“Wh-who says that?”

“You’ve betrayed even my last hope, Natalie. I have no intention of showing you mercy. At least Lisette spoke up about her mother’s injustice, but you only think about yourself.”

“I-I’m an Imperial Princess, not a slave!”

No matter how much Natalie wailed, it was of no use. The Emperor turned his back on them completely.

“I want to be alone with Lisette.”

Once everything was settled, the Emperor spoke with a trembling voice, and everyone left except the two of them.

“I’m sorry. I should never have turned my back on you.”

Once they were alone, the Emperor spoke to Lisette.

“You were under a spell. I’m grateful that you embraced me even when you thought I wasn’t your daughter.”

“You’ve been through so much. Having to wear that black veil because of me—how humiliated you must have felt.”

The Emperor approached Lisette and took both her hands.

“It’s fine. It was actually convenient. I could hide my identity and move freely outside.”

Despite her reassuring words, tears welled up in Lisette’s eyes.

“Yes, I’m glad you disobeyed my orders. Had you followed them, you would have continued living a lonely life.”

The Emperor embraced Lisette tenderly while shedding tears. She hugged him back.

“I’m glad I could clear my mother’s name.”

Finally able to call him father, Lisette burst into tears in the Emperor’s arms. He continued to comfort her, not caring that his clothes were getting wet.

“I’m truly sorry. From now on, I’ll give you all the love I couldn’t give you before. Move your quarters to the main palace immediately. I can’t let you stay in such a shabby place.”

Just hearing those words brought tears of joy. All the love that had been directed at Natalie would now be showered upon Lisette.

“It’s okay. I’ll stay a little longer before moving.”

She wanted to revisit her memories since she enjoyed looking at the rear garden.

“Very well. I’ll have a room prepared right away, so you can move whenever you wish. However, I’d like to hear more about the life you’ve lived until now. Can you show me?”

Nodding, Lisette headed to the Detached Palace with him, just the two of them.

“Although I could move freely around the Detached Palace, there weren’t many places worth visiting, so I mostly spent time walking in the rear garden.”

Looking around the garden, Lisette recalled everything that had happened. The Emperor gazed at her with sympathetic yet affectionate eyes.

They also talked about the secret passage she used to get to the shop, sharing various stories they hadn’t been able to tell each other before.

After spending enough time with her father, she headed back to the audience chamber where Celia and Claude were waiting for her.

“Should I call you Imperial Princess now?”

Celia approached with a smile, her attitude unusually respectful.

“You can call me what you always have.”

Finding her behavior so unfamiliar, Lisette made an awkward expression.

“I can’t do that. You went through such absurd hardships because of my father. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.”

Celia looked at Lisette with an apologetic expression.

“Did you approach me deliberately to help me?”

“Yes, that’s right. I deliberately approached you. I heard you were staying at the Detached Palace and often walked in the rear garden, so I timed my walks to match yours.”

“…”

“I felt guilty about tarnishing the former Empress’s honor and ruining your life. I didn’t know everything from the beginning. My father, sick with guilt, confessed everything to me before he died.”

Celia gave an embarrassed smile.

“I’m sorry for knowing the truth and staying silent. I should have revealed it earlier, but the circumstances weren’t right.”

“I understand. Even the Emperor wouldn’t believe me, so he wouldn’t have believed you either. If you had revealed the truth, you probably would have been punished for mocking the Empress.”

Since Celia had her own painful circumstances, Lisette felt she could fully understand her.

“Thank you for helping me find evidence on my own. Of course, it would have been impossible without your help and that of the Usta family.”

“You achieved it yourself. If you hadn’t diligently searched for evidence, it would have been difficult for me to help you. So there’s no need to be so grateful. I actually wanted to grant you a wish because I felt so sorry.”

“That wasn’t the wish I wanted.”

“I helped you achieve what you originally wanted, so please forgive me. I’m really sorry. I was just playing around a bit because I thought you two would make such a good match. I already knew that Lord Usta disliked the idea of marrying the Imperial Princess.”

“But why didn’t you contact me directly this time? Why did you contact Marquis Usta?”

“Actually, I could track your location through the tools I gave you, and your last location was at the Marquis’s residence, so I had no choice but to send it there. Asking the Marquis to hide my identity was just to surprise you.”

Celia winked.

Celia’s confident demeanor should have been annoying rather than apologetic, but her bright smile looked so beautiful.

It had been difficult to deal with her willful personality, and being treated like a slave under her had caused many complaints.

But thinking about it, thanks to her, there had been no time to feel lonely. Even boring days passed quickly.

There were many days when Lisette had been anxious cleaning up after Celia’s eccentric actions, but now they would probably remain as pleasant memories.

“Thank you too. I enjoyed it because of you. Will you reopen the shop?”

“Of course. But I won’t set it up in the same place.”

“Where will you go? Do you still plan to grant wishes?”

“Yes. I don’t plan to grant everyone’s wishes. I’ll select people who seem desperate.”

“What if it brings about another strange outcome?”

“I can always reset things back to the beginning. Whatever.”

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. Lisette started with a short “pfft” before breaking into full laughter.

Then, stopping her laughter, she extended her hand first. Celia took it, and the two exchanged their final greetings with bright smiles.

“Are the greetings all done?”

When they finished, Claude asked with a disgruntled expression.

“Yes. Lord Usta, I want to thank you and your father as well. Without both of you, it would have been difficult to prove that I am His Majesty’s daughter.”

“I didn’t do it to receive thanks. So, what are you going to do now?”

“About what?”

When Lisette looked at him with a puzzled expression, Claude smirked.

“What did you say you’d do once the problem was solved?”

‘I think I can accept marriage with you once the problem is resolved.’

Ah…

Lisette finally recalled what she had said. Now that the problem was solved, all that remained was to accept the marriage. But she felt too embarrassed to say it out loud.

“Why? Too shy to say it?”

Claude asked, sensing her feelings.

“N-no. I made a promise, so I should answer, right?”

Just as she was preparing herself to speak…

“Lisette, marry me. I said I didn’t know my feelings for you, but now I think I do. I love you.”

Claude knelt on one knee, kissed the back of her hand, and took out a small box. When she received it and opened it, there was a brilliantly shining diamond ring inside.

Too surprised to do anything but stare at the ring, she watched as he slipped it onto the ring finger of her left hand.

“Lord Usta…”

“Your answer?”

When she could only let out a small gasp without forming words, Claude demanded an answer.

“Yes. I’ll marry you. I think I love you now too.”

“Let’s go.”

Claude took Lisette’s hand with a satisfied smile.

“Where are we going? This palace is my residence.”

“To the Usta residence.”

It was an absurd suggestion, but strangely, she felt compelled to follow Claude’s words. Her body moved naturally as he led the way.

“Did you perhaps drug me too, Lord Usta?”

“Why? Do you feel like you have to follow my words unconditionally?”

“Yes.”

At that, one corner of Claude’s mouth turned up. He looked satisfied.

“Then don’t call me Lord Usta. Call me Claude.”

“Clau…”

Lisette’s lips parted and then quickly closed. It was still too awkward to call him by his name.

“Can you still say I drugged you? I’d like to get some of that drug too. Come on, Lisette.”

It seemed both impressive and admirable how naturally he called her by name.

Though he always seemed to act arbitrarily, the path he led had never been wrong. With him, it felt like any path would lead to happiness.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For finding me and helping me.”

Lisette smiled brightly, and Claude looked at her with loving eyes. The bright afternoon sunlight wrapped warmly around the two of them.