After hearing the delayed report from the Duke of Delpiano, Leo III harshly slammed his fist down onto the desk.

Bang!

“Am I a joke to you?”

Queen Marguerite jolted in surprise at the heavy sound of impact, while the Duke of Delpiano, accustomed to Leo III’s temper, humbly bowed and calmly replied.

“Your Highness, how could that be possible.”

“Yet! If I’m not a joke, why doesn’t this kind of report come to me?”

He spoke as he pounded his fist down onto the desk.

“Is this how you handle matters? Discreetly handling issues occurring in my palace without catching my attention? Who are you covering for? Alfonso?”

Leo III glared at the Duke of Delpiano with his fierce eyes.

“The king is getting old, we need to follow the prince’s line, is that it Delpiano?”

Upon hearing these words, Delpiano, the Duke of Delpiano, prostrated himself in front of Leo III, who was standing next to the desk.

“Your Highness, that couldn’t be! I, Delpiano, am your loyal servant!”

He chose his words carefully so as not to upset the king, who was past fifty and headed towards sixty.

“How could there be talk of a successor when you, Your Majesty, are so vigorous! There can’t be two suns in the sky. Furthermore, I, Delpiano, am privileged to assist you, Your Majesty, with my modest abilities thanks to your grace. Would I be insane enough to seek a successor!”

The Duke of Delpiano pleaded earnestly.

“The successor would have old loyalists who have been by his side since childhood. I would just be an unwelcome intruder! Where else could I go if not by your side, Your Majesty! Please understand, Your Highness!”

Whether the plea of the Duke of Delpiano, who had exhausted all his strength, pleased him or not, Leo III’s blade moved on to the next person.

The next target was Queen Marguerite, who had been standing next to him. The king, standing upright, stared at the queen and questioned her fiercely.

“How on earth have you raised the child!”

The king’s anger continued.

“Your pride has always been our son. Alfonso, Alfonso, our wonderful son. Yes, I acknowledged that! Our round, kind son with no rough edges! Our obedient son who excels at anything he does! But when it comes to this crucial moment, huh? He’s causing trouble over a woman?”

Leo III glared at Queen Marguerite.

“When the Grand Duchess of Gallico visited, he spent time alone with the illegitimate daughter of a cardinal? It’s fortunate that Cesare covered it up, but if you think about it, the situation is clear! He’s having a secret rendezvous with an outsider instead of the Grand Duchess! Couldn’t he resist at the very moment the Grand Duchess was visiting? Do you know how important negotiations with the Kingdom of Gallico are now?!”

He shouted, waving the stack of documents in his hand.

“What is the point of your existence? You can’t please a man, you’re not loved by the people, and you can’t even bring ample aid from your natal family!”

Queen Marguerite stood with her head bowed, saying not a single word.

“The one thing you were doing well was raising an heir, but you’ve messed that up? Our wonderful son, who you were so proud of, can’t tell right from wrong, and he’s causing a scandal in such a crucial situation!”

The king’s anger was escalating, crossing the line.

“Who knows if he’s been hiding in the garden and fooling around with a bastard child! Is that something our wellraised son would do?!”

Upon hearing this, Queen Marguerite looked up and glared at Leo III. She had been silently enduring her husband’s verbal abuse, but she couldn’t tolerate this.

She opened her mouth. It was Etruscan spoken with a deep Gallico accent.

“I believe in my son.”

“Excuse me?”

“I didn’t raise my son to be so shameless.”

Queen Marguerite glared straight at her husband, her bluegrey eyes full of icy rage.

“Regardless of any misunderstandings, what has happened, has happened. The Grand Duchess herself may not have realized yet, but her attendants will soon grasp the situation, so we must prepare. The external affairs inevitably have to be sorted out by the King. However, His Majesty probably never thought of such a thing.”

Queen Marguerite was unshaken.

“Without even investigating, Father just made such accusations!”

“What?!”

“I will speak to my son to deal with the aftermath. Rest assured, our son will handle it wisely.”

Having said her piece, Queen Marguerite left King Leo III’s office without waiting for his permission. Leo III stomped his foot angrily.

“Ha!”

In front of Queen Marguerite, who had returned from the King’s argument, her only son was already waiting in her private room instead of going back to the Prince’s palace.

Alfonso, seeing his palefaced mother, came to her and asked,

“Mother, was Father very angry? He wasn’t too distressed, was he?”

Alfonso looked at his mother with regret thinking, ‘Even if Mother had told me to stay behind, I should have followed her to protect her.’ Conversely, Queen Marguerite just looked blankly at her son.