At this point, Lizbeth's status issue had already entangled many factions.
Hendrick, the King of Jinas, naturally needed no further mention.
For his own sake, and to uncover what had happened to him, he had to use Lizbeth as bait to reveal the secret that had been hidden from him for eight years.
Meanwhile, the Duke Faction, led by the Cordelion family, noticed this situation and thus informed Riezel, also planning to investigate the royal family's movements.
Behind Lizbeth, there also seemed to be someone pulling the strings, sending her into the royal palace of Jinas, and even going so far as to alter Hendrick's mind through extraordinary means.
Another faction, apparently in opposition to the force behind Lizbeth, had approached Hendrick, released his mind alteration, and exposed Lizbeth's true status.
In addition to that, there was Riezel, whose connection with Lizbeth ran deep—once anything happened to her, he would inevitably be dragged into it as well.
"By now, the palace must already be filled with all sorts of schemes and hidden moves, making every faction tangled in confusion..." Yuri said in a grave tone. "I suspect the one stirring up trouble behind the scenes is hiding within the palace itself, watching Her Highness's every move."
It was less of speculation and more of an instinctive feeling.
Clearly, the mysterious person who had exposed Lizbeth's identity had a motive, or they would not have gone to such lengths.
Moreover, since that person had taken action, the likelihood of them remaining inside the royal palace, closely observing the ongoing events, was extremely high.
Not only did Yuri sense this—Hendrick himself clearly had his own doubts.
Riezel's finger tapped lightly against the table, and as he did so, his eyes reflected deep thought.
"You think that mysterious person who exposed Lizbeth's identity could be Ice Maiden's group?" Riezel suddenly asked.
"You suspect them?" Yuri was slightly taken aback.
"Yeah." Riezel nodded calmly. "It's obvious whoever did this was clearly targeting Lizbeth. Still, why was it that right after Lizbeth entered the ancient ruin of Reinnail, awakened her bloodline, and broke Moslow's seal, they decided to act? Could it be that they only recently discovered that Lizbeth's identity as a princess was fake, and also found out that Hendrick's mind had been altered because of it?"
If that were the case, that would be too rushed.
"So, you think they likely knew long ago that Her Highness wasn't truly a princess, but had chosen not to reveal it until she awakened her bloodline and broke Moslow's seal—and only then found her too dangerous to ignore, so they acted immediately?" Yuri responded, beginning to understand his meaning.
"Something like that..." Riezel replied calmly. "And the biggest suspect capable of doing such a thing is undoubtedly that mysterious group."
Given that the group had appeared several times in connection with the ancient ruins of the ancient magic civilization, it proved that they possessed a certain level of knowledge about it.
If that was the case, they were very likely aware of Reinnail, of Lizbeth, and of the people behind her.
For this reason, when Hendrick mentioned that a mysterious person had exposed Lizbeth's secret, the first person Riezel suspected was naturally someone from Ice Maiden's group.
It could not be helped.
Ice Maiden and her group were far too mysterious—their origin and motives were both unknown, yet they possessed tremendous power and influence, seemingly enough to interfere with the workings of multiple countries.
Such a group was simply too suspicious.
Considering that they had managed to contact Hendrick without his awareness, undo his mind alteration, and uncover Lizbeth's hidden identity, it proved that the mysterious individual behind these events was no ordinary person.
Given all that, it was almost impossible for Riezel not to suspect them.
"It's not impossible..."
Yuri spoke after furrowing her delicate brows for a moment before nodding.
"First of all, the royal palace is His Majesty's domain, and he holds control over the Light of Heaven, yet someone still managed to slip past such a defense, establish contact with His Majesty alone, and secretly undo his mind alteration."
"Such a feat isn't something any ordinary person or organization could achieve."
"For someone to possess an ability so powerful and mysterious that even national-level defense proves useless—and to have the means to undo a mind alteration unnoticed by His Majesty himself—there can't be many such people in this world."
"And since they chose to strike at this very moment, so clearly targeting Her Highness, it's reasonable to suspect only the mysterious group you mentioned."
"Perhaps even your own confrontation with His Majesty over Her Highness might have been part of their plan."
"It's just my suspicion, but maybe both you and Her Highness are really being watched by that mysterious group."
As soon as those words left Yuri's lips, the room fell into a heavy, indescribable silence.
"Master's being watched too?" Lizbeth asked, both shocked and worried.
Originally, she had thought she was the only one in danger, but now it seemed that her predicament itself might have been a trap set by that mysterious group to target Riezel.
Back then, for her sake, he had once lost his temper, stormed into the Mavros family, confronted Raven directly, and even ended up in a duel. If the enemy knew all that, then they would also know that if her status were exposed and she were seized by the royal family, he would never stand idly by.
Yet the enemy had gone ahead regardless, which proved they were not only aiming for Lizbeth, but for Riezel as well.
"And the person behind Her Highness..." Yuri hesitated slightly and turned to Lizbeth. "Your Highness, do you really have no idea who that might be?"
Her question left Lizbeth silent.
"I mean, the one who arranged for you to be placed into the royal family, and even altered His Majesty's mind to make it possible—do you have no suspect at all?" Yuri pressed her words one by one, her tone calm yet heavy.
Riezel also shifted her gaze toward Lizbeth.
As for Luna and Euryale, for some reason, the two of them exchanged glances instead.
One tilted her head, the other widened her eyes—it was as if they were playing some amusing game, paying no attention to Riezel's serious discussion with the others.
Under such an atmosphere, Lizbeth's expression revealed a trace of inner struggle before she finally spoke softly.
"I only have one suspect..."
Who?
"Grandma Mia..." Lizbeth murmured, her face looking downcast. "Grandma Mia's the only one I can think of..."
It was the old woman who had cared for Lizbeth ever since she first gained consciousness, who had taken her in and raised her with great effort until she was seven, the only family she had ever known as a child.
Before Lizbeth entered the royal palace, that old woman had taken her across countless lands, wandering from place to place, and had also once claimed that Lizbeth's mother died shortly after giving birth, leaving behind only Moslow and a mysterious animal skin with a picture on it.
She had told Lizbeth that if she ever got the chance, she should take that animal skin to the Hidden Land—though she never seemed truly supportive of the idea.
In the end, when her age finally caught up to her, and she could wander no more, that old woman contacted Hendrick and asked him to bring Lizbeth back to the royal palace.
Indeed, it was that very Grandma Mia who had claimed Lizbeth to be Hendrick's illegitimate daughter and contacted him to bring her back into the royal family.
How could one not suspect that this mysterious old woman was the very person who arranged for Lizbeth to enter the royal family of Jinas, and even altered Hendrick's mind to make it happen?
Given that she seemed to know everything about Lizbeth's lineage, about Moslow, the animal skin, and the Hidden Land, who would believe she had no connection with the Reinnail Clan?
However, the problem was...
"If Grandma Mia really did all this, why would she?"
Lizbeth had been haunted by this question for an entire day—it was because she could not understand it that she had been sitting there, absent-minded.
And the reason she stayed and didn't leave was also partly out of fear that if she did, the royal family might not only cause trouble for Riezel but also for her grandmother, who had contacted Hendrick back then.
With all these worries piling up, she had ended up sitting in silence all day, unable to decide what to do next, making Riezel worry for nothing all night, which indeed deserved a little scolding.
"…In your impression, was that Grandma Mia someone powerful enough to bypass all of Hendrick's defenses and alter his mind?"
Riezel asked Lizbeth this question, at least for the sake of confirmation.
"Uhh..."
Lizbeth, looking troubled, thought for a long moment before murmuring.
"Grandma Mia was indeed amazing..."
"I remembered that she knew many things, kept many secrets, could survive anywhere we went, and always said strange things I couldn't understand."
"When I was little, I thought she was weird, but also kinda great... But if you ask me how powerful she was... I really can't say."
"She was so old, yet she could scold scary people until they ran away."
"She was frail, but she could climb tall mountains, cross vast grasslands, row boats, swim, cook, weave clothes... it felt like she could do anything."
"Sometimes, when we were in the wilderness and got targeted by monsters, she could glare at them until they ran off. And not long after, she'd come back carrying what looked like meat cut from those same monsters, and I'd get a good meal out of it."
"That's the Grandma Mia I remember—strong, but in a way I can't really explain..."
Lizbeth tried her best to search through her memories and describe the grandmother she remembered to Riezel.
"Listening to you, she does sound quite suspicious..." Riezel said thoughtfully.
"And after that?" Yuri quickly asked. "After Your Highness was taken into the palace, where did that old lady go?"
"I... I don't know..." Lizbeth said anxiously. "I only remember Grandma Mia sending me to His Majesty, and then she left. After that, I never heard from her again."
In other words, that old woman was most likely still alive.
"Well, that makes things interesting..." Riezel said with a faint smile. "If she's still alive and learns your identity has been exposed, she'll most likely come looking for you."
Needless to say, that fit perfectly with Hendrick's expectations.
As long as Lizbeth stayed in the royal palace, the one who had altered his mind and arranged for her to enter the royal family might eventually appear. By then, the mysterious person who had revealed her status would probably take action as well.
Having thought through all this, Riezel once again turned her gaze toward Lizbeth.
"Well, thinking about it that way, your decision to stay in the palace might've actually been the right one."
If Lizbeth had escaped from the royal palace and freed herself from the royal family's control, the people behind her might not have revealed themselves.
And if they hadn't revealed themselves, the mysterious person who had exposed Lizbeth's identity might also have stayed hidden in the shadows.
Of course, that mysterious person would never allow Lizbeth to just walk away.
Considering they were targeting both Lizbeth and Riezel, letting her leave and return to his side would ruin all their plans. Perhaps they were even waiting for both of them to completely turn against Jinas, so they could use the conflict to destroy them both.
Besides, Hendrick would never allow Lizbeth to leave either.
With the Light of Heaven surrounding the royal palace, escaping was almost impossible for her—unless Lizbeth drew Moslow.
Moslow was terrifying when unsealed.
Riezel had every reason to believe that once unsheathed, even the Light of Heaven would be cut apart with a single strike.
However, if that happened, it wouldn't just be the Light of Heaven that got sliced in two—the entire royal palace might be destroyed, and countless lives lost.
Lizbeth would never do something like that.
"If I hadn't come to get you, you'd probably have been locked up here indefinitely."
Riezel's tone grew impatient again, making Lizbeth lower her head in shame.
In the end, she had still dragged him into trouble and once again ended up relying on her master's help.
"I'm sorry..."
Lizbeth's voice was low, her expression full of discouragement.
Even though she had grown stronger, awakened her bloodline, and thought she could finally help her master—that she wouldn't be a burden anymore—in the end, she was still so useless.
As Lizbeth thought about it, her frustration couldn't help but grow.
"Forget it. It's not your fault." Riezel said softly, his heart softening at Lizbeth's dejected look. "Being suddenly told you're not Hendrick's daughter, that your status as a princess was fabricated, and that someone was manipulating things behind your back… of course you're confused."
He reached out and gently patted Lizbeth's head.
"It's fine. No matter what your identity is, all I know is that you're my attendant."
Upon hearing this, Lizbeth lifted her head.
"Um!"
Tears glimmered at the corners of her eyes as she nodded firmly.
As she expected, her master was the kindest person in the world.
No matter who she really was, she would always be her master's attendant.
===
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