It was an exaggerated high-pitched exclamation. However, with her oriole-like voice, everyone’s eyes were drawn to Isabella. The person she spoke to was her own mother, Lucrezia. One intended listener was blatantly Queen Margaret and her ladies in waiting.
“I am very glad that the Queen requested a sermon on the sacrifice of Gon of Yesak. It’s also my favorite part, mother.”
Lucrezia happily tuned in to her daughter’s tune.
“Teaching you the language of the Gallic Kingdom is worthwhile. Which part did you like best?”
“The part that Gon of Yesak sacrificed! I like the part where Gon of Yesak sacrificed himself for the sake of all the people who thanked him the most.”
The atmosphere has calmed down. According to the Holy Book, Gon of Yesak made two sacrifices. The first time he sacrificed his life, he died alone after being pointed at by a finger, and after he showed the miracle of resurrection, he sacrificed himself to prevent the punishment of the continent. Today’s sermon was about the first sacrifice of Gon of Yesak. Isabella only recognized the word ‘sacrifice’ because of the short Gallic language, and thought it was a sermon on the second sacrifice, which the nobles preferred, so she pretended to be proud and discovered that the foreign language was short.
“After a long journey, praise always follows sacrifice.”
The lady in waiting for her mother, who had followed Queen Margaret from the Kingdom of Gallico, smiled awkwardly and tried to lighten the mood. However, Isabella did not understand the courtesy of her maid to save her, and she smiled brightly.
“However, right after Gon of Yesak died on the cross, all the inhabitants of the seven hills of Gaias immediately came out and wept in unison! Alas - it is sad, of course, that he passed away, but how thrilled were the disciples of Gon Yesak?”
Now the atmosphere has cooled like the air inside a handmade bingo. Though not appreciating the sacrifice of the saint, but envying the fame he must have earned, it was a remark that made people doubt his character, which was difficult to cover up with words that he was immature. Even Lucrezia, who couldn’t understand her daughter’s mistake because she couldn’t speak Gallic, looked around in dismay. But Isabella, who was always oblivious to the odd spot, was looking around at the people around her, her big, pretty eyes wide open and blinking. With her wry smile, Ariadne finally stepped out.
“I like the courage of Gon of Yesak the most.”
There seemed to be no way to rectify the atmosphere here, except for himself, the youngest, to play jokes.
“You must have been very scared before you passed away.”
“The young lady is nice.”
The appearance of a girl who is still at the boundary between an adult and a child deeply empathized with the pain of an adult, which brought a smile to the lips of adults. The atmosphere was relaxed in an instant, and the ladies quickly changed the subject by throwing a word or two of social chatter. A little later, Ariadne added, ‘ You must have been anxious about leaving your back to immoral, selfish, and unintelligent people.’ but everyone seemed not to hear. But Queen Margaret was an exception. She looked at her maid and whispered in her ear.
“So the younger one speaks Gallica.”
“The second daughter speaks Gallic.”
The satisfied Queen’s gaze now moved to Lucrezia. Even today, Lucrezia, wearing a dress with a neckline cut a finger’s length deeper than is socially acceptable, bowed her knees as she received her Queen’s gaze.
“Lucrezia de Rossi. a saint from the Diocese of Taranto in the Etruscan Kingdom, welcomes Her Highness Queen Margaret!”
The fuss was a struggle to hide the intimidation. Lucrezia was nothing more than Cardinal de Mare’s mistress. So officially, she still had to refer to herself by her maiden name. Ariadne thought it would be funny if Queen Margaret called Lucrezia ‘Miss Lucrezia’. She gave birth to three children and her eldest son grew up, but Lucrezia never married anyway. Perhaps if the Queen put it in front of her face and called her ‘ Miss Lucrezia’, she would turn blue and squirm, and then come home and break things in her house in hysteria for about 8 days and 7 nights. However, Queen Margaret accepted Lucrezia’s greeting with a nod of her head, as if she had no intention of arguing with the Cardinal’s mistress.
“...”
Perhaps the Queen’s silence was embarrassing, but the Queen’s lady in waiting guided them brightly.
“Come to the drawing room. Noble ladies are gathering.”
The Queen walked with dignity without saying a single word directly to Cardinal de Mare’s family members.
“Oh! How pretty!”
To Isabella’s amazement, in the little parlor, finely furnished with green silk and mahogany, few ladies sat with a cup of afternoon tea in their hands. They were the noble ladies closest to Queen Margaret. Lucrezia, who entered the room hesitantly. noticed where she should sit. It had been her lifelong wish for Lucrezia to be part of this inner circle, but when the day came she seemed unsure of how to act.
“Oh, hello.”
After Lucrezia greeted awkwardly, she headed to the sofa in the center, and the noble ladies moved away like a flock of pigeons avoiding passerby. The one who avoided Lucrezia most obviously was a tall, gray-haired lady. Ariadne let out a laugh.
‘To see you here like this.’
It was Countess Marquez. In her previous life, she spread rumors about Cesare as being Leo III’s illegitimate son, and at a tea party Ariadne grabbed her hair. Countess Marquez, of course, did not recognize little Ariadne. Instead, she stood up with a smile on her face and greeted as Queen Margaret entered the parlor.
“Meet Her Majesty the Queen!”
The noble ladies in the drawing room greeted the Queen brightly and boisterously. Queen Margaret, who had never said a single word to Lucrezia, greeted Countess Marquez in a friendly way with a smile.
“My faithful friend, Countess Marquez, you look good today too.”
“Isn't it all thanks to Her Majesty the Queen’s oversight?”
The pale-skinned Queen, with blonde hair identical to the Prince’s, could not hide her accent, which must have been a foreign one. Lucrezia was a little taken aback by her thick Gallic accent, but none of the noble ladies in the Queen’s parlor showed off that it was strange, and they were all laughing. Queen Margaret glanced sideways at Lucrezia, Isabella, and Ariadne, who were not joining her party, and she indifferently introduced herself.
“These are Cardinal de Mare’s family. I heard that the daughter is clever and religious, so I invited her.”
It was to Isabella that the ladies whispered about the story of the ‘Cardinal’s daughter’. Despite the fact that Lucrezia, because of her status, had a bad place in her social circle, Isabella had already been rumored to be smart and beautiful in San Carlo since her debut last year. Isabella took a half step forward to her, grabbed the hem of her dress, and gave a soft bow.
“This is Isabella de Mare. It is an honor to meet some of the most precious people in the Kingdom.”
The rosy blush that rose slightly on her immaculate skin was very lovely. In the finest ivory-colored dress beneath her pearl-studded head covering, Isabella looked impossibly pretty and precious, regardless of the blemishes of her birth.
“Oh, this lady is Lady Isabella de Mare.”
“As rumored, it is very pretty.”
“She cute too,”
In front of the chattering ladies, Ariadne bowed half a beat late. However, the target of the greeting was not the noble ladies, and the direction of the gaze and body was directed towards Queen Margaret.
“This is Ariadne de Mare, the second daughter. May Gon of Yesak bless the noble lineage.”
The noble ladies seemed a little at a loss of words when they saw the older daughter, who was pretty and immaculate, and then the second daughter, who was scruffy and gloomy. Adjectives like so pretty, she used all of them on the eldest daughter who came before her, so there was no praise to give. But the Queen happily received Ariadne’s greeting. The corners of her mouth were blunt, but the corners of her eyes were lined with deep crow’s-claw wrinkles.
“You’re still a little kid saying hello very politely.”
It was the first word that Queen Margaret directly addressed to a member of the de Mare family. It seemed she was content to give the honor to the Queen, not to the noblewoman. When Ariadne was recognized by the Queen, the noble ladies began showering Ariadne with compliments, such as how calm the little girl was and how well she was educated, as if they had never given Isabella their attention. Isabella gritted her teeth, as she was swiftly pushed out her attention.
‘Queen Margaret’s got a swollen eye!’
At that time, Cuuntess Marquez, who was leading a group of wives, spoke to Lucrezia, who was sitting outside.
“Miss Isabella’s dress is very pretty. Which dressmaker did you tailor it to?”
Lucrezia responded with delight at the words of a true noblewoman.
“The seams in our house are homemade.”
As if not wanting to miss the chance, Isabella straightened the hem of her dress and drew people’s attention.
It was a top of the line custom made dress that complemented Isabella’s skinny figure by adding plenty of volume without sparing the highest grade silk. Under the thick silk fabric, a high quality chemise lace could be glimpsed.
“The seamstress is good. I want to get one for my daughter as well, but it's regrettable that I can't buy it from a dressmaker.”
Lucrezia, who was really hungry for regular exchange with a real aristocrat lady, did an excessive favor by handing it to her when she saw her for the first time.
“You can leave it to our seamstress. Countess Marquez is always welcome.”
Countess Marquez smiled strangely.
“A good seamstress must have slow hands, so I can't do more work. Isn't the seamstress who made the clothes for the eldest daughter and the second daughter a different person?”
“...!”
“Come to think of it…”
With meaningful words, the ladies each began to look at Isabella’s and Ariadne’s dresses in turn. Indeed, there was a big difference in the clothes of the eldest daughter and the younger daughter. Isabella’s outfit was very luxurious. Her dress, her shoes, and her headdress were all high quality, exactly in line with the latest fashion. But Ariadne was clearly untouched by her grown in touch. If Lucrezia had been more settled in society, the ladies would be kept quiet. But Lucrezia had no place for her, and Queen Margaret did not seem to think of her particularly. She was always pushed by the Countess of Marquez, so her second in command, the Marchioness of Cibo, took a quick look at Queen Margaret’s face and decided that she would be fine, so she opened her fire.
“A generous wife should take good care of her children.”
As if she couldn't lose, or as if she had waited, Countess Marquez took the word of it.
“My mistress is bad, but the child is a member of the family anyway. You have to have a family name to exist.”
The wives added a word to each other.
“Culture…Common sense…”
“This child is innocent…”
“How pitiful…”
Lucrezia’s face turned red and blue, but her real daughter was dressed in the finest clothes and the illegitimate daughter was dressed in cheap clothes, so she had nothing to say even with ten mouths. Lucrezia wasn't even quick with her wits. It was Isabella who saved her mother from her predicament.
“Excuse me, ladies. My sister has recently come up from the estate or Bergamo because of her poor health.”
Isabella smiled prettily and approached Ariadne as if everyone would notice, and took her hand in a friendly way.
“All of my sister’s clothes are the highest quality, and the seamstress is making them now. She was still thin and small, so I gave her the clothes I wore last year.
“,,,”
“It's because it's originally clothes that fit my frugal taste. Sisters usually wear clothes together when they are young.”
Isabella looked at Ariadne and smiled kindly. Her dimples pierced the baby like skin.
“Isn't that right, sister?”
Ariadne laughed along with Isabella.
‘One hundred words are worth a thousand words.’
Ariadne, instead of recounting Lucrezia’s atrocities, jumped up from her seat and patted the hem of her dress straight, just as Isabella had done earlier.
“Right, sister. It's an undeservedly good dress for me. I didn't know it was the one I was wearing, but I really like it.”
The hem of the dress fluttered, revealing the cotton chemise underneath. The noble ladies who saw the old and worn chemise were shocked at once.
“Oh my God! Look at how rough it is!”
“Is the color completely yellow? What color was that originally?”
“Look at that stain! Is it a splatter stain from doing housework? Do you also do kitchen work?”
Lucrezia’s face turned pale.
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