Chapter 1031: Chapter 575: Imperial Princess Sofia

It was still daytime after all, so the two had to focus on their work after a brief moment of intimate affection.

Lance discussed the current situation in Ovando with Grendel. Everyone capable of resisting had been eliminated, and as long as Walter wasn’t a fool, he could stabilize the situation and reorganize Ovando with some time.

After finishing the communication, Lance quickly took the documents back to work.

Grendel escorted him all the way to the door, and it was only then that her gaze shifted from Lance’s back to the busy gardener in the garden.

Autumn had already set in, and the weather had cooled considerably, but the fruits of labor, that is, sweat, had soaked the simple clothing. Added to the bent posture, it was difficult to hide the enchanting figure.

Grendel found the sight amusing and immediately called out to her.

"Sofia, you’re drenched in sweat. Take a break for a while."

"It’s fine, I’m just about to finish cleaning up." The woman in the garden turned around and replied upon hearing this, wiping away the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand, showing a relaxed smile.

But in the next second, the woman realized something. Her natural movement paused, and the smile on her face quickly vanished as if it had crumbled, but she quickly stopped it.

Her face twitched a few times, barely maintaining a stiff smile, as if pretending not to hear and wanting to turn back to work.

But she didn’t dare face it, which didn’t mean Grendel would let it go. She approached her directly and stood in front of her.

"Stop pretending~"

"What are you saying, my lady? I don’t understand." The woman forced a smile to cover up her anxious expression.

"You’re not Gina at all, am I right?" Grendel slowly spoke out a name as she looked at the woman’s face, "Princess Sofia."

Ever since Grendel met her, she had been suspicious of this woman who claimed to be Gina.

Because every action unintentionally showed reactions different from what an ordinary person would have.

Especially the unintentionally revealed noble demeanor, engraved in instinct, which isn’t easy to disguise.

That’s not the behavior of a socialite. If she were specially trained, she should know better how to be obedient.

Because they are cultivated to please others, it’s unlikely to develop such a demeanor.

Originally it should have ended there, as even Lord had said not to interfere.

Until Amanda mentioned the missing princess, arousing Grendel’s interest again, which led to today’s arrangement.

Casually finding an excuse to invite her to tend to the flowers was also to take the chance to observe her behavior closely.

Over the past few days, Grendel’s gentle attitude had lulled her, until just now, a probing remark revealed her true purpose, fully exposing her true identity.

There’s only one truth: the woman before her is the Empire’s missing princess in this region.

Under such direct confrontation, the woman quickly admitted defeat. She no longer denied anything but lowered her head, her helpless demeanor evoking empathy.

Grendel, however, did not have the intention to press her further. Instead, she reached out to hold her hand, speaking gently.

"I know what you fear, but you’re in Hamlet; no one dares to harm you here."

Speaking to her, she pulled the woman along, "Come, let’s sit down and talk slowly."

The woman was like a puppet, led to the table and chairs in the garden, but her body was so rigid that if it weren’t for the warmth, one might mistake her for a corpse.

It was evident that the woman was in a state of great tension.

Grendel wasn’t in a hurry, leisurely picked up a teacup and poured a cup for her before speaking.

"I haven’t seen you before, but do you know why you were exposed?"

At this point, the woman slightly lifted her head, which further confirmed Grendel’s assumption. Grendel smiled and teased her.

"Seems you’ve admitted."

Now the woman seemed deflated, her rigid body became weak and even slightly trembling. If she weren’t sitting in the chair holding onto the table, she would probably collapse onto the ground.

"I’ve told you, there’s no need to fear; in Hamlet, no one can hurt you." Grendel comforted her and returned to the previous topic, explaining why she was exposed.

Listing from her actions, finally to the way she treated others and her tone.

"The initial signs might be explained by training, but this goes beyond noble etiquette.

It’s a habit formed only by long-time living as someone of high standing, the attitude towards people ingrained into instincts, not easily changed."

Upon hearing this, the woman realized how many flaws she had, smugly thinking she had fooled everyone, but in reality, it was plainly visible to others.

And Grendel didn’t intend to stop, mentioning another person.

"I noticed something wrong with your situation a long time ago, and for that, I even sought out Lord. He was much quicker than me in discerning your problem, but do you know how he reacted?"

These words brought Sofia back to that evening; hunger and pain had taken most of her consciousness, but she still remembered the man who untied her scarf.

During this time in Hamlet, she had heard many tales about these men from various places.

He knew all along? How did he react?