The eyes of the noble lady in the drawing room were all focused on Ariadne at Cesare's cold words. It was rude, but they didn't even think to refrain from it. Because Ariadne was a decent person. Feeling this, Ariadne’s face turned red from the root of her neck.
“Don't go against them, Ariadne.”
Cesare became more and more outspoken after becoming the regent. Now he was free to express his displeasure.
“Behave properly.”
Ariadne trembled and bowed her head. Cesare did not like Ariadne.
“Answer.”
She nodded hard. But Cesare was still not satisfied.
“Answer me!”
Ariadne answered in a crawling voice.
“...yes.”
All these displays of submission were made with all eyes on Palagio Carlo.
Ariadne was distraught and her knees trembled. Cesare looked down at her harshly.
“ I’m doing this because there are others. Be grateful, okay?”
“...yes.”
When Cesare didn’t respond, she felt a cold sweat run down her spine. She added hastily.
“Thank you.”
Only then she could hear Cesare’s satisfied breath. Ariadne sighed in relief as well. The ladies were no great people who would miss this moment when their fragile flesh was exposed. Surprised by the cruelty of their regent, but realizing that Cesare had no intention of taking care of her woman. Countess Marquez interjected her sharp words.
“I hope the Regent takes good care of her fiancee.”
It was revenge for being caught by the hair. The Countess stared at Ariadne with a look of contempt and looked her up and down.
“I thought it was a wolf dog raised on a ranch, let alone a very noble lady who ran amok by going out first.”
The Countess and her fine ladies chimed in and fired an onslaught.
“Elegance…”
“Education… Bloodline…”
“Doesn’t that tangled mess hair really look like a shepherd dog?”
Ariadne’s hand went up to her head. She untied her hair awkwardly with her comb, and the ladies of San Carlo hacked her hair as she stood in front of them.
“If Prince Regent wants a smooth social world, how should you manage your fiancee first?
“Not to mention the support of the central nobility.”
“Or, why doesn't Prince Regent change the marriage partner all together?”
Someone laughed. Starting from this laugh, the atmosphere in the drawing room was completely relaxed.
“I think it will be difficult with this woman?”
“Madam, that’s a bit of a thought.”
Cesare smiled brightly and dismissed the invitation. He didn’t even point out the other person’s rudeness. By giving Ariadne in this way, Cesare briefly acquired an identity as an insider.
“The daughter of the monarch’s family…”
“Maybe the capital’s long standing noble family would be more suitable for Prince Regent…”
“A noble young lady…”
These were all words spoken with Ariadne in front of them. The fact that Cesare was also the King’s illegitimate child was clouded when he and Ariadne were offrede as a burnt sacrifice.
‘You are not a decent member of high society.”
They used Ariadne’s lack of tea as a tea and had a friendly chat.A after a long conversation, Countess Marquez stood up and gave advice to Cesare.
“I hope Prince Regent does not forget our request today.”
The Countess turned around and left the parlor when she met Ariadne’s eyes. As the Countess headed first into the hallway, the rest of the ladies also besan to leave all at once, glancing in Ariadne’s direction. Ariadne, who received their gaze alon, was in a mess. She glanced at Cesace with the contempt of the man she loved. It was miserable. After that, no one openly talked about Cesare’s origin. However, that day was marked not as the day Ariadne made a feat for Cesare, but as the day of her terrible accident. From that day on, Ariadne acquired a lot of notoriety: a werewolf, a Moorish slave, and also a farm maid. She was, of course, followed by sarcastic remarks because of her humble origin, because she resembled her mother, and because she was an unmarried virgin and the hysteria intensified. Ariadne repeatedly asked Cesare if she could marry him in order to smoothly manage the social world, which was becoming more and more difficult day by day, but he refused under her adamant words.
“If you can’t manage your reputation like this, how can I make you a queen right away? I can’t be with a woman with flaws.”
His order was specific.
“Study harder than you do now, play the lute, appreciate famous paintings, and become good at latin. Become a talented and mature lady who is not ashamed to present herself in front of others. Then I will make you my queen.”
So she thought she could just do it.
***
It took a long time for Prince Regent Cesare to become a king, but in the end it was only a matter of time. Military and gold coins were all in his hands. There was only one thing he lacked: authenticity. That’s how time heals, precisely the opportunity that comes with time; Ariadne still remembered Cesare’s coronation, the day before his coronation to be exact. It was the year she turned 30, and he was 36. She couldn’t help laughing every time she thought about that date.
“I am a generous king. I have to embrace the power of the deceased in my arms.”
Cesare sat down on Ariadne’s bed and put his lips on the nape of her neck.
“Ah-”
His breathing was rough on the stake. Ariadne pulled her body back, but Cesare grabbed her wrist at the same time with one hand and held her down, holding her down forcefully on the bed.
“ You have to be quiet.”
He began to indulge the nape of her neck with his lips. She closed her eyes. Cesare made an impression on Ariadne’s appearance. Ariadne’s greatest strength was her enchanting aura. He couldn’t understand the woman who, with all her advantages, was beating her like a piece of wood in her bed. Thirty year old Ariadne was a flower in full bloom. even when she didn't intend it, she gave off a shocking density. She wasn't innocent or notably pretty, but her height and the flesh on her breasts and buttocks made it very attractive. She was a beauty that attracted men more than women. Her alluring charm was also the only part that Cesare, who had many demands for her, praised about her.
“Right.”
Cesare went on without hesitation against Ariadne, who was conforming. One layer, two layers, the built walls gave the high ground without resistance. Cesare’s voice flew into Ariadne’s ears, whose head was dazed by the warmth that touched her intimate mucous membrane. It was as if he was saying that pork would be better than cow for dinner tonight.
“So, Isabella will be chosen as queen.”
Isabella de Mare and then Isabella de Carlo. She was the half-sister of Ariadne de Mare and the crown princess of the deposed Crown Prince Alfonso. A perfect older sister who bears no resemblance to Ariadne, with her flaxen hair and eyes sparkling like amethyst. She was known for her innocent beauty, and was always a dignified, aristocratic woman. Ariadne suddenly came to her senses and pushed Cesare away.
"I beg your pardon?"
She must have heard it wrong.
“Cesare… … ? My older sister was the Crown Princess of the deceased Prince Alfonso.”
It was customary for a widow without a son to go to a monastery to spend the rest of her life. She could not remarry and could not return to her parents' home. Cesare again buried his lips in Ariadne's chest, who had pushed him away. Scanning between the skin, he replied indifferently.
“Don’t be narrow-minded. Don't you feel sorry for your real sister?"
What did I hear now? You want to marry my sister instead of me? Ariadne pushed him away once again. 'How about me? What will all the things I've done for you be?' was on my lips. When Ariadne seemed unwilling to join him in his merry play, Cesare licked his lips and straightened up.
“Since you were only my fiancée, you can still find a good husband and live happily in the countryside. But poor Isabella, unless I take care of her, she will have to spend the rest of her life on the cold monastery floor.”
It was clear that something had been misunderstood.
“It is impossible to marry a relative’s widow.”
Cesare gave an answer as if it was nothing.
“I just need to get the divorce confirmation from Alfonso de Carlo and Isabella de Mare, who died at the Holy Office. Because Isabella has been chaste throughout her married life, she falls under the grounds for an exception to the Seonghwangcheong's policy against divorce.”
Ariadne was dumbfounded.
“Cesare, my sister is not chaste. In 1128, the first year of her marriage, she had already given birth to my brother-in-law's child and miscarried.”
“Be quiet!”
Isabella's chastity must have been his vice. Cesare, who had been brazenly speaking well, suddenly got up with red excitement and pointed at Ariadne.
"Look! They say that the enemy of a woman is a woman, and there are no exceptions even between siblings. How low is a female!”
Ariadne was gasping for breath. She went on with her story in a voluptuous tone, desperately trying to calm down her voice in order to convince Cesare as best she could that she was not lowly.
“Cesare. It's not slander, it's the truth. All the ladies-in-waiting who served the Crown Princess at the time knew it.”
“Noisy!”
Cesare was not in a state of communication right now. No reasonable talk could reach the person who purposely blocked his ears.
“I took good care of you and married you to a merchant to guarantee you a peaceful life, but how can I let such a wicked woman live!”
Merchant? A restless life? I was dumbfounded just by hearing it. You promised me that you loved me and would be with me forever. So I've done everything for you. You told me to study hard and devote myself to delaying the day I became queen because I had a flaw. But the conclusion is, the 'flawless woman' you are looking for is my sister, the widow of a prince?
“You said you loved me. You said you would make me your queen and be with me forever.”
It's stupid, but I had nothing else to say. Cesare snorted with contemptuous eyes.
“I never thought you would be such a petty woman to sabotage the cause. There is no virtue in making concessions for the future of the country. How is this so different from Isabella, who even gave up her marriage for the sake of her sister's happiness?”
I was out of breath now. I couldn't tell if the tears came first or the anger came first.
“Am I getting in the way? Isabella's sister conceded? I sacrificed everything for you, I gave up my reputation and marriage, and even drove Prince Alfonso to his limb with my own hands. What has Isabella done in the meantime?”
In the winter when Prince Alfonso and Isabella were lavishly married and Isabella miscarried a child, the fruit of her blessing, Ariadne had to chew a reed grass leaf whenever she had intimate time with Cesare.
“Orthodox without the possibility of birth of life is a sin in the eyes of the Heavenly Father. I don't want to take leadful anymore.”
“What if you don’t like it?”
“… … If you don't want me to have a baby before marriage, get married and take me.”
“Ari, don’t you love me? If you love me, prove it. Hurry. Come here.”
The courageous refusal was simply ignored.
“How embarrassing would it be if your stomach swelled before you got married? An illegitimate child born of an illegitimate child and becoming an illegitimate child, I hate that kind of thing. Don't embarrass me in front of people.”
She had no choice if she didn't want to lose Cesare. In 1129, when Cesare sharpened his sword and prepared for his coup d'état, Ariadne secretly acted as a herald in and out of the castle, walking through the snow every night in the body of an unmarried noblewoman. This was possible because no one had even imagined that she, the fiancée of a man of high rank, would play a major role in his military action.
“I pretended to be in love with a shepherd boy every night for you.”
She climbed over the wall pretending to be dating another man while chewing on birth control pills because of Cesare. Funny. Rumors that she was an unfaithful fiancee, which spread at that time, still haunt her even now, in the ninth year of Cesare's rule.
“Even the rightful owner of the throne threw it to the hounds with my own hand.”
The kind Prince Alfonso, who was always friendly, became food for jackdaws by hanging over the castle wall.
"This finger! It drank the poison instead of you and rotted away.”
Ariadne raised the ring finger of her left hand, which was rotten and a knuckle short. In 1132, in the fourth year of his reign as regent, she was struck down by arsenic that aimed at Cesare, and instead of saving her life, she lost her poisoned finger. I later found out that it was Prince Regent Cesare who ordered her to read with the ring finger of her left hand. It must have been a misunderstanding, it could not be helped, the ring finger of her left hand must have been the best. I could do everything for Cesare, whom I love the most in the world. Because he will love me as much as I love him.She is crippled because she sacrificed for him, she is old by the time devoted to him, weak, ugly and broken compared to her youthful, radiant and beautiful past. Now was the time to return his care for her and return her. However, Cesare, her subject who had to make amends for her, just looked down at her with his cold expression. His tall stature was daunting, and his statuesque features, contrasting intensely with his reddish-brown hair, were so beautiful even at this moment. He opened his thin, transparent, smooth lips.
“Someone had to hurt Alfonso with their own hands. You can't make noble Isabella do that, can you?”
Ariadne's eyes widened.
“I can't believe you have been with my sister ever since Prince Alfonso was alive…… ?”
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