“It wasn’t me who put Queen Marguerite in danger, it was you.”
Madame Carla’s pupils dilated as she questioned, not understanding what he was saying.
“Ugh...”
A burning sensation washed over Madame Carla. A dagger the size of a palm was stuck in her abdomen. The man had stabbed her. He slowly turned his wrist.
“Keuk...” “
Count Cesare visited the dungeon of the palace once again.
“Cesare!”
Countess Rubina, who looked noticeably more shabby than last time, greeted her son cheerfully.
“What good news do you have? His Majesty the King wants me out?”
Cesare roughly threw the official document he was preparing in the palace to the floor. Countess Rubina reached out between the bars, picked up the paper, and read its contents.
“Your Majesty Queen Marguerite has passed away.
The funeral will be a state funeral, and after a 21-day mourning period, a memorial mass will be held at the Basilica of Sanit'Ercole, followed by a separate funeral service. "
Countess Rubina's expression distorted after confirming the contents of the parchment.
"T, this is... What is this..."
Cesare chewed after confirming Countess Rubina's expression.
"It wasn't my mother's doing, was it?"
“What?”
Madame Carla’s fingertips trembled at Strozzi’s counterattack.
“What kind of subject in the world would unilaterally carry out her own politics without consulting her lord? Poisoning her lord to get rid of her political enemies? That’s crazy.”
“T-Take that mouth and shut it!”
In fact, this was something that Madame Carla had been vaguely afraid of. To hear that from someone else, and from a conspirator at that, she really wanted to cover her ears.
However, Madame Carla had something to say.
“Then what about you! You sent poison instead of protecting Her Majesty Queen Marguerite, who was expelled from the Kingdom of Gallico and resettled in Etruscan?”
“Who said I did a good job? I just want to point out that you are as much trash as I am, Lady Dieudonne.”
The man continued, not caring.
“You knew that the Palais de Montpellier was behind me. You wanted to look good, too, to our new King.”
“Shut up your filthy mouth!”
Madame Carla could not honestly deny it. She had crossed the line to accommodate the Princess of Lariesa in hopes of gaining Philip IV’s favor. She had told herself that she was a young compatriot she had met in a foreign land, but deep down inside, it was all an excuse.
“You had a vague idea what the powder mixed with citron water was, didn’t you?”
Madame Carla had been receiving a fragrant powder from Strozzi for three years and had been mixing it in Queen Marguerite’s citron water. Strozzi said that it was a precious spice made by roasting vanilla beans from the Moorish Empire and pomelos from Assereto.
However, after she began to eat the spice powder, Queen Marguerite often got sick, felt very cold, and suffered from minor nosebleeds and bleeding gums.
However, Madame Carla could not stop giving the spice powder to Queen Marguerite. Strozzi told her that it was a token of goodwill from the “honorable person in the homeland” to Queen Marguerite and that when the time came, she would use it as a token to let the Queen know that she had not forgotten her aunt.
“You also had something to be honest with, so you couldn’t tell me and kept your mouth shut.”
At first, she happily cooperated, thinking that she would become a bridge between her politically troubled lord and the new King of the Kingdom of Gallico. If Her Majesty’s relationship with her family improved, she could prevent Queen Marguerite from suffering humiliation at Palazzo Carlo with her influence at home.
But the long-awaited call from Philip IV was always delayed, and even after the Queen’s health deteriorated noticeably and she began to think that it was time to stop, a thin thread of hope, or rather, greed, held her back. The old Countess of Dieudonne and the young Marquis of Dieudonne, are imprisoned in the fortress of Lesarte. Her aged mother and her youngest brother, are the only surviving male member of the family.
“Isn’t that so? You have come too far, dear Lady Dieudonne.”
The rasping voice of Strozzi brought Madame Carla back to reality, lost in thought. She gritted her teeth and retorted.
“T-T-Truly, you should reap the fruits of your labor! If I hand you over to His Majesty the King, Rubina will walk out of prison proudly on her own two feet!”
She never wanted to admit her greed, her avarice, her overreach in front of the trash in front of her. But the middle-aged man, sullen, would not let her go.
“Yes, in the end, you and I are the same.”
In the end, Madame Carla had no choice but to rely on public authority.
“Get out! Before I call the guards!”
The man laughed weakly.
“Ah. I haven’t even finished harvesting, and I can’t go already. The human tools are not good enough. I should finish it.”
“What are you talking about...?”
Madame Carla’s fingertips trembled at Strozzi’s counterattack.
“What kind of subject in the world would unilaterally carry out her own politics without consulting her lord? Poisoning her lord to get rid of her political enemies? That’s crazy.”
“T-Take that mouth and shut it!”
In fact, this was something that Madame Carla had been vaguely afraid of. To hear that from someone else, and from a conspirator at that, she really wanted to cover her ears.
However, Madame Carla had something to say.
“Then what about you! You sent poison instead of protecting Her Majesty Queen Marguerite, who was expelled from the Kingdom of Gallico and resettled in Etruscan?”
“Who said I did a good job? I just want to point out that you are as much trash as I am, Lady Dieudonne.”
The man continued, not caring.
“You knew that the Palais de Montpellier was behind me. You wanted to look good, too, to our new King.”
“Shut up your filthy mouth!”
Madame Carla could not honestly deny it. She had crossed the line to accommodate the Princess of Lariesa in hopes of gaining Philip IV’s favor. She had told herself that she was a young compatriot she had met in a foreign land, but deep down inside, it was all an excuse.
“You had a vague idea what the powder mixed with citron water was, didn’t you?”
Madame Carla had been receiving a fragrant powder from Strozzi for three years and had been mixing it in Queen Marguerite’s citron water. Strozzi said that it was a precious spice made by roasting vanilla beans from the Moorish Empire and pomelos from Assereto.
However, after she began to eat the spice powder, Queen Marguerite often got sick, felt very cold, and suffered from minor nosebleeds and bleeding gums.
However, Madame Carla could not stop giving the spice powder to Queen Marguerite. Strozzi told her that it was a token of goodwill from the “honorable person in the homeland” to Queen Marguerite and that when the time came, she would use it as a token to let the Queen know that she had not forgotten her aunt.
“You also had something to be honest with, so you couldn’t tell me and kept your mouth shut.”
At first, she happily cooperated, thinking that she would become a bridge between her politically troubled lord and the new King of the Kingdom of Gallico. If Her Majesty’s relationship with her family improved, she could prevent Queen Marguerite from suffering humiliation at Palazzo Carlo with her influence at home.
But the long-awaited call from Philip IV was always delayed, and even after the Queen’s health deteriorated noticeably and she began to think that it was time to stop, a thin thread of hope, or rather, greed, held her back. The old Countess of Dieudonne and the young Marquis of Dieudonne, are imprisoned in the fortress of Lesarte. Her aged mother and her youngest brother, are the only surviving male member of the family.
“Isn’t that so? You have come too far, dear Lady Dieudonne.”
The rasping voice of Strozzi brought Madame Carla back to reality, lost in thought. She gritted her teeth and retorted.
“T-T-Truly, you should reap the fruits of your labor! If I hand you over to His Majesty the King, Rubina will walk out of prison proudly on her own two feet!”
She never wanted to admit her greed, her avarice, her overreach in front of the trash in front of her. But the middle-aged man, sullen, would not let her go.
“Yes, in the end, you and I are the same.”
In the end, Madame Carla had no choice but to rely on public authority.
“Get out! Before I call the guards!”
The man laughed weakly.
“Ah. I haven’t even finished harvesting, and I can’t go already. The human tools are not good enough. I should finish it.”
“What are you talking about...?”
Madame Carla’s pupils dilated as she questioned, not understanding what he was saying.
“Ugh...”
A burning sensation washed over Madame Carla. A dagger the size of a palm was stuck in her abdomen. The man had stabbed her. He slowly turned his wrist.
“Keuk...” “
'Mr. Strozzi' whispered into Madame Carla’s ear as she gasped for breath.
“If you were going to take care of your rice bowl, you should have taken care of it properly. You are too stupid to be neither loyal nor betraying and to walk a tightrope.”
He handled the dagger precisely and delicately. This seemed very familiar.
“Honestly, you also wanted to earn merit and save your family, so you cooperated. If you are naive and foolish, you don’t earn merit like that. You are not some big shot, and if you just watch the situation from the middle like a bat, you won’t get hurt.”
He pulled the dagger out of Madame Carla’s abdomen. Warm blood burst out.
“I will now be restored to my land by the grace of His Majesty the Great Philip IV. If you had been a little smarter, you could have gone with me. Tsk tsk.”
After the man had properly seated Madame Carla’s still-warm body on the office desk chair, he stacked the books high so that it would be difficult to see the person from the outside when looking in. Even if someone opened the door and looked in, it would be difficult to tell whether it was a person absorbed in a book or a corpse that had stopped breathing.
After that, he opened the door slightly and looked into the hallway. No matter how often the guards patrolled, there was always a gap between patrols, and at the moment, the maids and servants were nowhere to be seen.
He quickly crossed the hallway and moved to the waiting room of the chief maid, which Madame Carla had used. From there, if you pulled back just one curtain, you would find the Queen’s inner chamber where the Queen was sleeping.
He took out the glass bottle in his bosom. The Queen’s end had to end in the manner instructed. He had a good feeling.
“Queen Marguerite has passed away. Those who have been notified, report to Palazzo Carlo immediately. Confidential.”
Ariadne couldn’t believe her eyes.
“This is ridiculous...”
Ariadne rubbed her eyes and looked at the piece of parchment again after reading the short letter sent to Cardinal de Mare from the palace with her father.
“What is this? Are there any details, any details?”
“As you can see, this is all I have received.”
The person who sent the letter to Cardinal de Mare was the Marquis Baldessar, who was in charge of internal affairs at the palace.
“More details will come out in the afternoon. I must go into the palace.”
“Father, please take me with you.”
Ariadne was desperate. Where on earth had she gone wrong?
“Ariadne.”
However, Cardinal de Mare coldly rejected her daughter’s request.
“You are not in your place. I will find out the circumstances and come back, so wait quietly at home.”
He put on his cardinal’s red hat neatly, summoned the family’s silver carriage, and headed straight for the Palagio Carlo.
“Ha...”
Although Cardinal de Mare had coldly rejected her, she could not let go. Ariadne picked up her stationery and pen. The first person she thought of writing to was Prince Alfonso. But her hands stopped themselves.
If the news she had just received was true, Alfonso had lost his mother. Until she was certain—Ariadne had not yet fully believed that Queen Marguerite had died—she was cautious about offering consolation, but she was also hesitant to dig up the whole story now that his mother had died.
Instead, she was writing to Julia de Baldessar. She wanted to see if she had heard anything from her father, the Minister of the Internal.
“Here, go and tell the Lady of Baldessar right away. If it is not rude, wait until she responds and then bring me the answer right away.”
“Yes, my lady.”
The postman took the letter and quickly left the mansion, and Ariadne touched her forehead. Her bones were about to burst, but the daily chores she had to take care of did not go away.
“Are you ready, young lady?”
Ariadne nodded to Sancha, who carefully asked her about the unusual atmosphere.
“We have to do what we have to do. Let’s go.”
As soon as Ariadne left her study and went downstairs, she ran into the people she hated the most. They were Isabella and Ippolito, who had come out to have a snack together.
“I thought you had risen to fame by saving Her Majesty’s life.”
Isabella snickered as soon as their faces met. Ippolito, who was eating fried meatballs in front of him, seemed to be the only one who could handle the situation.
“Three days, three days.”
“How can our little sister be so good at picking out rotten ropes?”
Seeing Isabella laughing, Ariadne felt like throwing off her shoes.
“Watch your mouth, Isabella de Mare.”
“Oh, what are you going to threaten me with this time? To the palace? Who is in the palace? Her Majesty the Queen, who is your supporter, seems to have already passed away!”
Ariadne gritted her teeth and turned around. It was not worth dealing with.
But Isabella persisted.
“Brother, did you see how father left her behind so coldly?”
“I thought you had risen in status last time because you even entered the study, but today I see you are being bullied again?”
The two were only good friends at times like this. Ariadne gritted her teeth and spoke to Sancha.
“Sancha. If it is true that Her Majesty the Queen has passed away, I must express my condolences. After the official announcement of her death, do not serve fried food or meat in the kitchen for a week, and cut the allowances of all family members except my father by half for a month. I will donate the reduced allowance to the Rambouillet Relief Center.”
Ippolito was munching on a fried meatball when the meat got stuck in his throat.
“Urgh! Urgh!”
Ignoring Ippolito, who was struggling, Sancha, who was also seething, quickly replied.
“I will do so, my lady!”
Isabella, who was startled by the news of cutting her allowance in half, shouted.
“Hey! Who cares!”
Ariadne spat out coldly.
“If you have any complaints, complain to your father. If you don’t want your allowance cut, pray for Her Majesty the Queen to live.”
Leaving the two terrible people behind, Ariadne finished her tour of the warehouse and headed to the study when the postal delivery servant who had sent the letter to the Baldessar family in the morning came looking for her.
“My lady, here is the reply from the Baldessar family as you ordered.”
Ariadne hurriedly snatched the letter. She went into the study and opened the envelope without even having time to sit down.
“Dear Ariadne.”
Ariadne frowned after reading up to this point. It wasn’t Julia’s handwriting.
She quickly scanned the back of the letter and saw a cursive signature.
"Raphael de Baldesar."
"It wasn't a letter to Raphael, so why...?"
However, it wasn't a particularly important part of these times. She focused on the contents of the letter.
"My father has not returned home since he hurriedly went to the court last night. Even my family doesn't know the details. However, Her Majesty Queen Marguerite has certainly passed away, and the cause of death appears to be poisoning. The palace is currently investigating the possible culprit.
I will write to you as soon as I know more. It must be a great shock, so please take care until then.
“If you were going to take care of your rice bowl, you should have taken care of it properly. You are too stupid to be neither loyal nor betraying and to walk a tightrope.”
He handled the dagger precisely and delicately. This seemed very familiar.
“Honestly, you also wanted to earn merit and save your family, so you cooperated. If you are naive and foolish, you don’t earn merit like that. You are not some big shot, and if you just watch the situation from the middle like a bat, you won’t get hurt.”
He pulled the dagger out of Madame Carla’s abdomen. Warm blood burst out.
“I will now be restored to my land by the grace of His Majesty the Great Philip IV. If you had been a little smarter, you could have gone with me. Tsk tsk.”
After the man had properly seated Madame Carla’s still-warm body on the office desk chair, he stacked the books high so that it would be difficult to see the person from the outside when looking in. Even if someone opened the door and looked in, it would be difficult to tell whether it was a person absorbed in a book or a corpse that had stopped breathing.
After that, he opened the door slightly and looked into the hallway. No matter how often the guards patrolled, there was always a gap between patrols, and at the moment, the maids and servants were nowhere to be seen.
He quickly crossed the hallway and moved to the waiting room of the chief maid, which Madame Carla had used. From there, if you pulled back just one curtain, you would find the Queen’s inner chamber where the Queen was sleeping.
He took out the glass bottle in his bosom. The Queen’s end had to end in the manner instructed. He had a good feeling.
***
“Queen Marguerite has passed away. Those who have been notified, report to Palazzo Carlo immediately. Confidential.”
Ariadne couldn’t believe her eyes.
“This is ridiculous...”
Ariadne rubbed her eyes and looked at the piece of parchment again after reading the short letter sent to Cardinal de Mare from the palace with her father.
“What is this? Are there any details, any details?”
“As you can see, this is all I have received.”
The person who sent the letter to Cardinal de Mare was the Marquis Baldessar, who was in charge of internal affairs at the palace.
“More details will come out in the afternoon. I must go into the palace.”
“Father, please take me with you.”
Ariadne was desperate. Where on earth had she gone wrong?
“Ariadne.”
However, Cardinal de Mare coldly rejected her daughter’s request.
“You are not in your place. I will find out the circumstances and come back, so wait quietly at home.”
He put on his cardinal’s red hat neatly, summoned the family’s silver carriage, and headed straight for the Palagio Carlo.
“Ha...”
Although Cardinal de Mare had coldly rejected her, she could not let go. Ariadne picked up her stationery and pen. The first person she thought of writing to was Prince Alfonso. But her hands stopped themselves.
If the news she had just received was true, Alfonso had lost his mother. Until she was certain—Ariadne had not yet fully believed that Queen Marguerite had died—she was cautious about offering consolation, but she was also hesitant to dig up the whole story now that his mother had died.
Instead, she was writing to Julia de Baldessar. She wanted to see if she had heard anything from her father, the Minister of the Internal.
“Here, go and tell the Lady of Baldessar right away. If it is not rude, wait until she responds and then bring me the answer right away.”
“Yes, my lady.”
The postman took the letter and quickly left the mansion, and Ariadne touched her forehead. Her bones were about to burst, but the daily chores she had to take care of did not go away.
“Are you ready, young lady?”
Ariadne nodded to Sancha, who carefully asked her about the unusual atmosphere.
“We have to do what we have to do. Let’s go.”
As soon as Ariadne left her study and went downstairs, she ran into the people she hated the most. They were Isabella and Ippolito, who had come out to have a snack together.
“I thought you had risen to fame by saving Her Majesty’s life.”
Isabella snickered as soon as their faces met. Ippolito, who was eating fried meatballs in front of him, seemed to be the only one who could handle the situation.
“Three days, three days.”
“How can our little sister be so good at picking out rotten ropes?”
Seeing Isabella laughing, Ariadne felt like throwing off her shoes.
“Watch your mouth, Isabella de Mare.”
“Oh, what are you going to threaten me with this time? To the palace? Who is in the palace? Her Majesty the Queen, who is your supporter, seems to have already passed away!”
Ariadne gritted her teeth and turned around. It was not worth dealing with.
But Isabella persisted.
“Brother, did you see how father left her behind so coldly?”
“I thought you had risen in status last time because you even entered the study, but today I see you are being bullied again?”
The two were only good friends at times like this. Ariadne gritted her teeth and spoke to Sancha.
“Sancha. If it is true that Her Majesty the Queen has passed away, I must express my condolences. After the official announcement of her death, do not serve fried food or meat in the kitchen for a week, and cut the allowances of all family members except my father by half for a month. I will donate the reduced allowance to the Rambouillet Relief Center.”
Ippolito was munching on a fried meatball when the meat got stuck in his throat.
“Urgh! Urgh!”
Ignoring Ippolito, who was struggling, Sancha, who was also seething, quickly replied.
“I will do so, my lady!”
Isabella, who was startled by the news of cutting her allowance in half, shouted.
“Hey! Who cares!”
Ariadne spat out coldly.
“If you have any complaints, complain to your father. If you don’t want your allowance cut, pray for Her Majesty the Queen to live.”
Leaving the two terrible people behind, Ariadne finished her tour of the warehouse and headed to the study when the postal delivery servant who had sent the letter to the Baldessar family in the morning came looking for her.
“My lady, here is the reply from the Baldessar family as you ordered.”
Ariadne hurriedly snatched the letter. She went into the study and opened the envelope without even having time to sit down.
“Dear Ariadne.”
Ariadne frowned after reading up to this point. It wasn’t Julia’s handwriting.
She quickly scanned the back of the letter and saw a cursive signature.
"Raphael de Baldesar."
"It wasn't a letter to Raphael, so why...?"
However, it wasn't a particularly important part of these times. She focused on the contents of the letter.
"My father has not returned home since he hurriedly went to the court last night. Even my family doesn't know the details. However, Her Majesty Queen Marguerite has certainly passed away, and the cause of death appears to be poisoning. The palace is currently investigating the possible culprit.
I will write to you as soon as I know more. It must be a great shock, so please take care until then.
Best regards, Raphael de Baldessar."
Queen Marguerite's death was certain. Ariadne felt all of her energy drained at the news.
"Where on earth did I miss something?"
She was blocked by an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
"Is the future really unchangeable?"
A whisper blew into her ear like the wind and stuck in her ear.
You tried to change history without sacrifice? How foolish.
'!'
Ariadne raised her head and looked into the empty space, but of course, there was nothing there.
What do you think you can do by staying in the background to remain a good person? Shouldn't you be prepared to get blood on your hands?
Ariadne was prepared to get blood on her hands to save Queen Marguerite. But whose blood was she asking to get on?
"Where and what should I do? If there's anything you want me to do, just tell me!"
She shouted in an agitated voice, but it was a useless echo. Only the dreary air lingered in the room, and there was no answer.
Ariadne, staring into the empty space, felt nausea rising.
"Ugh!"
The sour taste in her stomach rose up into her throat. It was a dry nausea that had completely stopped since she started eating more regularly thanks to Alfonso.
She vomited into the brass basin for a long time. After vomiting out all the gastric juice, her heart and mind felt a little better. A tear flowed from Ariadne’s eye, who was sprawled on the carpet next to the basin on the floor.
‘Your Majesty Queen Marguerite...’
Queen Marguerite's death was certain. Ariadne felt all of her energy drained at the news.
"Where on earth did I miss something?"
She was blocked by an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
"Is the future really unchangeable?"
A whisper blew into her ear like the wind and stuck in her ear.
You tried to change history without sacrifice? How foolish.
'!'
Ariadne raised her head and looked into the empty space, but of course, there was nothing there.
What do you think you can do by staying in the background to remain a good person? Shouldn't you be prepared to get blood on your hands?
Ariadne was prepared to get blood on her hands to save Queen Marguerite. But whose blood was she asking to get on?
"Where and what should I do? If there's anything you want me to do, just tell me!"
She shouted in an agitated voice, but it was a useless echo. Only the dreary air lingered in the room, and there was no answer.
Ariadne, staring into the empty space, felt nausea rising.
"Ugh!"
The sour taste in her stomach rose up into her throat. It was a dry nausea that had completely stopped since she started eating more regularly thanks to Alfonso.
She vomited into the brass basin for a long time. After vomiting out all the gastric juice, her heart and mind felt a little better. A tear flowed from Ariadne’s eye, who was sprawled on the carpet next to the basin on the floor.
‘Your Majesty Queen Marguerite...’
***
Count Cesare visited the dungeon of the palace once again.
“Cesare!”
Countess Rubina, who looked noticeably more shabby than last time, greeted her son cheerfully.
“What good news do you have? His Majesty the King wants me out?”
Cesare roughly threw the official document he was preparing in the palace to the floor. Countess Rubina reached out between the bars, picked up the paper, and read its contents.
“Your Majesty Queen Marguerite has passed away.
The funeral will be a state funeral, and after a 21-day mourning period, a memorial mass will be held at the Basilica of Sanit'Ercole, followed by a separate funeral service. "
Countess Rubina's expression distorted after confirming the contents of the parchment.
"T, this is... What is this..."
Cesare chewed after confirming Countess Rubina's expression.
"It wasn't my mother's doing, was it?"
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