Arthur looked down into the whiskey he held in his hand, watching the golden hue shimmer faintly as he tilted it. The light played across its surface, reflecting the churn of thoughts he refused to let show.
"I... I doubt that I really know her."
The woman he had known in Ashbourne Manor was nowhere in sight now. The same woman who had been distant, aloof, whose gaze always turned away and never sought him.
And yet... the one he had glimpsed here in the capital, the one whose eyes trembled when they dared to meet his, felt like someone else entirely.
'What was the truth, after all? Had I only ever seen what she allowed me to see?'
The Marquess exhaled, the smoke curling lazily between them as his expression grew distant.
"Were you aware that your mother married your father willingly?"
"Pardon...? She married by choice? Was she not forced into that marriage? Are you sure what you just told me is the truth?"
"Yes. Of course. Your mother was a close friend of mine, after all."
'Th-that's something I never knew.'
Arthur's face showed clear bewilderment at the sudden revelation.
"A close friend...?"
The Marquess nodded gently before continuing.
"Yes. I was the playmate chosen for the King, who at that time hadn't yet been named Crown Prince. And... well, the young prince was far too greedy and arrogant for his age. He may have had the qualifications to become a ruler one day, but he showed no signs of being a good friend. He would throw fits almost every day like a spoiled child."
The Marquess drew on his tobacco cigar, then exhaled slowly.
"Sigh... Compared to him, the Princess was quiet and elegant. And I... by chance, met her. Though we had only just met, we somehow grew close, even if only for a short while. As we neared our youth, we drifted apart, and eventually lost contact entirely."
"Hmm. That must have been when she got married, right?"
The Marquess took a sip from his crystal glass before replying.
"Precisely. However, some years later, news of her divorce reached me at a party I was attending. As you might know, since she was the only Princess, all the newspapers and magazines constantly sought even the tiniest scrap of information about her daily life."
The Marquess swirled the liquid in his glass as he went on:
"And then, suddenly, the news of her divorce spread far and wide, too quickly, almost as if it had been spread on purpose. At that time, bachelors lined up to ask for her hand in marriage once more. One might think she could have remarried easily if she wished, or else withdrawn somewhere quiet and alone. However... neither was possible in her case."
"May I ask why was that not possible?"
"She had been married into the Ashbourne family to gather information on them or to find a weakness of theirs. Yet, as sharp and intelligent as she was, she already knew she wouldn't be able to uncover any kind of weakness in the most notorious family of the kingdom."
Arthur leaned forward, invested in the conversation. This was his only chance to uncover what his mother had done in the past, and why she had made such choices.
"Then... what did my mother do?"
"Of course, she wasn't one to sit idly by. She came up with a plan."
"What kind of plan if I may ask?"
The Marquess inhaled once more from his cigar, then exhaled slowly.
"She asked for Frederick Ashbourne's cooperation, her fiancé and soon-to-be husband. She requested a divorce after providing him with an heir, and promised never to hand over any information about the family."
Arthur took a sip from his glass before asking,
"Hmm... Did my father agree to her conditions?"
"Fortunately, Frederick agreed. So they put on the act of a normal married couple, though they despised each other. When she became pregnant, they began straining their relationship deliberately."
'Haa... deliberately, he says. How can he be so sure? Perhaps their marriage was doomed from the very start, without needing any 'purpose' to break it.'
The Marquess rose from his seat and walked toward the tall windows behind the head chair.
"The reason she left you behind was because of the contract and the promise she made with your father. But there was another reason for that decision, and it was none other than you."
'How can I be the reason for the divorce? Did she not wanted to see me anymore? Is that why she asked for the divorce?'
As if the Marquess could already hear the thoughts going through his mind that he continued to speak explaining further.
"She knew very well that the Royal Family would continue pressing for any weakness in the Ashbournes. And you... you were the weakness of both your mother and your father."
Arthur arched a brow.
"I was...?"
"Yes, you. The Royal Family could have used you to threaten your mother, or seen you as your father's weakness, since you were his only heir."
"I see..."
Arthur swirled the crystal glass absently while the Marquess went on.
"Thus, she left you and returned to the Royal Family. And as if she had already guessed it, she was confined to her room. Though she was provided with food and other necessities, she was only allowed to meet suitors or correspond with them in writing."
The Marquess placed the cigar on a silver tray and sighed.
"Haa... The Royal Family considered her a disgrace. She was regarded as nothing but a blemish on the Crown. They tried to trade her off like a jewel, passed from one greedy hand to another."
His grip on the glass tightened slightly.
"I hadn't expected it, but one day I received a letter from her, asking to meet. To my surprise, she requested me as a possible marriage partner."
A faint smile touched his lips as he looked out the window, gazing at the gardens below.
"Anyhow, when I met her, she thanked me for coming. Then she asked me to marry her. I was the only bachelor untouched by scandal, and... I was safe. My family kept a neutral stance, so she wouldn't have to worry about being targeted for attempting to make her son the King."
"The King...?"
"Oh, right. You don't know, do you? The reason to why the Houses of Ashbourne and Granville both have only one heir in the current generation?"
"Pardon...? I thought it was because, if there were more children, they would fight for the head position. Wasn't that the reason?"
"To some extent, yes. But that's only half the truth. Did you know that you also hold a right to the Crown, through your mother?"
Arthur shot to his feet, his face expressed the shock.
"What?!"
"Haha. Yes, that's right. To prevent opposition from the Crowndale Family, Princess Adelaide was permitted only one son, to inherit the headship. More than that would be seen as a threat."
Arthur held his chin, deep in thought.
'Hmm... now everything makes sense.'
Since Demetrius had two sons. One could inherit House Ashbourne, while the other could contend for the throne. That explained the current King's inferiority complex. He feared losing his Crown to Frederick Ashbourne, the prodigy of the Crowndale Kingdom.
After allowing him a brief time to gather his thoughts, the marquess spoke up.
"What stood in front of me at that time wasn't the Princess I had known, but someone else entirely. I could already see what she had endured all this time. And so, I accepted her, not because I lacked options… but because I understood her."
He swirled his glass again, the liquid catching the light like memory itself.
"She appeared quite thin and exhausted. However, she was still brilliant and sharp. And in no time… she began to smile again, returning to what she had been like in her youth. But there was always something behind that smile that I couldn't understand. Perhaps it was guilt."
He set the glass down gently with a quiet click.
"It seemed that she was worried about you. Her son. The child she had left behind in those suffocating halls that she could no longer bear to stay within."
His voice softened, as though confessing something not his to tell.
"After waiting for the right time, when the Royal Family no longer kept their eyes on her, she wanted to reach you. But by then, you were no longer just her son, you had already become the heir to Earl Frederick Ashbourne."
He paused for a moment.
"And, well... your father, he made it clear that she was not to interfere. Not to so much as breathe near you. She was told she had already done enough. That her presence was an obstacle to your future."
He sighed slowly, then spoke in a low and hesitant voice.
"So… try to understand her, and if possible, forgive her. Just as it was your first time being a child, it was also her first time being a mother."
Arthur stared down at the whiskey without moving.
"I understand your concern for my mother, and I do try to understand her. But please don't expect me to act normal when I wasn't raised under normal circumstances."
The faintest flicker passed through his expression.
"And I would appreciate it if the Marquess refrained from interfering in the relationship between my mother and me. That is something we will settle in our own way."
His lips curved into a polite smile as he spoke again.
"After all, she is merely a stubborn mother… and I am but an immature child."
"I understand."
"Well then. I'll be taking my leave."
And without another word, he opened the door, only to be met by a figure standing outside.
'Mother…?! What is she doing here? Did she hear everything we talked about?'
Arthur swallowed before slowly speaking.
"Mo-mother, that… I…"
Before he could continue, she spoke, her voice gentle.
"You should sleep early, Arthur. Maybe that's why you seem to have trouble falling asleep."
"Ah, yes. Well then, Mother."
She nodded softly and stepped into the study. Arthur lingered for a moment before moving forward. Behind him remained the scent of whiskey, a faint curl of cigar smoke, and a silence heavy with unspoken words.