Ines suddenly raised her head in surprise. What came out of his mouth was something she had never expected.

“What do you mean? Why can’t you bring Llewellyn? Last time, you clearly said it was fine for Llewellyn to stay at the palace!”

Ines’s usually calm voice turned sharp. Her eyes held resentment, as if questioning why he couldn’t grant even this one request.

Moreover, she had already revealed that Llewellyn was her birth mother. Yet they couldn’t bring Llewellyn to the palace. Carlos’s answer made her feel betrayed.

However, despite Ines’s sharp reaction, Carlos responded in a cool voice.

“To bring a stutterer as the queen’s maid, there needs to be a plausible reason. For instance, if she were the queen’s childhood nanny, people would easily accept it. But who would believe that a duchess’s nanny was a stutterer?”

“That’s….”

Though it upset her to hear her mother being dismissed as a stutterer, Ines couldn’t argue back. She hadn’t thought that far herself. After all, hadn’t she also lied about Llewellyn being her nanny to try to bring her to the palace?

But reality was different. Llewellyn, who actually stuttered, couldn’t have been her nanny. Many factors were considered when selecting nannies for noble children. They usually preferred fallen nobles or noble ladies in difficult circumstances, and when that wasn’t possible, they mostly hired commoners from wealthy families.

Who would believe that Duke Claudia would hire someone who couldn’t even speak properly as a nanny for his child?

“There will certainly be those who are suspicious. We still have many enemies targeting us both, and many eyes looking to find our flaws. If someone were to investigate Llewellyn thoroughly, they might discover that she was Duke Claudia’s mistress. Do you think the subjects would remain quiet if they learned that the duke’s mistress was still alive?”

Hearing this, Ines clenched her fists. This wasn’t something that could be resolved simply by revealing to Carlos that she was his illegitimate child. The subjects’ anger toward the duke was still great.

While she, as queen, was under Carlos’s protection and couldn’t be touched carelessly, it was different for Llewellyn.

Even if it was revealed that she was an illegitimate child, the fact that Llewellyn was the duke’s mistress must not come to light. As this late realization hit her, Ines bit her lip. At that moment, Carlos continued speaking.

“However, though we can’t bring her to the palace, I will remove her from the farm and have her stay in a safe house.”

“A safe house…?”

Ines’s eyes widened at this unexpected proposal.

“I will arrange it not too far from the capital. She won’t need to do hard labor at the farm anymore. I’ll provide financial support as well. She just needs to live there quietly and comfortably.”

“…”

“Considering she refused the earlier offer to stay at the palace, I assume your mother wanted to spend her remaining years in peace? That wouldn’t be easy if she were in the palace.”

Ines lowered her head for a moment, recalling the past.

When her father was alive, Llewellyn’s world was limited to a small annexe. She lived an almost imprisoned life there, surviving only on food brought by maids. It was hardly different from the life of livestock.

That’s why she said she was happy to have gained freedom, even if farm work was hard. Even Ines couldn’t bring herself to force her mother, who had just gained freedom, to come to the palace because of her own desires.

However, now it was a matter of Llewellyn’s safety, which was why she had tried to bring her to the palace even if it meant forcing her. In that sense, Carlos’s proposal was truly for Llewellyn’s benefit.

His proposal was tempting enough that Ines had no reason to refuse. However, there was one thing that worried her…

After hesitating for a moment, Ines’s lips moved.

“The marquis knows that Llewellyn is my birth mother. He knows she’s working at the farm, and he even has people watching her. Your proposal isn’t bad, but nowhere is as safe as the palace.”

In response to Ines’s worried words, Carlos muttered quietly.

“That’s nothing to worry about. The House of Marquis Descartes will soon disappear from the noble genealogy.”

“What? What do you…”

Because Carlos had whispered so softly, Ines asked again, wondering if she had misheard. However, he changed the subject without answering.

“From now on, Ines, all you need to think about is the safety of your child and yourself. I’ll take care of everything else.”

With those final words, Carlos turned to leave when Ines’s last request caught his ankle.

“Wa-wait…! If that’s the case, could I meet my mother one last time before she goes to the safe house?”

She thought that if her mother went to the safe house, she might not be able to see her for a long time. That’s why she wanted to meet Llewellyn one last time.

To this, Carlos firmly shook his head.

“That’s not possible.”

As soon as his words fell, disappointment spread across Ines’s face.

“But I will deliver a letter for you.”

A letter. Yes, that would be fine enough. As long as Llewellyn was safe…

Ines quietly nodded.

“I’ll write it by tomorrow morning.”

Carlos answered with a nod and left the room.

As soon as he left the room, he muttered to Herman who had been waiting for him.

“Start what we prepared.”

His eyes gleamed ominously.

* * *

Inside the Marquis Descartes’s mansion.

With a crash, a glass vase thrown to the floor shattered into pieces.

“How did you handle things like this! What were you doing until the maid disappeared?”

A sharp voice echoed through the cold study. Hans bowed his head shamefully at Descartes’s fierce criticism.

“I apologize. Because of the sudden fire at the farm…”

Llewellyn’s disappearance happened in an instant. Suddenly, a fire broke out at the farm, and people were running around frantically to put it out. When Hans hurriedly looked for Llewellyn after the chaotic situation was contained, she was already gone.

He continued, saying these circumstances were unusual.

“It couldn’t have been the queen’s doing. Someone must have helped the queen take Llewellyn away.”

At Hans’s words, Descartes nervously bit his nails.

“Strange… Things are turning very strange.”

He had a bad feeling since problems started occurring with his previously successful trading company.

Descartes’s trading company was currently one of the most prominent in the kingdom.

Of course, his company hadn’t always been successful. It grew in size after he acquired the trading company of the House of Duke Claudia, which had been destroyed in the rebellion.

The bleeding had been significant, of course. To forcibly absorb the duke’s massive trading company, he had to sell his existing coal mine and even go into debt.

But because it was such a profitable company, he was quickly paying off the debt.

The problems started when their ship carrying goods to Brillant encountered pirates.

Because they suddenly lost their goods to pirates, trust with their business partners was broken, and as a result, existing partners began terminating contracts one after another.

Though they barely avoided deficit by difficultly securing one new partner, it wasn’t enough to pay off the debt incurred from forcibly acquiring the trading company.

Descartes, who had been briefly reviewing past events, raised his head.

“Has Alfredo arrived safely?”

“Yes. We received word this morning that he has settled well in the village.”

Descartes had sent Alfredo away when access to the palace became restricted. He feared harm might come to Alfredo.

“Tell him to keep hiding until things quiet down. Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Yes, understood.”

“Keep looking for where the maid might have hidden. And where are the gold coins we received as payment this time?”

“They’re safely in the vault.”

“Then use half of that to pay off the debt, and the remaining half…”

Just as the marquis was giving instructions to his subordinate, the closed study door was suddenly flung open.

“My-my lord! Something terrible has happened!”

The butler shouted, catching his breath.

“What is it?”

“Ri-right now outside…”

Before the butler could finish his sentence, a familiar face appeared along with the sound of clashing armor.

“You are…”

Descartes’s brow furrowed as he recognized the face.

It was Herman, the king’s right hand.

“Marquis Descartes. We will be searching your mansion briefly, by royal command.”