What day was it today?

As Abella brought down her coat, Mrs. Amerigo’s and Simon returned.

Abella’s eyes met with the coachman who had traveled with them.

Abella nodded briefly and approached Mrs. Amerigo’s.

“Mother, where have you been?”

“...You don’t need to know.”

Simon raised his head in the arms of Mrs. Amerigo.

He was suffocated in the arms of Mrs. Amerigo, so his small face was burning red.

Simon smiled slightly as he exhaled a heavy breath.

“Aunt!”

With his small hand out, the Carlo-like eyes sparkled brightly.

Abella stammered and held out her hand.

The small, chubby hand reached her.

‘Small...’

Simon’s small hand, which tightly wrapped around one finger, caused a wave inside Abella.

Abella had a feeling at that moment.

She was back for Carlo, but she was going to protect Amerigo for Simon.

Mrs. Amerigo, who had been watching Abella and Simon for a long time, opened her lips coolly.

“....Carlo had shown your pictures countless times to Simon, and he practiced the word aunt.”

“....”

“Simon is very clever. He recognized you as soon as he saw you.”

Abella didn’t notice that Mrs. Amerigo’s attitude was strange today.

Alicia was just standing there dazed by Simon.

‘The smiling face also resembles Carlo.’

She had never seen Carlo’s wife, so Abella couldn’t tell how she looked.

“Aunt! Aunt Simon like!”

Abella’s pupils dilate.

Abella naturally embraced Simon, who struggled in the arms of Mrs. Amerigo.

Simon squeezed Abella’s cheek with his palm.

From Simon’s blue eyes filled with happiness, she saw Carlo and.. their father.

Abella’s lips trembled.

“Aunt! Aunt!”

He rubbed his chubby, flushed red face on Abella.

“Uh hee hee hee! Aunt, uwoong..... Simon..”

He wriggled his fingers and tried very hard to talk about what he wanted to say. Abella didn’t understand most of it.

“..He resembles Carlo a lot, doesn’t he?”

Abella nodded at Mrs. Amerigo’s question.

“....Abella.”

Abella looked up and stared at Mrs. Amerigo.

There was a heavy silence between the two.

In that silence, Mrs. Amerigo opened her lips.

“Protect the child.”

Mrs. Amerigo lifted a cruel white flag at Abella.

Evil woman, the devil. The monster who tormented her father.

As if her mother had forgotten all the words she had poured out towards Abella, her mother reached out to Abella.

Abella’s eyes trembled slightly.

It was the first time in her life that she had ever seen her mother look so weak.

Even on the day her father died, her mother did not show any weakness.

Such a mother bowed her head to Abella for Simon.

Strangely enough, her heart began to ache.

It seemed as if unrefined grains of rice were rolling in her chest.

Her mother, who had never protected Abella, broke her high pride for Simon.

To the child who she so despised.

Suddenly, Simon’s weight in her arms felt heavier.

“Auuuunnnntttttt!”

If it weren’t for Simon, who laughed and slapped Abella’s cheeks, she wouldn’t have felt that it was real.

Abella couldn’t move because Simon was shouting ‘aunt’ into her ear.

To the point that she wanted to ignore the fact that people looked at her with indifferent eyes.

It was Simon that diluted Abella’s helplessness.

Armed with childish innocence, Simons neutralized Abella’s depression, resignation, and solitude.

At once, Abella was brought from hell to heaven. Children were really amazing in some ways.

“Aunt like!”

She didn’t know what he was screaming about.

He held onto Abella and laughed just like Carlo. Abella couldn’t refuse the hand that Mrs. Amerigo held out nor could she refuse Simon.

It felt like the shackles that wrapped around Abella were falling into the deep swamp.

Abella’s love for the rest of her family was pulling her in.

“Yes, mother.”

Abella answered in a restrained voice.

She sincerely held her mother’s hand, who had never been on her side before.

Abella’s jewel-like eyes sank deeply.

She was so miserably happy that her mother reached out to her.

To her.

Abella strengthened the hand that held Simon.

“Aunt? Woooo?”

“Yes, Simon.”

Simon Amerigo.

That was the full name Abella gave to the child as an aunt.

Abella exhaled slowly.

“....I will protect you.”

There was a sound of something shattering inside Abella.

Was it the last hope that she was holding toward her mother, or was it her affection?

It was better not to say anything.