Chapter 29

“…I-I’m sorry.”  

“Marco, you must address the lady with respect!”  

Carolina urged her son, glancing nervously at Johann.  

“I-I apologize, Lady Rafaella.”  

“You’re missing what exactly you’re apologizing for.”  

“…For calling you a commoner and bullying you every time we met, I’m sorry, Lady.”  

Marco couldn’t bring himself to lift his head and mumbled his words.  

“…….”  

“Rafaella, won’t you forgive our Marco?”  

“Aunt. Forgiveness is for the victim to decide, not for the perpetrator’s parent to demand.”  

“…Alright, then Rafaella, you will make the decision, won’t you?”  

“…I won’t forgive him.”  

Rafaella, who had been quietly staring at Marco kneeling before her, finally spoke. Her eyes were filled with sorrow.  

“If you were going to kneel so easily, why did you bully me so much before?”  

“P-please forgive me! I just…”  

Rafaella was furious.  

She had been terrified every time she walked around the estate, always worrying about when and where Marco might appear.  

If only he hadn’t done it from the start.  

“I will never forgive you, Marco.”  

The child spoke, holding back the tears threatening to spill.  

She didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to appear weak.  

“…So don’t even think about receiving my forgiveness.”  

Under Rafaella’s fierce gaze, Marco’s face turned pale.  

The commoner girl he had tormented was nowhere to be found; only the resolute young lady of the Blumhart family stood before him.  

This was possible because Johann had instilled confidence in Rafaella.  

“Well done, Raffy.”  

Lia gently embraced and comforted Rafaella, who had handled the situation with composure.  

Carolina and Marco were at a loss for words in the face of Rafaella’s demeanor.  

They had assumed Rafaella would forgive Marco.  

They had been confident that they could manipulate a mere child with a pitiful act.  

‘If Marco had been forgiven, I was planning to beg them tearfully not to send us to the convent….’  

But the atmosphere didn’t allow for such a plea.  

Carolina felt like collapsing in tears.  

“Aunt, you should apologize as well.”  

“What? Why should I?”  

“For the way you’ve treated Rafaella all this time.”  

“…….”  

“And for slapping Rafaella’s biological mother, all of it.”  

At Johann’s words, not only Carolina but also Lia looked at him in surprise.  

“…How did you know?”  

“A maid named Paula told me yesterday.”  

“…Ah.”  

“Now that I know, I should apologize too.”  

“It wasn’t you, Duke, who slapped me, anyway.”  

Lia waved her hand dismissively.  

“It’s the duty of the host to ensure guests are comfortable, and I failed in that duty, so an apology is warranted.”  

Lia nodded and looked at Carolina, who seemed to be in despair.  

Carolina wanted to die.  

It was bad enough that her son had to apologize, but now she had to apologize to them as well.  

As a noblewoman from a great aristocratic family, she had always held her head high except before members of the Imperial Family.  

‘…This is humiliating, so humiliating! Why should I apologize to these lowly commoners?’  

Her teeth clenched at the condescending looks they gave her, as if she were beneath them.  

“…Why should I apologize when I won’t even be forgiven anyway?”  

“So you’re refusing to apologize, even after Marco did?”  

“That’s right! You’re going to send us to that wretched convent anyway, aren’t you?”  

Carolina glared at Johann and shouted.  

“What worse could possibly happen to me now? So…”  

“Aunt, you still don’t understand. I only stopped at this because you were my father’s most beloved sister.”  

“…What?” 

“There are far worse fates than the convent.”  

“…….”  

“Like the Duke’s underground prison where Robert Burns is headed, or the northernmost convent near the Black Mountain Range….”  

Gulp.  

Carolina swallowed nervously, dreading what Johann might say next.  

“…Or sending Marco and you to separate convents, for example.”  

“Johann. I misspoke. I must have lost my mind.”  

Carolina, abandoning her usual pride, approached Lia and Rafaella and knelt before them.  

“I’m sorry, Rafaella. It must have been very hard for you because of your great-aunt’s cruelty, right?”  

When Carolina reached out to grasp Rafaella’s hand, Lia slapped her hand away.  

“…I’m also very, very sorry to you. You must have felt awful because of me, right?”  

“…….”  

When they didn’t respond, Carolina clung to Lia’s hand as if it were her last lifeline.  

“If you’re still upset about me slapping you, you can slap me back now. No, go ahead and hit me.”  

“…That won’t be necessary.”  

Lia pulled her hand away from Carolina and spoke calmly.  

“Then should I hit myself instead?”  

Smack!  

Without giving Lia a chance to respond, Carolina slapped her own cheek.  

Her apology was less of a genuine apology and more of a desperate plea.  

It was the kind of display that made the onlookers feel uncomfortable rather than the one apologizing.  

“…That’s enough.”  

Johann furrowed his brow and signaled to the knights standing by Rafaella’s door.  

‘This isn’t an apology; it’s begging.’  

The knights approached Carolina and took hold of her arms.  

“Johann, you’ll let me stay with Marco, won’t you?”  

“…….”  

“I apologized, didn’t I? I even knelt before them because you told me to!”  

She alternated between pleading and yelling at Johann as she was dragged away.  

Marco watched his mother with fearful eyes as he followed her out.  

“What should we do?”  

“About what?”  

“About Aunt and Marco’s fate.”  

“Do I even have the right to decide that?”  

“You couldn’t forgive them, could you?”  

“…That’s true, but I don’t feel the need to go that far, either.”  

Lia would never forgive Carolina and Marco.  

‘Especially when I think about everything that happened before I turned back time. I can never forgive them.’  

But she didn’t hate them enough to want them separated.  

“Then we’ll leave it at that.”  

“…Still, I didn’t expect Carolina to apologize to me as well. Thank you.”  

“It’s only right to do that for someone who saved my life.”  

“Ah….”  

Hearing his response, Lia felt oddly deflated.  

‘Of course. To him, I’m just someone who saved his life.’  

When Johann had told Carolina to apologize to her earlier, Lia’s heart had fluttered a little. She had wondered if it meant something more.  

‘There’s no way he would do that for any reason other than that I’m Rafaella’s mother and his savior….’  

What was she expecting from a man who had lost his memories and knew nothing? 

‘Why did I even let my heart race for such a cold man who only regained his memories long after I died?’  

Lia once again realized that the man before her was no longer her husband, Hart.  

‘…How foolish of me. Why did I let myself get carried away?’  

She felt embarrassed for expecting anything from him.  

“…….”  

Johann glanced at Lia, who seemed lost in thought, before turning to Rafaella.  

“Rafaella.”  

“Yes?”  

“You won’t have to see them, the butler, or the head maid again.”  

“…….”  

“So feel free to roam anywhere in the Ducal estate.”  

“Yes!”  

He gently patted his daughter’s head.  

“Well, I have work to do, so I’ll be going now.”  

Lia, snapping out of her thoughts, saw Johann out with Rafaella.  

***

In the afternoon, Helen visited Rafaella’s room along with Paula and Mari.  

“I’m truly sorry, Miss Lia.”  

Helen, whose eyes were slightly swollen as if she had been crying, apologized to Lia.  

“What are you saying, Helen? Why would you need to apologize to me?”  

“It’s because of me that you and Lady Rafaella were in trouble that day. If I hadn’t asked you to run that errand, none of that would have happened.”  

Helen spoke with a trembling voice.  

“If you put it that way, the head maid who didn’t consider your situation is the one most at fault, Helen.”  

“Even so, I can’t deny that I played a part in causing trouble for both Lady Rafaella and you….”  

“Oh, Helen.”  

Lia gently clasped Helen’s trembling hands with her own.  

“…Yes?”  

“Even if I were to go back in time, I would still fulfill your request.”  

Helen widened her eyes at Lia’s words.  

“Of course, if I could go back, I would make sure to bring Rafaella with me that time.”  

“…….”  

“So there’s no need for you to feel sorry.”  

Helen’s throat tightened with emotion at Lia’s warm words.  

“Rather, I’ve always wanted to thank you, Helen.”  

“Me? But I haven’t done anything….”  

“Nothing? From the start, you, Paula, and Mari have treated both me and Rafaella with kindness.”  

“That’s only natural, isn’t it?”  

“That ‘natural’ thing wasn’t something many of the staff could do because of their biases, or because of Lady Carolina, or for other reasons.”  

Since that was true, Helen couldn’t argue and closed her mouth.  

“Thank you, Helen.”  

Lia slightly bowed her head as she expressed her gratitude to Helen.  

“And thank you, Paula and Mari, as well.”  

“Receiving such heartfelt thanks is making me feel quite embarrassed.”  

Paula and Mari blushed, clearly flustered by Lia’s sincere appreciation.  

“I’ll be counting on you from now on as well.”  

“We’ll be counting on you too, Miss Lia.”  

“Don’t worry. We’ll always be on your and Lady Rafaella’s side.”  

The maids’ warm replies brought a smile to Lia’s lips.  

There were many bad people in the world who treated others poorly, but there were just as many good people.  

Carolina and Marco belonged to the former, while Helen, Paula, and Mari belonged to the latter.  

“…If I’m not here someday, please take good care of Rafaella.”  

“You’re speaking as if you’ll be gone forever.”  

“There’s always a chance, you know.”  

Lia gave a sad smile.  

“Whether you’re here or not, we’ll always do our best for the young lady.”  

“If anyone dares to mistreat someone as lovely as her, I won’t let it slide anymore.”  

“With all of you here, I feel truly reassured.”  

Knowing there were people who would treat her child with kindness and warmth even if she were gone filled Lia with genuine happiness.