Madame Carla answered with a lively voice.
Alfonso shouted, looking straight at Madame Carla, who was wiping away the cold sweat that had risen to her temples.
“Grand Duchess Lariesa targeted Ariadne with a purpose! It had nothing to do with her personal behavior, such as walking around late at night or wearing sloppy clothes!”
Alfonso, who felt suffocated by Madame Carla’s words, pounded his chest.
“Ariadne was sacrificed without a way to escape!”
A cold voice cut off Prince Alfonso’s confession.
“It’s your fault.”
Said Queen Marguerite, who had been silent. Alfonso looked back at Queen Marguerite in surprise.
“It happened because you rashly left to find your love without concluding a marriage proposal.”
Alfonso, who had been speaking passionately until then, suddenly lost his words.
Lariesa was not a normal person. However, he could not always be associated with only normal people. Even if the other person was abnormal, he had a responsibility to protect Ariadne.
...His mother was right.
Tears welled up in Prince Alfonso’s eyes once again.
He clenched his fists and shouted.
“...If you’re going to announce the facts themselves, announce that Prince Alfonso was the one who cut off the Duke of Mireille’s head.”
The atmosphere in the room was truly ominous. While Alfonso and Madame Carla were furious, Queen Marguerite was maintaining a heavy silence. From Ariadne’s perspective, that silence was as terrifying as the fires of hell.
However, Ariadne did not hold any grudges against Queen Marguerite or Madame Carla, because she had no expectations from the beginning.
'Madame Carla is right. I would have done the same.'
No one could get her out of this situation. If Prince Alfonso had declared to the world that he was the one who killed Duke Mireille, he could have exploded with her.
However, that would have been the way to die together, not to live together.
Ariadne, who had finally made up her mind, opened her mouth.
"...Madame Carla is right."
Ariadne's low voice echoed throughout the 'Queen's Drawing Room'. Her low voice was sharp and tasted like metal and the sound of iron.
"It would be better for Prince Alfonso himself not to be revealed. The one who saved me from Duke Mireille's clutches was your confidant."
Madame Carla looked at Ariadne with an expression that seemed to say, 'What are you doing?'
"And it would be better for you to submit the note from Grand Duchess Lariesa as well."
"To whom are you going to submit it?"
Madame Carla, overcome by curiosity, spoke in a still cold tone.
“Of course, His Majesty Leo III.”
Ariadne answered with her eyes downcast.
“If what happened today becomes public knowledge, the marriage alliance will most likely never have happened. But that is not His Majesty’s wish.”
Leo III, more than anyone else, desperately wanted a marriage alliance with the Kingdom of Gallico, or rather, a gunpowder recipe.
“If I were to publicly announce the note from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa, His Majesty’s entire picture would be ruined. However, if we were to secretly deliver it to His Majesty, His Majesty would gain one more card to use in negotiations with the Kingdom of Gallico.”
Queen Marguerite nodded. She agreed.
“Perhaps you could offer to cover up Duke Mireille’s sexual misconduct in exchange for treating his death as an accident?”
It was a perfectly possible scenario if both sisters liked each other and if Duke Mireille’s faction was not strong.
She added,
“You should use Princess Lariesa’s letter for a slightly bigger dream. What if you keep her tricks a secret and even offer to take such a flawed woman as your daughter-in-law? That would be a huge benefit. Especially to the Grand Duke Odes of Valoa. It would be a big carrot that would allow you to demand the gunpowder recipe despite the Duke’s death.”
Ariadne looked back at Queen Marguerite and Madame Carla.
“I think that whether His Majesty’s proposal will be accepted in the Kingdom of Gallico depends entirely on whether Duke Mireille’s power is stronger or Grand Duke Odes’s power is stronger.”
Queen Marguerite and Madame Carla were sullen at the sharp point.
If Grand Duke Odes’s power is stronger, he will try to cover up Duke Mireille’s death to cover up his daughter’s scandal, and if Mireille’s faction is stronger, he will demand a bloody price in return, no matter what the price.
“Duke Mireille is dead. Since Duke Mireille’s faction has lost its leader anyway, I think they are currently lacking the ability to respond in a unified manner. What do you think, Your Majesty?”
Queen Marguerite nodded at Ariadne’s reasonable point.
“You are right. Duke Mireille’s successor is his only son, born late at age eleven. He is not capable of handling it alone. He is not the type to raise or trust people, so there will be no second-in-command who stands out within the faction.”
“Then the chances of success are high. The proposal of His Majesty Leo III that I imagine.”
Ariadne smiled leisurely.
“Then if we do as I say, my name will not be revealed. If we report everything to His Majesty Leo III, Prince Alfonso and I will be safe.”
It’s only half true. In fact, strictly speaking, it’s a lie.
Ariadne’s plan was complexly structured, but it was made up of too many assumptions. ‘Leo III will act like this,’ ‘The situation within Gallico will be like this,’ and so on. If even one of them was off, it would surely crumble like a sand castle.
Besides, no matter how much you keep some things secret, they eventually leak out and become the talk of the town. Murder and sexual harassment. Everyone’s favorite subject. Ariadne knew full well that secrets couldn’t be kept.
But she had a corner of her that believed.
“Ariadne, then we...!”
Alfonso looked at Ariadne and cried out earnestly.
If Ariadne's current plan succeeds, Prince Alfonso and Princess Lariesa will be married.
Prince Alfonso and Ariadne de Mare cannot last forever.
“It’s a good idea, isn’t it, Your Majesty?”
Her logic was actually very reasonable.
“Now that Duke Mireille is dead, the Kingdom of Gallico will not stay still. Even if we were to blame someone other than Prince Alfonso for the culprit. If we can’t come up with a reasonable reason for killing Duke Mireille, this will inevitably escalate into a diplomatic issue!”
“Hmm.”
“We need to let everyone know what kind of evil Duke Mireille was trying to commit. If the victim is a famous young lady who grew up in a good home like Lady de Mare, public opinion will flow even more toward denouncing the Kingdom of Gallico and Duke Mireille.”
Queen Marguerite closed her eyes.
“There’s no time, Your Majesty.”
It was then.
“Carla.”
Alfonso’s angry voice cut in.
“Don’t you know what kind of result your proposal will bring?”
Alfonso’s clenched fist was trembling.
“Of all people, you who are well-versed in the social world?”
Alfonso continued, unable to hide his anger.
“That’s the same as using Ariadne as a shield. All of San Carlo, no, Montpellier, the entire Central Continent will chew, tear, and taste her, and we will be hiding behind Ariadne’s fame!”
Madame Carla opened her eyes wide and looked at Alfonso.
“Did I say that we should announce that the Duke of Mireille is the world’s most shameless criminal?”
She glanced at Ariadne.
“I’m saying that we should announce only the facts themselves.”
Madame Carla shouted triumphantly at Prince Alfonso and gave a meaningful sidelong glance at Ariadne, who was covering her shoulders exposed through her torn partlet with only the prince’s mantle.
“If it is even embarrassing to publish what happened, then that young lady should have behaved more neatly in the first place!”
“Carla!”
Alfonso jumped up from his seat. He showed his mother and Lady Carla the contract of Lariesa that he had taken out of his bosom.
“Carla! Look at this. It is a letter from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa. Do you still think that this is a problem with Ariadne’s behavior after seeing this?”
Prince Alfonso handed the note from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa to his mother.
Queen Marguerite, who received the parchment note from her son, unfolded it and looked at it carefully. Queen Marguerite, who had frowned for a moment as if she was starting to get old, blinked twice. Soon, her eyes began to fill with shock.
Her logic was actually very reasonable.
“Now that Duke Mireille is dead, the Kingdom of Gallico will not stay still. Even if we were to blame someone other than Prince Alfonso for the culprit. If we can’t come up with a reasonable reason for killing Duke Mireille, this will inevitably escalate into a diplomatic issue!”
“Hmm.”
“We need to let everyone know what kind of evil Duke Mireille was trying to commit. If the victim is a famous young lady who grew up in a good home like Lady de Mare, public opinion will flow even more toward denouncing the Kingdom of Gallico and Duke Mireille.”
Queen Marguerite closed her eyes.
“There’s no time, Your Majesty.”
It was then.
“Carla.”
Alfonso’s angry voice cut in.
“Don’t you know what kind of result your proposal will bring?”
Alfonso’s clenched fist was trembling.
“Of all people, you who are well-versed in the social world?”
Alfonso continued, unable to hide his anger.
“That’s the same as using Ariadne as a shield. All of San Carlo, no, Montpellier, the entire Central Continent will chew, tear, and taste her, and we will be hiding behind Ariadne’s fame!”
Madame Carla opened her eyes wide and looked at Alfonso.
“Did I say that we should announce that the Duke of Mireille is the world’s most shameless criminal?”
She glanced at Ariadne.
“I’m saying that we should announce only the facts themselves.”
Madame Carla shouted triumphantly at Prince Alfonso and gave a meaningful sidelong glance at Ariadne, who was covering her shoulders exposed through her torn partlet with only the prince’s mantle.
“If it is even embarrassing to publish what happened, then that young lady should have behaved more neatly in the first place!”
“Carla!”
Alfonso jumped up from his seat. He showed his mother and Lady Carla the contract of Lariesa that he had taken out of his bosom.
“Carla! Look at this. It is a letter from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa. Do you still think that this is a problem with Ariadne’s behavior after seeing this?”
Prince Alfonso handed the note from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa to his mother.
Queen Marguerite, who received the parchment note from her son, unfolded it and looked at it carefully. Queen Marguerite, who had frowned for a moment as if she was starting to get old, blinked twice. Soon, her eyes began to fill with shock.
“...!”
The Queen did not say anything and silently handed the note to Lady Carla. Lady Carla, who received the note with both hands and read its contents, was also shocked.
“Oh no... Oh my...”
The Queen did not say anything and silently handed the note to Lady Carla. Lady Carla, who received the note with both hands and read its contents, was also shocked.
“Oh no... Oh my...”
Alfonso shouted, looking straight at Madame Carla, who was wiping away the cold sweat that had risen to her temples.
“Grand Duchess Lariesa targeted Ariadne with a purpose! It had nothing to do with her personal behavior, such as walking around late at night or wearing sloppy clothes!”
Alfonso, who felt suffocated by Madame Carla’s words, pounded his chest.
“Ariadne was sacrificed without a way to escape!”
A cold voice cut off Prince Alfonso’s confession.
“It’s your fault.”
Said Queen Marguerite, who had been silent. Alfonso looked back at Queen Marguerite in surprise.
“It happened because you rashly left to find your love without concluding a marriage proposal.”
Alfonso, who had been speaking passionately until then, suddenly lost his words.
Lariesa was not a normal person. However, he could not always be associated with only normal people. Even if the other person was abnormal, he had a responsibility to protect Ariadne.
...His mother was right.
Tears welled up in Prince Alfonso’s eyes once again.
“Your Majesty is right... It’s all my fault.”
He lowered his head and looked at the floor for a long time. His tears, like chicken droppings, fell and stained the delicate carpet.
The Prince, who had controlled his emotions, raised his head with a determined expression.
“That’s why I can’t put Ariadne in front of the public and have her endure the whipping of public opinion.”
He lowered his head and looked at the floor for a long time. His tears, like chicken droppings, fell and stained the delicate carpet.
The Prince, who had controlled his emotions, raised his head with a determined expression.
“That’s why I can’t put Ariadne in front of the public and have her endure the whipping of public opinion.”
He clenched his fists and shouted.
“...If you’re going to announce the facts themselves, announce that Prince Alfonso was the one who cut off the Duke of Mireille’s head.”
The atmosphere in the room was truly ominous. While Alfonso and Madame Carla were furious, Queen Marguerite was maintaining a heavy silence. From Ariadne’s perspective, that silence was as terrifying as the fires of hell.
However, Ariadne did not hold any grudges against Queen Marguerite or Madame Carla, because she had no expectations from the beginning.
'Madame Carla is right. I would have done the same.'
No one could get her out of this situation. If Prince Alfonso had declared to the world that he was the one who killed Duke Mireille, he could have exploded with her.
However, that would have been the way to die together, not to live together.
Ariadne, who had finally made up her mind, opened her mouth.
"...Madame Carla is right."
Ariadne's low voice echoed throughout the 'Queen's Drawing Room'. Her low voice was sharp and tasted like metal and the sound of iron.
"It would be better for Prince Alfonso himself not to be revealed. The one who saved me from Duke Mireille's clutches was your confidant."
Madame Carla looked at Ariadne with an expression that seemed to say, 'What are you doing?'
"And it would be better for you to submit the note from Grand Duchess Lariesa as well."
"To whom are you going to submit it?"
Madame Carla, overcome by curiosity, spoke in a still cold tone.
“Of course, His Majesty Leo III.”
Ariadne answered with her eyes downcast.
“If what happened today becomes public knowledge, the marriage alliance will most likely never have happened. But that is not His Majesty’s wish.”
Leo III, more than anyone else, desperately wanted a marriage alliance with the Kingdom of Gallico, or rather, a gunpowder recipe.
“If I were to publicly announce the note from the Grand Duchess of Lariesa, His Majesty’s entire picture would be ruined. However, if we were to secretly deliver it to His Majesty, His Majesty would gain one more card to use in negotiations with the Kingdom of Gallico.”
It was a promise to sacrifice herself to favor the Etruscans. Realizing what she was talking about, Alfonso cried out desperately.
“Ariadne!”
He grabbed Ariadne’s shoulder and shook her, overcome with emotion.
“Then you!”
The Queen’s eyebrows rose to the sky. The Prince did not look at his mother’s expression. It was because he was having a hard time swallowing the words.
‘You! ...and our future!’
If the marriage talks with the Kingdom of Gallico continued, and if the negotiations were eventually concluded, the Princess’s position would belong to Lariesa.
Ariadne smiled, pretending not to hear Alfonso’s words.
“Your Highness, this is my only way to survive.”
Alfonso was startled by the honorific, but Ariadne pretended not to notice.
“This is the only way my name will not be revealed to the public.”
She continued her explanation calmly.
“His Majesty the King, who desperately wants to have the gunpowder ceremony and must have a marriage alliance to do so, will demand that the Gallico side not make an issue of the death of the Duke of Mireille. How?”
Ariadne looked straight at Queen Marguerite.
“If you threaten with the note from Grand Duchess Lariesa, that will be achieved immediately. But you can’t use that big bait for such a trivial thing, can you?”
“Ariadne!”
He grabbed Ariadne’s shoulder and shook her, overcome with emotion.
“Then you!”
The Queen’s eyebrows rose to the sky. The Prince did not look at his mother’s expression. It was because he was having a hard time swallowing the words.
‘You! ...and our future!’
If the marriage talks with the Kingdom of Gallico continued, and if the negotiations were eventually concluded, the Princess’s position would belong to Lariesa.
Ariadne smiled, pretending not to hear Alfonso’s words.
“Your Highness, this is my only way to survive.”
Alfonso was startled by the honorific, but Ariadne pretended not to notice.
“This is the only way my name will not be revealed to the public.”
She continued her explanation calmly.
“His Majesty the King, who desperately wants to have the gunpowder ceremony and must have a marriage alliance to do so, will demand that the Gallico side not make an issue of the death of the Duke of Mireille. How?”
Ariadne looked straight at Queen Marguerite.
“If you threaten with the note from Grand Duchess Lariesa, that will be achieved immediately. But you can’t use that big bait for such a trivial thing, can you?”
Queen Marguerite nodded. She agreed.
“Perhaps you could offer to cover up Duke Mireille’s sexual misconduct in exchange for treating his death as an accident?”
It was a perfectly possible scenario if both sisters liked each other and if Duke Mireille’s faction was not strong.
She added,
“You should use Princess Lariesa’s letter for a slightly bigger dream. What if you keep her tricks a secret and even offer to take such a flawed woman as your daughter-in-law? That would be a huge benefit. Especially to the Grand Duke Odes of Valoa. It would be a big carrot that would allow you to demand the gunpowder recipe despite the Duke’s death.”
Ariadne looked back at Queen Marguerite and Madame Carla.
“I think that whether His Majesty’s proposal will be accepted in the Kingdom of Gallico depends entirely on whether Duke Mireille’s power is stronger or Grand Duke Odes’s power is stronger.”
Queen Marguerite and Madame Carla were sullen at the sharp point.
If Grand Duke Odes’s power is stronger, he will try to cover up Duke Mireille’s death to cover up his daughter’s scandal, and if Mireille’s faction is stronger, he will demand a bloody price in return, no matter what the price.
“Duke Mireille is dead. Since Duke Mireille’s faction has lost its leader anyway, I think they are currently lacking the ability to respond in a unified manner. What do you think, Your Majesty?”
Queen Marguerite nodded at Ariadne’s reasonable point.
“You are right. Duke Mireille’s successor is his only son, born late at age eleven. He is not capable of handling it alone. He is not the type to raise or trust people, so there will be no second-in-command who stands out within the faction.”
“Then the chances of success are high. The proposal of His Majesty Leo III that I imagine.”
Ariadne smiled leisurely.
“Then if we do as I say, my name will not be revealed. If we report everything to His Majesty Leo III, Prince Alfonso and I will be safe.”
It’s only half true. In fact, strictly speaking, it’s a lie.
Ariadne’s plan was complexly structured, but it was made up of too many assumptions. ‘Leo III will act like this,’ ‘The situation within Gallico will be like this,’ and so on. If even one of them was off, it would surely crumble like a sand castle.
Besides, no matter how much you keep some things secret, they eventually leak out and become the talk of the town. Murder and sexual harassment. Everyone’s favorite subject. Ariadne knew full well that secrets couldn’t be kept.
But she had a corner of her that believed.
“Ariadne, then we...!”
Alfonso looked at Ariadne and cried out earnestly.
If Ariadne's current plan succeeds, Prince Alfonso and Princess Lariesa will be married.
Prince Alfonso and Ariadne de Mare cannot last forever.
Ariadne just smiled. She could never tell Alfonso the rest of her plan.
'This marriage alliance, whether it comes to fruition or not, will be broken by the assassination of Her Majesty the Queen, which will occur next month, or at the latest before early summer.'
By sacrificing herself, she will earn points with Leo III, and when the Prince's marriage is broken due to Queen Marguerite's death, she will be chosen as the candidate for the Crown Princess. There may be rumors going around the San Carlo court, but she will have the strong support of the Prince himself, who knows the truth of the day.
'The Crown Princess of this country will ultimately be decided by the confrontation between the eldest daughter, who is notorious as the Marquis of Campa's mistress, and the second daughter, who is rumored to have been slut-shamed by the Duke of Mireille.'
Ariadne laughed in vain. Surprisingly, in this life, Julia will become the Crown Princess?
Ariadne had thought of all these schemes after entering the 'Queen's Drawing Room'. There was only one way for her to survive. She sat down, and as if she had suddenly realized the 'rational way' that Madame Carla was preaching in a strong voice, all the pictures fell into place like a puzzle. There was only one thing she had not expected.
'This marriage alliance, whether it comes to fruition or not, will be broken by the assassination of Her Majesty the Queen, which will occur next month, or at the latest before early summer.'
By sacrificing herself, she will earn points with Leo III, and when the Prince's marriage is broken due to Queen Marguerite's death, she will be chosen as the candidate for the Crown Princess. There may be rumors going around the San Carlo court, but she will have the strong support of the Prince himself, who knows the truth of the day.
'The Crown Princess of this country will ultimately be decided by the confrontation between the eldest daughter, who is notorious as the Marquis of Campa's mistress, and the second daughter, who is rumored to have been slut-shamed by the Duke of Mireille.'
Ariadne laughed in vain. Surprisingly, in this life, Julia will become the Crown Princess?
Ariadne had thought of all these schemes after entering the 'Queen's Drawing Room'. There was only one way for her to survive. She sat down, and as if she had suddenly realized the 'rational way' that Madame Carla was preaching in a strong voice, all the pictures fell into place like a puzzle. There was only one thing she had not expected.
"...My child."
Queen Marguerite looked at Ariadne with her deep blue-gray eyes.
"Your heart is admirable. However, I am the mother of all the people of this country, just as I am the mother of Alfonso."
Queen Marguerite continued.
"I will not throw you as a sacrificial lamb to His Majesty the King."
Queen Marguerite was looking at Ariadne with a determined expression. Ariadne looked back at the queen in confusion.
'Could it be that those eyes... sympathy...?'
Queen Marguerite looked at Ariadne with her deep blue-gray eyes.
"Your heart is admirable. However, I am the mother of all the people of this country, just as I am the mother of Alfonso."
Queen Marguerite continued.
"I will not throw you as a sacrificial lamb to His Majesty the King."
Queen Marguerite was looking at Ariadne with a determined expression. Ariadne looked back at the queen in confusion.
'Could it be that those eyes... sympathy...?'
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment