Chapter 65 - Secret Love Affair At An Abandoned Fountain
Sister, I'm The Queen In This Life
Alfonso couldn't believe his luck. He thought he wouldn't be able to meet her, so he pressed his feet to find her and walked to fulfill his duty. But she appeared before his eyes. Isn't it the Heavenly Spirit who gave him a gift? He even thought about it.
"Ari, right?"
A smile spread across Ariadne's lips. Although it was hidden behind his mask, the warm breeze was also transmitted to Alfonso.
"Huh! How did you get here?"
The words "What should I do about the Grand Duchess of Lariesa?" rose to the top of Ariadne's throat, but Ariadne did not want to reveal to Alfonso that she knew about the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.
Although it was a small effort, it was a struggle to protect her pride.
'Since you're not talking to me, I'll pretend not to know either. When everything is resolved, come back to me as if it never happened
Strictly speaking, Alfonso had never told Ariadne that he liked her, so Ariadne thought this was just an idea she was getting ahead of herself. That's why she never let her thoughts out of her mouth but packed them tightly and buried them deep in her heart.
But as soon as she saw Alfonso, she couldn't hide the smile that appeared on her face and the vitality that filled her whole body.
"I wandered around in the garden and ended up here. I was walking aimlessly and I found you there."
In Alfonso's mind, Lariesa had already been completely erased. His mother's warning was also forgotten. They talked about each other's good looks, about the masquerade ball, and about their future plans.
"In mid-November, the entire court leaves for Taranto. You've never been to Taranto, have you?"
"Yes, they say it's the hometown of His Eminence the Cardinal and my 'mother', but I've never been there."
Cardinal de Mare was an orphan and had no family or estate in Taranto. Lucrezia's parents were people it was better not to see. Moreover, because he was a priest belonging to the Holy Emperor's Office who was in charge of managing the Diocese of San Carlo, he was not in a position to follow the Etruscan court down to the southern villa even in the winter.
"It would be great if you went together too. The prince's palace can send invitations."
Alfonso, who had said this far, bit his tongue. Oh, he's not sure about this. But he really wanted to go to the southern villa with her.
The scent of the sea through the dry air, and the shrubs that are green all year round, but unlike the broad-leaved trees in the north, have low saturation, and are found only in the south, between dark green and olive green. He wanted to show her everything.
Looking at Ariadne's wide, surprised eyes at seeing him. for the first time in her life, he felt proud of her, and he wanted to keep showing her amazing and beautiful things so that her curiosity would not fade.
"Invitation?"
But Ariadne herself tilted her head. The Prince's palace would not be in a position to invite an unmarried daughter, that is, a married woman, to the southern villa.
Alfonso hastily took care of it.
"It may be difficult to send an invitation in the name of the Prince's palace due to various circumstances. But I have a cousin, Bianca, in Taranto."
When Alfonso placed Ariadne in front of him, he did not want to disappoint her, so he revealed his initial plan, which he had not yet revealed to his secretary, Bernardino. This was uncharacteristic of the always cautious Alfonso.
"Bianca of Taranto is the only heir to the masterless duchy, and whenever we go to the southern palace, she always comes and spends time with us. If you receive Bianca's invitation, you can naturally visit Taranto's villa."
The relationship between Prince Alfonso and Bianca of Taranto was not bad for cousins. Alfonso was a kind-hearted relative older brother, and Bianca was a gentle relative younger sister. In other words, it was a relationship that would at least listen to Alfonso's request to invite the Lady de Mare.
So, although he had not yet heard Bianca's opinion, Alfonso first pitched the idea to Ariadne. As expected, it was behavior that was completely uncharacteristic of Alfonso.
Ariadne smiled brightly. Bianca of Taranto' was a Lady she really wanted to meet. By then, the Grand Duchess of Valoa would have returned to her native country.
"I would really like that! Be sure to invite me!"
***
While Alfonso and Ariadne were chatting at the abandoned fountain, there were two uninvited guests walking toward the abandoned fountain. The first of those uninvited guests was Isabella de Mare.
Isabella was forbidden even to correspond during her probation, and she was only able to contact her friends shortly before the Masquerade Ball. They exchanged letters about where to meet, but due to the tight deadline, the date for the masquerade ball arrived before anything definite could be reached.
Isabella thought, based on the nuances of the letters exchanged up to that point, that her meeting place was the entrance to the grand ballroom. However, when Isabella went to the entrance of the grand ballroom, Leticia de Leonati and Camellia de Castiglione, whom she was supposed to meet, were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, it was Julia de Baldesar and the rest of her group of friends that Isabella ran into. She was wearing a colombina mask that only covered half of her face, and it was bad luck for her to run into them while she was alone.
"....!"
When they spotted Isabella far away, they covered their faces with their fans and began whispering among themselves. At least Isabella thought they did. So she couldn't get closer, but she snorted as much as possible with the energy of 'I'm ignoring you, not you ignoring me.' And with that, she covered her mouth with her fan and left the grand ballroom fluttering.
The story was that after leaving the main ballroom alone, she did not want to be noticed by others, so she walked aimlessly to a deserted place and ended up there.
Isabella sniffled, feeling like she was about to burst into tears.
'What kind of thing is this, Isabella de Mare of the world...!'
Instead of wearing a mask that exposes her face, she should have just wrapped it up. If she had done that, she would have been able to hide among the crowd. But Isabella's suffering did not end there.
Isabella, who had been trotting along the garden in a fit of temperament, when she heard people talking in front of her, stopped her presence and kept her posture cautious.
"...The grapes eaten at the villa in Taranto are truly a delicacy."
"Really?"
A couple of a man and a woman were flirting. But not only their voices but also the women's clothes were familiar to her eyes.
'Ariadne? Prince Alfonso?'
Isabella's eyes grew so big that they almost popped out. She felt like she was going to die because it was against her heart. Isabella hurriedly hid herself behind a block of shrubbery and overheard their conversation.
"There is an old vineyard behind the Taranto villa. They say they no longer harvest it for wine because the trees are so old, but the grapes that fall naturally from the old trees are the sweetest."
"Can I eat it after it falls on the floor?"
"Well, you're not going to eat the skin anyway, right?"
Isabella listened to their conversation, threatening to run out and ruin the reputation of both men and women if they talked even the slightest bit obscenely, but the conversation between Alfonso and Ariadne was extremely wholesome.
'Ah, my stomach is bursting!'
***
In direct contrast to Uninvited Guest No. 1 hiding behind a cover in the garden and eavesdropping on the conversation, Uninvited Guest No. 2 confidently passed through the garden and walked straight to the fountain.
Cesare had shown up to the masquerade ball today dressed as the perfect 'plague doctor'. The plague doctor had a mask that looked like a bird from hell, with a nose that went down like a long beak.
Normally, nothing was drawn on the white mask, but it was a piece custom-made by Collezioni, so starting from the eyes, the entire mask was covered with black enamel and onyx. It was engraved with an elaborate Fleur-de-Lys pattern. His mouth was covered with black velvet, and his entire head-to-toe was covered with black and red velvet, making it impossible for anyone to recognize his identity.
Although he was confident in his good looks, he also wanted to make sure that his popularity was not due to his looks. For that reason, testing whether or not he could appeal to the opposite sex while wearing a mask that concealed his identity was a pastime that Cesare played every year at the St. Michael's Day masquerade ball.
Plus, this year there was a more practical reason. Count Cesare was chewing through all the letters from female comrades he had been in contact with and not replying to them. Since he had more than one such partner, Count Cesare was growing increasingly worried that if he attended the ball, he might meet an 'old friend' with whom he had a grudge. So he chose an outfit that would make it impossible for anyone to recognize him at a glance as Count Cesare, in case he encountered tears from his 'friend' who was heartbroken by the lack of reply.
Still, Cesare was not at ease and went into the deserted garden for fear of meeting one of his 'friends'. The Queen's Palace was one of his favorite places to play hide and seek.
Before becoming independent, young Cesare received a mansion in downtown San Carlo at the age of 13 and stayed with Countess Rubina in the Mistress's Quarters deep inside the Royal Palace of San Carlo. When she was angry and screamed, as a child, he would hide in the Queen's palace to avoid his mother's eyes.
The Queen's palace was the safest place to hide from Countess Rubina, whose eyes were everywhere.
Moreover, Queen Marguerite thought that treating her bastard poorly was a mean act that lost her dignity as a noblewoman. Even if Cesare was caught wandering around the Queen's palace as he pleased, Queen Marguerite, no matter how much she hated the five- or six-year-old boy, would outwardly gently scold him, feed him a snack, and send him back to Rubina.
Every time that happened, Rubina was worried that her own son would tell the Queen about her atrocities, and young Cesare felt like his bad mother who scolded him was being punished, so he got so excited that he repeatedly ran away to the Queen's palace.
It was only when Alfonso was older that young Cesare stopped doing it. One day, when six-year-old Cesare was beaten thirty times with a corporal whip by Countess Rubina for giving three Latin dictations incorrectly, he ran away to the Queen's palace as usual and played with dirty act that lost his dignity as a noble.
Even if Cesare was caught wandering around the Queen's palace as he pleased, Queen Marguerite, no matter how much she hated.
"Your Majesty the Queen, I heard you are my enemy? When can I call you mother too?"
Queen Marguerite answered with an emotionless expression like a porcelain doll but with a kind voice.
"It depends on whether His Majesty the King recognizes you as his son. So, not now."
Cesare, who did not immediately understand what the meaning was, continued to come to the Queen's palace and cling to Queen Marguerite like a puppy that had just reached puberty. Then one day, Cesare saw the three of them, including Leo III, Queen Marguerite, and young Alfonso, taking a walk in the garden of the Queen's palace. The atmosphere between Queen Marguerite and Leo III was much colder than that between Rubina and his father, but their attitude toward their son, a golden puppy, was as sweet as melting honey.
"My son! My successor!"
Queen Marguerite was looking at the young, incompetent, chubby Alfonso with a face dripping with happiness. It was a look that Cesare did not share. The first to spot Cesare, who was hiding and watching, was Leo III, who was playing with Alfonso by lifting him up in the air and lowering him down.
"..."
He left Alfonso in the care of Queen Marguerite, strode over, and slapped Cesare in front of him.
Cesare, who had been hit unknowingly, looked at his father in surprise.
"Father..."
"How dare you come in here!"
Leo III shouted sternly.
"Go back to your Mother!"
"I also want to play with my father and mother..."
-"Who is your mother! Who is your father?"
Leo III seemed very surprised, fearing that young Cesare's remarks might offend Queen Marguerite, who was standing behind him, with whom he had not had a bad relationship at the time. He punished Cesare twice as harshly.
"You're asking me if I'm going to come back, so you're rushing at me without knowing what's up or down!"
When he told him that he was playing parent and child, he didn't understand why! Get out of here!
"This is not the place for you!"
Cesare looked at Queen Marguerite with anxious eyes, wondering if the benevolent Queen Marguerite would stop Leo III. However, Queen Marguerite did not even look at Cesare. This is because young Alfonso suddenly started whining. She was busy comforting the little Prince Alfonso, who had been playing with his father excitedly and was suddenly in tears, saddened by being left in the care of his mother.
"My son, are you surprised? Don't cry, my baby."
There was no warmth to share with Cesare. All of this belonged to that dazzling blonde baby. Both the loving mother and the loving father were taken away by that plump golden lump.
After that, Cesare became a faithful young son who complied with Rubina's ridiculous demands. No matter how much his mother scolded him for something ridiculous, she was the only one on his side. He never came to the Queen's palace. Perhaps the reason he took a step towards the Queen's Palace today was because enough time had passed for the scars of his past to subside. But it seems he was destined to always be disappointed and frustrated every time he arrived at the Queen's palace.
An elegant woman in a golden dress, wearing a mask he had given her and a bracelet he had given her, was smiling affectionately with the man he hated most in the world, pressing her palms together.
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