However, as a question, it was perplexing for Rene on how to respond.

Seeing the sweating Rene, Lennen stepped forward and smiled broadly.

“Yes. We’ve been waiting for a while, looking forward to seeing you after a long time.”

“Well, you did well to finish work early today. Enjoy yourselves, Rene.”

“Really? Well, thank you.”

Rene soon changed places with the boss, opening the counter’s door.

Then, she approached the two and said, “Should we move to another place for now?”

“Is this where Elodie’s daughter grew up?”

Hazel, glancing at the dimly lit neighborhood, was astonished inwardly.
She, too, was a noble by name only in the half-American countryside, but still, a noble was a noble.

The commoners she encountered were mostly kind peasants or merchants. Therefore, she had never set foot in such a lawless area with poor public safety.

“Be careful. There are many pickpockets here.”

“…Seems like it.”

“Especially for the two of you, even with that attire, you stand out with your elegance. You become easy targets.”

Hazel asked, “Are you attempting pickpocketing even though you know we’re nobles?”

Although the era when nobles could kill commoners indiscriminately was over a long time ago, the distinction between nobles and commoners was still a substantial difference.

If a commoner was caught stealing from a noble, it wouldn’t simply end with death. They could receive a punishment almost as brutal as a serial killer who killed commoners.

Rene, pondering such doubts, answered with a slightly bitter expression, “I’m hungry right now. Will you notice such things? I have a job, so it’s better for me, but there are many people here who don’t have jobs.”

…In a neighborhood where people are so poor?

‘What was that woman’s intention?’

Contrary to the preconception she initially had, the Aria she met again had completely lost her gloomy demeanor and become a very cheerful person. To the extent that even Hazel, who was extremely selective of people, had suggested sleeping in the mansion first. Aria’s charisma was beyond ordinary.

However, upon looking into her background, Hazel, who learned that Aria raised Bonita in this place, was almost in shock.

‘Could I have done it if it were me?’

No, absolutely not.

Aria Hilton is also a noble by name, even though she was born in the countryside. Moreover, she knew that Aria Hilton was quite prestigious when she was young, as the Hilton Marquis was a considerable figure.

The fact that she raised a child alone in such a poor environment was beyond understanding.

Why did she make such a choice?

If she had stayed at the Marquis of Lyssianthus.

No, at least she could have lived as a fairly wealthy commoner if she had brought out the money she had saved as severance pay. Given that Aria, who had been raised as the beloved daughter of the richest family in the kingdom since childhood, would have had quite a lot of money.

But why…

‘Did she run away in such a hurry?’

So much so that she couldn’t even take the money?

‘From whom?’

The possibilities are endless.

She might have stolen Bonita with evil intentions after receiving someone’s fortune, or conversely, she might have fled to such a place to protect Bonita’s life.

Hazel somehow leaned toward the latter. If Aria had maliciously dropped Bonita from the Marquisate, she wouldn’t have thought of raising a child alone in such a worst-case scenario. Moreover, Bonita wasn’t even Aria’s biological daughter.
“Aria mainly lived on temporary jobs. She did sewing, and occasionally, when the factories were short-handed, she helped out there too. Since she was so beautiful, she sometimes received proposals from that side… probably didn’t accept them. If she had, she would have been a bit wealthier.”

Hazel listened quietly to Rene’s story.

“And Bonita, she also had a tough time. First, she stayed home all day…, well.”

Rene discreetly kept quiet about Aria’s abuse.

‘I was such a loyal person.’

She didn’t know when Aria was around.

But now that it had come to this, she wanted to cover up as much trouble for her as possible. Honestly, Aria wasn’t a bad person to Rene.

Seemed a bit out of her mind, though.

“That over there is where Aria used to live. Now it’s taken over by vagabonds, so it’s better not to go in.”

The two turned their gaze to where Rene pointed.

“It looks like it will leak everywhere if it rains.”

Rene mumbled absentmindedly.