Ariadne smiled bitterly.
“Leave me alone, Your Highness. It is not the alcohol that is bitter, but my incompetence that is bitter.”
The servant, who had been walking around with a tray, approached. She picked up two glasses and handed one to Alfonso.
He reluctantly accepted the cup she offered him. Ariadne smiled unconsciously.
Her intuitive calculation was that if she could just smile and have a glass of wine, that is, if she could make Alfonso an accomplice in drinking, she could sufficiently stop his nagging.
“Drink in moderation. You’re drunk.”
...I guess not.
She raised her glass half-heartedly and asked for a toast. This he did not refuse.
“Please tell me, Prince.”
Clink!
Two thin crystal glasses clinked together, making a refreshing sound. One was held vigorously, the other was held casually.
Ariadne drank her glass after the toast, then licked her red lips covered in fruit wine and said.
“How did you manage to tame the unpredictable San Carlo society and bring them to the court like a flock of docile sheep?”
Ariadne prided herself on having a good grasp of the inner workings and intrigues of high society.
But getting hit in the back of the head by Rubina today was a huge blow to her pride.
She had been thinking about that all along. Where did I go wrong? What did I miss? How could I have done better?
Alfonso was so nervous about what Ariadne would ask that he suddenly lost his temper.
It was a nervous remark, but it was actually a bit of anticipation mixed with tension. He answered in a slightly blunt tone.
“I hope you won’t be too disappointed after hearing this, Countess de Mare.”
The Prince also took a sip of his glass. It was not to his taste, but a sweet fruit wine, like that of a debutante who had just come of age.
However, the women who drank this fruit wine are drawn into the complex and intricate schemes of the high society from that day on, where there is no sweetness to be found.
In some ways, it could be seen as the most bitter alcohol in the world.
“I just solved it the way royalty usually does.”
Only the powerful did not have to resort to intrigue.
Prince Alfonso's method of attracting the socialites to Bianca's party was simple.
As soon as Alfonso realized the situation, he went to the residence of the Marquis of Guatieri, who was the leader of the great lords. He summoned the Marquis himself instead of his wife.
“I heard that my beloved cousin’s debutante ball is in trouble due to a lack of attendees. As the party’s sponsor, I find it embarrassing. I ask that the Marquis step forward and take responsibility and do his best.”
The Marquis of Guatieri had met the Prince as soon as he returned from Yesak and had begged him to lower the land and poll taxes he collected from his domains and to raise the customs and tolls he collected from the merchants.
Since tax reform was not the Prince's immediate concern, this was tantamount to offering to share his vision and stand on the Prince's side.
At the time, Prince Alfonso drew the line, saying that he could not say anything more about his next term in power because it would go against his loyalty to the King.
But today's request was the first task the Prince had ever brought.
The Marquis of Guatieri, who had finally received an answer to his previous proposal to form a faction, or who thought that the success or failure of this matter depended on that answer, shook hands firmly with Prince Alfonso two or three times.
And he was horrified to hear that even his own wife would not attend the ball where the Prince was the guardian.
The Marquis ran straight into the bedroom after the Prince left.
“Honey, what are you talking about! You’re not going to the Duke of Taranto’s party? I told you to go, didn’t I? Who do you want to see ruined right now?!”
The rest was smooth sailing.
After spending a long time talking to her wife about the rise and fall of a family, the role of a mistress, and the importance of mental clarity, the Marchioness Guatieri didn't even have time to write a letter, so she got into her carriage and went around the houses of nearby noble ladies.
Perhaps because he was anxious about leaving it to his wife alone, the Marquis of Guatieri personally visited a couple of the most important families.
And the noble families who received the visit of the Marquis in this way began to have their own carriages called to tour their own ancestral organizations.
The Marquis de Guatieri and several of the distinguished families whom he personally visited had to make a choice between two options: whether to stand behind the next monarchy or behind the King's government.
For the other ladies, today's ball was a question of whether they would stand behind the Duchess of Rubina or the Marchioness of Guatieri.
After the tide turned, it was simple.
Those who didn't even have a reason to wait in line simply changed their destination after hearing that someone was going somewhere and that the atmosphere was different, with the sole thought that if they followed others, they would get to the middle.
Since he put the Marquis Guatieri to work for him, things have been going smoothly.
Alfonso simply went to the Marquis's residence that day and brought the Marquis and his wife with him to watch for any possible betrayal.
The Marquis of Guatieri was even happy that the royal family personally accompanied them and granted them a position as a close associate.
This was something only those with power through bloodline could do.
In other words, it was the kind of thing Ariadne was born with and could not do.
“I pushed the Marquis de Guatieri into power.”
Alfonso briefly explained to Ariadne what he had done.
After hearing the whole story, Ariadne silently called her servant over and received another cup, which she drank down as well.
Alfonso was quite perplexed. Wouldn't it be nice if everything went well? Why was Ariadne still angry?
On the other hand, Ariadne continued to blame herself for her incompetence even after hearing that Alfonso was using his power to get things done.
'If only I had used the earldom to seize military power in advance... Is it true that influence cannot be expanded simply with gold?'
Of course, it was an impossible story given the current state of affairs in the Central Continent.
Ariadne was simply an unmarried woman who received a Countess without lands in place of her father in exchange for falsifying Cesare's birth certificate.
It was nothing more than an empty reproach, as there was no way she could ever assume military power.
Alfonso saw Ariadne continuing to drink in silence and decided to stop her.
He was sure she was quite drunk, and this was aided by the fact that Ariadne, bitter as the north wind in winter, had smiled when he had tried to discourage her from drinking.
“Shall we take a walk?”
In his opinion, he needed to get this woman away from this ballroom where liquor flowed down the canal.
This was especially true since it was a party where the King was walking around with his eyes wide open, chasing women's buttocks.
“...Yes.”
Ariadne nodded.
There may have been many reasons why she accepted Alfonso's invitation to take a walk, but some of them clearly stemmed from jealousy.
The moment Alfonso reached out his hand to Bianca, even though they clearly knew in their heads that this was not the case, their hearts still swayed.
She thought she had experienced enough desperate love.
If you have a history of being obsessed with a man and giving up your life for him, you would easily win a prize in any 'Love Blind Fool' contest.
But at that time, it was a love where the head and heart moved as one.
Ariadne wanted Cesare so badly, she was obsessed with him, and it was right, both emotionally and situationally, to have him completely.
It would have been natural for her to love Cesare, except for one thing: the man did not return her love.
But now there was every reason not to do it. The man in front of her was the man she had married.
He could promise her nothing but the broad, straight road to hell—a life as the King's secret woman. A poisoned chalice that was not to be touched.
But every time Ariadne saw him, her heart raced. Her emotions, her feelings, her mind, her instincts were stirred.
Ariadne wanted to find out what this tickling feeling in her stomach was.
Alfonso held out his arm to Ariadne. It was the same thick hand that had been used to escort Bianca.
“Shall we go, Countess?”
At the sight of it, an indescribable sense of satisfaction rose within her.
Ariadne silently placed her gloved hand on his arm, a quiet but gentle gesture.
The two got up from the sofa in the corner of this floor and walked slowly.
The Duke of Taranto's palace had a beautiful, rustic, coniferous garden that retained its natural form.
As he guided Ariadne down the round staircase where few people passed, Alfonso smiled bitterly as if he suddenly remembered something.
“Come to think of it, we’ve never been ball partners.”
Ariadne's debutante ball was the first ball they attended together, and the seat next to her that day was taken by Cesare, who had arrived with the royal order.
The next ball was a spring festival held at the palace. The Narcissus girl who stood next to Alfonso at that ball was Lariesa.
Today, things were a little different, but he escorted Bianca to this spot anyway.
No matter what sad love stories she whispered at the ball, or what sorrowful love songs she sang, or what secret meetings she had in the garden, the place next to Alfonso was never Ariadne's.
“Yes. And the Prince is not my partner today either.”
It was the same for Alfonso that Ariadne's official seat at his side was not his.
Countess Ariadne de Mare's partner is a silver-haired young Marquis. A cold, intellectual voice flew in.
“Would you please step aside so I can spend time with my partner?”
Raphael de Baldessar stood before them, his voice full of mockery, even though he was polite and stern.
“Leave me alone, Your Highness. It is not the alcohol that is bitter, but my incompetence that is bitter.”
The servant, who had been walking around with a tray, approached. She picked up two glasses and handed one to Alfonso.
He reluctantly accepted the cup she offered him. Ariadne smiled unconsciously.
Her intuitive calculation was that if she could just smile and have a glass of wine, that is, if she could make Alfonso an accomplice in drinking, she could sufficiently stop his nagging.
“Drink in moderation. You’re drunk.”
...I guess not.
She raised her glass half-heartedly and asked for a toast. This he did not refuse.
“Please tell me, Prince.”
Clink!
Two thin crystal glasses clinked together, making a refreshing sound. One was held vigorously, the other was held casually.
Ariadne drank her glass after the toast, then licked her red lips covered in fruit wine and said.
“How did you manage to tame the unpredictable San Carlo society and bring them to the court like a flock of docile sheep?”
Ariadne prided herself on having a good grasp of the inner workings and intrigues of high society.
But getting hit in the back of the head by Rubina today was a huge blow to her pride.
She had been thinking about that all along. Where did I go wrong? What did I miss? How could I have done better?
Alfonso was so nervous about what Ariadne would ask that he suddenly lost his temper.
It was a nervous remark, but it was actually a bit of anticipation mixed with tension. He answered in a slightly blunt tone.
“I hope you won’t be too disappointed after hearing this, Countess de Mare.”
The Prince also took a sip of his glass. It was not to his taste, but a sweet fruit wine, like that of a debutante who had just come of age.
However, the women who drank this fruit wine are drawn into the complex and intricate schemes of the high society from that day on, where there is no sweetness to be found.
In some ways, it could be seen as the most bitter alcohol in the world.
“I just solved it the way royalty usually does.”
Only the powerful did not have to resort to intrigue.
Prince Alfonso's method of attracting the socialites to Bianca's party was simple.
As soon as Alfonso realized the situation, he went to the residence of the Marquis of Guatieri, who was the leader of the great lords. He summoned the Marquis himself instead of his wife.
“I heard that my beloved cousin’s debutante ball is in trouble due to a lack of attendees. As the party’s sponsor, I find it embarrassing. I ask that the Marquis step forward and take responsibility and do his best.”
The Marquis of Guatieri had met the Prince as soon as he returned from Yesak and had begged him to lower the land and poll taxes he collected from his domains and to raise the customs and tolls he collected from the merchants.
Since tax reform was not the Prince's immediate concern, this was tantamount to offering to share his vision and stand on the Prince's side.
At the time, Prince Alfonso drew the line, saying that he could not say anything more about his next term in power because it would go against his loyalty to the King.
But today's request was the first task the Prince had ever brought.
The Marquis of Guatieri, who had finally received an answer to his previous proposal to form a faction, or who thought that the success or failure of this matter depended on that answer, shook hands firmly with Prince Alfonso two or three times.
And he was horrified to hear that even his own wife would not attend the ball where the Prince was the guardian.
The Marquis ran straight into the bedroom after the Prince left.
“Honey, what are you talking about! You’re not going to the Duke of Taranto’s party? I told you to go, didn’t I? Who do you want to see ruined right now?!”
The rest was smooth sailing.
After spending a long time talking to her wife about the rise and fall of a family, the role of a mistress, and the importance of mental clarity, the Marchioness Guatieri didn't even have time to write a letter, so she got into her carriage and went around the houses of nearby noble ladies.
Perhaps because he was anxious about leaving it to his wife alone, the Marquis of Guatieri personally visited a couple of the most important families.
And the noble families who received the visit of the Marquis in this way began to have their own carriages called to tour their own ancestral organizations.
The Marquis de Guatieri and several of the distinguished families whom he personally visited had to make a choice between two options: whether to stand behind the next monarchy or behind the King's government.
For the other ladies, today's ball was a question of whether they would stand behind the Duchess of Rubina or the Marchioness of Guatieri.
After the tide turned, it was simple.
Those who didn't even have a reason to wait in line simply changed their destination after hearing that someone was going somewhere and that the atmosphere was different, with the sole thought that if they followed others, they would get to the middle.
Since he put the Marquis Guatieri to work for him, things have been going smoothly.
Alfonso simply went to the Marquis's residence that day and brought the Marquis and his wife with him to watch for any possible betrayal.
The Marquis of Guatieri was even happy that the royal family personally accompanied them and granted them a position as a close associate.
This was something only those with power through bloodline could do.
In other words, it was the kind of thing Ariadne was born with and could not do.
“I pushed the Marquis de Guatieri into power.”
Alfonso briefly explained to Ariadne what he had done.
After hearing the whole story, Ariadne silently called her servant over and received another cup, which she drank down as well.
Alfonso was quite perplexed. Wouldn't it be nice if everything went well? Why was Ariadne still angry?
On the other hand, Ariadne continued to blame herself for her incompetence even after hearing that Alfonso was using his power to get things done.
'If only I had used the earldom to seize military power in advance... Is it true that influence cannot be expanded simply with gold?'
Of course, it was an impossible story given the current state of affairs in the Central Continent.
Ariadne was simply an unmarried woman who received a Countess without lands in place of her father in exchange for falsifying Cesare's birth certificate.
It was nothing more than an empty reproach, as there was no way she could ever assume military power.
Alfonso saw Ariadne continuing to drink in silence and decided to stop her.
He was sure she was quite drunk, and this was aided by the fact that Ariadne, bitter as the north wind in winter, had smiled when he had tried to discourage her from drinking.
“Shall we take a walk?”
In his opinion, he needed to get this woman away from this ballroom where liquor flowed down the canal.
This was especially true since it was a party where the King was walking around with his eyes wide open, chasing women's buttocks.
“...Yes.”
Ariadne nodded.
There may have been many reasons why she accepted Alfonso's invitation to take a walk, but some of them clearly stemmed from jealousy.
The moment Alfonso reached out his hand to Bianca, even though they clearly knew in their heads that this was not the case, their hearts still swayed.
She thought she had experienced enough desperate love.
If you have a history of being obsessed with a man and giving up your life for him, you would easily win a prize in any 'Love Blind Fool' contest.
But at that time, it was a love where the head and heart moved as one.
Ariadne wanted Cesare so badly, she was obsessed with him, and it was right, both emotionally and situationally, to have him completely.
It would have been natural for her to love Cesare, except for one thing: the man did not return her love.
But now there was every reason not to do it. The man in front of her was the man she had married.
He could promise her nothing but the broad, straight road to hell—a life as the King's secret woman. A poisoned chalice that was not to be touched.
But every time Ariadne saw him, her heart raced. Her emotions, her feelings, her mind, her instincts were stirred.
Ariadne wanted to find out what this tickling feeling in her stomach was.
Alfonso held out his arm to Ariadne. It was the same thick hand that had been used to escort Bianca.
“Shall we go, Countess?”
At the sight of it, an indescribable sense of satisfaction rose within her.
Ariadne silently placed her gloved hand on his arm, a quiet but gentle gesture.
The two got up from the sofa in the corner of this floor and walked slowly.
The Duke of Taranto's palace had a beautiful, rustic, coniferous garden that retained its natural form.
As he guided Ariadne down the round staircase where few people passed, Alfonso smiled bitterly as if he suddenly remembered something.
“Come to think of it, we’ve never been ball partners.”
Ariadne's debutante ball was the first ball they attended together, and the seat next to her that day was taken by Cesare, who had arrived with the royal order.
The next ball was a spring festival held at the palace. The Narcissus girl who stood next to Alfonso at that ball was Lariesa.
Today, things were a little different, but he escorted Bianca to this spot anyway.
No matter what sad love stories she whispered at the ball, or what sorrowful love songs she sang, or what secret meetings she had in the garden, the place next to Alfonso was never Ariadne's.
“Yes. And the Prince is not my partner today either.”
It was the same for Alfonso that Ariadne's official seat at his side was not his.
Countess Ariadne de Mare's partner is a silver-haired young Marquis. A cold, intellectual voice flew in.
“Would you please step aside so I can spend time with my partner?”
Raphael de Baldessar stood before them, his voice full of mockery, even though he was polite and stern.
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