Ariana readily embraced this sensitive approach and was content to go along with the charade.

With a warm smile, she crouched down to Adele's eye level and extended her hand gently in greeting.

"Hello Adele, I'm delighted to meet you. I'll be teaching you art lessons from now on. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Adele simply stared back with wide, unblinking eyes, her stoic little face revealing no emotion.

Just as Ariana began to retract her hand, thinking the child would ignore the gesture entirely, Adele unexpectedly reached out and placed a small wrapped candy in Ariana's palm. Surprised, Ariana looked down at the candy in her hand, her heart melting.

Adele's bright eyes, gazing up at her, conveyed that the little girl had recognized and accepted her presence.

Ariana longed to embrace Adele warmly, but she restrained herself, mindful of Devin's watchful presence.

Devin, too, appeared pleasantly shocked by Adele's swift and open response to Ariana. A swell of hope filled him, suggesting that this new psychologist could truly be a positive, nurturing influence on the reserved young Miss.

Noticing Ariana was perspiring lightly beneath her mask and hat, Devin freshly brewed some cooling chamomile tea and kindly offered it to her.

“Please, remove those stifling things, Miss Edwards. Here, have some chilled tea to refresh yourself."

With Sadie now absent, Ariana gratefully removed her mask and hat, allowing her face to breathe freely.

As soon as Ariana's face came into view, Devin's composure faltered, and he stood there frozen, his normally steady demeanor shaken. His hand trembled slightly, almost causing him to spill the tea from his cup.

Ariana?! How had she returned to this city?

Devin was caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events. He vaguely recalled that the doctor's surname was Edwards, and he hadn't thought much of it at the time. After all, it was a direct arrangement from Holden, so he hadn't delved deeper into it. Little did he expect that Doctor Edwards would turn out to be Ariana herself.

Not only had she returned, but she had also appeared by Holden's side so swiftly.

Ariana noticed Devin's surprise and found it somewhat puzzling. As Holden's steward, he should have witnessed many grand occasions, so why was he so taken aback to see her?

She asked directly, “Is something amiss? Is there something on my face?"

Devin was incredibly flustered and couldn't conceal his astonished expression.

However, seeing Ariana's puzzled look, he surmised that she might not have encountered Holden yet and probably remained unaware that Holden Fredrick was, in fact, Theodore Anderson from five years ago.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have arrived here so calmly.