“Your Highness, even if your child is unfilial, it is the heart of a parent to take care of your child.”
Leo III pretended to scold Duchess Rubina.
“Don’t you feel the same way about Cesare?”
Duchess Rubina was about to snap at him, saying, "Cesare is also Your Majesty's son," but she held herself back for a moment.
Now is not the time to be angry with the King.
A concubine must be able to observe these moods well to hold power for a long time, and Duchess Rubina was the best concubine in the Central Continent in terms of holding power for a long time.
And the feelings of thr mistress, who had held the position for the longest time in the Central Continent, whispered to him that Leo III was almost here.
Wasn't he dragged into the premise that 'Alfonso is unfilial' without any resistance?
“But, Your Majesty.”
Duchess Rubina spoke with a sad expression.
“There are times when parents have to be strict when their children go astray.”
Her expression was so hazy that Leo III nodded absentmindedly before he could judge the request.
“That’s true.”
Duchess Rubina pursed her lips and urged Leo III on.
“Be proud. Shouldn’t he know how fearsome his father is?”
Here she cast her finishing move. She leaned in, brought her lips close to his, and whispered in Leo III's ear.
It's been over 20 years since they started living together, so the effect has diminished compared to before, but this has always worked.
“He acted as he pleased, but when the knights and military funds from the home country came in as he wanted, he became arrogant.”
Leo III's ears perked up.
“I wonder?”
“Of course! Look at how I raised Cesare. When I was strict, he became very well-behaved, didn’t he?”
Anyone could see that Alfonso was the model child between Alfonso and Cesare, but if there was one thing that Cesare was far superior to his half-brother in, it was pleasing his father.
It was more a difference in the positions of a legitimate and illegitimate child than a result of strict education, but Rubina decided to ignore such trivial facts.
“Just stay for three months. He'll know how grateful he's to you, his Father, only after he starves and suffers in the local area!”
She poured a glass of grappa and put it in the King's hand.
“You still want to drink the 1113 grappa, right? I contacted the southern region this time and managed to get it with great difficulty.”
“Oh, is that the Trani Manor?”
“That’s right!”
She winked.
“Is it a secret from your doctor?”
“Heh heh heh heh!”
Leo III melted at the pillow talk of Duchess Rubina.
In this way, the military funds and knights scheduled to be sent to Prince Alfonso were delayed by three months.
It's been three months, but three months later, winter has already begun.
***
The failure of Prince Alfonso's letter to reach his homeland was not a simple delivery accident.
The Republic of Porto, which was responsible for all rear-end support, including supplies and correspondence, during this crusade, owed a great debt of gratitude to the Kingdom of Gallico in the process of being selected as the transport manager for the Third Crusade.
Had it not been for the strong support of Philip IV, who had urged the Republic of Porto to provide rearguard support, they would have been forced to yield the post of transport manager to their rival, the port city of Facaroli.
Because the bid put forward by the Republic of Porto was twice as high as Pacaroli's.
Thanks to Philip IV, they made a profit of at least 25,000 ducats (about 25 billion won).
It was Grand Duke Odes who coordinated all affairs with the Republic of Porto on behalf of Philip IV, and he decided to intercept all of Prince Alfonso's communications to decide whether to kill or keep his future son-in-law.
“If it becomes known that the letter was intercepted, the Etruscan Kingdom will not leave the Republic of Porto alone.”
“There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”
Grand Duke Odes answered proudly.
“The Porto guys, they got the bid thanks to us, so now they have to pay us back.”
Grand Duke Odes piled up the letters from Prince Alfonso, handed over by the Republic of Porto, on his desk.
It wasn't just Prince Alfonso's letters that they had their hands on.
The official letter sent by the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg to the Etruscan kingdom was also first reported to the Kingdom of Gallico.
Philip IV learned from stolen letters from the Duke of Yuldenburg that Prince Alfonso had managed to escape and joined the Duke of Yuldenburg.
When Philip IV realized that Alfonso had escaped his grasp and was heading towards Jesak, he smashed the furniture in his office and uttered curses at the ungrateful Yuldenburg.
If Auguste had not taken the King to his inner chambers and stopped him, someone would have died.
However, no matter how furious Philip was, the entire amount of the donation had already gone into the pocket of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg.
Philip was taking great risks in carrying out his duties.
Even the Kingdom of Gallico could not bring itself to destroy the official letter of the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg.
Prince Alfonso's letter was an exception, however.
It was a petty tirade by the resentful Philip IV that not a single letter of the Prince should be sent out.
“Tsk tsk, the Prince is in a pitiful situation. His father is so indifferent.”
Grand Duke Odes opened the letter that Prince Alfonso had sent to his father, Leo III.
It was the second letter, following the one he had sent last time, which was now sitting on the corner of the Grand Duke's desk.
Just like last time, it was about asking for military funds and a ship to return.
“I’ve never seen a father like that before.”
“That’s what I’m saying. His son isn’t threatening the throne, nor is he suppressing a rampaging loach among many others. What is he doing to his only son who is obedient?”
Even to the Gallico Duke and his confidants, who were worn down by court infighting, Leo III had gone too far.
A second letter caught the eyes of Grand Duke Odes, who was clicking his tongue.
“Huh? What is this?”
The Grand Duke's adjutant, who knew that the marriage between Prince Alfonso and Princess Lariesa had fallen through, watched Odes's expression.
“...That.”
Grand Duke Odes did not wait any longer for his subordinate to speak and opened the letter.
It was a letter to a lover in his home country. It started with the first sentence, 'To my beloved Ari.'
“Tsk tsk tsk tsk.”
So that's why my daughter got dumped.
Seeing the evidence with his own eyes made his mouth water. The pure and noble man was the perfect candidate for a son-in-law.
The only downside was that Alfonso was so infatuated with another woman that he didn't even bother to look after his own daughter.
No, there was another reason for his disqualification as a son-in-law to Prince Alfonso.
The point was that he was now out of favor with Philip IV and that he might die at any moment. No matter how sound a man was, he could not give his daughter to a dead man or a man who would die soon.
In the eyes of the Grand Duke of Odes, his own daughter's misdeeds were clearly revealed through a letter from another man's son.
“...I heard that you asked His Majesty the King for Count Cesare’s recognition, but I don’t believe it.”
It is not written who relayed such words, but at that time, there was only one person who had access to the Prince and could have said such nonsense.
Grand Duchess Lariesa, the eldest daughter of Grand Duke Odes.
'Since the child has no way of hearing such stories, she must have searched my office.'
Grand Duke Odes continued reading the letter, thinking that from now on he should keep important documents in the safe.
"Ari, if you did something, there must have been a reason for it, right?
I don't fall for other people's slander. If there's one thing I wish for, it's to hear your voice.
It won't be easy to find a way to Yesak, but I really want to see your writing.
When I exchanged letters with you in Taranto, I thought it was too far away, but now even that distance makes me miss you so much that it brings tears to my eyes."
“Hi...”
My child is a villain who causes discord. I am the father of a villain.
Duke Odes, who had thought this far, laughed in vain.
Since he was the one who snatched the letters from Yesak, strictly speaking, he is not just the father of a simple villain, but closer to a fellow villain.
“Just a moment...”
If he was going to be a villain anyway, it would be better to be a villain all the way. A good thought crossed Grand Duke Odes's mind.
At this point, wouldn't my daughter be convinced? How can she possibly be happy living her life while holding on to a man she doesn't like?
“Call Lariesa.”
***
“Father, you called me.”
Lariesa, who was now married and was going to wear the clothes of a married woman, was scolded to the point of tears by Grand Duchess Bernadette, who was so generous that she ruined her children.
Eventually, Lariesa gave up the headdress worn by married women, which consisted of a white cloth covering the entire head with a tiara or hat, and began to walk around with her natural hair braided like other young girls her age, but she did not stop imitating the walk and speech of the ladies.
Yes, now this is the end of that unsightly sight.
“Hey, look at this.”
Grand Duke Odes gave his daughter a letter from Prince Alfonso.
If there had been even a single phrase in the letter that openly insulted Princess Lariesa, hr would have shouted bravo, but unfortunately, this well-raised son of another family did not openly insult Lariesa even in the midst of all this.
Instead, Prince Alfonso's letters to Ariadne de Mare reveal his passionate love for her, his longing for her, and his firmness in dismissing Lariesa as a 'man'.
'If you see it with your own eyes, you'll probably quit because your pride will be hurt.'
Looking at his daughter, who was reading Prince Alfonso's letter with such concentration that her eyes seemed to pop out, Grand Duke Odes lowered his voice as gently as possible and spoke.
“Hey, this father has seen that a good marriage between a married couple is the best.”
The daughter turned the parchment to the next page, not listening to her father. Her eyes looked like they were about to burst into flames.
“I know that arranged marriages don’t start with love from the beginning. But no matter how they start, if you meet the right person, love and respect will eventually bloom. You only live once, so shouldn’t you live with a man who cares for you and loves you?”
Duke Odes was so absorbed in his own story that he failed to properly observe his daughter's expression.
“I want to read this guy’s letters. This guy is just completely absent-minded.”
Palak.
“Your father has seen many of them, and I tell you, there is nothing worse for a noblewoman's husband than an open flirt. He's in love with one other woman, and he's in love with her...”
The Grand Duke's monologue was interrupted by his daughter's scream.
Princess Lariesa glared at her father and crumpled up Prince Alfonso's letter into a ball.
And she threw the letter roughly on the office floor.
“This is a piece of trash full of lies...!”
“Lariesa!”
Grand Duke Odes shouted her name, half in bewilderment, half in shock at her daughter's actions. But Lariesa was already in a state of rage.
“This is not a letter from the Prince!”
“You don’t believe it even after seeing it? This is something that came over a clear line...”
“The handwriting is not his and the ink is not the kind he uses!”
Prince Alfonso always wrote with blue ink using a thick nib.
But on the battlefield, there was no room to be picky about writing instruments.
Just procuring the parchment was the result of a great deal of effort on the part of the aide.
But no explanation reached Lariesa's ears, who did not want to believe it.
“The Prince loves me. He doesn’t love that Cardinal’s illegitimate child!”
Tears flowed like a flood from Lariesa's eyes.
“Just wait and see, as he struggles through the battlefield, he will eventually realize that the only woman who can save him is Princess Lariesa of the Grand Duke of Valoa!”
“Lariesa! Isn’t that something you can control? How can you control people’s hearts...”
“Dad, you can do it!!”
Lariesa pounded the desk of Grand Duke Odes and appealed to him tearfully.
“Father, in the name of the Kingdom of Gallico, please help the Prince! Then the Prince will be grateful to me!”
“Lariesa, that’s not something this father can do!”
“Ahhhh!!!”
Princess Lariesa began to roll around on the floor of her father's office.
“Lariesa!”
“I’m going to die! I’m going to die!”
The commotion was growing. He hadn't expected this... Grand Duke Odes anxiously checked the corridor outside his office for any signs of movement.
The news of her daughter's seizure must not reach Grand Duchess Bernadette's ears.
“There are things I can do and things I can’t do! Your dad is not a wizard!”
“Lies, you’re saying that because you don’t like me being happy!”
“Where in the world are there parents who don’t wish for their children’s happiness?”
Starting with the fact that "when I was five years old, my father hugged Suzanne first and never hugged me" (that day, Princess Lariesa was in the arms of Grand Duchess Bernadette from beginning to end), Princess Lariesa began to list all the reasons in her short life why her father did not love her.
Amid the fear that the Grand Duke might invade at any moment, Grand Duke Odes, who had once been mentally attacked by his daughter who he loved so dearly, eventually gave up.
“Anything this father can do for you, Lariesa, Lariesa.”
Lariesa, exhausted from venting her anger and resentment, wiped her tears with the back of her hand and answered.
“I will send the letter to the Prince. If you want to win a man’s heart by yourself, you can do it. Just do it!”
She continued, sniffling and sniffling.
“From now on, please bring all the Prince’s letters to me.”
“What good does it do to see that, it just makes me feel bad...”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Yes, yes! I’m putting my hands and feet up. Please calm down!”
Eventually, Lariesa, who had been given her own way, wiped away the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.
She was to become a tailor-made lover who would watch Alfonso's every move and write him tailored letters as if she knew all his worries and concerns in advance.
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