The news that Duke Cesare was throwing a birthday party for his fiancée soon spread throughout society.
The end of April was usually the season for debutante balls, when young ladies newly entering the social scene would often be the center of attention, and nobles who threw private parties avoided this season, which bordered late spring and early summer, if possible.
Because it was difficult to become the main character.
But the birthday ball of Countess de Mare, hosted by Duke Cesare, immediately became the center of all attention.
Who would care about young ladies compared to the most famous couple in the capital?
-“Are you really saying that even the servants’ uniforms are all made by Collezion?”
“I heard a rumor that the interior decoration is done with jewels!”
“Huh? Not tapestries or flowers? I guess Duke Cesare is gnashing his teeth.”
“Countess de Mare, I’m so jealous.”
“Are you jealous? You saw Duke Cesare last time. I was so scared when he was wielding a sword and smirking. Are you still jealous?”
“Well, that’s true.”
“It’s an honor with only scars.”
“But, that’s enough to live with! The Duke of Pisano, the official nephew of the King! And isn’t that really reflecting and bowing down? Who knew that Count Cesare would be like this?”
“That’s true too.”
And of course, the news reached Isabella de Mare's ears as well.
“I guess that’s how it’s going to turn out.”
Ah, I ground my teeth so much that the soft flesh next to my molars became worn away.
“Do you think you can run away like that?”
Isabella has been chasing Cesare's tail in vain for the past month.
Isabella's requests to visit Villa Sortone went unanswered, and even when she went there out of the blue, she was turned away.
Isabella's next step was to 'encounter by chance'. She used her diminished network of connections to meet Cesare and went to all the places where he was likely to appear.
She made full use of Ottavio and Clemente, but Cesare, like a ghost, never appeared where she went.
“Ottavio! Are you two not actually close?”
“You know how elusive Duke Cesare is, don’t you? And you came here to see Duke Cesare, not me?”
“No, that’s not true... I came to see Sister Clemente. Hahaha.”
“...”
But it was only once or twice that she used Clemente de Bartolini, a crumpled mini-pin with a discontented expression.
But Ariadne's birthday party? Did you really think you could avoid Isabella that far?
'You are mistaken, Cesare de Carlo.'
Isabella gritted her teeth again.
No matter how bad their relationship was, Isabella was still the daughter of de Mare and Ariadne's older sister.
She can't help but invite her to Ariadne's birthday ball.
She would be able to face Cesare that day. But just meeting him would not be enough. Isabella thought about it. A move... Yes, a move...
It was already done, either go all the way or fail. She had already given her virginity to Duke Cesare.
Even if she marries another man, her new husband will know right away that something is wrong on the wedding night.
Before marriage, she was taken to a monastery, and after marriage, she was locked up in a back room of her in-laws' house.
Isabella bit her lip.
***
“...Leticia.”
Isabella had been sitting in the drawing room of the Viscount Leonati, listening with infinite patience to the useless chatter of Leticia de Leonati for more than two and a half hours.
Leticia, who was a bit oblivious, was thrilled by Isabella's affectionate attitude today.
A sensitive person would have known that Isabella usually treated her badly and showed no interest in her story, so the conversation always revolved around Isabella, and that Isabella rarely treated her like this, so the conversations she had with Isabella usually did not feel affectionate, but unfortunately, Leticia was a bit insensitive.
“Are we friends?”
Isabella looked straight at Leticia.
Isabella's features had an appeal that could captivate even a woman. Leticia said half moved.
“Of course, Miss Isabella!”
“Please be comfortable with your title and speech. ‘Isabella.’”
“This... Isabella.”
Leticia unconsciously repeated Isabella's words.
Isabella didn't miss the moment and smiled beautifully, closing her eyes.
“Speak comfortably, okay?”
She held Leticia's two hands tightly in her own.
Leticia was about to ask if that was really okay.
Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm talking so comfortably to Isabella. Is that really okay?
But she couldn't bring herself to open her mouth and hold it in.
Isabella urged her again, fearing that if she asked back when the other person had asked her so much, she would look like an idiot.
“Hey, Leticia.”
Isabella set an example first. In the end, she obediently followed Isabella's words.
“Oh, like this?”
“Yes, take it easy!”
This time, Isabella laughed heartily. Leticia laughed along.
“I love it, I feel like I have a real friend.”
The beautiful Isabella called herself her true friend. A spark of pride lit up in Leticia's heart like wildfire.
“Of course, I’m your real friend!”
At Leticia's boast, Isabella nodded with a brighter face.
“I can trust Leticia. But...”
The brightened face only lasted for a moment.
“Other kids... I’m starting to feel skeptical about people now.”
Isabella sighed deeply.
“Julia too... Gabriele too... How can they change their faces like that? I thought they were my real friends.”
Felicity and Cornelia, whose families were relatively inferior, were not even mentioned.
But that fact gave Leticia more pride than rejection.
Me! Before the great noblewoman, Juliana and Gabriele!
Leticia, who was delighted, supported Isabella with twice as much enthusiasm.
“That’s because they’re so shameless. A true friend is someone who holds your hand when times are tough! Children of noble families have no loyalty.”
“Right? I guess that’s what happens when you’re raised in a noble family. You swallow what’s sweet and spit what’s bitter.”
Leticia was a bluffer when it came to topics like the troubles of pretty women or the discomfort caused by men—Isabella's favorite—but when it came to insulting the nobility, Leticia had a lot to say.
They built a friendship based on jealousy and gossip for a long time, and then, when they had had enough of the satisfying conversation, they leaned back on the sofa with a sigh of relief.
“Leticia...”
Isabella looked at Leticia with her face close to hers.
“Uh, yeah? Isabella?”
It's too close. But at the same time, it's satisfying.
Isabella muttered softly, making Leticia uncomfortable and at the same time putting her in a slightly happy state of tension.
“Can you keep a secret?”
Leticia's eyes widened.
It's a secret. Only real friends do this.
Leticia's heart pounded as she recalled the story of the best friends in a girls' literature book she had read some time ago.
Oh my gosh, I'm Isabella de Mare's best friend.
“Of course, Isabella!”
She pounded her chest. It seemed like a gesture more likely to be made by a male protagonist than a girl's literature friend, but once she had started pounding her chest, she couldn't stop.
“I’ll keep my mouth shut like a clam. Just trust me!”
“Leticia...”
Isabella's amethyst eyes sparkled with emotion. This was the expression a female protagonist made when she was moved by a male protagonist.
Leticia still felt that the roll was a little off, but decided to just let it go.
She can be stuck with Isabella de Mare, so what does it matter what the role is?
“You know...”
Isabella whispered her latest, biggest secret into Leticia's ear.
There were only two of them in the living room, and there seemed to be no one listening, but it was a story too outrageous to say out loud.
In fact, Isabella had been thinking for quite some time about whether or not to tell Leticia about this incident.
If Leticia kept her mouth shut, she would be ruined. But in this case, she needed help.
The conclusion was, that it was solid.
“Huh?!?!”
Leticia jumped from her seat after hearing Isabella's whisper.
"Really?!"
Isabella nodded reluctantly, tears welling up in her pretty amethyst eyes.
These tears were half fake and half genuine. The fact that it was so unfair was absolutely true.
“How did it happen like that?!”
Isabella went to Duke Cesare with her brother's letter to console him and told him the story of how Cesare had forced himself on her.
The already infamous Duke Cesare had already spread throughout the capital when he tried to forcefully assault his fiancée at a recent royal ball.
The fact that he had laid a hand on Isabella was so typical of Duke Cesare that Leticia believed it without a shred of doubt.
She nodded enthusiastically and asked again.
“But did he really run away?!”
“Yeah...”
Finally, tears began to flow from Isabella's eyes. Leticia was so angry that she ran away.
“What the heck, there are such trash kids out there?!”
Isabella began to cry sadly.
Of course, Isabella was by no means as innocent a victim as she had told Leticia, but it was deeply hurtful for her to wake up to find the man who had given her her first experience scheming in the bed next to her.
Tears flowed without her realizing it.
“I’ll beat that guy up real quick!!!”
Leticia swung her fist in the air.
“You can’t just leave that thug alone!!!”
Isabella asked weakly.
“What should I do...?”
Leticia confidently recommended it as it was someone else's business.
“How about telling His Eminence the Cardinal? A man must take responsibility for what he does!”
Isabella's face turned pale and she waved her hands.
“No, no!”
Isabella replied in horror.
“Father will never take my side!”
She screamed and soon began to hum sadly.
"...That guy is my sister’s fiancé. Since my mother passed away, my father only likes Ariadne.”
Cardinal de Mare's estrangement from Isabella and Ippolito was not for emotional reasons but because they continued to shake hands, but that was the way things were in Isabella's world.
In fact, Isabella knew that it wasn't all that, that Cardinal de Mare wasn't emotionally partial to Ariadne, but she didn't feel the need to face reality. Peace of mind is the best.
“If my father finds out that I touched my sister’s fiancé... no, that I was touched, he won’t leave me alone.”
Isabella thought this from her half-distorted perception of reality.
Cardinal de Mare would not swap Ariadne and Isabella for each other.
This was especially true if the man preferred Ariadne over Isabella.
'No, even if Ariadne herself wanted to break off the engagement, I don't think he would listen...'
Isabella was unaware of Cardinal de Mare's intentions in marrying Ariadne, who had the title.
In his world, the daughter of a family was the one who was supposed to get married.
Based on that, Isabella thought that Cardinal de Mare would do anything to keep Duke Cesare, who was currently the leading candidate for power, in check.
This was especially true when Prince Alfonso, who had previously had a connection with Ariadne, completely walked away due to Ariadne's public engagement.
To keep Duke Cesare, the chances of a successful marriage would be higher if they listened to his wishes rather than those of their daughters.
A man is an animal that never marries a woman he doesn't want to marry unless he is cornered.
As much as she hated to admit it, what Duke Cesare wanted now was Ariadne.
“Telling my father is not an option. He’ll have me thrown in the monastery.”
Leticia, completely oblivious to the calculations racing through Isabella's tiny head, convinced herself that her father, a priest, would not be able to tolerate his daughter losing her virginity.
“...Leticia, I need your help.”
"Yes?"
Leticia just blinked.
No, I am not the mother of Duke Cesare, nor am I a nobleman who can marry the virgin Isabella instead of Duke Cesare. What help could I possibly give you?
But her 'real friend' Isabella was asking for a favor. Leticia was overcome with emotion and made a promise.
“Just say anything!”
“You know...”
Isabella whispered her plan into Leticia's ear again. Leticia's face turned blank.
“No, it’s not that difficult...”
Leticia herself thought she had offered Isabella the most refreshing solution in existence: 'Tell your father.'
But what Isabella was saying now was on a different level. If it were to happen, Duke Cesare would not be able to back out.
If you could quantify 'exhilaration', the numbers would be sky-high. But are you really willing to take on this risk?
“Are you sure it’s okay?”
Isabella pursed her lips and nodded.
“If we don’t do this... I’ll send you a signal. Then... Please?”
Leticia nodded with a dumbfounded expression.
***
And three weeks later, the morning of the ball hosted by Duke Cesare dawned.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment