When The Count’s Illegitimate Daughter Gets Married

Chapter 32

Where did Laritte disappear to?

To find out, we would need to rewind the story a little.

“……”

After several days of sleep, Laritte finally opened her eyes. She pressed down on the soft covers to lift up her body. Beyond her messy silver locks, she could see the luxurious wallpaper shining on the walls of the room.

Where was she?

Physiological needs pricked her before her head could capture over the last thing she remembered. She was thirsty.

As she looked around, she noticed a glass of water kept beside her bedside.

A while ago, one of the maids had placed it.

Quickly gulping it down, the fresh cool liquid soothed her burning throat. Then, she closed her eyes again. She felt as though she didn’t sleep properly, but in fact, it was because she slept too much.

Unaware of it, she lied down on the bed and closed her eyes. But soon…

“……it’s uncomfortable.”

She mumbled, raising her eyelids.

The bed was too soft for her.

If she’d heard of the price, her features would’ve definitely popped out.

She was much more familiar and comfortable with cheaper beds and loosened mattress. Stumbling down from the bed, she curled herself up on the floor. That way, she was able to slip into another nap.

She was so occupied that she didn’t even know she was wearing luxurious silky sleepwear.

The blanket on the bed fell on top of her sleeping figure.

As a result, it was only natural that the maid who came in afterwards could not find her.

“M-Ma’am, Ma’am?”

Laritte was still sound asleep in the corner next to the large bed, curled under the covers. No one would even imagine one would be there.

“Aaaaaah! Oh, Lord!”

Knowing Laritte had disappeared, the maid rushed out to inform the others.

All the servants searched all over the mansion except that place. Even Ian was also busy searching the garden and rushing his people…..

“Laritte!” “Madam, where are you?” “Madam Duchess!” “Any chance of abduction? Check for anyone who came in without permission. I’m going to slash off his limbs.”

Ian grumbled in anger, ordering his knights.

While the atmosphere around the mansion became extreme, Laritte kept sleeping sweetly in a corner without having any idea of it.

Ian and his employees found her half a day after the castle was overturned.

“…..” “…..”

Laritte was still sleeping on the floor with a soft blanket covering her.

With her at the center, the knights and the maids glanced at Ian.

“…..Phew.”

Ian drew a small sigh, pressing his temples.

‘Look at my wife.’

The sun, which beamed through the window, provided warmth and light to her. She looked nothing else other than an angel who had just fallen asleep.

He felt ashamed about forcing his people to turn the castle upside down.

The maid, who was the cause of all this, made a timid excuse.

“I….I would have heard her if she had fallen asleep…..” “I’m not blaming you. All of you can return to your duties.”

All of them followed his order. With only Ava left, Ian bent on his knees, gazing down closer to Laritte.

“Aren’t you going to wake her up?”

Ava said with a grin on her face.

An ordinary aristocratic woman would be ashamed of sleeping on the floor.

“Of course.”

He knew that Laritte would not expect to receive an unusual response.

While he carefully listened to her breaths, he did not want her to open her eyes on the floor.

Like cradling a baby, he positioned her head on his shoulder. Then, he gently patted on her back with his free hand, trying to wake her up.

“It’s time you get up.”

Ava asked.

“Is that the way I used to wake up the little Duke?” “Why aren’t you leaving, nanny? Why are you meddling?” “I have a lot to do for her when she wakes up.”

At that exact moment, Laritte’s eyes popped open, and she blankly raised her head from Ian’s neck. Realizing she had woken up, Ian murmured.

“Laritte.”

It was the second time he’d called her by her name.

He gently stroked her back, her long hair tickling the back of his hand. He gazed down at her.

Even Ava’s face was filled with satisfaction that had not been seen often.

“You overslept.” “Uh……”

As the familiar voice reached her, she bowed her head in a daze.

“Ma-Madam! Get a hold of yourself.”

Ava cupped her palm around Laritte’s cheek.

This person was a stranger, she thought.

Laritte’s ocean blue eyes slowly sprang up. Surprised, she saw an old woman smiling broadly down at her.

“You’re finally up, Madam. How are you feeling?”

Memories flooded in her. Her gaze naturally traveled down to her left shoulder. It wasn’t hurting anymore.

Meanwhile, Ian and Ava began to argue.

“Now let me take your wife, Duke.” “Laritte? Why?” “Don’t be so mean. You’re making that face again when your toys used to be taken away……” “When did I ever do that?”

He had no idea.

In the meantime, Ava had helped Laritte get on her feet.

“Now, Madam! Let us leave the Duke for now.”

Ava stepped forward, gently pushing Laritte’s back.

“Where do you think you’re going, nanny?” “I’m going to give her a bath. Would you like to follow us?” “…….”

At her words, he shut his lips.

He had a lot of questions to ask. But, he had no choice but to stop himself.

After opening the door to the bathroom, Ava called out to the maids.

“Are you out there, Alice? Bring the Duchess’s clothes and lend me a hand here!” “Yes! I’ll be back right away!”

In the meantime, Laritte walked into the bathroom. While she blankly stood there, Ava moved busily, taking out towels.

“You didn’t know, did you? Nowadays, the couples among aristocrats use their own rooms. They don’t want to be exposed to each other. But since the Duchess is unwell…..”

However, Laritte was distracted. Perhaps, it was because the only one she knew here was Ian, yet this unknown old woman was preparing a bath for her.

Eventually, she spoke up.

“Wait.” “What is it?” “This is the Duchy, isn’t it? And, who are you……?” “If you’re talking about Reinhardt’s mansion, yes, this is it. And, I’m a maid in this house, and I used to be a nanny. You can call me Ava, Madam.”

She’d heard from Ian that he had a nanny before. From the conversation she had with Ian earlier, it seemed Ava was much closer to him than she thought.

Ava murmured something under her breath as she kept searching the shelf to find some supplements to add to the bathwater.

“I thought I brought in a new one yesterday.”

She grumbled something like, “How could he take it away?” before continuing.

“It wasn’t even used once.” “…….” Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Laritte had begun to move reflexively. She picked up a mop and began to clean the bathtub.

The maid’s hand reached down for the mop as she noticed the shiny glaze of the tub.

Why was she trying to clean up the ‘already cleaned’ tub?

Laritte was more than familiar with such meaningless physical labor. It was because of the Brumayer family, who used to harass her in every way they could.

Ava said, thinking the maid she’d called had come in when she heard a snapping sound from behind.

“Alice, turn the faucet on when you’re done. Bring the hot water in a bucket.”

Even in this era, only cold water flowed out of a faucet. The temperature had to be set in separately.

Laritte spent a brief moment in confusion at the new order.

The only experience she had was hiding in the bathroom whenever Rose chased her. Not only did she have little experience dealing with faucets, but also with the high-quality bathroom.

She lightly turned the knob, turning on the water to flow, and then looked for the bucket. But, it wasn’t around.

Laritte slowly walked towards Ava and asked her.

“Where is the bucket?” “Of course in the place where I always put…..”

She trailed on as she turned her face in shock.