It wasn’t likely that he had come to comfort her, who was being criticized by public opinion.

Even if he came to reproach his daughter.

After the festival ended, he didn’t return to the kingdom but came to see Cloé in the palace. It seemed quite urgent.

“Well, I doubt you’ve come to congratulate me on the divorce.”

There was no need for her to play the role of a daughter to a father who showed no common paternal affection.

Cloé responded with a light chuckle, her attitude sharper than usual with the king.

“You don’t seem to know what’s wrong right now.”

The king’s face turned even redder at Cloé’s nonchalant attitude. He scolded her like scolding a child.

“Is it my fault? Is there anything other than the fact that I married the duke in ignorance and innocence, not knowing anything else?”

“Cloé Resias Valonte!”

However, even in the face of Valonte’s questioning, Cloé remained unyielding.
Without blinking, her posture still erect, Cloé skillfully taunted him.

Unable to control his anger, King Valonte slammed the desk. Along with the dull sound of his fist, the beautifully prepared refreshments crumbled.

“What kind of attitude is it to talk back recklessly in a situation where no amount of begging is enough! Did I teach you that way?”

His loud rebuke echoed incessantly in the quiet room.

Meanwhile, Cloé gazed at the biscuit crumbs scattered on her tea set. Rather than paying attention to her father’s voice, it seemed more useful to observe such trivial details.

“Exactly how… have I taught you how precious and dignified you are?”

“That’s right.”

With a somewhat embarrassed look, she cut off her father’s words.

The word of agreement, as if sympathizing, was actually hypocritical. Hypocrisy that nobles, considered precious and dignified, often engage in.

“As you requested last time, I’ve completely cut off support from the Duke’s mansion. Wasn’t that enough?”

The king’s tone was questioning why she resisted even though he had fulfilled Cloé’s request.

Cloé acted as if she found it awkward, responding to the party that complained of injustice.

“Wasn’t that enough? Well, that’s not possible… And if you express it as if it’s unfair, I find it difficult as well. Strictly speaking, it was a proposal that benefited you, Father.”
She occasionally brushed the hair hitting her cheek behind her ear and whispered. The sharp jawline that revealed her appearance made her impression all the more firm.

“Well, then, you should have waited a little longer. After consulting with me…”

“Consulting, you say?”

Unintentionally, Cloé interrupted the king’s words repeatedly. The frustration that had lingered on her face with dry emotions now bore a sense of futility.

“Didn’t I ask Father for advice?”

“…”

“That day, when I asked Father for help, you truly don’t remember, do you?”

The last words were tinged with bitterness. As a result, Cloé’s lips trembled slightly.

Despite trying not to waver and harden her emotions, the fragile her couldn’t hide her despondent feelings.

“At that time, I…”

Finally, the king, realizing his daughter’s intentions, began to offer excuses.

Soon after, Cloé nodded excitedly.

“Not just that time. Father always, unwaveringly, turned away from me.”

“…”

“Pitifully so.”

Memories that had been buried in the past began to resurface one by one.

The tragic pieces that she had postponed thinking deeply about were now starting to find their way back to their owner.

“Even when the knights in the kingdom tore me apart, even when he scorned me, Father boasted of my dignity. Only those who endure such suffering can truly be noble.”
After the revelations of Helena and Calis, Cloé and the king occasionally exchanged letters. To Cloé, who expressed concerns about the changing atmosphere in the Duchy, the king advised not to respond rashly and endure silently to truly become a resilient person. Immaculate handwriting. Cruel and harsh words wrapped in the deceptive shell of royalty. Not knowing how futile and illusory it was, Cloé simply believed.

“Is it only then? When the pathetic Duke, unaware of his faults, brought the government. Even when he took away money and honor stolen from the royal family, even offering my position to the government!”

The steady and idealistic pronunciation continued without hesitation.

“My father was the same then. He insisted that divorce was not an option. This time, he spoke of the dignity of the royal family rather than blaming me.”

Cloé, who couldn’t bring herself to face the king, only looked at the white pillar.

Between the white spaces, the scene of that day began to take shape, gradually, as if painted with vibrant watercolors.

When Cloé, cornered, finally went to the royal palace and exhibited her distress while seeking help for the first time.

As if ridiculing her, everyone in the royal family abandoned Cloé, who had hoped for even a simple solution.

“Time. It takes time…”

Cloé turned her head away as if the vivid scenes unfolding before her were horrifying.

Under her partially closed eyes, lush eyelashes gathered.
“If my father had considered my request even once, if he had regretted the callous past actions even once, he should have spoken when I visited next.”

“…….”

“Or at least, offered a humble apology.”

As if not willing to accept any excuse, Cloé shut down all the king’s feeble justifications.