My Mom Has Been Possessed

Chapter 22
Uncles (5)

 

“Do I look like the kind of man who would have an illegitimate child? If this was a serious suspicion, it’s ridiculous; I wonder if you’ve hit your head.”

A harmless sarcasm flew in. However, Dylan’s mind was already overloaded, so Luke’s ridicule did not enter.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

He stammered.

It was a moment when he completely understood why Aria Hilton had said, “You’ll know when you see it yourself.”

“Did you say, uh, your name was, Bonita?”

“Yes… But.”

When Bonita faced Dylan Rottweil, she did not look as frightened as when she first saw Luke.

Instead, she was very curious. After all, even Bonita thought that this man she had just met looked very similar to her.

It was to the point where he seemed more like her real father than Luke.

The three Rottweil siblings looked so much alike, and Bonita being the perfect adopted daughter.

It wasn’t just that they were confused. Even Lennon, who had a relatively calm personality, stumbled a bit.

He was controlling his expression, but Aria could easily read his emotions. They had been living together for over twenty years. That much was easy.

And Bonita-

“Let’s eat first.”

“Ah…”

“Aren’t you hungry?”

Luke said, looking at Bonita, who was wrapped in Aria’s skirt.

“Aren’t you?”

“Ye-yes.”

Bonita was very curious about who the two men in front of her were and what their relationship was to her that made them look so similar to her, but it was also true that she was hungry, just as Luke said.

Before she could even think about it, Bonita’s stomach started growling. Luke laughed softly.

“Let’s sit down first. We’ll talk about this over dinner.”

 

*****

 

The Rottweil brothers looked so dumbfounded while they ate that they didn’t know whether the food was going into their mouths or their noses.

The expression was so funny that Catherine, who rarely laughed, let out a small laugh.

Bonita watched them, but took turns taking food from Aria and Luke. Even when she told them she could feed herself, it didn’t stop them from serving her chopped meat on bread.

… In fact, it was comfortable.

People are really tricky. No matter how much you decide not to let your guard down, once you know something is comfortable, there’s no turning back.

In Bonita’s case, it was even more so because she had let her guard down. If before, a little suspicion—mainly that she might not be Luke’s daughter—had restrained Bonita’s behavior, now there was less to be concerned about.

In any case, Luke was affectionate despite his scary appearance.

The meal was over quickly. Of course, the Rottweil brothers didn’t return to the Count’s house after the meal.

They just moved seats.

This time, it wasn’t the drawing room. It was a much more comfortable and family-like space.

Dylan paused as he entered the entrance.

“This is….”

“Let’s go in.”

“The room is still the same.”

Instead of Dylan, who was speechless, Lennon muttered in a calm voice.

It was the room that the two of them often visited when Elodie was alive.

The interior of the room had hardly changed since then. It was because Luke had maintained it that way.

Thanks to that, not only the Rottweil brothers but even Aria was momentarily lost in thought.

‘It’s still the same.’

At this point, they began to wonder what the room that Elodie, who was the Duchess, had been using would be like. Of course, Luke would never allow Aria to enter that place, and Aria herself had no intention of asking.

Going into such a place would only deepen her regret, I suppose.

Luke watched the two brothers enter the room, and then stopped Aria, who was following them.

“Wait, stop there.”

“Huh?”

Aria, who was about to enter with Bonita, looked back.

Luke thought for a moment and said.

“They both have the right to face Bonita. I guess it would be okay to give them a little time.”

“Ah….”

Aria let out a small sigh as she realized Luke’s consideration. She hadn’t thought of that.

‘Well, I guess so.’

Parents aren’t the only ones who have the right to see their children. Besides, Bonita didn’t have any other siblings.

In the Duchess’ absence, her maternal family, the Counts of Rottweil, would definitely be a source of strength for Bonita. Aria understood that fact well enough.

Of course, it hurt her heart…

“It’ll only take about ten minutes.”

Luke checked his watch and closed the door. His eyes didn’t think the two of them would do anything bad to Bonita. Of course, he believed them.

 

*****

 

“Uh, uh, that’s…”

Dylan, now alone with Bonita (though Lennon was behind him), stammered, not knowing what to say.

He was far from being a cool-headed person to begin with. As a physical person, whenever something happened in his life that he couldn’t understand, he just let it go.

That is, until this moment.

‘Elodie’s daughter, actually alive?’

He wanted to scream that it was ridiculous, but I couldn’t deny it, even if I wanted to. The resemblance was too strong to ignore.

“That.”

Bonita, who had gotten used to the Ducal residence and lost some of her fear, looked around for a moment and spoke first.

“You introduced yourself as the Counts of Rottweil… earlier, right?”

“Th-that’s right. Y-yes.”

“Don’t stutter like an idiot, brother.”

Lennon, who had been watching Dylan’s foolishness with his arms crossed, tackled him.

They say that when you see someone who is much more nervous than you, you feel less nervous. Lennon was exactly that kind of person.

Unlike his brother, Lennon, who had a relatively sharp and intelligent impression, knelt down first. Bonita’s eyes watched Lennon with curiosity.

“Hello, Bonita. I’m your uncle.”

“Uncle?”

Bonita had to think about the meaning of the words for a moment. Since Bonita only had a mother, the word was very unfamiliar to her.

Uncle. What did uncle mean? Bonita, thinking about the contents of the fairy tales that Aria had occasionally read to her in the past, finally remembered what the word “uncle” meant.

So- it means he’s my father, or mother’s brother… Maybe?

Then he couldn’t be Luke’s younger brother. The two of them didn’t look anything like Luke or even Catherine, my biological grandmother.

Then there was only one thing left.

“So you’re my mother’s brother?”

“That’s right.”

It was a reasonable inference, indeed.

Bonita felt proud as she watched the man nod.

“To be honest, I was a little surprised when I first saw you.”

“I thought so.”

Bonita nodded, recalling the two of them when they were with Aria.

Bonita was skilled at reading people’s emotions as she walked through the back alleys. There was no way she could not read the expressions of the Rottweil brothers who were openly expressing their emotions.

“Is that because you thought I was dead?”

“Oh, how did you know—ugh?”

“Brother!”

Lennon covered Dylan’s mouth in panicked. He shouldn’t talk about a stillbirth or anything in front of a seven-year-old. Even if she wasn’t seven.

No one likes to be treated like they’re dead when they’re alive. Even if it really happened, it was something that should be avoided.

Lennon whispered to Dylan.

“Just keep your mouth shut.”

Dylan nodded quickly.

He knew that his brother was much wiser in this respect. And that in most cases it would be better to just leave it to him.

“Um…”

Lennon muttered, making Dylan shut up. He considered it for a moment, then chose his words carefully.

“Well, we had a little misunderstanding before we came here. We thought you were not the former Duchess daughter, but some other woman’s daughter.”

“And you weren’t.”

“Yes.”

Lennon nodded so firmly that Bonita was a little puzzled. She asked him right away.

“Do I look that much like the Duchess?”

“Yes.”

Lennon said with absolute certainty.

“Anyone who knows Elodie will know the first time they see you. You are Elodie’s daughter.”

Lennon’s words were nothing new to Bonita. Ever since she returned to the mansion, every servant had been parroting the same phrase. Even her father, the Duke!

At this point, Bonita was really curious about what the former Duchess, her ‘real mother’, looked like.

The Duchess would probably have at least one photograph left, but Bonita had never seen her face in person.

“Anyway, we’re very happy to meet you. May I ask how you’ve been?”

“In the meantime?”

“Yes, um. Before you came to the Duke’s residence.”

He had heard a fair amount about what had happened after he came to the Duke’s residence. So he wanted to know how Bonita had lived before.

In fact, he wanted to put all that aside and just hug her and cry, but Lennon tried to think rationally.

“I lived with Aria.”

“Aria, do you mean Aria Hilton? The woman who sat next to you at the dining room earlier?”

This time, Dylan couldn’t hold back and interrupted. Bonita was bewildered by the impatient tone, but she answered sincerely.

“Yes. Aria raised me.”

“When, since when?”

“Since I was born.”

“Where?”

“I lived near Sangje Street. I don’t know the exact place name. There were a lot of rich kids a little further away, but not where I lived.”

“Did you know that she wasn’t your real mother?”

There was a bad feeling toward Aria mixed in with that question. Bonita, who was busy answering, stopped.