Having finished his exploration, Lorenz gripped both armrests of the sofa and pushed down as he rose from his seat with force.
“Do you prefer to receive it as a file, or would paper documents be better?”
“If you already have paper documents, I’d like to receive those.”
“Paper is definitely better for thorough examination.”
Standing in front of the file cabinet behind the desk, Lorenz rummaged through the documents inside and asked Elian.
“What do you think of Lucas?”
Instead of an answer, a low laugh came from the direction of the sofa. Lorenz stopped his hand that had been fumbling between the files and turned to look at Elian.
“Why are you laughing?”
“I was thinking you’d finally ask.”
It wasn’t mockery or cynicism.
Feeling somewhat sheepish, Lorenz shrugged his shoulders and shifted his gaze to the file in his hand.
“I acknowledge that I’m a goal-oriented person. But I don’t think that’s wrong. I was raised that way, and that’s my purpose as a human being. What’s required of each person is different.”
Elian looked at Lorenz’s profile as he rummaged through the files.
My purpose as a human being.
It was an expression that sounded bitter.
If a child Elian was counseling used such an expression about themselves, he would probably have judged that the child needed help.
Then, would it be different in the case of an adult? Could it be said there was no problem?
Watching him return to the sofa with the documents, Elian answered the question he had thrown out.
“From observing Lucas so far, first of all, there’s no problem with his learning ability. He also enjoys the act of learning and acquiring knowledge itself.”
“Is that positive?”
Elian nodded.
“In serious cases, they sometimes refuse such activities altogether. The fact that he shows motivation for learning is quite positive in that the child still has curiosity about the world despite being in an unstable situation. It means he hasn’t given up on life.”
Hmm.
Lorenz took a deep breath as if relieved. However, the reassurance didn’t last long. Elian’s heavy words continued.
“But he’s extremely reluctant to express himself.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s excellent at solving math problems, naming capitals of various countries, or taking Spanish spelling dictation. But if you ask him to talk even a little about himself, he strongly refuses.”
“……”
“Even very simple questions like asking him to choose something he likes.”
Lorenz, who had come back and sat down across from him, concentrated on Elian’s story with a serious attitude.
“There’s a high possibility that he’s refusing to speak because he thinks he shouldn’t express himself.”
“Father was an extremely strict person.”
Lorenz briefly scoffed at his own words. His father’s parenting methods were at a level that couldn’t be expressed with just the word ‘strict.’ He continued his story.
“He never praised any achievement. But he was lenient with that child. Even during the period when Lucas couldn’t adapt after the adoption, Father personally invested time and affection to open the child’s heart. Everyone was amazed by Father’s love and patience.”
The father who had been so merciless and ruthlessly harsh to him without batting an eye. Yet he was kinder to Lucas than anyone else. A bitter smile naturally emerged as he recalled those moments from his lifetime.
After a brief reminiscence, Lorenz concluded his story.
“So Father wouldn’t have been authoritarian toward the child to prevent him from expressing himself.”
“I agree. Just looking at how Lucas used to really enjoy activities like art class or role-playing shows it’s probably not because of Damon Lockhart.”
“Then why does he refuse to speak to that extent? No one abused Lucas. At least not in this house.”
Frustration could be felt in Lorenz’s voice. It was at a subtle level, but Elian could sense the difference.
At this moment, Lorenz’s appearance wasn’t much different from any of the guardians Elian had met so far. The suffocating and overwhelming despair of not knowing where things went wrong. And the gaze desperately looking at the counselor sitting before him, clinging to the last remaining hope. Lorenz’s eyes were the same.
Elian spoke comfortingly yet gently, but with the resolve of a counselor.
“That’s something we need to figure out together going forward.”
The man’s transparent green eyes wavered lightly for a brief moment.
“We… together?”
Like hearing an unfamiliar but attractive foreign language and mimicking it.
Like hearing an unbelievable confession and unknowingly repeating it in one’s mouth. Lorenz murmured.
“Yes. You and me, Mr. Lockhart, and Lucas too. All of us together. If even one person doesn’t cooperate, we can’t change this situation.”
For a moment they stared at each other just like that.
In the silence, they focused only on eye contact with each other.
Lorenz Lockhart had never met anyone who could endure his gaze for this long. However, from their first meeting until now, he couldn’t find any sign of Elian Bellotti being intimidated or troubled by him.
I’m hiding nothing. Before you, I’m as upright as a child. Eyes as bright and blue as the April sky, unfathomable in depth, met his without hesitation.
We, together.
Knock knock.
A sudden knocking sound broke the silence.
Lorenz looked toward the door with a dazed expression like someone abruptly pulled from deep sleep. An employee informed him that an important call had come in. They said it was his attending physician. He remembered that he hadn’t been paying attention to his cell phone since returning home.
Elian gathered the materials and stood up, and Lorenz followed, rising from his seat.
“I’ll be going now. Thank you for the materials.”
“Anytime you need help.”
At Lorenz’s attitude, which had definitely become more cooperative than on the first day, Elian smiled briefly. Then, after hesitating for a moment, he carefully spoke.
“Actually… there’s one more thing I’d like to mention.”
“Speak.”
“Could you reduce Lucas’s lessons just a little?”
“Didn’t you say there was no problem with his learning ability?”
“Yes, but he’s definitely overexerting himself in some ways. I’m seeing signs that he’s feeling pressure to achieve.”
Just because he had sufficient intellectual ability to keep up with the lessons didn’t mean he wasn’t stressed. Every time Lucas made a mistake, he would excessively blame himself.
However, Elian wasn’t sure how Lorenz Lockhart, who valued Ashford admission so highly, would accept the proposal.
But if it’s now… perhaps if it’s him now…
After a moment of silence while standing, Lorenz finally nodded briefly.
“I’ll think about it. If it’s necessary to cure the ill… to improve the situation.”
This time, it was Elian’s eyes that wavered.
He was surprised that Lorenz didn’t refuse outright, but that wasn’t all. Instead of the expression ‘cure the illness,’ Lorenz corrected himself as Elian had requested. Not to mock, but because he accepted Elian’s opinion.
However, Lorenz himself had an expression that showed he didn’t understand why Elian was looking at him with such eyes.
Perhaps, as I suspected, this man is just terribly poor at expressing himself.
“Please consider it positively. It will definitely help Lucas.”
He bowed his head and moved toward the door. Then he suddenly stopped and looked back. Lorenz was standing motionless, watching Elian. His posture was so awkwardly upright and straight that it almost looked solemn.
“I’m sorry about last time.”
“Last time…?”
“I was immature as a counselor.”
“Ah…”
“I’ve been wanting to apologize to you.”
Lorenz hadn’t expected Elian to apologize first about that matter. So he just stood there dumbfounded, caught off guard.
Even after Elian closed the door and left, he remained stopped for a while. Forgetting the fact that the attending physician was waiting for his call.
Despite receiving an apology, for some reason it stung as if he’d been slapped in the face by him again. No, this time it burned as if he had unexpectedly kissed his cheek.
■
