Ariadne had lunch with the Prince's knights. It was a meal full of laughter. Sir Manfredi's invitation was a stroke of genius.
“So, when those pagan bastards come flying at me like this—I just cut them down with my sword!”
Sir Bernardino struck.
“Manfredi, even if your mouth is crooked, speak straight. Wasn’t that something Alfonso gave you?”
“Hehe, hehe. Listen to what the person has to say until the end. When I was about to just strike it away with my sword, didn’t you strike it away with your two-handed sword instead?!”
As Sir Manfredi was bragging about himself, he couldn't help but mix it up with bragging about his lord.
The rest of the knights praised Alfonso with integrity.
Either way, it was a happy mealtime for Ariadne, whose ears perked up at any story about Alfonso.
“So what happened when you went into that basement?!”
“The sarcophagus opened with a terrible sound of ‘Kkwakwakwakwakwakwaarararararar—!’ and the remains of the dead Lion King leaped up, holding Caledbukh in both hands and offering it to the Prince!”
"Really?"
It was a very enjoyable meal for the knights as well. It was truly the first time they had ever met a lady who was so enthusiastic about a war story.
Usually, ladies would frown and look out the window when the topic of war comes up, but this was such an enthusiastic response.
But that person was none other than the Countess de Mare, the director of the Rambouillet Relief Center, a famous 'girl who sees the truth' in the capital.
“I never imagined you would be like this.”
The foreigner, Lord Rothschild, spoke. He was a knight from the North Sea Union whom Prince Alfonso had recruited in Yesak.
“I heard from Yesak that she prays all day long with her dress buttoned all the way up to her neck.”
He said, blinking his blue eyes against his pale skin and red hair.
He was by no means small, but he was said to be quite small for a member of the North Sea Union.
“I heard that you can recite the entire <Meditations> from cover to cover.”
The only things known about Ariadne until Yesack were that she was granted the title of countess as a woman for her meritorious service in helping the poor with her private fortune and that she was engaged to a Duke, the King's nephew, but the Duke had an affair with his older sister and broke off the engagement, so she remained unmarried.
A Countess who cannot turn a blind eye to injustice and who kicks away wealth, honor, and a noble status with her own feet, doesn't seem like the image of someone who would live alone and proudly at the top of a tower?
But the real Ariadne was a woman who laughed a lot, clapped loudly, and hated towers—especially the west tower—more than anything else in the world.
Ariadne muttered, holding herself back, afraid that Lord Rothschild would really make her recite the Meditations.
“Something like that, many things are misunderstood as they cross the ocean...”
“No, no!”
Sir Desilio, Bernardino's adjutant, intervened. Coming from a lower noble family, he had many people around him who were commoners.
“It’s not just across the ocean! Many people don’t have the chance to meet Countess de Mare who think so.”
He spoke passionately, gesturing with his hands and feet to get Ariadne's attention.
“I think the Countess is much more solemn and fearsome when she is around me. I was also surprised when I saw you up close for the first time today!”
Ariadne smiled at the cute rustling.
“Will you actively explain it to me?”
Sir Desilio flatly refused.
"No."
This was unexpected. Ariadne opened her eyes wide and asked.
“Why?”
“I just thought everyone would tell me not to spread rumors, that Countess de Mare is a noble person and wouldn’t talk to a lowly person like me...”
It was the confession of someone who had already experienced several failures. Ariadne asked purely out of curiosity.
“They must know that you are serving Prince Alfonso. Aren’t you doing important work? I think the people around you will trust you.”
“...Actually, it hasn’t been that long since I first got to know the Prince up close.”
He added timidly.
“I’ve met him three times. Everyone asked me, ‘Does the Prince really wear armor all day and carry a Caledbukh?’ I told them I’d never seen the sword, and that the Prince trained with a fake sword just like the rest of us. He just cursed at me and told me not to lie.”
Ariadne ended up laughing out loud. It seems that Sir Desilio was not a popular boy growing up.
But where is Prince Alfonso, the center of all this conversation?
'I'm an old bachelor, so I don't know much about this area.'
Sir Dino touched his forehead.
'...This doesn't seem right.'
Alfonso disappeared with a thoughtful look on his face as the meal began.
“I’ll go wash up and change some clothes.”
Yes? And you left CountessbDe Mare between that beast of a man, Manfredi, and the rest of the guys who are no better than him, if not worse...?
“Keep a good eye on Countess de Mare.”
Yes? How can I do that?
But Alfonso disappeared before Sir Bernardino could even utter a word of dissuasion.
'Oh, when I tell you to dress up properly, you never listen to me...'
Sir Bernardino looked at the wall clock anxiously.
The lunch course that Duchess Rubina had carefully prepared but had disappeared without even taking a bite was nearing its end.
The main course had been served a long time ago, and the picky knights had already scraped their plates clean.
When Countess de Mare finishes her meal, all that remains is dessert.
'Oh—please eat for a long time, and give thanks to the heavens for each bite... Ah!'
Ariadne quietly placed the cutlery on her plate, unaware of Dino's feelings.
It happened to be a shape where the fork and knife were placed side by side in the number 11. It meant that the meal was finished.
'Ugh!'
As soon as the palace servants saw the dishes that Countess de Mare had put down, they quickly cleared them away.
They brought out desserts one after another. He couldn't stop them, they were useless guys who worked hard.
The dessert was a little lemon granita.
“Granita is made by freezing fresh fruit with added sugar in an ice cellar.”
The senior attendant's proud guidance began.
Some of the knights were still hungry and started eating dessert before the waiter had finished giving instructions.
“...In private homes, people eat just the fruit flesh mixed with crushed ice, but the fruit itself can only be enjoyed at the palace outside of winter.”
The desserts disappeared in an instant. Some of them disappeared before the waiter had even finished explaining them.
'Only Countess de Mare should take her time, only Countess de Mare...!'
However, it seems that Sir Bernardino's earnest wish did not come true, and Countess de Mare ended up destroying Granita in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a single word of anger.
“It’s refreshing! I have to eat it all before it melts.”
'Please save me...'
Leaving Dino's inner scream behind, the knights' greetings announcing the end of the meal rang out here and there.
“Hey, it was delicious!”
“Duchess Rubina must have small hands. She doesn’t even get on the boat.”
“Don’t say things like that when we’re alone! The lady is with us today!”
Sir Bernardino looked at his watch in despair.
According to Manfredi's detailed investigation, Countess de Mare was required to attend a meeting with His Majesty the King at two o'clock in the afternoon.
Considering travel time, there are less than 5 minutes left.
'Your Highness. No matter how much you instruct me to hold on to Countess de Mare, if the next scheduled meeting is with His Majesty the King, there is nothing I can do about it!'
Did Alfonso hear the cry of Dino's soul? He heard the sound of a man's footsteps running towards him in a hurry.
The footsteps stopped in front of the door, he took a deep breath and opened the door with a polite expression.
"Your Highness!"
Dino's cheerful voice greeted Prince Alfonso. It was not the welcoming voice Alfonso most wanted to hear.
But thanks to that voice, Ariadne turned around and looked towards the doorway.
Her bright green eyes met the silhouette of a man. A tall, young Prince appeared in cream-colored robes.
He was wearing a short cloak over a bright yellow doublet. He looked quite stylish, unlike usual. The oblivious Manfredi asked loudly.
“Your Highness! Why are you dressed so well? You always look like you’re dressed casually after working out. Have you had lunch?”
Was it Sir Dino's imagination that he sensed a slight hint of irritation in the voice of Prince Alfonso, who never showed any sign of irritation?
“I ate.”
Gulp.
“I ate it!”
As he spoke, the moisture that had not yet dried fell from Prince Alfonso's head.
Ariadne bit her lip desperately to keep herself from laughing, thinking that it might just be his own inflated ego, but maybe she thought that if she laughed, Alfonso might not be able to sleep that night.
Alfonso looked at the giant wall clock hanging in the dining room.
“Oh, it’s ten minutes to two.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
His speech was terribly stiff as if he were an untalented actor.
“Finally. Well. Done. I guess. I should go see His Majesty.”
Here, the only one who knew Alfonso's feelings was Sir Dino. While muttering to himself, 'Oh my, my lowly...', he gave his assistance perfectly.
“His Majesty the King is currently busy. He has a meeting with Countess de Mare, who is here, regarding Princess Bianca’s debutante.”
“Me too. I would like to see My Father about that matter.”
Alfonso looked back at Ariadne.
He tried to act as naturally as possible, but Ariadne thought Alfonso moved like a copper hinge that had been forgotten to be oiled for thirty years.
“Will you not come with me, Countess de Mare?”
Duchess Rubina, left alone in her quarters, petted her French bulldog and gritted her teeth.
“It seems useless forever...!”
As she hysterically drummed her long nails on the side table beside the chair, Rubina's maid Deborah rushed over and filled her glass with trembling hands.
Deborah asked cautiously.
“Wouldn’t this be a big flaw in social circles...?”
Deborah, a lower-class noblewoman, was taught to always be careful about her conduct.
In fact, feeding dog food to people was something even Deborah, who grew up in the countryside, could not have imagined.
And yet, Duchess Rubina, the pinnacle of the capital's social circle, dares to do such an outrageous thing! Who said that the capital was sophisticated and the countryside was crude and barbaric?
“Who dares find fault with me?”
Rubina spat out sarcastically.
“Montefeltro, who only watches my face and doesn’t even show up to the ball? Marquez, who would lose her husband at my word?”
She drank the wine glass in one gulp like a city swindler, not as if she was drinking a fruit wine but as if she was drinking a strong drink.
“Seriously, there is nothing lower than what is placed on your shoulders!”
Duchess Rubina tapped her maid Deborah's temple unpleasantly with her long fingernails.
Deborah froze in place, unable to make a sound.
“Etiquette and elegance are all just empty words that only have the support of power. If they were useful, why did the dead Marguerite live her entire life hunched over like that?”
She let out a laugh.
“I have His Majesty the King behind me. What do the socialites care if I feed dog food or dog poop to people?”
It was true. She could have done worse.
That being said, there isn't a single socialite who wouldn't dare invite her.
Rubina felt a little better as she recalled her strength.
When the Duchess held out her glass again, Deborah filled it again and asked cautiously.
“But if His Majesty the King is behind you, shouldn’t the Duchess ask His Majesty to scold Prince Alfonso? The Prince was indeed mean to you today.”
Duchess Rubina's mood, which was about to improve, took a turn for the worse once again.
This is because Deborah, the maid, openly pointed out the limits that Rubina could not overcome.
“Are you a decoration for your head?!”
If she, who was merely a mistress, wanted to find fault with the legitimate Prince and true successor, she would have to ask him about something serious, not something trivial.
She can't just blow Alfonso up in one fell swoop unless she finds something that amounts to treason.
All she can do is fan herself next to the King, slowly and steadily, until her clothes get wet in the drizzle.
“Stop making a fuss and get out!”
Rubina threw a half-full tin glass of red wine at Deborah.
“Don’t show yourself in front of me, you idiot!”
Deborah ran to save herself.
“What a piece of trash.”
Rubina muttered. Still, Deborah was a rare talent who endured Rubina's mistreatment and still stuck with her.
The fact that Duchess Rubina always suffered from a shortage of talent was due to the limitations of her status as a mistress, but her poor treatment of her subordinates also played a part.
Feeling lonely, she filled a new glass with her own hands, her eyes the same color as red wine shining.
“Yeah, it’s not over just because we lost this one game.”
There were plenty of more opportunities.
Duchess Rubina and Princess Bianca may be of equal rank, but wouldn't Bianca be able to burrow into Leo III's bed?
“Bianca, what do you think will change if that woman crawls up to the capital?”
To Rubina, Bianca was no big deal. Alfonso's Princess was a much bigger threat.
'I must try to whisper well to His Majesty.'
She will find a good daughter-in-law. Rubina did not like the Grand Duchess of Gallico, who is being talked about now.
As the Grand Duchess of the Kingdom of Gallico, whose King had no heir, her family was too flashy. She was disgusted by the fact that Alfonso was gaining power.
The woman whose family was poor, but not too out of place in terms of social status, and who had a gentle personality and could be controlled by Rubina was perfect for her.
'How could I know what the personality of a foreign Princess I've never met would be like?'
Rubina gulped down her wine in anger. But she had one card to play: Cesare.
'I need to bring my son... quickly.'
Her son is smart, so he will make a genius move. She wanted to see him. Her handsome son Cesare, grew up strong.
“So, when those pagan bastards come flying at me like this—I just cut them down with my sword!”
Sir Bernardino struck.
“Manfredi, even if your mouth is crooked, speak straight. Wasn’t that something Alfonso gave you?”
“Hehe, hehe. Listen to what the person has to say until the end. When I was about to just strike it away with my sword, didn’t you strike it away with your two-handed sword instead?!”
As Sir Manfredi was bragging about himself, he couldn't help but mix it up with bragging about his lord.
The rest of the knights praised Alfonso with integrity.
Either way, it was a happy mealtime for Ariadne, whose ears perked up at any story about Alfonso.
“So what happened when you went into that basement?!”
“The sarcophagus opened with a terrible sound of ‘Kkwakwakwakwakwakwaarararararar—!’ and the remains of the dead Lion King leaped up, holding Caledbukh in both hands and offering it to the Prince!”
"Really?"
It was a very enjoyable meal for the knights as well. It was truly the first time they had ever met a lady who was so enthusiastic about a war story.
Usually, ladies would frown and look out the window when the topic of war comes up, but this was such an enthusiastic response.
But that person was none other than the Countess de Mare, the director of the Rambouillet Relief Center, a famous 'girl who sees the truth' in the capital.
“I never imagined you would be like this.”
The foreigner, Lord Rothschild, spoke. He was a knight from the North Sea Union whom Prince Alfonso had recruited in Yesak.
“I heard from Yesak that she prays all day long with her dress buttoned all the way up to her neck.”
He said, blinking his blue eyes against his pale skin and red hair.
He was by no means small, but he was said to be quite small for a member of the North Sea Union.
“I heard that you can recite the entire <Meditations> from cover to cover.”
The only things known about Ariadne until Yesack were that she was granted the title of countess as a woman for her meritorious service in helping the poor with her private fortune and that she was engaged to a Duke, the King's nephew, but the Duke had an affair with his older sister and broke off the engagement, so she remained unmarried.
A Countess who cannot turn a blind eye to injustice and who kicks away wealth, honor, and a noble status with her own feet, doesn't seem like the image of someone who would live alone and proudly at the top of a tower?
But the real Ariadne was a woman who laughed a lot, clapped loudly, and hated towers—especially the west tower—more than anything else in the world.
Ariadne muttered, holding herself back, afraid that Lord Rothschild would really make her recite the Meditations.
“Something like that, many things are misunderstood as they cross the ocean...”
“No, no!”
Sir Desilio, Bernardino's adjutant, intervened. Coming from a lower noble family, he had many people around him who were commoners.
“It’s not just across the ocean! Many people don’t have the chance to meet Countess de Mare who think so.”
He spoke passionately, gesturing with his hands and feet to get Ariadne's attention.
“I think the Countess is much more solemn and fearsome when she is around me. I was also surprised when I saw you up close for the first time today!”
Ariadne smiled at the cute rustling.
“Will you actively explain it to me?”
Sir Desilio flatly refused.
"No."
This was unexpected. Ariadne opened her eyes wide and asked.
“Why?”
“I just thought everyone would tell me not to spread rumors, that Countess de Mare is a noble person and wouldn’t talk to a lowly person like me...”
It was the confession of someone who had already experienced several failures. Ariadne asked purely out of curiosity.
“They must know that you are serving Prince Alfonso. Aren’t you doing important work? I think the people around you will trust you.”
“...Actually, it hasn’t been that long since I first got to know the Prince up close.”
He added timidly.
“I’ve met him three times. Everyone asked me, ‘Does the Prince really wear armor all day and carry a Caledbukh?’ I told them I’d never seen the sword, and that the Prince trained with a fake sword just like the rest of us. He just cursed at me and told me not to lie.”
Ariadne ended up laughing out loud. It seems that Sir Desilio was not a popular boy growing up.
But where is Prince Alfonso, the center of all this conversation?
'I'm an old bachelor, so I don't know much about this area.'
Sir Dino touched his forehead.
'...This doesn't seem right.'
Alfonso disappeared with a thoughtful look on his face as the meal began.
“I’ll go wash up and change some clothes.”
Yes? And you left CountessbDe Mare between that beast of a man, Manfredi, and the rest of the guys who are no better than him, if not worse...?
“Keep a good eye on Countess de Mare.”
Yes? How can I do that?
But Alfonso disappeared before Sir Bernardino could even utter a word of dissuasion.
'Oh, when I tell you to dress up properly, you never listen to me...'
Sir Bernardino looked at the wall clock anxiously.
The lunch course that Duchess Rubina had carefully prepared but had disappeared without even taking a bite was nearing its end.
The main course had been served a long time ago, and the picky knights had already scraped their plates clean.
When Countess de Mare finishes her meal, all that remains is dessert.
'Oh—please eat for a long time, and give thanks to the heavens for each bite... Ah!'
Ariadne quietly placed the cutlery on her plate, unaware of Dino's feelings.
It happened to be a shape where the fork and knife were placed side by side in the number 11. It meant that the meal was finished.
'Ugh!'
As soon as the palace servants saw the dishes that Countess de Mare had put down, they quickly cleared them away.
They brought out desserts one after another. He couldn't stop them, they were useless guys who worked hard.
The dessert was a little lemon granita.
“Granita is made by freezing fresh fruit with added sugar in an ice cellar.”
The senior attendant's proud guidance began.
Some of the knights were still hungry and started eating dessert before the waiter had finished giving instructions.
“...In private homes, people eat just the fruit flesh mixed with crushed ice, but the fruit itself can only be enjoyed at the palace outside of winter.”
The desserts disappeared in an instant. Some of them disappeared before the waiter had even finished explaining them.
'Only Countess de Mare should take her time, only Countess de Mare...!'
However, it seems that Sir Bernardino's earnest wish did not come true, and Countess de Mare ended up destroying Granita in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a single word of anger.
“It’s refreshing! I have to eat it all before it melts.”
'Please save me...'
Leaving Dino's inner scream behind, the knights' greetings announcing the end of the meal rang out here and there.
“Hey, it was delicious!”
“Duchess Rubina must have small hands. She doesn’t even get on the boat.”
“Don’t say things like that when we’re alone! The lady is with us today!”
Sir Bernardino looked at his watch in despair.
According to Manfredi's detailed investigation, Countess de Mare was required to attend a meeting with His Majesty the King at two o'clock in the afternoon.
Considering travel time, there are less than 5 minutes left.
'Your Highness. No matter how much you instruct me to hold on to Countess de Mare, if the next scheduled meeting is with His Majesty the King, there is nothing I can do about it!'
Did Alfonso hear the cry of Dino's soul? He heard the sound of a man's footsteps running towards him in a hurry.
The footsteps stopped in front of the door, he took a deep breath and opened the door with a polite expression.
"Your Highness!"
Dino's cheerful voice greeted Prince Alfonso. It was not the welcoming voice Alfonso most wanted to hear.
But thanks to that voice, Ariadne turned around and looked towards the doorway.
Her bright green eyes met the silhouette of a man. A tall, young Prince appeared in cream-colored robes.
He was wearing a short cloak over a bright yellow doublet. He looked quite stylish, unlike usual. The oblivious Manfredi asked loudly.
“Your Highness! Why are you dressed so well? You always look like you’re dressed casually after working out. Have you had lunch?”
Was it Sir Dino's imagination that he sensed a slight hint of irritation in the voice of Prince Alfonso, who never showed any sign of irritation?
“I ate.”
Gulp.
“I ate it!”
As he spoke, the moisture that had not yet dried fell from Prince Alfonso's head.
Ariadne bit her lip desperately to keep herself from laughing, thinking that it might just be his own inflated ego, but maybe she thought that if she laughed, Alfonso might not be able to sleep that night.
Alfonso looked at the giant wall clock hanging in the dining room.
“Oh, it’s ten minutes to two.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
His speech was terribly stiff as if he were an untalented actor.
“Finally. Well. Done. I guess. I should go see His Majesty.”
Here, the only one who knew Alfonso's feelings was Sir Dino. While muttering to himself, 'Oh my, my lowly...', he gave his assistance perfectly.
“His Majesty the King is currently busy. He has a meeting with Countess de Mare, who is here, regarding Princess Bianca’s debutante.”
“Me too. I would like to see My Father about that matter.”
Alfonso looked back at Ariadne.
He tried to act as naturally as possible, but Ariadne thought Alfonso moved like a copper hinge that had been forgotten to be oiled for thirty years.
“Will you not come with me, Countess de Mare?”
***
Duchess Rubina, left alone in her quarters, petted her French bulldog and gritted her teeth.
“It seems useless forever...!”
As she hysterically drummed her long nails on the side table beside the chair, Rubina's maid Deborah rushed over and filled her glass with trembling hands.
Deborah asked cautiously.
“Wouldn’t this be a big flaw in social circles...?”
Deborah, a lower-class noblewoman, was taught to always be careful about her conduct.
In fact, feeding dog food to people was something even Deborah, who grew up in the countryside, could not have imagined.
And yet, Duchess Rubina, the pinnacle of the capital's social circle, dares to do such an outrageous thing! Who said that the capital was sophisticated and the countryside was crude and barbaric?
“Who dares find fault with me?”
Rubina spat out sarcastically.
“Montefeltro, who only watches my face and doesn’t even show up to the ball? Marquez, who would lose her husband at my word?”
She drank the wine glass in one gulp like a city swindler, not as if she was drinking a fruit wine but as if she was drinking a strong drink.
“Seriously, there is nothing lower than what is placed on your shoulders!”
Duchess Rubina tapped her maid Deborah's temple unpleasantly with her long fingernails.
Deborah froze in place, unable to make a sound.
“Etiquette and elegance are all just empty words that only have the support of power. If they were useful, why did the dead Marguerite live her entire life hunched over like that?”
She let out a laugh.
“I have His Majesty the King behind me. What do the socialites care if I feed dog food or dog poop to people?”
It was true. She could have done worse.
That being said, there isn't a single socialite who wouldn't dare invite her.
Rubina felt a little better as she recalled her strength.
When the Duchess held out her glass again, Deborah filled it again and asked cautiously.
“But if His Majesty the King is behind you, shouldn’t the Duchess ask His Majesty to scold Prince Alfonso? The Prince was indeed mean to you today.”
Duchess Rubina's mood, which was about to improve, took a turn for the worse once again.
This is because Deborah, the maid, openly pointed out the limits that Rubina could not overcome.
“Are you a decoration for your head?!”
If she, who was merely a mistress, wanted to find fault with the legitimate Prince and true successor, she would have to ask him about something serious, not something trivial.
She can't just blow Alfonso up in one fell swoop unless she finds something that amounts to treason.
All she can do is fan herself next to the King, slowly and steadily, until her clothes get wet in the drizzle.
“Stop making a fuss and get out!”
Rubina threw a half-full tin glass of red wine at Deborah.
“Don’t show yourself in front of me, you idiot!”
Deborah ran to save herself.
“What a piece of trash.”
Rubina muttered. Still, Deborah was a rare talent who endured Rubina's mistreatment and still stuck with her.
The fact that Duchess Rubina always suffered from a shortage of talent was due to the limitations of her status as a mistress, but her poor treatment of her subordinates also played a part.
Feeling lonely, she filled a new glass with her own hands, her eyes the same color as red wine shining.
“Yeah, it’s not over just because we lost this one game.”
There were plenty of more opportunities.
Duchess Rubina and Princess Bianca may be of equal rank, but wouldn't Bianca be able to burrow into Leo III's bed?
“Bianca, what do you think will change if that woman crawls up to the capital?”
To Rubina, Bianca was no big deal. Alfonso's Princess was a much bigger threat.
'I must try to whisper well to His Majesty.'
She will find a good daughter-in-law. Rubina did not like the Grand Duchess of Gallico, who is being talked about now.
As the Grand Duchess of the Kingdom of Gallico, whose King had no heir, her family was too flashy. She was disgusted by the fact that Alfonso was gaining power.
The woman whose family was poor, but not too out of place in terms of social status, and who had a gentle personality and could be controlled by Rubina was perfect for her.
'How could I know what the personality of a foreign Princess I've never met would be like?'
Rubina gulped down her wine in anger. But she had one card to play: Cesare.
'I need to bring my son... quickly.'
Her son is smart, so he will make a genius move. She wanted to see him. Her handsome son Cesare, grew up strong.
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