Before confessing to Ariadne, Raphael came to a very simple and logical conclusion.
The reason he has not confessed to Ariadne until now is because of his loyalty to Alfonso.
That friendship is broken. Now nothing stands in his way.
He thought it would be a good thing for Ariadne too. One of Ariadne's romantic wishes was shattered.
Wouldn't she feel better if she had a new option?
“...”
However, Raphael realized through this incident that not everything in the world goes according to logic.
Because Ariadne was staring at the floor with tears in her green eyes.
He wanted to ask if it was okay, but his mouth wouldn't open. Raphael wanted to sew up his own snout from three minutes ago.
Ariadne's shoulders began to shake. She was definitely crying.
She was a woman who didn't cry much. Raphael's palms began to sweat.
“Ari, Ari.”
Raphael awkwardly reached out and wrapped his arm around Ariadne's shaking shoulders. Fortunately, she did not push him away or get angry.
In Raphael's arms, Ariadne shook her shoulders for a long time.
Raphael spent about ten minutes feeling his conscience being torn apart, holding the woman in his arms as she cried because of him. When the shaking finally stopped, she whispered softly.
“Thank you for lending me your shoulder.”
It was time to let go. Raphael did as she said and lowered his hand that had been holding her.
Her body scent, a mixture of sweet musk and wet earth, also faded away. Raphael inhaled with regret.
It was regrettable, but it had to be fixed. Raphael said cautiously.
“Hey... Ari.”
Please, be accepted.
“What I said... Can you pretend you didn’t hear it?”
Raphael too could not help but realize this after seeing Ariadne crying.
Even if he pushes on like this, the only thing that will come out today is 'Let's stay good friends.'
It was a welcome thing to hear from Ariadne's perspective as well. There was no one around her but Raphael.
There was clearly something about Raphael that neither Sancha nor Julia could fill.
But if Raphael had insisted on making it into a love story between a man and a woman, she had no choice but to cut it off with a knife.
But if Raphael steps down of his own accord, then that won't be necessary.
Well, that's it for today.
The reason he has not confessed to Ariadne until now is because of his loyalty to Alfonso.
That friendship is broken. Now nothing stands in his way.
He thought it would be a good thing for Ariadne too. One of Ariadne's romantic wishes was shattered.
Wouldn't she feel better if she had a new option?
“...”
However, Raphael realized through this incident that not everything in the world goes according to logic.
Because Ariadne was staring at the floor with tears in her green eyes.
He wanted to ask if it was okay, but his mouth wouldn't open. Raphael wanted to sew up his own snout from three minutes ago.
Ariadne's shoulders began to shake. She was definitely crying.
She was a woman who didn't cry much. Raphael's palms began to sweat.
“Ari, Ari.”
Raphael awkwardly reached out and wrapped his arm around Ariadne's shaking shoulders. Fortunately, she did not push him away or get angry.
In Raphael's arms, Ariadne shook her shoulders for a long time.
Raphael spent about ten minutes feeling his conscience being torn apart, holding the woman in his arms as she cried because of him. When the shaking finally stopped, she whispered softly.
“Thank you for lending me your shoulder.”
It was time to let go. Raphael did as she said and lowered his hand that had been holding her.
Her body scent, a mixture of sweet musk and wet earth, also faded away. Raphael inhaled with regret.
It was regrettable, but it had to be fixed. Raphael said cautiously.
“Hey... Ari.”
Please, be accepted.
“What I said... Can you pretend you didn’t hear it?”
Raphael too could not help but realize this after seeing Ariadne crying.
Even if he pushes on like this, the only thing that will come out today is 'Let's stay good friends.'
It was a welcome thing to hear from Ariadne's perspective as well. There was no one around her but Raphael.
There was clearly something about Raphael that neither Sancha nor Julia could fill.
But if Raphael had insisted on making it into a love story between a man and a woman, she had no choice but to cut it off with a knife.
But if Raphael steps down of his own accord, then that won't be necessary.
Well, that's it for today.
“I’ll completely forget about it.”
Ariadne answered forcefully.
“I will never mention this again.”
She nodded firmly.
However, the two were having different dreams. Ariadne thought that this topic was over forever.
Her hope was that they would return to their original relationship and remain stable friends there.
But Raphael had already been trying to try again. It was just the worst possible timing. There was room for improvement. He believed so.
“And today’s visit is...”
Since Raphael had gone this far, it was strange for him to say anything bad about Alfonso.
Raphael summarized today's visit as briefly as possible... Leaving out the finger-wagging.
Raphael said indignantly.
“I’m not friends with Alfonso anymore.”
From Ariadne's perspective, most of what Raphael told her was part of the bad scenario she had in mind.
Except for the part where Raphael broke up with Alfonso. She looked at Raphael's face.
“...If you do that because of me, I’m sorry.”
She added.
“You two were best friends.”
There was a childhood friend who the entire capital knew. But Raphael cut him off firmly.
“No, this is also between me and Alfonso.”
Raphael just couldn't accept that he had been pushed out by Elko.
It hurt so much that Alfonso's best friend was no longer Raphael himself.
But Raphael was simultaneously forgetting that Raphael de Baldessar's best friend was now Ariadne, not Alfonso de Carlo.
As time passes, the people around you change. Everyone changes. Nothing lasts forever.
***
“A toast to Prince Alfonso, who brought glory to the name of God in the land of the pagans!”
“Cheers!”
The deep voices of lords and knights alike raised their glasses in unison, followed by toasts wishing the prince health and good fortune.
The Marquis of Guatieri made every effort to welcome Prince Alfonso with great fanfare.
Fine wine, delicious food, splendid interior decorations, and rare eye-catching attractions were all in one place. The dancers, composed entirely of Moors, were the pride of the Marquis of Guatieri.
The invitees were a mixed bag, as it was meant to appear innocuous to Leo III, and on the surface,e it looked like a social gathering for card-playing and drinking.
But, as expected, the King's three confidants, Baldessar, Contarini, and Marquez, were not invited to the party.
“Taxes have risen and the hardships of the lords are severe.”
The Marquis Guatieri raised his glass and pointed to the dancing girls.
“Even if they are slaves like the dancers dancing now, the lord’s tenant farmers are free people. They have the freedom to move their residence.”
A huge rectangular table was placed in the center of the banquet hall.
Among them, the host, the Marquis de Guatieri, and the most important guest, Prince Alfonso, sat at the head table, while the other guests were seated according to rank and status.
And right in the center of the rectangular table, Moorish dancers were performing an exotic dance.
“If we raise the tax rate on the land, we are afraid that the tenant farmers will move to the neighboring lands, so we cannot raise it as we please. However, the central government keeps urging us to send more tribute, so the small and medium-sized lords complain that they are on the verge of death.”
The Marquis of Guatieri in front of Alfonso is a great lord with large lands in the east.
The nearby small lords are in a position to profit when they raise taxes and tenant farmers flee to their lands.
He was not seen as representing the plight of small and medium-sized lords with pure good intentions.
“But the country has clear revenues and expenditures, so can’t we say we won’t pay taxes?”
"Hmm."
Alfonso gave only a lukewarm reply, taking a sip from his glass to fill the void in his voice.
The wine that Marquis Guatieri brought out today was a high-quality Nocino. The sweet aroma of walnuts lingered among the strong alcohol.
He didn't really enjoy drinking, but today he was having a particularly good time.
“So we need to reform the tariffs. It’s an open secret that merchants are smuggling.”
“...The Etruscan merchant ships came all the way to Yesak.”
“That’s right! That means their power has grown that much. That also means their tax benefits are excessive.”
In the end, the argument was that instead of raising taxes on land, they should raise taxes on trade to raise money for the crown from merchants, not lords.
The talk of cutting taxes seems to have fallen on deaf ears for Leo III.
“As you know, Marquis.”
Alfonso took another sip of his drink. He had been in a bad mood today. He came to his senses in his drunkenness, feeling a burning sensation in his esophagus.
“The reorganization of the tax system is a matter entirely up to His Majesty the King, so I cannot do anything about it.”
The dark-skinned dancers cheered with short, successive applause to the strange accompaniment of the lute from the Central Continent and the leeq and santur, instruments of the Moorish Empire.
There was originally no slavery in the Central Continent, but it was gradually being imported through trade with the Moorish Empire.
Moorish slaves with unusual talents, such as musicians or dancers, were extremely popular with noble ladies as a show-off.
Recently, as a large number of Moorish prisoners of war were flowing into the Central Continent during the Yesak War, their number and purpose were also increasing.
“That is certainly true. But Your Highness the Prince, are you not the one who will succeed the one and only sun of the Etruscan kingdom?”
Alfonso did not completely trust the Marquis de Guatieri.
“The sun of the Etruscan kingdom is pure and vigorous. The next thing is not a topic worthy of mention.”
“Of course...”
“There will be many events in the future, so let’s meet up often.”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
The political talk ended there. Alfonso had said that if he wanted to ask for a favor, he had to invest more, and the Marquis of Guatieri accepted.
Alfonso felt even worse and emptied his glass. The dancer's soft hands filled it again.
Most of those who attended the dinner were already quite drunk. Alfonso glanced around.
Marquis Guatieri was also drinking heavily with a dancer, his face reddening, and Sir Dino and Sir Manfredi, seen in the distance, were also drinking heavily.
There was even a person sleeping face down in the banquet hall.
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
A dancer as fluffy as a willow branch approached and smiled at Alfonso. It was a Moorish expression meaning something like offering a drink.
He waved his hand to ward her off, but the dancer was persistent. She clung to him with her body and offered him another drink. Alfonso stood up roughly.
Crunch, bang!
The chair was dragged and fell to the floor with a loud crash. The sound of the chair falling was loud, but everyone was so drunk that no one noticed.
“What is it?”
Alfonso left the banquet hall, leaving the dancer behind. Only the dancer's voice calling the Prince echoed through the hall.
***
Ariadne, who was about to go to bed, woke up to a repetitive 'knock, knock' sound coming from somewhere. She looked around.
Knock.
Apparently, there was another sound.
Knock!
This time the sound was louder. It was coming from the window.
Ariadne opened the window, sticking her head out through the curtains without even putting on her shawl because the noise was getting louder and she was anxious.
She opened the window and froze in place.
He stood under the silver moonlight.
Blonde curls flowing down his head, olive skin tanned by the desert sun, a towering presence that is a head taller than most people.
'Alfonso...?'
A few years ago, he had a completely different body from the fluffy little Prince. However, the moonlight falling down his nose was just as bright as before.
He held something in his hand and pulled his arm back, ready to throw it. It was a larger pebble than before. Ariadne cried out in panic.
“Don’t throw it!”
The blond man, Alfonso, paused for a long time at Ariadne's words before finally dropping his arms.
Ariadne, who returned to reality, asked in bewilderment.
“Is that really you? What are you doing here?”
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