At Herman’s words about searching the mansion, Descartes became enraged.

“On what grounds does His Majesty order this search of my mansion?”

“We received an anonymous tip. There was information that the missing Vernar’s offering money is in Marquis Descartes’s mansion.”

The word ‘offering money’ made Descartes’s brow furrow. He had vaguely heard rumors that the offering money heading to the temple had been stolen by thieves. And that this had made relations with the temple somewhat awkward.

But to say the missing offering money was in his house? It was an absurd claim. Descartes demanded in an even fiercer voice.

“Are you suggesting that I stole the offering money? Talk sense! What reason would I have to do such a thing!”

“We’ll find out once we check. The knights are searching now.”

At Herman’s resolute attitude, the marquis’s body trembled. To think that someone who until recently couldn’t even meet his eyes was now holding his head high as the king’s right hand. However, since they had come with royal orders, he couldn’t refuse the search.

‘I will surely make you pay for this humiliation.’

To dare treat him like a scoundrel who would steal offering money. He had no intention of letting this slide.

Descartes glared at Herman as he spoke.

“If you find nothing, His Majesty will have to take responsibility for this. And so will you, of course.”

As he was grinding his teeth with veins popping in his neck, one of the knights searching the mansion came running, shouting.

“We found the gold coins!”

“What…?”

At those words, the marquis’s head snapped up. Two knights were approaching carrying a large box. In their hands was the gold they had received as payment for the recent trading company transaction.

Descartes pointed at the box, as if correcting a mistake.

“Those are indeed gold coins, but they have nothing to do with the offering money. They’re simply payment received through legitimate business.”

“We’ll see about that when we open it.”

Herman ignored the marquis’s words and ordered the knights.

“Open the box.”

“Yes.”

With those words, one of the knights opened the box.

The box was filled with gold coins. Herman took out one coin and examined it carefully. Then, pulling at the corner of his mouth, he spoke.

“Whether this was received as legitimate payment or not will be determined after a thorough investigation at the palace.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Sensing something was wrong, Descartes approached him. Herman held out the coin to the marquis and said.

“Look carefully at the coin. Look at what pattern is on the side.”

“The side?”

With an ominous feeling, the marquis hastily snatched the coin. As he examined it, Descartes’s expression darkened.

“This, this is…!”

On the side of the coin was a tiny, distinct pattern engraved. It was the symbol representing the god Helios.

Generally, when sending offering money to the temple, they would engrave the symbol of the god on the coins. The location of the engraving varied, but the Tezever royal family typically engraved small symbols on the side. In other words, these coins were the very offering money that had gone missing recently.

Finally realizing something had gone terribly wrong, Descartes shouted.

“These are the coins we received as payment for trade! If these really are offering money, then the thieves would be our trading partners, not us! We’re victims too!”

“You can explain that in the palace dungeon.”

“What…?”

Being told to explain in the palace dungeon was tantamount to saying he would be interrogated.

And the marquis knew well what the royal family meant by interrogation.

“For now, you’ll need to come with me, Marquis Descartes.”

Herman gave the marquis one final courtesy.

* * *

The House of Marquis Descartes fell apart literally overnight.

The stolen offering money was found in the marquis’s house. This news quickly spread throughout the kingdom.

As a result, the already precarious trading company went bankrupt, and Descartes, unable to pay his debts, faced imminent bankruptcy.

It would have been fortunate if it had stopped there. To make matters worse, Viscount Hamilton delivered the final blow. He testified about an incident where Marquis Descartes had bribed a maid to poison the king’s quarters.

Because of this, Marquis Descartes went from being an unscrupulous thief of offering money to a traitor who had tried to kill the king. Even the nobles who had been arguing for the marquis’s innocence turned their backs on him. Though they all noticed the injustice, they kept their distance to avoid being implicated themselves.

The fall of the powerful House of Marquis Descartes happened in an instant.

Some speculated, and it became accepted as fact, that the cause of the marquis family’s downfall was the scandal between Ines and the marquis’s son.

Almost daily, the names of the marquis, the queen, and Carlos were mentioned in social circles.

However, unlike the turbulent situation outside, the Lily Palace, which could be considered the center of the rumors, remained peaceful today as well.

Ines, who was leaning against the sofa, was reading a letter from Llewellyn. Though she hadn’t been able to meet Llewellyn yet, they had begun exchanging letters with simple greetings after the marquis was arrested. The threat to Llewellyn had disappeared.

A gentle smile spread across her lips as she slowly read through the letter.

“Your Majesty the Queen. I am doing very well now. I am currently making a baby bonnet for the child to be born.”

Making a baby bonnet was a tradition that started as a way to celebrate a child’s birth. Though Llewellyn wouldn’t be able to see the baby right away, she showed her intention to be there in spirit by sending a bonnet.

Ines felt relieved that Llewellyn seemed to be doing better than expected.

After putting down the letter, Ines looked out the window for a moment. The sun was already setting.

Recent events briefly flashed through her mind.

She had never asked about the conversation between Carlos and Herman. Of course, it still bothered her. Their conversation stuck in her heart like a protruding stone on flat ground.

She was just deliberately pretending not to know.

Ines was simply focusing on the present.

She no longer needed to suffer from using her healing power. She had heard that the marquis’s family, which had been her concern, was now just waiting for their death sentence for treason.

Llewellyn was also in a safe place, and the baby, though she had almost lost it, was growing without major problems since then. Her body had recovered much more than before. She could even take simple walks without difficulty.

Everything was peaceful. It was a peace that would continue as long as she didn’t dig up past events.

Moreover, she now had nothing to hide from Carlos. She didn’t have to be anxious about her secret of being an illegitimate child being discovered.

“Carlos…”

In fact, she could no longer define what her feelings toward him were. Ines had certainly loved Carlos. Because of her guilt toward him, she had tried to become someone worthy of him, and had endured pain for the sake of Carlos and their unborn child.

Though she called it effort, for Ines it was more like a desperate struggle. But on the day she realized that the reason she had to make these efforts, the cause of it all, was Carlos’s scheming – it felt like the tower she had carefully built collapsed in an instant.

She no longer wanted to approach Carlos first to improve their relationship, nor did she want to try to avoid becoming a criticized queen. Of course, she questioned whether it was right to live face to face with him while burying the past like this.

But she was tired now. And she just wanted to spend peaceful days. Moreover…

Lowering her head, Ines gently stroked her belly.

“I only need you.”

Yes, she had her baby who would be born soon. And her mother who was doing well. With just these two people, she felt she could endure even in suffocating places. She could live enjoying small happiness with them while pretending to be at peace, without necessarily digging up the past.

“So please be born healthy.”

Just as she was imagining meeting her soon-to-be-born child while whispering these words.

A knock announced someone’s visit.

Ines looked at the clock. As expected, they came at this time without fail today too.

No sooner had she let out a quiet sigh than the door opened gently.

Through the opened door appeared a familiar figure.

It was Carlos.