Later that night, when the embers in the fireplace have cooled to ash and silence hangs heavy in the room, Éloi moves to the side of his bed.

Kneeling down carefully — hands still shaking slightly — he reaches beneath the wooden frame and pulls out a small, worn box. Nothing fancy, nothing fitting the image of a perfect butler. Just an ordinary box, the lid nearly falling off from how many times he’s opened and closed it in secret.

Inside—

Crinkled letters, hundreds of them, folded and refolded until the paper feels like cloth. Little trinkets you once admired and promptly forgot: a silver hairpin, a smooth stone from the gardens, a scrap of ribbon from your favorite outfit. Pressed flowers. A broken fountain pen he meant to fix for you but never had the courage to hand over. A handkerchief you once lent him, still carefully, lovingly kept even though you probably didn’t even remember the moment.

Éloi stares at it all — the ridiculousness, the hopelessness of it — and a small, helpless laugh escapes him. Quiet, breathless.

He lifts one of the letters — written in his own meticulous hand — and reads it silently:

If I were anyone else, I would fall to my knees and beg you to see me. But I am yours to command, and I will suffer gladly if it means remaining by your side.

His chest aches.

Gently, almost reverently, he folds the letter again and tucks it back inside. He lingers for a long moment, fingertips brushing the edge of the box, as if part of him hopes — foolishly — that just touching these things might somehow draw him closer to you.

Then, just as carefully, he hides it all away again. Because loving you like this — quietly, painfully, absolutely — is something he will carry alone. It is a burden he would gladly bear a thousand times over, so long as you continue to smile at him, call his name, trust him with even a sliver of your heart.

Above all else, Éloi is your butler. Your friend. Your silent, desperate, adoring shadow.

And he would rather burn to ashes with his love than risk losing his place by your side.