“I brought you some water, my lady.”

“Thank you.”

“Young master, I brought you some juice as well; if you’d like to have some.”

“Yay!”

After gulping down the water, Rowena wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

“That reminds me, Melissa.”

After quenching her thirst for some water, Rowena recalled the face of the woman she saw in the villa, and glanced over at Melissa. Quick-witted as the maid was, she bent over to place her ear next to Rowena’s mouth— while Damian drank his juice, Rowena whispered quickly.

“The woman tied to the  chair. What happened?”

“Oh.”

Melissa couldn’t say that this question surprised her; on the contrary, she had expected it to be thrown at her at some point. Letting out an awkward laugh, she answered with the line she practiced on before she came into the room.

“They just let her go home after making her sign a paper that whatever she did wouldn’t happen again.”

“I see…”

Rowena dropped her shoulders with a frightened look on her face, which rose involuntarily at Melissa’s reply. While Carol Bertimer was the prime culprit in getting her into this current situation and that tRowena resented her to the point of hatred , she had never once wanted her to die or end up disabled! It was difficult for her to make such radical decisions, by her own nature

Rowena patted her chest, feeling relieved. 

“Yes, then where is the teacher?”

“He’ll be here tomorrow.”

“I see. What about his Excellency?”

“According to Bianca, he has something to do today and won’t be around. You can sleep in the bedroom with the young master if you want. His Excellency is busy with work and most likely won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.”

In the meantime, she was told that it was okay to stay with Damian. Rowena, who was beaming with joy, kissed her son on both cheeks.

“It’s ticklish!”

Damian returned the kiss his mother gave while laughing. Seeing the close mother-son relationship, Melissa decided to leave her seat and leave them to enjoy each other’s company. 

After seemingly a long time without her son, Rowena asked Damian in an excited voice.

“Is there anywhere you want to go? It may be late now, but we can go out together tomorrow.”

Although her face may be widely known, it would be fine if she were to wear a disguise while riding the carriage. Her baby had just come to the capital for the first time in his life; filled with curiosity and anticipation, she wanted to give him the best tour ever.

“Hmmm…”

Damian pondered for a moment at the given opportunity before he gave an answer unexpectedly.

“The park I went to today!”

“What? You’ve already been there. Where else do you want to go to? There are many interesting places! There’s the toy stores, candy stores, and department stores with places for kids…”

“It would be nice to visit those places but I want to go to the park this time, mom.”

“Why? Because of the ducks?”

“No.”

Damian shook his head with a bright smile.

“That Mister, we might get to see him again!”

The large hand that embraced him without hesitation at that dangerous moment, was deeply embedded in his heart. His Grandfather, Jeremy, was, of course, a man, and he treated him well, but for some reason, what Damian felt toward that mister was a bit different.

The desire for a father that Damian had secretly harbored deep in his heart came to mind just like that. He wondered if his father was like that, mister. If he could meet him again, he might be able to understand why his heart was beating the way it did.

However, the next day they went to the park at the same time he had been there, even after sitting on the same bench as yesterday for what could be described as way too long, that man didn’t show up.

“Maybe he’s at the hospital. You said he hurt his arm, right?”

Rowena soothed Damian as he got into the carriage, looking upset.

“Maybe….”

“If it was a deep bite… this must be the case then. I’ll look into it.”

“Okay…”

Nodding at the gentle words, Damian pouted and turned toward the carriage window. At the sight of her child, Rowena was not at ease watching the back of her son’s head like that. 

The “mister,” as Damian referred to him, was also the man who saved her son’s life. Only by meeting him in person and expressing her gratitude could she lighten the burden on her mind, even if only a little.