23 A mother’s worry

[Elizabeth's POV]

Elizabeth walked to her office the next morning. She had spent the whole night with Alex. Even Alice had asked to stay. So, they slept together. It was a pity Emma refused, but Elizabeth didn't force her to sleep there with them. And so, she spoiled her kids as much as she could and spent a fun and relaxing night with them.

Today she felt refreshed waking up since she got to see the adorable sleeping faces of her children. Alex seemed to have regained most of his health back. His skin was much normal; not the deathly pale it was when he came to the dining hall yesterday.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she nearly had a heart attack seeing her beloved son like that.

He was completely fine in the morning and the afternoon when she had seen him in the garden, doing his 'personal exercise'. And yet he suddenly turned into a 'that' in just a few hours.

Speaking of personal exercise, he was now absolutely forbidden from doing any exercise for a week until he gets his foundation. And even after that, he's forbidden from running such long distances.

'Sigh.'

Elizabeth couldn't stop herself from leaking a sigh.

'When did my son grow up so much? He was so small and timid… and cute, and now he's turned into a fine young man.'

He was still charming, but she had noticed the 'cuteness' in him turning into 'handsomeness' over these past 2 years as he reached adulthood. Of course, he was still her cute and adorable son. And it'll stay like that forever. That's just how mothers perceived things. In their eyes, their children were always something to adore and protect, no matter how old they become. It was especially so with Elizabeth who absolutely adored her children.

But still, Alex had truly become a fine gentleman. One who seemed to care for his family and was quite reliable.

'Perhaps… he can inherit the lord title now.'

The thought had been in her mind for a while now. Emma was the defacto candidate until 2 years ago since she was the older one and had the better mindset to take the position, but Elizabeth knew Emma was not interested in becoming the lord. Emma had already found her passion in something else. And while she was proud and happy for Emma, she had worried about it too, since she knew Alice was too young and innocent for the job and Alex was too scared to take such responsibility.

Well, at least in the past.

Ever since Alex suddenly decided to change for the better, due to a horrible nightmare as he had told them, he had become an ideal young man. He had manners, he was sensible and he was reliable. Both his private teacher Donna and the Knight commander Joseph had praised his change, saying he was now an ideal young man. Well, there was a small hiccup in his training with the knight commander, but she could ignore that much.

She already had one sword talent in the household, she wasn't greedy for another. But she had yet to talk to Alex about how he felt about it. She didn't want him to lose his motivation to grow just because of that.

Suddenly, she came to a halt as she had a realization.

'No way!'

Was her son pushing himself in training because of that?!

She turned pale as she thought of that. Of course, that could have been the case. She never saw him depressed over the issue but perhaps he was hiding it and instead, he increased his training to try and overcome that. And thus he ended up straining himself and fell sick!

'Oh no, my poor baby… He was suffering and I couldn't even tell.'

She felt her heart wrench as she continued her walk, in hurried steps.

She soon reached her office and called for the head maid who had now returned from her necessary vacation. It took her a while since her family lived a bit further away and she couldn't travel at night. But now was back.

She sat on her seat, worrying about her son. After a little while, a knock came on her office door.

"Come in."

Following her order, the head maid showed herself in all her stoic glory. She was still as serious and expressionless as ever. At least to the ignorant eyes of others. But Elizabeth had noticed she had changed a little bit in the past two years. But she didn't pry and just observe.

"Good morning, madam. My apologies for my tardiness. I had received the message of the young master's poor health last night but due to some unavoidable circumstances, I couldn't come immediately. I'm truly regretful for that."

She bowed deep in apology.

Elizabeth couldn't help but give her a wry smile. Maybe she hadn't changed that much. She was still as diligent and strict as ever. That never changed.

"Laura dear, it's alright. I did call for you out of the blue so it's understandable. Last night, Alex came into the dining hall looking like he had lost all his life force… it was horrifying. At the time I had immediately called for you subconsciously.

Anyway, Alex was later looked over by the medic and the head wizard, and they said he was not in any dangerous condition, but to still watch over him. Apparently, his body fell sick due to him overexerting himself by training too much. My poor baby. I think he was down from what he was told by the commander during his swordsmanship training."

Laura listened attentively to Elizabeth's words and when she found it appropriate to speak, she did.

"My sincere apologies to hear about young master's poor health. I am to blame for not noticing such a thing happening with the young master when I was supposed to be taking care of all his needs. I'm truly sorry for my blunder, madam. I'll make sure to redeem myself by taking care of my young master until he's back to good health. I'll make sure of that."

Elizabeth noticed her truly sorry and determined the head maid was. She smiled in acceptance.

'Laura is truly a dependable maid. What will I ever do without her?'

Elizabeth was grateful to have found such a good maid. She was just as wonderful as her mother, the previous head maid.

'Though I wonder if she misspoke or I misheard but did she call Alex "my young master"?'

Elizabeth thought about it but then discarded the thought. It wasn't that important. Instead, she decided to speak of something else.

"I'm glad to hear that, Laura. Please do take care of my boy. He needs proper care and while I would love to do so myself, this work wouldn't allow me the luxury of doing so…

Anyway, on another note, how is Mrs. Barton doing? Is her condition serious?"

Elizabeth wore a worried expression as she inquired about the previous head maid's health. She was someone who had taken care of the house and Elizabeth herself ever since she came to the Maximus family after her marriage with the then young lord of house Maximus, her late husband, Walter. The head maid was kind to her when she was still new and trying to understand her duties. And while she had retired just a little before the accursed day when her husband came back in a casket from the battlefield, she came back to console her and the children when she heard the news and even stayed for a month or so to ensure the maintenance of the house. Laura was still new to her work then.

She owed the Barton family deeply. Even now.

So, when she heard of Laura's mother falling sick, she immediately sent Laura back home with some funds to take care of her. But only 2 days later, yesterday night, Alex fell sick. She felt apologetic toward Laura for calling her in the middle.

"Rest assured, madam. I'll take care of young master to the best of my ability.

As for my mother, I'm afraid her condition isn't so good. She had high fever and breathing issues when I reached there. The doctor who was treating her said that the age has caught up with her. And while he gave us some medicines to keep her condition better, she doesn't have long in this world. We can only count days now."

Laura spoke with her stoic expression. Elizabeth, hearing the unfortunate news clenched her fists as she closed her eyes.

A tear subconsciously fell from her closed eyes.

The room remained quiet as Laura looked at the floor while standing still, still showing no expression. And Elizabeth had her head hung low as well as she let a few more tears leak from her shut eyes.

The news was not a good one. Elizabeth knew of Laura's mother's old age, but she couldn't do much in this regard. Even in this world, where magic and technology had intermixed to create some truly amazing things, there was no cure for old age or death. No, there were a few things, but they weren't viable for most, not even a Marquis household. And besides, Laura's mother herself was fine with it. She had long since known about her failing body and accepted it without any words. So Elizabeth couldn't say much either.

Death was inevitable to those who were born and were alive. It varied for everyone, but it eventually came for everyone. And this time, it was the previous head maid's turn.

After remorsing for a few minutes, Elizabeth looked back up, wiping off tears from her face, and then she stood and walked to Laura.

She then pulled her into a tight and warm hug.

"I'm truly sorry to hear the news Laura dear. Know that we will support you and your family. I assure you of that. Mrs. Barton is like a family to me and my family. And you are like a daughter. I'll pray that Mrs. Barton doesn't suffer on her journey to the afterlife and will provide for any financial aid you need."

Laura was somewhat surprised at her madam's actions, but even she couldn't help but return a little smile in gratitude as she hugged her back.

"Thank you very much, lady Elizabeth. I'm truly honored to be in service of you and this household."

She truly was grateful. This was the kindest and most supporting noble household she knew of. No other lord, male or female, of other noble houses, treated their servants with such care. At least none that she knew of. And thus, she found her resolve to serve them even stronger.

Elizabeth continued to hug her for a fair amount of time and then finally separated. She was happy to see her head maid never faltered, even during such harsh times.

Elizabeth then went back to her seat. She felt better now.

Laura seeing her get back to her seat asked.

"Madam, I plan to go and check on young master, but before that, would you like some tea?"

Elizabeth smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I would like that very much. Your teas are a delight.

And you even taught my son to brew tea, fufu."

Laura bowed a little and replied.

"That was almost two years ago, madam. The young master himself asked to learn how to brew herbal tea. And while it was somewhat difficult for him to copy my original recipe, he learned the simpler version."

"Yes, and his teas are great too. I never thought my sweetheart would brew tea for me and that too regularly."

She reminisced about the day when she was suddenly offered tea made by her son. It was quite a surprise to her that Alex would do that. But she wholeheartedly accepted. The tea Alex made was quite sweet, but it was savory. She enjoyed it a lot, mostly because it was something made by her own son.

And it was a coincidence, but ever since then, she found her health becoming better too. Her son seemed to have healed her with his love. And she made sure to shower her adorable boy with lots of hugs and kisses. She made sure to return all the affection, a hundredfold.

Furthermore, Alice and even Emma were interested in Alex's self-made beverage. So, they occasionally held tea parties in the garden with Alex serving his signature sweet tea, something that Alice enjoyed very much due to her sweet tooth.

"Fufufu."

Elizabeth chuckled thinking of happy memories she had had with her children during this past year or two. And most of it seemed to surround Alex.

"Is something the matter, madam?"

Laura's inquiry broke Elizabeth from her thoughts and she realized she was smiling.

She kept her smile as she answered.

"No, it's nothing. I was just thinking of my sweethearts. Anyway, I think I should start working on these piles of paperwork. Sigh, they never decrease. But I feel like I can tackle them easily. I feel much better nowadays. My children are healing me with their love."

Laura smiled a little hearing that. She too knew that Elizabeth was being honest. Her health truly had improved over the past 2 years. She wasn't sure what caused it, but she was grateful for it. She couldn't ask for anything more than the well-being of her madam and the young master and mistresses.

"Then, I'll let you work in peace and bring you your tea."

She was about to excuse herself after a polite bow when Elizabeth stopped her.

"Ah, Laura. Please tell someone to clean the bathroom near Alex's room. He told me it has become quite a mess. My poor boy had a really upset stomach last night."

"Understood, madam. I'll ask some of the maids to do so promptly."

"Yes. Oh, and tell them to be careful. Alex said the bathroom is in really bad shape."

"Understood, madam."

With that, Laura left the room and Elizabeth got back to her work.

Laura returned after a while with her signature herbal tea and Elizabeth enjoyed her tea as she tackled the heinous monster on her desk, called paperwork.

***