which made Louis run away from them and go to other shops and places, he even looked around every other corner only to spot the lady he knew well. Until his feet carried him to a park where he could see the beautiful surroundings and a miniature garden within.

There he was resting for a while, breathing in the air he needed to run while leaning his back against a large tree, when suddenly something caught his eye and it was a very familiar figure, perched on a the seats there in the seats sat park. She smiled up at the sky and there—Louis had found what he was looking for, only the lady wasn't alone

"Wait, so she had an accomplice sneaking out of the household, huh? Who could that be?"

His eyes were already thinking and trying to focus on the person the lady was talking to when he saw that it was another maid. She spoke to the lady and laughed with her that she hadn't even considered that they had already been spotted by the person they spoke to earlier

"You know what, Harriet? I missed such feelings.

"M-Milady - don't worry, I can always be counted on. I provide the way."

Then Charlotte just giggled and was about to say something when suddenly a shadow appeared in front of the lady, blocking the heat of the sun. There, she checked who it was, only to find it was none other than the very man she had been looking for earlier

"L-Louis?"

"Yes, my lady, and it seems you are having fun outside of the household."

"T-this is u-uh-----"

Charlotte looked everywhere only to avoid Louis' creepy gaze with his unusual smile. That was when she was about to say something, when Harriett was the one who continued on the lady's behalf

"Sir Louis - I - if there is anyone who needs to be punished then please punish me - Milady had nothing to do with it as I was the one who initiated -"

This time it was Harriett's turn to be interrupted as she knew everything Harriett had said was lies and she didn't want to owe anyone anything except that she should be saved.

She only wants to do things she wanted to do - and possessed the punishment herself than dragging someone who wasn't even the one who initiated

"No – I was the one who dragged her here. That's all, and if there's anyone who needs to be punished, it's me, not her. Don't forget that Louis."

Charlotte now looked seriously at Louis, who just smiled at her and then nodded his head

"Well, if you would both be so kind as to return to the household - without me even using any force, then please do so, as I may consider keeping this a secret."

"Wait - are you serious? I said that I-"

Here, too, Louis only interrupted the lady as he looked at her intensely

"I assume the lady has something important to do, so I wouldn't ask for more.

'Wait what?!'