The Small Kindness

*Staring intensely
Aria gulped quietly.
Skinny tall old man with butler uniform emerged from the door brought a dish that Aria never saw before. Her eyes remained completely focused on the dish placed in front of her, unable to look anywhere else. She looked like a little girl who had finally found a toy she truly wanted but was too shy to ask for it.

A sweet scent honey lingered around her nose. Its golden surface looked slightly uneven, still warm from kitchen. The texture appeared soft and fluffy, making it strangely mesmerizing for Aria to look at.
"May I know what this is?" Aria asked the butler.
"This is a honey cake," replied the butler politely while placing a spoon beside the plate. "Please enjoy,"
"I can't eat this,"
The butler blinked once. 
"Is this not to your liking? or perhaps an allergy?"
"No, but...I-I shouldn't..." Aria answered reluctantly while lowering her gaze.
"Have you ever tasted honey before?"
"Yes, I have, Mr. Abel once gave me,"
"I don't know who he is but, how about flour, milk, and eggs?"
"Yes..." Aria slightly confused.
"Then honey cake is practically the same thing. Please enjoy it without worry,"
Aria couldn't say anything to refuse anymore.
"Can I...?"
"Of course," said the butler with a gentle smile. "If you want more, I can prepare another one,"
"No need... this is already more than enough, thank you very much, sir,"

After drinking some water to calm herself, Aria hesitantly picked up the spoon and carefully tasted the honey cake. The moment it entered her mouth, her eyes widened slightly. It was soft and moist with a slight density to it, while the honey added a gentle stickiness. The sweetness was rich but not overwhelming, light enough to make each bite easy to enjoy.
"This is delicious..." Aria thought.
While she was immersed on enjoying the cake, the butler suddenly returned carrying another dish. Aria became startled.
More than the dish itself, she was surprised by how quickly the butter disappeared and returned again. She must have been far too focused on eating.

"Young master is currently on his way home and I was instructed to keep sister company while waiting, so please enjoy this as well,"
"I can't ea-" the butler interrupted immediately. "Please do me a favor, I would be grateful if you enjoyed my cooking,"
"Is that so...?"
Aria thought refusing again would be impolite.
She tilted her head slightly. "Then...Mr...?"
"You may call me Lucio,"
"Mr. Lucio...Thank you," Aria smiled brightly.
"Sure. Eat as much as you want,"

The second dessert looked simpler than the first one, yet strangely elegant, its crust was slightly cracked around the edges while dark syrup glistened beautifully beneath the light. The sweet scent carried a faint sourness that immediately caught Aria's interest. 
"What is this called?"
"Berry cake,"
Aria nodded happily before continuing to eat again. While she was enjoying the desserts, the sound of footsteps suddenly filled the room from the entrance.
Two people entered the room, one of them was Glen, the other was a young man Aria never had seen before, he shorter than Glen and a little smaller and also darker.
However-
Both of them were covered in blood. Aria immediately froze.
Yet strangely enough, both of them looked completely calm. They were even laughing while walking inside.

Glen soon noticed Aria staring at him.

"Oh, you're already here," he said casually. "Did you wait long?"

"N-No... young master..."Aria panicked slightly. "The food is tasty,"
The moment those words escaped her mouth, Aria immediately realized she misspoke. 

Glen blinked once before laughing lightly.
"Is that so? then take as much as you want,"
He grabbed a glass of water prepared by Lucio and drank it casually.
"Rishi, go wash yourself and Luci, prepare the bath for him,"
"Understood, young master," Lucio slowly walking away with Rishi afterward.

"Are you okay?" Aria asked worriedly while standing up slightly. "If you have injuries, I can help you,"
"It's not my blood. It's deer's,"
"I-I see..." Aria quietly sighed in relief. "I'm glad you're alright,"
She continued.
"I have the letter here, young master," said Aria while remembering her purpose.
"You should give that to my father, not me. Also stop calling me young master. I think I'm older than you, just call me Glen,"
"Then... you can call me Aria,"
Aria quietly began calculating his age in her head, but that thought was switched by something else.

"Actually, I also came to check your condition. When I woke up, you had already gone, I couldn't properly examine you afterward. I was worried,"
"I think I'm fine," Glen replied while sitting down. "But I still feel terrible,"
"Is there any part of your body that hurts? I can help you,"
"Not that," Glen muttered while sounding annoyed. "I'm angry because someone stole the beast corpse,"
Glen continued.
"After I left the church, I went back to search for it, but it completely disappeared, I put my life to kill it you know,"
"Oh... I see, I can't help you with that"
Aria quietly relaxed after realizing he truly was fine, though a small part of her strangely felt disappointed.
"It's fine," Glen replied. "By the way, I'm curious about your healing abilities, in the academy we learned a bit about it, but I think a nun would be know better right? but if it's forbidden to share, it's okay, you don't have to,"
"I think it's fine to share with you," Aria showed a genuine smile.
She carefully folded her hands on her lap before speaking.
"So...I possess holy mana. Not everyone is born with it, and not everyone can use it either. Even if someone possesses holy mana, they still cannot use it if their heart is filled with malice,"
"Different with regular mana," Glen murmured.
"Yes," Aria nodded. "There are two methods of healing. First, directly pour holy mana into another person and second, use it to activate special magic that clerics or priestess have learned. Holy mana cannot harm people, so we can't learn offensive magic even if we learned, we can't use it,"
"It only heals?"
"Mostly. Even directly transferring holy mana can heal wounds naturally. However..." Aria paused. "The person receiving it cannot possess evil intentions or malice. Holy mana never lies. It knows. The kinder the heart the easier it is to adapt to holy mana,"
"So you can' t help people with malice?"
"We certainly can, but we use healing magic instead of directly transferring holy mana,"
"How about me, what method did you use?" asked Glen with serious face.
"So, cleric or priestess, procedurally, must transfer Holy mana first with intention to cure and um... to know whether the person is evil or not, and if holy mana doesn't work, we can use healing magic like sanctuary or recovery and I used the first method to help you,"
Glen's face showed nothing, he stared at Aria unknowingly.
"At academy, we only learned basics. Mana, holy mana, and dark mana. Holy mana heals and dark mana harms, I never met person possess dark mana before, but I think I can somehow understand what it does,"
"I never met them myself, but I heard something from Mother Anna that Dark mana can make any magic stronger, if someone transfer dark mana to your body, it can gradually destroy your body like a poison and their lifespan is really short unlike clerics or priestess that live longer than average people,"
"I heard so as well, but what if someone transfer dark mana to clerics? what will happen?"
"I-I don't know," Aria replied while lowering her gaze.
Glen focused observing Aria's demeanor.
"Well, thanks for the insight. No wonder the church never had a transgressor,"
"Don't say such scary things like that, we pray every day to prevent that from happening,"
"Haha my bad...last thing, does every nun has holy mana?"
"Not everyone,"
"I see," Glen's mind was full of contemplation.

Moments later, Rishi returned to the room looking completely refreshed. The blood covering his body earlier had been cleaned away, and the unpleasant smell from before was gone as well.
He slowly walked into the room while carrying a shining sword in his hand. The blade looked sharp enough to reflect the light.
"Hey Glen!" Rishi opened the door. "This sword still isn't for you yet. You might want to learn close-range combat but-" His words suddenly stopped.
Rishi stared at Glen who were drinking water, before grinning mischievously.
"Hey, go take a bath first. You smell." He looked at Aria. "Look at her!"
He kept speaking.
"Her face is red because she's been holding her breath this whole time,"
The moment those words landed-
Pfttttt!
Glen immediately burst out the water he had been drinking, causing it to splash across the table.

"What the fu-" Glen instantly stopped himself midway after remembering Aria was still there."...Sorry, Aria," he muttered awkwardly while glaring at Rishi. Meanwhile, Rishi only smirked while trying not to laugh.
"No, no, it's okay. I'm used to it," 
Silence filled the room for a second. Then Rishi completely lost control. "HAHAHAHAHA!"

He grabbed his stomach while laughing loudly. "She's not even denying it, HAHAHAHAHA! My stomach hurts,"

Only then did Aria realize what she had accidentally implied. Her face instantly turned bright red. "I didn't mean-"
Before she could finish speaking, Glen suddenly stood up from his seat. His ears were visibly red from embarrassment as he walked toward the door.
Then, right before passing Rishi-
*Bam!
Glen punched him once in the stomach.
"I granted your wish," said Glen coldly before immediately leaving the room.
"Ughh..." Rishi groaned while slightly bending forward. "He's such a bully,"
Aria looked toward the door awkwardly.
"Don't worry sister, He's not angry,"

Rishi sat down carefully on the sofa while avoiding the wet spots on the table. "He was actually waiting for you," he said. "So, he was probably happy talking with you,"
"I see..."
That answer made her slightly confused. Their conversation earlier felt normal to her. Glen did not particularly smile much either, so she failed to notice anything unusual from him. "Are you hurt?" I can heal you if you need,"
"No need, it's nothing serious. That punch was filled with love,"
Aria quietly looked at him for a moment before lowering her gaze toward the ruined dessert.
"Sorry you couldn't finish your food," said Rishi with apologetic expression. "The water kind of ruined it,"
"I don't really mind,"
Rishi blinked with surprised.
"No, no, no. You should ask Lucio to bring another one. Forget this one,"
Aria fell silent, her mind filled with thoughts.
"It would be a waste to throw this away. It's still edible and Mr. Lucio would probably feel sad if his cooking got thrown away,"
Rishi stared at her with a confused expression.
"He won't...It's not a big deal," he muttered quietly, sounding slightly flabbergasted.
Still, he decided not to argue further.

Meanwhile, Aria simply continued eating berry cake normally despite the small water splashes on the plate. 
After that, silence gradually filled the room. Even after finished the dessert completely, neither of them continued the conversation anymore.

The silence was eventually broken when Lucio returned to the room.
"Is there anything I can help with?" he asked politely while looking between Aria and Rishi. Both of them immediately answered awkwardly.
"No need,"
"It's okay sir,"
Lucio looked slightly confused by the strange atmosphere but decided not to question it further.

A little while later, Glen also returned to the room looking much more refreshed than before and also, doesn't smell. His slightly wet black hair made it obvious he has just finished bathing.
"Glen, I'm going back to my room," said Rishi while standing up quickly. "Let's train this afternoon,"
"Sure," Glen replied casually. "Take my sword back too,"
"Yeah, yeah,"
Rishi waved his hand lazily before leaving the room.

After that, Glen walked toward the table and sat down in front of Aria. Lucio silently handed him a glass of water before leaving the room as well. 
Glen drank quietly.
Then his eyes slowly shifted toward Aria. Her expression looked slightly gloomy for some reason.
"Did Rishi say something stupid to you?"
"No, not at all,"
"Don't take his words too seriously. He's my friend from academy. He came from Hejaz Kingdom and barely had any friends there, so he's kind of socially oblivious sometimes,"
Aria just nodded slowly.
"Well...My parents won't return for another hour or two," He suddenly stood up. "Let me show you the garden while waiting,"
Aria's gloomy expression instantly brightened. Even though she tried hiding it, Glen easily noticed the excitement in her eyes.

Soon, both of them began walking toward the garden together.
Along the way, Glen casually explained several flowers and plants decorating the hallways and pathways of the mansion.
The garden itself was enormous.
Flowers and plants beautifully lined both sides of the stone path while a massive tree stood peacefully at the center of the garden. It's branches spread wide enough to cover a huge area beneath it from the sunlight.
The atmosphere felt calm and refreshing.
Aria looked genuinely happy,
The flower she wanted to touch earlier near the entrance now appeared right in front of her again.
"Can I touch this?" Asked Aria.
It was probably the first time since arriving at the mansion that Aria openly asked for something.
"Of course.... That's peony, one of the pretties' flowers I've ever seen,"
"Peony..." Aria repeated softly.

The flower bloomed beautifully with layers of soft pink petals overlapping each other delicately. The outer petals were pale while the center carried a richer pink color. Its scent was light and calming.
Aria carefully touched the petals with her fingertips.

"It's beautiful..." she murmured.
Her expression looked almost fascinated.
"How about this one?" asked her while pointing toward another flower nearby.
"That's calla lily. Both peonies and calla lilies usually bloom from early spring until late summer,"
The flower looked elegant and simple compared to the peony. Its white petals curved smoothly around the yellow center while its long green stem swayed gently with the wind.
Aria carefully crouched beside it.

After that, Aria continued asking about different flowers over and over again, this moment felt so peaceful and heartwarming. Surprisingly, Glen slowly started feeling tired just from following her around the garden.
"Aria, you can look around yourself if you want. It's okay even if you pick some,"
He pointed toward the giant tree at the center of the garden. "I'll wait there,"
"I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll be done in a minute,"
"No, take your time,"

Aria nodded happily before continuing to wander around the garden with excitement visible on her face. On the other hand, Glen walked toward the large tree and sat beneath it. The shade blocked most of the sunlight while the cool breeze made the atmosphere even more comfortable.
Without realizing it, Glen slowly fell asleep.

When he finally opened his eyes again, the first thing he felt was a strange sense of deja vu. Beside him, Aria had also fallen asleep peacefully on the grass. The warm wind gently moved her hair while the orange light of dusk slowly colored the garden.
Glen stared quietly at the Horizon.
"Evening already...?"

Then-
A faint chuckle could suddenly be heard nearby.
Glen immediately turned his head toward the sound. Only then did he realize two people were standing several meters away while looking at them with bright smiles on their faces.

His parents had finally returned home. Glen immediately stood up after noticing them.
"Dad...Mom...when did you come back?"
"Not long ago," said the Duchess while covering her smile with a fan. "We were looking for you, but I saw something adorable instead, I don't want to interrupt," she said with a little laugh.
"Wha-"
Glen's expression instantly stiffened. But soon after, the Duchess hugged Glen immediately.
"Are you okay? I was really worried about you. I received news that you were greatly injured. I don't know what to do if I lose you as well," said the Duchess and her hugged was getting tighter while shedding tears.
The duke stood behind them, not wanting to interrupt the bond between mother and son. His eyes glistening with tears, though he quickly wiped his tears away. 

The hugged loosened, Glen lifted his gaze and looked at the duchess. 
"Don't worry mom, I'm fully recovered and I'll be careful from now one...I'm not going anywhere, you can trust me," said Glen softly.
The duchess's face showed relief, as though all the weight that had burdened her simply lifted the moment she heard Glen's words. 

Glen's gaze shifted towards the duke that still standing behind them.
"Dad... I think mom is tired, you both can go inside first, I'll follow later,"
"Sure, don't forget to bring your girlfriend as well," said the duke with a mischievous grin.
"She's not- you are the one who called her here," Glen clicked his tongue and wave them off, clearly trying to hide the redness creeping across his face.
The duke burst into laughter as he walked away, while the duchess followed quietly behind him with a faint smile on her face. The two slowly disappeared from Glen's sight.

"What a guy," Glen sighed. He turned back and look at Aria that still sleeping peacefully beside the tree. For a moment, he hesitated to wake her up, but the situation was different now.
"Hey Aria, wake up!" Glen lightly shook her shoulder. 
"Mm mm...10 more minutes," Aria mumbled half asleep.
"You can't," the shake was slightly stronger.

Not long after, Aria slowly opened her eyes. For a brief moment, she looked confused, then reality hit her. The person waking her up was not Mother Beatrice. It was Glen. She immediately sat up straight and quickly fix her clothes.
"Ah Glen, sorry, I thought I was in my room," said Aria full of embarrassment.
"No need to apologize, let's go to meet my father,"
Then he looked at her slightly messy appearance. "Before that, I'll escort you to the washroom, wash your face, tidy your clothes and then we can go meet him,"
"Okay..." said Aria.

They walked together back toward the mansion before heading to the washroom. Glen waited outside quietly while Aria washed her face.
Inside the washroom, Aria looked around curiously. Everything looked clean and luxurious. Even the soap placed near the sink smelled pleasant. Still, she did not dare use it.
At the end, she only washed her face using water before fixing her slightly messy clothes. After finishing, both of them returned to the previous room.

The moment they entered, Aria finally saw the Duke and Duchess properly face to face for the first time. Previously, she had only seen them from afar. Though she occasionally saw the Duchess attending sermons at the church, this was their first direct meeting.
"Mom- Mother, why are you here too?" Glen asked awkwardly.
The duchess immediately showed dissatisfaction after hearing him corrected himself.
"There is something I want to hear as well,"
"Sure..." Glen sighed before looking toward Aria. "Anyway, this is Aria. As you already know, she's the one who helped me when I was injured,"
Then he turned toward his parents.
"Aria, this is my mother and father,"
"H-Hello, Sir...Ma'am" Aria lowered her gaze politely. "Nice to meet you,"
"Good to see you too, Aria," said the duke. "Sit down,"

Both sides sat facing each other with the table separating them. Only then did she realize the previously messy table had already been cleaned completely.
"I am Godfrey, and this is my wife, Evelyn," said Godfrey while Evelyn waved her hands slightly. "Straight to the point, we are truly grateful that you saved our son's life, thank you very much Aria,"
To Aria's shock, both Godfrey and Evelyn slightly lowered their heads toward her.
"P-Please raise your heads!" Aria panicked. "I'm happy you feel grateful, but I was only doing what I should do," then she quickly changed the subject. She remembered the sole purpose coming here.
"Ah...Sir, this is the letter from Mother Anna,"
She took the letter from inside her robe and handed it toward him.
Godfrey opened it calmly before reading the contents. Then, he suddenly laughed.
"She said no,"
"No...?" Aria tilted her head slightly and her face showed full of confusion.
"I asked Anna to let whoever healed my son work here,"
Both Glen and Aria immediately became shocked.
"But Sir, clerics and priestesses belong to the church. You cannot simply make them work for personal reasons,"
"That is why I intended to hire you as a maid instead. Only on paper, of course," Godfrey leaned slightly backward. "Furthermore, you are not even officially appointed as a cleric yet, are you?"
"That...is correct, Sir,"
"I have no intention of forcing you, I simply think you should hear the offer yourself instead of relying entirely on Anna's decision,"
"Even so... I cannot decide something like that immediately,"
"That's perfectly fine. Think carefully about what you truly want. What kind of live you want, you don't have to answer it right away,"
Then he glanced toward Glen while smirking slightly.
"I assure you, we would take very good care of you. Right, Glen,"
Glen immediately looked away instead of answering. Then his eyes shifted to Aria.
"Don't think about it too much right now. Whatever choice you make, you'll probably regret it if you decide without thinking it carefully. Ask for advice first. The elders... your friends...whoever you trust,"
He paused briefly.
"Then decide only after you're completely sure. That way you won't regret it later,"
Aria listened to it attentively.
"I think...I'll do that,"
"Anyway," Godfrey suddenly continued, "I'm still grateful for your help,"
He placed a small bag onto the table.
"This is one hundred gold coins. Use it however you want,"
"I-I can't accept this, Sir. I didn't help because I wanted something in return,"
"I know. Consider it merely as a token of gratitude. Refusing it would only make things awkward,"
He lightly pushed the bag full of coin toward her.
"You may even give it to Anna if you wish,"
Aria hesitated for a second before finally accepting it and keep it in her robe carefully.
"Thank you very much, Sir,"
"Anytime," Godfrey said while nodded.
Then Evelyn suddenly spoke.
"Before you return, you should stay for dinner first. You may even rest here tonight if you want,"
"Thank you, Ma'am, but I can't sleep here. But...if it's alright, I would like to stay for dinner,"
Deep inside, Aria actually became curious after hearing that. She had also completely missed lunch earlier.

Soon after, they moved toward the dining room. The room looked luxurious yet strangely warm. Long candies illuminated the table softly while servants quietly prepared the dishes. Dinner itself was mostly peaceful and quiet. Still, the atmosphere somehow felt comforting, especially whenever Glen and Evelyn occasionally argued over small things during the meal.
After diner ended, Aria intended to say goodbye and return to the church.
However-
"I'll escort you back," Glen suddenly standing up. "It's dangerous for you to walk alone at night,"
"You can't let her walk all the way back," said Evelyn firmly.
Glen became silent.
"Aria, come back with me using the carriage, I also have something I wish to discuss with Mother Anna,"
"Then...I'll gladly accept your generosity, Ma'am,"
"Good," Evelyn nodded before turning towards Glen. "Return to your room,"
"Okay, Mother,"
Glen immediately walked away, though his steps suddenly became faster midway after remembering he had completely forgotten about Rishi.

Shortly after, the carriage was prepared.
Both Evelyn and Aria entered together, and the carriage slowly began moving toward the church.
At first, silence filled the carriage. Then Evelyn suddenly spoke.
"Aria, I was actually against the idea of you working at our house,"
Aria looked surprised.
"Why is that Ma'am?"
"Because I believe nuns belong to the church. I do not want you to feel pressured into making decision like this,"
Aria listened quietly.
"But..." Evelyn smiled gently. "If you truly want it, then I would gladly take care of you like my own daughter,"
Aria slowly lowered her head. Her thoughts became complicated. For a long time, she had quietly wondered what having a real family actually felt like. Was it similar to living together with the mothers and sisters in the church? or was it more like her childhood at the orphanage?

Deep inside, Aria always wished for a family that belonged only to her. But at the same time, she believed such thoughts were selfish for an orphan like herself.

"Aria," Evelyn suddenly called again and made Aria came back to her sense. "No matter what you choose, there is only one thing I ask to you,"
"What is it, Ma'am?"
"Please take care of my son," her voice became soft. "I don't think he regrets being injured that bad. Even in the future, he will probably continue getting hurt again and again,"
She looked outside the carriage window briefly.
"I simply do not want to lose my son again,"
Then she looked directly at Aria.
"So, from the bottom of my hearts... please help him if something happened to him. If you ever need anything, just ask me. As you already know, I occasionally attend sermons at the church,"
Aria quietly listened before replying.
"Glen is kind...and I like kind people," she lowered her gaze slightly looking at her laps. "I like helping people. That's all I know, that's all I have,"
Then she looked back at Evelyn.
"So, um... you do not need to ask me. I already intended to help him from the beginning,"
Evelyn simply smiled after hearing that.

Not much later, the carriage finally arrived at the church.
Aria bid farewell before Evelyn went to meet Mother Anna directly.
While Mother Anna approached Aria before talking with Evelyn.
"Aria return to your room for now. Come meet me after the morning sermon tomorrow. It's already late,"
"Yes, Mother,"
After returning to your room, Aria continued thinking about the offer over and over again. Then she suddenly remembered the bag of coins. Still deep in contemplation, Aria eventually fell asleep.