At that same time, Marquis Usta visited Lisette’s quarters in the Detached Palace with the Emperor.
“She really lived here all this time?”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
The Emperor frowned upon seeing the environment Lisette had been living in. He hadn’t imagined she would be living in such a shabby place.
Wasn’t wearing a black veil a sign of being despised by the Emperor? Didn’t he dislike Imperial Princess Lisette?
The Marquis was also confused seeing the Emperor’s demeanor, so different from the rumors. Looking at his attitude, he seemed full of concern rather than hatred.
Seeing him still attached to her despite knowing she wasn’t his biological daughter gave the Marquis hope, but also made him wonder why the Emperor hadn’t believed the former Empress. If he cared this much, his feelings for the Empress must have been even stronger.
“But why isn’t anyone here?”
The Emperor asked with a puzzled expression as he looked around the quarters.
“I heard she lived without even a maid.”
Marquis Usta stopped his thoughts and answered the Emperor’s question.
“What? So she lived alone in this shabby place all this time?”
“It seems so.”
“Those wretched people. I should have looked after her personally.”
Seeing the Emperor sympathizing with Lisette’s situation and showing anger toward those who had put her in such a position, the Marquis thought he might carefully suggest that the former Empress might not have committed adultery after all.
The only drawback was that he had no evidence to support his words. It was merely his speculation.
If only there were evidence and witnesses. Just as he was leaving Lisette’s quarters with this regretful thought—
“Marquis, here you are.”
A knight from the Usta family handed him the items Lisette had entrusted to him.
“You should look at these at the Usta residence. She said they would work well if given warmth.”
“I see.”
Why would she give these to him?
The Marquis examined the items she had sent with a puzzled expression. He could tell at a glance they were magical tools.
“What are those?”
“I’m not sure. Imperial Princess Lisette ordered me to deliver these to you, with only the instruction that you would understand once you applied warmth to them.”
“Lisette sent them? They look interesting. Could you check them first and show them to me later?”
The Emperor showed interest upon hearing they were from Lisette.
“I will do so.”
The Marquis readily agreed, believing she wouldn’t send anything suspicious.
After parting with the Emperor and arriving at his mansion, Marquis Usta examined the items Lisette had given him again.
“She said to apply warmth?”
He held the stone with both hands and rubbed it slightly. Voices began to flow from it, and his eyes widened as he confirmed the content of their testimonies.
He thought something was strange, and indeed it was.
Though he couldn’t know the exact truth, the Marquis was shocked to find that his suspicions were correct, and he was further surprised by Lisette’s action of entrusting such important items to him.
“She gave this to me? What made her trust me?”
He immediately called for the knight who had delivered the items.
“Did she say why she was sending this to me?”
“She said she trusted you because you’re Lord Usta’s father.”
“…”
Marquis Usta was speechless upon hearing those words.
He had opposed their relationship because she was a commoner and an imperial princess unloved by the Emperor, yet she trusted him with something so important despite knowing he would object…
He had been blind to her true character.
Imperial Princess Natalie, who grew up receiving much love but lacked proper character, and Imperial Princess Lisette, who received no love yet possessed a mature character.
The Marquis finally understood why Claude had so strongly opposed marrying Imperial Princess Natalie and insisted on marrying Imperial Princess Lisette.
They say knights have keen instincts, but it seems they can instinctively sense people’s character as well.
He admired his son’s intuition. Claude had simply acted on his feelings, but in the end, his choice had been right.
The Marquis felt ashamed for trying to judge by appearances and status rather than seeing the person. He even felt sorry for having opposed their relationship.
His gaze returned to the tools Lisette had given him.
Would His Majesty believe in the former Empress’s innocence with this evidence?
The Emperor firmly believed in the Empress and the High Priest. Although his faith in the Empress had wavered today, he didn’t seem to believe that the former Empress’s case had been fabricated.
So the evidence was still insufficient to change his mind. If someone claimed it was fabricated, there would be no way to refute it.
Could the people who made these recordings be brought forward? But if that were possible, this would have been revealed long ago.
He couldn’t let this evidence go to waste. Now that the Usta family was involved, he needed to gather additional evidence. But it seemed too late to start now.
The most he could do was threaten the family of the gardener who was alleged to be the Empress’s lover. He hurriedly sought them out, but they had fled out of fear after being implicated with Lisette, and their whereabouts were unknown.
They seemed to have left for another empire. He had ordered a search, but it would likely take considerable time.
Isn’t there anyone who could provide crucial testimony?
The Marquis immediately dispatched people with secret orders to find anything or anyone that could serve as evidence. It was urgent, so they needed to hurry.
Until Claude returned, Marquis Usta continued to ponder a way to both save the Usta family’s reputation and clear Lisette’s name.
“Excuse me, Marquis.”
The butler approached Marquis Usta, who was deep in thought in his study, examining the magical tools Lisette had sent.
“What is it? Has Claude returned?”
“No, sir. Someone asked me to deliver this letter to you but didn’t reveal their identity. What would you like me to do? Would you like to see it?”
“Let me have it. What kind of person was it?”
“A person wearing a cloak. Judging by the voice and build, it seemed to be a woman.”
Normally, he would have ordered such a letter to be thrown away, but with so many surprising events lately, the Marquis accepted the letter, thinking nothing could surprise him anymore.
Is this true?
He was most shocked by this letter. It contained the most shocking information he had learned today. The content was so explosive that the Marquis’s body trembled.
“Why aren’t those two coming? Well, it’s not urgent for today, so I can discuss it with them tomorrow.”
Needing time to compose himself before accepting this information, the Marquis decided to gather his thoughts until Claude and Lisette arrived.
Lisette went to the Usta residence with Claude the following afternoon.
They had planned to go earlier, but Claude kept holding her back, making it impossible to leave.
‘What about the training grounds?’
‘I took leave yesterday and today, so it’s fine.’
Even while speaking, Claude planted short kisses on Lisette’s cheeks, refusing to let her go.
‘Are you allowed to take leave?’
When she pushed him away with her hands, he responded by planting quick kisses on her palm. Only after she firmly pushed against his chest did his kisses stop.
‘This is the first time I’ve ever taken leave, so no one will complain. They’ll just be surprised.’
A lecherous smile spread across his face as he answered.
‘You’re such a pervert! Haven’t you had enough? Can’t we go back to our normal routine?’
Lisette looked at Claude with disapproval, but he gazed at her with eyes that found even that expression lovable.
‘We’ve been deviating from the norm, but that’s okay. I’m just putting more weight on what I consider more important.’
Hearing that, Lisette had nothing more to say.
His claim that he had waited for so long seemed true—he had turned into a wild beast, devouring Lisette all night, and still claimed it wasn’t enough. She had barely managed to persuade him to let her leave the villa.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Marquis Usta. I’ve wanted to meet you for so long, and finally, here you are.”
The Marquis greeted Lisette respectfully, then shouted at Claude.
“Why are you so late?”
His voice was tinged with irritation, having been anxious and frustrated waiting for them.
“Were you waiting? Why bother?”
Claude looked at the Marquis with an indifferent expression, giving him a strange look. His eyes seemed to ask why the Marquis was interrupting his long-awaited time with Lisette.
“I had a reason to wait! Would you spare me a moment to talk?”
After shouting at Claude, the Marquis completely changed his expression and spoke to Lisette with a respectful attitude. When she nodded, he continued.
“I believe you’ve misunderstood that His Majesty dislikes you. Let me correct that. He has been worried about you.”
“He’s been worried about me? That’s hard to believe.”
Although Marquis Usta wasn’t one to lie, Lisette couldn’t believe his words. The Emperor thought she was the daughter of an adulterer, so it seemed impossible.
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Was he worried? I highly doubt it. He hadn’t looked for his daughter or inquired about her for years, so he clearly didn’t care. If we showed the place where the girl lived to any servant, they would feel sorry for a princess living in such a place.Surely, as an emperor, he would be bothered by the idea of a princess living without servants, wouldn’t he? Leaving aside being a father, if he, as an emperor, is unaware of this, then that country is doing just fine.