Michael’s face was not pleasant after his audience with Carlos.

“I thought I could extort some money with the letter.”

Far from receiving the offering, he had only been threatened in return.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

He had come out boasting that he would go to Tezever and get at least half of the stolen offering back.

Instead, he only ended up giving them leverage against him.

If he returned to Vernar like this, it was clear as day that his promised position as High Priest would vanish. The High Priest position had been promised in exchange for receiving substantial offerings from Tezever in the first place. If he fell out of favor now, he would surely be demoted to a small provincial temple. As Michael was unable to hide his anxiety.

A palace with white alabaster walls came into his view. It was the Lily Palace, the queen’s residence.

Michael, who had been staring at it quietly, twisted his lips, having come up with a good idea.

“Then I’ll just have to change the source of money.”

He still had a way to save himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Lily Palace, the doctor examining Ines tilted his head.

As if having trouble reading her pulse, he touched her wrist countless times.

“Your Majesty, perhaps…”

The doctor started to ask something but trailed off. When Ines looked at him questioningly, he shook his head.

“It’s nothing. For now, you absolutely must rest. This is largely a psychological issue.”

“I understand.”

After the doctor left with only unease remaining, Ines lay back down on the bed. Since the funeral ended, she had been plagued by guilt every day.

Even the doctor’s advice to keep her mind at ease was of no use.

‘I shouldn’t have stayed by Carlos’s side after all.’

She should have died along with the others when the rebellion occurred. She deserved to have vanished like the morning dew on the execution ground, as the daughter of a sinner and villain.

Lost in thought, Ines’s eyes grew sorrowful. The price Carlos had paid was beyond imagination.

In truth, she had naively thought that by taking his injured leg with her ability, the wounds of war might heal somewhat.

How arrogant that thought had been.

He had lost his mother so horrifically in the war – how could those wounds have healed?

How devastated must he have felt when he returned right after the war ended, seeing that no one knew about his mother’s death?

‘Father, why did you…’

Hah.

Ines couldn’t bring herself to face Carlos. She didn’t know what words to say when she saw his face. Should she apologize? Could this possibly end with just a few words of apology?

The more she dwelled on it, the worse she felt.

Though she had only eaten a few pieces of fruit, even that felt like it would come back up soon.

All she could do now was sleep to escape from her current pain.

As Ines was struggling with self-reproach, a maid entered with a knock and delivered a message. A visitor from the temple had come.

At the mention of the temple, Ines opened her closed eyes.

“The temple…?”

“Yes. They say they must speak with Your Majesty.”

Ines tilted her head at the maid’s words. What reason could the temple have? It was strange that the place that had opposed her marriage to Carlos until the end was now seeking her out.

But it would be discourteous to refuse an audience with God’s servant. Ines heavily raised herself up.

“Alright. Please tell them I’ll prepare myself and come out shortly.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I will relay your message.”

After the maid left with a bow, Margaret asked in a worried voice.

“With your health being poor, wouldn’t it be better to postpone the meeting? They didn’t even make an appointment before visiting. This is discourteous to begin with.”

Margaret wasn’t wrong.

Even if they were God’s servants, Ines was the queen of a nation. To visit such a woman without making an appointment was tantamount to showing disrespect.

But Ines was in no position to demand formal courtesy from them.

“It’s fine. If we turn them away now that they’ve come all this way, it will cause talk later.”

“But…”

“Would you help me change into a dress?”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Unable to dissuade Ines, Margaret helped with her preparations.

* * *

The Lily Palace had a reception room with a clear view of the garden.

It was created by the previous queen who loved tending to the garden. Three walls were made of clear glass to view the garden that bloomed with splendid flowers in spring.

Thus, the place gave off the feeling of a transparent glass greenhouse. Michael, sitting at the center table of the reception room, looked around and spoke to Ines.

“What a beautiful place this is. If it has such charm even in autumn, it must be quite a spectacle in spring and summer.”

“Yes. It was very beautiful. The previous queen was particularly fond of gardening.”

“I see.”

Michael, who had been exchanging formal greetings, glanced sideways at Ines.

The queen’s position in Tezever was not good. Recently, she had been hit with stones by a commoner child, they said. Yet far from punishing the child, she had become the child’s patron.

This meant the queen’s situation was so precarious that she couldn’t even punish those who harmed her for fear of the people’s reaction. And the queen’s situation presented another opportunity for Michael.

The priest pulled his lips into a crooked smile as he lifted his teacup.

“This is luxury you wouldn’t have enjoyed if the Pope hadn’t permitted this marriage.”

“…I am deeply grateful for that. But you must have another reason for seeking me out.”

Ines’s voice was calm, like she had expected such a reaction from the priest. Rather, she seemed to be urging him to get to the point.

Despite everything, she maintained her dignity befitting the daughter of the Claudia family, which was once said to be able to bring down even flying birds.

‘Well, she was the legitimate daughter of the Claudia family, even if they’re ruined now.’

Though her family had been destroyed, she was once the legitimate daughter of the Claudia family. And now she was the only survivor of the family. Even though all assets had been confiscated by the state, she must have something remaining in her possession.

‘I heard she has land remaining abroad.’

He had heard they forced through the marriage with her under the pretext that personal foreign assets couldn’t be confiscated by the state. If it was enough for the ministers to accept, it must be land of considerable value. If he could take that land, his position at the temple would be secure.

Having organized his thoughts, Michael added.

“How should I say this… Actually, the temple received an anonymous letter concerning Your Majesty.”

“An anonymous letter…?”

At the mention of an anonymous letter, Ines’s body stiffened.

“Yes, well. It contained claims that Your Majesty had already been intimate with the former king, your former fiancé, before marrying His Majesty.”

No sooner had those words ended than Ines’s hand holding the teacup trembled. But she continued in a calm voice.

“Did that person write so in the letter? That he had been intimate with me?”

“Yes. That was clearly written in the letter.”

Ines, who had been quietly listening to the priest until now, let out a hollow laugh.

There must be no reason for the priest to suddenly seek her out.

It seemed he intended to make some demands using the letter as leverage.

Feeling a headache from this unexpected situation, Ines pressed her fingers against her temples.

Then she answered in her most resolute voice yet.

“That is not true. I have never been intimate with him.”

Ines felt terribly wronged. She knew such rumors were circulating, but she had turned a blind eye because she was supposed to marry Joseph anyway.

But to receive Joseph’s letter now that she was already married to Carlos? Given his usual hatred for Carlos, his intention to cause trouble was clear.

However, Michael continued without batting an eye at her denial.

“Forgive my impertinence, but at this point, the truth is not what’s important. What matters is that the former king himself sent an anonymous letter to the temple.”

“What do you mean…”

“The letter already contains words denying Your Majesty’s chastity. It’s clear as day how the people will react if this becomes public, isn’t it?”

At the priest’s words, Ines fell silent, trying to think of what to say.

She herself was fine. She had no public support to begin with, so falling further didn’t matter. But Carlos was different. Ines didn’t want to leave any more stains on him.

“Therefore, voices within the temple calling for the nullification of your marriage are growing louder.”

“Does His Majesty know about this?”

“Yes. I already discussed this with His Majesty before coming to see you. However…”

Michael trailed off, seemingly speaking with great difficulty, but finally added,

“He told me to do as I please. He said he no longer felt the need to do anything about it. It seems he was greatly disappointed by the fact that Your Majesty had been intimate with the former king.”