“You were reckless.”

Ishar sighed deeply and spoke.

“Do you not realize that the safety of the Crown Princess puts countless lives at stake?”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be back before they even notice that their lives were in danger.”

“…….”

Ishar was puzzled by Liz’s overly confident attitude.

‘How on earth did they manage to get out, breaking through the strict security? They can’t be so careless as to think a mere change of clothes would make them unrecognizable.’

Just as he was about to ask, Liz placed something on the desk with a thud.

“I came to show you this.”

Ishar looked down, and there was a piece of paper.

He pulled it towards him and turned it over.

As expected, it was the guest list for the royal wedding. There was no need to see anything else.

His eyes went straight to the last line.

「Clair Marienne de Berium.」

The name was written in bold with a pen.

It was what he wanted. If only there weren’t two bold lines above that name.

“This is my answer.”

Liz said, showing no sign of retracting her decision.

She hadn’t thought of this from the beginning.

Liz had intended to firmly write her mother’s name with the pen tip and tell Hershis about her determination.

“Invite my mother to the wedding.”

But Hershis did not give her the opportunity to speak that day. She came while she was sleeping and left while she was still asleep.

So it had to be postponed for a day.

During the delayed time, Liz pondered over the matter carefully, thinking about how she could persuade him, how she could make him accept her proposal without rejection.

Then, at that moment, ‘that incident’ occurred.

“You must have misunderstood. His Highness Ariste wouldn’t have said that.”

It happened when Liz was strolling down the corridor, trying to cool her heated head.

As she was about to turn the corner, she coincidentally overheard the gossip of courtiers coming from a secluded room.

“No, my friend heard it. My friend is a maid of Lady Lionel, you know.”

“But still, she couldn’t possibly…”

‘What are they talking about?’

Liz listened more attentively out of curiosity.

“My friend said she overheard it. His Highness Ariste had a long-standing relationship with our housemaid. All the maids in that house know.”

Suppressing the giggle that was about to burst out, Liz covered her mouth with her hand.

‘What a story? Was it just about that?’

“Then, does Her Majesty not know about it and accepted His Highness Ariste as her son-in-law?”

“Of course, she doesn’t. She knows it too well. Her Majesty is well aware that he is that housemaid’s lover.”

In response to the absurd happening, only laughter came out. Liz tried to continue her way back.

However, the next words she heard made her footsteps come to a sudden halt.

“But how did your friend find out about that? If she’s Lady Lionel’s maid, she doesn’t have a direct relationship with Viscount Berium, right?”
“Madam Lionel followed her when she visited that house. She overheard it there, and that too directly from the Viscountess herself.”

Laughter disappeared from Liz’s face. Her gaze shook fiercely, but her ears remained wide open.

“She expressed so much grief, saying that she had only received insulation for all her efforts to save her wayward daughter. It was truly pitiful.”

“If that’s true, Ariste was a bit too much. He doesn’t seem like that kind of person.”

“Even though we may know the path through the water, how can we know the inside of a person? We must have misunderstood something.”

“We did not misunderstand!”

Suddenly swinging the door wide open was an impulsive action.

“Ah… Ariste… that… that…”

The faces of the courtiers turned as white as sheets in an instant, but Liz remained oblivious to their consciousness.

“We did not misunderstand.”

She repeated my words like a parrot.

“Do you somehow know? I have never severed ties first.”

“……. ”

“The one who severed ties was my mother. All I did was thwart her attempt to reconnect severed ties.”

“……. ”

“Can you tell me why I must embrace the mother who abandoned me? Is it because a queen must forgive and embrace everything? In that case, the queen should have chosen from the holy maidens.”

No one spoke a word, all bowing deeply. The fingertips touching the table were trembling so much that it was embarrassing. Liz only had eyes for that.

She didn’t want to remember the faces of the courtiers.

After returning to her quarters, Liz remained stunned for a while.

The words of the courtiers wouldn’t leave her mind.

‘She expressed so much grief, saying that she had only received insulation for all her efforts to save her wayward daughter. It was truly pitiful.’

“Lies.”

Liz spat out the words.

“You didn’t know. You didn’t know anything. You weren’t even interested!”

Certainly, someone must have vaguely heard from someone after I left and made up the story.

‘But she wouldn’t think she made it up. She would believe it’s all true, that she truly sacrificed herself for my sake.’

Above all, that was the most unfair thing.