“Raphael!”
Ariadne cried out his name, half in surprise, half in joy.
“You came back safely!”
At first glance, Raphael's white skin looked spotless and radiant despite his long journey through the desert, but upon closer inspection, traces of hardship were visible.
The cruel sun of the South left its mark on him, with pale burn marks, rough skin, and dull hair.
"Oh my God!"
Ariadne was so happy and sad to see Raphael that she grabbed his hand.
But Raphael hugged her as if he was holding her. It was a bit deep for a hug between friends.
But Ariadne couldn't care less about the density of the hug after Raphael's next words.
“You’re engaged to Duke Cesare! Ari! Are you okay?”
“Ah... That...”
Ariadne asked Sancha first.
“Would you like two cups of tea brought to the living room?”
“Yes, Miss!”
Next was Raphael.
“...Raphael, let’s go in and talk.”
Only then did Raphael come to his senses, release the hug, and nod.
They moved to the reception room.
Raphael entered the living room of the de Mare family, which had become so familiar to him that it felt like his own home, and found a strange man's gloves on the sofa.
They were green deerskin gloves.
“This is...”
Ariadne blushed when she saw the glove in Raphael's hand.
“Oh my. It seems the maids have neglected to clean the house.”
She added, pulling the rope and calling the maid to retrieve the gloves.
“It’s embarrassing.”
However, it is unknown whether the embarrassment was actually related to the state of cleaning.
Ariadne and Raphael finally put their gloves aside and placed their teacups in the middle, sitting across from each other with a lot of questions for each other.
It was Raphael who first opened the door to questioning.
“What happened to you, Duke Cesare?”
“That was... so sudden.”
Ariadne had no secrets from Raphael.
He is a close friend who knows everything about her love story with Prince Alfonso, which is the most carefully guarded secret, and the story of Queen Marguerite's safe deposit box at the Rambouillet Relief Center, except for one secret that cannot be told to anyone.
“Raphael should be the only one who knows. Not even Marquis Baldessar.”
“When was I ever so open-mouthed?”
Raphael answered slightly bewildered.
“My parents think that I suddenly became religious and went on a pilgrimage to the battlefield.”
Ariadne couldn't help but smile sheepishly.
“...I’m sorry. I was worried about you.”
She told Raphael the story of Leo III's choice of a Queen.
"Crazy!"
Raphael covered his mouth with his hand as the tea he was drinking spilled over into his clothes.
“Cough cough cough!”
"Are you okay?"
“Cough! Cough! Okay, it’s okay.”
He barely managed to calm down, but his face and the back of his neck were all red due to his blood pressure rising.
“Is the King losing his mind? He is so old, what is this..!”
If rebels were advancing on the capital right now, he would be ready to surrender at any moment.
Ariadne tried her best to dissuade the angry Raphael.
It didn't matter how much they cursed Leo III when he wasn't around because if they kept doing that, the blood vessels in Raphael's eyes would really burst.
“It’s okay, it’s all over!”
She ran her fingers through her hair as she continued to explain to Raphael.
“Duke Cesare threatened His Majesty the King just before the edict was issued and changed its content. From marriage to an engagement to the Duke. I am safe.”
Raphael had no choice but to agree with this part.
“Ha... He’s a friend I don’t like, but there are days when he does useful things.”
Ariadne was at pains to emphasize that Cesare sometimes did sane things.
It was an objective fact that Cesare had sacrificed much for Ariadne in this incident.
“It wasn’t a riot. Duke Cesare’s private army entered the Palazzo Carlo and some people were killed.”
Raphael asked the first question.
“But His Majesty left him alone?”
Ariadne was caught in a rage.
“He was dismissed from his position as Commander-in-Chief... I barely managed to stop His Majesty from putting him under house arrest.”
Ariadne did not bother to explain to Raphael what she had done for Cesare—her plea for his life, her offering of grain.
She tried to convince herself that Raphael didn't need to know, but she couldn't clearly see that there was something inside her that she was embarrassed to tell Raphael.
Without even having the time to reflect on her own feelings, Ariadne continued to explain herself to Raphael.
“I’m sorry and grateful that he took such a risk because of me.”
Here Raphael asked a second question, sharp as a knife.
“Why on earth did Duke Cesare take such a risk?”
“That is...”
Ariadne was speechless.
When Leo III asked the same question, she replied, "It was because Cesare wanted to protect Alfonso's love."
It was such a shallow lie that even Leo III saw through it in an instant.
Raphael, who grew up with Alfonso since childhood and knows the relationship between Cesare and Alfonso, and the entire story of Ariadne and Alfonso, would definitely not believe this lie.
She ended up confessing the truth.
“I guess he likes me.”
When she said it out loud, something felt very strange and funny.
That Cesare de Como loves Ariadne de Mare.
But this honest and shabby answer sounded strange even to Raphael's ears.
“Yes? That Count Cesare?”
Cesare de Como, now Carlo, was originally a Count, but was promoted to Duke, and was the illegitimate son of the King.
The worst man in the capital, Casanova, always makes women cry. A delinquent who touches both married and virgin women.
A man like that would risk his life and go on an adventure because he loved a woman?
Raphael asked again in disbelief.
“There is no other history?”
Raphael asked if Cesare wanted Ariadne's wealth or if he had some other ulterior motive, but Ariadne felt a stinging sensation on her feet.
The episode at the hunting competition, the proposal at the masquerade ball, and her assistance in repelling the Gallico army that had entered the border, all might have seemed strange to anyone who knew of her relationship with Alfonso.
Ariadne at the time could boast to the heavens that she had acted appropriately, but others may have seen it differently.
“...I don’t know exactly.”
In the end, what came out of her tongue was a lie.
'Why am I like this?'
And Raphael, who did not trust Duke Cesare in the least, replied with a frown at Ariadne's answer.
“He’s a guy with a plan. You never know what he might do.”
If Cesare heard this now, he would be so resentful that he would go crazy, but considering his record up to now, it was a very reasonable suspicion.
Raphael said, patting his chest.
“If he ever tries to act suspiciously, just tell me. I’ll protect you.”
“...Thank you.”
Raphael didn't stop there.
“Since this is an engagement that His Majesty the King personally ordered, it cannot be called off without a great reason. However, Count Cesare... no, Duke Cesare is not the type of person to be quiet, is he?”
Raphael said with confidence.
“There will definitely be an accident.”
“...”
Ariadne certainly could not deny that Raphael had valid suspicions.
“...That could be the case.”
“You can break the engagement at that moment by finding a reason. Don’t worry. I won’t let you be dragged away to become the Duchess of Pisano without any protection.”
Ariadne felt slightly awkward at Raphael's words, which seemed slightly inconsistent.
Why Raphael and not Alfonso? Are you saying that you would go that far for your friend?
But there may be something special about friendships built from a very young age.
Having no old friends, she moved on to the next topic without thinking too deeply.
“Yes, Raphael. Did you see Alfonso well? How was he? How is he?”
This time it was Raphael's turn to answer. He managed to keep a smile on his face without much trouble.
It's a situation he's simulated dozens of times on his way back on the boat.
A painting in which Ariadne misses Alfonso ardently and tells him about his recent activities.
“He was healthy. He looked good.”
Raphael shared with her stories about Alfonso's reputation as an undefeated knight within the Crusades, how he had many subordinates under his command due to his popularity, and how his position would become even more solid thanks to the military funds sent by Ariadne.
A light sparkled in Ariadne's eyes, and a smile appeared on her lips.
Raphael felt both delight at her joy and bitterness at the fact that he had not been the one to bring about that sparkle.
“It was so, so good.”
She was genuinely delighted with Alfonso's military exploits.
In her last life, he was the legitimate Prince who had lost before he could even bloom. And Ariadne had a significant share of the responsibility for that.
Ariadne still vividly remembered the weight of the Prince falling from his seat as soon as he finished eating the sanguinaccio dolce and hitting the marble floor.
It felt like paying off an old debt.
“I believe Alfonso can be much better than he is now.”
Ariadne's face glowed with confidence. Alfonso de Carlo was a man who had been said to have the makings of a Saint since his youth.
It wasn't for nothing that the story of the 'Golden Prince' spread throughout the Central Continent.
“If it’s Alfonso, he’ll be more than enough.”
Raphael confirmed Ariadne's words. Despite the strange rivalry he felt toward Alfonso, Raphael acknowledged Alfonso.
Alfonso had a special quality as a monarch that was different from simply being great at nothing.
But as great as a monarch is great, Ariadne had other questions.
“By the way... Raphael, have you received anything from Alfonso?”
She asked with a blush on her face.
“Letter or something.”
“Ah...”
Raphael realized that the time he had been dreading had arrived.
“That’s...”
He trailed off for a while and finally confessed.
“I couldn’t receive it.”
A dark aura immediately fell over Ariadne's expression.
“...”
The first thought that occurred to her mind was, is Alfonso not even interested in talking to her?
But she didn't dare to ask Raphael that.
And Raphael, who was quick-witted, immediately knew what Ariadne was afraid of, even though she didn't ask out loud.
“Oh, no. That’s not it.”
He waved his hand.
“It was all my fault. Alfonso left the camp shortly after I arrived because of a battle, and he did not return for three days and nights.”
"Yes?"
When Ariadne heard that story, her face paled in another way.
“Are he okay?”
Raphael reassured her.
“They say it’s a normal thing. Once they go out on a chase, they take prisoners, collect the loot, and come back. They say it takes about that long.”
He continued his explanation.
“I missed the timing to give your letter to Alfonso, so I left it with Alfonso’s person and returned. That’s why I didn’t get a reply. How could Alfonso receive your letter and not write a reply?”
From Raphael's point of view, it would have been a good thing if Ariadne had misunderstood, become discouraged, and hated Alfonso.
But he gave up the idea of being a vulgar swindler in love.
Raphael sincerely comforted Ariadne.
“Please, don’t think negative thoughts. If only there was a reliable means of delivering letters, you would receive a reply right away.”
Her face was still dark. Raphael wanted to cheer Ariadne up, so he changed the conversation to another task she had asked him to do.
“And I have also handled your other request well.
“I asked the abbot of Ifrocha and a monk in the port city of Valianti.”
The task that Ariadne had asked Raphael to do was to secure someone to cross-check the goods that the Bocanegro merchants were carrying.
Ifrocha was an island that all ships from the Central Continent heading to the Moorish Empire would stop by for supplies, and Valianti was the largest port entering Yesak.
Since from now on, the merchants of Bocanegro were to head to Yesak with Alfonso's military funds without Raphael, Ariadne arranged for a trustworthy person to record the amount of gold each merchant brought from each port of call and send it to San Carlo.
The two priests were unaware of each other's existence.
The delivery from Bocanegro was to be to Valianti, and the inland caravans of the Republic of Porto, which the Third Crusade used to receive supplies regularly, would handle the journey from Valianti to the battlefield.
Suppose there is a difference between the amount sent by Ariadne, the amount recorded by the two priests and sent to San Carlo, and the amount finally received by Alfonso locally. In that case, it will reveal who manipulated it, when, and where.
Raphael spoke to Ariadne reassuringly.
“Now, the military funds will flow to Alfonso without much trouble, so don’t worry too much. As soon as Alfonso has some free time, he will reply right away. He seemed very busy.”
Raphael tried to reassure the dispirited Ariadne by telling her at length about the strange and unusual scenery of the Latgalin region.
“I’ve never seen such a terrain before. It’s very different from the Central Continent.”
“...I want to go there someday too.”
“Do you like to work hard?”
“No, not really.”
“It’s not worth going through all that trouble to see.”
Ariadne smiled, thinking that Raphael's sincerity had come out.
It was the first laugh that came out during her meeting with Raphael today. Raphael felt relieved after seeing that laugh.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Thanks to Raphael. I feel good.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Raphael also laughed sincerely for the first time today. Even for him, today was a day when there wasn't much to laugh about.
He had bad news to deliver, but to make matters worse, he heard about her engagement.
“I guess I should go now.”
He prepared to get up.
“My parents must be worried. I arrived late last night, dropped my bags at home, woke up, took a shower, and came right away.”
Ariadne's eyes widened.
"Oh."
“I haven’t even had a meal with my mother yet. She must be stomping her feet.”
“I was so unaware that I kept you here for too long! You should have come slowly.”
Raphael smirked and immediately answered back.
“I have to report this to my boss right away.”
Ariadne's face turned bright red.
“Your Excellency...”
“Haha, just kidding, just kidding.”
He smiled faintly and stood up from his seat.
“I’ll go out first.”
“I'll see you off.”
“No, no, it’s okay. That’s fine. Just sit down.”
Ariadne did not take off her winter gloves even in the warm living room.
Raphael guessed that Ariadne was not in good condition.
“I’ll be back soon, so how about treating me to something delicious as my wages then?”
“It’ll be delicious. I’ll try my best to think of a way to repay you.”
“I'll be looking forward to it.”
He left Ariadne's drawing room with a faint smile.
'...Yes, that'll do.'
He didn't think about the distant future. No one knows what will happen tomorrow.
For once, he was there by her side, sharing her laughter and her daily life. For once, that was enough.
As Raphael followed a servant out the front door of the de Mare mansion, lost in thought, he saw a black horse approaching from afar.
It was a large, sleek, and glossy thoroughbred.
From the main gate to the entrance, a handsome red-haired man, Duke Cesare, sat atop a black horse that marched proudly.
It had been a while since he had brought Ariadne back, and it seemed he had made excuses to come see her again.
Cesare, riding high on his black horse, looked down at Raphael, who was standing in front of the entrance.
Their eyes met.
“...”
“...”
Cesare could have asked Raphael many questions.
Normally, he would ask how Raphael was doing, or, more sensitively, what he was doing at his fiancé's house.
But the moment Cesare met Raphael's eyes, he smiled and passed him by naturally.
Ariadne cried out his name, half in surprise, half in joy.
“You came back safely!”
At first glance, Raphael's white skin looked spotless and radiant despite his long journey through the desert, but upon closer inspection, traces of hardship were visible.
The cruel sun of the South left its mark on him, with pale burn marks, rough skin, and dull hair.
"Oh my God!"
Ariadne was so happy and sad to see Raphael that she grabbed his hand.
But Raphael hugged her as if he was holding her. It was a bit deep for a hug between friends.
But Ariadne couldn't care less about the density of the hug after Raphael's next words.
“You’re engaged to Duke Cesare! Ari! Are you okay?”
“Ah... That...”
Ariadne asked Sancha first.
“Would you like two cups of tea brought to the living room?”
“Yes, Miss!”
Next was Raphael.
“...Raphael, let’s go in and talk.”
Only then did Raphael come to his senses, release the hug, and nod.
They moved to the reception room.
Raphael entered the living room of the de Mare family, which had become so familiar to him that it felt like his own home, and found a strange man's gloves on the sofa.
They were green deerskin gloves.
“This is...”
Ariadne blushed when she saw the glove in Raphael's hand.
“Oh my. It seems the maids have neglected to clean the house.”
She added, pulling the rope and calling the maid to retrieve the gloves.
“It’s embarrassing.”
However, it is unknown whether the embarrassment was actually related to the state of cleaning.
Ariadne and Raphael finally put their gloves aside and placed their teacups in the middle, sitting across from each other with a lot of questions for each other.
It was Raphael who first opened the door to questioning.
“What happened to you, Duke Cesare?”
“That was... so sudden.”
Ariadne had no secrets from Raphael.
He is a close friend who knows everything about her love story with Prince Alfonso, which is the most carefully guarded secret, and the story of Queen Marguerite's safe deposit box at the Rambouillet Relief Center, except for one secret that cannot be told to anyone.
“Raphael should be the only one who knows. Not even Marquis Baldessar.”
“When was I ever so open-mouthed?”
Raphael answered slightly bewildered.
“My parents think that I suddenly became religious and went on a pilgrimage to the battlefield.”
Ariadne couldn't help but smile sheepishly.
“...I’m sorry. I was worried about you.”
She told Raphael the story of Leo III's choice of a Queen.
"Crazy!"
Raphael covered his mouth with his hand as the tea he was drinking spilled over into his clothes.
“Cough cough cough!”
"Are you okay?"
“Cough! Cough! Okay, it’s okay.”
He barely managed to calm down, but his face and the back of his neck were all red due to his blood pressure rising.
“Is the King losing his mind? He is so old, what is this..!”
If rebels were advancing on the capital right now, he would be ready to surrender at any moment.
Ariadne tried her best to dissuade the angry Raphael.
It didn't matter how much they cursed Leo III when he wasn't around because if they kept doing that, the blood vessels in Raphael's eyes would really burst.
“It’s okay, it’s all over!”
She ran her fingers through her hair as she continued to explain to Raphael.
“Duke Cesare threatened His Majesty the King just before the edict was issued and changed its content. From marriage to an engagement to the Duke. I am safe.”
Raphael had no choice but to agree with this part.
“Ha... He’s a friend I don’t like, but there are days when he does useful things.”
Ariadne was at pains to emphasize that Cesare sometimes did sane things.
It was an objective fact that Cesare had sacrificed much for Ariadne in this incident.
“It wasn’t a riot. Duke Cesare’s private army entered the Palazzo Carlo and some people were killed.”
Raphael asked the first question.
“But His Majesty left him alone?”
Ariadne was caught in a rage.
“He was dismissed from his position as Commander-in-Chief... I barely managed to stop His Majesty from putting him under house arrest.”
Ariadne did not bother to explain to Raphael what she had done for Cesare—her plea for his life, her offering of grain.
She tried to convince herself that Raphael didn't need to know, but she couldn't clearly see that there was something inside her that she was embarrassed to tell Raphael.
Without even having the time to reflect on her own feelings, Ariadne continued to explain herself to Raphael.
“I’m sorry and grateful that he took such a risk because of me.”
Here Raphael asked a second question, sharp as a knife.
“Why on earth did Duke Cesare take such a risk?”
“That is...”
Ariadne was speechless.
When Leo III asked the same question, she replied, "It was because Cesare wanted to protect Alfonso's love."
It was such a shallow lie that even Leo III saw through it in an instant.
Raphael, who grew up with Alfonso since childhood and knows the relationship between Cesare and Alfonso, and the entire story of Ariadne and Alfonso, would definitely not believe this lie.
She ended up confessing the truth.
“I guess he likes me.”
When she said it out loud, something felt very strange and funny.
That Cesare de Como loves Ariadne de Mare.
But this honest and shabby answer sounded strange even to Raphael's ears.
“Yes? That Count Cesare?”
Cesare de Como, now Carlo, was originally a Count, but was promoted to Duke, and was the illegitimate son of the King.
The worst man in the capital, Casanova, always makes women cry. A delinquent who touches both married and virgin women.
A man like that would risk his life and go on an adventure because he loved a woman?
Raphael asked again in disbelief.
“There is no other history?”
Raphael asked if Cesare wanted Ariadne's wealth or if he had some other ulterior motive, but Ariadne felt a stinging sensation on her feet.
The episode at the hunting competition, the proposal at the masquerade ball, and her assistance in repelling the Gallico army that had entered the border, all might have seemed strange to anyone who knew of her relationship with Alfonso.
Ariadne at the time could boast to the heavens that she had acted appropriately, but others may have seen it differently.
“...I don’t know exactly.”
In the end, what came out of her tongue was a lie.
'Why am I like this?'
And Raphael, who did not trust Duke Cesare in the least, replied with a frown at Ariadne's answer.
“He’s a guy with a plan. You never know what he might do.”
If Cesare heard this now, he would be so resentful that he would go crazy, but considering his record up to now, it was a very reasonable suspicion.
Raphael said, patting his chest.
“If he ever tries to act suspiciously, just tell me. I’ll protect you.”
“...Thank you.”
Raphael didn't stop there.
“Since this is an engagement that His Majesty the King personally ordered, it cannot be called off without a great reason. However, Count Cesare... no, Duke Cesare is not the type of person to be quiet, is he?”
Raphael said with confidence.
“There will definitely be an accident.”
“...”
Ariadne certainly could not deny that Raphael had valid suspicions.
“...That could be the case.”
“You can break the engagement at that moment by finding a reason. Don’t worry. I won’t let you be dragged away to become the Duchess of Pisano without any protection.”
Ariadne felt slightly awkward at Raphael's words, which seemed slightly inconsistent.
Why Raphael and not Alfonso? Are you saying that you would go that far for your friend?
But there may be something special about friendships built from a very young age.
Having no old friends, she moved on to the next topic without thinking too deeply.
“Yes, Raphael. Did you see Alfonso well? How was he? How is he?”
This time it was Raphael's turn to answer. He managed to keep a smile on his face without much trouble.
It's a situation he's simulated dozens of times on his way back on the boat.
A painting in which Ariadne misses Alfonso ardently and tells him about his recent activities.
“He was healthy. He looked good.”
Raphael shared with her stories about Alfonso's reputation as an undefeated knight within the Crusades, how he had many subordinates under his command due to his popularity, and how his position would become even more solid thanks to the military funds sent by Ariadne.
A light sparkled in Ariadne's eyes, and a smile appeared on her lips.
Raphael felt both delight at her joy and bitterness at the fact that he had not been the one to bring about that sparkle.
“It was so, so good.”
She was genuinely delighted with Alfonso's military exploits.
In her last life, he was the legitimate Prince who had lost before he could even bloom. And Ariadne had a significant share of the responsibility for that.
Ariadne still vividly remembered the weight of the Prince falling from his seat as soon as he finished eating the sanguinaccio dolce and hitting the marble floor.
It felt like paying off an old debt.
“I believe Alfonso can be much better than he is now.”
Ariadne's face glowed with confidence. Alfonso de Carlo was a man who had been said to have the makings of a Saint since his youth.
It wasn't for nothing that the story of the 'Golden Prince' spread throughout the Central Continent.
“If it’s Alfonso, he’ll be more than enough.”
Raphael confirmed Ariadne's words. Despite the strange rivalry he felt toward Alfonso, Raphael acknowledged Alfonso.
Alfonso had a special quality as a monarch that was different from simply being great at nothing.
But as great as a monarch is great, Ariadne had other questions.
“By the way... Raphael, have you received anything from Alfonso?”
She asked with a blush on her face.
“Letter or something.”
“Ah...”
Raphael realized that the time he had been dreading had arrived.
“That’s...”
He trailed off for a while and finally confessed.
“I couldn’t receive it.”
A dark aura immediately fell over Ariadne's expression.
“...”
The first thought that occurred to her mind was, is Alfonso not even interested in talking to her?
But she didn't dare to ask Raphael that.
And Raphael, who was quick-witted, immediately knew what Ariadne was afraid of, even though she didn't ask out loud.
“Oh, no. That’s not it.”
He waved his hand.
“It was all my fault. Alfonso left the camp shortly after I arrived because of a battle, and he did not return for three days and nights.”
"Yes?"
When Ariadne heard that story, her face paled in another way.
“Are he okay?”
Raphael reassured her.
“They say it’s a normal thing. Once they go out on a chase, they take prisoners, collect the loot, and come back. They say it takes about that long.”
He continued his explanation.
“I missed the timing to give your letter to Alfonso, so I left it with Alfonso’s person and returned. That’s why I didn’t get a reply. How could Alfonso receive your letter and not write a reply?”
From Raphael's point of view, it would have been a good thing if Ariadne had misunderstood, become discouraged, and hated Alfonso.
But he gave up the idea of being a vulgar swindler in love.
Raphael sincerely comforted Ariadne.
“Please, don’t think negative thoughts. If only there was a reliable means of delivering letters, you would receive a reply right away.”
Her face was still dark. Raphael wanted to cheer Ariadne up, so he changed the conversation to another task she had asked him to do.
“And I have also handled your other request well.
“I asked the abbot of Ifrocha and a monk in the port city of Valianti.”
The task that Ariadne had asked Raphael to do was to secure someone to cross-check the goods that the Bocanegro merchants were carrying.
Ifrocha was an island that all ships from the Central Continent heading to the Moorish Empire would stop by for supplies, and Valianti was the largest port entering Yesak.
Since from now on, the merchants of Bocanegro were to head to Yesak with Alfonso's military funds without Raphael, Ariadne arranged for a trustworthy person to record the amount of gold each merchant brought from each port of call and send it to San Carlo.
The two priests were unaware of each other's existence.
The delivery from Bocanegro was to be to Valianti, and the inland caravans of the Republic of Porto, which the Third Crusade used to receive supplies regularly, would handle the journey from Valianti to the battlefield.
Suppose there is a difference between the amount sent by Ariadne, the amount recorded by the two priests and sent to San Carlo, and the amount finally received by Alfonso locally. In that case, it will reveal who manipulated it, when, and where.
Raphael spoke to Ariadne reassuringly.
“Now, the military funds will flow to Alfonso without much trouble, so don’t worry too much. As soon as Alfonso has some free time, he will reply right away. He seemed very busy.”
Raphael tried to reassure the dispirited Ariadne by telling her at length about the strange and unusual scenery of the Latgalin region.
“I’ve never seen such a terrain before. It’s very different from the Central Continent.”
“...I want to go there someday too.”
“Do you like to work hard?”
“No, not really.”
“It’s not worth going through all that trouble to see.”
Ariadne smiled, thinking that Raphael's sincerity had come out.
It was the first laugh that came out during her meeting with Raphael today. Raphael felt relieved after seeing that laugh.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Thanks to Raphael. I feel good.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Raphael also laughed sincerely for the first time today. Even for him, today was a day when there wasn't much to laugh about.
He had bad news to deliver, but to make matters worse, he heard about her engagement.
“I guess I should go now.”
He prepared to get up.
“My parents must be worried. I arrived late last night, dropped my bags at home, woke up, took a shower, and came right away.”
Ariadne's eyes widened.
"Oh."
“I haven’t even had a meal with my mother yet. She must be stomping her feet.”
“I was so unaware that I kept you here for too long! You should have come slowly.”
Raphael smirked and immediately answered back.
“I have to report this to my boss right away.”
Ariadne's face turned bright red.
“Your Excellency...”
“Haha, just kidding, just kidding.”
He smiled faintly and stood up from his seat.
“I’ll go out first.”
“I'll see you off.”
“No, no, it’s okay. That’s fine. Just sit down.”
Ariadne did not take off her winter gloves even in the warm living room.
Raphael guessed that Ariadne was not in good condition.
“I’ll be back soon, so how about treating me to something delicious as my wages then?”
“It’ll be delicious. I’ll try my best to think of a way to repay you.”
“I'll be looking forward to it.”
He left Ariadne's drawing room with a faint smile.
'...Yes, that'll do.'
He didn't think about the distant future. No one knows what will happen tomorrow.
For once, he was there by her side, sharing her laughter and her daily life. For once, that was enough.
As Raphael followed a servant out the front door of the de Mare mansion, lost in thought, he saw a black horse approaching from afar.
It was a large, sleek, and glossy thoroughbred.
From the main gate to the entrance, a handsome red-haired man, Duke Cesare, sat atop a black horse that marched proudly.
It had been a while since he had brought Ariadne back, and it seemed he had made excuses to come see her again.
Cesare, riding high on his black horse, looked down at Raphael, who was standing in front of the entrance.
Their eyes met.
“...”
“...”
Cesare could have asked Raphael many questions.
Normally, he would ask how Raphael was doing, or, more sensitively, what he was doing at his fiancé's house.
But the moment Cesare met Raphael's eyes, he smiled and passed him by naturally.
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