That... was a lot to take in.
What had been a fairly warm scene was turned completely upside down by a single sentence.
Fu Qian did not think he was overthinking it. The "exceptional offspring" supposedly mentioned by Jose Larrea should have meant exactly the same thing as what the young stepmother had said—even though the latter appeared to be his spouse.
"...I don't understand what you mean."
The stepmother's thoughtfulness showed itself once again. After freezing for a moment, she suddenly raised her head to look over.
Her voice was clearly trying its best to remain calm, but her stiff fingers exposed the turmoil within.
"You'd better understand, or I'll be unhappy about having to explain further."
There was no way he had failed to notice that, yet Lord Jose gave a fine demonstration of how unfathomable an emperor's mind could be.
This almost self-incriminating display did not seem to anger him at all. He was merely displeased at the prospect of wasting more words.
"But..."
The stepmother was clearly engaged in an intense internal struggle and instinctively tried to defend herself.
"It really wasn't my fault—"
Yet Jose's utter lack of reaction seemed to quickly make her face reality. After a brief pause, she gave a classic response.
"I said I knew. Besides, you were already very careful to hide it and spare my feelings."
Unfortunately, she was cut off before she could finish. Jose's words continued to be strange, and he did not even sound sarcastic.
"...You really aren't angry?"
After another lengthy silence, the stepmother seemed to have finally begun accepting the fact and carefully confirmed Jose's attitude.
"I said it's fine. It's just a pity."
Sure enough, no storm of rage followed. Jose's tone did not waver in the slightest, and he even emphasized again