glass lover

In mid-July, Dad sent me a message asking me to come over for dinner.He didn't say why, but his tone was very strange.As if I had a premonition, I went over immediately.

Stepping into the mansion in the evening, I walked to the backyard and entered the house from the kitchen.Mrs. Ferrer was cooking, and the clatter of pots and pans seemed cheerful.I can smell the lively and spicy smell of onion and garlic, and the rich smell of pie cream coming from the oven. Just by closing my eyes, I can imagine the crispy and mouth-burning deliciousness.In a trance, she seemed to see the dead Hugo spinning around her feet, expecting some unexpected snacks to fall between the busy boilers.

"Mrs. Feller, I'm back."

Mrs Feller was sticking her fork into the oven and pulling out the pie.She didn't hear my voice clearly, probably regarded me as another servant, and replied loudly:

"Where did you go? You haven't seen anyone for most of the day, so you can't concentrate!"

I approached Mrs. Ferrer, laughing, and raised my voice behind her:

"Mrs. Ferrer, it's me! Margaret is back!"

Mrs. Ferrer struggled to drag the plate full of pies, and slowly straightened up and looked back at me.At this time, a young maid appeared at the door at the other end of the smoky kitchen.I met her gaze and took a step back unconsciously.She seemed to feel the same way, she subconsciously leaned against the kitchen door and did not move on.

"Margaret! You're finally back! Why don't you go through the front? The kitchen is so dirty, go, go, get out, it's so messy!" This is clearly a neat and clean space, but Mrs. Feller She still drove me out of the kitchen with a smile on her face. I originally wanted to act like a baby to her, but thinking that this was her sphere of influence, I obediently went out to the restaurant.

The young maid was still standing at the kitchen door, looking at me timidly.I smiled at her as I passed her.After walking a few steps, she stopped me.

"Are you... are you Miss Marguerite Labenat?"

"Yes, I am. Are you...?"

"Just call me Heidi." The tone was shy.I noticed that she had short dark brown curly hair much like mine.

"Heidi? What a bright name!" I waved at her, and went to the front to find my father.

Dad was standing in the living room waiting for me.

"Son, do you know why I called you back today?"

I shook my head.

"Sir, he has something to tell you."

Dad looked around my face a few times, trying to gauge my reaction.Seeing that I was very calm and didn't show a repulsive expression, he smiled gratifiedly and patted me on the shoulder.I put my arms around Dad's waist and put my head on his shoulder affectionately.At this moment, Mr. Oberstein returned.As soon as I stepped into the porch, I smiled and waved at him.I don't know if I'm really happy or if I pretend to be happy and I believe it.Suddenly, I felt that I had returned to the days of my teenage years.

After dinner, I helped Mrs. Ferrer tidy up, but Mrs. Ferrer called Heidi in a high-pitched voice, and emphasized that this was Heidi's job.

"That little girl, her hands and feet are not as flexible as yours!" she yelled, complaining to me, "I've been in a daze lately, and I'm absent-minded when doing things. Break another plate for me, and I'll ask your father to fire me she!"

Heidi walked into the restaurant silently to tidy up.Mrs Feller went back into the kitchen to clean her precious pans.I walked up to Heidi and said softly, "Let me carry your plate."

She didn't answer, just lowered her head and worked.I looked at her carefully, she looked childish, no more than 20 years old.The eyes are big and look extraordinarily cute.

"Oh, the plate needs to be held like this to be stable." I couldn't help telling her aloud, and at the same time reached out and grabbed the stack of cutlery that was shaking in her hand.Seeing that the top soup bowl was about to slide off, I grabbed it violently, and the soup bowl was saved, but the knives, forks and spoons fell all over the floor. There was a loud clatter, and a high-decibel shout came from the kitchen: "How many times have I told you!..."

Mrs. Ferrer came out angrily and saw me squatting to pick up the tableware.

"Mrs. Feller, don't scold her, I did it." I rushed to answer.

After seeing off Mrs. Ferrer, I turned to Heidi softly, "How long have you been here?"

"Half a year."

"No wonder I didn't see you the last time I was here. Are you used to working here? Mrs. Ferrer just likes to read. She's a nice person."

"Why did you come here today?" Heidi asked me as if he mustered up a lot of courage.

"This... I want to come back and see my father." I was slightly surprised, and then gently took it.

"No, it's because my husband wanted to see you, so he called you back." Heidi was a little excited, and even forgot the honorific name he had been using just now.

I think, I am many years older than Heidi, so it should not be for nothing.Although this sentence makes me feel uncomfortable, it is still within the range that I can control.Heidi couldn't hide her uneasiness, and continued, "I just heard what you said, and that's what it is."

"So what?" I signaled her to calm down with my eyes.She blushed and lowered her voice.

"I've been here all these days, and I always feel that my husband misses you. He won't say it, but I can see it. Why are you doing this?"

I can see that Heidi's breathing is quickening. It seems that she has thought about these words for a long time, and finally said them today.An inexplicable pity welled up spontaneously.

"Those were things that happened a long time ago, and no one would believe it if I told them. There is no reason. This question ends here." I gently but firmly rejected her doubts.

"But, sir, he..."

"Sir, it's his business to decide what he wants to do. You don't have to think too much for him." Hearing that my voice was showing signs of getting angry, I hurried out of the restaurant and left Heidi who was still about to say something. later.

Walking up to the second floor, I bypassed the door leading directly to the balcony and knocked lightly on the study door.There is no response inside.I boldly opened the door and went in.

In the dark study room, I heard the rustling sound of clothes rubbing against the window. I knew that Mr. Oberstein was standing by the window, so I obediently walked forward and stood side by side with him.The darkness reassures me, and I can't see him, so I have less anxiety.

"I've been wondering when you'll come back here." Unusually he spoke first.

"Well, I didn't know you asked me to come."

"Oh?" I knew from his voice that he must have wanted to say something mocking himself, but he didn't say it after all.

"Actually, I want to ask you something today." Such a straightforward but calm tone, so calm that even if he was about to die the next moment, he would not panic at all.

"Do you have to ask me? Is there anything you must ask for?"

"I'm afraid you'll laugh at me if I say it."

"Since when did you care about whether I would laugh at you?" I knew my face must be ugly at this moment.

"It's better than living the rest of your life like pretending you don't care about anything." From his tone, it seemed that he was sneering.

"Going around in circles like this doesn't fit my personality. Just tell me, what's the matter?"

"Do you know what I want most in my life?"

I bit my lip lightly, silently thinking about how to catch the ball.All the clips we talked about flashed through my mind.

"It's definitely not me that you want most." This sentence was swallowed up by me, and I said:

"To be honest, whether or not the Golden Tree Dynasty perishes will not change the fact that has happened to you. You chose this path because you want to know why you live in this world. It is impossible for you to be like Like those who have religious beliefs, they put their so-called hope in the afterlife or the reward of the afterlife, because you are not interested in the issue of life and death, what you want is what you can see when you are alive. So, you met Rein Hart von Rosenland. He gave you value, gave you wishes. From another point of view, he gave you another form of life. I can't do this anyway. of."

"His Majesty the Emperor is not in good health right now, do you know that?"

He was noncommittal to my answer and immediately jumped to another question.

"Of course I don't know. I heard it's an intermittent fever. The emperor's health is related to the stability of society and the system. It shouldn't be appropriate for the public to know about this kind of thing, right?"

A vague idea flashed through my brain like lightning, and before I felt the pain, I could already see a little blood oozing from this thin and deep wound.

"Wait! What do you mean?" I turned to him, eyes wide, even though the gesture meant nothing in the dark.There is only light from the street in the distance by the window of the study, barely showing his outline and position.

He grabbed my shoulder fiercely, and my face was less than ten centimeters from the tip of his nose, "I didn't tell anyone about my thoughts, only you know, do you understand?" In a deliberately low voice, Half intimidation, half pleading.As if he was not grabbing my shoulder but my heart, I trembled and said:

"What you want to ask me, do I have the right to refuse?"

"no."

"Why don't you give orders to others? There are so many famous and capable people around you..." I tried my best to suppress the urge to shout, put my face closer, and spoke to his blurred shadow with difficulty.

"I only have this one thing, and I will never have it again. You can rest assured."

I was in a cold sweat.Many complicated feelings turned into uncomfortable nose acid, mercilessly tormenting my willpower.My reason and thinking hadn't penetrated what he asked for, but my emotions knew it.

"Would you like it? First answer if I want to?" As if coaxing a child to take medicine, he put down his hand that was holding me, and forced me to answer in an unbelievably gentle tone.

Knowing that when I opened my mouth, I would drink the extremely bitter poison, but I still nodded slowly, unable to make a sound, only angry: "Okay, I promise you. You forced me... ..."

"I hope you will really fulfill your promise. Thank you." He actually seemed to be smiling, a miserable smile.

"It's nothing to thank. In fact, you know that I won't refuse at all." I skipped the question I wanted to ask rationally, and directly wanted to prove my intuition. "Is it really so hopeless for you to lose the emperor?"

"It's not despair, it's value. I don't think you will feel the same way about Mr. Silva Bercy."

I sighed.

"This is the driving force behind your fanatical conquest of the universe."

"Crazy? At least I don't think so. Although I want the world to change, I know I don't have that ability."

"From the day you stepped into the Marshal's Mansion, you no longer live for yourself."

"I have no choice, Margaret."

"I know."

In the dark, he held my hand solemnly and forcefully, and I felt the warmth from his palm.

"Do you remember we went to a play together before?" he asked me softly.

"Remember. The theater was by the big lake in the southwestern part of Odin, and it was very cold that day."

"What's the plot of the day?"

"Forget it, it's a tragedy of a prince's revenge anyway. I remember you told me you didn't like it after watching it. The person pretending to be a queen is too coquettish, the lines are too exaggerated, the plot is too far-fetched..."

"Is there? I don't remember. I do remember that the part where the heroine is buried in the cemetery is very well written."

"Oh? I like the part where the heroine goes crazy. She sings a lot of songs."

"...um...a willow grows obliquely beside the water, its gray branches and leaves reflected in the glass-like transparent stream..."

I looked up at him in surprise, "Do you still remember?"

"Because you've been reciting that line a lot since you came back from the play. How long ago was that?"

"About ten years."

I remembered that it was the first time in my life that I went to the theater to watch a play.After watching the play and going home in heavy snow, I was very excited to act out the part where the heroine went crazy in despair and was about to drown on the stairs.At that time, I was only thirteen or fourteen years old.

"Why did you mention this?"

"It's nothing, it's just a sudden thought of your performance on the stairs at that time, pretending to be crazy."

"At that time, how could I understand what a dry head is, and what is a tear that has been salted seven times, just thinking that he is a poet's boring but interesting delusion. Ha, ha." I laughed, and at the same time I felt wet, cool drops of water running down my cheeks.

"Um."

"Whatever, that heroine, let her die a few times, go crazy a few times, I've gone crazy with her, and died, that's all."

He squeezed my palm, hesitated for a moment, and let go of his wet hand.

"Bye now."

He didn't keep me, and I know he can't keep me either.