Samuel's mother/Ivy POV
Samuel has always been on my mind, ever since he didn't like coming out of his room anymore.
How has he changed so fast... He was such a friendly and outgoing person back then... What happened... I wanted to know, but he just wouldn't tell me...
When he started distancing himself from us, we were worried about what had occurred. I asked him, but he just refused to answer...After several days of trying, we gave up and just let him be for now as we slowly tried to understand Samuel's new behavior...
But then, after we adopted Stella, he changed...again.
We thought that he wasn't interested in this new development when we told him about her, but when they met, they got along better than we thought, which shocked us. Although we are quite busy, we heard from our servants that they have been getting along really well, and Samuel would usually knock on Stella's door to hang out with her.
We thought that our worries would dissipate, but then, for some reason, Samuel changed...again.
After some time, he became distant from her. He didn't come to her room anymore, and he stopped communicating with her.
On the other hand, Stella changed—in a good way. She started eating at the table, socializing, and becoming more friendly.
She even told us that she made a new friend while we were having dinner.
If they just got along a little longer, maybe Samuel would've changed as well...
She told me a lot about her new friend, Catherine, about their encounter and their excursion.
Huh...Catherine Crocus... It seems she is just as lovely as her parents...
After listening to her, I constructed a plan.
So I asked Stella to invite her new friend, and maybe... her friend would befriend Samuel.
Well, that plan failed. He distanced himself from them.
But I wouldn't stop just because that failed...
"Did they plan to hang out this week?" I asked Catherine's mother, Scarlett, who is a long-time friend of mine...
Usually. If my guess is correct, they would hang out this weekend. I always hear about their outings every now and then.
"Yeah, I heard from Catherine that they are hanging out in that town. What was it again... Claville! That's it."
Perfect...
"Would you mind if Samuel tagged along as well?"
"Definitely, I'm sure that they won't mind. The more, the merrier."
After that, I forced Samuel to hang out with them, or he would get a punishment. I just hope that something will change him and they will get along with each other.
And when the carriage came, I hoped that it went according to plan...
And it did...
We actually finished our duties early that day. We intentionally came to dinner late to ask the servants to observe if Samuel and Stella would talk at the table, and they would tell us if the plan succeeded.
After learning about it, we then started going to the dinner table, pretending as if we didn't know anything.
We chatted, looking at both of them to see how they reacted.
Although Samuel has some grumpy expressions, it doesn't seem like it was the same back then. It seems like he softened his expressions and opened up a bit.
That's a nice step. I wish this plan would continue.
As I listened to Stella, I felt elated about all the things that they had done. It seems that Samuel is getting along not only with Stella but with Catherine too.
"Really...He bought you a dress. How kind of him."
He really did that. How thoughtful of him... I mean, I wanted to go shopping and bring Stella and Samuel along with me for her dress, but it seems this way is much better.
"Don't worry about it, Samuel. I wouldn't deduct it from your allowance. Take it as a gift for going out with Stella."
I wanted to motivate you to get along with people...
"Thank you, mom."
"Don't worry about it. Just make sure you get along well with Stella," I said as I smiled at him.
But rewarding you is not enough...I should also make sure that you're going to keep getting along with Stella.
As they were about to go, I called Samuel.
"So... it seems that you're getting along well with Stella...again"
"I sure am..."
"Did you do it because you just felt like it?"
"What?! Of course not!"
He is being defensive.
"Well then, would you promise that you would never leave Stella forever?"
"Of course! Ah..."
Great... He fell for it.
"Well...A promise is a promise. From now on, you will stay by Stella's side. And if you dare to break that, I will make sure to break your room and every spare room in this house to make sure that you are going to share a room with her. That way, you have no choice but to get along with her."
At first, I've let you off the hook with your asocial attitude, but now that you're at the age where socializing is important and with your enrollment in the magic academy, you should start communicating with other people, starting with Stella.
"Of course, mom...A promise is a promise... Well then, good night."
"Well then...Good night to you too, Samuel."
As I see him head off, I let out an exhausted sigh.
"Hah...That troublesome kid..."
"Well...We can only hope for a better future, but for now, we should try our best to encourage him. We should invite Catherine to learn alongside Stella and Samuel."
"That's a great idea. After all, I heard from Scarlett that they have the same governess."
We spent that night planning for the upcoming schedules of our children.
