Carlos sat in a chair looking at something. It was the letter of accusation Joseph had sent to the temple. Reading the contents with indifferent eyes, he held the edge of the paper to a candle flame.

Small wisps of smoke rose as the paper began to burn instantly. Watching the letter turn to black ash, he recalled their conversation from that day.

‘I never shared my body with Joseph.’

‘Then before that, did you ever share your body with my brother?’

‘No. I never shared my body with him.’

When he heard her answer that she had never shared her body with Joseph, he felt unconsciously relieved. Yes, maybe that bastard Joseph was lying. He was certainly capable of such things.

But he remembered Ines’s hesitation when he pressed her about why such rumors had spread. He sensed instinctively from her wavering eyes that she was hiding something.

For a brief moment, seeing Ines’s tears had made him forget. Forget that Ines had already betrayed him once.

As his brow furrowed at the aching feeling in his heart, the paper in his hand had turned to ash and disappeared.

Just then, Herman approached.

“Her Majesty the Queen has just returned to the palace. I’m told she met with that woman Llewellyn and talked for quite a while before returning.”

Hearing Herman’s report, Carlos asked.

“You don’t know what they discussed?”

“No. Everyone was sent away and the two met privately.”

The queen had no family to seek advice from about pregnancy, nor did she have close noble ladies. Since doctors were limited beyond medical help, it was natural in a way that she would seek out her former wet nurse.

“Ah, and Her Majesty says she will go volunteer at the poorhouse tomorrow.”

“Poorhouse volunteering?”

It was strange given how Ines used to detest the poorhouse.

“Yes, and she says she will participate in various other public activities with the noble ladies going forward.”

“With the noble ladies?”

“I suppose since the public perception of Her Majesty is not good. Perhaps she’s making efforts for the sake of the child to be born.”

She wouldn’t go when told to.

Though he didn’t like her going out while pregnant, he had no real grounds to stop her.

“Just increase the guards.”

“Yes. And lastly…”

He held out a document.

“This is the dismissal order for Priest Michael from Vernar.”

He had risen to the position of priest through Duke Claudia’s backing in the first place. With no more money to offer the priesthood, Michael’s dismissal was expected.

It was welcome news he had been waiting for.

Scanning through the document, he ordered.

“Cut off Michael’s hands and feet and send him to the Kentaros region for hard labor.”

Considering everything he had done, a quick death didn’t feel sufficient.

* * *

On a bright afternoon. Though the weather had grown noticeably colder than before, the poorhouse was still bustling with people.

The Fox Society, where noble ladies gathered once a month to volunteer, was essentially no different from a social gathering. It was a form of supporting their husbands while pretending to do charity work.

And today, the Fox Society was stirred by the appearance of an unexpected figure.

“We had no idea Your Majesty would take interest in the Fox Society’s activities. You’ve never attended before.”

“Indeed. Moreover, are you really alright with volunteering at the poorhouse today? Though it’s a different place from where you volunteered last time… Still, we thought you’d never go near a poorhouse again.”

Though there had been several similar events until now, this was the first time Ines was attending together with the noble ladies, as she had been unwell during previous occasions.

“Your Majesty.”

The Marchioness of Descartes and Countess Colsen, who could be considered the leaders of this gathering, paid their respects.

“To think Your Majesty would grace such a meaningful occasion with your presence today. I do hope the children will appreciate Your Majesty’s heart, though.”

It was a mocking reference to when Ines had been hit by a stone thrown by a child in the past.

“Indeed. But wouldn’t it have been better to rest? You collapsed at the Countess’s funeral last time, so I wonder if you needed to push yourself to come volunteer at the poorhouse.”

Ines smiled as she looked at the noble ladies who were subtly putting her down. Regrettably, this was her reality. But there was still much time left until the child would be born.

Little by little. For a better future than now, Ines had no intention of backing down.

Ines answered with a bright smile.

“The children are too young to understand my heart. But if the ladies and the people help and support me, perhaps the children will gradually open their hearts to me as well.”

It was an implicit pressure that while children might not know better, they shouldn’t treat her this way. The noble ladies exchanged glances at Ines’s response, which was different from before.

“…Of course. We will help you.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Ines left first. Margaret, who was beside her, whispered as if she had seen something amusing.

“Did you see the ladies’ expressions? They seemed taken aback by Your Majesty’s response.”

Ines moved forward with a faint smile at Margaret’s words. She had no time to waste trading barbs with noble ladies.

Today’s volunteer work was a bit more difficult than before. Last time she only had to hand out gifts to children, but this time she had to distribute meals and play with the children.

Since it was a formal event, some noble ladies didn’t participate directly and instead sent their maids to do the work.

But Ines began volunteering more actively than before. She personally distributed food to the children and carefully made sure they ate well.

Unlike before when she wouldn’t even think of smiling at children or approaching them first to speak, today was different.

She approached the children first to ask how their meal was, initiated conversations, and made efforts to get closer to them.

And perhaps those efforts paid off. Even the children who had avoided Ines began to hover around her hesitantly.

“So, Your Majesty, if we find a four-leaf clover, good things will happen?”

After she explained the meaning of four-leaf clovers, the excited children began searching through the entire forest.

“Your Majesty! Look at this. I think I found one with four leaves!”

“No, Your Majesty. He’s lying right now. I saw him tear off another leaf and stick it on with sap!”

“What? That’s not true!”

While they were all eagerly searching for clovers, even though she hadn’t promised any rewards, a boy tugged at Ines’s skirt.

“What’s wrong?”

The boy’s face was flushed red and he was even sweating despite the chilly weather from running around so much.

“My, my sister disappeared.”

“Your sister?”

“We were looking for clovers together, but when I turned around, she was gone.”

The boy looked like he might burst into tears at any moment. Ines took his hand to calm him down and said.

“Shall we look for her together?”

When the boy nodded, Dairen, who was nearby, stepped forward.

“I will go with the child.”

“It’s alright. I’ll go with him.”

“Then I will accompany you.”

“Security is already tight inside and out. Don’t worry. The child is scared of Dairen.”

The child seemed frightened of Dairen’s large build and hid behind Ines’s skirts.

Ines looked for Margaret. Margaret also appeared busy, already caught up with other children.

“Shall we go together then?”

“Yes!”

So she walked through the forest with the child. The forest she thought was small turned out to be bigger than expected. Ines looked down at the child as they crossed the forest. The sniffling child looked both cute and pitiful.

“What’s your name?”

“…Melgin.”

“And your sister’s name?”

“Hannah.”

The child answered in a calmer voice than before, seeming to have settled down while walking. Ines kept asking questions to help put Melgin more at ease. After walking for some time, they heard a child’s crying from somewhere.

“That’s my sister’s voice!”

The child let go of Ines’s hand and started running. Ines immediately ran after him.

Not far away, they found a little girl who looked only about three years old crying.

“It hurts…”

Ines quickly approached the girl and examined her injury. One knee was scraped raw and red.

“Looks like you fell down.”

Without proper treatment, it could leave a scar. Even if it was treated today, she might not get proper care after returning to the poorhouse.

“Mama…sniff.“

Watching the child sniffling in pain and calling for her mother, Ines fell into thought.

‘What should I do?’

Normally, no matter how injured a child was, she wouldn’t have thought of using her ability. But perhaps because she was carrying a child herself. Somehow, she found it difficult to just pass by a child crying for their mother.

After contemplating for a while, Ines seemed to make a decision as she knelt down and reached toward the girl’s knee.

“Will you show me your injury?”

Though she decided to heal the child moved by compassion, she couldn’t carelessly reveal her ability. So she decided to add a small lie.

“Could you both close your eyes for a moment? I happen to have a very special medicine. If I apply this medicine, the wound will heal quickly.”

“But why do we have to close our eyes?”

“It would be troublesome if others saw. Can you close your eyes for me?”

Though puzzled, the children innocently closed their eyes.

Then Ines took out a small cream from her pocket. It was something she had been carrying in case her hands got chapped.

She scooped out some cream and carefully applied it to the injured child’s wound. At the same time, a golden light spread from beneath her hand, then faded. When the light had completely disappeared, Ines said.

“There, all done. You can open your eyes now.”

The little girl blinked her eyes and was startled to see that her knee wound had disappeared.

“The wound is gone!”

“How did you do that?”

“I told you, didn’t I? That I had a very special medicine.”

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

The children innocently believed Ines’s words. They probably just thought she had applied some very effective medicine.

Ines smiled as if having completed her task. And the moment she stood up, the transferred knee injury throbbed.

“Ugh.”

“What’s wrong, Your Majesty?”

The children tilted their heads as Ines suddenly let out a groan. Ines smiled as if it was nothing.

“It’s nothing. Shall we go now?”

“Yes!”

As she left holding the children’s hands.

As Ines left holding the children’s hands, she remained unaware. That there had been eyes watching this entire scene.