Mom's Possessed - Chapter 26

‘Hm, did she reach out first?’

The hand holding his index finger was small and fragile, but still warm. The warmth of a living being was directly transmitted.

Luke was dazed by the surreal situation.

At that moment, Bonita urged him.

“Your Grace, let’s hurry!”

“Oh, oh, right.”

Bonita seemed completely unaware that she had just approached Luke for the first time. That made Luke even happier.

‘Have we… gotten a little closer?’

Yes, this must be how a normal child behaves. He hoped Bonita would no longer fear him or be wary of his reactions.

Realizing this brought him joy.

As he was pulled along by Bonita, he covered his mouth with his free hand. He couldn’t control his expression well.

He must be smiling strangely.

“Ah, but where are we going?”

Bonita, who had been walking so confidently, hesitated as soon as they reached a fork in the path.

The duke’s mansion was too vast and complex; no matter how many times she saw it, she couldn’t get used to it.

Bonita let go of Luke’s hand and tapped her cheek.

Her eyes looked tearful.

‘To get lost inside the house!’

How could this happen?

It was quite shocking.

“……”

Meanwhile, Luke stared at his now empty finger, mouth agape, before quickly composing himself and taking a step.

“The path is a bit complicated, isn’t it? We should go this way.”

“Did Your Grace memorize this entire vast place?”

“I’ve lived in this house since I was born.”

Luke paid attention to match Bonita’s walking pace. Given the enormous difference in their stride lengths, Bonita had to take over five steps for every one of his.

“I think it would be hard for me to memorize even after living here for a year.”

“…It’s alright.”

Luke said.

“You’ll continue to live here from now on. You’ll get used to it eventually. And……”

His gaze fell on a servant who put down their mop and bowed.

“If you ever get lost, ask the servants or maids. Most of them have worked in this mansion for a very long time and know the layout well.”

“I will.”

Bonita replied with a solemn tone.

As they walked and talked, the two soon reached the front door of the mansion. The guard at the front quickly opened the door for the duke and young lady.

“Oh my.”

As soon as the door opened, chilly air rushed in. Luke carefully stopped Bonita as she was about to go out.

“The night air is cold, so it would be better to wear a coat before going out.”

A maid who keenly understood the duke’s words quickly moved. Bonita watched her with curious eyes.

The maids of the Lisianthus mansion never ran, but moved with extremely elegant and quick steps.

To Bonita’s eyes, this was very fascinating. Bonita asked the maid who brought the coat:

“How did you bring it so quickly?”

“It’s the result of much practice. We are always prepared to serve you two comfortably, young lady.”

The maid in her uniform said in a very kind voice as she helped Bonita put on the coat.

“And please feel free to call me casually! You’re my little mistress, after all.”

“Um, okay.”

Bonita responded awkwardly.

Though she was told every time not to use honorifics, she still wasn’t used to it. They were adults much older than her, after all.

“Well then, shall we go?”

Bonita followed behind Luke and glanced back slightly. The maid was still standing behind them, hands clasped politely.

Sway, sway.

Bonita waved her hand towards the back. The maid’s eyes widened.

‘How cute!’

It was now her fourth year since joining the duke’s household.

They say it wasn’t like this when the previous madam was here, but since she left, the duke’s mansion had been consistently bleak.

She never thought the atmosphere would change so much just from one child entering.

‘This is real employee welfare!’

She cheered inwardly while smiling gently.

She had been satisfied from the beginning, but now it seemed this place would become even better.

The grounds of the duke’s mansion garden were so vast it was dizzying. Rather than a garden, it was more fitting to call it a forest.

After wandering for about 30 minutes, Bonita was now completely exhausted.

The frightening fact was that this was merely the ‘house yard’. Not the estate.

Moreover, there was still quite a distance left from the mansion entrance to the main gate.

‘It’s, it’s hot.’

On top of that, she was sweating profusely because of the coat and scarf the maid had wrapped her in.

Bonita’s hand loosened the small scarf.

Luke, who had been fidgeting while watching Bonita, spoke first.

“If you’re tired, how about we rest for a bit?”

“But……”

Bonita trailed off, clutching her brown scarf tightly. She was certainly tired and thirsty. But she still wanted to find Aria.

If Bonita had been an ordinary seven-year-old girl, she would have lain on the ground at this point and begged to be carried.

But except for when she was a very young baby, Bonita had never been held or carried by anyone.

Aria had held her briefly after she changed strangely, but… that was Aria. Not Luke.

From Luke’s perspective, he had never held a child either. His fingers twitched a few times.

“Um, Bonita−”

“I, I can walk!”

His attempt to ‘hold her’ was nullified by Bonita’s spirited exclamation. Luke hid his disappointed expression and lowered his hand.

Fortunately for Bonita, they were able to find Aria sitting on a bench about 5 minutes later.

“Ah−”

Bonita’s feet stopped as she was about to run over calling “Mother”. From afar, Aria was being held by the pink-haired uncle she had seen earlier.

His name was− Renan, wasn’t it?

While Bonita tilted her head, he quickly got up and slipped away to the opposite side.

Renan didn’t seem to have noticed the presence of the duke and Bonita.

Luke’s brow furrowed as he watched this scene. Somehow, he felt uncomfortable.

‘What could have happened for them to be so close like that?’

The Renan he knew was someone with a wide personal space.

He wasn’t the type to easily close the distance with anyone except family. So why with that woman…

“Mother!”

“Bo-Bonita?”

Meanwhile, Bonita had run over to Aria, who was now alone.

Aria stumbled over her words as if flustered upon seeing Bonita, then quickly raised her head. Only then could Luke properly see Aria’s face.

Her eyes were red and swollen. Her cheeks were still wet with moisture she hadn’t wiped away.

Bonita’s eyebrows drooped.

“Mother, were you crying?”

“Huh?”

Aria, who had been surprised by Bonita’s sudden appearance, soon realized what state she was in.

She hurriedly rubbed her face with her sleeve. Though the moisture was wiped away, the swelling in her eyes remained from crying for an hour straight.

Aria denied it with her bloodshot eyes.

“Th-that’s, Mommy just got something in her eye. It’s nothing.”

“Really?”

“That’s right.”

Aria grinned. Though her eyes were still red, it was her characteristic mischievous smile.

Bonita, who had been worried that Aria might have ‘returned’ again, relaxed her expression.

Still, she couldn’t be completely at ease. Bonita held Aria’s finger and asked:

“Mother, what’s my name?”

“Hm? It’s Bonita, isn’t it?”

“Thank goodness.”

Bonita murmured and buried her face in Aria’s skirt.

Then she recalled the Aria of the past.

“Emily, Emily……”

“Emily, why are you crying? Mommy’s right here.”

Aria used to cry while drunk several times a month. Bonita was always by her side then.

When Aria cried like that, she would look at Bonita and call her by a different name.

But fortunately, the current Aria didn’t seem to be confusing Bonita with someone else.

However, Elodie inside Aria, unaware of these circumstances, was simply bewildered.

And as for Luke.

‘Why do I feel so bad?’

He frowned at the emotion creeping up on him.

It was strange that Renan was embracing Aria, but it wasn’t something to be upset about at all.

Yet for some reason, he felt irritated.

His bright red eyes scrutinized Aria’s face intently. The traces of tears she hadn’t fully wiped away bothered him.

Even when he had threatened to separate her from Bonita, whom she cherished so much, she hadn’t shed a tear, just smiled brightly.

She cried?

In Renan’s arms?

What happened?

Luke’s eyebrows twitched as he thought that far.

‘Why am I thinking like this…’

There wasn’t enough time even if he only looked at Bonita. He had an obligation to fill in the 7-year gap for his daughter.

Aria Hilton was merely left in the mansion as Bonita’s nanny.

If Bonita no longer sought her out, she would be useless, no, rather someone to be interrogated.

She must have been involved in Bonita’s disappearance without a doubt.

There was a slim chance she wasn’t, but that probability was infinitesimally low. Though he couldn’t understand why she had come to this mansion now after 7 years.

…Yes, why indeed?

When it came to deducing just that part, he hit a wall. No matter how much Luke thought about it, he couldn’t figure out the reason.

At that moment, Aria turned her head towards Luke.

Since he had been staring at her continuously, their eyes met directly.

Aria smiled slightly.

“Your Grace, did you come out because you were worried about me?”

“…As if.”

He snorted.

“I only came out together because Bonita was looking for you.”

“Oh my, really?”

Despite the cold retort, Aria smiled brightly like a flower.

“I’m so happy that our Bonita was worried about me.”

“Hehe.”

As Aria gently stroked the child’s head, Bonita’s cheeks turned rosy. They truly looked like a close mother and daughter.

“……”

Luke’s heart felt heavy.

The reason, he wasn’t quite sure.