Closely observing Yustia pretending to be indifferent, Caliph took hold of the teacup again. Just before tilting it to his mouth, he spoke the words he had kept in his mouth.

“Well, if Mother commanded it, then Yeongae wouldn’t have acted strangely.”

“What are you talking about? Relia acting strangely. Don’t tell me she made a mistake again with the Crown Princess?”
Yustia had momentarily forgotten about her suspicions regarding her son’s identity and opened her mouth slightly.

Relia visited the Crown Princess’s residence and did something strange.

Although Yustia responded that she had not commanded anything related to it, if by any chance Relia had made another mistake with Evelia, it would be quite embarrassing for her.

It would be a problem easily exposed that Relia had visited the Crown Princess’s residence based on her advice.

Yustia nervously awaited her son’s response.

“No, she didn’t make a mistake in front of Evelia.”

“Then, who did she behave strangely in front of?”

After hearing the answer, Yustia was finally able to exhale the breath she had held. As long as it wasn’t something she did in front of Evelia, she felt relieved.

No, she thought she was relieved. However, with her son’s immediate follow-up, Yustia had to once again fortify her expression.

“While parting ways with Evelia and leaving the Crown Princess’s residence, Yeongae muttered to herself.”

“……”

“She said she wouldn’t just stand this way forever.”

At the quite suggestive words, Yustia’s forehead involuntarily creased. If that statement were true, it was truly outrageous.

In front of her, he would pretend to understand and later express dissatisfaction in a way that couldn’t be easily traced back. That’s how he behaved.

But, did Relia really do that? When she advised Relia to handle the relationship with Evelia well, and even when she talked about the name ‘Caliph,’ she couldn’t find any different emotions in Relia.

Moreover, the Relia she knew wasn’t such a thorough person, capable of changing her facial expression so perfectly. On the contrary, she was closer to being someone with many flaws and caused concerns in various ways.

Thinking that way, her son’s identity was once again in doubt. However, Caliph was not the type to stay silent for Yustia to doubt easily.

“I witnessed Yeongae’s inappropriate attitude before, so when she said that, it made me feel uncomfortable.”

“……Feeling uncomfortable?”

“It seems like she thinks my changed attitude is because of Evelia, and she might worry that, with such a foolish thought, I might do something unnecessary. She might even think that putting Evelia in distress could help me regain the same position as before.”

Caliph smoothly delivered the scenario he had recalled in his mind, not only uttering it effortlessly but also embellishing it with appropriate facial expressions. He was so skillful at revealing falsehoods without blinking an eye.

His surprising acting, even astonishing to himself, perfectly submerged into the already confusing situation.

“If it’s something unnecessary…….”

Looking at Caliph with restless eyes, Yustia, amid the chaos, asked with an undisturbed voice.
Caliph was now convinced that Yustia had taken the bait he had thrown accurately.

“For example.”

“…….”

“By spreading lies to mother and making Evelia uncomfortable, or causing misunderstandings between me and mother because of that, something like that.”

When Caliph mentioned that he wasn’t sure if they were misunderstanding each other as he and Yustia spoke, he exerted a bit of force.

Whether the words had pierced Yustia’s ears as intended or not, her expression crumpled in an instant.

“No way… Yeongae would go that far.”

While praising Relia with her words, Yustia couldn’t smooth out her crumpled expression. Just by that, Caliph was convinced that a new seed of confusion had been planted in Yustia’s mind.

Only then could he relax a little and put on a smile. Even if he hadn’t firmly instilled the certainty that he was Riurian Petrov, for now, Yustia would be trapped in confusion for quite some time.

That meant he had gained some time, and, in a way, he had achieved his goal.

Caliph leaned back deeply in his chair. It seemed like it would be good to tidy up and conclude things here today. Unexpected mistakes always started from excessive greed.

Having reached that conclusion, he nailed the last meaningful remark with a meaningful tone.

“I also hope my expectations turn out to be true. At least, I didn’t intend to sow discord between you and mother.”