Lady Felice’s Secretive Lesson

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Most of your coaching is for noblewomen. Would you be able to work with men as well?”

“Of course.”

Felice nodded and smiled brightly.

It was before the topic of the Queen’s hidden second son came up.

* * *

“Miss Felice, the person I’d like you to work with is my second son.”

Queen Nelleys stared intently at Felice and revealed one of her secrets.

It was still a secret not yet known to the public, but it would come to light soon. More importantly, Felice had received the green light from Nelleys to help with the process.

Felice had quickly understood the Queen’s intentions, and her story about planning to go to the countryside, as well as her background of paying off her father’s massive debts after he lost his ease with gambling, made her the perfect person to confide in.

“His name is Claude Buford. Though right now, he goes by the name Racliffe.”

Nelleys pulled a portrait from her b****t pocket.

The portrait depicted Claude at the age of ten. Due to the risk of the secret getting out if a grown-up portrait were kept, it was necessary to be cautious with any depictions.

“It’s a picture of him when he was a child. Though, soon you’ll see the thirty-year-old Claude.”

While Felice admired the portrait, Nelleys briefly became lost in past memories.

Twenty years ago, when she first heard the news, Nelleys had nearly lost her mind. It was when it was revealed that the father of a child she had never met was her late husband.

The child, who had lost his mother to illness, was found with his belongings as he moved from relative to relative. Inside, there were numerous love letters from her late husband and sheets of paper stamped with the royal seal.

The infidelity of her late husband, a secret that had been buried for ten years, caused Nelleys great pain. Naturally, it was something she could never reveal to the world, and the matter of the child’s future became a significant problem.

However, during their first meeting, Nelleys was taken aback by the child’s words.

“I’m sorry.”

The child, as if he was the one who had committed a crime, froze, straightened his back, and looked Nelleys directly in the eye.

“My existence is the result of my mother’s betrayal. I apologize on her behalf to Your Majesty. The letters I kept… they were some of the few that my father had written, asking about my well-being. I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away.”

Was this child apologizing to her on his first meeting?

The apology that even her husband never gave, it was what the child was offering.

In the child’s tearful eyes, Nelleys saw a determination that would not break.

Perhaps that was why, even after discovering her husband’s betrayal after ten years, Nelleys was willing to embrace the child.

Thus, she became a mother with two sons.

When asked by God which of the two was her real son, Nelleys could say without hesitation, ‘Both.’

To Nelleys, Claude was no longer a mistake born from her husband’s infidelity.

He was simply her second son, whom Nelleys loved.

“When I saw the portrait, I thought the prince must have grown up very well… But may I ask why you entrusted the commission to me?”

Felice, carefully setting the portrait on the table, interrupted Nelleys’ thoughts.

Nelleys nodded at Felice’s comment about the prince growing up well but couldn’t erase the bitter smile from her face.

“He grew up well, yes… but, as I mentioned, he is already thirty. Even though the right age for marriage has passed, he has never been in a relationship.”

Nelleys sighed.

Cautiously, Felice spoke.

“Could it be that Her Majesty doesn’t know…?”

But Nelleys, as though she had anticipated this question, shook her head firmly.

“That might have been the case, but from what I’ve observed, that’s not true. I introduced him to all the most prominent young ladies, but he showed no interest.”

“…I see.”

“Which is why I’ve come to you, Miss Felice.”

Nelleys looked down at the portrait of young Claude and added,

“Now… I want to announce Claude as the prince. As my son. He’s at the age to build a new family with a partner, and more than anything, I want to correct the family name.”