The next day, Gustav woke up very early in the morning, wrote a brief but detailed letter and header towards the office that took charge of accepting requests to meet any of the royal members.

Of course he followed the procedures, and also gave the workers there a massive portrait too.

The portrait was showcased himself, Lucy's mother, as well as Lucy at the age of 1.

This was the only portrait that he had of the 3 of them.

And at the time, he had only taken the portrait due to formalities.

After all, it was almost a must that nobles took portraits with their families.

He had only taken the portrait because it was a request from Lucy's mother on her birthday.

He gave this portrait to the workers in hopes that it would reach Lucy's hands.

The workers looked at the portrait and froze for a bit.

The more they looked at it, the more they realized that the woman in the picture was indeed a spitting image of their queen.

One could say that Lucy looked 90% like her mother, with some fatherly resemblances here and there.

Her mother's genes were really strong!

No one had ever arrived here claiming to be Lucy's family.

So the workers paid much attention to the matter.

And coupled with the portrait, they decided to inform princess Lucy immediately.

So the workers informed Lucy's secretaries, who later took the file and portrait and brought it back to Lucy.

And the moment the matter was revealed, Lucy's body shuddered from fright before she finally calmed down and accepted to meet this so-called father of hers.

Of course, her secretaries also noticed her reaction and immediately had a bad impression of Gustav.

For sure, the moment the matter was confirmed, Landon was also made aware of it too.

After all, their king needed to be aware that he had an in-law coming in.

And the way Lucy responded worried then, so they had to tell Landon about the matter.

"Your majesty, that is all."

"Alright!

Thank you, Whitney.

Thank you for looking out for her.

I'm glad that she has someone like you on her side."

"No need to thank me, your majesty.

It's what I ought to be doing as one of her primary secretaries." Whitney answered happily.

Landon spoke to Whitney a bit more before finally dismissing her.

His eyes became cold as he recalled what Whitney had said about Lucy's reaction.

Sure enough, she was still traumatized.

.

The Noble Gustav Family

Gustav was really a pig.

Even though he already had his first wife and Elvira his second wife, he still managed to get Lucy's mother drunk and have his way with her.

So Lucy then became an illegitimate child.

And according to the system, after Lucy was born, Gustav took both mother and daughter in because he didn't want people to point fingers at him politically.

This alone could make his enemies shoot him in the foot.

So he took Lucy and her mother in.

And in that same year, Elvira had already succeeded in killing his first wife.

Elvira had made the first wife barren for these last years, so the woman died childless.

But before she could celebrate, Gustav brought in another whore.

So how could she not be mad?

And from that moment on, Elvira started targeting Lucy and her mother like crazy.

She made sure that even the maids treated the daughter-mother duo as if they were slaves.

They had to beg for food in their own homes and even lived in one desolate courtyard at the extreme end of the estate.

Elvira's children flogged and whipped Lucy up several times just for fun, and even spread several rumours about her saying that she was the one who typically bullied them.

They played the white lotus card well and had everyone received.

Because since Lucy wasn't allowed to step out of the estate, everyone just assumed that she was an ugly girl who bullied her siblings and got punished often.

And when Lucy's mother finally died, she was thrown out of the house under some false allegations.

From then on, she became a beggar on the streets.

But how could Elvira and her children be satisfied with that?

They still made sure to pass by her on the streets, stump on her feet and splash muddy water on her.

It was truly a miracle that the poor girl had survived till them even after all her starvation.

As for Lucy's maternal family, they didn't want her as well... Since she would only tarnish their low noble reputation even further.

So the poor Lucy continued begging in the streets pitifully.

Until one day, Mother Kim passed by and pitied the poor child who had been beaten up blue-black.

She took the poor child to the palace.

And from then on, Lucy decided to repay her kindness by being a maid.

She refused to be Mother Kim's adopted daughter.

Her mother had always told her that kindness must always be repaid.

And that was why she forced herself to be a maid.

But what surprised her was that neither mother Kim or Landon treated her like that.

In their eyes, she was their kind.

Scared, alone, left to fend for themselves in this cruel world.

So shouldn't they stick together?

And so even though Lucy had made herself strong all these years, the thought of her previous family still brought out fear from within.

And trauma wasn't something that could be changed just like that.

She would have to overcome it by herself, just like how mother Kim faced her own trauma when confronting Alec.

Well, since Lucy had agreed to meet Gustav 2 days from now.

Then he too should clear his schedule during that appointed time, no?

No matter what, no one could bully his queen.

Especially not within his own empire!

.

Time moved by fast and soon... it was dinner time.

Everyone could see that Luch looked seemingly distracted and out of it today.

She hadn't even touched her food yet, and no matter what jokes were made... she would give out a very fake smile, which everyone could tell.

Lucy wasn't good at hiding her mood.

If she was happy, you would know.

If she was sad, you would know.

In fact, if she ever played poker, her opponents would win all the time because of her expressions.

After dinner, Grace sent little Momo and little Linda away... while Mother Kim, Mother Winnie, Landon and Lucy stayed behind.

'Bam!'

"How dare he come here after all he has put her through?" Mother Kim yelled angrily.

Of course she was mad!

To her, she practically raised Lucy.

So Lucy was like a daughter to her.

As for Lucy, she was shocked.

How did Landon know in detail what she went through in that estate?

The moment Landon narrated it to Mother Winnie and the rest, tears uncontrollably fell from Lucy's eyes.

She cried like a baby while leaving on mother Kim's chest.

Everyone could guess why this Gustav guy had come, and they also had a bad impression of him too.

But they knew that the right to forgive or accept this man solely belonged to Lucy.

So all they could do was wait for her decision and fully support her no matter what.

Of course while the atmosphere here was gloomy, the atmosphere in Gustav's hotel room was gleeful instead.

"Hahahhahahahah!

I was so shocked by the phone call in the afternoon.

They had previously told me that it could take several days before I get a response.

But who would've known that it would be this quick?"

"Hehhehehe!

The dumb girl must've known it was you from the portrait and got scared."

"Hmph!

So what if She's scared?

Whether she likes it or not, I am her father.

So she must obey me!"

"That's the spirit darling.

Soon, we will get recognized as royals."

"Hahahahahaha

I can see it now!

Baron Gustav, father-in-law to his majesty Landon Barn.

No!

The first father-in-law in the history of Baymard.

Bahahaha!"

Gustav was so happy that he couldn't even sleep a wink.

Ah!

Royalty was just a few more days away.

.

And so, the days moved swiftly with the Gustav family continuing their sight-seeing and shopping adventures.

Until finally, it was time for them to head to the palace.

Elvira looked at her daughters who had dressed to kill and smiled in satisfaction.

Now, it was time for them to get to work!