"Wait a moment."
Ariadne's steps to go up to the third floor were stopped by Lucrezia's voice. The stepmother's voice was unusually kind.
"Ariadne, It is an honor to have all of Her Majesty's stamps on the ornaments. But isn't there more to it than that?"
It was a soft voice like the fluff of a chick, which was rare for Lucrezia's voice to Ariadne.
"Good things have to be shared, but what good is it of you can't share trinkets with family members? How about giving your family a treat to commemorate the honorable prize?"
If Isabella's target was trinkets, Lucrezia's target was money.
"If you entrust this mother with the gold coins you received from Her Majesty the Queen, I will be very happy."
"And excited!"
Arabella started running around the first floor foyer. Lucrezia would have shouted a word, saying that she was distracted, but she ignored Arabella and exercised her patience to pressure Ariadne.
"Bring that bag of gold coins here. What's the point of a young lady spending so much money? Your mother will keep it safe and take it out when you needed."
'I knew it would happen.'
"Hurry."
Lucrezia took a step closer. Ariadne put her hand into her chest. Lucrezia's expectant gaze anxiously waited for Ariadne's hand. However, what came out of her hand was a piece of paper, not the heavy bag of gold coins that Lucrezia had expected. Ariadne handed the thin parchment to Lucrezia.
"What is this?"
It was smooth tanned parchment paper decorated with silver foil. In it written : "Fifty ducatos of gold have been duly received on behalf of the Rambouillet Relief Center. Queen Margaret."
Ariadne replied nonchalantly to Lucrezia, who was looking intently at her handwriting and turning the paper back and forth to see if there was anything missing.
"The fifty ducatos in gold were all donated to the Rambouillet Relied Center run by Her Majesty the Queen in the name of the second daughter of the de Mare family."
"What?"
"This is the receipt given by Her Majesty the Queen as proof."
Lucrezia, who was excited about the idea of filling the holes in the household account book with Ariadne's fifty ducatos, got excited and 'crumpled' the Queen's receipt.
"Why do you donate that precious thing? Are you out of your mind?"
Lucrezia screamed and pointed at Ariadne.
"You don't know how much money is wasted since you feed and dress well at home, don't you? How can you get rid of that huge amount of money by donating it all without knowing how to give your family a sign of your last name?"
Ariadne bowed her head, but she didn't keep her mouth shut like before. The right to speak came through the case of the Apostle of Aserrato and the donations made by the King and his wife.
"The role of a child in a family is to sharpen and polish the name of the family, She praised the Noblesse Oblige of the house of de Mare because Her Majesty the Queen does not forget the poor."
"You! Did you open your eyes and answer me right now?"
It was then, the front door opened and Cardinal de Mare entered. After taking Ariadne to the palace and doing simple errands, he returned home right away.
"I.. I knew you would be doing this! That's why I hurriedly back home!:
Cardinal de mare swung his sleeves and drove Lucrezia away like mosquitoes.
"Don't try to snatch a child's pocket money, get your hands off it!"
Frustrated, the Cardinal added a word.
"Do you know how many eyes are watching our house right now? The Cardinal's mistress is speculating and starves the second child, imprisons her, raises her with the maids. Don't get me embarrassed like last time because you were greedy for small amount of money! Stay calm!"
The Cardinal continues grumbled.
"On the way home from the palace, a carriage kept following me... I can't live comfortably!"
The Cardinal took off his coat and handed it to the butler who had followed him, and said to Ariadne,
"Did you receive the 'Heart of the Blue Sea'? Okay, let's open it."
He opened the lid of the 'Heart of the Blue Sea' ebony wood jewelry box that was sitting on the table in the middle of the entrance. In the center of the gorgeous red velvet lining was a dazzling ultramarine blue sapphire necklace.
"Oh!"
Cardinal de mare did not take out the jewel, but kept it in the box and looked at it enchantedly.
"This is the 'Heart of the Blue Sea'!"
The whole family flocked to the table in the center of the entrance to watch 'Heart of the Blue Sea'. It was the size of two and a half grown man's thumbnails glued together. It was an unbelievable size for a jewel. Thanks to its huge size, it had a sense of volume, so the glitter exploded from the very depth and come up.
"This is the mysterious necklace!"
Said Arabella. Cardinale de Mare shook his head at those words and replied.
"There is a legend that the 'Heart of the Blue Sea' was not brought from a mine, but brought up by a dolphin from the sea."
"Our family coat of arms is also a dolphin, right?"
"Yes, Isabella. Don't you think you've finally reached the place where the precious stones are supposed to come?"
Isabella looked at Ariadne and smiled meaningfully.
"It's perfect for a family heirloom! It would be well with Ippolito hair!"
Cardinale de Mare didn't bother to restrain Isabella's words and said to Ariadne, closing the lid on the ebony wooden box containing the 'Heart of the Blue Sea'.
"Ariadne, since you don't have a separate safe for your necklace, this father would like to store it in the library safe instead. How about that?"
"Father, that is..."
Ariadne nervously ripped off the hem of her dress. He said he would send it right away, but why hasn't he arrived yet?
"Your Majesty the Cardinal!"
The front door slammed open, and one of the servants gave a message, wide eyed in surprise.
"A guest has arrived."
The one who followed the servant was the Queen's official, who had grown up with a golden veil. It was the identity of the carriage that Cardinal de Mare was anxious about 'following'. It wasn't following. The destination was the same.
"I give you the order of Her Majesty, Queen Margaret!"
The official of the Queen, who took out the edict, bowed and recited the contents of the edict in front of Cardinal de Mare and rest of his family, who knelt down.
"Today, an undeserved gift from His Majesty the King was given to the second daughter of de Mare family. For ease of storage, the Queen ordered the safe to be lowered together. The installation is to be in the residence of her second daughter."
The official approached Cardinal de Mare and handed him a copy of the contract.
"You can sign here. This is an installation contract with the vault craftsman. The price was paid by Her Majesty the Queen."
The Cardinal accidently signed the contract. Four workers, carrying a safe the size of a bookshelf that went up to his waist behind the official, crossed the threshold of the front door in a struggle.
"My Eminence, the Cardinal, where should we install it?"
Ariadne answered.
"My room is in the attic on the third floor..."
Cardinal de Mare's expression contorted. While rumors were circulating, that the second daughter was mistreated, the Queen's official were not allowed to show that Ariadne's room was an attic in the corner of the third floor. There were too many servants quarters on the way to that room.
"No! No! It's the westernmost room on the second floor!"
This time it was Lucrezia's turn to surprise.
"Hone! Isn't that Ippolito's room?"
"Be careful with your words!"
At Cardinal de Mare's scolding, Lucrezia tucked her head in her shoulder like a turtle. Cardinal de Mare may have a lot of nerves, but at least he doesn't tend to raise his voice in public, but this time he seemed to be angry with no mischief.
"You can't put metal right in a girl's bedroom! You have to have a library to put a safe!"
He went right next to Lucrezia and whispered angrily into her ear.
"This wouldn't have happened if you handled things correctly in the first place! Housekeeping is your domain, so I respected it and entrusted it to you. So, the conclusion is this?"
"Yeah..."
"I've already given you several chances. Even so, I can't correct it at all, and now your ruining my face several times in front of people outside! I will take action, so you know!"
Ariadne picked up the Queen's receipt that Lucrezia had crumpled up and threw in the mess where the couple were talking and the workers were installing the safe. After holding the 'Heart of the Blue Sea' jewelry box tightly, Sancha, who came down from the upper floor, carried the Queen's jewelry box, and everything was ready for withdrawal.
"Let's go up to this gap quickly. I can go to the new room. Great!"
***
"Your Majesty the Queen, please write a receipt saying that I donated 50 ducatos to the Rambouillet Relief Center. I'll just take it out when I need it later. When I take it home, the money is not mine. The first use of the money will be to purchase my personal safe and install it in my room. Her Majesty the Queen, just give the order that the safe be installed."
The request that Ariadne presented to Queen Margaret was the same as above. It was a story that the Rambouillet Relief Center would be used like a bank. It was a request she was able to do because she believed in the Queen. Ariadne wondered for a while whether I would even need to install a safe. Not only the money, but she also thought that if she handed over the 'Heart of the Blue Sea' to Cardinal de Mare, the burdened would be lessened.
Ariadne thought that if Cardinal de Mare had control over the object, then others who were aiming for the 'Heart of the Blue Sea' would target the Cardinal or contact the Cardinal, not Ariadne. But she made up her mind and decided. No matter how much the 'Heart of the Blue Sea' was in Cardinal de Mare's safe, it was ultimately an item given to Ariadne by the King. As it was normally her thing, it was completely separated from her and difficult to move. And Cardinal de Mare bargained while marrying Ariadne with the 'Heart of the Blue Sea' included in betrothal list. The Cardinal would have no worries about Ariadne, who would go empty handed and received all the abuse.
When she was young, she thought her father was really precious. She resented Isabella and she was jealous. She seems to have had a bit of an inferiority complex as well. But she wasn't like that now. For Cardinal de Mare knew very well that, if it concerned his really vital interest, he would throw away even Isabella like his sword. Anything that come into his hands, he would make good use of it. Because it's difficult and tricky, this was a great hand. The wind was changing.
And that evening, Ariadne received a mail from the Palace. It was an item brought directly by a palace attendant.
'If it's something sent from the palace, why didn't I bring it with me during the day?"
Ariadne's doubt were resolved when she unwrapped the bundle and opened the box. It was a large, flower shaped golden hairpin made from about a dozen marquise-cut, dark pink tourmalines weighing about three carats. Looking at the engraving, it was sold at a high end jewelry store along the Tiber River. The source that sent the goods was the Prince's palace.
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