‘I h-heard they’re c-coming through the e-east gate.’

As soon as the maid finished speaking, Ines headed for the east gate. The east gate, which was practically the back door of Richard Palace, was quite a distance from the Lily Palace where Ines was.

It was far enough that one would normally take a carriage, but Ines didn’t have the patience to wait for a coachman.

“Haa, haa…”

Ines walked quickly while taking heavy breaths. Her hands lost strength several times, causing her to drop her cane multiple times. Though the wind cut sharply against her cheeks, she was so focused on checking the cart that she didn’t even feel the cold.

As her footsteps left clear marks in the snow-covered ground, her cane once again slipped from her hand and rolled on the ground. While painfully picking up the fallen cane, Ines thought to herself.

‘It can’t be. It must be a false rumor.’

Llewellyn was hiding in a safe house arranged by Carlos. So the body being brought to the palace couldn’t possibly be Llewellyn. After all, it was a safe house arranged by none other than the king himself.

‘Or maybe they’re just pretending she’s dead for her safety.’

With that thought, a glimmer of hope appeared on her face.

Carlos had once made a dead countess appear alive for years. He had even staged a funeral using someone else’s body.

If he could deceive everyone for years by making a dead person appear alive, making a living person appear dead would be nothing to him.

“So mother must be safe.”

But despite this belief, Ines couldn’t shake off her anxiety. She felt she wouldn’t be at ease until she confirmed with her own eyes that the mistress’s body being brought in the cart wasn’t Llewellyn.

After walking for a while with mixed feelings of anxiety, impatience, and desperate hope, she finally reached the east gate where she saw a cart that had just entered the castle grounds.

Upon seeing the cart, Ines momentarily froze. It was quite different from how she had been rushing to the east gate just moments before to check the cart.

Now that she actually saw the cart being pulled by soldiers, Ines began to feel afraid. Afraid that the body in that cart might really be her mother’s. Scared that the death of the mistress the maids had been gossiping about might be true.

Ines’s body began to shake uncontrollably. But she couldn’t tell if the trembling was from the fierce cold or from fear of the truth she was about to face.

“…It can’t be, calm down.”

Ines muttered quietly, as if hypnotizing herself. She took a deep breath to calm her trembling body and clenched her fists. Only then did Ines, somewhat more composed than before, slowly begin to walk.

A knight watching the cart arrive noticed Ines and his eyes widened. He approached Ines and bowed.

“Your Majesty, what brings you here? It’s cold out. If you need anything, we could…”

“I want to know what’s in that cart.”

“Pardon?”

When the confused knight asked again, Ines spoke once more.

“I asked what’s in that cart.”

“Well, that…”

The knight trailed off as if troubled. At his reaction, Ines bit her lip and started walking without thinking. The surprised knight hurriedly blocked her path.

“Y-Your Majesty shouldn’t see this. There’s a body inside. The condition of the body isn’t good. It would be better if you didn’t look.”

“…Whose body is it? Who could be in there that you’re bringing a body into the palace?”

“That…”

The knight trailed off again as if troubled. This only increased Ines’s anxiety.

“It’s the body of the woman said to be Duke Claudia’s mistress.”

The knight chose his words carefully since Ines’s father was Duke Claudia. Moreover, he was especially cautious because the queen was pregnant.

At the knight’s words, Ines repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fist slowly. The pounding of her heart seemed audible even to her own ears.

After swallowing hard, Ines finally parted her lips.

“…I will verify with my own eyes whether it’s truly the mistress’s body, so step aside.”

“I really cannot allow that. It’s not something you should see.”

However, despite her low warning, the knight showed no intention of stepping aside.

The knight’s words were purely out of concern for the pregnant Ines. But provoked by his words, Ines physically pushed the knight aside.

Unable to forcefully restrain the pregnant queen, the knight finally had to make way for her.

Ines moved forward slowly. After just a few steps, she saw a small foot sticking out from the cart. It looked the same size as Llewellyn’s foot.

Still, Ines denied that it could be Llewellyn. It was just a typical size for a woman’s foot.

Thinking this, Ines continued walking. As she approached the cart, she noticed red hair protruding from it. That too was the same color as Llewellyn’s hair.

But again, she denied it could be Llewellyn. She convinced herself it was just another woman with the same red hair. Though it wasn’t a common color, it wasn’t impossible to find if one really looked.

Now it was time to lift the rag covering the body. Her hand, trembling like an aspen leaf, finally touched the rag. Her hand gripping the cane tightened as she felt her legs might give way.

“…Please.”

As the desperate voice escaped her lips, the rag was slowly lowered by her hand. Finally, the face of the body that had been hidden was revealed.

And at that moment.

“Ah…”

Ines let out a sigh as she confirmed the face of the body.

The cane she had been holding fell to the ground with a thud. At the same time, Ines’s body swayed.

“H-how…”

It was Llewellyn. The person they said was the mistress’s body was really her mother.

Ines shook her head in disbelief.

Hadn’t they just exchanged letters checking on each other just a few days ago? Then why…

‘They say she’s already dead? Killed by stones thrown by people. And then they hung the mistress’s body in the square? The royal guard is now retrieving the body and bringing it back.’

The maid’s voice describing the mistress’s end echoed in her ears.

The condition of the body was horrific enough to understand why the knight had tried to stop her from seeing it.

The face was already a mess of blue bruises and blood, and in this cold weather, the body wasn’t wearing even a single piece of clothing.

Her arms were dislocated from being tied up and hung, and on the n*ked body’s chest were letters that seemed carved with a knife.

[Claudia’s wh*re]

It was a cruel and horrible sight.

“No…”

Her trembling hand endlessly caressed Llewellyn’s face. The body, cold as ice, reminded her that Llewellyn was no longer of this world. Tears falling from her eyes wet Llewellyn’s face.

This couldn’t really be her mother. Her mother couldn’t have met such a miserable end. Ines kept shaking her head in disbelief.

She wailed miserably, as if denying the grim reality.

“No…!”

Her voice, overcome with emotion, cracked in the cold air. Her face, grief-stricken as if her world had collapsed, was enough to make anyone’s heart ache.

While people were watching this unexpected situation and eyeing each other uncertainly, a familiar voice called Ines’s name.

“…Ines!”

It was Carlos, who had just rushed over after hearing the news. Having come in a hurry, he was breathing heavily.

Ines, who had been wailing while clutching the body, lifted her head. Her expression turned sharp when she saw Carlos. Then she picked up the cane lying on the ground and threw it at Carlos without hesitation.

“Your Majesty…!”

A red line appeared on his forehead where the cane had hit his face. While everyone was struck with shock, Ines approached Carlos and began hitting his chest with her fists.

“I told you, I told you I would bring her to the palace…! Then this… this kind of miserable death wouldn’t have happened!”

Carlos silently endured Ines’s resentment.

“You killed her! You… Ah!”

And at that moment, as she was hitting him wildly, Ines frowned in terrible pain and collapsed, clutching her stomach.

“Ines!”

As the startled Carlos hurriedly supported the collapsed Ines, red blood began to stain the white snow.