“Come on, you’re a big-faced!” Nina begged to differ.
Maya glared at her resentfully when Nina teased her. It seemed like Nina was no longer afraid of her Maya Punch.
Stephen looked at the playful kids and chuckled.
He found these kids amusing and likable the very moment he saw them. It was probably because he met them at his favorite place—or perhaps it was because the girls bore a resemblance to Rosalie.
But regardless of what the reason was, Stephen felt the kids were inexplicably endearing to him.
“I heard you guys talking about an old witch. Who’s she?” he asked.
“Mr. Levant’s mother!” Maya shouted without any reservation as she rolled her eyes hard.
She was a forthwith girl and she was never good at concealing her feelings.
Huh? Portia?
What did she do to the kids? Why did they hate her so much?
“What did she do to y’all?” he asked again.
“She asked the servants to catch us and throw us out of the estate!” Maya replied without holding back.
“Yeah. She’s so fierce! I can’t believe she’s Mr. Levant’s mother! She’s an old witch,” Nina agreed.
Their comments were harsh, yet Stephen felt the duchess should have known better to know what she should and should not do.
“Y’all don’t have to worry. She won’t do it again,” he replied with a serious face.
“You know her?” Juan asked.
“You can come to this place and look for me if she does that again,” Stephen replied.
Among the kids, Kyle had been silent throughout. He scanned the room and realized although the room was minimally furnished, it was luxurious and meticulous nonetheless. Even the bonsai were well-trimmed.
He finally opened his mouth and said something. “Does anyone ever come in here? What about the duchess?”
“This is my private space. No one dares to enter this room,” Stephen replied.
The girls blinked at him in admiration when they heard his answer.
They guessed this old grandpa was probably someone powerful. That was why everyone was afraid of him.
As for Juan and Kyle, they started surmising who this old man was.
But because the kids were afraid of him, they stayed hiding in the room for the next hour without asking who he was. It was not until they felt the coast was clear that they thanked him politely and bid him farewell before going out to look for Mommy.
Right after they closed the door behind them, Kyle turned around and looked at the other three gravely. “Mommy already has a lot on her plate trying to find out about her family. We mustn’t tell her anything that happened today, okay? We don’t want her to be worried.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Over at the outside, the duchess went amok when she found out none of the servants managed to get hold of the kids. Not only had they failed her, but they had also made a joke of themselves by getting hurt.
“Useless! I feed y’all for nothing!” she bawled at the timid servants.
They held their breath in her raging presence and none of them dared to look at her.
“What are y’all waiting for? Eh? Go over to the courtyard and wait for them!” she shouted at the motionless servants standing like logs in front of her.
But just as the servants were about to go towards the courtyard, Stephen’s bodyguard came over and issued an order.
“Ma’am, the duke has an order,” the bodyguard reported coldly.
“What is it?” the duchess asked impatiently.
“The four children are the duke’s guests and he wishes for them to be treated with respect,” he replied.
Stephen’s guests?
Since when is that bunch of brats his guests?
“The kids have no manners and they even challenged me. I don’t see why I should treat them with respect,” she replied snarkily.
But the messenger cocked his head higher and reasserted the duke’s order. “Sir Musgrave has already made it clear that you should know better as an adult to not mind the kids’ blunder,” the man reiterated.
Portia’s countenance fell as the bodyguard repeated what her husband said. She felt immensely humiliated in front of the servants.
Why is he on their side? Who is Nicole to him? Who are those kids to him?
They are not related to him in any way! Unless… unless there is something that he’s not telling me.
Portia clenched her fists trying to swallow her anger.
Just wait and see, Nicole Lane. You might have Levant on your side, but I’ll make sure you get out of this place with nothing!
If you dare get Stephen involved, don’t blame me when I end your life!
But Portia knew she should lie low for now in order for her bigger scheme to work. Besides, it was not like she could openly disregard what the duke said. She had no choice but to obey him. “Tell Sir Musgrave that his message is well-received.”
The bodyguard nodded without another word and walked off to relay the message.
When Daphne found out about what happened, she saw her chance and quickly came to provoke Portia.
“Aunt Portia, I bet Nicole and the kids are some sorceresses. It’s totally unreasonable for Levant and Uncle Stephen to be on their side!” she pointed out.
She noticed the duchess’ face turned sour and was emboldened to further incite her against Nicole. “Remember when you asked Uncle Stephen to persuade Levant to send Nicole away? Not only did Uncle Stephen ignore you, but he also even sided with the kids. It was so obvious that he didn’t respect you—and it’s all because of Nicole. I can’t believe she has the guts to even…”
