“Well, there'll be more work and business at the end of the year," said Luca as her heart ached when she found out that he was
busy.
He was busy for the sake of the Crawford family, yet she could not do anything to help.
Right now, she could only take care of the children for him...
Aunt Neile picked up a piece of beef and cut it while asking, "By the way, what kind of New Year's goods did Old Master
Crawford bring?"
"Some decorations and ornaments," Luca answered.
"The New Year's atmosphere is very important to Old Master Crawford. When I used to work in Crawford Manor, I would clean
the house inside out and decorate it with festive lights, ornaments, and more. Old Master Crawford would also have us prepare a
huge feast on the first two days of the new year. The must-have dishes were essential. Otherwise, he would be mad," Aunt Neil
said smilingly.
"Really? I haven't spent New Year's in the country for some time," said Luca as she did not expect to have this opportunity.
"By the way, I remember that it's Madam Susan's birthday tomorrow. I reckon they've prepared a lot at Crawford Manor," Aunt
Neile said. She had been moved here this year, so she was not as busy, but it was also less lively.
She looked at Luca cooking and wondered if she should remind her what foods to prepare.
Although Luca was good at cooking, she was raised abroad, so she would certainly not know about the traditional culture here.
"Oh." Luca paused. It was Susan's birthday soon.
When she was still in the country, Allison had yet to be sent to prison, so there would a huge argument whenever it was Susan's
birthday.
The only was reason because Allison enjoyed ruffling Susan's feathers.
Aunt Neile asked again, "Ms. Craw, will you go?"
"What?" Luca then realized that she was talking about Susan's birthday party, so she said, "I'm an outsider, and I wasn't invited
either, so I won't go."
Aunt Neile wondered aloud, "Not invited?"
"Yes. Every time the Crawford family has a party, they'll always invite important and prestigious people, so how could they invite
me?" Luca said. Although she had attended a wedding ceremony by the Crawford family, it was not a pleasant experience.
If she showed up with Luke, she would definitely become a topic of discussion.
Especially right now, when she had no official title.
She would rather not be invited and be comfortable in her own little space than get stares from people.
“Ms. Craw, you're belittling yourself," said Aunt Neile cheerfully as she put the meat on her left-hand side. "You're just unaware of
how famous you are in the upper class society."
"Huh? Why?" Luca was shocked. Why had she never heard of this?
"I have a few friends who work as helpers in upper class homes, and they would mention you. Of course, they don't know that
you're the one they're talking about," Aunt Neile said.
Those words confused Luca.
Aunt Neile continued to explain, "Although Mr. Crawford didn't say anything, Old Master Crawford had said something that made
me guess the person who helped with the detoxification of Mrs. Norman was you. Your medical skills are exquisite if you could
tell what poison was in Mrs. Norman's body from her pulse alone. This matter had long spread in the upper class society, and a
lot of people want to look for you to help check their pulse, but Mr. Crawford has protected you well. Hence, they've been unable
to look for you. Those rich people could only give up."
Only then did Luca find out it was because of that incident.
It had been almost half a year. Why was the story still going around?
She thought that it had already been forgotten that she saved Queenie's life.
"There are still people bringing this up now?" Luca asked. If not for Luke hiding her identity, she could not imagine how much
these people would bother her.
"Everyone would get sick at some point. When they get sick, especially if it's a chronic disease, they'll think about you when they
still don't get better with surgery or modern medication. However, nobody has been able to find you. Their maids would
eventually know about this, and I'd feel proud whenever they mentioned it to me as I know someone as great as you—even
though I can't say it."
"I'm not that great. It's all just medicine," said Luca. The most ironic thing was that only Shanks, a foreigner, knew the old
mastery of medicine that was on the verge of being extinct.
However, it was linked to Shanks' childhood.
Although she was not clear about what he had experienced, she heard some rumors on the island about where Shanks' medical
knowledge came from.
"But many old doctors are no match for you," said Aunt Neile. Many people used medicine to cheat, and many rich people had
fallen for it before.
In the minds of many others, it was rare to meet a skilled practitioner.
"Aunt Neile, please continue to help me keep this a secret. I just want to live a peaceful life and do research," said Luca as she
no longer wanted to bring up this topic.
"Of course, I'll help you keep it a secret!" Aunt Neile made a promise to her.
Luca knew that Aunt Neile would not tell others, so she was at ease.
After dinner was ready, she went upstairs to call the three children who were diligently doing their homework.
The children came downstairs after learning that dinner was ready.
Upon seeing the spread of scrumptious dishes yet no sight of Luke, Rainie asked, “Ms. Luca, is daddy working overtime?"
"Yes, I've already left some food for him. Let's eat first." Luca scooped up food for the kids.
Tommy stared blankly at the bowl in Luca's hands and said, "Daddy is always busy at the end of the year."
"You're right, Daddy is too busy. Good thing we have Ms. Luca with us. Otherwise, we would've been sent back to Crawford
Manor," said Rainie. The reason why she was so reluctant to go back there was not because of Old Master Crawford but Susan.
It was Susan's birthday at the end of the year, so things would be chaotic at the Crawford Manor at this time of the year.
Susan would reprimand the maids for not doing a good job with a nasty look on her face. In Rainie's eyes, they already did a
great job, yet they still got scolded.
How pitiful.
Luca placed the bowl in front of the three kids. She knew that the kids did not want to go back because of the atmosphere, so
she did not say anything.
After dinner, the kids had some fruit. For the first time, nobody watched cartoons. They just went upstairs to do their homework
instead.