The months steadily flew by as Felix continued to grow in this new world. A few things had changed since his first birthday, however, as Sebastian had become a more frequent visitor to his mother’s manor. It wasn’t an everyday thing, but Isabella was excited by the fact she could spend more time with her child.

She had learnt from Emerson that the duke was okay with the idea she proposed of Felix having a friend close enough to his (physical) age. She made sure to promise that she would thoroughly teach Sebastian how he should always act respectfully towards nobility, even if Felix was the younger of the two.

Felix wasn’t exactly thrilled by the proposition of spending more time with Sebastian but seeing the happy and hopeful look on Isabella’s face, he resigned himself to the fate of interacting with the boy for many years to come. Felix knew that this day would come eventually, but he enjoyed not having to deal with other actual children as he stayed with Isabella.

Another somewhat unfortunate change to his daily life was the regular visits from the older gentleman he had seen on his birthday, who he had learnt from Isabella was called Emerson, a faithful servant of the Armstrong household since his grandfather’s time. That was interesting and all, but Felix didn’t care for the extra attention.

For one, the man gave Felix veritable chills and having to play the role of a happy-go-lucky infant all the time was exhausting, especially since Emerson would practically appear out of nowhere at times. Felix didn’t know whether it was because of the man’s supernatural abilities or his infantile perception, but either way, it was irritating.

Eventually, Felix just decided to take a more relaxed approach to the man’s presence, not going back to his usually sombre attitude but acting in a less excitable manner. He surmised that Emerson was probably there to observe him out of mild curiosity, and if he didn’t act too out of the ordinary, he would probably get bored. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case, but Felix had something more important to focus on.

The anticipation in the air was palpable as Felix braced himself for what was about to come next. Isabella gently let go of his hands and backed up slowly, arms at the ready if the situation took a turn for the worse. Felix pursed his lips in concentration, barely registering Isabella’s words of encouragement as he slowly put one foot in front of the other.

Two steps in and his balance was already faltering but he just about managed to stabilise himself. Step. Step. On the sixth step it happened again, but the damage this time was irreversible. The soft rug helped to soften the impact on Felix’s bottom, but it was Isabella’s smile and unfiltered words of praise that helped soften Felix’s frustration at his latest attempt to walk.

He had been relearning how to walk for a few days now and it was a lot harder than he thought it’d be. Given that it came so naturally to him in his previous life (before his illness) he thought he could get the hang of it relatively easily, but he was still quite clumsy as he wasn’t used to walking with a toddler’s body. He consoled himself with the fact that he already knew the sensation of walking properly unlike an actual toddler and so it shouldn’t be too long before he had it down pat.

Felix was brought out of his reflection by the young maid bowing in his direction, before addressing Isabella in a respectful tone of voice. Felix rarely considered how Isabella had a high status amongst the house-help, even though Felix was seemingly a child of the Lord in name only, mainly because of the slight probability he could be heir, and the over 10 years of experience she had working for the household.

Turning back to their conversation, the maid had come to inform Isabella of a commotion at the entrance to the manor, and how even the lady was in attendance. Isabella looked at Felix out of the corner of her eyes, only to find his clear blue eyes looking straight at her. He simply uttered 2 words in his infantile voice, “want see” with almost pleading eyes. After signalling for the maid to leave, Isabella sighed softly as she closed her eyes, turning her head away from Felix so he couldn’t see the emotions warring on her face.

Over the past year and a bit, the lady had often secluded herself in her private wing of the manor, only getting some fresh air on that side of the manor’s garden whilst Isabella cared for Felix in a completely separate wing, to avoid them crossing paths. For the moment things were going well due to Felix’s limited mobility, and Isabella would have to take certain measures when Felix grew a bit older and could act upon his evident curiosity about his environment, but this was too soon!

She didn’t want to have to deny Felix the right to see his birth mother, but she didn’t know how the lady would take to his presence, nor did she know how Felix would react to the lady. Despite how calm and well-behaved he was most of the time, what if his filial instincts kicked in and he became emotionally excited or vulnerable.

Granted, if she knew that Felix only wanted to see the lady to satisfy his curiosity and how mature his mind was, her worries would be abated to an extent, but that would open a whole new world of problems for Felix. She also feared the idea of Felix becoming attached to his birth mother and her becoming expendable. It was a selfish thought and she berated herself saying that she should know her place as a servant, but she had come to love Felix as her own and couldn’t help that thought making her slightly jealous.

Felix felt conflicted by the indecision he assumed was written on Isabella’s face, but before he could backtrack and say it was fine if they didn’t go, it looked as if Isabella had resolved herself as she said, “As you wish, young master, we will go and take a look at the disturbance.”

Felix was shocked by the sadness that Isabella was trying to hide on her face and so he gave her a bright smile, saying “fanks, mama” in hopes of cheering her up, to which she replied with a bright yet teary-eyed smile of her own. Thus, the adoptive mother and son made their way to see what all the commotion was about.