since it was shown that cornell was always on maximillian's side, i assume they plotted it so lady ariel was 'little pearl' although in reality it was always maximillian.
Just like the other reply said, yeah. Maximin was Pearl from the very start, but he conspired with Cornell and Lady Ariel to make Jean believe that he wasn’t Pearl. Cornell was Maximin’s eyes and hands inside the rebel movement, likely that’s why it took a long time for him to find Pearl, and he would never able (need) to help Jean find them if Maximin hadn’t messed things up by getting involved with Jean, lol (imagine his headache..). But as we know, things happened, Jean and Maximin’s relationship compromised the mission, and they need someone convincing enough to pose as Pearl (Lady Ariel, who sympathized with the rebels) to get Jean back on track… and as you see, even after he was made to believe than Pearl wasn’t Maximin, Jean’s feelings for Max STILL compromised the plan anyway
Whoops that should be a spoiler but idk how to edit a reply, sorry
guys i dont understand why does max refer jean as little pearl? is max the real little pearl not lady ariel or am i dumb