Bonita instinctively reached out for her mother.

However, the hand she extended felt only a chilling cold instead of warmth.
Closing her eyes and crawling meticulously, Bonita searched for the place where Aria was. After a while, she raised one eyelid.

“……Mom?”

Aria was nowhere on the bed.

Perhaps she woke up a little earlier to surprise me. Suppressing her anxiety, Bonita got up.

She didn’t feel like being stubborn as usual. As soon as she stretched her feet under the bed, a chill rose.

Bonita desperately searched the room without putting on slippers. However, Aria was nowhere to be found.

She opened the door and rushed out. Even though it was early, Mary, who was sweeping the hallway, asked in surprise.

“Miss? What’s the matter so early?”

“Aria is gone!”

Mary blinked at Bonita’s cry.

“Where is Aria?”

Becoming more anxious, Bonita urged Mary.

“After having a drink with His Excellency yesterday, it seemed like she went back to her room… Didn’t she?”

“She didn’t.”

If Aria had come back, the bed wouldn’t be so cold.

Mary, hearing Bonita’s words, looked worried.

At first, she didn’t like Aria, but as time passed, Mary also acknowledged and accepted Aria’s presence.

“Then, did she fall asleep there? Or maybe His Excellency laid her down in another bedroom. I was worried you might wake her up, so…”

“Did Dad wake up?”

“It’s half-past six now, he might be in the study.”

The Duke’s daily schedule starts at six. Knowing the schedule, Mary said, Bonita quickly opened Luke’s study door.

“Mary, no one’s here.”

“Oh my.”

Mary, who followed Bonita, looked surprised at the empty study.

“That’s strange. He always comes to the study at six.”

“Could he still be in the bedroom?”

“Maybe.”

Hesitating at Mary’s response, Bonita decided to open the doors of the entire mansion.

It didn’t take long to find Aria.

Bonita remembered the place where Aria could be on the third attempt to open a door.

“Mom…?”

As expected, Aria was in the same room where she stayed when she was sick.

Bonita gently opened the door and cautiously entered the room. Aria still made the sound of breathing in her sleep.

Relieved to see Aria, Bonita sighed and, trying to make as little noise as possible, crawled next to her mother. Fortunately, the Duke’s bed was very wide, so there was no problem for Bonita, who had a small body, to squeeze in next to her mom.
Twisting uncomfortably as she settled next to Aria, Bonita, she caught her breath when she saw the pale face right in front of her nose.

The area around the eyes was swollen, indicating how much she had cried. Moreover, her complexion was pale, making her appear unwell.

‘What could have happened…?’

Bonita became anxious and burrowed into Aria’s embrace. Leaning her head against Aria’s chest, she could hear the rhythmic heartbeat, thump, thump.

She didn’t want to wake her mom. Bonita knew well that when someone is in pain or suffering, it’s often better to sleep for a long time. And honestly, Bonita could somewhat guess why Aria had started crying. According to what Mary said, Aria had come to this room after having a conversation with Luke last night.

In this mansion, the only person who could make Aria cry like this was Luke, or herself. Since it wasn’t her, the only remaining person was Luke.

“Ugh…”

Whether Aria sensed Bonita’s presence or because the morning sunlight penetrated, a moaning sound came from Aria. She groaned while clutching her head and then slowly opened one eye with a slightly annoyed expression, which Bonita interpreted as a hint of anger.

Bonita’s gaze was fixed on the hand that Aria had taken out from under the blanket while clutching her head.

“Mom… Why is your wrist like that?”