Chapter 23

When Lia finished running Helen’s errands and returned to the central plaza, the clock tower rang precisely at four o’clock. She sat by the fountain in the plaza to rest for a moment and watched the people passing by.

‘Raffy used to be that tiny too….’  

Seeing a child toddling along with their parents, she naturally remembered her daughter, who had been much smaller than she was now. Inevitably, she also thought of her husband, who had been with them back then.  

‘Why am I thinking about him too, when all I want to remember is adorable Raffy?’  

Shaking her head lightly, she tried to dismiss the thought.  

At that moment, she spotted a peddler selling candy.  

‘I should buy one as a gift to thank Raffy for staying home alone today.’  

Fortunately, she had brought some money just in case. It was the money her husband had given her a few days ago when he realized she didn’t have a single coin.  

‘I guess you could call it an allowance as Rafaella’s mother.’  

Though it was embarrassing to receive an allowance at her age, she decided to gratefully use it to buy candy for Rafaella.  

While she was buying the candy, Helen spotted her from a distance and approached. Helen’s expression was much brighter than before.  

“Miss Lia!”  

“Helen! How is your mother? Is it alright for you to be back already?”  

“Fortunately, it wasn’t a severe injury. Her arm is broken, so she’ll need a splint for a while, but…”  

“That’s such a relief!”  

“Miss Lia, thank you so much. Thanks to you, I was able to visit my mother.”  

Helen bowed deeply in gratitude. Lia patted Helen’s back and walked back to the Ducal estate together. She couldn’t wait to have dinner with Rafaella and share the fun-looking candy with her.  

The two entered the Ducal estate through the back door, just as they had when leaving earlier. Helen went to report to the head maid that her errands were completed, while Lia headed toward Rafaella’s room. However, she noticed an unusual commotion near the central hall.  

Curious, she approached the area and saw an unexpectedly large number of servants gathered there, far more than should have been at that time.  

At the center of it all stood Carolina, her face filled with rage as she yelled at the servants.  

“Why can’t you find her? Why! How is it that so many of you can’t find one tiny child?”  

The moment Lia overheard Carolina’s shouting, a chill ran down her spine.  

‘They’re looking for a child?’  

In the mansion, the only children were Rafaella and Marco. But it didn’t seem like Carolina was looking for Marco.  

That meant the child she was searching for was Rafaella.  

‘Why is she so furious, her face turning red, as she searches for our Raffy?’  

Carolina’s vicious expression made it clear she had no intention of letting the child go unscathed if found.  

“Miss Lia!”  

Paula called out to Lia in a low voice.  

“What’s going on? Why is everyone gathered here?”  

“Something terrible happened. Marco got hurt, and…”  

Paula pulled Lia aside to explain the situation.  

“Where is that girl’s mother? Where! Her daughter dared to hit my son!”  

Carolina’s fury erupted once again as she shouted at the servants.  

At that moment, a few servants who noticed Lia standing nearby began murmuring among themselves.  

“Madam Carolina, over there!”  

Hearing their whispers, the head maid spotted Lia and pointed her out to Carolina.  

“Well, well, hiding like a rat and eavesdropping on others, are we?”  

“That’s not true! Miss Lia was—”  

“Shut your mouth!”  

Paula tried to defend Lia, but Carolina cut her off sharply.  

Carolina had rushed to the garden as soon as she heard the shocking news that her beloved son had been found with a bloody nose, lying on the ground.  

‘The shock of seeing my precious son with his nose swollen, bleeding, and crying his heart out!’  

She had been so horrified that she nearly collapsed into the arms of the butler who had accompanied her.  

Through a nearby maid, she learned that it was Rafaella who had caused Marco’s condition.  

Blinded by rage, Carolina ordered the butler to have the servants immediately search for Rafaella.  

Even after an hour, no one had found her. Growing increasingly furious, Carolina commanded all the servants to drop what they were doing and focus on finding the child.  

But no one succeeded in locating Rafaella.  

‘How could they fail to find that tiny girl, even after searching the entire mansion, including the annex?’  

Just as Carolina was fuming and clutching her chest in frustration, Lia appeared before her.  

“Where have you been hiding until now? Were you busy hiding your daughter?”  

“I don’t know what’s happening, but your words seem excessively harsh.”  

Lia frowned at Carolina’s crude language.  

“Harsh? Your daughter knocked down my precious son, leaving his nose swollen and bleeding!”  

The words Carolina hurled at her felt like an explosion of accusations, and Lia struggled to process them all at once.  

‘Raffy hit Marco and made his nose bleed?’  

Rafaella might have inherited her father Johann’s strength, making her stronger than her peers, but hitting Marco? That didn’t seem like something Rafaella would do without reason.  

What could have happened to her daughter while Lia was away?  

“Look at this! Your daughter hit my son and even threw these wretched shoes before running away!”  

The shoes Lia had lovingly put on Rafaella were now dirty with mud and grass, held by the head maid.  

The once-beautiful pink shoes had completely lost their original color.  

Rafaella had always hidden behind Lia whenever Marco picked on her. It was hard to believe she would suddenly strike him.  

‘If Marco’s nose was bleeding, what about Raffy? Is she okay? What if she got hurt too….’  

Worry and anxiety for her daughter made Lia’s body tremble.  

Rafaella, who was nowhere to be found in the mansion, might not be safe. What if something terrible had happened to her?  

Even though Rafaella was stronger than her peers, she wouldn’t have been able to overpower Marco, who was bigger than her, without reason.  

“So, where is your wretched daughter? My Marco is bedridden right now!”  

“…Butler, weren’t you supposed to be looking after Rafaella?”  

Ignoring Carolina, Lia directed her question to the butler standing beside her. Her voice trembled with unease.  

“I was busy, so I entrusted her to a maid, but that maid said…”  

The butler hesitated for a moment, glancing at one of the nearby maids.  

“She suddenly ran out, saying she wanted to go to the garden. I, I went to look for her, but she was nowhere to be found, and Marco was lying on the ground….”  

The maid stammered as she explained, avoiding Lia’s gaze.  

It was clear from her demeanor that she was lying.  

“How can I trust what this maid says?”  

“…What?”  

“How can I trust her words without evidence? The maid could be lying.”  

“The gardener was there too and saw it! You’re just trying to cover for your daughter!”  

Carolina stormed toward Lia with quick strides, her intentions all too obvious. Lia almost felt like laughing.  

‘She’s always the one using violence, yet she calls others violent.’  

Sure enough, Carolina raised her hand to slap Lia.  

But Lia, unwilling to be struck a second time, deflected her hand.  

Smack!  

“How dare you!”  

“Please speak with words, not violence.”  

“You don’t understand words, which is why I resort to this!”  

Carolina, her face red with anger, tried to slap Lia again, but Lia blocked her hand once more.  

Failing twice to vent her anger, Carolina trembled with uncontrollable rage.  

The butler, who had approached unnoticed, supported Carolina as she struggled to keep her balance.  

“…Please calm down, Madam.”  

Though his voice was soft, it sounded deeply affectionate to Lia’s ears.  

Regardless, Lia tried to steady her trembling body. She wanted to leave immediately and search for Rafaella.  

‘Even if the servants couldn’t find her, I will….’  

She regretted leaving Rafaella alone.  

‘Last time, when I left her alone, she went to the fourth floor and got scolded harshly by the Duchess Dowager.’  

Lia blamed herself for allowing Rafaella to face such a situation.  

She had come here to protect and save her daughter, yet she had let her down.  

‘I should have taken her with me. Why did I entrust her to the butler?’  

She had worried that Rafaella might get bored running errands or that too many attendants would follow because she was a noblewoman.  

She should have ignored those concerns and taken her daughter along.  

‘If I had, Raffy would be by my side right now.’  

Lia was furious, not only at Carolina and Marco for mistreating her daughter but also at herself for making the wrong decision.  

“Neither you nor your daughter ever sat well with me. Johann foolishly took in people with no background!”  

“……”  

“Daria, bring her to me immediately.”  

At Carolina’s command, the head maid approached Lia with several other maids.