Her mind was too busy to endure even a moment of silence. Whether or not she could get an answer from him was a problem, but she was also worried about Ariante, whom she had left alone in the restaurant. She had told the waiter Kosha to stay by Ariante’s side until she returned, but…

Would there really be no trouble?

As she thought about Ariante in the restaurant, Sedilroy’s feelings were equally complicated. He couldn’t ignore it if what Mayana had said was true, even though he didn’t know what had happened.

“Answer my question first, and then I’ll tell you.”

Sedilroy spoke, gently pressing his heavy eyelids with his thumb and forefinger.

“Are you saying you’ll tell me the truth?”

Mayana asked. Sedilroy hesitated for a moment, but soon smirked, realizing that he seemed to be interrogated.

“Yes, I promise. Although I don’t know how close that will be to the truth you want.”

“It’s the butler chief Joslin.”

Sedilroy gazed at Mayana with deep eyes, veiled as if. Their silent stares flowed like ominous whispers towards each other until they shattered into sand in midair.

Secret, secret… Only that word was clearly on Mayana’s mind.

Mayana spoke.

“Please tell me now. About Princess Ariante.”

Whether her answer was shocking, or whether he was angry because he had guessed it, Sedilroy’s face was inscrutable for quite some time. His hand covered his mouth, making it even more impossible to discern his expression.

But finally, he lifted his gaze as if having made a decision. Sedilroy’s eyes sparkled, disguising faint pain and accumulated fatigue, yet nowhere similar to Ariante.

“Ariante is definitely my daughter. But also, she is not my daughter. She is…”

Sedilroy slowly inhaled, his attitude similar to when he was about to reluctantly confess a difficult mistake.

How wonderful it would be if that were the case. He thought carelessly. If he were merely confessing to being the one who broke his mother’s expensive jewel comb…

“She is the child of my younger brother and Liriya.”

Mayana’s eyes blinked quietly. Her lips slowly parted, and astonishment filled her from head to toe.
Liriya! Whose name it was, Mayana couldn’t think of it right away. She slowly went back to the memory of the day she met Sedilroi.

Mayana’s lips slowly opened. Yes, Liriya……. It was certainly a name she had heard before.

On the day she was driven out from the estate of Povek, penniless and wandering the streets, Mayana followed a suddenly appeared puppy and met Mrs. Celine. That night, when it was raining, Sedilroi came…….

Confusion soon turned into astonishment. Mayana, unaware, opened her mouth and stumbled as if she were about to kick the chair and stand up.

“Liriya…… You mean Liriya? Are you talking about the person who was said to be Mrs. Celine’s granddaughter?”

“Yes, that’s right. Liriya is Ariante’s biological mother. My brother, Berbo von Valterminster is Ariante’s biological father.”

Mayana lost words and moved her gaze for a moment.

Perhaps……. Really perhaps, she had thought that Ariante might not be the legitimate heir to the dukedom. But she had never imagined that Sedilroi wasn’t Ariante’s biological father.

She might have thought that she was a child of the government or perhaps a child born of a onenight mistake…….

The moment Sedilroi was about to speak, Mayana suddenly said,

“No, then……. Where are the two of them now? Your Grace, you said the two of them had gone on a trip. Where have they gone on a trip to leave such a young daughter alone in this large mansion? And why does the princess call Your Grace ‘father’?”

Mayana realized that her words were becoming more and more intense and fast. But she couldn’t calm down.

The rumor that the Duchess had fallen into the lake, the servants’ subtle contempt and indifference towards Ariante……. and Jocelyn’s slander. All those things that didn’t make sense until now suddenly clicked together, and a shivering sensation like gears falling into place struck Mayana’s back.

And if her ominous suspicions were correct, if that were really so…….

Sedilroi, letting out a short sigh, got up. As he drew the curtain that had been blocking the sunlight, the room was instantly bright. Sedilroi, looking into the distance bathed in sunlight, turned his head towards Mayana.

“Berbo and Liriya definitely went on a trip. Only, it’s not a trip they left for alive. The two of them died not long after Ariante was born. So Ariante knows nothing about any facts about her biological parents. She believes I am her biological father, and thinks her biological mother died of illness. Because I told her so.”

Why do ominous predictions never miss the mark? Mayana bit her lip tightly as if dreaming a nightmare with her eyes open. The underside of things that were inexplicable to her had finally been revealed.

The truth she finally faced was not only filled with ugly ruthlessness, but also mixed with enormous lies.

Mayana snapped,

“You’re all beyond salvation. Everyone in this mansion, including Your Grace, is beyond salvation. Except for Princess Ariante.”