Only with Your Heart

Arde Present

There had never been a time when Lukrovs castlewas filled with such anxiety.

Many of the servants were restlessly gathering in the hall, whispering to each other with worried expressions.

Some of it was mindless gossip,andsome of it was concern about the whereabouts of Lukrov and the other knights who had gone to war.

Work was hardly done, as everyone looked absent-minded and restless.

Arde was one of them.

And thats not all.

Unlike the other servants, Arde knew too much. She also carried a heavy responsibility in her heart for leaving Chizuru alone that afternoon.

The castle, without its master, was like a sad, empty box. It was quiet and gloomy.

Mother, I wonder if Chizuru-sama will be back soon. We promised to play outside together when the weather clears up.

Noah, her only daughter, asked Arde with pleading eyes. Even though shewasvery young, sheseemedto have sensed impatience in the castle andwasmore considerate than usual.

Yes they will be here soon. Im sure that Lukrov-sama has gone to pick her up, and shell be back safely soon.

As she hugged her daughter,Ardemurmured softly, keeping her eyes down.

But Arde knew.

She knew some of it, if not all of it.

Fourteen years ago, Lukrovs grief after Chizuru disappeared.

Four years ago, he had given up the search for Chizuru and had become an empty shell, completely drained of emotion.

A little over a month ago,after Chizuru returned to him, he slowly came back to life, gradually breaking through his stubborn shell and showing a happy smile.

Four days ago, when Lukrov found out that Chizuru had gone missing, his reaction was devastating.

He was furious like a demon and immediately marched to Count Kaftors mansion with his army, without listening to anyones advice.

Roan was forced to go along with him in a hurry while spitting curses.

They still havent returned since.

All Arde could do was to imagine And pray.

Both of the acts were suffocatingly frustrating.

The food hardly went down her throat. Still, Arde did not neglect to keep Chizurus room as clean and tidy as usual, hoping that Lukrov would retrieve her safely and return soon.

With the disappearance of Chizuru,along withthe disappearance of Baru, the young knight that Roan had brought with him, some people had made insensitive speculations, but Lukrov ignored all of them. Even Arde knew that this was impossible.

***

As Arde swept the floor of Chizurus room, she looked up asshe swallowed hard to keep the tears from forming in her eyes.

In the early days of the castle, there were times whenLukrovwould stand in the middle of this room, staring quietly into space with unfocused eyes.

That didnt happen once or twice

She was reluctant to ask the question out loud, but Arde knew.

This room belongs to Chizuru-sama, doesnt it?

You are still dreaming of her coming back to you, arent you?

Chizuru must have been the reason why Lukrov had continued to hireArdein the first place and had given her such special treatment thatwasunusual for a mere maid.

Arde fell into silence and prayed to the heavens that they would not cause Lukrov any more suffering.

Later that night, the entrance to the castle suddenly became crowded and noisy.

As Arde wasassisting with theclean up after dinner in the dining room, Nadal, breathless and flushed, came running up to herwhiledragging his feet.