When Queen Anna came to her daughter's room, she frowned when she saw so many guards outside the door, and then dismissed them.

The door was closed, and the queen walked over to the bed and sat side by side with Caterina.

"Are you alright?" the queen combed her daughter's long blonde hair with her hand, and although there were countless words of concern in her heart, she only spat out a simple word of condolence in the end.

Caterina looked at her mother and lowered her head in some shame, not daring to look at her mother's eyes. She knew that her behavior of not returning all night last night must have worried her mother all night, even if the lady McAvoy sent a telegram to the Tiamat Palace later, but the queen who knew that something had happened would still worry about her daughter, not to mention that with the mentality of the lady McAvoy at that time, she might not know what she said in the telegram.

"I'm fine, Mother. Caterina hung her head and let her mother comb her hair, her blonde hair slightly curly, almost completely inherited the style of Queen Anna.

"Don't talk to your father later, you know?" The queen's worried eyes flashed with brilliance, as if something was rippling, "You also know that Your Majesty's temper has been getting worse and worse recently, don't be angry with him, don't find guilt for yourself, you know?"

Her concerned voice did not move her daughter, and Caterina bit her lip and did not respond.

A grief flashed in Queen Anna's eyes.

"Do you really like that Earl Jericho so much, why, because of that fateful trip to Pritown?"

Caterina's mind flashed to the dazed and sad look on Swain's face on the night he had taken her to Conue, and then the cold face of Swain as he went on a killing spree aboard the Vincent took over her mind.

"No, not just for such simple reasons. Katerina shook her head firmly, "I like someone, not because of what he has done for me, but because of what I see in him." ”

Queen Anna was stunned, it was not that she couldn't understand her daughter's words, but it was precisely because of her understanding that she felt more worried and sad for her daughter.

Thinking like this will only bring more regret and pain to yourself. ”

"No, he won't. ”

Katarina's tone was extremely affirmative, and this also made Queen Anna even more distressed, and the resentment and dissatisfaction with Swain that had accumulated in her heart couldn't help but explode.

"Why are you so sure that you trust him so much? That Jericho, who announced that he and his sister were engaged to his sister in front of his father and other imperial nobles a few days ago, have reached this point, and you still have expectations for him?" she pressed her daughter's shoulder and forcibly turned her daughter's body to face her, but the stubborn Caterina still twisted her head away, and refused to look at her mother. Silly girl, don't think that your mother doesn't know what you're thinking, I know your current thoughts better than anyone else, even more than yourself, because I'm also from the same age as you, how can I not know your feelings? But hope is hope after all, not all expectations can be turned into reality, you must figure this out, don't jump into the abyss that you can't climb out with blind and foolish dreams!"

Caterina clenched her teeth, and she could feel the tremor of her daughter's body in the palm of Queen Anna's hand pressed on her shoulder.

"You ......," the queen remembered what the lady McAvoy had said to her, and her worry increased a little more, "isn't it...... And that Jericho ......"

"Yes!" Caterina turned her head sharply, staring at her mother aggressively, "I have tasted with him, the taste of the forbidden fruit, and in the wilderness, just like the original Garden of Eden." ”

Empress Anna's eyes widened, she felt a breath in her chest, smothering all her words in her chest, unable to say anything, even breathing was difficult.

Even if her mother is already like this, Caterina has no intention of stopping, she is this kind of person, if she does it, she will not look back, even if she knows that she will hit her head and bleed and break her bones, she will follow her choice without hesitation.

"And yesterday I was in danger!" she threw her mother a heavier blow with her slender neck raised, "If I conceive his child, I will give birth to it, unless you kill me together!"

Queen Anna stared at her daughter in a daze, her face became extremely pale, like she would vomit blood and faint at any time. But even though her mother was so angry with her, Caterina was still unwilling to back down.

There were tears in her eyes, but Caterina tried to keep herself from crying, her lips pursed, refusing to let her cry blur her words. "Mother, I know it hurts your heart, but I won't back down, let alone give up, even if it is to leave shame and stain on the surname Jean, even if it is full of scars in the end, I will not regret it - because it is my own choice, if it is not my own will, I will never accept it!"

Queen Anna trembled and raised her hand, wanting to touch her daughter's face, but when her hand was about to touch the tender skin, hot tears rolled through it, so that the queen did not touch it, but gently wiped the tears from the tip of her nose.

"I really don't like that earl, not from the beginning. Empress Anna took a deep breath and swallowed all the gloom in her chest, "My first acquaintance with that earl came from his sister, the one you should hate and hostile the most. But, to be honest, I don't have the slightest ill feeling for her. She was a very good girl, well-behaved and sensible, pure and kind, just like all mothers dream of their children becoming, except for one point. ”

The queen lowered her eyes and sighed in a low voice. "She liked her brother so much. I felt it from the first time I saw her when she lived in the palace of Tiamat—who wouldn't feel it? Her love for her brother was all written on her face and in her words, as if she wished that anyone else would know about it. ”

"But what about the Earl?" said Swain, the Queen's eyebrows turned, revealing a slight disgust, "I don't think he is worthy of that Miss Sophia, he is thoughtful, he treats people coldly, even the smile on his face is so extravagant, and how can a man who cannot smile make others trust him?"

"It's not that he can't laugh," Caterina whispered, "but that he can't laugh. ”

Thinking of the terrifying whispers of Atropos that she had heard from Swain, Katerina could understand why Swain had been expressionless and so cold. Under the interference of the kind of voices that can erase all self-consciousness of people, make people doubt their inherent worldview, values, and finally begin to question their own existence, Swain just forgot how to laugh, which is already the best situation.

"You are so partial to the Earl, and speak for him. The Empress sighed again, "I can't do anything about you, but don't be so stubborn in front of your father, you know? He won't reason with you now, for the emperor, everyone is his courtiers, including his family, and they are all servants who can force his will with whipping." Don't provoke him, don't!"

Caterina pursed her lips, still not responding to her mother's eager command, and before Queen Anna could tell her any more, the door was violently pushed open.

Alexander, with a gloomy face, walked in.

He glanced at his daughter, then at his wife, and said in a cold voice, "You came first." ”

Queen Anna turned her face slightly to hide the tears on her face. "Well, I'd like to see if Karin is hurt. ”

"Hurt?" Alexander took a few steps forward, pulled over a chair, and sat down facing the mother and daughter, "I don't think your concern should be that she's hurt, it's that she's sick." ”

"Sick?" the queen looked at her husband suspiciously, not understanding what he meant, but the queen still instinctively felt some unpleasant premonitions.

"I think she's sick in the head!" Alexander's voice suddenly rose, "Is there something wrong with your brain?" Jericho has already clearly refused to marry you, and you still stick to the door like a nymphomaniac, what do you think you are?**!"

Alexander's roar frightened Empress Anna's body a little, for the first time she had seen her husband look so vulgar, who looked like an emperor of the empire, and was no different from an indiscriminate puppet.

"Speak, are you deaf!" said Alexander, who suddenly stood up and reached out to reach for his daughter's ear.

Empress Anna hastened to stop him.

"Don't do this, she's your daughter!" "Queen Anna begged bitterly, using her body to stand between Alexander and Katarina, "You are the emperor, how can you treat your daughter like this, the princess of the empire?"

"Just because I'm the emperor, just because she's a princess, I have to teach her a lesson!" Alexander didn't care about his wife's obstruction, and pushed Empress Anna to the ground, "A princess like her will simply lose the face of the empire, leaving a stain on the Giang family that can never be washed away!"

Remembering that he had just been forced into embarrassment in the Maduk Chamber and had to agree to Mencken's proposal to give Kogas the opportunity to receive meritorious service, Alexander's anger in his heart was even greater, as if no one except him cared about the face of the empire, and they all wanted to use the name of the Siliel Empire as a signboard to bargain with others, and the face of the empire was just a bargaining chip for them.

His eyes fell on Caterina's clothes, although Alexander never cared about his daughter's dress, but the obviously unsized chest, even those who didn't know how to wear clothes could tell that Caterina was wearing someone else's clothes.

"Your clothes," Alexander said, pointing at Caterina with an extremely dangerous look, "whose is it?"

Caterina subconsciously looked towards her chest, and before she could change her clothes when she returned to Tiamat Palace, her mother came.

"Why did you change clothes at Karin Castle, ah? Say, what did you do with that damn Jericho last night!"

Caterina paused for a moment and looked at her mother, while Queen Anna gave her a covert look, signaling to Caterina that Alexander did not yet know McAvoy's report.

"I'll tell you to speak!" Seeing that Caterina was stunned and didn't look at herself, Alexander felt that he was being neglected and his face was ugly, so he slapped Caterina in the face, making her soft face a red mark.

"Don't scold her, don't hit her!" Empress Anna couldn't help it, she immediately got up from the ground, grabbed Alexander's hand, and pulled Alexander away with incredible strength, "Do you want to be laughed at by others again?" Would you like to see such a headline in tomorrow's newspaper?"

The Queen's words deeply stimulated Alexander's pride, and he almost lost his mind at this moment, and hit Queen Anna in the face with a backhand.

The queen was staggered by this heavy slap, and the person did not stand still and crashed into the dresser beside her.

"What are you talking about, Shame Laugh?" Alexander's hand trembled slightly, and the whole person was extremely angry, "What are you laughing at, I beat my daughter? They will laugh, it is the princess of the Empire, who goes to bed with a person who refuses to marry her, and everyone knows it!"

The angry Arisa was speechless, and even pointed the finger at his wife: "Is this really my daughter? I can't believe that the noble blood of the Giang family will give birth to this kind of bitch, she is so good at finding men, did she learn from you? She inherited your bloodline, did you go to find other men behind my back sixteen years ago, like her?"

Queen Anna looked at her husband in disbelief.

"You're crazy—"