Aria almost shouted that it couldn’t be done.

She forcibly swallowed the cries that were about to escape her mouth. Belatedly noticing Aria’s expression, Luke raised one eyebrow questioningly.

“What’s wrong? Is there a problem?”

“No… Nothing.”

Aria said with difficulty.

“I’m fine.”

Unlike before, her tone was stiff.

Seeing Aria’s pale complexion, Luke inwardly clicked his tongue.

“You must have caught a cold from wandering outside. You’d better sleep in a different room today, in case you pass it on to Bonita.”

“I’m, fine…”

“You’re not fine.”

Luke declared firmly.

“I don’t usually stop you, but at least for today, it’s not allowed. Bonita will understand if you tell her you’re sick.”

Though she wasn’t really sick, Aria slowly nodded.

“Um, then…”

She opened her mouth.

“Could I just visit the Rothwell Count’s residence today?”

Luke’s eyebrows twitched when he heard the words ‘Rothwell Count’s residence’ as he calmly listened to Aria.

“Where are you going when you’re sick? Just stay at the ducal residence.”

“Then, could I ask Renan to come to the ducal residence for a moment?”

This time, Luke’s expression worsened even more. He refused Aria’s request, revealing his discomfort.

“No. Don’t think unnecessary thoughts and just go inside and rest.”

“But…”

Before Aria could say more, Luke strode away. His strides were so large that Aria couldn’t keep up at all when he walked fast on purpose.

Catherine, who had been walking ahead, saw Luke passing by and spoke to him.

“Hmph, even if you approach like that, I’m the one holding this little one’s hand-”

Luke lightly ignored Catherine’s provocation and walked past.

Ignored, Catherine rubbed her eyes in confusion.

She muttered.

“…Did I tease too much?”

“My lady, what does that mean?”

“It’s nothing. More importantly, will you continue telling me about playing with those marquis… I mean, children?”

“Alright.”

Luke’s footsteps were unfaltering.

However, unlike his brisk stride, his mind was incredibly complicated.

‘Am I crazy?’

He found it difficult to understand why he was so displeased when Aria Hilton mentioned Renan Rothwell.

Renan and Aria.

Thinking of the two of them, he recalled what happened in the garden last time.

He didn’t know what they had talked about.

What he saw was Renan, who had been gently patting a crying Aria in his arms, hurriedly leaving the garden before he could reach them.

As if he didn’t want anyone to see such a scene.

He irritably ruffled his bangs. His mind was noisy.

‘It’s unpleasant.’

Aria Hilton is an eyesore.

He wanted to get rid of her if possible.

If only Bonita didn’t like and follow her so much, he would have done so already.

Aria Hilton was a suspect who might have abducted the child.

Except for just before bringing the child, she lost her memories? She doesn’t know how she came to raise Bonita?

How could he believe such absurd excuses? He was being very lenient with Aria.

However, the more he watched Aria, the more his suspicions that had taken root in his heart wavered.

“How about having tea time together? I made cake with Bonita.”

“To get close to a child, it’s good to play games or exercise together.”

“I love Bonita. Except for you, Duke, no, even including you, she’s the most important in the world to me.”

‘Is Aria Hilton… a good person?’

At first, he thought Bonita followed Aria simply because she was the one who raised her.

Isn’t it called the imprinting effect?

Although not as absolute as a bird hatched from an egg, they had been together for 7 years since birth and growing up.

Even if she had abused Bonita, the child would have no choice but to follow her. The child would have had no one else to rely on except Aria.

‘I believed she had abducted the child, raised her with abuse, and appeared for money.’

Bonita’s body clearly had many bruises that were difficult to get from simply bumping into things. Her body was also skinny and not in a normal state.

That’s why he wanted to become Bonita’s new sanctuary.

If Bonita had someone else to rely on besides Aria, and came to consider this place like home.

Then she would no longer depend on Aria who had abused her in the past, and someday she would proudly break free from her shadow.

That’s what he had arbitrarily thought.

But Aria, who should have revealed her true colors by now, was still the same even after all this time. Rather, she seemed to love Bonita more and more.

At that point, such suspicions arise.

The suspicion that perhaps Aria Hilton never had a ‘true self behind a mask’ from the beginning, that everything she said was true, and that she came to the ducal residence truly for Bonita’s sake.

“Your Grace. Why are you coming in alone without the young miss?”

Luke, who had opened the mansion door and entered, asked Ed the butler who questioned curiously in return.

“Ed.”

“Yes?”

“What kind of person do you think Aria Hilton is?”

“Miss Hilton? Hmm…”

Suddenly receiving a question from his superior, Ed pondered carefully.

Luke calmly waited for the servant’s contemplation. Fortunately, Ed did not keep his master waiting for long.

“At first I was suspicious, but in any case, she seems like a good person. The young miss also follows Miss Hilton very much.”

“…Is that so?”

“Is it different from the answer you expected?”

“No. I was just curious how others might see it.”

That’s right. Confirmation was needed.

Confirmation of whether Luke’s own perspective was indeed objective.

“What do other people think? I mean, about Miss Hilton.”

“Other people… Do you mean the servants and maids?”

“Yes.”

Unlike Ed who always follows him, it’s the commoner-born servants who directly serve Aria and Bonita.

This time, an answer without hesitation came back.

“There are probably still people who are suspicious. At first, various gossip was circulating too.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Especially in the case of long-serving employees, they still don’t seem to view her very favorably.”

The modifier ‘long-serving’ was attached before ’employees’. Thanks to this, Luke could easily read the hidden meanings in Ed’s words.

“I suppose the recently hired employees think differently.”

“I guess so. After all, like me, it’s their first time seeing Miss Hilton too.”

Ed continued.

“I don’t know what she was like before, but it’s true that the current Miss Hilton is kind and a good person.”

“…”

“The wounds on the young miss’s body might not have been caused by Miss Hilton, but… perhaps someone else?”

At those words, Luke turned his gaze.

The one who met his blood-red eyes flinched. However, befitting a butler who had assisted him for 5 years, there was no further wavering.

“The young miss probably grew up in a place with poor public safety. There are many ruffians in such back alleys who would harm a child alone.”

“So, the marks remaining on Bonita’s body are merely traces of temporary assault?”

“…Of course, I can’t say for certain. I apologize if it was an impertinent opinion.”

“That’s enough.”

Luke sighed.

“Anyway, that’s one possibility too.”

“Wouldn’t it be alright to just ask the young miss?”

“…”

Luke looked out the window.

Bonita must have already gone inside, as only the gardener holding scissors and a young maid running errands remained in the garden.

‘Ask Bonita, he says.’

Of course, that’s what he intended to do from the beginning.

However, what the ducal family’s doctor had said bothered him.

“Your Grace. If I may be so bold, if the young miss truly suffered abuse, even mentioning it could trigger trauma. The same goes for temporary assault of a serious level.”

“Are the wounds that severe?”

“…No bones were broken. Considering the young miss’s skeletal structure and build, she probably wasn’t hit with very strong force.”

“You mean they controlled their strength?”

“That could be the case, or it could be that the person was weak to begin with. In fact, judging by the wounds, I think there’s a high probability the perpetrator was female.”

Fortunately, it wasn’t to the level where bones had healed incorrectly or joints were irreparably damaged.

What was on her body were just simple contusions and bruises, and now they’ve faded so much that they’re barely visible.

But just because the wounds on the body disappear doesn’t mean the memory of being hit disappears as well.

Thinking of that time, Luke gritted his teeth.

Whoever touched Bonita, he had no intention of forgiving them.

The reason he didn’t summarily execute Aria was partly due to Bonita’s love, but also because Aria’s abuse remained at the level of ‘suspicion’ after all.

Luke rubbed his face with one hand. His feelings were complicated.

He murmured.

“Bonita…”

A small and lovable child who resembles the only woman he loved.

His daughter.

When he closed his eyes, he vividly recalled.

The emotion when they first met.

Her appearance when she held out a strawberry cake to him, saying she made it herself.

The bright smile on her face when he shyly gave a thumbs up after eating that cake.

“…”

A gentle smile was now drawn on his face.

Becoming a father to a child is truly a wondrous thing.

Until now, he had lived like a waste, only chasing after traces of Elodie.

Just by having one small child enter such a life, the world completely changed.

‘Right, I need to act properly.’

He will consistently investigate Bonita’s past. But he must not neglect the child in front of him by being consumed by it.

He decided to write a letter to his younger sibling first. It was to bring in a home tutor for his daughter.