~Chapter 23~
When Leah finished running Helen’s errands and returned to the central plaza, the bell from the clock tower rang, announcing 4 PM.
She sat by the plaza fountain to take a short break and watched people passing by.
‘There was a time when Rafi was that small too…’
Seeing a little child toddling along with their parents reminded her of when her daughter was even tinier.
Naturally, her thoughts drifted to her husband, who’d been there at the time too.
‘Why am I thinking about him when I’m just trying to remember Rafi being cute?’
She shook her head to clear her thoughts.
Then she saw a street vendor selling eye-catching candies.
‘I should buy one for Rafi to thank her for staying by herself today without fuss.’
Thankfully, she had brought some money with her—money her husband had given her a few days ago after finding out she didn’t have any.
‘I guess you could call it “pocket money” for being Rafi’s mom.’
It felt silly to get pocket money at her age, but since she had it, she might as well use it for candy for Rafi.
While she was buying the candy, she saw Helen walking toward her, looking much more relieved than earlier.
“Leah!”
“Helen! How’s your mom?
Are you sure it’s okay for you to be back already?”
“She’s okay! Thankfully, it wasn’t too serious.
Her arm’s broken, so she’ll need to wear a splint for a while.”
“That’s such a relief!”
“Thank you so much, Leah.
I was able to go see her thanks to you.”
Helen bowed deeply in gratitude.
Leah gently patted Helen’s back, and the two of them headed back to the duke’s mansion.
She couldn’t wait to eat dinner with Rafi and share the fun-looking candy with her.
They entered the mansion through the back door, just like when they had left.
Helen went to report to the head maid that her errand was done, and Leah started heading toward Rafi’s room.
But she noticed something was wrong—the atmosphere near the main hall was chaotic.
When she got closer, she saw a crowd of servants gathered, which was unusual for that time.
At the center of it all was Carolina, who looked furious and was yelling at the top of her lungs.
“Why can’t you find her?!
How can so many people fail to find one tiny little girl?!”
Leah’s neck prickled with goosebumps when she realized what Carolina was yelling about.
‘She’s looking for a child?’
There were only two kids in this mansion: Raphaella and Marco.
And it didn’t seem like she was looking for Marco.
Which meant… she was after Raphaella.
‘Why is she so mad…? What happened to make her scream like that while looking for my Rafi?’
She looked like she wanted to tear someone apart.
“Leah!”
Polly, one of the maids, called her in a small voice.
“What’s going on? Why is everyone gathered like this?”
“It’s serious—Marco got hurt…”
Polly pulled Leah aside to explain everything in private.
“Where the hell is her mother?!
That brat hit my son!”
Carolina was shouting again.
Some of the nearby maids had noticed Leah and were whispering among themselves.
“Carolina ma’am, look! Over there!”
The head maid spotted Leah and pointed her out to Carolina.
“Well, well, there you are—eavesdropping like a little rat!”
“That’s not true! Lady Leah—”“Shut your mouth!”
Polly tried to defend her, but Carolina cut her off harshly.
Carolina had rushed to the garden after hearing that her “precious” son had been found collapsed and bleeding from the nose.
‘Seeing him there, nose swollen and crying his eyes out, was such a shock!’
She had nearly fainted into the butler’s arms.
Then one of the maids nearby had said it was Raphaella who’d done it.
Carolina went ballistic.
She ordered the butler to send everyone to find Raphaella immediately.
Even after an hour, no one had found her.
She made every servant drop what they were doing to search.
Still, no one could find that “little brat.”
How could they search the entire mansion, including the annex, and still not find her?!
And just as Carolina was fuming in frustration… Leah appeared.
“Where the hell were you hiding?
Did you stash your daughter somewhere?”
“I don’t know exactly what’s going on, but your words are way out of line.”
Leah frowned at Carolina’s foul language.
“Out of line?!
Your daughter beat up my precious son—his nose is swollen and bleeding!”
Leah couldn’t wrap her head around it.
‘Rafi hit Marco hard enough to make his nose bleed?’
Sure, Rafi was a bit stronger than other kids her age—probably took after her dad.
But hitting Marco?
That didn’t sound like her at all.
What the hell had happened while she was gone?
“Look at this! Your daughter hit my son and threw off her damn shoes while running away!”
The maid was holding up a dirtied pair of pink shoes—Raphaella’s.
They were stained with dirt and grass, nowhere near their original pretty color.
Leah remembered how Raphaella always hid behind her when Marco picked on her.
She would never have just attacked him out of nowhere.
‘If Marco was bleeding like that… what about Rafi? What if she got hurt too?’
Her body started shaking with worry.
Where was Raphaella?
No one had found her—was she okay?
Even if Rafi was strong, Marco was still bigger.
There was no way she’d just beat him up one-sidedly.
“So where’s your damn daughter now?! My son is lying in bed, and she’s missing!”
“…Didn’t you say you’d take care of Raphaella?”
Leah turned to the butler next to Karolina, her voice trembling slightly.
“I was busy, so I left her with a maid… But apparently…”
The butler glanced at a maid standing nearby.
“She suddenly ran out saying she wanted to go to the garden.
Rose, continue the story.”
The maid, with curly brown hair tied up, avoided Leah’s gaze the moment their eyes met.
“S-She said she wanted to go to the garden and ran off.
I-I followed her, but she was gone… and Marco was on the ground…”
The maid couldn’t even look Leah in the eye and kept stammering.
She was obviously lying—how could anyone trust this story?
“Your daughter’s violent! I knew something was off about her kind—no roots, no background…”
“How do you expect me to believe that maid?”
“…What?”
“I said—how do you expect me to just believe that maid’s words without any proof?
She could be lying.”
“The gardener saw it too!
You’re just hiding your daughter and acting all innocent!”
Carolina stormed toward Leah.
And Leah nearly laughed.
‘And I’m the violent one?’
As expected, Carolina raised her hand to slap her.
But Leah blocked it.
Smack!
“You dare—!”
“Let’s keep it to words, not violence.”
“You only understand if it’s beaten into you!”
Carolina shouted and tried to slap her again—but Leah blocked it once more.
Twice in a row, Carolina failed to get her way.
Now she couldn’t control her rage.
The butler, who’d quietly come over, held her up before she could collapse in fury.
“…Please calm down, miss.”
His voice was quiet, but Leah found it strangely comforting.
Still, her whole body was trembling as she tried to calm herself.
She just wanted to run away from here and go find Raphaella.
‘Even if no one else can find her, maybe I can…’
She should never have left Raphaella alone.
‘Last time I left her alone, she got scolded by the duchess for going up to the 4th floor…’
She had come here to protect and save Raphaella.
And now look what she’d let happen.
How could she not even prevent danger right now?
‘I should’ve just brought her with me.’
She’d been worried Rafi might get bored or that too many people would follow since she was a noble’s daughter…
But none of that mattered. She should’ve just brought her.
‘If I had, Rafi would still be with me right now.’
She wasn’t just mad at Carolina and Marco for hurting her daughter—She was angry at herself for making the wrong choice.
“You and that brat of yours were never welcome here!
I don’t know why Johann even bothered taking in people like you!”
“…”
“Daria! Bring that woman here now!”
At Carolina’s command, the head maid started approaching Leah, bringing several other maids with her.
