The Duke of Pisano, who first set foot on the Pisano territory, realized that something was wrong as soon as he entered the territory's capital, the border town of Ginelli.
“...”
The hostility and wariness he read in territory people's eyes stung his skin.
Cesare's expectations were shattered as he entered the barracks, repeating to himself that he didn't care what the general public thought, as long as the army was functioning properly.
The military discipline wasn't the problem. The barracks were empty.
“Where is everyone now? Are they training?”
The old official who had worked here since the days when Duke Pisano was young chuckled.
Because the voice of the handsome young Duke who asked with a feigned calmness trembled. He answered with a laugh inwardly.
“Training, what? Everyone went home.”
The new Duke of Pisano's eyes became hollow.
“Desertion?”
“Oh, if you call this desertion, then a quarter of the people will lose their heads.”
According to the official's account, after the death of Duke Pisano, the number of troops, which should have been 6,000, had already been reduced to 2,000.
Moreover, it was said that since grain prices have recently skyrocketed, even the remaining private soldiers have been leaving their quarters one after another.
“They can’t feed their family with their salary. Grain prices have skyrocketed. There’s no harvest at all right now.”
The fief of Pisano was right next to the fief of Gaeta. Gaeta was at the easternmost point of the border, and Pisano was right next to it.
Naturally, outside the walls, the Gallico cavalry was pillaging the houses like fish in water. Rumors of abducting one or two women were also heard.
“A group of strong men would go out to protect the harvesters, make surprise harvests, and return. As this business became popular, the barracks were completely empty.”
The official added that there was no need to harvest the crop on one's own fields.
The explanation was that they would go into someone else's field, quickly harvest the crop, and return.
The northern part of the kingdom was now in a state of collapse.
“When will the harvest be over in this area?”
Cesare hesitated for a moment and then asked one more question.
“Will the soldiers return?”
The old subordinate official looked at the young Duke with a face that looked like it was about to burst into laughter.
He answered, barely keeping his expression on his face as he treated the child within a line of propriety.
“We’ll have to find out when they get there.”
Their return depended entirely on the price of grain at the time and on whether the Duke of Pisano could afford to pay them.
It is not appropriate to answer now, as inflation cannot be predicted in advance.
But Cesare took this as a challenge to himself.
His face turned pale and he glared at the lower-ranking official. But it was not the time to explode with anger.
'Hold on, it's the first day of entering the territory.'
Although he didn't like it, he needed this gentleman's help to figure out the situation in the territory.
If he had just cut off his head, he couldn't be sure where the public sentiment of people would turn.
“Who should I go to for information on the granary situation?”
He asked the manager patiently. The manager grinned, revealing his rotten front teeth.
“He's quitting.”
Cesare, accustomed to the elegance and splendor of the capital, frowned involuntarily at the state of his teeth.
He instinctively blamed himself for accidentally failing to control his expression. However, the manager's next words clearly made Cesare's expression worse.
“There’s no need to go see it. It’s empty.”
Ariadne was finishing her day's work and getting ready for bed. San Carlo was in full autumn.
Light summer clothes have all been replaced with thick, satin dresses.
She took off her heavy clothes, put on only a chemise, and sat down in front of the mirror to remove her makeup.
“I... Miss.”
Sancha stood at the entrance to the bedroom and called out to Ariadne. Anna was just about to remove her makeup with lotion.
Ariadne turned her head and looked at the mountain chariot.
“A guest has arrived.”
Ariadne frowned.
“At this time?”
There was something else that caught her eye.
“I told you to refuse all visits from outsiders.”
The whole family was avoiding going outside.
Isabella, who was completely trapped, Ippolito, whose purse strings were tight, and even Cardinal de Mare listened to their second daughter.
The Cardinal tried to stay home and do his work as much as possible.
Because San Carlo was currently in a state of chaos due to the plague.
Although there were not many people showing signs of illness, the speed of transmission was rapid.
After Leo III caused a revolt and drove out most of the Gypsies and foreigners, the epidemic subsided for a while, but soon it began to spread even among those who could never be driven out, such as wealthy merchants and respected local elders.
It is becoming difficult to carry out quarantine by targeting specific races or occupations and expelling them from the city.
Finally, not long ago, the first high-ranking nobleman was killed. The whole of San Carlo was shaking.
“That is... It is not someone our gatekeeper can refuse...”
“Who is he? Is he my guest?”
She could not imagine a visitor whom the gatekeeper would not only refuse but also admit without even asking her permission.
Julia? Ariadne sent her a letter, so she's sure Julia also refraining from going out.
The Lazione Tailor Shop, no, the Lazione Linen Shop people? The doorman couldn't have refused.
Then is he also the representative of Bocanegro Company, Caruso?
But the visitor was a completely unexpected person.
“Count Cesare... No, it’s the Duke of Pisano.”
Cesare? Ariadne was very upset. She had no business dealing with him. Then it was obvious why Cesare had come.
A person who doesn't even know what's important.
'There's chaos in the capital, and you're so obsessed with women that you're barging into someone else's house?'
But she fully understood why the gatekeeper could not treat the guest coldly.
A mere gatekeeper from the Cardinal's family can't drive out the Duke of Pisano, who has so much influence in the capital.
'In the end, all the unpleasant words are mine.'
Ariadne sighed softly and vowed to herself that she would get Cesare out of the house as quickly as possible and never let him come back.
“Bring me my dressing gown.”
She tied her hair back up.
When Ariadne entered the guest room, Cesare turned away from her and looked out the window.
'What kind of pose are you acting like?'
She was momentarily upset.
If a man were to barge into this chaos to see a woman's face, shouldn't he at least pretend to recognize her when she appears, even if he doesn't bring her a bouquet of flowers?
So the words didn't come out smoothly.
Ariadne spoke with a cold rebuke, her voice slightly hushed by the late evening and early night.
“You still have no manners.”
She knew Cesare would take it in stride.
But he turned around without saying anything and looked at her intently. His water-colored eyes looked tired.
"Sorry."
He pretended to be calm, but his voice was hoarse.
Only later did Ariadne notice his attire. Unbecoming of the always elegant illegitimate son of a King, his outer garments were covered in dirt and a mess.
There were scratches on his boots, and upon closer inspection, his hair was tangled and messy, pressed against his hat.
Ariadne asked in bewilderment.
“What’s going on...?”
Cesare looked at her with watery eyes, then opened his lips as if he was reluctant.
“...Help me.”
Ariadne shivered with a sense of foreboding. She had seen this expression, this tone, before.
“...What are you planning to do?”
In her previous life, Count Cesare de Como, before he staged a coup, came to see his fiancée and begged her with exactly this expression.
He needs a messenger to be sent out of the castle, and there's no one else he can ask but her.
“How on earth do you see me?”
But in this life, Cesare de Carlo frowned his handsome forehead.
“Do I look like such a hopeless piece of trash to you?”
'Yes.'
Ariadne, who answered yes without thinking, put her hand on her lips to check if the answer had left her mouth.
“It’s a matter of state. We need food.”
Even back then, he said it was for the country.
“I was dispatched to the Pisano estate with orders to rebuild the border guard.”
“...I heard the story roughly.”
“Things are not good.”
He rubbed his temples.
“The warehouses are empty and the soldiers have fled. The situation on the border is much worse than in the market of San Carlo. The price of grain has risen so steeply that it is better to carry grain than gold.”
Ariadne did not answer but only looked at Cesare attentively.
“Rumor has it that you have more than half of the capital’s wheat reserves.”
Cesare took a step towards Ariadne. She instinctively took a step back.
“Sell it to me.”
This too is deja vu.
“Will you sell me the ‘Heart of the Blue Sea’?”
Words Ariadne really hated hearing, even though it was something that happened in her life.
But maybe it was because she fell in love with someone else in the meantime? Her heart didn't hurt as much as it did then.
She asked, raising the corners of her mouth in a spiteful manner.
“Will you pay the price again for ‘The Swan of Linville’ this time?”
Cesare looked at her, slightly bewildered.
“Do you still remember?”
He smiled a little.
“You really like ‘The Swan of Linville,’ don’t you, Miss?”
Cesare thought of the brooch with the teardrop-shaped diamond set with a pearl. What was it about that diamond that made this woman so obsessed?
“If you want it, I should give it to you. I am the one who is asking for grain, so the method of payment should be according to the creditor’s wishes.”
He strode over to her and looked straight at her. He was close enough that she could feel his breath.
Ariadne tried to take another step back, but her back was already blocked by the display case. She turned her head slightly to the side.
“The amount of wheat required is 4,500 cantaros. I’ll give you a total of 1,500 ducats. What do you think?”
It was enough to feed about 3,000 men for about half a year.
1500 ducats was about twice the market price before the grain price spike, but it was an insignificant amount in the current situation where the price was rising at an unfathomable rate of more than three times.
Cesare whispered to her from the narrow distance.
“I’ll leave ‘The Swan of Linville’ to you in advance.”
The 'Swan of Linville', is a symbol of love.
“We will continue to need to purchase wheat from now on, so let’s consider it as what we paid in advance. Secure my stuff and don’t sell it to anyone else.”
Whispers that were confusing whether they were love or a deal. Cesare was always like that.
“Let’s have a lasting relationship. Sell it to me.”
Cesare smiled charmingly and brought his face very close to Ariadne's lips.
He's handsome like he's carved from marble. He probably can't even imagine rejection.
“...”
The hostility and wariness he read in territory people's eyes stung his skin.
Cesare's expectations were shattered as he entered the barracks, repeating to himself that he didn't care what the general public thought, as long as the army was functioning properly.
The military discipline wasn't the problem. The barracks were empty.
“Where is everyone now? Are they training?”
The old official who had worked here since the days when Duke Pisano was young chuckled.
Because the voice of the handsome young Duke who asked with a feigned calmness trembled. He answered with a laugh inwardly.
“Training, what? Everyone went home.”
The new Duke of Pisano's eyes became hollow.
“Desertion?”
“Oh, if you call this desertion, then a quarter of the people will lose their heads.”
According to the official's account, after the death of Duke Pisano, the number of troops, which should have been 6,000, had already been reduced to 2,000.
Moreover, it was said that since grain prices have recently skyrocketed, even the remaining private soldiers have been leaving their quarters one after another.
“They can’t feed their family with their salary. Grain prices have skyrocketed. There’s no harvest at all right now.”
The fief of Pisano was right next to the fief of Gaeta. Gaeta was at the easternmost point of the border, and Pisano was right next to it.
Naturally, outside the walls, the Gallico cavalry was pillaging the houses like fish in water. Rumors of abducting one or two women were also heard.
“A group of strong men would go out to protect the harvesters, make surprise harvests, and return. As this business became popular, the barracks were completely empty.”
The official added that there was no need to harvest the crop on one's own fields.
The explanation was that they would go into someone else's field, quickly harvest the crop, and return.
The northern part of the kingdom was now in a state of collapse.
“When will the harvest be over in this area?”
Cesare hesitated for a moment and then asked one more question.
“Will the soldiers return?”
The old subordinate official looked at the young Duke with a face that looked like it was about to burst into laughter.
He answered, barely keeping his expression on his face as he treated the child within a line of propriety.
“We’ll have to find out when they get there.”
Their return depended entirely on the price of grain at the time and on whether the Duke of Pisano could afford to pay them.
It is not appropriate to answer now, as inflation cannot be predicted in advance.
But Cesare took this as a challenge to himself.
His face turned pale and he glared at the lower-ranking official. But it was not the time to explode with anger.
'Hold on, it's the first day of entering the territory.'
Although he didn't like it, he needed this gentleman's help to figure out the situation in the territory.
If he had just cut off his head, he couldn't be sure where the public sentiment of people would turn.
“Who should I go to for information on the granary situation?”
He asked the manager patiently. The manager grinned, revealing his rotten front teeth.
“He's quitting.”
Cesare, accustomed to the elegance and splendor of the capital, frowned involuntarily at the state of his teeth.
He instinctively blamed himself for accidentally failing to control his expression. However, the manager's next words clearly made Cesare's expression worse.
“There’s no need to go see it. It’s empty.”
***
Ariadne was finishing her day's work and getting ready for bed. San Carlo was in full autumn.
Light summer clothes have all been replaced with thick, satin dresses.
She took off her heavy clothes, put on only a chemise, and sat down in front of the mirror to remove her makeup.
“I... Miss.”
Sancha stood at the entrance to the bedroom and called out to Ariadne. Anna was just about to remove her makeup with lotion.
Ariadne turned her head and looked at the mountain chariot.
“A guest has arrived.”
Ariadne frowned.
“At this time?”
There was something else that caught her eye.
“I told you to refuse all visits from outsiders.”
The whole family was avoiding going outside.
Isabella, who was completely trapped, Ippolito, whose purse strings were tight, and even Cardinal de Mare listened to their second daughter.
The Cardinal tried to stay home and do his work as much as possible.
Because San Carlo was currently in a state of chaos due to the plague.
Although there were not many people showing signs of illness, the speed of transmission was rapid.
After Leo III caused a revolt and drove out most of the Gypsies and foreigners, the epidemic subsided for a while, but soon it began to spread even among those who could never be driven out, such as wealthy merchants and respected local elders.
It is becoming difficult to carry out quarantine by targeting specific races or occupations and expelling them from the city.
Finally, not long ago, the first high-ranking nobleman was killed. The whole of San Carlo was shaking.
“That is... It is not someone our gatekeeper can refuse...”
“Who is he? Is he my guest?”
She could not imagine a visitor whom the gatekeeper would not only refuse but also admit without even asking her permission.
Julia? Ariadne sent her a letter, so she's sure Julia also refraining from going out.
The Lazione Tailor Shop, no, the Lazione Linen Shop people? The doorman couldn't have refused.
Then is he also the representative of Bocanegro Company, Caruso?
But the visitor was a completely unexpected person.
“Count Cesare... No, it’s the Duke of Pisano.”
Cesare? Ariadne was very upset. She had no business dealing with him. Then it was obvious why Cesare had come.
A person who doesn't even know what's important.
'There's chaos in the capital, and you're so obsessed with women that you're barging into someone else's house?'
But she fully understood why the gatekeeper could not treat the guest coldly.
A mere gatekeeper from the Cardinal's family can't drive out the Duke of Pisano, who has so much influence in the capital.
'In the end, all the unpleasant words are mine.'
Ariadne sighed softly and vowed to herself that she would get Cesare out of the house as quickly as possible and never let him come back.
“Bring me my dressing gown.”
She tied her hair back up.
***
When Ariadne entered the guest room, Cesare turned away from her and looked out the window.
'What kind of pose are you acting like?'
She was momentarily upset.
If a man were to barge into this chaos to see a woman's face, shouldn't he at least pretend to recognize her when she appears, even if he doesn't bring her a bouquet of flowers?
So the words didn't come out smoothly.
Ariadne spoke with a cold rebuke, her voice slightly hushed by the late evening and early night.
“You still have no manners.”
She knew Cesare would take it in stride.
But he turned around without saying anything and looked at her intently. His water-colored eyes looked tired.
"Sorry."
He pretended to be calm, but his voice was hoarse.
Only later did Ariadne notice his attire. Unbecoming of the always elegant illegitimate son of a King, his outer garments were covered in dirt and a mess.
There were scratches on his boots, and upon closer inspection, his hair was tangled and messy, pressed against his hat.
Ariadne asked in bewilderment.
“What’s going on...?”
Cesare looked at her with watery eyes, then opened his lips as if he was reluctant.
“...Help me.”
Ariadne shivered with a sense of foreboding. She had seen this expression, this tone, before.
“...What are you planning to do?”
In her previous life, Count Cesare de Como, before he staged a coup, came to see his fiancée and begged her with exactly this expression.
He needs a messenger to be sent out of the castle, and there's no one else he can ask but her.
“How on earth do you see me?”
But in this life, Cesare de Carlo frowned his handsome forehead.
“Do I look like such a hopeless piece of trash to you?”
'Yes.'
Ariadne, who answered yes without thinking, put her hand on her lips to check if the answer had left her mouth.
“It’s a matter of state. We need food.”
Even back then, he said it was for the country.
“I was dispatched to the Pisano estate with orders to rebuild the border guard.”
“...I heard the story roughly.”
“Things are not good.”
He rubbed his temples.
“The warehouses are empty and the soldiers have fled. The situation on the border is much worse than in the market of San Carlo. The price of grain has risen so steeply that it is better to carry grain than gold.”
Ariadne did not answer but only looked at Cesare attentively.
“Rumor has it that you have more than half of the capital’s wheat reserves.”
Cesare took a step towards Ariadne. She instinctively took a step back.
“Sell it to me.”
This too is deja vu.
“Will you sell me the ‘Heart of the Blue Sea’?”
Words Ariadne really hated hearing, even though it was something that happened in her life.
But maybe it was because she fell in love with someone else in the meantime? Her heart didn't hurt as much as it did then.
She asked, raising the corners of her mouth in a spiteful manner.
“Will you pay the price again for ‘The Swan of Linville’ this time?”
Cesare looked at her, slightly bewildered.
“Do you still remember?”
He smiled a little.
“You really like ‘The Swan of Linville,’ don’t you, Miss?”
Cesare thought of the brooch with the teardrop-shaped diamond set with a pearl. What was it about that diamond that made this woman so obsessed?
“If you want it, I should give it to you. I am the one who is asking for grain, so the method of payment should be according to the creditor’s wishes.”
He strode over to her and looked straight at her. He was close enough that she could feel his breath.
Ariadne tried to take another step back, but her back was already blocked by the display case. She turned her head slightly to the side.
“The amount of wheat required is 4,500 cantaros. I’ll give you a total of 1,500 ducats. What do you think?”
It was enough to feed about 3,000 men for about half a year.
1500 ducats was about twice the market price before the grain price spike, but it was an insignificant amount in the current situation where the price was rising at an unfathomable rate of more than three times.
Cesare whispered to her from the narrow distance.
“I’ll leave ‘The Swan of Linville’ to you in advance.”
The 'Swan of Linville', is a symbol of love.
“We will continue to need to purchase wheat from now on, so let’s consider it as what we paid in advance. Secure my stuff and don’t sell it to anyone else.”
Whispers that were confusing whether they were love or a deal. Cesare was always like that.
“Let’s have a lasting relationship. Sell it to me.”
Cesare smiled charmingly and brought his face very close to Ariadne's lips.
He's handsome like he's carved from marble. He probably can't even imagine rejection.
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