Chapter 78 < Various Ways To Change Your Destiny >
Sister, I'm The Queen In This Life
"Isn't it obvious what that Madame will say!"
Giada shouted, but Ariadne coldly dismissed Giada's opposition. She just glanced at Giada, then looked down at her fingernails as if she were bored.
"Giada. I need a place to store the leftover materials from the last Debutante Ball. You should use things sparingly. As you know, there are a lot of things left over in this house. But my mother bought a lot of new things this month too."
"What are you saying..."
"I know that pickled fish is scheduled to arrive from Taranto next week as well."
When Lucrezia was blocked from sending money to the Rossi family, she took a detour and began buying local specialties in Taranto. Lucrezia was probably buying Taranto specialties, including pickled fish, at a higher price than the market price.
"Fresh fish tastes better. Even His Eminence the Cardinal would prefer live fish over pickled fish. Isn't that right?"
It was a threat that if she resisted, Lucrezia's nonsense would be exposed. Ariadne looked at Giada intently.
"Go to my mother and ask her if it is her intention not to give me the back room in the kitchen."
She slowly strengthened her gaze and glared at Giada. If Lucrezia was caught anomalously sending money to Taranto, she would say it was all because of Giada, but it was an unspoken pressure asking if she could handle it. Since Ariadne did not greatly appreciate Giada's intelligence, she kindly explained it to her verbally as well.
"And if this is not my mother's will, I hope you will stop arguing with me about such trivial matters. If you go around here and there just to prove your loyalty, and something bothers the master you serve, wouldn't you just be causing trouble?"
Giada, the head maid, took a step back, probably not expecting Ariadne to be so aggressive. She didn't know where to put her eyes, so she stared into space and ran away in a hurry. After that, no matter what Lucrezia said, the maids under Lucrezia no longer bothered Ariadne.
Sancha clicked her tongue in admiration as she placed a huge lock in the back room of the kitchen, to which only they had the key.
"In the past, I would have comforted and prayed for her, but it feels so different now. Lady, you very easily kicked out the maid, Giada, and her aunt."
"Should I be satisfied with this? Our Sancha, your dream is small, isn't it?
Sancha was not the only one who admired Ariadne's changed status. After Isabella's imprisonment, Arabella also came to Ariadne's room and lived almost as a child.
"Ari, you're amazing!"
When referring to Ariadne alone, Arabella has not yet called her sister. But Arabella soon called Ariadne her nickname.
"I want to study a lot, get used to social trends, and be recognized by mom and dad like Ari!"
Regardless of the fact that Ariadne had no sense of fashion, she was unintentionally leading the trend in San Carlo thanks to what she saw and heard in the future.
Ariadne made a series of hits with the simple satin dress she wore at the debutante ball and the vertical striped riding dress she wore at the hunting competition.
It wasn't just clothing. She even made round-eye makeup popular in the San Carlo social scene this fall. It was a trend for everyone to fill in the triangular area under her eyes. According to the customs of San Carlo, children who had not attended the debutante ball were not allowed to wear makeup, but even today, Arabella cleverly stole her sisters' cosmetics and proudly filled in the triangles under her eyes.
"Where do you come up with all that? Why don't you ask about the secret to studying theology well?"
Arabella wrinkled her nose at Ariadne's question. Arabella was poor at studying.
"... Because I don't like it?"
Ariadne stopped laughing at the very honest answer, she scolded, tapping Arabella's frowning nose with her finger.
"How can you become the great person you want to be if you only do what you want to do?"
Arabella stuck out her lips and giggled. But Ariadne said the same thing, but she had no intention of having Arabella study theology or etiquette. She has something else she excels at, so why does she study like everyone else?
"How about studying composition or performance more?"
Arabella's face lit up but then became glum.
"But... Miss Mancini is a decent performer, but composition is not her major. There are no female tutors in San Carlo who can teach composition."
Ariadne answered elegantly.
"You can go study abroad in Padua."
Padua was the university city where Ippolito's brother was studying abroad. Arabella lifted her ears to see if she had heard correctly, and when she confirmed that it was Padua, her little face literally lit up.
"But Ari, does the university in Padua accept women?"
Arabella's worries were well-founded. The University of Padua taught primarily theology, law, accounting, and occasionally military studies, and they never admitted a single female student.
"Conservatory is different. They said they are building a new music college in Padua in collaboration with a convent."
Music was considered a virtue that women should also cultivate, and noble ladies and wives were actively encouraged to play at least one or two instruments. In addition, because the temple accepted music as a part of the nun ritual, there were many nuns from noble families who dedicated themselves to the priesthood and were well-versed in music.
The newly established music college was also established with the support of The temple and its affiliated convent.
"If you have the talent, you can study there. Let's make a portfolio to send to music college."
Arabella died of the Black Death in 1123. The Black Death that year devastated the southern tip of the Etruscan kingdom. San Carlo, located in the very center of the kingdom, was its northern limit. Padua was located at the northernmost tip of the Etruscan Kingdom, at a high latitude, almost close to the Republic of Porto. It has been safe from the claws of plague in the past, and as long as nothing else happens, it will be safe again this time.
Arabella was a member of Ariadne's family who took her under her wing. She trusted her, needed her care, and was under her jurisdiction.
Ariadne intended to save Arabella from her fate by sending her to a place where she would never die.
"Huh!"
Arabella, unaware of her sister's speed, just nodded vigorously with a bright face, thinking about seeing amazing things in the wide world and studying at a high level.
***
"What? School of Music in Padua? No! Where is that place? You go there!"
Not everyone shared the same ideas about Arabella's future. Arabella brought up the story of her study abroad at the dinner table of the de Mare family and was scolded by Lucrezia to the point where she couldn't even get her bearings.
"Ippolito is there too..."
"Ippolito is the same as you?!"
Ariadne did nothing to stop Arabella from telling this story to Lucrezia. She knew it would be such a shock, but it was a story that had to come out at some point. But Arabella herself seemed not to have expected her mother's strong reaction at all.
"Ippolito is studying and I am also studying. What's the difference? I'm good at playing and composing."
"Ippolito is our eldest son! He will become the head of the family in the future! You..."
Lucrezia, who was about to say that she was the youngest and not only a girl, but had nothing to boast about, swallowed back her words. It was the minimum line that Lucrezia, who was not so angry that she lost her senses, could protect her child, whom she bore with her own womb.
"And stop that horrible songwriting thing. My head hurts when I think about the accident you had last time."
Lucrezia flirted, mentioning the incident in which Isabella tried to steal Arabella's song.
Arabella didn't think she had done anything wrong, but seeing her mother so angry made her cringe. Then Ariadne stepped forward to take Arabella's side.
"Father. Padua's music school is said to be attached to a convent. It doesn't seem bad for a girl to spend a year or two in her childhood."
Ariadne planned to send Arabella north somehow before the Black Death broke out in 1123.
"Hmm."
However, Cardinal de Mare did not seem to be that impressed with the idea of a music school.
"But is it really necessary for Arabella to study composition so hard?"
In any case, the virtues of San Carlo's precious girl ultimately consisted of her reputation for chastity, her pretty face, and her obedient personality. Even if minor talents such as playing or singing skills may briefly pique a man's interest, they are all incidental in the end. Moreover, since it was not a feminine performance but a masculine composition, it could not be said that it was an investment that was not cost-effective in any way.
Arabella cried out earnestly.
"I really want to study composition!"
Arabella's wish was blocked by Lucrezia's bruises.
"How can a person live and do whatever they want? No!"
Ariadne decided to appeal in a different way than above.
"It would be good for Arabella's reputation to grow up in a convent attached to the College of Music. Her faithful and frugal life will be ingrained in her and she will be evaluated as a daughter."
Arabella looked at Ariadne with startled eyes. A convent! There's nothing this girl can't do! On the contrary, Cardinal de Mare looked as if he had finally become interested.
"Let me think about it."
In fact, Cardinal de Mare had too many daughters. As long as Cardinal de Mare had power, he could use his daughters as weapons for arranged marriages.
However, the moment Cardinal de Mare let go, there was a high risk that his daughters would be reduced to malignant stock. If the bride had a high reputation or was very beautiful, she would receive a bride price before getting married, but if the conditions between the groom and bride were very similar, it was the marriage custom in the Central Continent that only the bride would bring a dowry.
The dowry was usually large enough to shake the foundations of a family. If there were multiple children, the daughters who could not find a good marriage partner were sent to a convent along with a small donation.
Cardinal de Mare was also not free from the laws of the Etruscan marriage market. He had to manage inventory. If the situation got urgent, he would have to send his daughter to a convent, and there was no harm in getting his daughter and the convent acquainted with each other as a rehearsal.
"I don't think it's a bad idea."
"Thank you, Father."
Ariadne bowed her head, pretending to be obedient. She didn't know what Arabella herself might think, but objectively it wasn't a bad start. First of all, permission was given.
Ariadne decided to fill out Arabella's application for admission and send it to the music college. When the notice of Arabella's admission from the College of Music arrived, Ariadne was planning to strongly argue that they had actually given permission the previous time and that they should send it away since the school had even received her admission.
***
While Arabella, who had a bright future, tried to find a breakthrough by seeking a new career path, Lucrezia, who was already old and had little potential left, tried to relieve her frustrating reality in a more traditional way.
Lucrezia covered herself in a black robe and carefully stepped into the back alley of San Carlo. The carriage and coachman were parked at the entrance of the alley.
Quickly scanning her surroundings with her suspicious eyes, she darted into a very old, dilapidated single-family house. The interior of the single-family home was dark, and there were spider webs in every corner of the narrow hallway. Lucrezia took each step carefully, but her old wooden floor creaked madly despite Lucrezia's careful steps.
"Is there anyone there?"
Lucrezia, who became afraid of walking alone, called out to someone in a voice as loud as an ant. Because she spoke loudly, she was afraid that someone would be found out that she was here, but she continued to walk alone, and that was also scary, so there was nothing she could do. There was no reply from the servant, but a voice answered from within. It was the voice of a woman in her 40s with a very exotic accent.
"Go further in, to the innermost room. That's right."
Lucrezia followed the voice and opened the door at the end of the hallway, where a gypsy woman was sitting in front of her with a crystal ball the size of a baby's head. She was reading fortunes by lighting several cheap lard candles.
When Lucrezia entered her room, she smiled brightly, revealing her black teeth.
"It seems like an important guest has arrived."
The gypsy woman put down the tarot cards she was holding on the desk and greeted Lucrezia.
"Do you know who I am?"
The gypsy woman laughed even louder at Lucrezia's question.
"The wife of a high-ranking priest has come to the home of a lowly astrologer who steals the heavens. How could she not be an honored guest?"
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