“His Highness.”
Raphael hid his disappointment and answered smoothly. Once his blood cooled, he felt as if he was wearing a mask, and he could answer without showing any agitation.
“He looked very busy. There were so many people that it was difficult to have anything other than a formal conversation.”
It was true. Alfonso looked completely out of breath.
“It’s like there was so much work suddenly piling up that he didn’t even have time to feel sad.”
Julia added from the side.
“He’ll probably be shocked later.”
“I guess so.”
Ariadne lowered her head with a pained expression.
“I see...”
They couldn't talk any deeper since Julia was sitting next to her. Raphael also didn’t seem to reveal the Prince and Ariadne’s secret to his sister.
“The funeral will take a total of 21 days, so once that is over, he will have some time to calm his mind.”
“I see.”
Ariadne nodded. She was not a member of a noble family, let alone a high-ranking noble, so she could not visit the palace to pay her respects. She would be able to pray with the common people only after the Queen’s body was moved to the Basilica of Saint Ercole.
She would have liked to write a long letter right away, but Alfonso’s situation was obvious. During the day, he would be welcoming guests, and at night, he would be sweating over administrative tasks that he was handling for the first time. It was too much for Leo III not to even look. At the very least, he should have assigned a high-ranking noble to co-preside over the funeral.
‘The Queen’s family members are not in Etruscan, after all...’
The high-ranking nobles who assisted with the funeral were usually his wife’s family members. Well, if you think positively, you could see it as the father’s intention to solidify his son’s position.
‘...Let’s send the letter around the latter half of next week.’
After a week or so, the urgent matters would be roughly taken care of, and only the things that were bothering him would pile up. At that time, Ariadne might be able to help Alfonso. She was very experienced in the very same work that Queen Marguerite used to handle.
“Thank you for visiting me today. I’ll prepare some decent tea food for you next time. I was so absent-minded that I couldn’t even treat you properly.”
“Seeing your face is important, not tea food?”
Julia answered. Raphael was feeling a little disappointed and a little excited at Ariadne’s words. It was already a ban on guests, but it was also about promising another invitation.
“I’ll get up.”
He got up and put his lips close to the back of Ariadne’s hand. It was so close that he could feel her breath. Ariadne’s eyes widened slightly. She wasn’t wearing gloves.
Julia poked her brother in the ribs.
“Behave!”
She grabbed Raphael’s wrist and pulled him out of the living room, pretending to greet him cheerfully.
“Thank you for inviting me! We’ll see you again soon!”
As the Baldessar siblings stormed out of the living room, Ariadne sat down for a moment to consider her schedule.
‘Next week, I’ll write to Alfonso. I’ll pay my respects as a common guest right after Her Majesty the Queen comes to the Grand Palace.’
Ariadne wasn’t a noble, but with her father’s influence, she would probably be able to greet him before the common visitors flocked in on the first day Queen Marguerite was laid to rest.
‘I’ll meet the Baldessar siblings again sometime in the latter half of next week or early the week after. There should be more updates about the assassin and other things by then.’
It was a reasonable plan. However, Ariadne had no idea what was going to happen next.
Seven days after the death of Queen Margaret, the Etruscan kingdom finally came to terms with its initial desolation and grief and prepared to solemnly part with its Queen. The flag was flown at half-mast throughout the country, and the entire nation wore black mourning clothes and held a time of mourning.
Everyone was quiet and subdued in every corner of the countryside. So when the shepherds of Gaeta saw a cavalry of heavy knights clad in silver armor crossing the swaying wheat fields, they thought it was a funeral procession sent by the central government.
“But why are there so many?”
However, the procession of cavalry that appeared was not the size of a guard of honor. 100, 200, 300... The shepherd’s eyes grew wide.
“Aren’t there more than a thousand?”
He frowned and glared at the soldiers to get a better look. The surcoats they were wearing over their armor were not a color commonly seen in Etruscans. The knights wore bright yellow surcoats embroidered with blue fleurs-de-lis.
“The Kingdom of Gallico...?”
The shepherd began to call his flock urgently. This was not the time for this. He did not know what kind of trouble he would face if he stayed near the soldiers. If it was his own soldiers, it was even worse for foreign troops.
He hurriedly gathered the small flock of sheep, less than a dozen, and headed to Gaeta Castle through a back road that was not easily visible to people.
“We’re in trouble! The Gallico Kingdom’s army is swarming the fields!”
“What? Gallico?”
The people of Gaeta Castle did not believe him easily.
“Aren’t they lost soldiers? That happens sometimes.”
“Everyone is mourning, so don’t be loud. Our poor Queen.”
Gaeta was a territory located on the border with the Gallico Kingdom, and since their lands were connected, they often ran into each other.
“No! Are you afraid that I would make a fuss about something like that during a national mourning period? There are so many of them, and their military equipment is flashy! These are not the usual border soldiers! They are all knights!”
“What?”
The shepherd boy’s words gained credibility only after additional witnesses appeared. But it didn’t take long.
“Huh!”
The sentry standing guard on the ramparts spotted a group of knights in silver armor approaching the castle.
“Unknown heavy cavalry approaching! Yellow surcoats... Cavalry of the Kingdom of Gallico! 500...1000... Estimated to be around 1500!”
The captain of the guard of Castle Gaeta was terrified after receiving the report.
“Close the gates, close the gates!!”
After ordering the gates to be closed, he gave one more order in a panic.
“No, no, before that! Send out a messenger! Report to San Carlo at full speed! 1500 Gallico cavalry have crossed the border and are facing off in front of the walls within the territory of Gaeta! Quickly!”
A fine horse, leaving the safety of the castle, flew south across the fields.
“What!”
San Carlo’s reaction to the messenger from Gaeta Castle was not much different from that of the captain of the guards at Gaeta Castle.
“The Kingdom of Gallico?!”
Leo III, dressed in black mourning, could barely breathe.
“You bastards! How dare you!”
Prince Alfonso, who had heard the news while discussing the funeral rites downstairs, hurriedly ran up to the royal audience room and agreed that the Kingdom of Gallico had crossed the line.
He had rarely sympathized with his father, but he could not overlook the shamelessness of Gallico, who had sent troops across the border even before the funeral was over, even after the scandal involving the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.
“How well I have treated them! They are repaying me with enmity!”
Of course, the specific forms of his anger were different. While Leo III was furious, Count Marquez brought his attention back to reality.
“Your Majesty, the lord of Gaeta is away, and his wife and the captain of the guard are guarding the castle.”
Count Marquez, who was in charge of diplomacy, had already received the messenger’s report. Marquis Baldessar, who was in charge of internal affairs, added,
“Since the siege began only recently, there have been no reports of food shortages, but the wheat harvest is just around the corner, and given the usual situation in Gaeta, there will most likely not be much grain stored in the castle.”
“What should we do about this?”
“An army to respond...”
Count Contarini, who was in charge of justice, bit the tip of his tongue as he tried to say something. If a foreign army were to invade, the most reasonable response would be to send one’s own army to respond.
However, the Etruscan kingdom had no central military force available at the moment.
Instead, he changed his proposal.
“The army of the Margrave of Gaeta stationed at Gaeta Castle is blocking the army of Gallico...”
Leo III asked with delight.
“Are there any numbers?”
However, this was also absurd.
“The army of the Margrave of Gaeta is a decent size, about 2,500 infantry.”
Marquis Baldessar, who had been watching, added.
“...However, judging from the surcoat, the emblem, and the time of day that appeared at the border, we estimate that the opponent is the Montpellier Heavy Cavalry.”
The Montpellier Heavy Cavalry. It was the strongest force in the Central Continent that the Kingdom of Gallico boasted. It was also the secret to the Briand Dynasty being able to uproot the Capetian Dynasty in the civil war that lasted for over 15 years. Few main forces could withstand that incredible central breakthrough force.
He added cautiously.
“The Margrave of Gaeta is currently in San Carlo to pay his respects to Her Majesty the Queen... The troops of Gaeta Castle are a fine force, but without a leader, they will not be able to perform as well as usual.”
The troops of Gaeta Castle were neither well-trained nor well-armed. However, Marquis Baldessar could not say such things openly in front of Leo III, so he slyly changed the subject to stories of fraud and mercenary tactics to add the nuance he wanted to convey.
'The forces of Gaeta Castle cannot defeat the heavy cavalry of Montpellier.'
However, Leo III accepted this at face value.
"How long will it take if the Margrave of Gaeta returns as quickly as possible?"
It was a difficult situation.
It was exactly an hour later that Ariadne received word of this situation. They were fast-tracked by Cardinal de Mare and Raphael de Baldessar, respectively.
The Cardinal had casually thrown out the information, saying, 'Keep that in mind,' but Raphael explained it in detail, along with a postscript saying, 'Burn it after you've seen it all.'
However, that was not what Ariadne was focused on.
'The Gallico Kingdom has invaded in the end..!'
In her previous life, the Gallico Kingdom first demanded compensation from the Etruscan Kingdom, and when that was not accepted, they sent troops to the border.
'This time, let's skip all that and get right to it. What's the difference?'
Two things had changed. First, the engagement between the Prince and the Grand Duchess did not come to fruition. Second, the Queen was murdered by an unidentified merchant while Countess Rubina was imprisoned in the dungeon, so Countess Rubina’s suspicions were not as clear as they were in her last life.
Both were butterfly effects derived from what Ariadne had done.
However, Ariadne decided to focus on the more practical aspects.
‘This life is different from the last life.’
In the previous life, the factor that caused the most serious situation for the Etruscan Kingdom, namely the permanent loss of the Gaeta region to the Gallico Kingdom, had changed.
'The Margrave of Gaeta is now in San Carlo.'
In the previous life, the Margrave of Gaeta surrendered to the enemy without any will to fight when the Gallico heavy cavalry appeared on the border and gave the entire territory to the Gallico Kingdom.
'If he returns to the Gaeta territory, the Gaeta territory will fall to the Gallico Kingdom.'
Raphael hid his disappointment and answered smoothly. Once his blood cooled, he felt as if he was wearing a mask, and he could answer without showing any agitation.
“He looked very busy. There were so many people that it was difficult to have anything other than a formal conversation.”
It was true. Alfonso looked completely out of breath.
“It’s like there was so much work suddenly piling up that he didn’t even have time to feel sad.”
Julia added from the side.
“He’ll probably be shocked later.”
“I guess so.”
Ariadne lowered her head with a pained expression.
“I see...”
They couldn't talk any deeper since Julia was sitting next to her. Raphael also didn’t seem to reveal the Prince and Ariadne’s secret to his sister.
“The funeral will take a total of 21 days, so once that is over, he will have some time to calm his mind.”
“I see.”
Ariadne nodded. She was not a member of a noble family, let alone a high-ranking noble, so she could not visit the palace to pay her respects. She would be able to pray with the common people only after the Queen’s body was moved to the Basilica of Saint Ercole.
She would have liked to write a long letter right away, but Alfonso’s situation was obvious. During the day, he would be welcoming guests, and at night, he would be sweating over administrative tasks that he was handling for the first time. It was too much for Leo III not to even look. At the very least, he should have assigned a high-ranking noble to co-preside over the funeral.
‘The Queen’s family members are not in Etruscan, after all...’
The high-ranking nobles who assisted with the funeral were usually his wife’s family members. Well, if you think positively, you could see it as the father’s intention to solidify his son’s position.
‘...Let’s send the letter around the latter half of next week.’
After a week or so, the urgent matters would be roughly taken care of, and only the things that were bothering him would pile up. At that time, Ariadne might be able to help Alfonso. She was very experienced in the very same work that Queen Marguerite used to handle.
“Thank you for visiting me today. I’ll prepare some decent tea food for you next time. I was so absent-minded that I couldn’t even treat you properly.”
“Seeing your face is important, not tea food?”
Julia answered. Raphael was feeling a little disappointed and a little excited at Ariadne’s words. It was already a ban on guests, but it was also about promising another invitation.
“I’ll get up.”
He got up and put his lips close to the back of Ariadne’s hand. It was so close that he could feel her breath. Ariadne’s eyes widened slightly. She wasn’t wearing gloves.
Julia poked her brother in the ribs.
“Behave!”
She grabbed Raphael’s wrist and pulled him out of the living room, pretending to greet him cheerfully.
“Thank you for inviting me! We’ll see you again soon!”
As the Baldessar siblings stormed out of the living room, Ariadne sat down for a moment to consider her schedule.
‘Next week, I’ll write to Alfonso. I’ll pay my respects as a common guest right after Her Majesty the Queen comes to the Grand Palace.’
Ariadne wasn’t a noble, but with her father’s influence, she would probably be able to greet him before the common visitors flocked in on the first day Queen Marguerite was laid to rest.
‘I’ll meet the Baldessar siblings again sometime in the latter half of next week or early the week after. There should be more updates about the assassin and other things by then.’
It was a reasonable plan. However, Ariadne had no idea what was going to happen next.
***
Seven days after the death of Queen Margaret, the Etruscan kingdom finally came to terms with its initial desolation and grief and prepared to solemnly part with its Queen. The flag was flown at half-mast throughout the country, and the entire nation wore black mourning clothes and held a time of mourning.
Everyone was quiet and subdued in every corner of the countryside. So when the shepherds of Gaeta saw a cavalry of heavy knights clad in silver armor crossing the swaying wheat fields, they thought it was a funeral procession sent by the central government.
“But why are there so many?”
However, the procession of cavalry that appeared was not the size of a guard of honor. 100, 200, 300... The shepherd’s eyes grew wide.
“Aren’t there more than a thousand?”
He frowned and glared at the soldiers to get a better look. The surcoats they were wearing over their armor were not a color commonly seen in Etruscans. The knights wore bright yellow surcoats embroidered with blue fleurs-de-lis.
“The Kingdom of Gallico...?”
The shepherd began to call his flock urgently. This was not the time for this. He did not know what kind of trouble he would face if he stayed near the soldiers. If it was his own soldiers, it was even worse for foreign troops.
He hurriedly gathered the small flock of sheep, less than a dozen, and headed to Gaeta Castle through a back road that was not easily visible to people.
“We’re in trouble! The Gallico Kingdom’s army is swarming the fields!”
“What? Gallico?”
The people of Gaeta Castle did not believe him easily.
“Aren’t they lost soldiers? That happens sometimes.”
“Everyone is mourning, so don’t be loud. Our poor Queen.”
Gaeta was a territory located on the border with the Gallico Kingdom, and since their lands were connected, they often ran into each other.
“No! Are you afraid that I would make a fuss about something like that during a national mourning period? There are so many of them, and their military equipment is flashy! These are not the usual border soldiers! They are all knights!”
“What?”
The shepherd boy’s words gained credibility only after additional witnesses appeared. But it didn’t take long.
“Huh!”
The sentry standing guard on the ramparts spotted a group of knights in silver armor approaching the castle.
“Unknown heavy cavalry approaching! Yellow surcoats... Cavalry of the Kingdom of Gallico! 500...1000... Estimated to be around 1500!”
The captain of the guard of Castle Gaeta was terrified after receiving the report.
“Close the gates, close the gates!!”
After ordering the gates to be closed, he gave one more order in a panic.
“No, no, before that! Send out a messenger! Report to San Carlo at full speed! 1500 Gallico cavalry have crossed the border and are facing off in front of the walls within the territory of Gaeta! Quickly!”
A fine horse, leaving the safety of the castle, flew south across the fields.
***
“What!”
San Carlo’s reaction to the messenger from Gaeta Castle was not much different from that of the captain of the guards at Gaeta Castle.
“The Kingdom of Gallico?!”
Leo III, dressed in black mourning, could barely breathe.
“You bastards! How dare you!”
Prince Alfonso, who had heard the news while discussing the funeral rites downstairs, hurriedly ran up to the royal audience room and agreed that the Kingdom of Gallico had crossed the line.
He had rarely sympathized with his father, but he could not overlook the shamelessness of Gallico, who had sent troops across the border even before the funeral was over, even after the scandal involving the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.
“How well I have treated them! They are repaying me with enmity!”
Of course, the specific forms of his anger were different. While Leo III was furious, Count Marquez brought his attention back to reality.
“Your Majesty, the lord of Gaeta is away, and his wife and the captain of the guard are guarding the castle.”
Count Marquez, who was in charge of diplomacy, had already received the messenger’s report. Marquis Baldessar, who was in charge of internal affairs, added,
“Since the siege began only recently, there have been no reports of food shortages, but the wheat harvest is just around the corner, and given the usual situation in Gaeta, there will most likely not be much grain stored in the castle.”
“What should we do about this?”
“An army to respond...”
Count Contarini, who was in charge of justice, bit the tip of his tongue as he tried to say something. If a foreign army were to invade, the most reasonable response would be to send one’s own army to respond.
However, the Etruscan kingdom had no central military force available at the moment.
Instead, he changed his proposal.
“The army of the Margrave of Gaeta stationed at Gaeta Castle is blocking the army of Gallico...”
Leo III asked with delight.
“Are there any numbers?”
However, this was also absurd.
“The army of the Margrave of Gaeta is a decent size, about 2,500 infantry.”
Marquis Baldessar, who had been watching, added.
“...However, judging from the surcoat, the emblem, and the time of day that appeared at the border, we estimate that the opponent is the Montpellier Heavy Cavalry.”
The Montpellier Heavy Cavalry. It was the strongest force in the Central Continent that the Kingdom of Gallico boasted. It was also the secret to the Briand Dynasty being able to uproot the Capetian Dynasty in the civil war that lasted for over 15 years. Few main forces could withstand that incredible central breakthrough force.
He added cautiously.
“The Margrave of Gaeta is currently in San Carlo to pay his respects to Her Majesty the Queen... The troops of Gaeta Castle are a fine force, but without a leader, they will not be able to perform as well as usual.”
The troops of Gaeta Castle were neither well-trained nor well-armed. However, Marquis Baldessar could not say such things openly in front of Leo III, so he slyly changed the subject to stories of fraud and mercenary tactics to add the nuance he wanted to convey.
'The forces of Gaeta Castle cannot defeat the heavy cavalry of Montpellier.'
However, Leo III accepted this at face value.
"How long will it take if the Margrave of Gaeta returns as quickly as possible?"
It was a difficult situation.
***
It was exactly an hour later that Ariadne received word of this situation. They were fast-tracked by Cardinal de Mare and Raphael de Baldessar, respectively.
The Cardinal had casually thrown out the information, saying, 'Keep that in mind,' but Raphael explained it in detail, along with a postscript saying, 'Burn it after you've seen it all.'
However, that was not what Ariadne was focused on.
'The Gallico Kingdom has invaded in the end..!'
In her previous life, the Gallico Kingdom first demanded compensation from the Etruscan Kingdom, and when that was not accepted, they sent troops to the border.
'This time, let's skip all that and get right to it. What's the difference?'
Two things had changed. First, the engagement between the Prince and the Grand Duchess did not come to fruition. Second, the Queen was murdered by an unidentified merchant while Countess Rubina was imprisoned in the dungeon, so Countess Rubina’s suspicions were not as clear as they were in her last life.
Both were butterfly effects derived from what Ariadne had done.
‘I can’t be sure which of the two caused this.’
But for some reason, she thought it was because the engagement did not come to fruition. Judging from the actions of the Kingdom of Galicco up until now, they were shameless and did whatever they could to achieve their goals.
‘It’s not like Countess Rubina was cleared of suspicion just because she looked a little less suspicious, and they could easily argue if they wanted to. They are not the kind of people who would change their behavior because of such trivial details.’
However, just because the Grand Duchess's engagement with the Prince fell through, they sent troops to the border all of a sudden...?
But for some reason, she thought it was because the engagement did not come to fruition. Judging from the actions of the Kingdom of Galicco up until now, they were shameless and did whatever they could to achieve their goals.
‘It’s not like Countess Rubina was cleared of suspicion just because she looked a little less suspicious, and they could easily argue if they wanted to. They are not the kind of people who would change their behavior because of such trivial details.’
However, just because the Grand Duchess's engagement with the Prince fell through, they sent troops to the border all of a sudden...?
Something felt off.
However, Ariadne decided to focus on the more practical aspects.
‘This life is different from the last life.’
In the previous life, the factor that caused the most serious situation for the Etruscan Kingdom, namely the permanent loss of the Gaeta region to the Gallico Kingdom, had changed.
'The Margrave of Gaeta is now in San Carlo.'
In the previous life, the Margrave of Gaeta surrendered to the enemy without any will to fight when the Gallico heavy cavalry appeared on the border and gave the entire territory to the Gallico Kingdom.
'If he returns to the Gaeta territory, the Gaeta territory will fall to the Gallico Kingdom.'
She had to stop it before that.
Right.
The Golden Rule whispered.
Right.
The Golden Rule whispered.
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