“Mother, yesterday, there was a slight quarrel with Grand Duchess Lariesa, and she went out to the garden, and I was just looking for her when I met Ariadne.”

The Prince was certain that his suspicious father had written a drama in his head where he and Ariadne were the lead characters and his halfbrother and the Grand Duchess were the supporting roles, and the genre was impure. His father was that kind of person.

“The story is complicated, but I did not do anything against the rules.”

It was difficult for the King to misunderstand, but if his mother misunderstood, it was qualitatively a different matter.

It was not uncommon for his father to have strange thoughts, but it would be very sad if his mother also did not trust him.

In his anxiety, the Prince looked up at his mother’s face. The Queen nodded.

“I understand. My son, your mother believes that you have done nothing wrong.”

Alfonso’s face brightened up. However, this was not just a matter of mother and son’s trust.

Queen Marguerite continued.

“But let’s look at your heart. Can you truly swear that your soul was pure in front of Grand Duchess Lariesa?”

Prince Alfonso could not answer this question. Was he truly not ashamed in front of Grand Duchess Lariesa? He may not love the girl he just met, but did he not have another woman in his heart right now?

His silence was almost a denial. Queen Marguerite gently asked,

“Do you like Ariadne, the second daughter of Cardinal de Mare?”

Alfonso, who had been momentarily silent, eventually nodded his head to affirm his mother’s words.

The Queen pulled her comfortable chair near the fireplace and sat down. The Queen patted her knee, and her grownup but still emotionally immature son sat down on the cushion at the foot of the chair and laid his head on her knee.

“She’s a good girl. Smart and composed. Her spine is straight. She managed to grow up without bending even in a tough environment.”

As she stroked her son’s hair, Queen Marguerite spoke.

“But this matter is not just about that dimension. Let me tell you a story from when I was young.”

As she stroked her son’s hair, the Queen’s eyes were gazing into the far distance.

“I had a lover.”

Alfonso, quite surprised, looked up at his mother with wide eyes. Having a lover for the Queen was treason against the King, a serious crime that could be punishable.

At her son’s surprised face, Queen Marguerite laughed softly.

“Don’t look at me with such surprised eyes. It was before I got married.”

And she added one more thing.

“Calling him a lover might also be an exaggeration. Father Bertrand never accepted my feelings.”

Alfonso breathed a sigh of relief. Queen Marguerite, looking down at such a son with pitiful eyes, let out a deep sigh.

“Looks like this story is going to be a bit long. Listen carefully.”

The Queen’s gaze turned distant. She seemed to transform back into the blooming maiden of sixteen, darting around the Montpellier Palace.

“Bertrand, the cleric, was a priest at the princess’s court. When I was young, I fell in love with his smiling face, his serious smile, his faithful faith. It was around the time when the marriage talks were going on with your father. I saw your father’s portrait, but I did not like him at first sight. Aside from whether he was handsome or not, I disliked his gaze. It might be a failure of me as a daughter and mother, but the truth is, I still don’t particularly like your father. I don’t like him as a person, not just as someone I don’t love. Oops, the story got sidetracked. So, I ran to Bertrand and confessed my lovesickness. ‘Can’t we run away together?’ I asked. ‘Let’s farm in a wide field and live herding sheep.’ I was so naive. Bertrand told me then, ‘Princess, you have a calling from God.’ Also, he said he had a calling. His calling was to guide the princess of the Galician Kingdom down the right path, and my calling was to dedicate myself to my country. He said I had a duty, a responsibility to continue his bloodline for the sake of the glory of my homeland, to marry a man chosen by the country, to rule his palace, and to bear his child.”

Upon finishing the story, Queen Marguerite’s expression seemed strangely calm. It was the face of one who had accepted her duty as fate.

This was different from despair or surrender. It was a calm and peaceful attitude of doing her best every day in her chosen place.

“The truth is, I don’t know how to farm, I don’t know how to herd sheep. I don’t know how to stimulate commerce, nor lead the military. I can’t create a single bit of added value, but I use a minimum of 2000 Ducato (approximately 2 billion won) to a maximum of 5000 Ducato (approximately 50 billion won) a year in taxpayers’ money as the princess’s expenses, now the queen’s budget. Why on earth would the palace, no, the people, support me? How can this extravagant food I eat and the luxurious clothes I wear possibly be justified?”