Chapter 56 - Lips And Contact
Sister, I'm The Queen In This Life
"Aren't you going to catch it?"
Ariadne whispered to Cesare.
'He who catches the 'golden deer approaches the throne. Count Cesare de Como, a blood relative of the king, caught the 'golden deer.'
It was a story that Cesare would have loved very much. If Cesare were to catch the 'golden deer' and return to the tent today, it would certainly be the most notable event in the hunting competition.
Ariadne prepared to quietly dismount from Cesare's horse. What Cesare brought with him was a steel bow that could be fired with both hands, which was useless now that he could not use one arm. At least it was more likely that he would rush in on his horse and throw a commendation. Only by handing over his horse could he catch the 'golden deer'. She knew how much Cesare loved to be the center of attention. Moreover, she had been listening to Cesare's 'Golden Deer' throughout her past and present lives. So Ariadne naturally assumed that Cesare would run away and leave her behind to catch her 'golden deer'.
"I'll tell you. I'll get off on the left, and you jump right on the right."
Cesare spoke plainly to her as she whispered
"Ho. I won't catch it."
"Yes?"
In response to Ariadne's question, Cesare looked up at her and said
"I think I'll have to leave the girl and run into the forest to catch that thing. How can I do that?"
He added a word as an excuse.
"It would be a pain if I lost you in the forest. Let's just go."
Ariadne was surprised by the unexpected situation and forgot to say anything for a moment. Although it was a stupid thing to say, she had no choice but to ask this.
"Didn't you want to catch it a lot? In your letter. you just mentioned the 'Golden Deer'.
"It's true that I wanted to catch it."
He glanced at Ariadne. He wanted to catch the 'golden deer', but there was a bigger game in front of him, the girl he was longing for. He felt that winning her heart would be a better deal than the skin of a 'golden deer'.
"Today isn't the only day, right?"
Sensing the presence of humans, the 'Golden Deer' perked up its ears and glared at the people. The 'Golden Deer', which had a snowball fight for a moment, soon trembled once and ran into the grass.
"Wow, I hit the ball today."
Cesare straightened his back, half in regret and half in relief. Although he said it was okay, he had some internal conflict, but when the 'golden deer' ran away, he had nothing to worry about anymore.
Feeling refreshed, he cheerfully rode his horse to the stream where the 'Golden Deer' was drinking.
"We couldn't catch the 'Golden Deer', but since this is the water that the 'Golden Deer' used to drink, let's assume that this stream is the fountain of eternal life."
He motioned for Ariadne to get off. When Ariadne heard those words and tried to get off his horse, he helped Ariadne off the horse with one arm and added,
"Let's take a break here, wash our face, and then let's go. Who knows if your ugly face will become prettier if you wash it with the fountain of eternal life."
Ariadne glanced at Cesare and got off the horse. There wasn't much water left in the canteen and was extremely thirsty. Ariadne scooped up the stream water with both hands and took a sip. The water was so cold that it made me wake up.
"But Miss, do you still read my letters regularly?"
"Yes?"
"I never heard back so I thought you tore it up and threw it away without even reading it! Wow, I'm excited. We'll spend a lot more time in the future, right?"
It's true that Ariadne tore it up and threw it away...
Ariadne humbly turned her head. When Ariadne said nothing, Cesare scooped up water from the stream and wiped the left side of his face. His wounds were long. It looked like he had suffered an abrasion from being swept on the floor when he rolled on the floor earlier. The dirt and blood were wiped away together in the cold stream water.
"Ugh, that must hurt."
"Huh. It hurts."
"I guess you don't know, but in situations like this, it's much cooler to say, 'It's okay."
"It's okay because I'm cool no matter what I do."
Ariadne shook her head and looked at Cesare, and when she saw that Cesare's appearance was a mess, she suddenly realized. She rolled around on the dirt floor, so her face must have been dirty with dirt too. Ariadne washed her face with water from the stream, being careful not to disturb the eye makeup that Sancha had applied to her in the morning.
While she was absorbed in washing her face, she suddenly felt a warm human body on her forehead.
Cup.
Cesare kissed Ariadne on the forehead. Ariadne was so startled that she jumped up like a spring
"What are you doing!"
Cesare took a step back, lowering his broken left hand and holding only his right hand in a surrender position.
"I'm sorry, sorry, you suddenly looked pretty after washing your face with the "fountain of eternal life"! Really, don't do this really!"
"No, can't you allow even this much to the knight who saved us from a collapsing horse?"
The two walked down the stream while bickering. The horses were led by Cesare, walking side by side. The late afternoon sun was slowly setting.
***
The meaningless small talk between Leo III and the Duke of Mireille was very long and, to a great extent, inappropriate. He made Queen Margaret sit down and talk obscenities in front of her, and when he came to represent his future bride, he rambled on about the sexual customs of older nobles. Alfonso, who was completely fed up, continued to scan the outside of the tent with his eyes. The place where he was located was the high VIP seat in the very center of the tent, so he could see most of the people coming into the tent.
But Ariadne was not visible except for once in the morning when she passed by from afar. Did she really go hunting herself? It didn't seem like she liked exercise that much. Most of the ladies were drinking tea and chatting inside the tent. Only a few unusual people went out to hunt in person.
'Did you ever go out for a walk with another man?
The hunting competition was an event where good-looking men and fair women were especially attractive. At every year's hunting competition. there are many couples who say they are going hunting and go into the forest together to look for the game for hours and then return empty-handed. Alfonso's fisted hand tensed unconsciously, but he quickly shook his head to shake off the ominous thoughts. Ariadne did not have a particularly close relationship with any man.
'That can't be possible. What a picky child she is.'
Her laughter, her pranks, her exaggerated strength, and the glass-like vulnerability peeking through them were something only Alfonso knew. But the evening was getting late and the hunters were returning in groups.
At five o'clock, the awards ceremony began. A knight somewhere who caught the largest wild boar was honored by Leo III. The King showed off his Etruscan bravery in front of the Duke of Mireille and received a laurel wreath bestowed by Queen Margaret. While all this was going on, the black-haired girl was nowhere to be seen
'Did you go home early?'
He had a feeling it wouldn't be the case, but he couldn't convince himself. Ariadne's nasty stepmother and poisonous half-sister were still in the tent, but Ariadne was not very close to them, so he could have gone away early.
"Your Majesty, Count Cesare has not returned yet."
Avoiding the eyes of Queen Margaret and the Gallico Kingdom envoys, Leo III's secretary whispered softly into Leo IIt's ear. However, Leo III saw that his secretary's efforts were in vain, so he got up from his throne and shouted loudly.
“Cesare?”
At that friendly title, the faces of Queen Margaret and the Gallico delegation stiffened at the same time. Queen Margaret was embarrassed that her husband's poor treatment was revealed to those sent by her parents, so the Gallic envoys now came to negotiate the sending of her royal consort, who would be sent to the Etruscans. It was because he was doubtful that his future would become like that of Queen Margaret. If the woman from the family she mamed into was treated poorly, it was a matter for her to take care of. However, it was a matter of profit or loss for her that his successor would be contaminated blood rather than the child she gave birth to. However, Leo III seemed to have no respect for himself if he could not show off this level of authority in front of his wife, in-laws, and envoys from neighboring countries, and behaved more noisily than he usually did to Cesare.
Leo III's secretary touched his forehead. I felt like my fever was rising.
"Send someone to the forest! Hurry and find him! Isn't the sun going down?"
"Ah, Your Majesty! There's someone coming out of the woods over there?"
At the sound of someone's voice, people all looked in the direction he pointed. The bushes were shaking and Cesare was wading through them, brandishing his hunting knife, and Ariadne was following him, holding the reins of his horse. Both were in disrepair due to minor scratches from tree branches and the aftermath of falling from a horse.
“Count de Como!”
Leo III found Cesare and called out loudly. Fortunately, while the Gallic envoys were staring at him with their eyes wide open, he did not accidentally look at Cesare affectionately and call him by his name. Leo III's secretary heaved a sigh of relief. And this was also the line that Leo III drew for himself. He loved and admired Cesare, who looked just like him and Countess Rubina, but he never intended to give Cesare the right to succeed to the throne. In official settings, Cesare's title was still 'Count', a court noble without even a proper hereditary estate. Upon hearing Leo Ill's call, Cesare stumbled but knelt down on one knee in front of Leo III, showing royal respect
"Your Majesty's loyal subjects meet His Majesty Leo III, the Sun of the Kingdom."
It was only for a moment that he gave a thorough greeting as if he were a loyal subject. Cesare smiled brightly and raised his left arm.
"It's because I fell from a horse and broke my arm. Please excuse me for putting my arm on my knee when saying hello."
Leo III asked in surprise.
"Count de Como, what happened? Have you ever fallen off a horse?"
"That's what happened when I saved a girl in danger. As a man, I can't just pass it by."
He added in a low voice.
"In danger? Who?"
Leo III's eyes immediately turned to Ariadne, who was also next to him,
"Wasn't she in trouble because some scoundrel attacked Lady de Mare with a hunting crossbow? If I hadn't met her on time, something very serious would have happened."
Cesare was deliberately promoting matters in front of the King.
"What? Who would do such a shameless thing at a sacred hunting competition?"
"I heard that he is the nephew of Lucrezia, Cardinal de Mare's mistress. They say he is a knight's squire. He must be someone who has to hone himself in order to be ordained a knight, but doesn't it seem like even reporters of chivalry don't know that?"
People started buzzing. Lucrezia's nephew was a very unfamiliar name in social circles. However, occasionally there were people who remembered Zanobi's previous disgrace
"Oh, why did he whistle at the de Mare family's debutante ball!"
"That robber back then?"
"A country bumpkin, what a robber."
When she heard the story of Lucrezia walking around to see what was going on amidst the buzzing crowd, she was astonished. She looked around.
"Zanobi, Zanobi, where is this bastard?"
Lucrezia, who was in a state of panic, looked around and found Zanobi, and it was almost at the same time that Leo III let out a roar.
"Bring that obnoxious person in front of me right now!"
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