It was late at night when Rowena woke up after passing out from visiting the villa in the slums.

With a thirst so strong that she could almost feel her throat burning, yet she couldn’t  even open her eyes, she tugged at the rope beside the bed and pulled it hard. Soon after, Melissa came into the bedroom with quick footsteps.

“Lady Rowena!”

“Melissa… water… Bring me some water….”

Rowena, who barely raised her upper body, stuttered.

“Yes, right away. One moment, please.”

Melissa nodded and left again, and shortly after the door was opened.

“Melissa? That was quick.. you already brought water…”

Less than five minutes ? Rowena wondered.. but the sudden visitor nestled snugly into her chest.

“Mother!”

“Damian?”

“Mother…”

“Damian… Oh my baby.”

It had been about 15 days since she had last seen him. His body felt warm and fuzzy as this was the first time she embraced him in a long time. After holding her son tightly for a while, Rowena released him from her embrace.

“When did you get here, son? I thought you were coming the day after tomorrow.”

“Just now…About an hour ago?”

“You came here by train?”

“Yes!”

Nodding, Damian buried his face into his mother’s chest again. It was soft and comfortable, he felt safe and cozy.

“I missed you, Did you miss me too, mother?”

“Of course. I really missed you.”

Rowena patted her son’s head as he clung to her and kissed his small forehead. Damian, tickled by the loving kiss, laid down beside his mother.

“Mother, I find this place really interesting. There are so many people, so many buildings, and so many fun things to do.”

“Didn’t you come here straight from the train station? Did you manage to look around a bit?”

Less than a month had passed, but in Rowena’s eyes Damian seemed to have grown up again. Each day was full of affection and incredibly precious. He had Jeremy and three nannies, but Damian was still at an age where he needed his mother’s love and care more than anyone else.

The longer time she spent away from him, the more sorry she felt towards him.

“Yeah!!! I also went to the park today. It was soooo big!! Have you been there, too, mother?”

“Oh, what else did you see there?”

“The lake! A whole family of ducks lined up in the lake!”

“Wow! Glad you enjoyed it. But, didn’t you see that back at the castle as well?”

“Yeah, but the river there was too big and I couldn’t see very well, more so since our walks were usually at night.”

“… Is that so?”

“Yeah.”

Damian, who had nodded his head vigorously, suddenly wore a serious look on his face.

“I almost got bitten by a big dog too…”

“What!”

Startled, Rowena opened her eyes wide. She grabbed her son’s shoulder and looked him over from head to toe to see if he was hurt, but fortunately he was not.

“Oh, Mother, You must hear me out until the end. I said I almost got bitten, not that I was bitten.”

“You weren’t injured anywhere?”

“Yeah. I almost got hurt, but a mister who was there saved me.”

With a twinkle in his eye, Damian smiled brightly.

“Mister?”

“I couldn’t see his face because of the hat he had on, but he was tall and had a really nice voice.”

“Sigh…Thank God.”

Damian was everything to her. If something were to happen to her son, she couldn’t imagine how devastated she would feel. Rowena breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her son again, now even tighter, and Damian struggled in her embrace.

“Mother! It’s suffocating!”

“I’m sorry baby. By the way, did you get the name of the mister who helped you?”

“No…He even had an injury to his arm because of me…”

As Damian muttered with a concerned look on his face, Melissa entered through the open door carrying a glass of water.