The guests entered Ariadne's ball and expressed their surprise at the décor as if it were a fairy's party in the grass. An orchestra hired from outside was constantly playing sweet melodies live, so the inside of the party seemed like a different world. And Alfonso, who had arrived in advance, unlike a VIP, greeted his debutante partner, who looked like a fairy Queen, with a surprised expression in the waiting room next to the main hall. Ariadne, shimmering softly from head to toe, was so full of grace that it was unbelievable to be a young girl just having her debut ball.
"Really pretty. As elegant as the legendary Queen Guinevere."
Ariadne, who hadn't even heard Sancha and the maids' praise, blushed a little this time.
"Don't say anything you don't mean."
"No, you are really pretty."
Their short meeting was interrupted by an uninvited guest. It was because Zanobi, as a 'debutante partner', came into the waiting room arrogantly to escort today's debutante.
"What is this?"
Zanobi's warlike tone filled the room. Thinking that he would be her debutante partner, Zanobl, who appeared dressed in all-white clothes, looked around as soon as he entered the room.
"Where did you bring such a smooth-faced boy?"
From the beginning, the boundary was no joke.
"You know that men are capable, right? Where are you turning your eyes when you have a cool knight like men?"
The words were thrown under the guise of a joke, but the sentence contained sharp thorns and an inferiority complex. Although she pretended to be strong, Zanobi, who could not stand his small self, unconsciously attacked the outside to relieve his sore throat. His little eyes scanned his surroundings and caught Ariadne's outfit. Today's Ariadne was amazingly beautiful, but what Zanobi decided to mention was something else.
"Hey, didn't this brother tell you not to wear high shoes?"
Ariadne had just come out wearing two and a half ditto high heels to save the train of her dress.
"Are you really stubborn? Don't you even listen to your brother?"
Ariadne looked at Zanobi with a bewildered expression. When Ariadne didn't show any signs of fright or intimidation, Zanobi took a step closer to Ariadne and lowered his voice.
"When I say nice things, put on your shoes and come."
As the crown of Zanobi's head came close enough to touch Ariadne's nose in heels, a low man's voice flew in.
"She doesn't have to change clothes because she has nothing to do with you."
"Who are you?"
Zanobi, who had been ignoring Alfonso for a while, finally exploded. Zanobi lived only in a country estate and did not know the Prince's face, and had a vague hostility towards handsome men. Zanobi raised his fist without hesitation. He seemed to think that it would be enough to beat the parasitic brother. However, when Zanobi raised his fist to subdue Alfonso with the fighting skills that he was so proud of, Alfonso's own edible sword was pulled out with lightning speed and aimed at Zanobi's uvula.
"Don't do anything stupid."
Zanobi was helpless and overpowered by Alfonso. However, Zanobi didn't think it was because the Prince was stronger than he was, or because he neglected his training, he blamed his tools.
"You, what are you! You're crazy! Shouldn't you have to challenge for a duel before taking out the sword?! If you wreak havoc with a knife, who will fight it with your bare hands?!"
A private duel without a formal duel request, in other words, taking out a sword and threatening others was a felony under national law. Alfonso had a grave look on his face. He seemed very angry. When Alfonso seems unwilling to give Zanobi any answers about his identity, Ariadne now agrees to give Zanobi a nice hint.
"Greetings, Zanobi. And greetings, Little Sun of the Kingdom, Prince Alfonso de Carlo."
However, duels were between people of the same status. When a commoner rebelled against an aristocrat, the aristocrat was free to scold the commoner and send him away, as long as his life was on the line. Alfonso was of royalty, and Zanobi was at the top of the lower nobility. A duel between Alfonso and Zanobi could not take place.
Zanobi had nothing to say even if she was unilaterally cut by Alfonso until right before she was crippled, or if he was taken to court and sentenced to imprisonment for contempt of royalty if he was lucky, or treason if he was unlucky.
"Hee!"
Zanobi jumped backward and nearly tripped over a decorative branch behind her. Alfonso did not dare to pursue Zanobi, who fled with his sword. Zanobi didn't even ask, but he immediately fell flat on the floor and bowed to the Prince.
"Come Janobi de Rossi from Taranto, greet the Little Sun of the Kingdom!"
Originally, only one leg should be raised with the knee on the floor and the other knee raised, but all four limbs were bent on the floor like a frog. He really begged desperately, trembling like a frog before a sparrow.
"I never dreamed that you would be the Prince!"
Alfonso was still angry. He asked, suppressing the anger between his brows.
"If I hadn't been a prince, wouldn't you have reflected on yourself like that?"
"Yes? Yes?"
"Would you threaten a good lady who hadn't done anything wrong, punch the first person you saw, and behave like that without apologizing if the person you were doing was not the Prince?"
Zanobi seemed to be at a loss for words. In fact, it was because he had nothing but an affirmation to the Prince's question. He apologized because he was a Prince, and he must have wielded something more than a fist rather than a fist against a commoner.
Ariadne was holding back a laugh, but Prince Alfonso seemed uncomfortable.
"Start by apologizing to Lady de Mare."
Zanobi seemed too proud to apologize to Ariadne, even though the Prince had ordered him to do so. He got up from his prostrate position and apologized to Ariadne with a contorted look on his face as if chewing and spitting out words.
"I am sorry."
He seemed to be holding back from wanting to add, 'It's not my fault, it all happened because you're tall'. Ariadne smiled and asked Zanobi.
"What are you sorry about?"
Zanobi became a mute who drank honey again. Because, in fact, deep down in his heart, he really had nothing to be sorry for. After pondering for a while, Zanobi went through his small head and apologized again for the part that seemed to be the most wrong.
"I'm sorry for speaking loudly and frighteningly."
Ariadne corrected Zanobi accurately.
"I don't think I have any sense right now, but if you don't know, try to memorize it. It has nothing to do with me whether someone else is wearing high heels or not. Don't talk about what other people are wearing or whether you like it or not, just think about it in your head."
And as if she had forgotten, she added a word.
"And don't talk in the first place."
Having said this, Ariadne kindly guided Zanobi.
"Now, let's apologize properly."
Zanobi was dumbfounded as if his brain had stopped, and was unable to speak. When Zanobi could not answer for more than 30 seconds, Alfonso coldly issued a congratulatory order to Zanobi.
"I hope you learned something from today's work. Let's go."
As for Zanobi, it was something he was really grateful for, but Alfonso wasn't particularly gracious, it was just that he didn't want to be in the same space with a person like Zanobi anymore.
"Thank you, I am very happy, Your Highness!!"
Zanobi stood up from his prostration and hurriedly ran out of the waiting room.
Alfonso didn't seem to be in a good mood even after kicking Zanobi out. Ariadne, refreshed by Zanobi's disappearance, cheerfully played a prank on Alfonso.
"Why are you still upset? If you want to be angry, it has to be me!"
Alfonso looked at Ariadne blankly, then, with a boyish face full of darkness, said something unboyish.
"Ariadne. Aren't you being treated like that at home?"
Alfonso, full of concern, tucked Ariadne's hair behind her ear. His finger lingered on Ariadne's ear for a moment before dropping as if he couldn't help but regret it.
"Don't put up with that kind of treatment. You're wonderful, Ariadne."
Ariadne was startled by Alfonso's sudden story. She thought she hadn't put up with anything lately, but she was confused whether it was something else in the eyes of Alfonso, who would have grown up receiving only love. After Ariadne stood silently for a while, Prince Alfonso asked Ariadne a question, wondering if he had made a mistake.
"Ah... Hey, by any chance, I took this out on purpose, didn't I just hand it over?"
At Alfonso's question, Ariadne looked at the mirror hanging on the wall. Only one side of her hair, which Anna had deliberately pulled out with her skill, was dutifully tucked behind her ear by Alfonso's hand.
Seeing that Alfonso was at a loss, Ariadne messed around with Alfonso's hair. The Prince's hair, which must have been styled with perfumed oil in the palace, was disheveled close to nature. Alfonso was startled and reached out to mess with Ariadne's hair, but Ariadne had already anticipated Alfonso's move and pulled away from him one time ahead. The two faced each other and laughed. In the meantime, the servant of the de Mare family came and announced that the time was up.
"Now inside the hall, Cardinal de Mare is congratulating the guests. We're almost done, so we will give a signal and you can enter with the performance."
Alfonso and Ariadne hurriedly cleaned their disheveled hair and clothes and straightened their posture.
"Please welcome my second daughter, today's debutante."
Clap clap clap!
Unaware that the Prince was his daughter's debutante partner, Cardinal de Mare did not mention the Prince in his greeting, only talking about his own daughter. Without hesitation, the Prince faithfully fulfilled his role as a debutant partner and escorted the debutant, the main character of the day.
"Shall we go, lady?"
Ariadne smiled brightly, placed her left hand on Alfonso's outstretched right arm, and nodded, and The two, dressed in dazzling white clothes, took a step into the main hall with the band playing in the background
"Looking at it like this, the second one is really pretty too?"
"The guy next to him is really handsome too. Who is it?"
"Isn't that Prince Alfonso?"
A little commotion arose among the guests who recognized the Prince as the debutante partner of the second daughter of the de Mare family. In an instant, the main hall was filled with words from the bigots that they did not know that they would push it this far, that the de Mare family invests much more in their second daughter than their eldest daughter, and that this is not Cardinal de Mare's connections, but a personal friendship between Queen Margaret and the second daughter.
Filled up, Isabella was among the belatedly aware that Ariadne's partner was Prince Alfonso. She nearly broke her fan, which Isabella was holding in her hand.
'She dares!'
It was impossible to know when she had seduced the Prince as she had been quietly shutting herself inside the house. The Young lady of Baroness Camellia de Castiglione, who was standing next to Isabella, whispered to Isabella in her ear, with a thin smile on her lips.
"Isabella, isn't the title of 'San Carlo's best resource' now going to your younger sister? Your parents must be very happy that all their daughters are outstanding."
Despite the added words as an excuse, it was clear that Camellia's intention was to upset Isabella. But it was a room that went in so well that she had no words to say.
Regardless of Isabella's shock, the ball went on smoothly. Debutante and her partner follow the blue carpet in the center of the main hall to the stage at the inner end of the main hall. After greeting the guests there, after hearing Cardinal de Mare's brief introduction to Debutante, everyone toasted with fruit wine. After that, they were supposed to dance the first waltz. Just as they reached the stage at the end of the main hall, Alfonso was helping to get Ariadne up the stairs first.
"His Majesty's congratulatory message has arrived!"
An official sent from the palace announced the arrival of a congratulatory message from the King and an envoy in a loud voice. Ariadne and Alfonso met each other's eyes in amazement up and down the stairs. Ariadne received everything she needed in the palace, including the early morning hydrangeas and the morning Prince. Ariadne asked Alfonso with her mouth.
"What's the matter?"
Alfonso also shook his head.
"I do not know either."
That the Prince was here now was unknown to either of his parents. Alfonso looked at the delegation carrying the King's congratulatory message, worried about where the words might have leaked. A delegation sent from the palace blew horns to attract the attention of the guests.
At the sound of the horn, the guests took the same example of seeing His Majesty the King to the hastily entering envoy. Ariadne also knelt down in her seat and bowed her head. With the exception of Cardinal de Mare and Prince Alfonso, all the guests at the funeral were on their knees. His Majesty's envoy slowly entered the main hall. His Majesty's envoy was Count Cesare, a handsome man with auburn hair dressed in light cream.
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