Chapter 24 : Siegfried de Chauvegné

Diana entered the kitchen and proceeded to place the tray on the table.

She sighed as her heart tried to calm down. Her face was still a bit red from the earlier encounter. She did not expect him to suddenly caress her hand like that.

In fact, his presence alone made her heart beat faster.

'Seriously, his handsomeness will become the death of me.'

Diana suddenly recalled the world she was previously in. She knew that there are many handsome men around her, but why wasn't she affected as much as she is now?

It was because her attention was too preoccupied with the child. She was too worried about making mistakes and trying to change the plot that she did not have time to think of anything else.

'Now that you think about it, there's a child here too.'

It's currently morning, a few minutes and it will be time for breakfast.

Diana saw an apron hanging on one of the chairs. She grabbed it quickly, keeping in mind that she had two mouths to feed.

'Especially myself.'

The body of the current Diana is too thin. Having been a doctor in her past life, she knew that any lesser than this and she would most likely die.

Even moving around is taxing on her body.

Diana glared resolutely at the pan in front of her. The first priority is definitely this body's health. How can she do things when her body gives up before she can even accomplish it?

She looked at the pantry, contemplating on what to cook. With her hands on her hips, she observed the ingredients in front of her.

'Eggs, rice, vegetables...'

Diana knew for a fact that she needed a hearty breakfast. Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day after all.

Her eyes became clearer as she decided on what she will cook. Nodding to herself, she folded her sleeves and reached for the knife.

It's now time to cook.

Meltif realized that he hadn't seen the boy up till now. He decided to change his destination from the kitchen to the boy's bedroom.

He met the boy on a stormy night. He decided to go out because he felt suffocated. Suffocated by the past and present.

The boy was being chased by a wild boar when he heard them rustling around.

He decided to save the boy.

Then he knew that the child was an orphan and had nowhere else to go. He led the boy back to his place, thinking that maybe that woman isn't so cold-blooded to turn this child away.

Thankfully she didn't. And he later came to know that the boy's name was Siegfried.

Siegfried was a very wholesome child. He wasn't the brightest, Meltif knew some children that were much more smarter than him. He also wasn't the strongest, he was too lanky and had too little muscle mass for a child. But Meltif knew that he wasn't weak or lacking even the slightest.

Siegfried doesn't know when to give up. He is resolute, unshakable when he has set his mind on something. Because of that, a person can easily read him like an open book.

His strength became his weakness.

Meltif was once like him. Steadfast and strong, not learning how to bend on people's whims. His dearest friend always reprimanded him because of that.

'You sometimes need to bend in order not to break.'

But Meltif always retorted with-

'The more you bend, the more you break.'

He clenched his fists the moment he once again recalled his one true friend. Because of his inadequacy, his shortness of sight, he couldn't -

His thoughts halted when he noticed he was already in front of the door. He had to call this child for breakfast.

Meltif knocked twice on the door.

"Time to eat."

A few seconds passed by and nothing happened.

Meltif had enough of waiting. He opened the door with a creak.

There was a huge bundle of sheets in the middle of the bed. It was very dark, the only light coming from the window.

"I dun fwan chu eat."

A muffled voice came from the sheets.

Meltif crossed his arms and leaned on the doorway.

"Eat."

"Nwo."

"Eat."

"Nwo."

"If I say it once more."

"Ofwwkay."

The huge bundle of sheets burst, scattering all over the bed. Hearing the noise, Meltif massaged his head with a sigh.

"Clean up your bed before you go."

A child with ruffled brown hair was glaring at the black haired man across the room. With his hazel brown eyes, he looked at his disorganized bed.

"Isn't the woman there to clean up the place?"

The child Siegfried grumbled. With his cheeks puffed up, he arranged his bed.

Meltif did not speak for a while. In a sense, the child has his own point. Diana was supposed to be in charge of the house - cleaning, arranging, and organizing - she was supposed to make the house look better. But these past months she seemed to have neglected taking care of the house, she was out more often than home.

Not knowing what to say, Meltif just waited for the child to finish tidying up his bed.

Back at the kitchen, Diana was already finishing up the meal. Leaving the dish on the big pan, she proceeded to get the plates from the shelf.

She extended her hand out while standing on tiptoe, but it still wasn't enough to reach the shelf.

'Who would even put the plates up so high?'

She grumbled to herself. She reminded herself to arrange everything in the kitchen to her own convenience.

Diana realized that she needs some kind of step up in order to reach the shelf. She stopped reaching for the shelf and took a step back, her hands on her hips.

Her eyes grew dim when she couldn't see any platform to stand on. Looking around, her eyes noticed the chairs at the dining table.

She walked towards a chair and tried to lift it up. But alas, she couldn't.

Diana was trembling, feeling very weak. This body was so weakened that it couldn't even lift a chair up.

She gave up trying to lift the chair and once again looked at the shelf. Looking at the kitchen counter, she knew she had no choice.

Taking a deep breath, she faced her back towards the counter and proceeded to lift herself up. She succeeded in sitting on the counter. Lifting her feet up the counter, she tried to stand.

She was already panting by the time she was able to stand up. Now that the shelf was in front of her face, she proceeded to get 4 plates.

Diana finally succeeded. With twinkling eyes, she held the plates with her other hand while the other was gripping the shelf for support.

She then realized something, her eyes twitching.

'How am I supposed to get down now?'

She was stuck standing on the kitchen counter, both her hands preoccupied.

With a troubled gaze, she looked at the plates in her hand while biting her lip.

Meltif and the child, Siegfried, entered the kitchen with their stomachs grumbling. They could already smell the delicious aroma of the meal that the woman was cooking. It made them walk a little bit faster, their mouths watering.

But what they didn't expect was the sight that greeted their eyes once they entered the kitchen.

A dainty woman was standing on the kitchen counter holding a set of plates in her one hand. She looked at them with teary eyes, biting her lip. Her legs were wobbling while standing on the platform.

It was Diana.

They were both stunned at the sight. They were broken out of their stupor when she cried out.

"Don't just stand there! He-help me!"

"Pfft--"

Both the man and the boy held their mouths with their hands, their shoulders shaking. They were trying their best not to laugh. Clearly, their best wasn't good enough when Siegfried couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Hahaha-!"

The melodious child-like laughter rang across the room. It sounded like bell chimes ringing when the wind blows through. It was followed by another, but it was deeper and more mellow.

Just like that, the cold wall between them shattered in pieces.

The man helped the woman down while the child arranged the plates. They ate silently, but their hearts lifted up brightly.

Never would they realize that this exact moment would be their most treasured memory.

A memory that they will always come back to and will keep close to their hearts.