Cesare had no inkling that he might be rejected.
With his natural good looks and his newfound status as the Duke of Pisano, Cesare saw no reason why he should be rejected.
That relaxed air could be read in his expression, his gaze, and his attitude.
But Ariadne answered without even a trace of expression.
"No, I do not want."
"What?"
Cesare asked in embarrassment. He even stuttered slightly.
“I guess it’s not a bad offer for you either, young lady?”
Ariadne nodded at that. Selling grain to the Duke of Pisano was not a bad deal.
Cesare was basically looking for bulk purchases and, above all, a consistent and stable trading partner.
In a time when public security is becoming increasingly unstable, the added advantage of being able to take it as soon as it is released from the warehouse is a bonus.
It didn't matter that he had asked for an absurdly low price. The winner here was Ariadne, not Cesare.
She has the capacity and the nerve to raise the price enough.
But there was a reason why she rejected it right away without even trying to negotiate.
Today, it was Cesare's mistake to offer 'The Swan of Linville' as a prize.
“You came without telling His Majesty the King?”
"What?"
If he had informed Leo III, the grain would have been paid in gold ducats from the palace budget, not in the "Swans of Linville," which were Cesare's personal property.
“If it were truly a matter of state, you would have received the King’s command and come here waving a royal decree.”
"Ha!"
That was so true that Cesare had no words.
Yes, Cesare would have reported this to Leo III, and then he would have appeared in broad daylight, carrying the King's decree.
The reason he came to Ariadne like a thief in the middle of the night was because he wanted to show off his abilities without complaining to his father.
“You are so greedy for fame that you are doing it for yourself while at the same time doing it for the country? How shameless.”
Cesare's face was now turning red and blue, its colors changing in a myriad of ways.
“And you’re slamming the price? 1 ducat for 3 cantaros? You have no conscience at the current price!”
Ariadne was wedged between Cesare and the dresser. She slid out and leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs.
“Get out of my house, you idiot Susano.”
She had no intention of taking part in anything that would bring Cesare closer to the throne.
The past will not repeat itself.
Cesare, the Duke of Pisano, was driven out without making a fuss. It was the last of his pride.
It may be funny to see a brat like that, but if you cause a ruckus at your girlfriend's house, you will lose the honor of showing your face in the capital.
The very next day, Ariadne broke her long seclusion and went to the Rambouillet asylum.
The goal was to stop by a relief center to check out the situation and take a walk around Campo de Spezia, an area with a high concentration of foreigners and low-income people.
She was wrapped tightly around her body in a wax-covered cloak, which was said to be effective in preventing the Black Death, and her face was covered with a towel.
“Provide wax cloaks to all attendants as well.”
“Yes, Miss.”
She lifted her heavy buttocks and left the house because she wasn't sure what Cesare, now the Duke of Pisano, would do.
The peaceful purchase went over the water. If it was the Cesare she knew? The next step was conscription.
No, even if Cesare did nothing, Leo III's army would come rushing in demanding grain.
It was only a matter of time. At that point, she might actually lose everything she had without even trying to negotiate the price.
'State power can never be defeated by money.'
She was meant to be a protector of the poor, a mother of refugees. As has been the case since ancient times, the best protection for a woman in danger is her reputation.
'If you touch me with even one finger, I'll make you burst.'
If he takes away the food that she is feeding the poor in the capital city with his own money and says he will supply it to the military, there will be an uprising within the capital city without even having to go to the border.
Leo III had better watch out if he didn't want to see angry citizens marching towards the Palagio Carlo, waving torches.
'I need to cash it out, but...'
Ariadne did this to make money.
Moreover, although grain prices have risen sharply, some of it must still be sold to pay the promised payment to Bocanegro.
'Well, there's also a black market...'
Things will turn around if she gets caught, but she'll figure it out somehow. She decided to worry about the rest later.
Ariadne deliberately rode a horse today instead of a carriage to increase visibility.
'I want you to see with your own eyes who is responsible for your meals and spread the word.'
She was accompanied by a retinue of nearly thirty sturdy men. Even if they were the private army of a great nobleman, they were trustworthy men and armed.
Power must be exercised properly when used, and no amount of caution is enough when it comes to safety.
They were followed by wagons carrying grain and wagons carrying baked bread.
The grain was meant for the Rambouillet relief home.
She slowly crossed the front of the garden, pulling a carriage that was deliberately left uncovered so that the grains of wheat could be seen clearly.
After meeting with the office manager, she stopped in front of the shelter to talk to the residents, shake hands with the children, and even handed out a handful of bread.
Giuseppe, who was standing right next to Ariadne and guarding all of this, didn't look too happy.
When they were just far enough away that the poor people couldn't hear them, Ariadne smiled and asked Giuseppe.
“Why, do you find me disgusting?”
Giuseppe shook his head a moment later.
“Oh, no.”
He added bitterly.
“I think you got too close for hygiene reasons...”
No matter how she heard it, it was an excuse.
Unlike Sancha, who had her thought circuits completely washed with those of the master's house due to her love for Ariadne, Giuseppe thought as he was born and raised.
Ariadne heard that Giuseppe was not from the Rambouillet relief home but from the slums of Campo de' Spezia.
If he had been caught pickpocketing on the street, he would have been an inmate of the Rambouillet Home rather than an apprentice coachman for the Cardinal de Marais.
It seems that he sympathized more with the inmates than with the girl who was throwing bread.
“They’re all just trying to eat and live.”
"Yes?"
How does giving food to others help you make a living?
“Good deeds are ultimately a shield that protects me. In that sense, what I did was not truly good. I did not act with good intentions.”
She hopped onto her white horse, her new one after the brown mare died during the hunt.
“But who else but me is feeding the poor in San Carlo these days?”
There was no one. The nobles had locked the front doors tightly and did not come out of their houses, and even the King let go and looked up at the sky.
The high officials of the Holy See also spoke gently but did not open the granary.
It was only natural. No one knew how long this plague would last, and everyone had to protect their families, their armies, and their organizations.
“When judging the goodness or evil of an action, you can use either the motive or the result as a standard.”
Giuseppe looked confused.
Ariadne didn't expect him to understand what she was saying. It was more like a monologue.
“It would be perfect if both were in agreement. However, if you really have to use only one of the two as a criterion for judging good and evil, I think the result is more important than the motive.”
Killing one person with good intentions or saving ten thousand with selfish motives. Which is a better act?
She was convinced it was the latter.
"Let's go."
The next destination was Giuseppe's hometown, Campo de' Spezia.
“It has changed a lot.”
Giuseppe said bitterly. Campo de' Spezia, which had been a densely populated area of low-income people, had now become a gathering place for Gypsies and Moors.
However, the wariness toward outsiders did not change regardless of the skin color of the residents.
As Ariadne and her party entered Campo de Spezia, anxious eyes were drawn to the sight of a group of armed men and a woman standing in their center.
They were people who were afraid that they would be hacked.
“I heard that His Majesty the King was swept up in something a while ago.”
Ariadne asked Giuseppe. He nodded.
“They say that soldiers would come and drag you out and throw you outside the castle walls if you even sneezed.”
“Let’s pitch a tent. We need to show them that not all armed men are bad people.”
Ariadne's attendants took a makeshift tent out of the carriage and began to assemble it in the square.
People stood at a distance but still crowded around to watch what was going on.
Ariadne stood on her white horse by the fountain in the center of the square and watched the tent being built.
As soon as the tent was up, Giuseppe unloaded the bread from the wagon and shouted:
“Everyone! We are from the family of Cardinal de Mare!”
The eyes of those who saw the bread were shining. Among them, is a person from the Holy See. Could it be that they were giving food?
“Today’s food has been prepared with the private funds of Ariadne de Mare, the second daughter of the de Mare family! Line up and take one each! There are a thousand prepared!”
At those words, people started running towards the center of the square. It was chaos.
“One line! One line!”
The shouts of Giuseppe and the other attendants and the voices of excited residents echoed through the square.
Ariadne thought that next time she should also bring some face towels to hand out to the residents.
It is a health hazard that so many people are crowded together in public places.
Through the noise, an unfamiliar sound flew into Ariadne's ears.
“You’re a special person, sister?”
The voice was a child's, high-pitched voice. She looked down.
Although he did have a Moorish accent, he spoke Etruscan naturally, as a child.
Thinking of him as a child, she let her guard down and answered softly.
“Are you happy to receive bread?”
The boy, who looked to be about eight or nine years old, smiled brightly, but his expression was not clearly visible because he had a towel wrapped around his face.
He was the only child in the square, other than Ariadne and her companions, who were wearing a face veil.
“Are you wearing a towel?”
The child answered brightly.
“We are sorcerers and alchemists from the East! We know what to do about the Black Death!”
A sorcerer from the East. Ariadne's eyes sparkled.
Up until now, she's only met conception scammers, but maybe this time it's someone real.
But as a child, he looks exactly like the beggar children in Campo de Spezia. With only a face towel wrapped around him...
“The halo of light on your fingertips shines so beautifully!”
Ariadne's expression hardened.
This is real.
She jumped down from her horse at once. Ariadne grabbed the boy's hand.
“Let’s talk.”
With his natural good looks and his newfound status as the Duke of Pisano, Cesare saw no reason why he should be rejected.
That relaxed air could be read in his expression, his gaze, and his attitude.
But Ariadne answered without even a trace of expression.
"No, I do not want."
"What?"
Cesare asked in embarrassment. He even stuttered slightly.
“I guess it’s not a bad offer for you either, young lady?”
Ariadne nodded at that. Selling grain to the Duke of Pisano was not a bad deal.
Cesare was basically looking for bulk purchases and, above all, a consistent and stable trading partner.
In a time when public security is becoming increasingly unstable, the added advantage of being able to take it as soon as it is released from the warehouse is a bonus.
It didn't matter that he had asked for an absurdly low price. The winner here was Ariadne, not Cesare.
She has the capacity and the nerve to raise the price enough.
But there was a reason why she rejected it right away without even trying to negotiate.
Today, it was Cesare's mistake to offer 'The Swan of Linville' as a prize.
“You came without telling His Majesty the King?”
"What?"
If he had informed Leo III, the grain would have been paid in gold ducats from the palace budget, not in the "Swans of Linville," which were Cesare's personal property.
“If it were truly a matter of state, you would have received the King’s command and come here waving a royal decree.”
"Ha!"
That was so true that Cesare had no words.
Yes, Cesare would have reported this to Leo III, and then he would have appeared in broad daylight, carrying the King's decree.
The reason he came to Ariadne like a thief in the middle of the night was because he wanted to show off his abilities without complaining to his father.
“You are so greedy for fame that you are doing it for yourself while at the same time doing it for the country? How shameless.”
Cesare's face was now turning red and blue, its colors changing in a myriad of ways.
“And you’re slamming the price? 1 ducat for 3 cantaros? You have no conscience at the current price!”
Ariadne was wedged between Cesare and the dresser. She slid out and leaned back on the sofa, crossing her legs.
“Get out of my house, you idiot Susano.”
She had no intention of taking part in anything that would bring Cesare closer to the throne.
The past will not repeat itself.
***
Cesare, the Duke of Pisano, was driven out without making a fuss. It was the last of his pride.
It may be funny to see a brat like that, but if you cause a ruckus at your girlfriend's house, you will lose the honor of showing your face in the capital.
The very next day, Ariadne broke her long seclusion and went to the Rambouillet asylum.
The goal was to stop by a relief center to check out the situation and take a walk around Campo de Spezia, an area with a high concentration of foreigners and low-income people.
She was wrapped tightly around her body in a wax-covered cloak, which was said to be effective in preventing the Black Death, and her face was covered with a towel.
“Provide wax cloaks to all attendants as well.”
“Yes, Miss.”
She lifted her heavy buttocks and left the house because she wasn't sure what Cesare, now the Duke of Pisano, would do.
The peaceful purchase went over the water. If it was the Cesare she knew? The next step was conscription.
No, even if Cesare did nothing, Leo III's army would come rushing in demanding grain.
It was only a matter of time. At that point, she might actually lose everything she had without even trying to negotiate the price.
'State power can never be defeated by money.'
She was meant to be a protector of the poor, a mother of refugees. As has been the case since ancient times, the best protection for a woman in danger is her reputation.
'If you touch me with even one finger, I'll make you burst.'
If he takes away the food that she is feeding the poor in the capital city with his own money and says he will supply it to the military, there will be an uprising within the capital city without even having to go to the border.
Leo III had better watch out if he didn't want to see angry citizens marching towards the Palagio Carlo, waving torches.
'I need to cash it out, but...'
Ariadne did this to make money.
Moreover, although grain prices have risen sharply, some of it must still be sold to pay the promised payment to Bocanegro.
'Well, there's also a black market...'
Things will turn around if she gets caught, but she'll figure it out somehow. She decided to worry about the rest later.
Ariadne deliberately rode a horse today instead of a carriage to increase visibility.
'I want you to see with your own eyes who is responsible for your meals and spread the word.'
She was accompanied by a retinue of nearly thirty sturdy men. Even if they were the private army of a great nobleman, they were trustworthy men and armed.
Power must be exercised properly when used, and no amount of caution is enough when it comes to safety.
They were followed by wagons carrying grain and wagons carrying baked bread.
The grain was meant for the Rambouillet relief home.
She slowly crossed the front of the garden, pulling a carriage that was deliberately left uncovered so that the grains of wheat could be seen clearly.
After meeting with the office manager, she stopped in front of the shelter to talk to the residents, shake hands with the children, and even handed out a handful of bread.
Giuseppe, who was standing right next to Ariadne and guarding all of this, didn't look too happy.
When they were just far enough away that the poor people couldn't hear them, Ariadne smiled and asked Giuseppe.
“Why, do you find me disgusting?”
Giuseppe shook his head a moment later.
“Oh, no.”
He added bitterly.
“I think you got too close for hygiene reasons...”
No matter how she heard it, it was an excuse.
Unlike Sancha, who had her thought circuits completely washed with those of the master's house due to her love for Ariadne, Giuseppe thought as he was born and raised.
Ariadne heard that Giuseppe was not from the Rambouillet relief home but from the slums of Campo de' Spezia.
If he had been caught pickpocketing on the street, he would have been an inmate of the Rambouillet Home rather than an apprentice coachman for the Cardinal de Marais.
It seems that he sympathized more with the inmates than with the girl who was throwing bread.
“They’re all just trying to eat and live.”
"Yes?"
How does giving food to others help you make a living?
“Good deeds are ultimately a shield that protects me. In that sense, what I did was not truly good. I did not act with good intentions.”
She hopped onto her white horse, her new one after the brown mare died during the hunt.
“But who else but me is feeding the poor in San Carlo these days?”
There was no one. The nobles had locked the front doors tightly and did not come out of their houses, and even the King let go and looked up at the sky.
The high officials of the Holy See also spoke gently but did not open the granary.
It was only natural. No one knew how long this plague would last, and everyone had to protect their families, their armies, and their organizations.
“When judging the goodness or evil of an action, you can use either the motive or the result as a standard.”
Giuseppe looked confused.
Ariadne didn't expect him to understand what she was saying. It was more like a monologue.
“It would be perfect if both were in agreement. However, if you really have to use only one of the two as a criterion for judging good and evil, I think the result is more important than the motive.”
Killing one person with good intentions or saving ten thousand with selfish motives. Which is a better act?
She was convinced it was the latter.
"Let's go."
The next destination was Giuseppe's hometown, Campo de' Spezia.
***
“It has changed a lot.”
Giuseppe said bitterly. Campo de' Spezia, which had been a densely populated area of low-income people, had now become a gathering place for Gypsies and Moors.
However, the wariness toward outsiders did not change regardless of the skin color of the residents.
As Ariadne and her party entered Campo de Spezia, anxious eyes were drawn to the sight of a group of armed men and a woman standing in their center.
They were people who were afraid that they would be hacked.
“I heard that His Majesty the King was swept up in something a while ago.”
Ariadne asked Giuseppe. He nodded.
“They say that soldiers would come and drag you out and throw you outside the castle walls if you even sneezed.”
“Let’s pitch a tent. We need to show them that not all armed men are bad people.”
Ariadne's attendants took a makeshift tent out of the carriage and began to assemble it in the square.
People stood at a distance but still crowded around to watch what was going on.
Ariadne stood on her white horse by the fountain in the center of the square and watched the tent being built.
As soon as the tent was up, Giuseppe unloaded the bread from the wagon and shouted:
“Everyone! We are from the family of Cardinal de Mare!”
The eyes of those who saw the bread were shining. Among them, is a person from the Holy See. Could it be that they were giving food?
“Today’s food has been prepared with the private funds of Ariadne de Mare, the second daughter of the de Mare family! Line up and take one each! There are a thousand prepared!”
At those words, people started running towards the center of the square. It was chaos.
“One line! One line!”
The shouts of Giuseppe and the other attendants and the voices of excited residents echoed through the square.
Ariadne thought that next time she should also bring some face towels to hand out to the residents.
It is a health hazard that so many people are crowded together in public places.
Through the noise, an unfamiliar sound flew into Ariadne's ears.
“You’re a special person, sister?”
The voice was a child's, high-pitched voice. She looked down.
Although he did have a Moorish accent, he spoke Etruscan naturally, as a child.
Thinking of him as a child, she let her guard down and answered softly.
“Are you happy to receive bread?”
The boy, who looked to be about eight or nine years old, smiled brightly, but his expression was not clearly visible because he had a towel wrapped around his face.
He was the only child in the square, other than Ariadne and her companions, who were wearing a face veil.
“Are you wearing a towel?”
The child answered brightly.
“We are sorcerers and alchemists from the East! We know what to do about the Black Death!”
A sorcerer from the East. Ariadne's eyes sparkled.
Up until now, she's only met conception scammers, but maybe this time it's someone real.
But as a child, he looks exactly like the beggar children in Campo de Spezia. With only a face towel wrapped around him...
“The halo of light on your fingertips shines so beautifully!”
Ariadne's expression hardened.
This is real.
She jumped down from her horse at once. Ariadne grabbed the boy's hand.
“Let’s talk.”
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