When the sky was still dark, Anne walked towards a palace that was used as a place to stay for guests from other kingdoms who were present at the founding party of the country.
She walked into a room that looked very luxurious on the outside compared to the other rooms she had passed earlier. Inside the room there was already a blonde haired man and a man who looked about the same age as Esther who had silver hair.
The two people were Grand Duke Eugene and Crown Prince Livius Wellington la Maurice. They seemed to have been waiting for Anne's arrival all along.
Anne bowed half of her body to the two people who had very high power in the Maurice Empire.
"Report everything completely, Anne!" said Eugene.
Having no other choice, Anne immediately told her everything she knew from start to finish. She also did not forget to tell all kinds of humiliation and torture experienced by Esther while there.
Eugene, who heard that his beloved only daughter was being abused like that, was immediately furious. It surprised Lucius when he saw his uncle like that. The reason is, so far Eugene is the type of person who is very quiet and never expresses his emotions.
"FUCK! HOW LOWER PEOPLE LIKE THEM ALL TREAT MY DAUGHTER LIKE THAT!" shouted Eugene.
Livius walked over to his uncle and tried to calm his uncle's exploding anger. "Looks like we should immediately bring Esther back to the Empire and order half of my troops to destroy this Kingdom."
Eugene immediately took out the sword of pride that had killed thousands from its scabbard. "I will immediately behead the people who did all that to my daughter."
"Calm down, Your Highness the Grand Duke! Wouldn't it be better if you spoke to Her Highness the Crown Princess first," said Anne.
Eugene sighed and walked out of the room. The panicked Livius immediately followed his uncle.
"Where are you going? Don't tell me you want to behead the Nightingale King right now?" Livius said as he walked briskly to match his uncle's footsteps.
"I won't do it now. Then doesn't it say that Esther is disguised as that damn King's concubine, then I should ask that Bastard to bring me to my daughter as soon as possible," Eugene retorted.
Eugene, who was still holding his sword sharply, walked to the main palace where Lucius was working with Livius. After reporting about the purpose of meeting with Lucius in the middle of the night like that, Lucius' secretary invited them to wait for a while in a room that had been provided.
After a few minutes of waiting, Lucius came out of his study. Unlike the usual guests who will bow half their bodies when meeting the host, namely King Lucius, Eugene and Livius just sat quietly on the sofa.
"So, can you tell me your business to meet me in the middle of the night like this?" said Lucius without further ado.
"I would like to meet your concubine named Beatrice," Eugene replied immediately.
Lucius chuckled at Eugene's request. "You can't meet a king's concubine, Grand Duke. That's against the rules of this kingdom."
"You know, venerable Nightingale King? Actually, I wanted to come here to behead you. But because I used my common sense to think many times, I finally gave up my intention. So, don't make me realize what I have thought. I undo it," said Eugene with a smile.
Lucius immediately shuddered at the indirect threat from Eugene. Because, from what he had heard so far, Grand Duke Eugene was the proud hero of the Maurice Empire, the greatest empire in the entire world. Many lives had already been taken by his hands.
"O-Okay! I'll meet you with Beatrice tomorrow," said Lucius, stammering a little.
The next morning, Eugene and Livius sat in the greenhouse in the Rose Palace, Queen Caroline's former palace. They were a little nervous waiting for Esther's arrival. An hour had passed and Esther still hadn't come. Eugene begins to suspect that Lucius has tricked him.
However, his suspicions immediately disappeared after seeing a woman with dark brown hair entering the greenhouse with a boy who had jet black hair. The two of them walked over to the chair Eugene and Livius were sitting on.
A brown-haired woman with eye bags that look thick and slightly dark in color. Her body was very thin and there were several wounds on her body even though she was wearing a long-sleeved dress. A face that was very pale and looked old, completely in contrast to her age.
The woman, together with the black-haired man, bowed half of her body in front of Eugene and Livius.
"I salute Grand Duke Eugene and Crown Prince Livius. May God Mauritz always bless you," said Esther politely.
"Nice to meet you too, Her Highness Consort Beatrice. I hope God Mauritz will also protect you," Livius replied.
Now Esther's attention was on her son. "Arthur, since I got here safely. I think you can return to our own palace soon."
"But, I can't leave my mother alone with them. Moreover, today's meeting was arranged by His Majesty the King. We don't know what bad things are going through his mind. Who knows he will sell mother to these two men," said Arthur deliberately, raising the volume for Eugene and Livius to hear.
Livius who heard that immediately burst out laughing. "Calm down, Prince. Neither of us are that kind of people. We came here just to discuss something important with Concubine Beatrice."
"His Highness the Crown Prince Livius is right. So go back to the palace and wait for mother with Anne and Helena," Esther said softly.
Arthur just nodded and immediately left the greenhouse with a face full of worry. Seeing Arthur already out, Esther immediately sat right next to Eugene quietly. The look on Esther's face was very different from yesterday when she had first met her father at the founding party.
"Wow, my dear sister! It seems you have changed a lot since we met a few years ago. Before I knew it, you had become a mother. That is a rapid development," said Livius while patting Esther tightly on the shoulder.
"It turns out that you are still as childish as ever. Nothing has changed about you, has it, Livius," Esther replied.
"I don't know what else to say. The point is let's get back to the house, Esther!" said Eugene.
"No, father," Esther replied softly as she took a sip of the tea that had been served on the table.
"What do you want, Esther? Do you want to be killed by them first before you go back home. They are all bastards who have hurt you. You can see that you have been well cared for and beautiful. But while you were here you were tortured until you were thin. and full of wounds like this. Do you know how broken my father's heart is to see you like this?" said Eugene in a raised voice.
"Even you were told to take care of the child of the previous Queen. You are not respected at all here, my daughter. So, go back with father to our house! Just leave the child," said Eugene.
"That child is Arthur, father. I've been raising him since he was six years old. I don't care if I'm treated disrespectfully. I'm just busy giving Arthur the best," said Esther.
"But she's not your son, Esther," Eugene replied.
"Sometimes when I look at Arthur, I feel like I'm in the mirror. His mother has also passed away just like my mother. His father never thought of himself as his son at all. Not that his situation was almost the same as mine. When I was little too, I grew up without a father figure. In years, I only had a day to play with dad. I don't think I had a family when I was a kid," Esther explained as she looked at the fountain statue.
"Father only gave me a lot of treasure to accompany my childhood. In our empire, I am the only woman who has everything, from wealth, power, a beautiful face. The only thing I never had was love. Sometimes I get jealous with Livius because his parents who were always there gave him lots of love and care," continued Esther.
Eugene couldn't help but be silent with his eyes heating up because he wanted to hold back his tears from falling out. His heart ached to hear the words of his beloved daughter. It felt like he had failed as a father all this time.
"That's why I don't want Arthur to have the same life as me. I will take care of him even though he is not my biological child. I will take care of him until another woman he loves will take my place to take care of him. I will attend the wedding as his mother. Then after that, I will return home in peace because all my responsibilities to Caroline are over."
Esther got up from her chair and walked out of the greenhouse. Before she left, she turned to Eugene. "If father loves me, then respect my decision."