Chapter 26

Penelope wished she could personally scold Marco for Rafaella’s sake if only her body were healthy.  

Or she could inform her mother or brother about this matter.  

However, officially, she was only allowed to meet her mother, brother, her designated maid, and people related to her treatment.  

She couldn’t tell anyone about this incident.  

‘If only I weren’t sick, I wouldn’t have let someone like Marco, who bullies Raffy, get away with it.’  

Instead, she decided to become friends with Rafaella, who, like her, had no one but her mother and felt lonely.  

“Mother always rests or attends to her affairs at this time every day, so she won’t come in.”  

She told Rafaella that she could visit her anytime during this hour.  

“…But our meetings must remain a secret between us, Raffy.”  

She extended her pinky finger to Rafaella, inviting her to make a secret promise.  

When Rafaella imitated the shape of her hand, Penelope hooked her pinky finger with Rafaella’s.  

She found it fascinating how she felt drawn to her niece, who resembled her stern brother so much, right from the start.  

Thus, the two secretly met whenever they had time, building a bond of secret friendship.  

Rafaella visited Penelope whenever Lia was away, yet she didn’t infect her with any illness.  

The Duchess Dowager’s worries were unfounded.  

Rather, Rafaella lifted Penelope’s gloom and brought back the joy and vitality she had lost.  

Seeing Rafaella often during the winter, Penelope noticed something peculiar.  

The dresses and accessories Rafaella wore were ones Penelope herself had worn as a child.  

‘Oh my goodness, I can’t believe Auntie is this petty!’  

If her mother had been managing the household, she would have undoubtedly ordered new clothes for the suddenly appearing granddaughter.  

‘No one would dare give the Blumhart young lady hand-me-downs.’  

Being with Rafaella made Penelope feel the desire to recover her health.  

Not just for her mother but also to protect her niece.  

‘…I don’t want to die like this.’  

She wanted to live a long life with her mother and Rafaella.  

As spring approached, she naturally couldn’t attend the Festival of Rest.  

But she found some comfort in the thought that Rafaella would tell her all about it when she returned.  

Although she wanted to meet Rafaella the day after the festival, she couldn’t because her mother had arranged for a healer from another country to visit.  

The healer turned out to be incompetent, and in the end, he was chased out after claiming she was cursed.  

This time, Penelope had been slightly hopeful, so she found the situation even harder to bear.  

‘…Mother must be even more disappointed than I am.’  

A few days later, Rafaella came to visit, but she seemed unusually subdued.  

When Penelope worriedly asked what was wrong, Rafaella only shook her head without saying anything.  

And today, Rafaella opened the door with her hair and clothes in disarray, covered in scratches here and there.  

Penelope was so shocked that she jumped out of bed.  

Usually too weak to leave her bed, she couldn’t help but move when she saw her injured niece.  

She mustered all her strength and approached Rafaella.  

As soon as she asked what had happened, Rafaella burst into tears, biting her lip.  

Penelope crouched down, hugged the child, and comforted her, patting her back until she calmed down.  

‘What could have happened to make her cry so sorrowfully….’  

After crying for a while, Rafaella cautiously recounted what had happened earlier.  

“You did well coming here, Raffy. Everything is okay now.”  

After hearing everything, Penelope applied ointment to Rafaella’s wounds and tidied up her clothes.  

She untangled her messy hair and brushed it.  

Then, she laid Rafaella down on her bed.  

“Raffy, don’t worry about anything. Let’s stay here together until your mom comes.”  

“…Is that okay?”  

“Of course. I’ll always be on your side, so you don’t need to worry about anything—not for yourself or your mom.”  

“Really?”  

“Really. So relax, Raffy.”  

Rafaella seemed reassured by Penelope’s words, or perhaps she was simply exhausted from crying too much, as she began to doze off.  

Penelope lay beside her, gently patting her niece’s chest as she nodded off.  

‘This isn’t something that can be overlooked. I’ll have to tell Mother everything when she comes.’  

Much later, after taking a nap with the help of sleep-inducing tea suggested by her daughter, the Duchess Dowager entered Penelope’s room.  

Isabella was surprised to see her granddaughter asleep on the bed alongside Penelope.  

Seeing her mother’s startled expression as she approached, Penelope brought her finger to her lips.  

She gestured toward the drawing room with her finger and left the bedroom with her mother’s support.  

To avoid disturbing the sleeping Rafaella, they closed the bedroom door.  

Penelope sat on the sofa in the drawing room, took a deep breath, and told her mother everything that had happened.  

From how she first met Rafaella to why the child was now sleeping in her bed.  

Meanwhile, at the mansion’s central hall, Penelope’s youngest aunt was causing a commotion with Lia.  

* * *

Johann and Lia followed Isabella into Penelope’s bedroom.  

In the dimly lit room, Lia looked down at Rafaella, who was asleep with swollen eyes, next to the also-sleeping Penelope.  

Seeing her daughter, who seemed to have had a rough day, made her throat tighten.  

‘…I can’t cry here.’  

She suppressed the tears threatening to spill and watched as Johann gently picked up Rafaella.  

After bowing slightly to the Duchess Dowager, Lia left Penelope’s room.  

Johann lingered briefly to talk with Isabella before quietly closing the door and descending to the third floor with Lia.  

As Lia gazed at the sleeping Rafaella, she struggled to hold back the tears of guilt and remorse rising within her.  

‘If I cry now, I won’t be able to stop easily.’  

She entered the room and helped Johann lay Rafaella on the bed.  

She covered her sleeping daughter with a blanket and stroked her swollen eyes.  

‘For her eyes to be this red, she must have cried so much. How hard must it have been for her?’  

“…Hmph.”  

Unable to hold back her tears any longer, Lia rushed out of the bedroom.  

Johann followed her out.  

Not wanting Rafaella to wake up from the sound of her sobbing, Lia covered her mouth and cried silently.  

“……”  

Johann could only silently stand by as Lia cried so sorrowfully.  

“…It’s my fault. I was too complacent and foolish, which is why I didn’t know Rafaella was being bullied.”  

Lia leaned against the wall, burying her face in her knees.  

“Raffy must have only trusted me in this place, yet she couldn’t even tell me….”  

“…I was negligent.”  

“…That’s why I should have paid more attention to Raffy.”  

“……”  

“I came here to protect her….”  

She brushed off her clothes and stood up.  

“Raffy must feel so lacking with me as her mother….”  

Her throat tightened again, preventing her from finishing her sentence.  

“…I should have done better, paid more attention.”  

Seeing Lia on the verge of tears again, Johann felt a discomfort in his chest.  

He felt he should do something—perhaps pat her shoulder or tell her it wasn’t her fault.  

“…Mom, Mom?”  

At that moment, Rafaella’s voice softly called from the bedroom.  

As soon as Lia heard her daughter’s voice, she quickly wiped her face and ran to the bedroom.  

Rafaella, with swollen eyes, continued calling out for her mother.  

“Raffy!”  

Lia, feeling both pity and guilt, hugged her daughter tightly.  

“Raffy, are you okay?”  

“Yes. I’m okay, Mom.” 

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t know anything.”  

“…It’s okay.”  

She stroked Rafaella’s face, repeatedly apologizing.  

Seeing her mother crying as she apologized, Rafaella began crying again.  

Johann could only watch the mother and daughter embrace and cry.  

‘I have no memories of them at all…But why does my chest ache so much?’  

Even though his mind didn’t remember them, his body seemed to react to the mother and daughter.  

‘This feels so strange.’  

After calming down, Lia wiped her daughter’s face with a handkerchief.  

“…Rafaella.”  

Johann, who had been quietly standing by, cautiously approached Rafaella.  

Fearing she would be scolded, Rafaella grabbed the hem of her mother’s dress.  

“You don’t need to be scared. You didn’t do anything wrong today. If someone is to be scolded, it should be me, not you.”  

At his words, Rafaella let go of Lia’s dress and tilted her head.  

“…Why would you be scolded?”  

“Because, as your father, I failed to properly protect you.”  

He looked into Rafaella’s eyes.  

Her tear-filled emerald eyes gazed back at him.  

It felt as if a thorn was lodged in his throat.  

“…Rafaella, I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you.”  

Lia was surprised to see Johann sincerely apologizing to Rafaella.  

She had hoped Johann would open his heart to Rafaella quickly, but she hadn’t expected today’s events to be the catalyst.  

Rafaella fidgeted with her small hands and grasped one of Johann’s fingers.  

“…I’ll accept your apology.”  

“Thank you. I promise that you’ll never face threats in the Blumhart household again.”  

Johann spoke as he felt the warmth of Rafaella’s tiny hand gripping his thumb.