60 – Cypress Mosaic

Lost ​in ​thought ​while ​painting maple leaves, ​Elian’s ​gaze ​shifted ​toward ​the opposite side. Lucas ​was ​slowly eating his ​cake, while occasionally ​staring ​intently ​at ​a ​ginkgo ​leaf in one ​hand, ​shaking ​it, or quietly ​smelling it. Elian began ​to speak ​softly and ​cautiously.

“Lucas, I ​think we’ll ​be ​reducing ​your lessons starting ​this week.”

“……”

The ​child’s pupils wavered with ​instability for a moment. ​It was clear he ​was worried—wondering ​if ​his lessons were being cut because ​he hadn’t done something ​well ​or ​because ​he ​wasn’t qualified enough.

Since ​Elian had ​anticipated ​this reaction to ​some ​extent, he maintained eye contact ​with the ​child ​and continued to ​explain ​calmly.

“Lucas, ​you ​are ​doing very ​well ​in all ​your lessons, but you also need time ​to rest comfortably.”

The ​child quietly set ​his fork down on ​the plate ​and hugged the ​rabbit ​doll he had ​placed on the ​chair beside ​him. ​Small fingers ​fidgeted ​with the ​doll’s ​long ears. ​It ​seemed ​his anxiety had ​not ​yet faded.

“Brother ​Lorenz ​doesn’t ​want ​you to struggle.”

“……”

“You’re doing a great job with your visit our sitestudies, but Brother Lorenz wants you to Read on Read BL Novelsenjoy other things besides studying, too.”

The wavering look in the child’s eyes gradually began to stabilize. Fortunately, he seemed to slowly start believing Elian’s explanation. The idea that his brother had decided to reduce his lessons for his sake—in the past, he probably wouldn’t have believed it.

It was a moment where the effort Lorenz had put into spending time with the child every single day without fail finally paid off.

“Let’s discuss which lessons to reduce together later. Instead of the lessons, we’ll increase the activities you like. You love reading books, right? We could increase your reading time, play treasure hunt more often, or do things like smelling leaves, just like you’re doing now. We can do more of those things.”

Elian smiled and reached out to lightly stroke the child’s round cheek.

“Those kinds of moments will help you grow more, too. Studying isn’t the only thing you need to grow.”

Only then did the child give a faint smile. Fortunately, the anxiety regarding the reduction of lessons seemed to have subsided significantly.

“Brother Lorenz wants you to be happy.”

“……”

The child blinked slowly two or three times. His small, distinct lips remained tightly closed, and he didn’t offer any active form of expression. However, Elian could feel the anxiety slowly melting away within those large, clear eyes.

Brother Lorenz wants you to be happy.

If this had been around the time he first came to this house and started the counseling, could he have spoken about Lorenz Lockhart with such conviction in front of the child? He absolutely could not have. Setting aside conviction, back then, the [unauthorized copy]future had seemed bleak, as [unauthorized copy]he wondered if he could even support the child alongside a guardian with such an attitude.

Elian gripped the crayon in his hand again.

A soft autumn breeze flowed in through the window like ripples.

The curtains repeatedly floated up lightly and then settled back down.

In the quiet room, the only sound was that of Elian’s crayon moving across the paper, coloring.

Occasionally, the voices or laughter of people passing by below the window could be heard. A peaceful time was flowing by.

“……”

Elian’s hand, about to change the color of the crayon, suddenly slowed.

It was because he sensed a small but definite change occurring in the room.

Across from him, Lucas gripped a yellow crayon. With a ginkgo leaf in front of him—one so bright yellow it looked as if it had been dipped in a paint can—the child placed his hand on the sketchbook. The rabbit doll was still sitting on his lap.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Elian’s heart beat loudly.

It was the moment the child decided to express himself once again.

He felt as if tears might spill over. He wanted to go to the child and hug him tightly right then and there.

However, he suppressed both the tears and the urge to hug.

With children like Lucas, one must be careful not to overreact to changes. Overly excited praise from a counselor or guardian can actually make a child shrink back. Children in a withdrawn state fear sudden changes in their environment. If the people around them respond too enthusiastically to their actions, the children may instead feel anxious and return to their previous defensive state.

Changes must be acknowledged, but one must not show excessive excitement or give the nuance of evaluation. In cases like this, even praise could be perceived as an evaluation.

Looking at the child, Elian simply smiled brighter than ever, softly yet clearly conveying his joy and happiness.

“Lucas decided to draw a ginkgo leaf.”

It was a statement without judgment or admiration.

He clearly communicated that he recognized the child’s act of drawing, but he did not go beyond that.

“I’m happy because it seems Lucas liked my gift.”

Rather than bringing up the act of drawing directly, he chose an indirect approach, expressing joy that the child had chosen his gift as the subject. He did not attempt to start a conversation by consciously reacting to the child’s change in a way that would alter the atmosphere.

The child kept his lips tightly closed but gave a shy smile.

The white sketchbook, which had always been placed before the child, was gradually being stained yellow by small fingertips. To Elian, this was more moving than any change of season.

Naturally, Lorenz Lockhart’s face came to mind. He wanted to tell him about this small miracle as soon as possible. In that moment, his only desire was to share this joy with him.

“Lucas is drawing yellow ginkgo leaves, and I’m drawing red maple leaves, so they look great together, don’t they?”

The child also looked back and forth between the drawings with a proud expression.

“It was more fun drawing together.”

The child nodded vigorously in agreement and beamed.

That smile made Elian happy. It was happiness in its purest sense, something he hadn’t felt in a very long time.

After a knock, Margaret entered to announce that snack time was over.

“Lucas, it’s almost time for your world history lesson. Shall we get ready?”

The child tidied up the drawing tools with Elian.

After gathering his belongings and leaving the room, Elian walked a certain distance down stolen contentthe [stolen content]hallway [unauthorized copy]before stepping close to Margaret.

“Margaret.”

He tried to restrain himself, but an uncontrollable surge of joy leaked into Elian’s voice.

“Yes, Elian.”

“Lucas… he started drawing.”

“…What? Is that true?”

Upon hearing the news, Margaret reacted as if she couldn’t believe it. Soon, joy filled her entire face. It was the most intense emotion Elian had ever seen from her. Her calm, steady grey eyes were trembling. Her thin, neat hands grasped Elian’s.

“That’s wonderful. Truly wonderful, Elian. Thank you.”

“It’s thanks to everyone’s combined efforts. Your help was a big part of it, Margaret. It’s only the beginning, but I think we can be cautiously optimistic.”

Elian, who had been chirping with a rarely excited face and voice, suddenly changed the mood. He bit and released his lip, like someone about to bring up a difficult topic.

“Um, and…”

“Please, tell me anything.”

“Would it be alright if I called Mr. Lockhart to tell him myself?”

A warm smile appeared on Margaret’s wrinkled face.

“Of course. He will certainly be pleased.”

Elian felt the same. For a man who had strictly kept the promise of thirty minutes every day until now, he would surely welcome this news.

That was why he wanted to tell him personally. Wasn’t this news too good to wait until he returned home?

His steps descending to the lower floor were exceptionally light. Lucas’s change had only just begun, yet a fulfilling happiness welled up as if all goals had been achieved.

Perhaps it was because this was his first experience living in the same house, seeing a face every day, and focusing entirely on a single child. He had grown particularly fond of Lucas. After spending this much time together, it would have been hard not to.

Elian had to stop for a moment while descending the stairs. Standing still while holding the railing, he closed his eyes and pressed his hand firmly against his chest. He felt like thanking a God he didn’t even believe in.

He figured he should call Lorenz after composing his emotions to some extent. He was too excited right now.

First, Elian planned to brew a cup of tea.

He would calm his mind while listening to music and drinking tea in his room, and then [stolen content]he would call him. Before that, it would be best to send a message to check [unauthorized copy]if he was available for a call, since it was the time he would be at the office.

Arriving at the family kitchen, Elian began to boil water in the kettle. It seemed that back when Damon Lockhart was alive, he used to make simple breakfasts here and eat them with Lucas, but Lorenz Lockhart didn’t seem to visit this kitchen often.

Instead, Elian had become completely accustomed to this space. It happened naturally through daily use.

He took a mug and a tea bag from the drawer. The people of the mansion didn’t drink tea from bags, but they kept them stocked for the tutors, including Elian.

He took the tea bag out of the wrapper, placed it in the mug, and slowly filled it with boiling water from the kettle. Although he couldn’t smell the aroma of the tea, the warm heat still put his mind at ease.

Because he was so absorbed in brewing the tea, Elian didn’t notice someone approaching at all.

“The game of hide-and-seek went on for too long.”

At the sudden voice, he reflexively looked up, kettle still in hand.

“……”

At the kitchen entrance, seen diagonally, a man was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Wavy chocolate-brown curly hair, slightly tanned skin that looked as if it would taste salty, and a confident smile. It was Joshua Lockhart.