Chapter 60 - Setting A Mousetrap To Create Greater Injustice
Sister, I'm The Queen In This Life
Ariadne had already made up her mind with Madame Marigny of the Ragione dressmaker. Madame Marigny initially refused Ariadne's request to establish a business relationship with Lucrezia, then give Lucrezia a kickback as requested, and then handed over the account statements to Ariadne in return.
"Miss! It's a bit......! If the story that we did something like that gets out, our dressmaker's reputation will also suffer."
Ariadne persuaded Madame Marigny without wavering as if she had expected it.
"This is the shame of the Cardinal de Mare family. At least from our side, there is no way the story will leak out."
"Even so, if things go as you plan, won't Cardinal de Mare cut off the deal between our dressmaker and the de Mare family?"
The picture Arladne drew was evidence of Lucrezia receiving kickbacks from the Lazione dressmaker and reporting it to Cardinal de Mare. This was embezzlement. Naturally, from Cardinal de Mare's perspective, he would think that the Ragione dressmaker was also a rotten bastard who participated in Lucrezia's embezzlement.
"Don't we have an exclusive clothing contract with you for two seasons? If that breaks, you'll be in trouble."
"Thanks to the Lady wearing it, our store is receiving quite a few orders from the ladies of San Carlo society."
It was true. Although she attracted some negative attention when her dress tore at the Debutante Ball, as the old saying goes, notoriety is another name for fame, the incident sparked a surge of interest in Ragione's dressmakers. At that time, the Ladies who thought the dress was pretty placed a flood of orders at Lazione's dressmaker's shop.
Just when it seemed like the flood of orders due to the debutante prom dress trend had died down, the green striped dress worn during the hunting competition became a huge hit.
At San Carlo that fall, everything Ariadne wore was sold out, including the fabric of the dress. These days, the skilled workers at Lazione's dressmaking shop were busy making identical hunting dresses using similar fabrics, Ariadne smiled at Madame Marigny's words.
"What do you think will happen after two seasons?"
Madame Marigny could not answer Ariadne's question. While Madame Marigny had forgotten what she had said, Ariadne asked again.
"Will still be doing business with Lazione's dressmakers after two seasons?"
Madame Marigny straightened up in shock. Ariadne was now San Carlo's so-called it girl. She e was the 'most notable new talent' and, as Camellia de Castiglione once said, she was the undisputed 'biggest source of wealth in San Carlo'.
In recent years, the frequent movement from Camellia to Isabella and from Isabella to Ariadne was an exceptional case, and it was common for these positions to last for at least 2 to 3 years, and at the longest, they were in power for over 15 years And the situation in which Ariadne, who enjoyed such a position, got her clothes tailored at a dressmaker rather than at a clothing store was actually very strange.
"I know very well that you have no intention of stepping into the dressing room."
Lazione's dressmaking shop was a family business run by a family from a small suburban town. They hired relatives and village neighbors they had known for a long time as seamstresses and gave them work. They were not the best seamstresses, and because of this, Lazione dressmakers had difficulty producing products that exceeded a certain standard.
However, the Marini family considered coexistence with the villagers where they had established roots to be a more important value than becoming the most successful clothing store in San Carlo.
"You can't always be good, and you can't avoid the things you don't like and choose to enjoy only the good things. At the end of the two-season contract, I will move my business to the clothing room because I have kept all my promises. That's natural. Then Lazione's dressmaking shop will return to the same condition as before."
"...!"
Although it was surprising, it was actually not surprising. In the end, it was a natural step since Lazione's dressmaker did not produce the quality of the clothing room.
"But isn't dressmaking the only way to make money?"
"Yes?"
"If my plan succeeds, it is true that the trade between the de Mare family and Lazione's Tailor Shop will be cut off. My father will make it so. But what if you open a second store in someone else's name? The items are not ladies' clothing, but servants' uniforms, servants' and maids' clothing, and linens used at home, such as curtains and bedding. I plan to reduce the number of employees when I take charge of the de Mare family's household in the future. Then, we need an outsourcer to take care of all the clothing and linens used by the De Mare family."
When the family power struggle began in earnest, It was necessary to eliminate some of Lucrezia's people. Instead of hiring a new person for the position, the idea was to outsource it to Lazione's Dressmakers, or rather, Lazione Linen.
"The price per item may drop, but this is a completely new market. Take the de Mare family as your regular business partner and try to penetrate other noble families, I will try to make arrangements for a few places. I think this would be a better fit for the Marini family than the dressmaker."
She got up from the shabby VIP room of Lazione's dressmaker's shop and put on her coat.
"I'll contact you when I've made up my mind."
It was the next evening that a positive reply came from Madame Marini. When Isabella woke up late these days, she grumbled and sat down in the girls' drawing room to read 'Ladies Tales of the City Ladies' City Stories' a collection of great women's exhibitions of great women in history.
Their noble deeds, their good deeds, the traces they left in history, how they should live, and whether the virtues of women are the same or different from the virtues that men must keep. It was a book about 800 pages long.
Isabella tried to make a charming complaint to Cardinal de Mare, asking him if she could stop reading, but she quieted down when the Cardinal threatened to ask if she wanted to copy the book report if she didn't like it, and she left with a swear word on her lips.
She read a book. Ever since she was shocked by Ariadne swearing at her, Isabella had been practicing swearing hard. With her mouth cursing and her eyes reading the great man's biography to cultivate the right attitude, she wondered what Isabella was learning, but at least she was writing a book report, as Isabella was locked in her drawing room for half of her day. It had the effect of making it happen.
It was Arabella who grew her flesh. While Isabella was holed up in her second-floor drawing room, Arabella played around with Isabella's belongings like a fish out of water. Isabella had many interesting items of her own. One place of particular note was Isabella's dressing table. She had various cosmetics as well as many strange gadgets, but what Arabella found today was a toupee.
"You're crazy!"
To make her hair look more voluminous, Isabella plaited blonde human hair into a thickness about the width of a finger and pinned it to the roots of her hair. Arabella's hair color was the exact same color as Isabella's, so the toupee for Isabella fit Arabella like it was tailored for herself. The toupee had iron clasps at the roots, and despite its rigid appearance, it was able to bend and straighten well.
"Hmm, is this interesting?"
Arabella learned how to use the sliver iron clamp by bending and unfolding it once or twice, and then tried Isabella's toupee on her head. She hummed happily as she looked at her hair, which was blown up like a mop, in the mirror, it was a strange thing that although it looked hard, it was actually very soft when you touched it with your hand.
Arabella, who was having fun while Isabella suffered under her great man, committed the perfect crime by carefully taking Isabella's toupee off and putting it back in its original place, and then she leisurely took Isabella's toupee off and left the room.
***
Over the past few days, a lot of letters have come to the de Mare family. The most numerous letters were letters of appeal to Lucrezia from various members of the de Rossi family.
The first letter came from Zanobi's father, Stefano, protesting the punishment he had received. A person who had been whipped 40 times and was in abnormal physical condition. With even the tendons in his limbs severed, he was placed on a pony and sent all the way to the southern region, so it was almost a pity that he returned with his life. Due to the severe infection mainly on his buttocks, where he had been sitting on the horse after being whipped, even the wounds that were supposed to heal did not heal, making him a truly disabled person and a cripple.
A letter came from Lucrezia's eldest sister asking why the living expenses were not paid, and after that, a letter of appeal came from Lucrezia's elderly mother. At first, the content of the appeal letter was that they felt sorry for Zanobi and that they should buy a village and give it to Zanobi to take care of his livelihood, who becomes a disabled person. The content changed to requesting that they send living expenses.
After about three more weeks, Lucrezia's old father finally sent a curse letter telling her that she was such an ungrateful bitch for abandoning her family and that she would burn in the 9th, deepest level of Hell as a traitor, so she should eat well and live well on her own. Judging by the frequency of the letters, it seemed that the de Rossi family had no savings. It remained to be seen how long Lucrezia could endure.
The letter Ariadne received was a bit more cheerful than that Count Cesare sent a courtesy red rose, a silver-plated letter of greetings asking if everything had gone well, and an elaborate buckskin horse saddle. There was also an added comment,
'Because someone broke your arm, I won't be able to save you for two months, so in the meantime, wear a good saddle so you don't get caught in the stirrup (strategy)... And if I end up with a scar on my face, you'll be responsible for me.'
- Count Cesare de Como.
Ariadne smiled bitterly and told the servant to take the horse saddle. The servant's eyes widened at the initial acceptance. When receiving a gift, it was polite to send a gift in return. Ariadne had her maid get a salve that was said to be effective for scars and put it on the person's side.
'Count de Como, This is an effective scar treatment. I hope you get well, meet a nice woman with that pretty face, and start a happy family.'
- Dreaming of Ariadne de Mare.
This was the first reply Ariadne sent to Cesare in this life.
The letter Ariadne had been waiting for so desperately did not arrive until the day after the hunting competition. It was a letter from Prince Alfonso, who could not stop writing his pen when he heard that Ariadne had an accident.
'Dear Ariadne, something big happened at the hunting competition. I'm very sorry. You're not hurt anywhere, right? I was very disappointed that Father was sentenced to whipping for property damage rather than attempted murder. I think he should have shown Etruscan mettle even If the Gallico envoys were watching. And it is difficult to say for sure that my dissatisfaction with the finite punishment of criminals is not at all self-interested. Once again, you're not hurt, right? I was very disappointed that my Father was sentenced to whipping for property damage rather than attempted murder. I think he should show Etruscan mettle even if the Gallico envoys were watching. And it is difficult to say for sure that my dissatisfaction with the finite punishment of criminals is not at all self-interested. Once again, you're not hurt, right?
Leo III had a reputation for being merciful and was trying to find a way to avoid Zanobi's harm without being on the side of Cardinal de Mare, so he instead shook hands with him. In San Carlo, criticism coexisted with Leo III. It's criticism that he was 100 lenient on Zanobi de Rossi and that he was too harsh in preventing him from being ordained a knight because he shot a girl. This was because he did not give power to anyone and took an ambiguous attitude. If those in power are not decisive when they should be, all kinds of opinions boil over and are expressed freely depending on the mood.
Even his own son was dissatisfied with his father's treatment. It was actually a very subtle thing for a Prince, the heir to the throne, to comment on his father's conduct. Politically, it was either a bold move or a handshake, and it was a letter that Queen Margaret would have tom up and burned in the fireplace if she had seen it.
But Alfonso had already crossed a line just by writing the letter. He had already done it once, so there was no reason not to do it twice. He was always disarmed in the presence of Ariadne. The Prince's letter continued. His writing style was unstoppable.
'A masked ball is scheduled to be held at the royal palace at the end of October. I was so disappointed that we couldn't meet each other at the hunting competition. I hope you can come to the masquerade ball once you have calmed down from the shock this time. Let's meet face to face then and tell the stories we missed. I miss you after not seeing you for so long.'
His mother told him to refrain from making faces in front of others. The masquerade ball was a golden opportunity to meet without being noticed. Alfonso forgot his mother's warning not to write the letter himself.
He was the only one who cared about Ariadne. She is confident and resolute, so be wouldn't even imagine such a thing. He said,
'I think the entire court will leave for the winter in the southern villa in mid-November. All the court nobles go together, but when I asked around, they said that the Cardinal's family has never been together because of the diocese management. It would be great if we could go together. Even in winter, Taranto's villa has lush greenery and the sun is hot. The slightly dry air and the smell of the sea tickle your nose, but it is very different from San Carlo. It's a small but beautiful palace. I really want to show it to you. Taking care of your health is the most important.
With your concerns, Alfonso.'
It was a very long letter compared to the short, back-and-forth messages that had been sent back and forth like notes. It appears that a lot of thought was put into writing. As the handwriting was pressed down the ink smudged between the lines were visible.
Behind the sentences 'I miss you because I haven't seen you for so long' and 'I really want to show you!' written in slightly rough handwriting using a thick pen nib, there was a smear of blue ink as if he had been trying to write something. It was a letter that was completely opposite to Count Cesare's handwriting, which was written elegantly and as if he had not even thought about it, and seemed to have been done by a machine.
Ariadne looked at Alfonso's letter with a dull heart.
'What is this?'
Why did she wait so anxiously for this one letter?
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