"Master!"
Seeing the young man, Lizbeth quickly stood up, and the confusion and gloom that had clouded her delicate and beautiful face were finally gone, replaced by pure joy and excitement.
Luna also rose to her feet, staring in shock at the group that had suddenly appeared inside the room.
It was a trio—a young man accompanied by two young women.
Even though the man did not seem particularly imposing, he stood at the front, which indicated that he was the leader of the group.
Both women behind him were strikingly attractive—one breathtakingly elegant, the other alluringly seductive—so much so that Luna, who had always been confident in her own beauty, found herself stunned.
"Miss Yuri! Miss Euryale!"
Lizbeth also noticed the two women standing behind Riezel and called out to them.
Indeed, the newcomers were none other than Riezel, Yuri, and Euryale—the three had appeared without a sound, leaving Lizbeth both startled and delighted.
"It's such a relief that you're unharmed, Your Highness."
Yuri gave Lizbeth a quick once-over and, seeing no injuries, quietly sighed in relief.
"..."
Euryale blinked, then suddenly stepped forward and took Lizbeth's hand.
Only Riezel remained still, and after confirming that Lizbeth was safe, he turned his gaze toward Luna.
"And you are?" Riezel asked with a hint of confusion.
"She's... Uhh, the one who's been taking care of me." Lizbeth quickly answered before Luna could speak.
Originally, she had wanted to say that Luna was her personal maid, but she caught herself. Considering she was no longer a princess, no longer Hendrick's daughter, referring to Luna—a maid who served members of the royal family—as her personal maid felt inappropriate.
Because of this, she introduced Luna that way, then hurriedly turned to Riezel.
"Master, why are you here?"
As soon as these words left Lizbeth's mouth, Riezel immediately raised his hand, pretending he was about to knock her head again.
"Ah! Master, please don't!"
Lizbeth quickly hugged her head, pleading pitifully.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Luna, seeing Riezel about to bully Lizbeth, quickly stepped forward and shielded the girl behind her, exclaiming sharply.
Riezel gave Luna a long, deep look, then turned back to Lizbeth with clear exasperation.
"You've got some nerve asking me that." Riezel said seriously, narrowing his eyes. "Why don't you ask yourself where you've been all night? Did it not occur to you that others might be worried sick?"
Realizing her mistake, Lizbeth's expression turned guilty.
"So… Master came looking for me?" Lizbeth asked softly, her tone filled with both shame and gratitude.
"Duh, what else?" Riezel retorted while sitting down, then cast a glance at the untouched dishes on the table.
As though piecing things together, he then shot Lizbeth an accusing look.
Noticing her master's look, Lizbeth shrank her shoulders in embarrassment, then hurried to his side, picked up a teapot, and poured him some tea.
However, her attempt to please him only made Riezel more irritated and caused Luna's brows to knit even tighter.
Seeing how skillfully her princess moved, Luna, feeling a bit irritated, couldn't help but wonder if her princess was used to doing this sort of thing.
It was only natural.
Lizbeth was supposed to be an attendant, not a servant.
Why should she be doing such menial work?
With this thought in mind, Luna glared at Riezel with eyes burned with indignation as if he were not the famed Lightning Sword Saint, but a shameless villain.
Riezel found Luna's reaction odd, while Yuri couldn't help feeling déjà vu.
'Why does this maid remind me of Marilyn…? Why is she always glaring at Riezel for no reason?'
Yuri thought to herself in confusion, then looked at Lizbeth with a complicated expression.
"We already know what happened, Your Highness." Yuri said gently. "You've been through a lot."
Lizbeth said nothing and merely stole a timid glance at Riezel, but sadly, he didn't meet her gaze.
"Something this serious happened, and you didn't think to resist—that I can understand." Riezel sipped his tea with a blank expression and spoke in a calm tone. "But why didn't you send word to me?"
He could understand Lizbeth's lack of resistance toward Hendrick's confinement.
Hendrick had, after all, raised her for eight years.
Given that she had called him 'Father' for as long, to suddenly be told she wasn't his daughter, she would, of course, be too confused to resist his decision.
Besides, Hendrick hadn't meant to punish her severely—he had merely placed her under confinement in the royal palace.
Given Lizbeth's kind nature, Riezel wasn't surprised she hadn't fought back, but what he couldn't overlook was the fact that she hadn't informed him at all.
They were connected by an attendant contract, so if she had wanted to, there were countless ways for her to contact him.
And yet, she hadn't.
Such a thought made Riezel glance at the top of Lizbeth's head again, pondering whether he should knock it again so some sense would get into her little head.
Lizbeth, noticing this, immediately clutched her head.
"I'm sorry, Master! It's my fault—please don't be angry..." Lizbeth murmured, her body trembling. "I just… I just—"
"You just wanted to know—since Hendrick isn't your real father—who your true parents are, and why they sent you to him in the first place, right?" Riezel cut her words off, perfectly voicing her thoughts. "He himself only learned the truth recently, out of nowhere, which you found fishy. You were afraid that whoever was behind this might have tampered with his mind somehow, so you didn't want me to act rashly. Am I wrong?"
Hendrick had already told Riezel everything.
He said that Lizbeth wasn't his daughter, and that his very perception had been altered by an unknown power so thoroughly that he had truly believed she was his illegitimate child, never once thinking to verify her identity.
Ordinarily, when a supposed royal child returned to the family—especially as an illegitimate one—their identity would be verified.
Yet Hendrick hadn't actually done that.
He had simply accepted Lizbeth as his daughter without question, as though the idea of confirming her lineage had never even crossed his mind.
However, rather than say he overlooked it, it was more accurate to say that someone had deliberately steered him away from the thought.
According to Hendrick, if not for a mysterious individual who had later alerted him and even undone the mental tampering, he would still be in the dark.
Needless to say, the realization that his mind had been subtly manipulated by someone unknown filled him with horror and dread.
He was, after all, a king.
He carried numerous mystical artifacts designed to protect him from mental domination, memory alteration, or psychic interference—threats that could jeopardize the kingdom if he ever fell under another's control.
Every monarch shared that concern.
Some even retained powerful magicians by their side to monitor and repel any abnormal status effects at all times.
Hendrick himself possessed a high-grade ancient artifact that shielded him from poison, curses, and manipulation, yet even that had failed.
Such a discovery undoubtedly terrified him, which was why he immediately ordered extensive magical examinations and, ignoring Riezel's objections, placed Lizbeth under confinement.
He wanted to know who had placed Lizbeth within the royal family of Jinas, who had altered his perception, and whether that person was still watching him. He also feared that he might still be under some undetectable magic beyond even the kingdom's most advanced magic.
Consequently, he confined Lizbeth, hoping to lure out the hidden mastermind, or even the mysterious person who had freed him from his mental shackles, to see who they truly were.
In fact, Hendrick didn't particularly care whether Lizbeth was his biological daughter because, to him, a princess more or less made little difference.
If not for the unseen forces at work, he would have gladly continued treating her as his own, maintaining his bond with Riezel for Jinas's benefit.
Unfortunately, the situation was too deep, too dangerous to ignore, so he had to take a firm stance, even if it meant clashing with Riezel.
Lizbeth had sensed Hendrick's fear and hesitation.
As a result, she neither resisted nor fled the palace because she was worried—worried that Hendrick might come into conflict with the person who had once helped her, bringing ruin upon the kingdom.
At the same time, she also wanted to uncover the truth behind what had happened to him and to herself.
For this reason, she chose to remain in the royal palace, investigating quietly.
As for why she hadn't informed Riezel, it was mainly because she feared he would get involved and escalate the situation.
It couldn't be helped.
Lizbeth knew Riezel well that once he acted on impulse, he would stop at nothing.
In other words, he wouldn't hesitate just because of a mere kingdom.
Indeed, Lizbeth had been right.
Riezel had barged in without restraint, and it was far sooner than she could have ever expected, before she even had time to act.
===
[A bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones.]
[Support me and read next chapters early at: patreon.com/VALRRR]