~Chapter 11~
The maid taking care of Raphaella was a young servant named Helen.
Luckily, Helen was friendly toward Leah—kind of like Pola had been.
When Helen looked at Leah, she thought of her own mother, who had raised her kids alone.
And when she saw Raphaella, she was reminded of her little sister.
Of course, Raphaella was a noble lady, not just any kid.
“Stay right here while I clean the door, young lady.”
“Okay!”
Helen had a lot of work to do besides watching Raphaella, but she was doing her best to manage everything.
The only problem was that she was too busy… and Raphaella was a curious, restless little girl who didn’t like staying still.
While Helen was too busy to keep an eye on her, Raphaella slowly wandered away.
She just started walking wherever her eyes took her.
After being cooped up in her room with Mom for ten days, the big, fancy mansion was full of exciting things to see.
‘I’ll just look at that one thing and go back.’
She thought Helen might get worried, but she was only six—her thoughts were still simple.
While she was admiring a statue near the window, a dark shadow fell over her.
She turned her head, startled.
“There you are, commoner!”
It was Marco, Carolina’s son.
He had an unpleasant smirk on his face as he picked a fight with Raphaella.
That reminded Raphaella of something her mom had told her:
“Rafi, do you remember the great-aunt we met last time?”
“Yeah!”
“And the boy who was with her?”
“Uh-huh!”
“Don’t go near them—especially if I’m not around.
Got it?”
Leah had hoped it would never happen, but honestly, it was no surprise.
A curious little girl wandering alone and a troublemaker boy running wild?
Of course they ran into each other.
‘Mom said to stay away… but how?’
Raphaella didn’t know what to do, so she just stayed quiet.
That made Marco even more annoyed.
“Hey! Why aren’t you answering?”
He started poking her head with his finger.
“Can’t talk, huh? Are you dumb or something?”
Raphaella was getting upset, but she didn’t know how to respond to bullies.
So instead, she decided to do exactly what her mom had told her:
Stay away.
Without saying a word, she turned and ran.
She might not know much else, but growing up in the countryside had made her a really fast runner.
As soon as she bolted, Marco got angry and chased after her.
“…Hey! Just wait till I catch you, you little brat!”
He almost caught her a few times, but she was too quick.
Raphaella ran up a flight of stairs, and Marco followed close behind.
‘Why’s he still chasing me…?’
Hearing his pounding footsteps behind her, she kept running.
Finally, she reached the fourth floor—a place she had never been before.
She paused to catch her breath, but when she heard Marco’s steps getting close, she quickly opened the nearest door and slipped inside.
Just as she shut the door, Marco reached the floor.
He froze, hesitating to go any further.
‘Mom said I should never go to the fourth floor…’
Their relatives had made it clear: No one was allowed up there.
Even Marco-the little devil himself—knew when to back off.
‘She’s gonna get in so much trouble for going up there.
That’s enough payback!’
Thinking Raphaella would be yelled at by the adults or the room’s owner, Marco smugly walked back downstairs.
—
Meanwhile, Leah had just finished her talk with the Duchess and was on her way to get Raphaella.
From a distance, she saw Helen looking frantic and worried.
‘That’s the maid I left Raphaella with…’
She walked over to her.
“Excuse me.”
“Oh—Lady Leah!”
“Is something wrong? Where’s Rafi…?”
“I’m so sorry!”
Helen bowed deeply, close to tears.
“I lost her while I was working…”
Leah couldn’t bring herself to be angry—Helen looked so upset.
And honestly, she had a feeling it might’ve been Raphaella’s fault, too.
“…Let’s calm down and look for her together.”
She gently patted Helen’s shoulder.
“…Yes, ma’am.”
Helen nodded with teary eyes.
They were just about to split up and start searching when Leah spotted someone in the distance.
“Raphaella!”
Helen turned and saw her too.
“Young lady!”
Raphaella was walking toward them, totally innocent and carefree.
But seeing their faces, she realized they’d been worried—Mom had left her with Helen, and she’d disappeared without a word.
She started to feel small and guilty.
“Raphaella, you can’t just disappear like that!”
“It’s my fault… I should’ve watched her better…”
Helen tried to take the blame, but Raphaella spoke up.
“…It wasn’t her fault! I… I ran off…”
Raphaella knew she had done something wrong.
Leah looked at her.
“Yes, Raphaella.
This time, it really was your fault.”
“…Okay.”
“From now on, stay with the person watching you, okay?”
“…Okay!”
“And never run off without saying anything.”
“I promise I won’t!”
“Good.
Now, say sorry to Helen.”
“I’m sorry, Helen.”
Raphaella bowed her head and apologized.
Helen was shocked—the daughter of a duke bowing to her and being polite!
“Oh no, I’m fine, young lady! And please, you don’t need to be so formal with me…”
“I still get confused about who I’m supposed to be formal with.
So don’t worry about it too much.”
“Okay.”
It had only been ten days since Raphaella came to the mansion.
She’d been taught about how to speak to different ranks, but coming from the countryside, it was still a bit tricky for her.
“Next time we meet, feel free to talk casually,” Helen said kindly, bowing a little.
—
After the little mess, Leah hugged Raphaella tightly.
She’d stayed calm on the outside, but she’d been scared when she heard Rafi was missing.
She’d also worried that maybe Raphaella ran into Carolina or Marco.
‘Thank goodness nothing happened to her.’
She kissed the top of her daughter’s head and looked down at her.
If only she could always stay by her daughter’s side…
“Rafi, I forgot to mention something earlier—never go up to the fourth floor, okay?”
“…Why?”
“There’s someone very sick up there—your dad’s younger sister.
Your aunt.”
“She’s really sick?”
“Yeah.
If you go up there and disturb her, it might make things worse.”
“…”
“So please, never go to the fourth floor.
Got it?”
“…Okay.
I got it.”
What Leah didn’t know was that this was the first time Raphaella had ever lied to her.
—
That winter, Leah spent quiet days at the duke’s mansion with Raphaella.
Unlike the long, freezing winters in the North, the capital had a short and mild winter.
It was peaceful… but they barely saw Johann during that time.
Even though he didn’t go to the Black Mountains himself, he was still super busy going back and forth between the royal capital and the northern fortresses.
Up until mid-February, he’d only had dinner with Raphaella a handful of times.
In the meantime, Leah tried to get closer to the mansion staff by making some basic healing potions.
She got the ingredients from the same wizard who’d helped with the blood test earlier.
“You need potion ingredients?”
“Yes, if that’s possible…”
“The Duke said you’re a guest of the house, so of course I can give you some.”
“Thank you so much.”
“I’m surprised you know how to make potions!”
“My grandma taught me.
I only know a little bit.”
“Your grandma? There’s someone in the mountains who makes potions?”
He was a research-obsessed wizard and had a ton of questions, but he still gave her plenty of supplies.
With those, she made basic remedies for stomach aches, headaches, sore muscles, cuts, joint pain—you name it—and gave them out to the staff for free.
The response was better than she expected.
‘I think they’re warming up to me.’
At first, people looked unsure, but a few days later, they came back with softer expressions asking if there was any more.
Whenever she had time, Leah also helped out with chores.
The servants were awkward about it at first, but now they kind of appreciated the help.
‘I’ve run my household alone before—this is nothing.’
Even Carolina’s snarky comments didn’t bother her much anymore—she’d grown a thick skin.
Now, with the monster hunt winding down, a more peaceful season was coming.
Ria looked out the window and saw Johann’s carriage arriving late at night.
‘I get that he was busy in winter, but from now on, he needs to start acting like a dad.’
Even if he didn’t like it, she wasn’t going to let it slide anymore.
If she kept going easy on him, they’d never grow close before she had to leave.
‘And if that happens, Raphaella’s future won’t change either.’
Starting tomorrow, she was going to push Johann to step up as a father—for real.
