After the Royal Guard at Villa Sortone magically disappeared, Cesare faithfully followed Ariadne's instructions to remain in hiding.
He did not show his face at all at the small social gatherings that began to appear as the Black Death in the capital subsided.
It was to the point that drinking buddies, including Ottavio, came to see Cesare's face but were turned away and sent letters of resentment.
Duke Cesare, who had kicked out all his friends, was being beaten in a strict place.
“I’m good at doing what I’m told, so play with me.”
The Countess's fiancé, who frequented the de Mare mansion and bit all of his friends who came to visit Villa Sortone, harassed the hard-working new Countess.
“Can’t you see I’m working?”
Ariadne answered indifferently, looking at the ledger.
“Unlike others, I don’t get any income from the land even when I play, so I have to keep working to earn money.”
She chased him away, writing something furiously on a piece of paper, making a scratching sound with her pen.
“I don’t want to starve to death, so stop bothering me.”
Clang!
Her concentration was broken by a sack of gold coins falling loudly onto the desk.
“Miss, today’s daily wage!”
Cesare, who held out a sack of gold coins, shouted triumphantly.
“All Ducatls gold coins, 99.6% pure! I’ll give you this, so play with me today.”
It seemed like he had prepared this after being kicked out the day before yesterday with the excuse that he had to work.
But Ariadne didn't move an inch at this point.
“My hourly wage is probably more expensive than this.”
Rather than bargain with Ariadne, Cesare decided to take a more classic approach.
He approached Ariadne, who was sitting on a backless chair, and hugged her from behind, rubbing his cheek against hers.
“I’ll make up for what’s lacking by having fun with you. Come out and play with me today, yes?”
“Where are you touching!”
“We’re already engaged, but I can’t even hug you from behind?”
Ariadne struck Cesare with a blushing face.
The reason she jumped was not because of the hug from behind, but because it felt like a hand had touched her chest.
But she couldn't bring herself to tell him not to touch it, so she just grumbled.
Because Cesare's expression was so innocent, it was hard to tell whether he knew or not.
Cesare took her wrist with an innocent smile on his handsome face.
“Let’s go out and play. I’ve prepared a carriage for you today. I have something I want to show you.”
“You went out to play a few days ago too!”
“Today is the last day this week, yes?”
Ariadne sighed deeply.
“It’s only half a day.”
"Good!"
Cesare took her hand with a bigger smile. She continued to glare at him while holding his hand.
“And since you had fun today, you absolutely must make time for work tomorrow. Do you promise?”
"Promise."
He smiled coolly and linked pinkies with her.
Within seconds, Cesare's bare hand stamped its thumbprint over Ariadne's thin silk glove.
The place Cesare wanted to show her was on the outskirts of San Carlo, near the Forest of Arte, where they had first spent time alone together during the hunting competition.
The winter forests of the northern Etruscan region, which they had entered after a long ride in the Duke of Pisano's carriage, seemed even more mysterious with the green leaves of the lofty evergreen trees intertwined with the yellow shrubs frozen in the cold.
“It was around here, right? That’s where we saw the golden deer.”
“That’s right.”
Cesare spoke wistfully, looking out the carriage window at the passing scenery.
“I’m glad I didn’t catch the golden deer back then.”
"Why?"
“I caught you instead.”
Ariadne looked up at Cesare blankly.
He stared into the endless forest, his chin braced as if a golden deer might leap out at any moment.
“The throne as a goal doesn’t seem that important. What fun would it be once it’s achieved?”
Cesare continued to speak, still looking out the window. He seemed embarrassed to be saying this while looking at Ariadne.
“You are different. Every day we spend together is fun. Even just watching the fireplace burning in the room is fun. How is that possible?”
Ariadne was about to say something but stopped herself because she thought it was too much trouble. Instead, she changed the subject.
“The carriage has slowed down. Are we almost there?”
Cesare said with a smile.
“You’re so perceptive? You’re all here, Miss.”
Soon the horse came to a complete stop. The carriage stopped at the entrance to a small valley.
“It’s pretty.”
She looked around.
“It’s already amazing. The inside is even prettier.”
Cesare got out of the carriage first and escorted her as if he was carrying her. She said with a little discontent.
“I can go down on my own feet too.”
“Do that when you’re alone and there’s no man around to listen to you.”
He took another small, fur-lined blanket from the carriage and wrapped Ariadne in it.
Ariadne, who had suddenly become as fat as a snowman, protested to Cesare.
“This is funny!”
“I’m the only one who’ll see this girl wrapped in a blanket, but it’s okay because she looks pretty to me.”
As Ariadne followed his lead, there was a small stream flowing inside the valley, and when she looked upstream of the stream, shr saw a very small waterfall.
“This is...!”
Ariadne's admiration burst out. Cesare looked back at Ariadne with a proud smile on his face.
“Isn’t it pretty? It’s my secret place.”
Ariadne did not answer Cesare. It was not because she was surprised by his beauty. She also knew this place.
The place where Cesare in her previous life brought young Ariadne to see the lilies of the valley.
“It’ll be much prettier if you come in May, but...”
“...The silver bell flowers are blooming.”
"I know?"
Cesare looked back at her in surprise. She shook her head with a faint smile.
“No. I just thought that valleys like this would be filled with silver bells.”
A past that cannot be spoken of. Memories that cannot be shared even though you were clearly there.
Cesare took Ariadne's gloved hand and pointed it toward a small waterfall.
“In May, a bush of silverbells grows in the space behind that waterfall.”
“It would be pretty.”
She added a moment later.
“I don’t think it will work even if I do it, but it’s amazing.”
A plant that struggles and blooms in the shade where no one can reach. A life that blooms, bears fruit, and somehow survives.
Cesare in her previous life said that the lily of the valley resembled Ariadne because it was 'obedient and focused only on its master.'
It was a wrong story from the beginning. But the conclusion was the same.
The silver bells blooming in the wild fields were just like her because of their strong vitality.
Cesare also grew up desperately in a place where the sun did not shine.
He was twisted, tangled, and stuck in an environment where nothing was given except money, but he survived with all his might and is standing here now.
“I first came to this place when I was young.”
He spoke as if reminiscing about the past.
“It must have been a hunting competition at some point. When I didn’t want to see this or that, I would come here and stay there until I left. Until I got Villa Sortone, I think this was my only space.”
Ariadne looked at Cesare blankly.
So that's how you brought my past self to that space. Was I somewhat precious to him?
Of course, it's a question she can't ask, and even if she did, she wouldn't get the answer she wants to know.
“Where do you usually stay when you come here alone?”
Cesare pointed with his chin to a flat rock on the edge of the stream.
“I used to lie down there and take a long nap. Of course, in the summer.”
He frowned slightly.
“It’s cold in winter.”
Ariadne smiled a little.
“In winter, you need to drink something to warm your body.”
“Huh? What brings you here, Miss?”
Cesare looked puzzled.
“You don’t like alcohol. That’s why I didn’t bring it on purpose.”
“Who said I don’t like it?”
She didn't particularly enjoy alcohol, but she didn't hate it either. She just didn't like Cesare when he was drunk.
“Well. Since you didn’t bring anything, I guess I’ll just enjoy the scenery today.”
Cesare nodded.
“I admire you, young lady.”
“Oh, come on!”
He was a man who never knew how to be serious. Ariadne, who had been silent for a moment, asked Cesare.
“You know.”
"Hmm?"
“Sin... No, is it too grand to call it sin? Where do you think the essence of wrongdoing lies?”
“The nature of the error?”
She chose her words slowly.
“So, for example, a four-year-old child, not knowing what was going on, was playing by the window and dropped something. And then a passerby got hit by the thing and died.”
Cesare frowned.
“On the other hand, there is a serial killer who wants to kill people. The very next day, he stands at the same window, waiting for someone to pass by, and as soon as he sees a passerby, he throws a brick. But his aim is wrong, and the passerby is not hurt at all.”
Ariadne asked.
“Which of you two is guilty?”
Cesare answered immediately without thinking much about it.
“Of course, isn’t it the child’s side?”
“Why?”
The question Ariadne posed was both a judgment and a metaphor for Cesare himself.
Cesare doesn't know what he did in his past life. Can he be forgiven for not knowing?
But Cesare himself, unaware of this, passed harsh judgment on himself.
“The child didn’t intend to, but he caused the result of death, and the serial killer has evil motives and actions, but in the end, no one died.”
Cesare was unrelenting.
“In the end, isn’t everything just about the results? You have to take responsibility for the pedestrian’s death.”
“...I see.”
Ariadne looked silently at the thin waterfall.
Cesare, who hurt her, is no longer here, but her wounds still remain.
As to who should pay for this wound, Cesare answers that it is he.
She suddenly asked one more question.
“Does that waterfall freeze in the middle of winter?”
“...That’s not true. Even if the quantity decreases, it still flows a little bit.”
He added.
“Even if it freezes, it will melt again in the spring of the following year. In the summer, it will fully recover its quantity and pour down powerfully.”
“...I see.”
Everything eventually recovers with time. The seasons return, the sunshine returns, and laughter and faith return.
Cesare recommended.
“When May comes, let’s come back together. I’ll show you the lush waterfall and the silver bell bushes.”
“...”
Ariadne didn't answer. It wasn't an answer she could give right now.
Ariadne, who had just returned from her long-awaited outing, heard from Sancha that a guest had arrived.
“You were waiting in the reception room for a long time.”
“Huh? Who?”
“There is no one coming,” Ariadne muttered, taking off her cloak and handing it to Sancha.
“Would you like some bath water for me? I have to wash up right after meeting guests...”
"Ari!"
Her words were cut off by a man's shout.
“What the heck is going on!”
It was Raphael de Baldessar who had been through the desert and still had his white skin untanned.
He did not show his face at all at the small social gatherings that began to appear as the Black Death in the capital subsided.
It was to the point that drinking buddies, including Ottavio, came to see Cesare's face but were turned away and sent letters of resentment.
Duke Cesare, who had kicked out all his friends, was being beaten in a strict place.
“I’m good at doing what I’m told, so play with me.”
The Countess's fiancé, who frequented the de Mare mansion and bit all of his friends who came to visit Villa Sortone, harassed the hard-working new Countess.
“Can’t you see I’m working?”
Ariadne answered indifferently, looking at the ledger.
“Unlike others, I don’t get any income from the land even when I play, so I have to keep working to earn money.”
She chased him away, writing something furiously on a piece of paper, making a scratching sound with her pen.
“I don’t want to starve to death, so stop bothering me.”
Clang!
Her concentration was broken by a sack of gold coins falling loudly onto the desk.
“Miss, today’s daily wage!”
Cesare, who held out a sack of gold coins, shouted triumphantly.
“All Ducatls gold coins, 99.6% pure! I’ll give you this, so play with me today.”
It seemed like he had prepared this after being kicked out the day before yesterday with the excuse that he had to work.
But Ariadne didn't move an inch at this point.
“My hourly wage is probably more expensive than this.”
Rather than bargain with Ariadne, Cesare decided to take a more classic approach.
He approached Ariadne, who was sitting on a backless chair, and hugged her from behind, rubbing his cheek against hers.
“I’ll make up for what’s lacking by having fun with you. Come out and play with me today, yes?”
“Where are you touching!”
“We’re already engaged, but I can’t even hug you from behind?”
Ariadne struck Cesare with a blushing face.
The reason she jumped was not because of the hug from behind, but because it felt like a hand had touched her chest.
But she couldn't bring herself to tell him not to touch it, so she just grumbled.
Because Cesare's expression was so innocent, it was hard to tell whether he knew or not.
Cesare took her wrist with an innocent smile on his handsome face.
“Let’s go out and play. I’ve prepared a carriage for you today. I have something I want to show you.”
“You went out to play a few days ago too!”
“Today is the last day this week, yes?”
Ariadne sighed deeply.
“It’s only half a day.”
"Good!"
Cesare took her hand with a bigger smile. She continued to glare at him while holding his hand.
“And since you had fun today, you absolutely must make time for work tomorrow. Do you promise?”
"Promise."
He smiled coolly and linked pinkies with her.
Within seconds, Cesare's bare hand stamped its thumbprint over Ariadne's thin silk glove.
***
The place Cesare wanted to show her was on the outskirts of San Carlo, near the Forest of Arte, where they had first spent time alone together during the hunting competition.
The winter forests of the northern Etruscan region, which they had entered after a long ride in the Duke of Pisano's carriage, seemed even more mysterious with the green leaves of the lofty evergreen trees intertwined with the yellow shrubs frozen in the cold.
“It was around here, right? That’s where we saw the golden deer.”
“That’s right.”
Cesare spoke wistfully, looking out the carriage window at the passing scenery.
“I’m glad I didn’t catch the golden deer back then.”
"Why?"
“I caught you instead.”
Ariadne looked up at Cesare blankly.
He stared into the endless forest, his chin braced as if a golden deer might leap out at any moment.
“The throne as a goal doesn’t seem that important. What fun would it be once it’s achieved?”
Cesare continued to speak, still looking out the window. He seemed embarrassed to be saying this while looking at Ariadne.
“You are different. Every day we spend together is fun. Even just watching the fireplace burning in the room is fun. How is that possible?”
Ariadne was about to say something but stopped herself because she thought it was too much trouble. Instead, she changed the subject.
“The carriage has slowed down. Are we almost there?”
Cesare said with a smile.
“You’re so perceptive? You’re all here, Miss.”
Soon the horse came to a complete stop. The carriage stopped at the entrance to a small valley.
“It’s pretty.”
She looked around.
“It’s already amazing. The inside is even prettier.”
Cesare got out of the carriage first and escorted her as if he was carrying her. She said with a little discontent.
“I can go down on my own feet too.”
“Do that when you’re alone and there’s no man around to listen to you.”
He took another small, fur-lined blanket from the carriage and wrapped Ariadne in it.
Ariadne, who had suddenly become as fat as a snowman, protested to Cesare.
“This is funny!”
“I’m the only one who’ll see this girl wrapped in a blanket, but it’s okay because she looks pretty to me.”
As Ariadne followed his lead, there was a small stream flowing inside the valley, and when she looked upstream of the stream, shr saw a very small waterfall.
“This is...!”
Ariadne's admiration burst out. Cesare looked back at Ariadne with a proud smile on his face.
“Isn’t it pretty? It’s my secret place.”
Ariadne did not answer Cesare. It was not because she was surprised by his beauty. She also knew this place.
The place where Cesare in her previous life brought young Ariadne to see the lilies of the valley.
“It’ll be much prettier if you come in May, but...”
“...The silver bell flowers are blooming.”
"I know?"
Cesare looked back at her in surprise. She shook her head with a faint smile.
“No. I just thought that valleys like this would be filled with silver bells.”
A past that cannot be spoken of. Memories that cannot be shared even though you were clearly there.
Cesare took Ariadne's gloved hand and pointed it toward a small waterfall.
“In May, a bush of silverbells grows in the space behind that waterfall.”
“It would be pretty.”
She added a moment later.
“I don’t think it will work even if I do it, but it’s amazing.”
A plant that struggles and blooms in the shade where no one can reach. A life that blooms, bears fruit, and somehow survives.
Cesare in her previous life said that the lily of the valley resembled Ariadne because it was 'obedient and focused only on its master.'
It was a wrong story from the beginning. But the conclusion was the same.
The silver bells blooming in the wild fields were just like her because of their strong vitality.
Cesare also grew up desperately in a place where the sun did not shine.
He was twisted, tangled, and stuck in an environment where nothing was given except money, but he survived with all his might and is standing here now.
“I first came to this place when I was young.”
He spoke as if reminiscing about the past.
“It must have been a hunting competition at some point. When I didn’t want to see this or that, I would come here and stay there until I left. Until I got Villa Sortone, I think this was my only space.”
Ariadne looked at Cesare blankly.
So that's how you brought my past self to that space. Was I somewhat precious to him?
Of course, it's a question she can't ask, and even if she did, she wouldn't get the answer she wants to know.
“Where do you usually stay when you come here alone?”
Cesare pointed with his chin to a flat rock on the edge of the stream.
“I used to lie down there and take a long nap. Of course, in the summer.”
He frowned slightly.
“It’s cold in winter.”
Ariadne smiled a little.
“In winter, you need to drink something to warm your body.”
“Huh? What brings you here, Miss?”
Cesare looked puzzled.
“You don’t like alcohol. That’s why I didn’t bring it on purpose.”
“Who said I don’t like it?”
She didn't particularly enjoy alcohol, but she didn't hate it either. She just didn't like Cesare when he was drunk.
“Well. Since you didn’t bring anything, I guess I’ll just enjoy the scenery today.”
Cesare nodded.
“I admire you, young lady.”
“Oh, come on!”
He was a man who never knew how to be serious. Ariadne, who had been silent for a moment, asked Cesare.
“You know.”
"Hmm?"
“Sin... No, is it too grand to call it sin? Where do you think the essence of wrongdoing lies?”
“The nature of the error?”
She chose her words slowly.
“So, for example, a four-year-old child, not knowing what was going on, was playing by the window and dropped something. And then a passerby got hit by the thing and died.”
Cesare frowned.
“On the other hand, there is a serial killer who wants to kill people. The very next day, he stands at the same window, waiting for someone to pass by, and as soon as he sees a passerby, he throws a brick. But his aim is wrong, and the passerby is not hurt at all.”
Ariadne asked.
“Which of you two is guilty?”
Cesare answered immediately without thinking much about it.
“Of course, isn’t it the child’s side?”
“Why?”
The question Ariadne posed was both a judgment and a metaphor for Cesare himself.
Cesare doesn't know what he did in his past life. Can he be forgiven for not knowing?
But Cesare himself, unaware of this, passed harsh judgment on himself.
“The child didn’t intend to, but he caused the result of death, and the serial killer has evil motives and actions, but in the end, no one died.”
Cesare was unrelenting.
“In the end, isn’t everything just about the results? You have to take responsibility for the pedestrian’s death.”
“...I see.”
Ariadne looked silently at the thin waterfall.
Cesare, who hurt her, is no longer here, but her wounds still remain.
As to who should pay for this wound, Cesare answers that it is he.
She suddenly asked one more question.
“Does that waterfall freeze in the middle of winter?”
“...That’s not true. Even if the quantity decreases, it still flows a little bit.”
He added.
“Even if it freezes, it will melt again in the spring of the following year. In the summer, it will fully recover its quantity and pour down powerfully.”
“...I see.”
Everything eventually recovers with time. The seasons return, the sunshine returns, and laughter and faith return.
Cesare recommended.
“When May comes, let’s come back together. I’ll show you the lush waterfall and the silver bell bushes.”
“...”
Ariadne didn't answer. It wasn't an answer she could give right now.
***
Ariadne, who had just returned from her long-awaited outing, heard from Sancha that a guest had arrived.
“You were waiting in the reception room for a long time.”
“Huh? Who?”
“There is no one coming,” Ariadne muttered, taking off her cloak and handing it to Sancha.
“Would you like some bath water for me? I have to wash up right after meeting guests...”
"Ari!"
Her words were cut off by a man's shout.
“What the heck is going on!”
It was Raphael de Baldessar who had been through the desert and still had his white skin untanned.
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