Chapter 8
When Helena sided with the child, Linda’s face turned as white as a sheet. She hastily stepped in front of Helena.
“Lady Countess Reipier, why are you taking this child’s side? This child is currently slandering the prince’s nanny!”
“Countess Derpen, if you had taken proper care of the prince from the start, he would never have had the chance to meet this child. Isn’t that right?”
“Th-That…!”
Linda couldn’t retort to Helena’s words, biting her lip tightly. Indeed, it was her fault for losing sight of Hegaeon while being distracted talking with others.
Helena cast a cold glance at her, then turned her head. The child’s pale face did not radiate triumph at having bested an adult; instead, it was calm. The more Helena looked, the more she liked the child.
Where had such a child come from, and how had she ended up in the duke’s garden?
It was clear at a glance that the child, dressed in a gown for a noble girl, was from an aristocratic family. But whose child could she be? She was certainly not brought by anyone Helena had invited.
Helena’s curiosity about the child deepened.
“What is your name?”
She asked in the kindest voice she had used so far. Among nobles, when asking for a name, one is expected to provide both first and last names.
However, contrary to her expectation that the child would respond promptly, the girl hesitated. It seemed she was unsure whether she could say her name.
Helena, thinking the child might be worried or misunderstanding, spoke again gently.
“I’m not asking to punish you. I’m asking because I’m curious and think you are remarkable. Please tell me.”
Though her worry wasn’t about being scolded, Helena’s gentle approach helped the child relax somewhat.
The young girl’s purple eyes gleamed with determination as she finally opened her tightly closed lips.
“My name is Katarina Riles.”
“Katarina Riles?”
Helena felt both familiarity and unfamiliarity in the name. She knew only one daughter of the Riles Count family: Lacey Riles. So while the surname Riles was familiar, the first name Katarina was not.
‘I did hear that the duke was inviting Miss Riles today…’
The officially recognized child of the late Count Riles and his wife was only the eldest daughter. Aside from her, the count had, unusually, recognized a child born to a woman on the streets, who became the second daughter and a legitimate heiress.
The child before her did not resemble the grown eldest daughter Lacey, so she must be the famous second daughter, the illegitimate child whom Lacey had insisted be invited as a condition of her marriage.
‘So the duke invited both daughters, huh.’
Helena raised her fan to her lips. She had no idea what her son was thinking, but this was bound to be a troublesome situation.
Having a child born out of wedlock get involved in an incident with the prince was never a good thing. Helena wanted to avoid any further commotion with her son’s guests, so she was about to send Katarina away.
However, Linda, realizing the child’s identity a step too late, spoke first.
“What the—she’s that filthy illegitimate child?”
Linda’s eyes gleamed cruelly as she caught sight of the child’s weakness.
She could not let this child, who dared to defy her and touch the prince, go unpunished. Even though it was a child. No, especially because it was a child, she could not let it pass. Her pride had been deeply wounded by this child.
“How dare a half-blood defy me! Do you think you can touch the prince and escape unscathed?”
Helena sighed inwardly at Linda’s triumphant voice.
Oh, heavens.
Though she herself didn’t hold a favorable view of illegitimate children, this was her son’s guest. If anything happened to her, it would reflect poorly on her son, Duke Reipier, who was responsible for managing his household. Helena could not allow her son’s reputation to be tarnished.
Before she could intervene, the defiant child spoke back to Linda.
“I am not a half-blood. I am legally recognized as a Riles.”
“What? Legal? The little girl is already cunning enough to invoke the law? No wonder she seems so clever—her origin can’t be hidden after all.”
Linda crossed her arms, sneering.
The child pressed her lips together in indignation. Helena lowered her hand, not wanting to intervene between them.
At that moment, someone called out the child’s name.
“Enough of this…”
“Katarina!”
Turning toward the unfamiliar, melodic voice, Helena saw a beautiful woman and her son, Alfonso Reipier, running side by side.
Helena easily recognized the woman as Lacey Riles. Her silver hair, like shattered moonlight, and deep ocean-blue eyes were her distinctive features, renowned in the social circles.
“What happened, Katarina?”
Lacey hurried forward and lifted the child into her arms.
Alfonso, seeing his mother, the prince Hegaeon, and the prince’s nanny Linda gathered together, was somewhat surprised. Why were they with Katarina, Lacey’s sister?
He naturally stood in front of Lacey and Katarina, sensing an unusual tension.
“What is going on here?”
He asked Helena out of concern for Katarina. But Linda, clueless, jumped in to answer.
“Duke, this cunning little girl dared to touch the prince and talked back in front of me and the Countess!”
Alfonso’s eyebrows twitched. He was displeased, not by the accusation itself, but by the words “cunning little girl,” directed at Katarina.
“What do you mean by that?”
Lacey, holding her sister tightly, responded sharply. Linda sneered at her.
“Didn’t you hear? The young lady’s illegitimate sister…”
“Watch your words.”
Lacey cut Linda off with an astonishingly cold expression.
“Katarina is officially recognized as a member of the Riles family. She is my sister and the legitimate daughter of the Riles.”
“What? How can an illegitimate child be called the legitimate daughter?”
“If you have time to meddle in someone else’s family, perhaps you should mind your own words.”
Covering her sister’s ears, Lacey glared at Linda. Her icy blue eyes reminded Linda of Katarina’s, and it made her flinch inwardly.
‘Even though they’re only half-related by blood, they resemble each other.’
Linda bit her lip, then arrogantly lifted her chin.
“Anyway, the young lady’s sister pushed the prince and made him fall. This is unacceptable. She should at least kneel and apologize!”
Linda wanted to at least extract an apology. To soothe her shattered pride, she thought this was necessary.
Hegaeon, startled by Linda’s insistence, grabbed her dress more firmly.
“I told you to stop, Linda. It was my fault. I wrongly accused her of being a thief and hit her twice. So stop it.”
Hegaeon glanced at Katarina, furrowing his brows. Although only eight, he felt guilty that Katarina was being blamed for a matter that had arisen from his own mistake.
“Prince!”
Linda glared resentfully at Hegaeon for not siding with her. He looked toward his much older cousin, Alfonso, as if asking for help. Alfonso willingly accepted the silent request.
“Let’s stop, Countess. The prince has admitted his fault.”
“Even if the prince has a soft heart, it doesn’t mean it’s truly his fault!”
“Whether soft-hearted or not, what matters is the prince’s decision.”
Alfonso spoke firmly. His sharp, decisive tone cut off Linda’s objections, causing her to hesitate.
Helena realized it was finally time to settle the situation. She snapped her fan shut and spoke.
“Then, in accordance with the prince’s wishes, Miss Riles will be sent home.”
Helena’s swift intervention resolved the matter. She gestured to Alfonso, who understood and respectfully led Lacey and Katarina away.
Watching Katarina leave in Lacey’s arms, Helena clicked her tongue in thought.
‘I thought this one had potential. But her origin… what a shame.’
Hegaeon also watched Katarina intently as she disappeared from view.
‘I feel uneasy that she suffered just because of me.’
With a thorn lodged in his heart, he placed his hand over his chest.
“Katarina Riles.”
He carefully rolled the name over in his tongue and continued to watch the direction she had gone until she was out of sight.
In the carriage returning home, Lacey silently seated Katarina on her lap and brushed back her hair. Her gentle touch carried an indescribable mixture of emotions.
It was probably because the prince’s nanny had scorned her as an illegitimate child.
‘I’m sorry you had to endure such humiliation.’
Katarina remembered the duke, who had apologized awkwardly while seeing them off. The prince had visited suddenly, so the date couldn’t be adjusted.
It wasn’t the duke’s fault, so there was no real grievance. He had even sided with Katarina in front of the countess and the prince’s nanny.
He had done his part, but Lacey seemed to feel differently.
“I think… we should decline the duke’s proposal.”
Startled by her sister’s shocking remark, Katarina looked up in disbelief.
Decline the duke’s proposal? What does she mean? Today, it was the prince’s side that caused trouble, so why reject the duke’s proposal? And the Countess Reipier had not treated Katarina badly.
Why, then, would Lacey refuse the duke?
Katarina grabbed her sister’s arm, furrowing her brow with a faint smile.
“Why all of a sudden? The duke did nothing wrong today.”
“I know. He actually took our side.”
“But why…?”
“The Reipier family is just too powerful.”
Lacey lowered her gaze.
Katarina stayed silent, sensing the loneliness in her sister’s expression. Lacey then spoke again in a low, soft voice.
