Lucrezia entered the main entrance of the de Mare mansion, watching the atmosphere. This place was originally where she was in command, but it was already strange somewhere.

“Mother, have you arrived?”

At the entrance of the de Mare mansion, Ariadne stood tall, holding all the servants like a boss.

She dressed in a luxurious dress made from fabric and graciously greeted Lucrezia, who was wearing an old fur cloak and coming down from the carriage.

“Was the way okay?”

The body servant standing next to Ariadne was also dressed in an undergarment. Zia, Lucrezia’s intimate, was nowhere to be found. It was certain that the bastard had filled in her people while she was away.

The gold seal of the hostess shone from Ariadne’s finger.

‘That damn woman…!’

Lucrezia hated Ariadne in the first place. Ariadne was a bastard who proved that Cardinal de Mare’s love for Lucrezia was imperfect.

In addition, he stole what should have been given to her pure golden bell, Isabella.

On top of that, now insolence has been added. Looking at the brat swaggering at the entrance as if she was the hostess of the house, anger at the existence of Ariadne itself rose up regardless of the reason.

“Huh!”

Lucrezia tried to laugh loudly, but now she was in a situation where she could not be caught by her husband, so she gritted her teeth and endured the provocation.

“…where is my son?”

The first person Lucrezia, who had regained her mind, asked about was Ippolito. She looked around for her eldest son’s figure first. Thanks to the solid eldest son, she was able to return to this mansion.

“Mother!”

Ippolito, who appeared on the 2nd floor at the right time, came down to greet Lucrezia.

“Ippolito!”

The mother and son enjoyed the joy in the entrance, hugging each other. Lucrezia hugged her son tightly and patted his back a few times before finally separating.

However, something that Lucrezia did not like caught her eye. It was Maletta standing stiffly behind Ippolito.

Ippolito and Maletta seemed to have reconciled in the meantime and looked good. And the mother, who loves her son more than her life, immediately sensed an unusual sign.

“Why is she here?”

Ariadne smiled secretly.

‘Got caught.’

Ippolito answered leisurely without noticing anything.

“She is my dedicated maid. She is diligent and smart and works well.”

There was a slight crack in Maletta’s expression. No matter how Maletta she was, she did not expect Ippolito to introduce her as a girlfriend, or the future mistress and your daughterinlaw, at her first meeting with her mother.

But she didn’t know that he would belittle her into the position of a ‘hardworking maid’.

Lucrezia, on the other hand, was angered by the fact that her son had praised the maid. There was clearly a masculine and feminine atmosphere between the two, and the fact that her son openly praised that girl in front of his mother, who was herself, was a sign of disrespect.

To Lucrezia’s ears, Hippolytus’ praise sounded like a declaration that ‘no matter what Mom thinks, I’m going to respect that woman.’

Unaware that he had quickly dissatisfied the two women and created an insurmountable gap, Hippolytus extended his hand to Lucrezia.

“Mother, let’s go to the family restaurant. The feast is ready.”

His attitude was as if he had prepared the feast himself. And Hippolytus, as if he were naturally the leader, led his family to the dining room at the forefront.

Ariadne outpaced the group with a quick stride, chuckling to herself. She outpaced the group, glanced at Hippolytus, and snatched the front seat.

It was right for the ‘hostess’ to be at the front of the procession moving to the restaurant with the ‘guest.’ Hippolytus flinched, but the ‘son’ was behind the hostess. Only the head of the household could stand in front of the hostess.

‘Disgusting chit.’

There was another villain in the family restaurant. It was Isabella, who had barely been allowed out after being imprisoned in her room for three months.

Isabella was wearing a simple white indoor dress, and looked even paler, perhaps because she had not seen the sun in that time.

A faint shadow was visible around her eyes, and her desolate and gloomy appearance was pure and overwhelmingly beautiful. Ariadne clicked her tongue.

‘She hasn’t deteriorated even though she’s been imprisoned.’

Isabella briefly looked at Ariadne and immediately lowered her eyes and bowed her head. Imprisonment did not mar her beauty, but it seemed to have tamed her stubborn nature.

However, as soon as she thought she had allies, her attitude flipped.

When Hippolytus and Lucrezia entered, Isabella, who had been sitting with her head bowed, finally got up and shouted.

“Mother!”

“Oh! Our jewel!”

Lucrezia and Isabella had an emotional motherdaughter reunion. It was the first time they had seen each other in nearly 100 days.

“Mother! Mother!”

Isabella, usually eloquent, was unusually lost for words and only kept shouting ‘mother.’ Isabella wept in her mother’s arms, and Lucrezia, forgetting her own dire circumstances, embraced her forlorn daughter and wept with her.

It would have been a very touching scene if the parties involved were not Lucrezia and Isabella.

The one who was uncomfortable with this spectacle was not only Ariadne.

“Cough!”

Cardinal de Mare, who entered the family restaurant late, coughed.

‘Anyone would think I’m the bad guy.’

Cardinal de Mare was not at all pleased with the current situation. He was merely a father who had rightly disciplined a frivolous daughter who had tarnished her honor and used evil black magic.

But looking at the mother and daughter who were crying as if someone had died, didn’t it seem like he was the villain?

Hippolytus quickly defused the atmosphere with a smile.

“Mother, why are you crying as if you’ve left the world. Isabella, get up. It’s a good day for Father’s birthday, let’s eat something delicious and cheer up. Come on.”

From then on, everyone gathered in the family restaurant acted like a normal family meeting after a long time. Questions about health and stories about daily life were the main topics.

However, Lucrezia and Cardinal de Mare carefully avoided stories that could be perceived as malefemale or about each other, and mostly talked about the children’s wellbeing.

“Hippolytus, so. Did you finish your studies well?”

“Yes, Father.”

Hippolytus nearly dropped his knife because of the sweat on his palms. However, he hid his tension and calmly continued to cut the back leg of the capon, looking down at his plate.

“A bachelor’s degree in military science? My son got that difficult degree from the University of Padua. I can’t be prouder.”

“Well, who’s son am I?”

Hippolytus put the back leg of a quail into his mouth and gave a natural smile to his father. Lucretia, with a proud expression, kindly smiled and looked at her son.

In this breathtaking atmosphere, Cardinal de Mare asked a question again.

“So when is your degree coming home?”

Gulp!

Hippolytus inadvertently swallowed the meat he had not chewed in one gulp.