"Err..." Vanessa froze, her expression faltering slightly, much to Lucas’ horror.

This is where you’re supposed to deny the accusation, Big Sis! Lucas screamed to himself.

Did he like Tina?

Yes, he did.

Did Tina like him?

Yes, she did.

Was that ’like’ more than just child-like friendship?

Probably, but Lucas could confidently say it wasn’t anything romantic.

At least, not yet.

The abrupt silence and the awkward looks on both Vanessa and Lucas’ faces were all Cynthia needed to confirm her suspicions, which had been her true objective right from the start.

It seemed there really was something going on between this boy and her daughter; but, instead of being upset, Cynthia was actually quite pleased.

Sure, Lucas might have been a commoner from a small town before, but he was now the First Disciple of Marquess Celestina Balfour, a position that even her honourable father-in-law, the former king, had once coveted.

As for his lower cultivation and supposedly poor Innate Talent, Cynthia thought nothing of it. From what she had seen today, she was certain Lucas wouldn’t let such trivial issues stop him from rising to greatness.

If Christina could be together with someone she liked, who would stand by her and support her in difficult times, and who would risk his life for her, Cynthia could think of nothing more she would want from her daughter’s partner.

Still, although she was impulsive, and sometimes even a bit reckless, Cynthia was also a Queen and the nation’s Minister of Diplomacy, so she knew that her old friend Vanessa had a point.

In order for Lucas to become her son-in-law, he would need to overcome a lot of obstacles.

Well, the treasure that is easily obtained is never cherished as much as the one you must to struggle grasp, Cynthia Morgan thought to herself.

Having achieved her objective, the Third Queen immediately relaxed her posture and her expression, returning to her usual charming, innocent smile as she giggled slightly, "Oh you two, you’ll have to learn how to conceal your thoughts better than this; especially you, Lucas."

Gawking, Lucas’ jaw dropped, trying to process what had just happened.

Vanessa, on the other hand, face-palmed and slumped back into the couch, rubbing her forehead in frustration. She recognized the grin currently on Cynthia’s face, the one she always wore after successfully pulling off a prank.

It took Lucas a while to reboot yet again, but when he did, a frown appeared on his face as he asked solemnly, "Your Majesty, was this all... some kind of test?"

Maintaining her smile, Cynthia Morgan simply tilted her head and asked back, "And if it was?"

Lucas wanted to say something, anything, but no words came to him, causing his frown to deepen further.

What could he say in this situation?

"Don’t bother, Lucas," Vanessa grumbled from the side, sitting back up from her slump, "Didn’t Tina tell you? Queen Cynthia is the one in charge of diplomacy for the Rockwell Kingdom. She spends most of her time engaged in verbal games with envoys and nobles from all the surrounding nations. There’s no way you’re going to be able to win a war of words with her."

Lucas vaguely recalled Christina mentioning something to that effect, but he hadn’t given it much thought at the time since he didn’t anticipate meeting the Third Queen so soon.

Had he known this meeting was going to happen, Lucas would have prepared himself better.

Of course, whether that would have helped against someone whose job was literally to extract information and concessions from foreign kingdoms while maintaining amicable relations with them was questionable, at best.

"And you," Vanessa turned her eyes to her childhood friend next, "I understand that it’s fun to tease Lucas; after all, he’s far too serious for his own good, but you shouldn’t frighten him too much."

Lucas was thankful for Vanessa’s support here, though he vehemently opposed the notion that teasing him was fair game. Still, he would take the small victories where he could get them here.

Realizing that a full surrender was probably his best option, Lucas let out a long sigh and muttered, "I swear to you, Your Majesty, that there is nothing inappropriate between myself and Christina."

"Really?" Cynthia pouted, "That’s a shame. I was hoping there was at least a budding romance between you two."

"Wait, what?" Lucas twitched again, blurting out unconsciously, "I thought you were just testing to see if I had done anything... untoward with your daughter! You weren’t seriously thinking about having the two of us get engaged, were you?"

"Why not?" Cynthia tittered joyfully, "It’s true I was probing you just now, Lucas; but I was also quite serious about you becoming a fiancée candidate for Christina!"

Leaning forward, the Third Queen grabbed Lucas’ hands and looked at him with sparkling eyes, "Come come, try calling me Mother! I’ve always wanted a son of my own, I can’t let this chance slip by!"

Lucas had lost track of how many times his brain had overloaded in the past half-an-hour, but he was beginning to worry he might be leaving this room with permanent damage to his head.

Creakily turning to Vanessa, Lucas couldn’t help pointing rudely at the Third Queen and asking aloud, "Is... is she serious, or just teasing?"

Shooting Lucas a sympathizing gaze, Vanessa thought about it for a moment before answering, "Yes."

What the hell is that supposed to mean!? Lucas silently cried out in frustration.

"En, en, much better!" The Third Queen nodded approvingly, "Both of you should relax more. We’re all family here!"

""No, we’re not,"" Lucas and Vanessa both replied in exasperation.

Clutching her chest, Cynthia feigned a look of hurt as she put on a truly pity-inducing expression.

The act was so convincing that if he hadn’t just been wildly jerked around for the past few minutes, Lucas would have believed the Third Queen really was feeling distraught.

Now, however, Lucas just felt tired. He was already exhausted from the events of the night before, but that was mostly just physical tiredness; now he also had to deal with mental and spiritual exhaustion.

Slumping back, Lucas decided that, since Christina’s mother wanted him to act casually, even going so far as to ask him to call her ’Mother’, then he would act casual.

The moment he relaxed, though, Lucas’ stomach growled in protest, a not-so-subtle reminder that the only thing he had eaten since lunch yesterday was some hard jerky on the flight over from Crystal Lake to the capital.

On instinct, Lucas reached into his Space Bag, fumbled around a bit, and took out another piece of jerky, but before he could shove it into his mouth, it was snatched away from him.

Looking up at the ’thief’ who was denying him his meal, Lucas grumbled, "Am I not even allowed to eat now?"

Lucas hadn’t meant to be rude, but his tone came off as quite harsh, probably a result of his just loosened control.

Cynthia, the jerky thief in question, didn’t look offended though; instead, she just wore a smile, a softer, more maternal one than the teasing expression she had before, "How could I possibly allow a guest in my own home to satisfy their hunger with combat rations? It would besmirch the Rockwell Family name."

With that said, Cynthia set down the piece of jerky and picked up a nearby bell, ringing it twice.

Seconds later, a maid entered the room and bowed.

"Fetch us a proper mid-day meal," the Third Queen commanded, her tone gentle yet authoritative, "Have it brought here within the quarter-hour."

"Yes, Your Majesty," the maid hurriedly replied before swiftly withdrawing.

"Now then," Cynthia’s expression turned serious, "While we wait, why don’t you tell me exactly what happened in the south-west?"

This was yet another abrupt shift in both the subject and tone of the conversation, but by now, Lucas had somewhat gotten used to it so he didn’t act too surprised.

In truth, he was also thankful for this latest change as he was far, far more comfortable talking about serious matters than he was about his personal life.

That being said, Lucas also hesitated slightly, unsure how much information he should reveal here.

Cynthia Morgan was the Third Queen of the Rockwell Kingdom and the mother of Christina, so despite all her earlier playfulness, Lucas felt that this woman could be trusted; however, some of the information he had was too explosive to hand over to someone he had just met and did not fully understand yet.

Even his Master had told Lucas not to reveal too much to anyone without consulting her or Allina first.

This was both for their own safety, and for the safety of others.

As such, Lucas sank into contemplation, his mind churning rapidly as he tried to decide just how much of the truth he should be sharing here, and how much he should hold back until Celestina arrived tomorrow.