As soon as the nanny returned, I mentioned the idea that had come to me during the day. It didn't sound bad when I said it out loud. The nanny thought about it for a moment and nodded.
"It's been quite a while since we wrote a letter."
"Then why don't we write one now? She might even send a reply."
"That's a good idea. Since Lady is staying at the mansion, I'll deliver it for you."
She gave her permission.
"But I'm not sure if she'll reply."
When I gave her a questioning look, the nanny smiled bitterly.
"In the past, we used to exchange letters frequently, but after a while, Lady's replies started to come late, and eventually, we stopped sending them."
The atmosphere turned somber at her words. But wouldn't she be happy if she did reply? It would be safer than climbing up the high iron fence and looking out the window.
I immediately prepared and approached Robert, slipping him a crisp, clean sheet of paper.
"To Mother?"
"Yes. I'm going to write a letter and send it."
However, Robert didn't react as I expected. He fiddled with the pen, looking uninterested. I thought he would be happy, but he seemed indifferent.
"Lady said she would send a reply if we write a letter."
"It's a lie."
But Robert didn't believe me. I could sense that the faded hope in his heart had turned into disappointment.
This won't be easy. A reply to a letter is out of the question. I was worried that he might climb the iron fence again. It was a dangerous act, and it was surprising that no accident had happened so far. This time it was minor, but next time it could be serious.
First, I needed something to pique Robert's interest.
After some thought, an idea came to me.
"Can you get me some colored ink?"
"Colored ink?"
Johnny blinked. I nodded and continued resolutely.
"Any color is fine. It would be better if you could get several colors."
"You mean colors other than the black ink we have?"
"Yes. Is it possible?"
"Sure. I'll check when I go out next time."
It wasn't easy for the servants here to go out unless there was a legitimate reason. Some people even left because they didn't like it.
"I sometimes go out on errands."
"What kind of errands?"
"That's a secret."
Johnny put his index finger to his lips. Ah, is that so? I wasn't particularly interested and nodded.
"But what do you need it for?"
"To catch the child's interest."
"Child? You mean the little master?"
"Yes."
"How are you going to use it?"
"It's a secret."
Do you have the only secret? I have secrets too.
"Cheapskate."
He grumbled, but a few days later, Johnny handed me several bottles of colored ink. I was amazed at the bottles filled with ink in his hand.
"Wow, that was quick."
"I borrowed them. Use them carefully and return them."
"Got it."
I picked up one of the ink bottles and saw red liquid inside. I carefully took them and brought them to Robert.
Robert, who was playing on the floor, showed no interest in the ink bottles. So I took out a sheet of paper, placed it on the floor, and opened the ink bottle. I dipped the pen tip in the ink and drew a line on the paper, and the red ink spread. Robert, who had shown no interest, opened his eyes wide.
"Wow!"
"How about it? Isn't it pretty?"
"Yes. It's pretty!"
His small hand fluttered. I handed him the pen, and he drew a line on the paper. His eyes sparkled as he watched the red ink flow from the pen tip.
"If we write a letter with such a beautiful color, Lady will like it too."
"Uh-huh. I like it!"
Finally, Robert seemed interested. I smiled and thought about which color to use for the letter.
"What color do you like?"
"I like all of them! I want to use all of them!"
"Then, shall we write letters to the people you like?"
"Yes. I want to write to all of them!"
It's working well. I immediately handed him a new sheet of paper. Robert dipped the pen tip in the ink bottle and drew on the paper. He was so fascinated by the colored ink that he kept drawing lines instead of writing a letter.
"Who are you writing to?"
"Mother, Vincent, Nanny, Carrot, and more."
The names of the people Robert wanted to write to came out smoothly. He's quite greedy. I couldn't help but smile. Since I had prepared several sheets of paper, it wasn't a problem.
"Let's start with Lady."
"Okay!"
"Which color do you like? Would you like to choose?"
I slid the colored ink bottles on the floor toward Robert. He thought for a moment and picked one. It was purple.
I dipped the pen tip in the ink and handed it to Robert. Robert moved the pen tip back and forth.
"I miss you."
It was as expected. The misspelled words were both cute and bittersweet. On the other hand, watching Robert write the letter, head down and humming a tune, made me feel warm.
I gathered the messy papers with lines drawn all over them and placed them to one side. I closed the ink bottles tightly to prevent the ink from drying out. While Robert was writing the letter, I planned to tidy up the surroundings.
Then I noticed an ink bottle rolling around. Curious about its color, I picked it up and held it up to the sunlight. My eyes widened as I saw the color inside the transparent bottle.
'Gold.'
A color so beautiful it hurt my eyes. A color that was too sad for me.
'Lucas.'
I thought of the man who had smiled kindly at me without any prejudice. I closed my eyes tightly. I pressed the ink bottle to my forehead, feeling its cold touch. The emotions I had suppressed sometimes burst out, making it hard to breathe, just like when I saw Vincent.
Maybe I'm overthinking it. Perhaps Lucas is living a good life somewhere, just like Vincent.
The last news I heard about him was that his life was in danger. Ethan's worried face when he told me that wasn't a lie.
But it's been five years since then. It might not have ended badly. He might have buried the memory of the maid who once comforted him and found a new destiny, living happily.
'I hope so.'
Please be happy.
I hope Lucas is as happy as he made me.
Vincent, Lucas, Ethan, Violet. The memories that followed one after another brought a sense of longing. Can you forget something just by deciding to forget it? If it were possible, I wouldn't be missing them.
The invisible longing stirred in my heart.
"I'm done!"
"Oh, yes. Well done."
Robert's sudden voice broke my thoughts. I put the ink bottle I was holding on the floor and approached Robert after a quick glance.
Robert handed me the paper with the letter, smiling widely. The crooked but earnest handwriting revealed Robert's feelings.
"Shall we write one for Nanny next?"
"Yes!"
I gave him a new sheet of paper, and he immediately picked up the pen. This time, he chose the ink on his own. Watching Robert write the letter, swinging his legs, gave me a strange feeling.
He wrote letters to Nanny, Vincent, and others. When he was done, Robert's hands were stained with ink. I frowned and wiped his hands with the hem of my apron. Robert kept smiling, seemingly not minding the colorful stains on his hands.
I folded the completed letters neatly and sealed them in envelopes. The names of the recipients were written crookedly on the envelopes. The colorful letters would surely catch attention.
But just the letters seemed a bit lacking.
After some thought, I picked up Robert and left the room.
I told him not to go outside, but the door was fine, right? I stopped exactly one step away from the door. I put Robert down and instructed him.
"You have to stay here, okay?"
"Yes."
Robert nodded obediently. Then I went outside and looked at the flowers blooming at the entrance of the forest. There weren't many usable ones, but it wasn't hard to make a decent bouquet. I picked them all and arranged the stems. Adding some mist flowers made the bouquet look fuller.
I brought the bouquet to Robert. His eyes widened.
"We'll send the flowers too."
I picked a yellow flower from the freshly made bouquet and handed it to Robert. He clutched it tightly and waved it around. Then he reached for the bouquet in my hand, so I gave it to him. Excited, Robert shook it, and the flowers scattered.
When Robert saw the damaged bouquet, he asked for another one. I made two bouquets and gave him one. Then he asked for the one in my other hand. He seemed to realize that the one I gave him was hastily made. In the end, I gave him the beautifully made bouquet. Soon, the bouquet in Robert's hands disintegrated.
"Puhaha! Snow! Snow!"
His expression was unique. Still, seeing him so happy, I didn't want to stop him.
"Master. Look at this."
While watching the petals fall, I noticed a white flower with seeds clustered together at the door. I picked it and blew on it, and the white seeds spread in the wind.
"Wow."
Robert laughed and waved his hands to catch the seeds.
My second child also loved flowers... Why am I feeling so melancholic today? I tilted