Chapter 20: Mother’s Best Friend

Before dusk, a message came to Eva asking her to come for an audience.

Greta saw her off, and she followed the palace guard, who had come to summon her.

Whether it was because she had heard beforehand from Lucas or because she had resolved herself for what was to come, Eva’s mind was calm.

Passing through several magnificent corridors, they entered the audience chamber with the king.

When the palace guard knocked on the imposing door, it swung open from the inside.

Eva, who had demonstrated a flawless courtesy taught by her mother, raised her head when addressed by the king to assess the situation in the hall.

In front of her sat the first prince of the Dacian Empire, Raymond, and the king, side by side.

Behind each of them, their attendants were visible, and Lucas was also standing behind Raymond.

“Last night was a disaster. Are you feeling alright?”

“Thank you for your concern. Thanks to the kindness of the second prince, Lucas, I am doing better.”

“That’s good. I called you here to discuss the future. I heard that the second prince, Lucas, has already conveyed the general outline of the recent turmoil to you.”

Eva looked straight into the king’s eyes.

“Firstly, as you’ve heard, Count Burke was connected to the human trafficking organization of the Dacian Empire and involved in the trafficking of citizens from both countries. He was mainly selling the children of beastmen in the black market of this country. The nobles who purchased them have already been investigated and detained. The protection of the surviving children has also been ensured. Furthermore, your uncle, Border Marquise Stahl, was cooperating with the human trafficking organization to allow them to cross the border freely. We have also uncovered that he was receiving bribes in return.”

Up to this point, Eva nodded, as she had heard the same story from Lucas.

“In the interrogation just now, we obtained confessions from both Count Burke and Marquise Stahl. They confessed to orchestrating the accident of your parents’ carriage.”

As expected, even though she had anticipated it, hearing it as a fact brought a different shock to Eva. Amidst the echoing thunder, she recalled that fateful night when she had waited anxiously for the return of the two from the window.

“Both of them will face trial in this country, and their fate will be decided by the court. Despite being relatives, you are also a victim. Until the trial concludes, you will stay in the palace.”

“I understand.”

After a brief pause, the king looked kindly at Eva.

“You were also the primary candidate for the Crown Prince’s leading fiancée at the strong insistence of the queen. It’s regrettable that you got entangled in this arrest.”

Unconsciously, Eva shifted her gaze to the Crown Prince behind the king, and their eyes met.

“I have already exchanged engagement documents with Count Burke.”

“Yes, about that. It seems that Marquise Stahl brought the documents to the civil officer’s room late last night, but due to the ball, they haven’t been accepted. Therefore, the engagement is invalid.”

I see… a sense of relief spreading within her.

“Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty.”

As it seemed the conversation had concluded, Eva attempted to make a courteous exit. However, as if remembering something, the king called out to her.

“Miss Eva, the queen wishes to meet with you. Would that be acceptable?”

“It would be an honor. Please convey my regards.”

She wonders why the queen wants to see her.

She didn’t know that she, as the primary candidate for the Crown Prince’s fiancée, was due to the strong desire of the queen, as the king mentioned.

The day after the audience, Eva was invited to an unofficial tea party by the queen.

“Greta, what should I do? What should I wear?”

“Well… you could go for a cute young lady look or opt for a more mature woman appearance. It’s a bit confusing.”

Although Greta’s criteria were unclear, Eva trusted her judgment.

“I think today I’ll go for the cute young lady look.”

Saying that, she revealed a mint-green dress with a fluffy hem.

“I’ve styled your hair to look neat!”

Her braided hair was gathered into a single ponytail at the back.

“Thank you, as always.”

“How about some accessories?”

Implicitly, Greta was asking whether she should wear the garnet earrings Lucas had given her.

“Today, just this pendant will do.”

“Understood.”

She carefully kept the earrings. Wearing them might lead her to misunderstand Lucas’s simple kindness as something else.

When Eva visited the queen’s room and greeted her with a curtsy, the queen immediately spoke.

“I’m glad you came. Your curtsy is just like Elizabeth’s.”

“Does the queen know my mother?”

She involuntarily replied in surprise.

“Yes, I’ve been close friends with Elizabeth for a long time.”

Saying that, the queen called a waiting maid and had her place a box in front of Eva.

“These are letters that Elizabeth gave me. If you’d like, please open the box and take a look.”

When Eva opened the lid of the box, she found dozens of neatly arranged letters inside.

“I called you today because… I wanted to talk about Elizabeth.”

She learned that her mother was from the Duke’s family in the Dacian Empire. Her mother got lost while participating in a hunting competition near the border mountains and coincidentally encountered her father, who was patrolling the border.

“I was told by my mother that it was a chance encounter with destiny for her and my father.”

“Hehehe, she used to say that to me too. Since Elizabeth was the only daughter of the duke’s family, she wasn’t allowed to marry into the neighboring Border Marquise’s family. Defying their opposition, Elizabeth crossed the border alone and came to this country.”

Eva was taken aback. Her mother was a woman with a delicate, fairy-like appearance.

“Even in this country, no one could have imagined that the daughter of a neighboring duke would elope here. Her appearance was truly that of a fairy.”

“Were my parents able to marry easily?”

“It was challenging. Given that it could potentially escalate into an international issue, the Tifris royal family secretly mediated between the Stahl family and Elizabeth’s original duke family. This country had a closed policy, so we couldn’t act openly in diplomatic matters. In the end, even though both families officially accepted it, they married as if it were an elopement.”

“Does my mother’s family… do they know that my mother has passed away?”

“Yes… they know. Elizabeth’s parents, your grandparents, wanted to take you in. However, considering the significant change in environment for you to go to another country immediately after losing both parents, it was thought that it might be too overwhelming. So, it was decided to entrust you to Lord Klaus’s younger brother.”

The queen, with lowered eyes, continued the story with a sorrowful tone.

“I have to apologize to you. Both Elizabeth’s parents and I thought you were living happily in Stahl’s territory. … I regret not insisting on taking you in at that time.”

A spy commissioned by the royal family had been bribed by her aunt. The spy conveyed false information to the queen, stating that she was living happily.

“So, because of me, you’ve been confined to the estate and suffering. I’m truly sorry.”

The queen bowed with tears in her eyes.

Eva hurriedly went to the queen’s side, kneeled down, and pleaded for her to lift her head.

“Your Majesty, it’s true that I was mistreated by my uncle’s family. However, I also had wonderful encounters. I was able to meet a gardener who I can call my master and a good childhood friend. That’s why this was a good thing. So, this is fine. I don’t know what would have happened if I had taken another path.”

The queen gazed at Eva with tearful eyes and murmured, “You’re such a kind child.”

“In this box, there are letters from Elizabeth and your grandmother. I’d like you to read them. They also mention you, so you might get to know the personalities of your mother and grandmother.”

Given permission to take the box to her room, Eva decided to read the letters, expressing her gratitude.

“I don’t think something like this will atone for my sins, but I did send a letter apologizing to Elizabeth’s parents for not telling them the truth because the spy had been bribed by your aunt.”

“Your Majesty, thank you for your consideration.”

“But really, you’ve become so much like Elizabeth. The dress you wore to the ball was Elizabeth’s, wasn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I heard it was the first dress my father ever gave to my mother.”

“I remember her being delighted when she received that dress. There should be a letter from Elizabeth about that dress too.”

Upon seeing her at the debutante’s greeting at the ball, the queen was so surprised that she couldn’t speak, thinking that Elizabeth had come.

“I gave birth to the Crown Prince, and Elizabeth gave birth to you. We got excited, imagining that our children would marry in the future and become relatives. It turned out to be something that ultimately caused you suffering, and I apologize for that.”

Her aunt must be talking about trying to marry Eva to Count Burke to secure the position of the Crown Prince’s fiancée for her daughter.

“Your Majesty, I’m fine. Please don’t worry. I appreciate all your considerations.”

“It’s truly unfortunate about Elizabeth. She remains my only and forever best friend. I want you to be happy. As your mother’s friend, I’ll do what I can. So, feel free to rely on me anytime.”

The queen gently enveloped Eva’s hands and smiled.

“Thank you for your reassuring words.”

It was heartwarming to know that there was a friend who cared so much about her mother.

Returning to her room, Eva began reading each letter her mother had sent to the queen.

In the letters, her mother appeared as a simple girl deeply in love and longing for her father, even after marriage. She described how joyful it was to live with her father, expressing the wonders of every day spent with her daughter to the queen. The letters also detailed the struggles and challenges she faced, from exploring the territory to being accepted by the initially distant residents.

Her feelings for her hometown were also evident; it seemed she missed it dearly.

Eva noticed the meticulousness in her mother’s writing; the letters to the queen were filled with detailed expressions of her daily thoughts and feelings.

While some aspects of her mother’s image as a delicate and fairy-like woman were shattered as she read, Eva could vividly feel her mother’s way of life in the short-lived letters. She felt gratitude toward the queen for allowing her to read these precious letters.

Eva then picked up another bundle of letters from the box.

These letters were exchanged with the Rodon family in the Dacian Empire. Eva finally learned the name of her mother’s family.

The correspondence between her grandmother and the queen was not cold; instead, it was a heartwarming exchange consoling each other for the loss of their beloved ones. Her grandmother’s feelings for Eva, her granddaughter, were also expressed. There seemed to be genuine affection, without any resentment, as if cherishing a family member. This surprised Eva, as she had assumed her grandmother harbored negative feelings towards the child of her disowned daughter.

From the letters, Eva discovered that the Rodon Duke family, her mother’s family, was a lineage that had maintained the royal rose garden for generations, possessing the Green Hand. Her mother indeed had the Green Hand.

Her mother was skilled at growing flowers and assessing the condition of crops.

“I wonder if I also possess the Green Hand.”