Chapter 33

“Oh, that dress.”  

Amid the chaos following the festival, Lia had completely forgotten about the dress she had ordered.  

‘I didn’t even know it had been delivered.’  

The forgotten dress had been found in Carolina’s dressing room. Carolina, curious about the dress Lia had ordered, had secretly instructed the head maid to steal it.  

Carolina seemed to like the dress so much that she didn’t return it to its rightful place but hid it in a corner of her dressing room. It was an outrageous act that was only possible because both Johann and Lia had been too busy to notice. Johann suggested discarding it, saying it was tainted by dirty hands, and ordering a new one, but Lia stopped him, saying it was too wasteful.  

‘The measurements wouldn’t have fit her anyway, so she must have only tried it on once…. Why go to such lengths?’  

Moreover, to think of throwing away an expensive, custom-made dress just because someone else had worn it once.  

‘Is that how nobles usually are?’  

Currently, Lia’s custom-made dress was hanging in a corner of Rafaella’s dressing room. Rafaella had suggested she try it on, but Lia kept postponing it.  

‘Am I too embarrassed to wear a custom-made dress? I just can’t bring myself to put it on.’  

Besides, there was nowhere to wear it. She decided to try it on later, when she felt more relaxed and had the time.  

“Yes, I’ve tried it on. Thank you.”  

So, she had no choice but to lie to the madam.  

“I thought it would suit you perfectly, and I’m glad to hear it does.”  

“The dress is so beautiful that it would look good on anyone.”  

“Hoho, but it would suit you the best, Miss. Don’t you agree, Young Lady?”  

“Yep! My mom is the best at everything.”  

Rafaella, who had been playing with the colorful fabric scraps given to her by the madam, answered brightly. The child didn’t even fully understand what they were talking about but still praised her mother. Everyone in the drawing room smiled at the sight.  

“Well then, I’ll get started on making the young lady’s dresses.”  

“Yes, thank you for your hard work today.”  

“Young lady, I look forward to seeing you again.”  

The madam bid farewell to Lia and Rafaella and left the room with her assistant.  

“My Raffy, soon you’ll be wearing dresses made just for you.”  

“Yep!”  

“I can’t wait to see you in your pretty spring clothes.”  

“But Mom, why don’t you have dresses made with me?”  

“…I already have one over there.”  

“Just one? But I’m getting so many!”  

“One is enough for me.”  

“…Can’t you have lots of pretty dresses like me?”  

Rafaella muttered, looking a bit dejected. Lia hesitated, unsure of what to say to her daughter.  

‘Raffy is a noble young lady, but I’m not, so I can’t have that many dresses. How do I explain that?’  

Promising to get more later would be a lie, and she didn’t want to lie to her child.  

“…Raffy, do you think Mom isn’t pretty if she doesn’t wear nice clothes?”  

“No! You’re the prettiest no matter what you wear!”  

“Right? In your eyes, Mom is the prettiest, isn’t she?”  

“Yep!”  

“That’s why one pretty dress is enough for me.”  

Lia managed to change the subject with a quick wit. It was a nonsensical explanation, but Rafaella, still young, didn’t realize her mother was making excuses.  

‘I can’t tell the truth, nor can I lie, so this is the best I can do….’  

That evening, Lia and Rafaella unexpectedly had dinner with the Duchess Dowager. Johann couldn’t attend as he was delayed at the Imperial Palace. For Lia, it was a relief.  

‘Having dinner with my husband and his mother together….’  

While they might not think much of it, she certainly did.  

The dining room was decorated to match the spring season, unlike before. On the soft cream-colored tablecloth, pink and yellow flowers were arranged in vases, creating a bright and cheerful atmosphere.  

“Rafaella, did your clothes fit well today?”  

Isabella asked Rafaella, who was seated in her chair.  

“Yes!” 

“When you wear your new dress, make sure to show it to Grandma.”  

“Yes!”  

Rafaella answered while munching on the fruit salad served as an appetizer.  

“When Johann lost his memory, I can understand why he was so smitten with his daughter. Rafaella is such a lovable child just to look at.”  

Isabella spoke as she brought her aperitif to her lips.  

“By the way, Rafaella must be quite upset that she couldn’t go to Lorem Mountain with you….”  

“Yes, but she understood.”  

“You’re so mature, Rafaella.”  

Isabella gently stroked her granddaughter’s hair.  

“Speaking of which, Duchess Dowager, while I’m away….”  

“Don’t worry about Rafaella. There’s no longer a foolish grandmother who keeps her distance.”  

“Thank you.”  

“No need to thank me; I should be the one thanking you.”  

Isabella waved her hand dismissively at Lia.  

“With Penelope here, I’ll make sure Rafaella isn’t lonely while you’re gone.”  

Lia felt relieved as she watched the Duchess Dowager treat her granddaughter with a completely changed attitude. Then, her gaze fell on the mark on Rafaella’s neck, which only she could see.  

‘…But why hasn’t that mark disappeared yet? It’s still glowing the same way.’  

Her husband had changed, the Duchess Dowager had changed, and Carolina and Marco, who used to torment Rafaella, were gone. She had thought that even if the mark didn’t disappear, its color would at least fade.  

‘Is it because these relationships have only just started to improve?’  

Still, the color should have faded a little.  

She had believed that changing her husband and his family would reduce the likelihood of Rafaella becoming a villainess.  

‘The reason Rafaella became a villainess….’  

In the end, wasn’t the crime for which she was executed on the guillotine the attempted assassination of a member of the Imperial Family?  

Why had Rafaella tried to assassinate a member of the Imperial Family?  

From the memories of Rafaella she had seen in her dreams, it was clear that the child had…  

‘…Loved a man who loved someone else.’  

Even though the two had decided to marry, she couldn’t let go. And that “someone else” was…  

The Imperial Princess, the daughter of the Crown Prince.  

‘Does the mark remain because, even if she grows up loved by her family, there’s still a chance she’ll try to harm the Imperial Princess again if she meets that man?’  

Lia’s thoughts grew more complicated.  

‘That incident happens after I die, so I can’t intervene.’  

The only thing she could think of was to warn her husband in advance.  

But she couldn’t be sure that the mark remained because of that incident.  

‘If the mark isn’t disappearing because of something else I don’t know about….’  

Then what should I do?  

‘I need to make that mark disappear while I’m still alive…. What on earth should I do….’  

She wished there was someone she could seek advice from about this issue. Lia felt like crying from worry about Rafaella.  

“…Mom, Mom!”  

“…Hm?”  

“Are you not going to eat this?”  

Rafaella pointed to the sweet milk pudding in front of her. While Lia had been lost in thought, the meal had almost come to an end.  

“I don’t feel like it today. You can have it, Raffy.”  

“Really?”  

She moved the bowl with the pudding to her daughter’s side.  

‘Raffy, what else should I change to ensure you can live safely beyond the age of twenty?’  

She wished the goddess would appear in her dreams again and give her specific guidance. What exactly should she do to get rid of that cursed mark?

***

A week had already passed, and it was the night before Lia was to leave for Lorem Mountain.  

Since they were leaving early in the morning, she and her daughter lay down on the bed a little earlier than usual.  

“Mom, are you leaving tomorrow?”  

Rafaella asked as she hugged her.  

“Yes, Raffy. Mom will be back soon.”  

“…What if I miss you, Mom?”  

The child leaned her face against her mother’s chest, her voice trembling with tears.  

“Hmm, how about looking into the mirror at your beautiful eyes, Raffy?”  

“My eyes?”  

“Yes, your eyes and my eyes are the same emerald color, aren’t they?”  

Lia brought a nearby mirror and showed it to Rafaella.  

Rafaella alternated between looking at her own eyes reflected in the mirror and Lia’s eyes in front of her.  

“Yes, they’re the same!”  

“While looking at that, think about how we are connected to each other.”  

“You and I are connected? Really?”  

“Of course, absolutely.”  

“Hehe.”  

“And when I miss you so much that it’s hard to bear, I’ll look at the bracelet you gave me to find strength.”  

She showed her daughter her right wrist as she spoke.  

Her two eyes, filled with tears, sparkled.  

‘…I shouldn’t cry in front of Raffy, but I feel like tears will keep coming.’  

It felt as though she was rehearsing for a year ahead, and she didn’t know how to handle her troubled heart.  

Parting for a short while like this was something she could manage.  

But parting with her daughter forever…  

‘How could I possibly do that?’  

Before returning to the past, she had been in such unbearable pain, almost out of her mind, when she parted from Rafaella.  

This time, she didn’t want to say goodbye to her daughter in such a way.  

She wanted to leave while not in too much pain and in a situation where many people were there to take care of Rafaella.  

‘If possible, I’d like to help my child understand my death….’  

To tell her lovingly that she loved her, that she would love her forever even after death.  

To gently say goodbye, telling her that her mom would always live in her heart.