“Lady Ruth…” Elizabeth put down her half-finished scarf, lifted her cup and took a sip of her coffee. “Is something bothering you?” She asked after seeing Ruth was fidgeting and unfocused on her knitting.

“Ah... I'm sorry. I'm just thinking about something.”

“Has your son done anything again?” Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, chuckled, guessing what might make Ruth seem like her unusual self.

“I will not worry about my son anymore, let him do what he wants, I will put my hopes on Kyle and Ysmay.” Ruth sighed in dejection.

“Then what's on your mind?” Without taking her gaze from Ruth, Elizabeth returned knitting, her fingers moving skillfully.

Ruth's face was sullen. “My granddaughter is here. It's been years since I last saw her, she's changed so much, well... I'm the one who doesn't know anything about her, I'm trying to get to know her but it's really hard to do it. She seemed to be limiting herself from what she needed to tell me.” She started to ramble.

“Granddaughter? Been years?” It took Elizabeth a while to realize which granddaughter Ruth was talking about, she hadn't heard Ruth talk about her in a long time. “Give her time. How long has she lived with you?”

“A week.”

“And how long will she stay here?”

“...”

“I mean... Have you ever wondered why she suddenly visited you after all these years? Did she tell you about why she was here? She belongs to the Silverna family, you can't force her to stay here if one day he wants his daughter back.” Sometimes Elizabeth's words sound harsh but carry a bitter truth behind them.

That is the truth, if one day that man wanted Hera back, would she have the strength to say no?

Before Ruth could say anything, Elizabeth got ahead of her and said something more.

“How old were they when you left and how old are they now? Time changes people, you can't put young Rara in the same place as adult Rara. Also not everyone can immediately open up when they meet someone they haven't seen for a long time, sometimes it takes years to get to know someone, and Rara might be one of them. You need to pay more attention when she does something she likes.”

Ruth stared at the pile of threads on her lap, her eyes flashed with sadness, Elizabeth's words made Ruth think about her time with Hera. She remembered all the activities they had done during the week, the activities she had wanted to do with Hera. Her eyes began to turn red, Ruth just realized that Hera always followed what she wanted to do. On the other hand, she never accompanied Hera to do what she wanted to do, even if it meant they would just sit quietly with a book to read.

Ruth looked up, her face lit up with determination.

Elizabeth smiled at the sight. She arranged the thread and knitting needle into the basket, folded the finished scarf and tucked it on top of her basket. “I would like to meet her. If you don't mind.”

“Sure. She's in the library. She is always unreachable when she reads her book, just like her mother.”

Ruth got up from her chair and led Elizabeth out of her garden. They walked side by side chatting when Jaz walked towards them, from the look on his face Ruth could tell that he had an important report for her.

“Lady Ruth, Sir Aaron is here.”

“Who? Ah... the doctor... I almost forgot about them. Take him to the study room and wait for me.” Ruth whispered, almost forgetting about the two unwanted guests. Yesterday she received another letter from Silverna, Ruth didn't bother to touch it, she let Jaz directly tell her the purpose of the letter.

“Right away, Milady.”

Ruth and Elizabeth continued on their way, they were just about to turn down the hallway leading to the library when Jaz said something again. This time about Hera, Jaz knew Ruth was going to meet Hera in the library, so he told his lady about Hera's whereabouts.

“Where is she?”

“According to the gatekeeper, Lady Hera and her personal maid went for a walk to see the ocean. They are watching from afar.” Jaz repeated his words.

With that, their goal was no longer the library, but the ocean across from the mansion. It didn't take long for them to find Hera and Freya, they only needed to follow the direction of the laughter.

Ruth was stunned by Hera's laughter, she had never heard that laughter before. Indeed, Hera had always laughed before, but her eyes had never shown any kind of happiness.

Seeing Hera, who seemed to be enjoying her time with the children, made Ruth not have the heart to bother her. But Hera had seen them and waved her hand at them.

With large and heavy strides, Hera walked over to Ruth and another woman behind her. “Grandma, why are you here?” Her dress was half wet from the seawater and full of sand, with her hair tangled in the wind. She looked like an ordinary person with her appearance, completely unlike nobility.

Hera, who could no longer avoid meeting Elizabeth, could only bow to Elizabeth briefly. “Nice to meet you, Lady Elizabeth.”

“Nice to meet you, too. Your grandmother told me a lot about you.” Elizabeth smiled, her eyes narrowed down to her. She tried to look Hera straight in the eyes but she always avoided her eyes.

“My grandmother also told me about you.” Hera could only smile back. What else should she say? She's just trying to be polite, doesn't want to make small talk, which she's not very good at.

Elizabeth kept staring at Hera until it made her uneasy. “Would you like to come to our coffee time next month? I heard you like to read. I think you'll like what I have in my library.”

“...” Hera really wanted to refuse her, but she could not offend Elizabeth anymore, even though she had given up her title but she still had a big influence. “It will be my pleasure.” At the very least, as long as she was quiet, sooner or later they would forget about her.

People tend to quickly forget people who don't catch their attention.

The corners of Elizabeth's lips lifted, she had seen many people in her life, she recognized how Hera behaved in front of her. That's how they treat the royal family, Elizabeth didn't think someone would behave like that to her now. “That's a promise. Ruth, thanks for today. Don't forget to take Hera next month.”

“Of course. We will see you next month.” Ruth promised, then she glanced at Jaz. “Jaz, please bring Lady Elizabeth back to her home safely.”

After seeing Elizabeth and Jaz's backs disappear from their sight, Ruth looked straight at Hera, who was staring at her guiltily.

Hera fiddled her fingers while looking down. “I brought Freya with me.”

Ruth was taken aback, that was not the point. She wasn't angry, well maybe just a little, but because of this dishonesty she managed to hear her laughter.

“Next time don't lie to me. Don't worry me. You can go anywhere with Freya as long as you tell me where you are going.” Ruth took Hera's hand and held it firmly. “Hera, dear, I just don't want anything bad to happen to you.”

“I know. I'm sorry for worrying you.” Hera’s eyes abruptly brightened, as well as her smile. “So, tomorrow… can I visit Emma and the others?”

“Emma?”

“It’s me. I’m Emma. Hi, nice to meet you, granny.” The little girl, who had been beside Hera for some time, exclaimed cheerfully.

“They are the children of the orphanage under the church.” Hera bent down to lift Emma into her arms, the little girl wrapped her arms around Hera’s neck. “Today is their free time and they decide to play on the beach. Tomorrow they have to go back to study, but the teacher who was going to teach them suddenly can't come, so I will replace them for a while.” She added.

Ruth didn’t know what to say. Since when did his granddaughter get close to someone so easily? Maybe she had a soft spot for children? Ruth could only guess.

“Granny, can I borrow big sis Hera tomorrow?” Emma's childish voice came again, her big eyes staring straight at Ruth. “We like big sis Hera… and big sis Freya.” She smiled broadly, making her chubby cheeks lift as well.

“Sure. Sure.” Ruth could not refuse the cute child, Hera also looked at her with anticipation, how could she refuse. “But Hera… What will you teach them?”

“Alphabet and writing. The most basic. I dare not teach them about complicated things.”

“Alright. Bring a knight with you tomorrow, in case you will come home after dark.”

Hera didn't really want someone trailing behind her, but in order to leave Ruth with a calm mind, she could only agree.

From afar, Jaz had just returned from accompanying Elizabeth back to her house when he saw a carriage stop in front of the mansion. Their last unwanted guest is here. Jaz went straight to the lady wearing the Heiza family vest, who was talking with the gatekeeper. 

“I’m here for Lady Hera.” Rayla waves her hand at the coachman, telling him to leave.

“We know. Welcome to the Greene mansion. Please wait a moment, Lady Rayla.” Jaz greeted her before approaching the gatekeeper and saying something to him for a while.

For some reason, Rayla could sense that she was not welcome here. Even though the butler showed no expression, there was no sincerity in his greetings.

“If you don't mind, he'll take you to meet Oz who is waiting in front of the mansion, from there she'll take you to the study first. There is something Lady Ruth wants to talk to the both of you.”

With that, Jaz left Rayla and headed to the shore.

Rayla scoffed, she had never been treated this way before. She exhaled her breath, turned around and followed the gatekeeper who had opened the gates for her.

Jaz walked over to Ruth, who was standing with the caregivers, watching Hera and Freya playing with the children. “They are all here, milady.”

Ruth nodded. She then bid them farewell, shouting to remind Hera that she shouldn't come home too late before following Jaz back to the mansion.