Chapter 38

“Rain? If you mean rain, I think it first came two days ago.”  

“Really? Then it will probably rain again in two or three days.”  

Lia felt relieved that she had arrived just in time for the rainy season.  

‘Phew, that was really close.’  

She had been worried that she might have come too early, unsure of exactly when the snow would turn to rain in March.  

“That’s likely. Around this time, spring rain usually falls every four or five days.”  

“Thanks for letting me know.”  

“You’re here because of the Dewflower, aren’t you?”  

“Yes. It’s best to harvest them when it rains.”  

“Oh, take these wild strawberries and eat them.”  

“But Alma, you picked these yourself.”  

“It’s fine. You probably didn’t bring much food with you anyway.”  

Alma forcibly placed the basket full of wild strawberries into Lia’s hands.  

“I have plenty of food at home, so don’t worry about me. If you need anything else, come by my house, alright?”  

With that, Alma quickly stepped away from Lia and waved her hand.  

“Don’t even dream of returning them—just eat them all!”  

“Thank you, Alma!”  

Lia hugged the basket and waved back at her friend, feeling immensely grateful.  

‘Thanks to Alma, I won’t have to worry about going hungry while I’m here.’  

Smiling, Lia walked toward her cabin.  

The house she returned to looked cold and empty, as though it had been untouched by its owner for several months.  

She swept the area around the cabin with a broom before stepping inside.  

Although she had planned to keep a low profile during her brief stay, the dust that had accumulated everywhere ultimately defeated her resolve.  

‘Ugh, what’s with all this dust….’  

Without even resting, she began cleaning every corner of the cabin.  

Exhausted, Lia sat at the dining table and had a late lunch consisting of bread she had bought from a bakery in Winster and the wild strawberries Alma had given her.  

‘Ah, I just want to lie down and rest on the bed.’  

However, she still had an important task to complete, so she dragged her tired body out of the cabin.  

‘I haven’t visited the Dewflower grove in years, so I need to check it out today.’  

She followed the mountain path used by the villagers.  

The forest was bustling with trees preparing to welcome spring.  

‘New buds are sprouting one by one on the branches.’  

As she approached the grove, the path became increasingly rugged and steep. Lia carefully climbed and descended the mountain at a slow pace.  

After navigating the uneven, jagged trail for about an hour, she finally arrived at the grove.  

‘This is my first time here since back then. I came here with Hart at the time….’  

The evergreen Dewflowers bloomed proudly, unaffected by the harsh northern weather.  

‘It rained two days ago, so they’re a bit plump, but this much won’t be enough.’  

She entered the grove, carefully avoiding stepping on the flowers, and examined the Dewflowers closely.  

When she first came here with her grandmother as a child, she had been amazed by how plump they were, thinking they were already quite large.  

‘When I returned on a rainy day, the sight was so breathtaking that I couldn’t close my mouth for a while. Grandma even poked her finger into my mouth and pulled it out.’  

Lia chuckled quietly to herself as she reminisced.  

Rustle, rustle.  

Suddenly, she sensed movement nearby.  

‘Huh? What’s that sound?’  

Startled, Lia straightened up and turned toward the source of the noise, clutching the sharpest-looking stone she could find.  

‘…What if it’s a dangerous animal like a wolf? Or worse, a strange person?’  

Her imagination ran wild with frightening possibilities as she tightened her grip on the stone.  

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest as she stood tense, waiting. At that moment, something emerged from between the dry branches, revealing its presence.  

***

While Lia was on edge, confronting the unknown figure, Johann was taking a stroll through the garden with a fully recovered Rafaella.  

He felt guilty that it had taken him this long to visit the famous Blumhart Ducal Garden with his daughter.  

‘It’s only recently that I’ve started paying attention to Rafaella.’  

In the past, he had only made the bare minimum effort out of obligation, knowing nothing about her.  

‘Even sharing meals was something I barely managed to do.’  

Having spent so much time confined to her bed, Rafaella seemed thrilled to be outside, skipping happily through the garden.  

Watching Rafaella enjoy herself, Johann’s lips curled into a smile.  

Although it was still early spring and not many flowers were in bloom, there was plenty to see.  

The child held her father’s hand tightly, asking countless questions about the garden.  

Who was the statue by the fountain? What kind of flowers were those? What kind of tree was that?  

Johann couldn’t answer all of Rafaella’s questions about the garden.  

‘But I can’t let Rafaella’s curiosity go unanswered.’  

He called over the head gardener, who was working nearby.  

The head gardener, following his somewhat doting master’s orders, answered all of Rafaella’s questions and then quietly stepped away to give the father and daughter their privacy.  

It was a gesture befitting an experienced servant.  

Having explored the garden thoroughly, Rafaella’s steps grew slower as she began to tire.  

“Rafaella, shall we sit over there and have some snacks?”  

“Yes!”  

Rafaella smiled brightly and ran over to sit on a bench.  

Johann sat beside her and adjusted her clothes.  

A short while later, maids who had been waiting in the distance approached and handed them a wicker basket filled with snacks.  

Johann took out two well-baked madeleines from the basket, and Rafaella gulped in anticipation.  

‘…Adorable.’  

He smiled faintly and fed his daughter a lemon-flavored madeleine.  

If Lia were to see this scene, she would undoubtedly be shocked.  

After all, Johann had once stiffened and refused when she suggested he try feeding Rafaella.  

Unconsciously, perhaps because he had spent the past two days feeding her oatmeal porridge, he ended up feeding her the madeleine himself.  

‘This might spoil her….’  

But as he watched his daughter happily munch on the lemon madeleine, he thought,  

‘A few times won’t hurt.’  

Worrying about spoiling her over this seemed excessive.  

“Is it good?”  

“Yes!”  

“Rafaella.”  

Johann gently stroked her hair as he called her name.  

“From now on, don’t hide your feelings. Tell me everything.”  

“…Everything?”  

“Yes, everything. Whether it’s something you like or something you don’t.”  

“Can I really do that?”  

“Of course. For example, if you didn’t want your mother to go to the North, you could have said so.”  

“That’s not allowed.”  

Rafaella declared firmly.  

“Why not?”  

“Because… because that would make Mom sad.”  

Johann was momentarily at a loss for words.  

It pained him to think that such a young child was burdened with these thoughts.  

“Rafaella, even so, you should say it. If you don’t, and you end up feeling miserable, your mom will be even sadder.”  

“Mom will be sadder?”  

“Yes. Your mom would be heartbroken to know you’re suffering.”  

Though he had never asked her, Johann was certain this was true.  

“…Then that won’t do.”  

“Exactly. So, Rafaella, make sure to tell someone—whether it’s me, your mom, or anyone else—how you feel.”  

Looking into her sparkling emerald eyes, Johann asked,  

“Did it upset you when your mom went to the North?”  

“…Yes.”  

“How much?”  

Rafaella stretched out her arms wide and waved them, indicating “a lot.”  

“I wanted to tell her not to go.”  

Her voice trembled with emotion.  

“I was so scared that if she left, I’d never see her again.”  

“Rafaella, your mom only went to the North for a short time.”  

“But still… but still, I was so scared that she wouldn’t come back to me.”  

Tears welled up in Rafaella’s eyes as she recalled her nightmare.  

“What if Mom doesn’t come back? What then?”  

Large teardrops began to fall from Rafaella’s eyes.  

‘I wanted to teach her how to express her feelings, not make her cry like this.’  

Startled by her tears, Johann pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped her cheeks.  

“I want to stay with Mom forever, but what if she doesn’t come back to me?”  

“…Don’t worry, Rafaella.”  

Holding his tearful daughter in his arms, Johann patted her back soothingly.  

“I miss Mom. I miss her so, so much.”  

As Rafaella sobbed in his arms, Johann’s crimson eyes darkened.  

He wondered if, even without fully understanding, Rafaella might already sense it.  

‘…That her mom is going to leave her.’  

After all, she had agreed to stay at the Blumhart estate only until Rafaella’s eighth birthday, as stated in their contract.  

It didn’t seem like an idle fear.  

“Please formally acknowledge Rafaella as your daughter and raise her here in the Ducal estate.”  

“Are you abandoning your daughter?”  

“…It’s not like that. I have my reasons.”  

“Reasons?”  

“I don’t want to discuss them.”  

From what he had observed over the past few months, Johann knew how much she cherished her daughter.  

So it wasn’t that she was abandoning her child; rather, she must have had unavoidable circumstances.  

Whatever those circumstances were, Johann found himself curious.  

‘When I see her, I’ll have to ask why she has to leave Rafaella behind.’