Since Evely lived in the Southern Palace, she was able to learn of the Isqua coupleâs scandalous trial within hours..
She learned that the Isquas, who had done so much to protect Empress Rashta, revealed on their own that Rashta was not their real daughter.
Evely clicked her tongue as soon as the court mage told her what happened.
âThey have such similar personalities that I canât believe they are a fake family. Itâs quite curious. Are they really not her parents? Could it be a plan among those three?â
The court mage also clicked his tongue,
âI donât believe it, how can you be such a pessimistic girl?â
âMaster, thatâs because you didnât live through what I did. If you saw the world from my eyes, you would realize that it is a twisted place.â
âWhat about me? Do I also look like a twisted person in your eyes?â
âIâll be honest with you the day you retire and leave me your position as court mage.â
When the court mageâs eyes narrowed, Evely fell silent and hurried out of the laboratory with a flask. As she left, the court mage pointed at her and muttered, âYouâll be in trouble tomorrow.â
Evely was amused by the threat, and she walked away with a smile.
Although he often scolded her, the court mage had been the person who cared for her the most lately. He didnât look after her like a father would, but like a close family friend. She sometimes felt him like a relative.
It was enough to make Evely happy.
Empress Navier had been her benefactor and she still considered her as such, but there was an inevitable distance due to her position as Empress.
In contrast, the court mage was not a benefactor, but someone close to her. Although neither were her relatives, both were very important to Evely.
Right now, her mood was truly excellent because Empress Rashta and the Isqua couple, whom she hated so much, were going down.
She descended the stairs and walked to her room, only to find a formally dressed woman in front of the door.
She had never seen this woman before, so she asked cautiously.
âWho are you?â
The woman didnât answer, instead she adjusted her glasses and asked,
âAre you Miss Evely? The court mageâs assistant?â
â⌠Yes, thatâs me.â
Evely glanced warily at the closed door.
âCould she have stolen something from me while I was in the laboratory?â
The woman didnât look like a thief, but she still raised suspicions.
The woman noticed that Evely was on guard, but spoke calmly anyway,
âI am the administrator of Miss Evelyâs parentsâ estate.â
âWhat? My⌠my parents?â
Evely asked, puzzled as she stepped back.
âYouâre a con artist, right?â
âAfter I spent my whole life as an orphan, now a woman suddenly appears who claims to be the administrator of my parentsâ estate. She is clearly lying.â
The woman showed her the access pass to the imperial palace and her state-accredited estate administratorâs license.
Evely glanced at it, but she had no way of knowing if it was fake or real because she wasnât familiar with that field.
Still, she pretended to recognize it and asked with wide eyes,
âWhy are you here?â
The woman explained,
âMiss Evely, your parents have been looking for you all this time. Fortunately, you have now been found.â
âBut why would an estate administrator come⌠instead of my parents? Do my parents want me to take over their debts? It still seems like a con to me.â
âItâs not debts, itâs their wealth.â
âTheir wealth?â
Evely frowned. If the estate administrator had come to say she should assume their debts, it would certainly be a con, but this was a little less suspicious.
âWhy would my parents leave me their wealth?â
âThey have died.â
â⌠Have⌠died⌠both of them?â
âThatâs right. In their will they asked to find their daughter and leave her their wealth.â
Evely was stunned by the unexpected news. An estate administrator suddenly told her about her parents, the wealth they had left her, and that they had diedâŚ
âItâs a huge sum. If you donât believe me, you can take someone else with you for the inheritance paperwork.â
âAre you really talking about my parents?â
Evely asked as a few tears fell down her cheeks. The parents she never had. The parents she hated all her life because she thought they had abandoned her. The parents she didnât think she needed.
âMy parents died while searching for me, and even after their death they asked for the search to continue in their will.â
Evely felt an emptiness and sadness in a corner of her heart.
She couldnât even think about the inheritance. Her eyes filled with tears.
The woman looked at Evely with a complicated expression and nodded silently.
Evely asked as she wiped away her tears.
âWhat are my parentsâ names? When did they die? Are they from the Eastern Empire? What about my relatives? Were they buried at death? Can I visit their graves?â
Although she never felt the need to know about her parents, these questions arose spontaneously.
But the woman shook her head and didnât answer a single question.
âForgive me, Miss Evely. Your parents asked me not to reveal their names.â
âWhyâŚ?â
âThey were not good people. They were so ashamed that they instructed me not to reveal their names to Miss Evely.â
Evely blinked in disbelief and exclaimed tearfully,
âItâs absurd! I donât care if they were bad people! You told me that my parents never stopped looking for me, but you canât even tell me their names!â
Tears came out of her eyes again. When she came to her senses, the flask she clutched tightly in her hand was already tilted, and the liquid inside was falling to the floor.
âItâs written in the will.â
âNonsense!â
â⌠Although they were not good people, they always loved Miss Evely. They never gave up hope of finding you.â
Evely shook her head as her eyes burned.
âIt couldnât be. What kind of parents say they love their daughter, leave her their wealth, but donât reveal their names?â
âTheyâre not dead, right? They only left me a part of their wealth because they fear Iâll become a nuisance. Am I the illegitimate child of some noble?
The estate administrator answered with a bitter smile,
âNo, youâre not.â
In fact, though it was true that they left her their wealth and that they never stopped looking for her, everything was a lie.
Evelyâs parents were still alive. They were the protagonists of the trial that caused a stir across the country.
However, they did not want their names to be associated with Evelyâs name. They wanted their daughter to receive all their wealth, rather than become the descendant of a family full of dishonor.
âThey also left you these last words.â
Evely accepted the paper and read it with a lump in her throat.
â We love you, we will love you forever. We would never abandon you, so if you thought that, we ask you to forget it. We couldnât protect you while we were alive, but we promise to protect you from beyond.
Evely looked up as she silently shed tears. The estate administrator extended a handkerchief to her with a sad smile.