Children who were abused by their parents or masters were like this.

‘Why?’

He was confused.

‘Why does Ariana look like one of those children?’

There was only one reason, but he didn’t want to admit it.

As cruel as Rachel might be, he didn’t want to believe she had abused their own daughter to this extent.

While Russell was struck dumb, Ariana continued speaking.

“I know you have fallen out of favor with the Emperor because of the Western Commander. I have a plan to…”

“Child.”

At that moment, the former Imperial Highness, Theodore, interrupted Ariana’s words.

Ariana looked at Theodore, shocked, as if she had never been called ‘child’ before.

Though Russell didn’t realize it, swept up in the joy of meeting his daughter, Theodore and his wife had noticed Ariana’s condition from the moment they saw her.

“Before discussing such matters, perhaps you should clean up and have a meal first. Don’t you agree?”

“Thank you for your consideration. But I’d like to prove my worth first.”

Carradin couldn’t bear to keep looking at Ariana, who was speaking so formally, and turned his head away.

The thought of that young girl having to prove her worth just to stay here was unbearable.

“I want to assure you that it’s safe to allow me to stay in Chaise Castle.”

Theodore frowned, and Ariana felt her heart sink.

‘Did I say something wrong? I tried to act like a child.’

Ariana had never lived like a child and didn’t know how to act like one. The closest children she’d observed were Helena and Victoria. She couldn’t emulate Helena, so she had imitated Victoria.

She thought she had done well, but both the Imperial Highness and the former Imperial Highness and his wife had been wearing unhappy expressions since they entered the room.

Russell was cold throughout, and the former Imperial Highness and his wife were frowning.

Fearing that she might be thrown out without even a night’s stay, she thought proving her worth was the priority.

When the former Imperial Highness had called her ‘child,’ she was surprised because she had never been called that so affectionately, but she had to be wary of the offer for a meal.

It felt as if they would feed her and then send her away.

“I have no affiliation with the Western Commander. I’m not here on the orders of the Western Commander or Duchess Bronthe, but telling you this probably won’t make you believe me, so…”

Ariana couldn’t finish her sentence.
Suddenly, Carrodine tightly embraced Ariana.

It smelled nice.

The scent was so sweet and warm that Ariana almost burst into tears without realizing it.

But soon, a question arose.

‘Why is he hugging me like this?’

Until now, nobody had ever embraced Ariana in this manner.

‘Even when they haven’t even seen me.’

She became suspicious.

‘What does he want from me?’

So far, anyone who had been kind to Ariana had ulterior motives, so she had no choice but to be skeptical.

Ariana, who had lived a life of being exploited the moment she trusted someone’s kindness, didn’t have the mental room to purely accept someone else’s affection.

“It’s alright.”

The old lady stroked Ariana’s head.

“Everything will be fine, so let’s rest for now, shall we?”

+++

She handed Ariana over to the head maid, who led her to the bathroom.

A heavy silence fell upon the drawing room Ariana left.

Russell, who was staring blankly at the drawing room door, looked pale.

Eventually, his red lips parted, and a hoarse voice came out.

“There are bruises on her arm…”

“It looks like she’s been abused,” Carrodine said.

“Severely.”

At the stern addition, Russell’s broad shoulders shuddered.

“Abused… by whom…?”

“Who do you think?”

“Rachel is her biological mother…”

“As you know, not all parents in the world are good.”

“The letter clearly said she was doing fine…”

“We were wrong to simply believe that and leave her alone. Clearly, a lot has happened to her while we were confined in the east. I’ll have to investigate.”

The old lady, who once roamed battlefields with her husband, regained that spirit and left the drawing room with a grim face.

Russell slumped onto the sofa. He leaned forward and stared at the table, his blue eyes filled with painful sorrow.

“She is so small.”

Theodore, who had been standing with a somber expression, replied.

“Yes, and too thin.”

“Proving her worth…”

The mature tone and elegant demeanor far from childish sliced through Russell’s heart like a blade. The eyes that shone unchildishly hurt Russell.

Russell remembered vividly how his nephews and nieces acted at Ariana’s age, and he had imagined how she might be living based on that.

But Ariana defied Russell’s imagination.

The thought of the struggles she must have gone through to develop such a demeanor was unbearably painful.

“If her own mother abused her, there’s no telling what others did. I can guess what the western territory was like for Ariana. Judging by those scars, she must have escaped to survive.”

“What parents would drive their child to such a state!”

Russell stood up abruptly, yelling with the fierce energy that he once had on battlefields.

Theodore calmly looked at his son and said,

“A mother who abuses and a father who neglects. To her, parents are unreliable figures, who might abandon her at any time if she doesn’t prove her worth.”