Alina gently exhaled, letting go of the surprise she felt inside.
Louis didn’t interrupt, just stood behind Mike, with a casual and gentle deanor, letting Mike talk endlessly.
In front of the glass were two small figures.
Orsus and Isaac.
The five-year-old Orsus was on his tiptoes, breathing against the glass.
The eight-year-old Isaac stretched his arms, trying to draw a circle larger than himself.
Their fingertips traced arcs on the glass, leaving behind brief mist marks that were quickly erased by the warmth.
After Isaac finished drawing, he habitually glanced back at Louis.
There was no fear in his eyes, nor any cautious attempts to please, just a bit of pure anticipation, as if waiting for a review: "Did I draw well?"
Louis didn’t scold them "Don’t make it dirty," nor did he show any sternness of an elder.
He casually took the young girl Sif handed over, holding the two-year-old with one hand, and walked up to the glass himself.
The mist from the child’s breath hadn’t completely dispersed yet; he lifted his handkerchief, gently wiped off the moisture from Isaac’s nose, and then casually cleaned the handprints off the glass as well.
The motion was casual, like tidying up a table at ho.
"Don’t crowd to look, be careful not to bump your heads." He just offered this reminder.
Isaac stuck his tongue out and obediently stepped back half a pace.
After this brief interlude, the group continued to explore the inner hall, and Mike finally seized the opportunity to lead the group to the bathroom in front of the master bedroom.
"Sir, there’s a nifty feature here." He couldn’t help speaking, glancing at Louis’s expression.
Louis chuckled, rubbing his forehead with his hand: "It’s not the craftsn’s assembly today. Keep it brief."
Mike relaxed a bit, walked to the dark wooden door, and pushed it open.
Inside was a spacious restroom, the walls were made of light stone slabs, and the floor remained warm.
He walked to the corner, grasped the elegant brass handle, and gently twisted it.
"Buzz—"
Accompanied by a slight vibration, a stream of steaming hot water spurted from the tap, falling into the stone basin and splashing small water droplets.
Steam slowly rose in the room, bringing a sense of relaxing warmth.
"Utilizing underground geothermal layers to heat underground water, then using pressure valves to pump it up," Mike tried to control his excitent, "Sir, it’s available twenty-four hours a day."
Alina stepped forward and put her hand into the water stream.
The temperature was just right, neither too hot nor too cold, like stone that had basked in the sun all day, a rarity in the Northern Territory.
She couldn’t help but think of the old castle in Frost Halberd City.
Even after renovation, in this season, a circle of mildew always ford in the corners, and the water had to be carried up bucket by bucket, and before it ward, it would already turn cold.
Now, just a twist, and the entire city’s underground is operating for this single stream of water.
Then, the group followed the spiral staircase all the way up to the top of the Main Castle.
The maids were already waiting at the door, the room was lit with soft lighting, and freshly baked pastries and warm berry tea lined the long table.
The air carried a faint sweet scent, lifting away much of the day’s fatigue as one entered.
Orsus was already rubbing his eyes sleepily, held by Sif, and Emily sat on the settee, casually picking up a pastry to eat, genuinely seeming a bit hungry.
Louis placed his young daughter on the soft cushion, letting the maid care for her, then handed hot tea to everyone.
The children gathered around the plate of pastries, chirping with a rarely-seen relaxed deanor.
Only Isaac didn’t join the lively group.
He stood before the gigantic glass window, hands behind his back, gazing at the streets illuminated by interwoven lights and the constantly moving carriage fleet below, an expression of superior belonging unconsciously appearing on his young face.
Louis walked over, standing behind him: "Isaac."
"Hmm?"
"What do you think of this wall?"
Isaac was startled for a mont, instinctively reaching out to touch the glass, then quickly pulling back: "It’s very hard, very transparent, and... it must be very expensive."
Louis chuckled: "Many Lords prefer to shut themselves inside thick stone walls. It’s safe that way, you can’t see outside, nor hear."
He tapped the carpet at his feet, then gestured towards the lights outside the glass.
"Stone walls can block assassins, but they can also block hungry people. Those inside can’t see the cold outside, and those outside can’t see what the people inside are eating."
Isaac pondered deeply, furrowing his brows: "Should we be different?"
Louis lowered his head, eting his gaze: "You need to learn to be like this glass."
Isaac was stunned: "Be... glass?"
"Yes."
Louis tapped the glass lightly with his knuckle: "Strong enough to withstand the cold and malice outside. Yet clear enough so that everyone’s lives below can be reflected in your eyes at any ti."
He paused, his tone calm but with an undeniable strength: "A Lord who cannot see the people will eventually be overthrown by them. Rember these words."
Isaac looked up at him, nodding firmly: "I will rember."
Alina watched the scene, her heart slightly stirred.
It was not the first ti she watched Louis teach Isaac sothing, she understood Louis was imparting to the future Lord how to guard a city, how to protect its people.
"When the Duke died, I thought Edmond had made a mistake, handing power to this young man, believing he would one day reveal his true self.
Yet, six years have passed, he rebuilt Frost Halberd City, treating Isaac not as a puppet but as real family, teaching him to be a person, a Lord like an elder brother."
She lifted her teacup, relaxing her grip quietly.
Outside the window, the snowstorm rolled beyond the city walls, clouds pressed against the horizon, but within, the warmth felt like another world, tea aroma lingered, and children’s laughter still echoed in the corners.
"Outside Nobility calls him the Winter Tyrant," she whispered in her heart, "because they aren’t qualified to sit beside the warm Sun."
"He’s a good Lord, a reliable husband..." She paused, her lips curled into a slight smile, "To , more importantly, he’s Isaac’s best brother-in-law and my best son-in-law."
Alina finally showed a completely relaxed smile.
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