At the end of Ariadne's gaze, following the voice and looking up, there was a zelkova tree in full bloom next to an abandoned fountain. The owner of the voice was lying on the branch holding a book. He opened it, closed that book that was covering his face, and set it beside him, beckoning to Ariadne.
"Coming up?"
The Prince nodded.
"The top of the tree is the least visible to people."
There was plenty of time before Her Majesty's audience. There was no need to hurry to pick up peonies. She nodded her head and under her own power climbed the trunk of the tree up beside the Prince. But the hem of her voluminous dress prevented her from leaping with all her strength.
"Can I help you?"
Ariadne was in no position to refuse help. She stretched out her hand and held it out towards Prince Alfonso, and Prince Alfonso took Ariadne's hand. His exceptionally thick and large hand touched Ariadne's long, slender fingers.
"This way. Right."
Holding her hand did now allow Ariadne to sit safely on a branch. The Prince, who reached her inside her forearm and almost lifted her up, seated her on the branch of zelkova tree, inly then discovered a problem with her.
"Oh no, your dress was white."
Ariadne burst out laughing in response.
"What, did you ask me to come up without looking at you?"
Alfonso laughed cheerfully along. As soon as he was her face, he was so happy that he called her right away. He didn't even look at the clothes. Alfonso thought for a moment, then took off the cloak he was wearing.
"Would you like to come up here for a second?"
The Prince pointed to his own knee. Ariadne's eyes widened.
'This is too straight.'
However, she was in no position to refuse. Prince Alfonso's favor was Araidne's golden ticket to live this life free and safe from Cesare and De Mares. When Ariadne moved the center of gravity over Alfonso's lap, he put his mantle on the empty zelkova branch and Ariadne set back on the branch.
"Now, are you okay?"
It was a neat movement without s single unnecessary touch, without any superfluity. It seemed that the selfishness was only in Ariadne's heart. Ariadne blushed for nothing and only nodded her head.
"Alfonso, no, but why are you here?"
Alfonso laughed.
"I mean, how did you come here?"
Well, it's not unusual for a Prince to be in the palace. Ariadne laughed bitterly at her own stupid question.
"I have an audience with Her Majesty Queen Margaret today."
"Ah! So today is the day!"
It was well known that after defeating the Apostle of Aseretto, the second daughter of Cardinal de Mare would come to the palace to receive congratulations from the King and his wife and gifts from Her Majesty the Queen.
"Father gave you a lot of praise."
"Really?"
Ariadne was not entirely delighted to hear that she had been highly regarded by the King. It was true that the range of maneuver widened only when reputation increased. But Leo III was a monarch with many unusual ideas. Nasty, you might say. She wasn't sire if her standout was a good thing.
"He said he regretted not being able to award you the Order of Chivalry."
Prince Alfonso is the only heir to the throne, and so far he has maintained an amicable relationship with the King. The King petted his little son. So, the Kind's aides did not hesitate to inform Prince Alfonso the King's movements.
"What a waste. It was an opportunity to become a knight."
She laughed like a joke, but she was truly sorry. With that title alone, she could have escaped from the de Mare family and lived freely on her own.
"Do you want to be a knight?"
Prince Alfonos's eyes shone. He was proficient in all in all the arts required of a knight, such as jousting, horseback riding, swordsmanship, and shielding. He was also praised for embodying the seven qualities of a knight: courage, justice, generosity, nobility, fear of God, and abstinence and self control. It was his dream to become the best of knights, the lord f the Central Continent who was respected by all knights.
"I'll give you a job someday."
"Do I have to swear an oath of allegiance?"
I swear by my soul, from this moment today, I will give my allegiance to My Lord. I will protect and respect him in the face of any adversity, and I will put the safety of My Lord before my own life, I will live for the greater good than personal gain. I will always tell My Lord the truth, keep my promises to him, never change, never leave, and always stand by My Lord's side.
Ariadne was well aware of the oath of allegiance that a knight give to his Lord. She thought it was a terribly romantic oath made to be impossible to keep.
'Besides, a knight who took the life of his lord is the same as the traitor Judas of Cariot from the Book of Success.'
Ariadne decided never to swear allegiance to Alfonso. Ariadne once led Alfonso into a trap. It was because she was Cesare's fiancee. If she became a knight of Alfonso for committing such a sin, she would have nothing t say even if she burned forever in hellfire.
"Now I can't give it to you because I'm not a monarch. When that day comes, I will give you the honor of being my knight."
"I can't use a sword or a spear."
"Learn until then."
Ariane laughed at his steadfast swordsmanism.
"Are you trying to defend the country only with the sword? Even civil servants can be useful."
"They are also the people who are indispensable. You are a great talent but not a knight."
A knight who clashes with the enemy army to defend the country at the forefront of conflicts of interest. Alfonso intended to one day became a monarch who would flourish the Etruscan Kingdom with the loyal Golden Knights.
"You seem to be planning a meritocracy. To say that I will be appointed as a knight jus because you liked a man who could neither wiled a sword nor a spear."
"I heard the story and saw it. If you don't want to become a cancer soldier, you should cancel it."
Ariadne hurriedly waved her hand.
"No. I'll learn it quickly. Swordsmanship."
Ariadne made an exaggerated gesture and shouted.
"I will quickly learn swordsmanship form now on, become the greatest knight in the world, and become Your Highness's first sword. I will not disappoint you with my excellent swordsmanship."
A knight who made a promises he couldn't keep was the antithesis of a great knight. The two looked at each other and laughed. Ariadne, laughing out loud, felt her body out of balance.
'Huh?'
There was a strange feeling of lift in the back. It felt like nothing supported her weight. Ariadne struggled with her arms.
"It's dangerous!"
It was Prince Alfonso saved Ariadne from falling from the tree. Alfonso nearly threw her body and caught her. His arm touched her arm first, then Alfonso held her for a moment as if embracing her, and as her center of gravity stabilized, all sides of her became still and her leaves rustled in the wind. With the sound came the crunch of her satin.
"Ah."
Ariadne's face was red. From the Prince's side, it seemed that he had no selfishness, but Ariadne tried to control his expression by biting the flesh on the inside of his mouth. It shouldn't have been awkward. She did it strategically, but emotionally, she didn't want to make a funny joke in front of Alfonso right now. She's acting like an idiot in front of the golden Prince. It's the worst. Fortunately for her, the Prince's side sat her down first and changed the subject of the conversation.
"What did you come here for? It's not on the wat to Mother's room."
Ariadne's face was stained with embarrassment this time.
"That is..."
Officially, she had know what flowers were in the Queen's patronage. Ariadne quickly found an excuse.
"I was looking for a flower to cut and put on my hair. I goes to an audience with Her Majesty the Queen, but my grooming seems to shabby... Is this the garden, right?"
Half a spoonful of lies. It was right that it was the way to visit the garden. She just knew too exactly the garden was. She didn't want to tell Alfonso straight up that the clothes she was wearing were poor, but people can't have everything they want. Alfonso, on the other hand, looked at Ariadne with wide eyes.
"Shabby? You?"
In his eyes, there was nothing to add or subtract from this dark-haired hair.
"You are pretty, aren't you?"
Ariadne's face turned red again. In front of Alfonso, she felt as if she had really become a fifteen-year-old girl. She protested, pointing to her hair. If you don't know the answer or emotion, think with your head and logic. It was the way Ariadne had lived her whole life.
"I decorated it with fresh flowers because I didn't have any accessories, but the flower buds are small, so it's less flashy. I'm sure I'm only young lady in San Carlo who goes to see Majesty the Queen like this."
Even a Prince, who was ignorant of women's clothing, could immediately understand the story that the lady's headdress had no jewels, only flowers.
"Ah... That bothered me."
He frowned for a moment.
"What time is Mother's audience?"
"Three o'clock this afternoon."
It had only been over an hour ago. Alfonso shook his head.
"Then, time is running out."
There was a lot of gold and silver treasures in the Prince's palace, but woman's hair ornaments were nor ready-made. He pondered for a moment what he could offer.
"Let's do this for now."
He untied the long cord that was tucked into the sleeves for decoration. On the green silk, small jewels were embroidered in between each embroidery, showing off their brilliant. After tied a string of jewels around Ariadne's hair like a ribbon.
"Is this okay?"
Ariadne could bet on the fact that the green ribbon would be tied around her feet like rice straw tied to crops. Judging by the Prince's hand movements, he was not the kind of man who knew how to tie a women's hair. However, Alfonso's thoughtfulness in taking off his clothes decoration and tying in on her head was pretty. She responded to Alfonso with a pretty smile, closing her eyes.
"Thank you. I really like it."
***
Ariadne, who had been flirting wit Prince Alfonso at the abandoned fountain, returned to the waiting room of the Queen's palace just in time. His Majesty's bounty presentation ceremony was usually a splendid event presided over by several court officials. However, Queen Margaret had an extremely closed personality, so she did not enjoy such a thing, and when she held a large-scale presentation ceremony, she, as a Queen, made an excuse not to officially invite Ariadne's mother, Lucrezia. So her audience with the Queen took place in the same parlor where she had been invited to Mass, in a small room with one or two of the Queen's Gallico ladies-in-waiting, the Countess of Marquez and the Viscountess of Cibo.
"Therefore, I, King Leo III, give the following award to Cardinal de Mare's second daughter, and I hope that she will continue to devote herself to the country.
Sitting in the Queen's chair, which was comfortably decorated, Queen Margaret looked at Ariadne, who knelt down on one knee in front of her and finally read the King's edict, which was filled with words such a 'merit', 'filial piety', and 'faithfulness', with one hand. She held out and spoke kindly.
"You can finally stand up. Come this close."
Ariadne stood up with strength on her right foot, in accordance with court etiquette, then raised her knee and took a step closer to the Queen.
"Come on, a little closer."
What the Queen took out was a huge jewel box with fine carvings into ebony wood and painted over with gold and pure silver.
"I didn't know that His Majesty would hive you this."
Ariadne sensed something unusual in the Queen's tone.
"Can I dare to ask what it is?"
In response to Ariadne's question, the Queen opened the King's edict placed on the beside table next to the Queen's chair and read the end of the parchment.
"The bounty is 50 ducatos in gold, a box of accessories choose by Queen Margaret, and 'The Heart of The Blue sea."
Ariadne's face turned pale. Queen Margaret opened the lid of the ebony wood jewelry box, and the dazzling brilliance spilled out. It was a necklace of overwhelming luxury and exquisite beauty, crafted from a tiny chestnut-sized ultramarine sapphire surrounded by tiny dazzling diamonds. Ariadne immediately stood up, took a step back, knelt on both on her knees on the floor, bowed her head and cried aloud.
"Your Majesty the Queen, I can't possibly accept this! Please help me!"
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