Ariadne's steps slowed down at the sound of Lucrezia's shrill voice coming through the crack in the door.
"I can't. It's too hard."
It must have been the story of Ariadne. She stopped completely in her tracks. Ariadne spoke calmly to her maid.
"I suddenly feel very sick to my stomach. It looks like we'll have to stop by the backyard, so you go and tell the tutor that the second lady will be a little late."
"My Lady..."
"There will be no problems with you. You just have to go and get there."
Ariadne dragged off one of the ugly pearl earrings she was wearing and put in the pocket the maid's apron. It was the only earring she had, but she had to give it to the maid.
"Be careful with your master about what you have seen and heard. Go quickly"
The maid, not knowing what to do, soon agreed and left as Ariadne told her to do. Ariadne braced herself behind the pillars of the corridor and listened to the conversation flowing through the cracks in the Cardinal's parlor.
"No, what are you doing again? It was your idea to bring Ariadne in the first place."
"That was then and now is now! How hard it is for me to take care of her because she is so stubborn!"
Even though he was dumbfounded, Cardinal de Mare's voice was heard to soothe Lucrezia.
"Then, what else are you going yo say to Count Cesare? Every time we meet at the Grand Mass, we secretly raise our luck."
"He's the one who asked for Isabella in the first place, but would he just walk away because we brought in a girl like Ariadne? Think of a good way for you to figure it out! You're good at that! I can't live with her!"
"If you can't live with her, there's a way to just send the answer of marriage proposal to Count Cesare quickly."
'....!'
After overhearing this far, there was suddenly a crowd at the far end of the hallway. Ariadne, startled, sprinted away from the door of the parlor and pretended to be passing by casually. The people who coming were maids passing by to clean. The girls bowed to Ariadne and passed by chattering among themselves.
'Phew.'
Endured it for ten years. Ariadne, who had married Cesare beforehand, sent chills down her spine. Ariadne realized that just lowering herself and hiding would not work. If she just surrendered to the flowing time, the conclusion would be the same as in her previous life. She is entrusted as a replacement to the man who loves her sister like his life, keeps the seat next to him like his old furniture, serves his convenience, and miserably abandoned when the times comes.
It couldn't have been. Now was the time to act.
***
Ariadne realized that the interest of Cardinal de Mare and Lady Lucrezia were not perfectly aligned. To Lucrezia, Isabella was her alter ego, a more perfect version of herself, her golden princess, who must do well. But to Cardinal de Mare, Isabella was the 'best possession' he had.
Cardinal de Mare apparently loved Isabella to some extent. He wished Isabella happiness and he would be willing to make some sacrifices for Isabella's sake, for her laughter and carefree life.
'That's it.'
Ariadne knew how could Cardinal de Mare could be. Recalling his actions in her previous life, she shuddered once from the coldness that came over him. All the hairs on her forearm stood stiff, Just as a pedigree horse is raised to win races and a hound can be injured to catch game, the essence of a daughter to him was a commodity to be sold to serve the 'de Mare family' that would last forever.
After being taught, groomed, and beautified to sell well, there would be titles, lands, gold coins, and glory in the family in exchange for a beautiful and reputed daughter. Who the daughter liked and disliked was of secondary importance. The only reason Cardinal de Mare would not marry Isabell to Cesare de Como was that Isabella's worth was too high for her to be handed over to someone like Cesare.
"Oh, my pretty daughter! It is also the bloodline for our family. You're superior because you're from my family, and you're my daughter because you're beautiful."
Cardinal de Mare always praised Isabella's beauty, her clever hair, and her popularity in society. Even is she stripped away her memories of her previous life, she had never praised Isabella's efforts to reach such a result or her character. Cardinal de Mare was fond of Isabella because she was beautiful. Her eldest daughter, Isabella, was number one in the estate of Cardinal de Mare.
To be precise, his title of Cardinal must precede Isabella in its importance, so it was ranked second in the list of his estates. Behind Isabella, the winning horse in the King's Cup and the emerald the size of a quail egg embedded in the Cardinal's orb will be line up, and further down there will be Ariadne. He wanted to receive a price worthy of his best possession through marriage to Prince Alfonso, the only heir to the throne. That was it.
'If Isabella's value is higher than mine and my father wants to make her a Princess... I just need to make my value higher than Isabella's.'
If she mad a name for herself, improved her appearance, and became the most prominent woman in San Carlo, the de Mare maiden to Prince Alfonso would be Ariadne, not Isabella.
'You don't have to be best in San Carlo. I just needs to be higher than Isabella. If I can't go up, it's enough to undermine Isabella's value.'
"They say they don't like big woman, He always imagined hugging me while hugging you. Your breasts sagged like cows. The Queen is me."
Isabella's oriole-like voice rang in her ears like an hallucination. Ariadne inadvertently touched her own breast, which was still flat. She was not guilty of hurting Isabella. Cardinal de Mare's first class daughter, to Prince Alfonso, and the second class daughter, for Cesare de Como. There was no third way anyway. She could not suddenly became a trade genius and leave to import oriental spices aboard the galleys of the Republic of Porto, or inherit the title in her stead, overtaking Ippolito, the eldest son and Lucrezia's son.
Even if she made a big concession and Lucrezia was only the concubine in the end, she decided not to distinguish between them, and even if Ariadne poisoned Ippolito and Isabella, who were still the eldest sons, there was no title to inherit from the family itself. They had no hereditary titles of mobility, and they were just a family with a high priestly father.
In the end, her only option was to jump on the bandwagon of her father's temporary power and become someone's wife, sharing his wealth and his position. If there were only two options to choose from, Alfonso and Cesare, then this was a must-win race.
Ariadne strode down the corridor on the second floor and opened the door to the girl's drawing room. In the midst of her belated entry, Mrs. Romani, the tutor who was engrossed in her Gallic language lessons, and Isabella and Arabella all stared at the doorway. Ariadne greeted her by bending her knees in her prefect court manner.
"Good afternoon, Madam Romani."
It was an accent of the Kingdom of Gallico that was so smooth it was hard to believe it belonged to an Etruscan speaker.
" Sorry to interrupt, shall we continue?"
Arabella opener her mouth and looked at Ariadne.
"Your Gallico, why are you so good at it?"
Ariadne replied with a small smile.
"It's nothing. I just got used to it over my shoulder."
Madame Romani, who was always mild, was startled and spoke to Ariadne.
"The accent is perfect. Where did you learn?"
"Among the people I grew up with, there was someone who could speak Gallic. I only knew how to speak, but I didn't know grammar or correct expression, but after studying with Madame, I seem to be able to catch it quickly. It's all thanks to Madame."
While trying to figure our an alibi for the question of who Ariadne was, she did not forget to slightly pass the ball to Mrs. Romani. Mrs. Romani marveled at her student's quick achievements and her own teaching skills, and Arabella seemed to see Ariadne all over again, including the one she had covered in Lucrezia's explosion. But Isabella glared at Ariadne with her blazing eyes.
'The main character is me, why is she here? Taking away the spotlight is unacceptable!'
***
In order to become Madam Romani's favorite student again, Isabella gritted her teeth and devoted herself to her studies, but due to her poor foundation, she did not win. Ariadne did not learn just Gallic, but also Latin, history, theology, court etiquette, and any other subject related to her studies.
"Perfect!"
Madame Deluca, in charge of court etiquette, clucked her tongue. Court etiquette is a parchment book with more than 300 pages to memorize, and even after memorizing all the items, there are many things that the body needs to memorize, such as the proper depth of the bow, the appropriate speed of moving the gaze, and the relaxed and beautiful posture. Even if she memorized it for hundred days at home, she was bound to stutter again the next week.
"You haven't even had your debut yet, have you?"
"The socialite has never been out, save for one invitation to Her Majesty's Mass."
Madame Deluca once again in awe of the clever disciple's ability to learn.
"This...It's a talent!"
'Sorry, it's an experience.'
***
But Isabella wasn't particularly good at arts and sports. Ariadne didn't have much talent in arts and sports, so the two fought back and forth, but it was the young Arabella who showed outstanding ability in this field.
"The lute playing is fantastic! It holds the dynamics well and the tempo is perfect!"
Miss Mancini, the music teacher, praised Arabella. Even to Isabella, who glared at the proud little Arabella, the amiable Miss Mancini handed her compliment she had struggled to wring out as if wringing out a dry rag.
"I think Isabella treats the mandola with great care."
'Aagh!'
Isabella, who couldn't suppress her inner scream, threw down her 'precious' mandola and slammed the door! It was a bonus that it was closed. Even Isabella had the opportunity to show off her talent to the fullest, and it was various social events and the Grand mass she attended once a month.
It was customary for Cardinal de Mare to officiate the grand mass held at the Cathedral of San Ercole, the largest church in San Carlo, the capital, and unless there were special circumstances, all the people living in the capital would gather at the Cathedral of San Ercole to listen to the sermon.
Only the nobles were allowed to enter the Cathedral, and the commoners would wait in the square outside, and when the sermon to the nobles was over, Cardinal de Mare would say a few words to them and then disperse.
The interior of San Ercole Cathedral was like an exhibition hall of luxury and beauty. Isabella was by far the most prominent jewel there.
"Guys! Get ready! You have to get out of the house in the carriage by 7 o'clock! We must never be late!"
The event that Ariadne knew would happen today. Trevero Council Week was last week. The conclusion of the matter has already been reached, and today's Grand Mass will be the opening day of the Council of Trevero in San Carlo. It was time to steal Isabella's attention from her exclusive Grand mass and her father's favor.
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