Chapter 21

Lia returned to her room without being able to properly speak to the Duchess Dowager.  

The Duchess Dowager doubted Lia’s abilities because she was from a rural village.  

‘…Perhaps her doubts are reasonable.’  

After all, the Duchess Dowager wouldn’t know about the excellent ‘Master’ Lia had—her grandmother.  

Her grandmother, who lived in a remote area, taught Lia a variety of knowledge she had learned at the Imperial Academy, as Lia couldn’t attend school.  

From the Imperial language to the Empire’s history, and even magic.  

Though her grandmother didn’t have many books related to magic, she taught her granddaughter things that were more helpful than books.  

“Lia, books only teach us the basics. To learn more, it’s important to observe and experience the world around us.”  

Lia was born with little ‘mana.’  

She had never taken a mana test, but she could feel it flowing within her body, and it was evident.  

Fortunately, having little innate ‘mana’ wasn’t a problem when it came to making potions.  

Her grandmother, who noticed Lia’s extraordinary talent for making potions from a young age, often smiled sadly at her.  

“My goodness! Blood doesn’t lie, does it? Lia, your talent is so exceptional that this old woman feels sorry for you.”  

While her grandmother was delighted by Lia’s talent for potions, she also felt deeply regretful.  

“Lia, there are times when I regret teaching you about potions.”  

Despite her regret, her grandmother worked diligently to teach Lia about potions, but near the end of her life, she often expressed her remorse.  

“To think I’ve let this talent go to waste in the countryside. It was the greed of an old woman… greed.”  

Lia never understood why her grandmother considered teaching her about potions to be selfish.  

Even when she asked, her grandmother never explained.  

Instead, she left behind these strange words as her final wish:  

“…Lia, though it will be difficult, live by suppressing your talent for your own sake. You must live an ordinary life here.”  

Lia only half-followed her grandmother’s final wish.  

She didn’t stop making potions.  

However, even when the townsfolk insisted she sell her potions in the city because of their effectiveness, she refused.  

‘Even now, I’ve shared potions with the people at the ducal residence, but I haven’t sold them within the Capital.’  

It saddened her greatly to be doubted by the Duchess Dowager for her ability to make potions just because she lived in the countryside, but she could understand.  

‘If I were in her position, hearing that someone who just came down from the mountains could cure her daughter’s incurable illness….’  

It would certainly seem suspicious.  

Moreover, the Duchess Dowager was already on edge and exhausted due to the foreign healer.  

Perhaps her desperation had led her to act rashly.  

‘Maybe if I show her my potion notebook next time, her reaction will be different.’  

The notebook, one of Lia’s most cherished possessions, was filled with descriptions of potions she had learned from her grandmother and discovered on her own.  

‘There’s a chance it’s not the same illness, but somehow….’  

Though it was just a hunch, she felt that Penelope’s illness might be the one she knew about.  

Recently, Johann had been more relaxed and often dined with Lia and Rafaella in the evenings.  

Lia thought that, after the festival, it might be fine for Johann and Rafaella to dine alone, but….  

“No! If Mom doesn’t eat with me, I won’t eat either!”  

Rafaella firmly refused.  

“You said you feel more comfortable with your dad now, didn’t you, Raffy?”  

“Raffy’s dad is not my dad!”  

No matter how gently she coaxed her, it didn’t work. Rafaella simply repeated that she couldn’t be without her mother.  

Lia guessed that after being scolded by the Duchess Dowager, Rafaella had become shy around Johann again.  

More precisely, shy around everyone except her.  

‘…Could it be that being scolded by her grandmother left a scar on her heart?’  

It seemed likely.  

Rafaella still hadn’t explained why she had gone up to the fourth floor.  

‘Whenever the fourth floor is mentioned, she clams up like a shell….’  

It was unusual for her, and it worried Lia greatly.  

So, for now, she decided to do as Rafaella wished and postponed the plan for father and daughter to dine alone.  

Though it felt like she had taken a step forward only to fall back, she thought, ‘It can’t be helped.’  

Perhaps with time, Rafaella would return to normal.  

As before, dinner was quiet, with Rafaella tense in Johann’s presence and Johann stiff as a result.  

Lia, lost in her thoughts, couldn’t lighten the awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere.  

When the meal ended and sweet pudding was served for dessert, Johann finally spoke.  

“I heard you met with Mother earlier.”  

“Oh, I wanted to discuss Lady Penelope’s illness with her.”  

“I’ve heard you’ve been making simple potions for the servants.”  

His voice was colder than it had been when she first came to the ducal residence.  

“But let’s leave it at that. Don’t you think it’s crossing the line to get involved in Penelope’s matters?”  

“I just….”  

When Johann also drew a firm line, telling her not to interfere, Lia felt a twinge of anger.  

‘You’re desperate enough to bring in a foreign healer, but….’  

Was it so difficult to let her check Penelope’s condition, thinking there was nothing to lose?  

She wanted to shout that, in the future she knew, no method would save his sister.  

‘The only variable is for me to examine Penelope’s condition and use my potion recipe.’  

But she couldn’t say such a thing, so she silently stuffed the remaining pudding into her mouth.  

Dinner ended with everyone feeling uncomfortable.  

***

The next morning, Lia and Rafaella saw Johann off to the Imperial Palace in an atmosphere as awkward and tense as before.  

Even the nearby servants could sense the stiffness in the air.  

Some of them whispered that the Duke must have been angry because Lia had arrogantly presumed to discuss the young lady’s illness with the Duchess Dowager.  

‘Let’s not pay attention to their gossip.’  

Lia was tired of constantly worrying about what the servants said about her.  

Since coming here, she had suppressed her emotions and focused solely on Rafaella’s happiness and safe future.  

But no matter how strong her resolve, enduring continuous hostility was no easy feat.  

Especially for someone like her, who had only interacted with the kind townsfolk and wasn’t accustomed to hostility.  

‘…I didn’t know how to deal with hostility, so I just pretended not to hear or see it, enduring as best I could.’  

Feeling drained, Lia returned to her room and began teaching Rafaella numbers.  

Her smart daughter, who quickly grasped what she was taught, learned numbers with ease.  

‘Was this how my grandmother felt when she taught me?’  

Rafaella’s enthusiasm for learning and enjoyment made teaching her immensely fulfilling.  

Time passed, and it was soon lunchtime.  

Instead of Paula, who usually brought the meal, it was Helen who entered with the food.  

“Is Paula off today?”  

“No, it’s not that, Miss Lia…!”  

Helen clasped her trembling hands tightly and began to sob.  

“I know it’s shameless of me, but I have a favor to ask.”  

“What’s wrong? What happened?”  

Helen’s tearful demeanor, as one of the few maids who were kind to Lia, made her ask with concern.  

“A little while ago, my younger sibling briefly stopped by and told me….”  

Helen paused mid-sentence, seemingly choked up.  

“…that our mother had an accident this morning while shopping at the market and collided with a carriage.”  

“My goodness, then you should go to her immediately!”  

“But I have an errand from the head maid that I absolutely must complete.”  

“Is it such an important errand?”  

“…I don’t think it’s that important, but the head maid insists the errand comes first, and visiting my mother should come after….”  

Helen wiped her falling tears with her palms.  

Rafaella, who had been watching from the side, brought her own handkerchief to Helen.  

Overwhelmed, Helen simply lowered her head slightly in silent gratitude.  

“I’ve asked others for help, but everyone is too busy to assist me.”  

The head maid’s tight schedule for the week left no maids with free time, and there were no servants available to help Helen.  

“…So, I came to you, Miss Lia, with a faint hope. I’m so sorry.”  

“What errand is it? If it’s something I can do, I’ll do it for you.”  

Lia didn’t want to pretend not to know about Helen’s situation, especially since she had been kind to both her and Rafaella from the beginning.  

Helen was one of the few people she could interact with comfortably, and Lia wanted to help if she could.  

“…Really?”  

“It’s your request, after all, Helen.”  

“Thank you so much, Miss Lia! Truly, thank you!”  

However, Lia’s concern was about leaving Rafaella behind for what might be a long time.  

‘The maids are all busy, Johann is out.’  

Carolina was absolutely out of the question.  

‘In this enormous Blumhart ducal residence, there’s no one I can trust to look after Rafaella.’  

With a sigh, Lia eventually decided to approach the butler.  

“…So, I think I need to run this errand for Helen. May I ask you to look after Rafaella in the meantime?”  

“Of course, I’ll take care of her for you.”