Learning that she was actually not Hendrick's daughter, was Lizbeth sad?
Not really.
Even though it had indeed come as quite a shock to her, it was only that—a shock, not a crushing blow.
It was understandable.
In the first place, within this royal palace, she had always been a mere nobody, someone transparent and unnoticed, and had hardly built any connections with members of the royal family.
Although Hendrick had brought her back to the royal palace, he never allowed her to wander freely beyond her assigned residence. Because of this, while the younger generation of the royal family had more or less heard of her existence, they regarded her with disdain.
For one thing, she was an illegitimate child, shunned collectively by them.
For another, she lived in seclusion, rarely stepping outside.
Because they never had any real chance to interact with her, the relationship between her and the royal children remained distant—one could even say shallow.
If she hadn't met Marilyn at the Frenzel residence and later formed some sort of connection with her, she would never have had any link at all with those so-called siblings of hers.
Therefore, when she was told that she shared no blood relation with any of them, she honestly did not feel much of anything.
Hendrick was no different.
Not only was he a man constantly preoccupied with the affairs of the kingdom, but his concern for his children was also always minimal, and his decisions were guided more by profit than affection.
As a result, she felt little sense of closeness or attachment toward her so-called father, since they had never built a bond of any true depth in the first place.
Moreover, she had never particularly cared for the status of a princess in the first place.
Because of this, when Hendrick informed her that she was not his daughter—not the princess of Jinas—she did not feel devastated.
Of course, while she was not sad, that didn't mean it was easy to accept.
It was because she had lost the only family bond she had ever known.
It was because the place she had once called home was now denied to her.
She had lived in this royal palace for eight long years, believing all along that Hendrick and the others were her family—her only remaining ties to this world—but now, that belief had been torn apart in an instant.
For Lizbeth, finding it hard to accept was only natural.
If Hendrick was not her father, and those brothers and sisters were not truly her siblings, then did she have any family left in this world?
Was she now completely alone?
Had she lost all of her kin?
"Who are you?"
Hendrick's cold, piercing question struck straight into the depths of Lizbeth's heart—like a spear driven into her chest, robbing her of breath.
Yes...
'Who... am I?'
If Hendrick wasn't her father, then who was?
Who was her mother?
Where was her family?
Where had she truly come from?
Lizbeth had been absent-minded since yesterday, and the more she tried to understand her origins, the more numb she felt—the less sense it made, the more suffocated she became.
"Luna... Do you know where your family is?"
Lizbeth, lost in deep confusion, turned to Luna and asked softly, but her uncertain question made Luna's breath hitch slightly.
"I... suppose you could say I do..."
Even though many words lingered on her tongue, in the end, Luna only replied with this one sentence.
"But after they sent me into the palace, they disappeared..."
It was a fate shared by many maids and servants of the royal palace.
Generally, those who were permitted to serve the royal family could be divided into two kinds.
For the first kind, they were none other than relatives of nobles.
Some nobles who held posts in the royal capital—or lords who ruled territories elsewhere—would occasionally send their children into the royal palace to serve the royal family.
They were often the third or fourth born of their noble families, those without inheritance rights or prospects, so their paths typically led in one of two directions.
One, they would be sent to join the Royal Knightly Order, striving to make a name for themselves through hard work and training.
Two, they would enter the royal palace, serving princes and princesses, thereby helping their families forge closer ties with the royal family.
Such a practice was also common between major nobles and their vassals.
For instance, the daughter of the Cordelion family had two companions from Riezel's small circle who studied alongside her, serving as her aides—another example of bonds formed between liege and vassal.
As for the second kind, they were orphans, children of heroes who had achieved great merit on the battlefield or those who had made noble sacrifices for the kingdom.
In recognition of these heroes' contributions and to prevent their families from falling into hardship after losing their family's pillar, the kingdom brought their surviving children into the royal palace to serve.
Some parents, knowing they might never return from the battlefield, had even sent their children to the royal palace beforehand, hoping they would at least have shelter and support.
Thankfully, the kingdom had always treated such individuals with respect.
As long as their lineage was clean and their parents had verifiable service records, the royal palace would readily accept them without hesitation.
Luna belonged to this second kind.
At the age of ten, she had been sent into the royal palace by her parents—only for them to never return.
In fact, when she said she supposed she did know where they were, it wasn't entirely true.
Yes, she knew they had gone to war, that they had gone to dangerous lands, but what happened afterward, she knew nothing of.
In the past, Lizbeth had never asked her about this, believing it might reopen old wounds, but now, she could no longer hold back.
"Your family just disappeared like that, leaving you all alone... Don't you feel angry or sad about it, Luna?" Lizbeth asked softly.
"…I'm fine." Luna replied, glancing at Lizbeth as though weighing her words carefully before continuing. "I mean, they must've had their own reasons. Back then, I couldn't accept that they left me behind, but now, I've come to terms with it."
Right after saying this, she turned the question back to Lizbeth.
"What about you, Your Highness? Are you perhaps still unable to accept it?"
It was a somewhat odd question, but judging from Luna's hesitant expression, she simply didn't know how else to comfort Lizbeth.
"I... I don't know either..." Lizbeth admitted, looking dazed. "I don't even know who they are. I used to think my life was simple, but now... everything's changed..."
"Then why are you still staying here, Your Highness?" Luna asked, her voice full of worry. "You're no longer His Majesty's daughter. If His Majesty decides to hold you accountable for this, the consequences could be disastrous!"
A child of unknown origin, raised as one's own for eight years—any ordinary person would have a hard time accepting such a revelation, all the more so for the ruler of an entire kingdom.
A great king, who had taken in an unknown child as a member of the royal family—bestowing upon her wealth, comfort, and even the royal family's sacred swordsmanship—only to discover in the end that she was not his blood, but an outsider of unknown birth?
If the matter were to spread, it could easily throw the entire royal family into turmoil.
By all logic, in such a situation, Hendrick would have been fully justified to execute Lizbeth on the spot.
Yet he did not.
Instead, he placed her under confinement, restricting her within her former residence.
Why?
Luna thought about it and felt a chill crawl up her spine.
"Your Highness… maybe you should escape..."
Luna's words came out hastily, her tone uneasy.
"Escape?" Lizbeth's vacant gaze flickered with conflict for a moment before she shook her head. "No, I won't run."
"Why not?!" Luna asked anxiously. "If you don't, Your Highness, you might soon find yourself in real danger!"
"No. I won't." Lizbeth replied, her voice suddenly calm. "My father—no, His Majesty—would never harm me."
"Wh-Why?" Luna asked, still confused.
"Because of my master."
As she answered, Lizbeth's eyes brightened, her face regaining its liveliness.
"Master is a powerful and extraordinary man. Even His Majesty wouldn't dare disregard him, much less harm his attendant without reason."
"As long as my master still stands by me, His Majesty will remain cautious."
"I mean, the fact that he merely confined me instead of taking harsher action already shows his hesitation—he's unsure how to handle me."
Lizbeth spoke with firm confidence.
"As long as my master hasn't abandoned me, I'll be safe."
Hearing this, Luna frowned deeply.
"Who knows if that's really true?" Luna retorted, clearly unconvinced. "Would anyone really risk opposing an entire kingdom like Jinas for the sake of an attendant?"
Her tone was skeptical.
In her eyes, men were the most unreliable creatures in existence.
Even if this so-called master was a Sword Saint, it was hard to believe he would stand against a king just to protect a mere servant.
"If you ask me..." Luna continued, "His Majesty's decision not to punish you might just be a temporary truce. Even if His Majesty is wary of that Lightning Sword Saint, His Majesty is probably planning to negotiate with him. Maybe they've already reached an agreement—His Majesty could've persuaded the Lightning Sword Saint to give up on you."
"No, that's impossible." Lizbeth said at once, her expression firm. "Master would never abandon me."
"How can you be so sure, Your Highness?" Luna pressed, still unconvinced.
"Because..." Lizbeth whispered, and a faint blush crept across her face. "My master is the kindest person in the world..."
As soon as these words left her lips, a weary voice came from behind her.
"Don't go handing out good guy cards so casually, you silly girl. I haven't even started scolding you yet."
As these words resounded, a hand reached out from behind Lizbeth and lightly tapped her on the head.
"Ow!"
Lizbeth let out a small cry of pain.
"Wh-Who are you?!"
Luna jumped up in shock, because at some point, three people had appeared behind Lizbeth—completely unnoticed.
"Me?"
A young man, handsome and charming, answered with a faint smile.
"I'm the one you were just talking about—the man who supposedly might've given up on his attendant."
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