Saving the Villain

When the rain stopped, the servants hurriedly rushed outside, bringing towels for Cosette and Conrad to prevent them from catching a cold. Conrad assisted Cosette carefully, treating her as fragile as porcelain.

As they walked inside, Cosette took a momentary pause. Her gaze slowly shifted to where Maxen was standing, making the latter raise his brows in worry. However, Cosette said nothing and simply looked at him before resuming in her steps.

"Seriously…" Maxen closed his eyes, remembering the strange look in Cosette's eyes just moments ago. After all that ruckus, he returned to his room. Now, all he could do was lie flat on his back with his arm over his forehead, wondering what happened to Cosette.

"Why does she look so devastated?" he wondered.

His eyes cracked open ever so slowly after a minute of silence. "Was it because of her grandparents? But… why? I thought she would be happy since she was crying and kept saying she missed them?"

No matter how hard Maxen thought about it, he couldn't just think of anything else that could devastate her. Cosette never showed anything, and even if she was stressed, she would certainly voice it out.

"Ugh…! I'm so worried about her."

While Maxen was grumbling about what could have happened to Cosette, the girl he was worried about sat on the chair in her room. Lucia had hurriedly prepared her new clothes to change while Conrad stayed with her.

"Cozie." Worry filled Conrad's eyes as he looked at his daughter wrapped in a towel. "If there's something wrong, you can always tell me. Just tell me what happened."

Cosette lowered her eyes and kept quiet, increasing the worry in her father's heart. But before Conrad could reassure her, she spoke.

"I missed you," she whispered, clutching the damp towel on her lap. "I missed you so much and I'm so grateful that you're my father."

"Cozie…"

Cosette raised her head to looked at Conrad in the eye. The side of her lips curled up, and relief pooled in her soft, watery eyes. She raised a hand, touching Conrad's cheek.

"I'm so grateful, Papa," she repeated under her breath, her voice almost cracking. "I'm so grateful… am I shameless to feel this way?"

"Cosette." Conrad breathed out, cupping her face. "Was being grateful a sin?"

He bit his lips to stop them from trembling. "Forgive me if I had been busy and cannot focus on you. Did you feel lonely?" His throat bobbed, unable to discern how to react in a situation like this.

Conrad had always kept himself together and wouldn't budge no matter what storm would come his way. However, seeing her as if she had her entire world crumbled broke his heart. If he could only take away whatever affliction she was feeling right at this moment, he would volunteer to take it.

"Papa is sorry." He extended his arm and took her into his embrace, patting her back gently. "I'm sorry if I made you sad. I know how you had always sought time to spend with him. Cosette, I apologize.

Conrad apologized for neglecting her and for being hard on her, making her cry on his shoulder. She wanted to tell him there was no need to apologize, that she was crying because of a completely different reason, but she couldn't.

All Cosette could do was cry until she was hiccuping.

"Please, forgive Papa, just this once, hmm?" Conrad continued.

'No, Dad.' Cosette mentally shook her head, clutching his back tightly. 'That is not… I don't deserve your apology. I should be the one apologizing to you. I have many, many things to say sorry for.'

"Master, the bath —" Lucia halted as Conrad raised a hand to stop her. He waved mildly, and it was Lucia's cue to leave. However, just as Lucia was about to turn around, Cosette broke her silence.

"I'll take a bath now." Cosette drew away from him and straightened her back. She wiped the tears with the back of her hand, forcing a smile to lessen his worries. "Sorry for what I did tonight. I was just… startled, but I'm fine."

"Cozie."

Cosette stood up, making him stand as well. Seeing the worry in his eyes, she pressed her lips and reached for his hand. Her eyes softened, brushing his knuckles with her thumbs before looking up to meet his eyes.

"I'm okay now. Don't worry," she reassured, almost like she didn't just cry just now. "I also want to rest for the night."

Cosette then glanced at Lucia standing on the side. "Nana, please help my dad out. I will want to sort out my thoughts first."

"Cosette."

"I'll be fine." She faced Conrad again. "What will I do if you get sick because of me? I'm not the only one who stayed under the pouring rain, so please."

His jaw clenched, rocking his head in understanding. "Sure. Lucia, help Cozie. I'll go once she got inside."

"Young Miss." Lucia hurriedly approached the father-daughter. She bowed at Conrad slightly, then faced Cosette whilst holding the young miss's arm. "Let's go."

Cosette held Conrad's gaze for a while before snapping her eyes ever so tenderly. She forced a short smile and then followed Lucia to the bathroom.

As the two walked away, Conrad let out a deep exhale. He stared at his daughter's back worriedly until the door shut behind them.

"Cosette," he whispered, eyes full of bitterness and worry. Just now, he felt like he wasn't talking to his daughter. Or rather, the way Cosette talked, the look in her eyes, her expression, and just the air around her felt like the Cosette he used to know.

Although there were traces of that happy-go-lucky Cosette, he couldn't help but feel that distinct difference. Not that it made any difference, since she would always be his daughter, but it worried him.

"What happened?" he wondered under his breath. "Does this have something to do with your grandparents?"

Conrad couldn't tell for sure what forced Cosette to the edge. Whatever it was, he was determined to make her feel better.