Chapter 66 - First Marriage Proposal In This Life
Sister, I'm The Queen In This Life
Alfonso smiled and placed his own against Ariadne's palm to gauge its size.
"It must be difficult to pick grapes with such small hands, right? Can you pick one flower at a time?"
Ariadne raised her palm above the quadrilateral and changed the reference point to the fingertips rather than the beginning of the palm connected to the wrist.
"If you look at it this way, it's not that small! And your hands are big, not mine are small!"
What brought the man and woman, who were immersed in their own sweet world, back to the real world was a man who walked up and snatched Ariadne's wrist.
"...!"
Ariadne was startled and froze like a deer, and Alfonso instinctively blocked the space between Ariadne and the man. The unknown man's hand grabbed Ariadne's bracelet-clad wrist so tightly that the bracelet dug into her wrist. It was almost simultaneously that she felt distressed and that Alfonso's large hand grasped the forearm of the masked 'plague doctor'.
"I don't know who it is, but let go of that hand."
The 'plague doctor', caught by the strength of Alfonso's grip, felt the nerves in his forearm being pressed and his hands giving out. He gritted his teeth and let go of his grip on Ariadne's wrist. When the freed Ariadne took a step back, the 'Plague Doctor' only then lifted his mask halfway to reveal his face.
“Count de Como!”
"It is Count de Como."
Cesare sarcastically glanced at Alfonso.
"I guess the Little Sun of our noble Kingdom goes around revealing his true identity even on the day of the masquerade ball? Why don't you scream that I am a Prince?"
This refers to the fact that Alfonso wears a Bauta mask that exposes half of his face and is dressed so luxuriously that anyone can see that he is a Prince.
"Since it's the day of the masquerade ball, you won't force us to politely respect the royal family, right?"
Prince Alfonso coldly ignored the sarcastic Cesare. He was busy looking at Ariadne, who must have been surprised to start an argument with someone like Cesare.
Ariadne, who was released, scolded Cesare.
"Count de Como! What is this?"
"I came to save the Lady. It's not me who should take off, it's Prince Alfonso."
"What do you mean?"
With Ariadne standing almost in Alfonso's arms and asking questions, Cesare looked in Alfonso's direction and let out a deep sneer.
"Golden Prince, where on earth did you leave Grand Duchess Lariesa and are here seducing an innocent girl?"
Prince Alfonso froze for a moment, forgetting what to say. His hand, which had been covering Ariadne's shoulder, floated slightly into the air.
"Please take your hands off her now instead of nailing me to the poor Etruscan girl's chest. To find the Prince's noble foreign Grand Duchess."
While Alfonso was silent, Cesare looked back at Ariadne.
"Little girl. Leave that wet-smelling bastard behind and come with me."
Instead of forcibly grabbing Ariadne's wrist this time, he held out his hand. His right hand, wearing the deerskin glove he always wore, waited for Ariadne in the air.
Instead of holding Cesare's hand, which was suspended in midair, Ariadne calmly questioned him.
"Is Grand Duchess Lariesa a state guest from the Grand Duchy of Valoa?"
Cesare looked at Alfonso as if he were dumbfounded.
"Didn't you even tell us who the state guest was?"
Alfonso's face turned red. He thought that he had carefully considered his conduct at every stage in relation to this incident to ensure that there were no problems. He didn't lie and he didn't cross any lines.
However, it was an undeniable fact that he did not tell Ariadne who his state guest was or why she was visiting San Carlo. He just didn't think there was any need to talk so trivially. He was, he thought.
However, Alfonso and Ariadne originally talked about every little detail. Okay, why did he hide it?
However, Ariadne calmly looked at Alfonso without wavering and said,
"If it's someone like that, of course, you have to go look for it. We will find it together."
The one who was embarrassed was Cesare, who thought Ariadne would be angry with jealousy.
"Miss!"
He took a step closer to Ariadne.
"Aren't you feeling unfair? That guy can't meet you! There are currently marriage talks with the Grand Duchess of the Kingdom of Gallico! He's going to break your heart and leave you by marrying the daughter of a foreign monarch! You are being used!"
Cesare expected Ariadne's response this time. But Ariadne didn't move a thing.
Instead, she looked at Cesare with a straight face and spoke in a strong tone.
"Count Cesare. I think there is a misunderstanding now. There is no relationship between me and Prince Alfonso."
Alfonso, who was standing next to her, was more surprised by those firm words than Cesare.
"I have never received a request for a relationship, nor did we meet on a personal level."
It was true that he had never applied for a relationship. But did they meet without any personal feelings? He had never been like that. If you put your hand on his conscience and reflect on it, he has always been nine spoonfuls of selfishness and one spoonful of causes. Wasn't she like that?
"Please don't cast a negative light on a good friendship."
Alfonso took a deep breath at this remark. Friendship, yes, friendship. Was it friendship in her eyes? He did not associate with her for the sake of her friendship. It may have been like that at first, but at some point, it wasn't like that.
But does he have the right to demand more from her? Bound by his duties, what can he give her?
Ariadne continued.
"And how on earth are you interfering with my private life, which has nothing to do with you?"
Alfonso had a lot to protect, but Cesare was a free man. Alfonso had a country, a people, and a mother, but Cesare had nothing that he desperately needed. So he was able to shout this question impulsively.
"Let's call him a suitor for you. I could propose to you, damn it. Yes, I will, I can do it!"
It was by far Alfonso who was most surprised by that declaration, but Cesare himself, who said it out loud, seemed surprised as well. Cesare, who had already said it out loud, took a step closer to Ariadne.
"I'll put in a marriage proposal. I will send it to Cardinal de Mare immediately tomorrow morning. So now, get away from that guy."
Count Cesare had talked about marriage to many women in his life. In many cases, it was brought up on the first day of the meeting, regardless of whether the other person was a commoner, a foreigner, or a married woman. This worked better the greater Count Cesare's reputation as a womanizer.
Regardless of whether it was realistic for her to marry Count Cesare or not, the fact that the word marriage came out of the mouth of that playboy made the women very happy and opened their hearts wide. This would be a direct ticket to their bed. However, of all the marriage proposals he has made so far, the most specific one was the one he just said out loud.
It was also the proposal with the highest probability of turning into an actual marriage. He was the right person, the right position, the right age, and above all else, he was more willing than ever to fulfill Cesare's own promise. However, this was the most coldly rejected marriage proposal he had ever made.
“Ha, ha, hahahahahahaha!”
A girl who had received a marriage proposal laughed like crazy at an old fountain in a corner garden. She laughed uncontrollably, and tried to wipe away the tears she shed from laughing, but was blocked by her mask.
"Don't say anything you don't mean, Count Cesare."
She took a step back and stared at Cesare with her masked face. Cesare was confused. He had no idea what kind of expression she was making behind her pure white mask. The creepy expressionless face of the Volto mask aroused his fear.
"I know that your heart is lighter than a reed. You should live freely and not be tied down to people like me."
Ariadne thought that this life was truly dramatically different from her previous life. What an ironic twist of fate it was that, even though she was running away from her engagement to Cesare like she was avoiding a plague, the mastermind suddenly proposed to her!
If he had been like this in her past life, she would have been so happy that she would have done everything she could for him. But not anymore.
She thought that although the sequence of events could change, human nature did not. And here stood Cesare, unaware of her own past life. He got angry when he heard that his heart was lighter than a reed.
"What? Am I light as reed? You don't have a heart? You don't know me very well yet."
In the meantime, he added a sly comment
"And what about you as my bride? It's like you. It's perfect."
As Alfonso watched all of this, his anger towards Cesare grew. It was true that he was talking about marrying the Grand Princess of Valoa. But it was still just a conversation. He was not alone, and there were no other women associating with her like that scoundrel in front of him.
Alfonso was always gentle. He was taught that it was petty to delve into matters below a man's belt in front of a Lady. But whenever Ariadne's affairs were involved, he always lost his education, or rather, his very carefully born nature. Ariadne made him into something he was not.
"Count de Como. Shut your dirty mouth. When you say that I am using Ariadne, don't you look back on your own behavior? Are you the subject of proposing to a noblewoman?"
Alfonso blocked Cesare with his body and blocked Ariadne from his view. Alfonso was in the process of being reborn from a boy to a full-fledged young man. His tall height, which had grown in just a few months, and his broad shoulders gave him an intimidating look.
"Stop hitting on Lady like a joke. Your scandal has been heard all the way to the palace. Has Madame Ragusa been sorted out now?"
This time, it was not the married woman who sent the letter filled with resentment, but a commoner widow whom he had had fun with before. Cesare became upset when the name of a woman who had been with him for more than six months came up.
"Why are you bringing up useless stories here? It's all a thing of the past!"
Cesare forgot about the engineering school and was fired. But Alfonso's attack was fierce. It was not because Alfonso was sharp-tongued, but because Cesare's actions were too easy to attack.
"It's already been a long time since you two met so loudly? Have you ever taken responsibility in your life? It's only natural that father doesn't recognize you! What kind of trouble would he suffer if he recognized a nuisance like you?"
"This shit...!"
Cesare raised his fist but was unable to strike, and only his hand trembled. He was not yet crazy enough to hit Prince Alfonso in the face inside the palace. It was Ariadne who broke things off here.
"Stop!"
She looked up at Alfonso and said,
"Let's just go. We need to find the Grand Duchess of Valoa. I will help you."
When Alfonso did not respond, she pulled Alfonso's sleeve and forcibly led him away from the fountain. In times like this, humans often knowingly commit foolish acts because of their pride. It was best to separate them. Alfonso was not the type of man to be stubborn until the end when a woman said the right thing.
Without a word, he obediently followed Ariadne's hand and left. Cesare was left alone next to the fountain where Ariadne left with Alfonso. Unable to hold back his anger, he purred and violently kicked a rock that had fallen on the floor.
"Fuck!"
The stone hit the fountain and bounced loudly. He stamped his feet a few more times as if his anger wasn't going away, and even kicked the fountain, causing his body to tremble.
He couldn't figure out what made him the most angry. Was a marriage proposal rejected? That woman left with Prince Alfonso? The criticism he received from Alfonso?
But Cesare, who was fuming, soon left into the garden. And in the darkness was Isabella, watching everything with shining eyes.
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