CHAPTER 26
Those were definitely cane marks.
“Could it be… from earlier too?”
When the bowl had fallen on Ayla’s leg, she had reacted with unusual pain.
Certain now, I sat Ayla down on a chair and took off her socks.
“L-Lady!”
Ayla cried out in protest, as if asking what I was doing, but I didn’t hear her.
As I removed the socks that covered her thighs, red, fading lines were revealed—just as I suspected.
It was enough to make my vision go white with rage.
“Who did this?”
A harsh voice escaped between my teeth before I could stop it.
I didn’t even need a mirror to know what my face looked like.
Even when I said nothing, I knew I looked intimidating—so now, with this loss of composure, Ayla began to hiccup in fear.
But all I could see were the wounds, not her frightened expression.
I gripped Ayla’s shoulders and asked,
“Who did this to you?”
“L-Lady! It hurts!”
“Don’t tell me it was Sir Mente?”
I asked with near certainty.
There’s no way a servant would dare lay a hand on the master’s daughter.
That left only one possibility—Ede.
But Ayla shook her head adamantly.
“N-No! Father didn’t do this!”
“Then who was it?!”
I couldn’t hold back the shout.
The loud voice brought Aslan running back with the clothes she’d gone to get.
Seeing me threatening Ayla, she threw the clothes down in shock and rushed to us.
“M-Mom! What are you doing?! Don’t hurt Ayla!”
Aslan pulled at me, trying to get me away from Ayla.
She tried to peel my fingers one by one off Ayla’s shoulders, but when that didn’t work, she tugged at my clothes.
Still unsuccessful, Aslan ended up nearly crying as she shouted,
“Moooom! Snap out of it! Ayla’s crying!”
“……!”
That was what finally brought me to my senses.
It felt like my eyes had been opened.
I finally saw Ayla, sobbing uncontrollably.
Oh my god.
What had I just done to her?
I rushed to apologize.
“I’m so sorry, Ayla. You must’ve been so scared. What have I done…”
“H-Hic… ugh…”
Ayla couldn’t even speak—just let thick tears fall silently.
Seeing her like that, I knew I had no right to say anything more.
“Aslan, can you stay with Ayla until she calms down?”
“Okay, Mom.”
Aslan nodded, gently took Ayla’s hand, and led her away.
“Let’s go, Ayla.”
Thankfully, Ayla didn’t resist Aslan’s touch.
Even outside the room, I could still hear her sobbing.
The more I heard it, the more shame and guilt overwhelmed me. I buried my face in my hands.
Until Ede returned, Ayla and I were to be kept apart.
After showing Ayla such a terrifying side of myself, she was clearly afraid of me now.
Left alone, I tried to cool my head and collect my thoughts.
Now that I think about it, it couldn’t have been Ede.
He seemed to genuinely care about Ayla.
Ayla was wary of him but not afraid.
If Ede had been abusing her, she would’ve flinched just at the sight of his hand.
Then could it have been a servant in the mansion?
That didn’t make sense either.
No servant in their right mind would dare strike the daughter of their master.
That leaves just one possibility…
Come to think of it, Ayla did have a tutor.
The tutor was the most likely culprit.
But since when?
Last week, Ayla didn’t seem so withdrawn.
That means the marks must’ve appeared sometime between last week and now.
Does Ede know about this?
I doubted it.
If he did, the tutor would’ve been kicked out already.
But the gloomy look on Ayla’s face wasn’t one of relief from being free—it was still full of fear and sorrow.
Still, everything I had so far was speculation, not hard evidence.
I needed to ask the person herself—but Ayla was now afraid of me.
I couldn’t exactly make Aslan interrogate her either.
Ugh, my head…
Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine Ayla was being abused.
The original Ayla had always been quiet, yes—but there was never any hint of mistreatment.
Now that I had seen it with my own eyes, I couldn’t pretend not to know.
I need to tell Ede.
But there was a problem.
What if the tutor insisted they didn’t do it?
Wouldn’t he suspect me instead?
Ede would clearly trust a long-term tutor over me—a stranger who hadn’t even revealed her identity properly.
If only there were a witness…
Wait, the maid.
Surely the maid who helped Ayla bathe and change must’ve seen something—but if Ede didn’t know, then maybe the maid was hiding it.
Was the maid in on it with the tutor?
What could they possibly gain from hurting that little girl?
I pressed my fingers to my temple, trying to ease the pain in my head, when the door connecting to Aslan’s room opened.
“Mom…”
“Aslan. I told you to stay with Ayla.”
Even as I said that, I stood up.
Aslan walked over sluggishly and collapsed into my arms.
“She fell asleep. It was really hard…”
I’d never seen Aslan this exhausted.
What in the world had she done to get Ayla to sleep?
I peeked through the slightly opened door to check on Ayla.
Just as Aslan said, Ayla was sound asleep, surrounded by every plush toy in Aslan’s arsenal.
I gently closed the door and patted Aslan’s head.
“Thank you. You did great.”
“Hehe.”
Aslan grinned, all complaints forgotten.
I used to think she was just wild and reckless—but now I saw how thoughtful she could be.
Then Aslan asked me,
“But Mom… why did you do that to Ayla earlier?”
I was at a loss for words.
Ayla had tried so hard to hide her wounds.
She hadn’t wanted anyone to know.
So I couldn’t even tell the truth to Aslan.
Aslan looked at me with disappointment.
“Ayla cried a lot.”
“Yeah… I’ll apologize when she wakes up.”
“Okay.”
Aslan gave me a big, reassuring hug.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Knock knock.
“Madam, Sir Mente has arrived.”
Louisa had come to fetch me.
Outside, the sun was already beginning to set.
When did it get so late?
I called out to her through the door.
“Please tell him to wait just a moment.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Louisa’s footsteps receded into the distance.
I crouched down to meet Aslan’s eyes.
“Aslan, I’m going to speak with Sir Mente for a bit. Can you stay with Ayla?”
“Yup, I got it.”
Aslan puffed up her chest and patted it proudly, like a little soldier.
Her confidence eased my worries just a little.
She returned to the room, and I let out a deep breath before heading to meet Ede.
“Sir Mente.”
He hadn’t even entered the drawing room and stood waiting in the hall.
As soon as he saw me coming down the stairs, he smiled softly.
“Ah, Madam. I’ve come to pick up Ayla.”
“You could’ve waited in the drawing room.”
“I intended to leave with Ayla right away. Is she on her way down?”
Looking at his clueless expression, I was certain of one thing.
This man really didn’t know what had happened to Ayla.
How could a father not realize his daughter was being abused?
I was angry—but this wasn’t the place to raise my voice.
I composed myself and said,
“She’s asleep right now.”
“Ayla… is asleep?”
Ede looked incredulous.
He mumbled to himself, “That child never sleeps well in someone else’s home…”
“Sir Mente, I need to speak with you—it’s important. Do you have a moment?”
“Of course.”
Still looking confused, he followed me without hesitation.
