Prince Alfonso solemnly swore.
Ariadne smiled and looked up at Alfonso. Her expression was visible in the dim light coming through the gap in the curtains. It was a sad smile.
“Alfonso...”
Her lips parted with difficulty.
“We may not be together.”
Ariadne was determined to prevent the assassination of Queen Marguerite.
If Queen Marguerite had not been assassinated, the event of Cardinal de Mare’s daughter becoming the Princess would not have occurred.
Since Grand Duchess Lariesa had caused such a huge accident, the marriage proposal with the Grand Duchess might have been canceled. However, in principle, a marriage between a monarch’s son and a subject’s daughter was considered a marriage of the nobility and the commoners, an unrecognized marriage. Furthermore, Ariadne was not even the daughter of a proper noble family.
If Queen Marguerite had not been assassinated at a certain point, Prince Alfonso would have had another marriage proposal with another monarch’s daughter even after this one fell through.
However, it was okay.
‘My love, my heart. It might not matter.’
Her heart had been completely torn apart after giving it to the wrong person. The fact that love could come true might have been a privilege given only to a select few.
Instead of being greedy, she decided to do what she could for now. Repayment for Queen Marguerite and Prince Alfonso.
At this moment, Ariadne was okay with her love not being fulfilled.
“Ari, why are you doing this too...!”
Prince Alfonso’s agitated voice echoed through the small space. He had caused a huge accident for his woman. And now she was saying that she could not be with him.
“Why on earth...!”
“No, that’s not it.”
Ariadne put strength into her knees and raised her eyes to kiss Alfonso. Her soft lips pressed in. Alfonso closed his eyes unconsciously. A passionate kiss followed.
Body temperature and body temperature, touch and touch, a few seconds when humans are most true to their instincts. But this was the end.
Eventually, she pulled away. She hugged Alfonso and whispered in his ear. What she recited were the words of an oath.
However, it was not a response to the oath of chastity that Prince Alfonso had recited.
“I swear on my soul that from this moment on, I will be loyal to my lord. I will protect and honor him in the face of any adversity, and I will place his safety before my own life.”
It was the oath of loyalty that knights gave to their lords.
“I, Alfonso de Carlo, swear to take Ariadne de Mare as my Queen and to cherish and love her forever.”
He recited the words of the oath of chastity.
He recited the words of the oath of chastity.
“I will respect and cherish her. I will not use physical force against her will. I promise to always love, comfort, and be her strength.”
It was half a confession of love, but more than that, it was a promise to himself. A promise to never become like his father.
Ariadne smiled and looked up at Alfonso. Her expression was visible in the dim light coming through the gap in the curtains. It was a sad smile.
“Alfonso...”
Her lips parted with difficulty.
“We may not be together.”
Ariadne was determined to prevent the assassination of Queen Marguerite.
If Queen Marguerite had not been assassinated, the event of Cardinal de Mare’s daughter becoming the Princess would not have occurred.
“In the beginning... It wasn’t easy.”
Since Grand Duchess Lariesa had caused such a huge accident, the marriage proposal with the Grand Duchess might have been canceled. However, in principle, a marriage between a monarch’s son and a subject’s daughter was considered a marriage of the nobility and the commoners, an unrecognized marriage. Furthermore, Ariadne was not even the daughter of a proper noble family.
If Queen Marguerite had not been assassinated at a certain point, Prince Alfonso would have had another marriage proposal with another monarch’s daughter even after this one fell through.
However, it was okay.
‘My love, my heart. It might not matter.’
Her heart had been completely torn apart after giving it to the wrong person. The fact that love could come true might have been a privilege given only to a select few.
Instead of being greedy, she decided to do what she could for now. Repayment for Queen Marguerite and Prince Alfonso.
At this moment, Ariadne was okay with her love not being fulfilled.
“Ari, why are you doing this too...!”
Prince Alfonso’s agitated voice echoed through the small space. He had caused a huge accident for his woman. And now she was saying that she could not be with him.
“Why on earth...!”
“No, that’s not it.”
Ariadne put strength into her knees and raised her eyes to kiss Alfonso. Her soft lips pressed in. Alfonso closed his eyes unconsciously. A passionate kiss followed.
Body temperature and body temperature, touch and touch, a few seconds when humans are most true to their instincts. But this was the end.
Eventually, she pulled away. She hugged Alfonso and whispered in his ear. What she recited were the words of an oath.
However, it was not a response to the oath of chastity that Prince Alfonso had recited.
“I swear on my soul that from this moment on, I will be loyal to my lord. I will protect and honor him in the face of any adversity, and I will place his safety before my own life.”
It was the oath of loyalty that knights gave to their lords.
“Ari...?”
Regardless of Alfonso’s confused feelings, Ariadne completed the words of the oath, letter by letter.
“I will live for a greater good than personal gain. I will always tell you the truth, keep my promises to you, never change, never leave, and always stay by your side.”
She had always thought that a knight’s oath was a pathetic romantic oath. It was a vow that could never be kept in real life. However, Ariadne was sincere in every word at this moment.
“I cannot keep the phrase ‘I will always tell you the truth’.”
Regardless of Alfonso’s confused feelings, Ariadne completed the words of the oath, letter by letter.
“I will live for a greater good than personal gain. I will always tell you the truth, keep my promises to you, never change, never leave, and always stay by your side.”
She had always thought that a knight’s oath was a pathetic romantic oath. It was a vow that could never be kept in real life. However, Ariadne was sincere in every word at this moment.
“I cannot keep the phrase ‘I will always tell you the truth’.”
She cannot share the secret of the return, but she will not break a single word of the rest.
When Ariadne recited the knight’s oath of loyalty instead of the love song, Alfonso, taken aback, grabbed Ariadne’s shoulders.
“Ari. I never asked for this from you.”
Alfonso desperately grabbed her upper body and shook it, screaming.
“You just stay by my side. Making you my knight, using you to protect me, I never thought of that!”
Ariadne flinched, her shoulders held.
“I... I want to repay the favor.”
“You just stay by my side!”
“... I’ll make sure everything works out.”
She whispered, sobbing.
“I’ll make you King, and I’ll make sure that day comes when Her Majesty Queen Marguerite smiles with joy upon seeing you enthroned.”
It’s okay if she crumbles to dust in the process.
Tears overflowed from Ariadne’s eyes.
Alfonso wiped her tears with his thumb and shook his head vigorously.
“You don’t have to do just one of the two. When that day comes, you will be by my side. I will crown you Queen. Will you hold my hand and stay by my side?”
“...I hope so.”
“It will definitely happen. I will make it happen.”
Ariadne nodded but did not believe his promise. Now she was determined to properly handle the situation. Much of the advantage she had as a regressor would be lost. What about Ariadne de Mare, who did not know the future?
When Ariadne recited the knight’s oath of loyalty instead of the love song, Alfonso, taken aback, grabbed Ariadne’s shoulders.
“Ari. I never asked for this from you.”
Alfonso desperately grabbed her upper body and shook it, screaming.
“You just stay by my side. Making you my knight, using you to protect me, I never thought of that!”
Ariadne flinched, her shoulders held.
“I... I want to repay the favor.”
“You just stay by my side!”
“... I’ll make sure everything works out.”
She whispered, sobbing.
“I’ll make you King, and I’ll make sure that day comes when Her Majesty Queen Marguerite smiles with joy upon seeing you enthroned.”
It’s okay if she crumbles to dust in the process.
Tears overflowed from Ariadne’s eyes.
Alfonso wiped her tears with his thumb and shook his head vigorously.
“You don’t have to do just one of the two. When that day comes, you will be by my side. I will crown you Queen. Will you hold my hand and stay by my side?”
“...I hope so.”
“It will definitely happen. I will make it happen.”
Ariadne nodded but did not believe his promise. Now she was determined to properly handle the situation. Much of the advantage she had as a regressor would be lost. What about Ariadne de Mare, who did not know the future?
She did not value her own abilities highly. If she had excelled without knowledge of the future, she would not have ended her life so miserably in her previous life.
Ariadne whispered to herself.
I love you no matter what. Thank you. I appreciated it. You and your mother are the first to treat me like this.
Disputes between private individuals were handled by a crude commoner’s court where the local residents served as jurors, and cases involving nobles were handled by temporary judges dispatched from the “Palace Court.”
However, murders that occurred within the palace were directly under the King’s jurisdiction. The King could handle them however he pleased. It meant that even the procedural guarantees that existed were not available.
Sir Elko, who was taken away by the royal guard, was subjected to harsh interrogation and severe beatings.
“Explain it to me correctly! Who instigated you to assassinate Duke Mireille?”
“...There was a suspicious person dressed as a palace coachman. He seemed like an outsider, so we tried to question him, but he resisted so strongly that we ended up killing him. There was no instigation or conspiracy.”
CLACK!
The interrogator whipped Sir Elko on the back. He bit his lip and did not groan.
“You would kill someone just because they were acting suspicious? What was the reason your carriage was completely destroyed?!”
“...”
The royal guards were persistent.
In addition to the spotlight on this incident, the guards, who usually looked down on the Prince's knights who were given excellent military gear and swaggered around the palace, thought this was an opportunity for revenge and questioned Sir Elko even more persistently.
However, Sir Elko stubbornly refused to change his statement. Furthermore, there was no force behind Sir Elko, who could have claimed that he was not a lone culprit. If this was a planned conspiracy, it was likely the work of someone who opposed the political marriage between Prince Alfonso and the Kingdom of Gallico. If there were such people in the country, they would be Count Cesare and Countess Rubina.
However, Count Cesare was a bum who loved drinking, dancing, and parties. Count Cesare could not yet attempt a political assassination.
The same was true of Countess Rubina. Her influence was mainly directed to whispering pillow-top litigation in the King’s ear and allocating privileges to the nobles, but she did not have the power to directly employ anyone who could do this.
“Evidence of foreign intervention... also... I have not found any.”
Another power that might have been averse to the Etruscan-Gallico collusion would have been the Principality of Assereto. However, there was no evidence anywhere that the Assereto people were active in San Carlo. The only evidence was from the Gallicans.
And Sir Elko was one of Prince Alfonso’s confidants, who should have been more than anyone else happy about the marriage proposal with the Gallico kingdom. Politically speaking, Prince Alfonso had no reason to kill the Duke of Mireille and thus sever the marriage.
“...So, Your Majesty, this incident was an unfortunate accident in which the Duke of Mireille was causing a commotion in the palace, and a royal knight who was on duty to maintain the peace did not recognize him and shot him dead...”
“How can that be possible!”
Leo III’s temper was turned upside down.
“The head of the delegation just died inside the Palagio Carlo, and now you want me to send such a response to the Kingdom of Gallico?”
“However, Your Majesty, it is an undeniable fact that the Duke of Mireille was dressed as a coachman of the palace without authorization at the time of his death and was driving a carriage owned by the palace without authorization.”
The diplomat of the Curia Regis, Count Marquez, who was gathered together, cautiously added his opinion to the captain of the guard’s report.
“...Your Majesty, we may be able to find another reason that will not offend the Kingdom of Gallico. We will investigate, so if we dig, we will find something. However, even if it does not offend Gallico, there is no guarantee that it will have a positive effect on the marriage negotiations.”
“Oh?”
Leo III, who finally heard the story he wanted to hear, allowed the words to be spoken, albeit irritably.
“Count Marquez. Speak.”
“If you give another reason, the story will likely flow in the direction of saying that the Duke of Mireille was not at fault and that it was largely our fault.”
In fact, this was the kind of story that Leo III was looking for. Either the Duke of Mireille was a really bad guy who could be blamed on the Kingdom of Gallico, or the Duke of Mireille’s death had to be an unfortunate accident. Unless there was solid evidence that the Duke of Mireille had planned a serious crime in a foreign court, the Etruscan Kingdom had no choice but to take the latter stance.
“...If we admit that the Duke of Mireille died due to our country’s fault, will the marriage alliance negotiations go smoothly?”
“Hmm.”
Leo III let out a sigh.
“The purpose of this marriage alliance is not to form an alliance itself... Its purpose is to acquire strategic weapons.”
Since there were also members of the Royal Guard and non-Curia Regis in the room, Count Marquez spoke indirectly without using the word “gunpowder.”
“If we admit our fault, will they really try to sign the contract as per the existing conditions?”
It was a reasonable argument. Leo III ground his teeth.
“Those dirty Gallicos wouldn’t be so easy.”
“Investigate a little more, but if no other evidence comes out, I think it wouldn’t be bad to highlight the fact that Duke Mireille tried to do something suspicious inside the palace.”
“Will the marriage alliance still be concluded?”
“Honestly, I think it’s half and half.”
Count Marquez glanced at Leo III’s face and lowered his head.
“However, the marriage alliance we are making by compromise is 100% useless to us. Please remember that in the first place, the Gallico side offered a daughter of incompatible status as a marriage proposal.”
“...Let us think about it a little more.”
Everyone in the room chorused.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
Count Le Vien, who had suddenly become the highest-ranking official in the Gallico Kingdom’s delegation due to the death of the Duke of Mireille, wrote a report to be sent to his home country with quick hands while his head was bandaged.
“Urgent: Duke of Mireille has died. The cause of death is a trauma to the head and a stab wound to the chest. The Etruscan Kingdom is investigating a royal knight who has identified him as the Duke’s murderer. However, there is circumstantial evidence that Prince Alfonso is involved.”
He hesitated for a moment on whether to write the last sentence or not but eventually ended up writing it in the report.
As a vassal of the Grand Duke Odes, he had a duty to protect Princess Lariesa, but at the same time, as a vassal of King Philip IV, he had a duty to convey the most accurate information to the King and help his country make the right decisions.
Count Le Vien, who wrote “His Majesty King Philip IV” on the cover, handed it to the lower ranks of the delegation.
“I can’t believe anyone. You go back to your country yourself and deliver the letter. As soon as possible.”
The Etruscan Kingdom was still treating the delegation of the victimized Kingdom of Gallico very warmly, but Count Le Vien knew that this could change at any moment.
"...The atmosphere on the ground is unstable right now. Get an answer about whether or not to withdraw. The Princess’s safety is especially a concern.”
If Princess Lariesa were to be detained by the Etruscan Kingdom, it would be a huge political burden for their country. In fact, if the deeds of Princess Lariesa were revealed, there was nothing to say even if she was detained.
“Honestly, I hope for a quick withdrawal.”
From a position of being stung, he wanted to return to his home country as soon as possible.
“However, I do not know His Majesty Philip IV’s intentions.”
“...There were many questionable parts in the dispatch of this delegation.”
“You should do your best to understand it, and if possible, report back to our home country as quickly as possible.”
Ariadne whispered to herself.
I love you no matter what. Thank you. I appreciated it. You and your mother are the first to treat me like this.
***
Disputes between private individuals were handled by a crude commoner’s court where the local residents served as jurors, and cases involving nobles were handled by temporary judges dispatched from the “Palace Court.”
However, murders that occurred within the palace were directly under the King’s jurisdiction. The King could handle them however he pleased. It meant that even the procedural guarantees that existed were not available.
Sir Elko, who was taken away by the royal guard, was subjected to harsh interrogation and severe beatings.
“Explain it to me correctly! Who instigated you to assassinate Duke Mireille?”
“...There was a suspicious person dressed as a palace coachman. He seemed like an outsider, so we tried to question him, but he resisted so strongly that we ended up killing him. There was no instigation or conspiracy.”
CLACK!
The interrogator whipped Sir Elko on the back. He bit his lip and did not groan.
“You would kill someone just because they were acting suspicious? What was the reason your carriage was completely destroyed?!”
“...”
The royal guards were persistent.
In addition to the spotlight on this incident, the guards, who usually looked down on the Prince's knights who were given excellent military gear and swaggered around the palace, thought this was an opportunity for revenge and questioned Sir Elko even more persistently.
However, Sir Elko stubbornly refused to change his statement. Furthermore, there was no force behind Sir Elko, who could have claimed that he was not a lone culprit. If this was a planned conspiracy, it was likely the work of someone who opposed the political marriage between Prince Alfonso and the Kingdom of Gallico. If there were such people in the country, they would be Count Cesare and Countess Rubina.
However, Count Cesare was a bum who loved drinking, dancing, and parties. Count Cesare could not yet attempt a political assassination.
The same was true of Countess Rubina. Her influence was mainly directed to whispering pillow-top litigation in the King’s ear and allocating privileges to the nobles, but she did not have the power to directly employ anyone who could do this.
“Evidence of foreign intervention... also... I have not found any.”
Another power that might have been averse to the Etruscan-Gallico collusion would have been the Principality of Assereto. However, there was no evidence anywhere that the Assereto people were active in San Carlo. The only evidence was from the Gallicans.
And Sir Elko was one of Prince Alfonso’s confidants, who should have been more than anyone else happy about the marriage proposal with the Gallico kingdom. Politically speaking, Prince Alfonso had no reason to kill the Duke of Mireille and thus sever the marriage.
“...So, Your Majesty, this incident was an unfortunate accident in which the Duke of Mireille was causing a commotion in the palace, and a royal knight who was on duty to maintain the peace did not recognize him and shot him dead...”
“How can that be possible!”
Leo III’s temper was turned upside down.
“The head of the delegation just died inside the Palagio Carlo, and now you want me to send such a response to the Kingdom of Gallico?”
“However, Your Majesty, it is an undeniable fact that the Duke of Mireille was dressed as a coachman of the palace without authorization at the time of his death and was driving a carriage owned by the palace without authorization.”
The diplomat of the Curia Regis, Count Marquez, who was gathered together, cautiously added his opinion to the captain of the guard’s report.
“...Your Majesty, we may be able to find another reason that will not offend the Kingdom of Gallico. We will investigate, so if we dig, we will find something. However, even if it does not offend Gallico, there is no guarantee that it will have a positive effect on the marriage negotiations.”
“Oh?”
Leo III, who finally heard the story he wanted to hear, allowed the words to be spoken, albeit irritably.
“Count Marquez. Speak.”
“If you give another reason, the story will likely flow in the direction of saying that the Duke of Mireille was not at fault and that it was largely our fault.”
In fact, this was the kind of story that Leo III was looking for. Either the Duke of Mireille was a really bad guy who could be blamed on the Kingdom of Gallico, or the Duke of Mireille’s death had to be an unfortunate accident. Unless there was solid evidence that the Duke of Mireille had planned a serious crime in a foreign court, the Etruscan Kingdom had no choice but to take the latter stance.
“...If we admit that the Duke of Mireille died due to our country’s fault, will the marriage alliance negotiations go smoothly?”
“Hmm.”
Leo III let out a sigh.
“The purpose of this marriage alliance is not to form an alliance itself... Its purpose is to acquire strategic weapons.”
Since there were also members of the Royal Guard and non-Curia Regis in the room, Count Marquez spoke indirectly without using the word “gunpowder.”
“If we admit our fault, will they really try to sign the contract as per the existing conditions?”
It was a reasonable argument. Leo III ground his teeth.
“Those dirty Gallicos wouldn’t be so easy.”
“Investigate a little more, but if no other evidence comes out, I think it wouldn’t be bad to highlight the fact that Duke Mireille tried to do something suspicious inside the palace.”
“Will the marriage alliance still be concluded?”
“Honestly, I think it’s half and half.”
Count Marquez glanced at Leo III’s face and lowered his head.
“However, the marriage alliance we are making by compromise is 100% useless to us. Please remember that in the first place, the Gallico side offered a daughter of incompatible status as a marriage proposal.”
“...Let us think about it a little more.”
Everyone in the room chorused.
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
***
Count Le Vien, who had suddenly become the highest-ranking official in the Gallico Kingdom’s delegation due to the death of the Duke of Mireille, wrote a report to be sent to his home country with quick hands while his head was bandaged.
“Urgent: Duke of Mireille has died. The cause of death is a trauma to the head and a stab wound to the chest. The Etruscan Kingdom is investigating a royal knight who has identified him as the Duke’s murderer. However, there is circumstantial evidence that Prince Alfonso is involved.”
He hesitated for a moment on whether to write the last sentence or not but eventually ended up writing it in the report.
As a vassal of the Grand Duke Odes, he had a duty to protect Princess Lariesa, but at the same time, as a vassal of King Philip IV, he had a duty to convey the most accurate information to the King and help his country make the right decisions.
Count Le Vien, who wrote “His Majesty King Philip IV” on the cover, handed it to the lower ranks of the delegation.
“I can’t believe anyone. You go back to your country yourself and deliver the letter. As soon as possible.”
The Etruscan Kingdom was still treating the delegation of the victimized Kingdom of Gallico very warmly, but Count Le Vien knew that this could change at any moment.
"...The atmosphere on the ground is unstable right now. Get an answer about whether or not to withdraw. The Princess’s safety is especially a concern.”
If Princess Lariesa were to be detained by the Etruscan Kingdom, it would be a huge political burden for their country. In fact, if the deeds of Princess Lariesa were revealed, there was nothing to say even if she was detained.
“Honestly, I hope for a quick withdrawal.”
From a position of being stung, he wanted to return to his home country as soon as possible.
“However, I do not know His Majesty Philip IV’s intentions.”
“...There were many questionable parts in the dispatch of this delegation.”
“You should do your best to understand it, and if possible, report back to our home country as quickly as possible.”
“I will do my best.”
And there was one more letter that Count Le Vien had handed over to the lower ranks of the delegation.
“This must be delivered only to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Odes.”
Unlike the main report sent to the home country, it was a report that described everything about this incident, including the deeds of Princess Lariesa, without hiding anything.
“Is there any reason for that?”
The delegation, who, like Count Le Vien, were vassals of the Grand Duke Odes, nodded with a solemn expression.
And there was one more letter that Count Le Vien had handed over to the lower ranks of the delegation.
“This must be delivered only to His Royal Highness the Grand Duke Odes.”
Unlike the main report sent to the home country, it was a report that described everything about this incident, including the deeds of Princess Lariesa, without hiding anything.
“Is there any reason for that?”
The delegation, who, like Count Le Vien, were vassals of the Grand Duke Odes, nodded with a solemn expression.
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