"I'm away from the royal palace now too, so this is what I've heard..."
Saying so, Julian began to speak.
"Duke Danzel's goal is to become a maternal relative. This can be achieved either with Annette as queen or with his own daughter."
"That is why the duke did not make any particular move after the engagement was broken off."
"However, when he learned that Mariabelle was engaged to the crown prince of the empire, and had prepared as a dowry the most productive granaries and mines in the kingdom, he vehemently opposed the marriage."
"In the absence of the Marquis de Berkeley, he denounced the marriage at the Imperial Council, saying that James was planning to secede from the kingdom and give his support to the empire."
"He also insisted that James should be taken into custody and interrogated immediately."
"The king dismissed the Duke of Danzel, saying that James had been devoted to him and that he had promised not to interfere with the marriage when his son broke off his engagement to Mariabelle, but then he suddenly fell ill and was never seen again."
"The timing was so coincidental that everyone suspected Duke Danzel, but there was no proof."
"It seemed as if Duke Danzel would take over the kingdom, but then the crown prince, Edward, stepped up."
"He was to serve as acting king with the support of a faction called the King's Faction, which had kept the Duke of Danzel's faction away from his close associates."
"The crown prince's personal guard was waiting for James at the border under the guise of protecting him from the Duke of Danzel, since the leader of the King's Faction was the Marquis of Berkeley."
"So your father is safe, then?"
Julian's face turned grim as Mariabelle relaxed her shoulders in relief.
"He's safe, but he's under house arrest."
"How did that happen?"
"The traditional royalists respect the king's statement and recognize that Mariabelle's marriage is of her own free will, but a new royalist faction, let's call them... has emerged. They have suggested that the crown prince should take the lead in considering the best interests of the kingdom from now on."
"The future..."
"Certainly, if the interests of the kingdom from now on are to be considered, it would be best to avoid giving the territory that Mariabelle makes her dowry to the empire."
But why that would lead to the crown prince's bedroom makes no sense to Mariabelle.
"Does it mean that he wants to make me a concubine for his territory?"
'Is it... without... love?'
In the first place, she thought it was because he chose true love over the wealth that Mariabelle would bring, and that is why he broke off the engagement.
At the time, Mariabelle was in severe shock and despair, feeling as if she had been denied everything she had ever known.
However, as she spent time with Renato, she came to understand what love was like, and she came to understand how Edward felt when he chose true love instead of a marriage based on political intrigue.
The ten years of queenly education she spent for Edward was not wasted if she thought it would be useful for Renato.
'Therefore, I want to forgive Edward.'
'I am sure that the next time we meet, we will each have a loved one next to us, and we will talk about the old days as if we were just childhood friends.'
That's what Mariabelle had thought....
"I wonder what kind of "love" Edward is talking about if he is going to make Mariabelle, whom he doesn't even love, his concubine for the sake of the kingdom."
"And you're saying he's going to make Belle his concubine? Don't be silly."
The air in the room shivered at the volume of his voice.
Renato's fury could be felt through the hand that was touching hers, and Mariabelle was more pleased that it was anger for her than fearful.
Surely, he would not let go of Mariabelle no matter what.
'I am glad to see that feeling come through.' Mariabelle thought.
"In the beginning, he was trying to persuade His Highness to make Mariabelle a queen and the commoner's daughter a concubine. Recently, the commoner's daughter seems to have finally realised that the position of queen is too much for her, and she has said that she would be fine with being a concubine if she were a queen in name only."
A squeak escaped Mariabelle's throat.
The most important thing to remember is that the queen is a woman.
Mariabelle vaguely remembers Annette, whom she only met once.
She was a bright and expressive woman.
She had never been anything like an aristocrat, but had she become so steeped in the aristocratic mindset that she was willing to be the concubine instead of being the only wife of the person she loved?
"It is a story that makes a mockery of Belle to no end."
"After all, it is the shallow wisdom of a commoner's daughter. No one took it seriously except for a few. Naturally, our family would also decline."
There was a man who came to Julian, who was still in Berkeley's territory, with such a proposal, but he dismissed it without even asking for the permission of James, the head of the family.
He had already done enough for the kingdom, even if it was said that he was doing it for the good of the kingdom.
The result of that was the breaking off of Mariabelle's engagement.
"It would be impossible to ask for any more devotion.'
"It is only natural."
Saying this, Renato gently rubbed the back of Mariabelle, who was holding her breath.
When Mariabelle looked up, his deep blue eyes, as if enveloping her, looked down at her.
The lamp light reassured Mariabelle of the warm colours of the sea at night, different from the day.
Gently, she snuggled into his well built body.
Right now, that warmth was the only thing that supported her heart.