“It will be a difficult and hard road.”
Ariadne's status was nothing more than that of a nouveau riche. It was an improvement over her status as a commoner.
By all accounts, she was not of the bloodline that would allow her to marry into a royal family whose family tree traced back to the ancient Latin Empire, like the de Carlo dynasty.
“But if you choose me.”
If she chooses him. If she trusts him and throws herself into the unknown.
He extended his thick hand toward her.
“If you hold my hand.”
There was a time when he thought it was right to let her go. He actually did let her go once.
But what Alfonso felt after going around and around for five years was only one thing: he couldn't do without her.
“I will never let go of your hand first.”
Ariadne looked down at Alfonso's hand in silence. It was large, thick, with protruding joints, and covered with calluses and scars.
The years he had lived since he was a handsome, white boy prince were all contained in that one right hand.
It was a hand that was injured while fighting to get to her.
“...”
Tears welled up in Ariadne's eyes. They were tears filled with complex emotions.
Her heart ached when she saw his injured hand, and her chest ached when she thought of her past self who had been waiting for him without end.
She remembered that late autumn afternoon when she waited endlessly for the carriage to pick her up, when he was to leave for the summer palace in Taranto with the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.
She remembers the many nights since he left for the Kingdom of Gallico, writing and rewriting letters without a reply and fantasizing about how she could have been forgotten.
She remembered those countless days when her heart was torn apart because she wanted her 'golden prince', Alfonso de Carlo, so desperately.
“...Idiot, stupid.”
She turned away from Alfonso's outstretched hand. Instead, she jumped straight into his arms.
Alfonso was surprised and hugged her. The scent of a woman hit him.
Even though she was sweating from running around all night, Ariadne's body scent was still sweet.
Ariadne's shoulders shook as she buried her face in Alfonso's chest. She couldn't stop sobbing for a while. She muttered into his arms.
“What are you asking, idiot...”
How nice it would be if he just dragged her along while her eyes were closed. If he were given a choice, hr would have to struggle with his conscience. You idiot.
She was the one who took Alfonso's life. She had committed many evil deeds. She might not have been a match for him, not only in status but also in character.
But she wanted to be greedy. For once in her two lives, she wanted to grab what she wanted without compromise, without considering cost-effectiveness or rationality.
She no longer loved Alfonso's status and wealth.
For this moment, becoming a Princess and strutting around in front of Isabella was pushed to the back of her list of life's wishes.
She just wants to hold this warm man's hand and confess her love to him without caring what he thinks.
Ariadne thought as she lay in Alfonso's arms.
Even if this choice she made, this selfish choice, comes back to her like a boomerang according to the Golden Rule, shr will not regret it.
"Ari."
After hearing Ariadne's answer, a huge smile appeared on Alfonso's face. He tightened his arms around Ariadne.
Although Ariadne was tall, she looked half of Alfonso's size in his arms.
He hugged her tightly and lifted her up with both hands, grabbing her waist.
“Whoa!”
Ariadne screamed in surprise. She stopped sobbing because she was screaming, and Alfonso lifted her into the air and smiled.
He thought of the hydrangea garden of the old Marquis of Chibo. It took all the strength of the young boy to lift the girl.
But now, Ariadne's waist was so slender that it fit perfectly in his two hands, and compared to the greatswords that the barbarians brandished on the battlefield, she was as light as a feather.
At that time, his wish was to freely embrace her whenever he wanted and confess his love whenever he wanted. Now, it is possible. This day has come.
“I will place a crown on your head.”
He said, spinning her around in the air.
“The Queen’s crown that my mother used to wear will suit you well.”
“Stop turning!”
Ariadne cried out urgently.
“One of my hair ornaments will fly away right now before I even get to the crown!”
Alfonso laughed loudly in a clear voice. Everything was happy. If she asked him to get off, he would get on, if she asked him to die, he would die.
Just as he was about to pull her down and hold her in his arms again—he had no intention of just letting her fall to the ground—a cautious voice stopped them.
“Excuse me... I apologize for the interruption. I have an important message for Countess de Mare.”
The man who came between them was Sir Bernardino.
“Someone was looking for the Countess outside the palace, but it seemed urgent, so I brought him in through the side door without putting him on the guest list.”
Sir Dino covered the man with his cloak and pushed him forward.
The man was struggling because he couldn't see, but Sir Dino caught him and carefully took off his cloak.
The person who emerged from under Dino's cloak was Sancha.
"Miss!"
Ariadne, who was barely able to step on the ground thanks to the appearance of Sir Dino and Sancha, hurriedly touched her head and asked.
“Sancha! How did you end up here? How did you know I was here?”
Sancha's hair was a mess because of Dino's cloak. However, Sancha, unlike her master, had no time to even care about her hair.
“I’ll tell you about that later! Miss, we’re in big trouble!”
“What’s the big deal?”
Ariadne's eyes widened. Sancha cried out, unable to breathe.
“Master Ippolito has had a terrible accident!”
"What?"
What on earth could have happened that would have made Sancha come all the way to the palace in the middle of the night to look for her? Besides, Ippolito's guard was actually Cardinal de Mare's job.
Did the Cardinal cause an accident that couldn't be covered by himself?
“Did my father send you?”
Sancha trailed off, looking at Prince Alfonso and Sir Bernardino.
“No... That’s not it...”
“Do I have to go now?”
Entering the palace at night is a big deal, but leaving again is also a big deal.
Ariadne's head started to hurt as she wrote down her personal details and thought about explaining why she had entered the palace without a prior appointment.
Sancha noticed the mistress's expression and realized that it would be difficult to take her out unless they had a proper conversation.
She clung closely to Ariadne and whispered in her ear.
“...So... The Cardinal doesn’t know yet... You should go and see for yourself...”
Ariadne's face turned pale at once. She asked.
“...In this matter... Wouldn’t it be better for Alfonso, or rather the Prince, to go together?”
Sancha shook her head.
“He didn’t want it.”
Ariadne agreed.
“...That could be possible. If that’s what you want, then you should do it.”
She turned her head and looked at Alfonso.
“I think I should go back home.”
Alfonso nodded slowly. Something unpleasant, of a tricky kind, seemed to have happened.
He really didn't want to send his girlfriend to a place like that, but he couldn't help but let her go because of her family history.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I went with you?”
Alfonso proposed.
“I feel like there might be something I can do to help.”
It must have been so, for Ariadne was the first to ask, 'How about taking Alfonso with you?' He trusted her judgment.
But Ariadne shook her head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. I’ll definitely let you know if I need help.”
There was no way out of it. He let out a low sigh and kissed her forehead.
“Be careful.”
"Yes."
Sir Bernardino clicked his tongue at the sight of this pair of closely attached figures.
“No, they won’t even hide it anymore.”
Sancha also asked.
“Hey, since when have they been doing that?”
Her pride seemed quite hurt by the fact that she was completely unaware of her master's love life. Dino answered.
“I don’t know the exact time, but I think it wasn’t even half an hour ago.”
“...So, you’re saying that the people you’ve been dating for about thirty minutes are acting like that now?”
“That’s right. You’re so shameless. It makes me sad to see you, old bachelor.”
Alfonso embraced Ariadne, paying no attention to the betrayed Sancha and the bewildered Sir Dino.
“Really, do you need to be careful?”
On the contrary, it was Ariadne who was disgusted.
“It’s my house, so be careful!”
She pushed Alfonso away.
“I’ll be back soon!”
But Dino wasn't the type to miss that opportunity.
“Huh, ‘I’m back’? Is this your home and the mansion your workplace? Have you already decided to set up your new home in the palace?”
Sancha, who guarded the honor of the young lady with burning eyes, would have said a few words to Sir Bernardino if it were normal, but she was so shocked that she couldn't say anything and just stared blankly at Ariadne.
“Yes, I see, Miss, your heart has changed...”
Ariadne cried out, her face turning bright red.
“That’s nonsense! Let’s go!”
Alfonso was the only one who was smiling innocently while watching all this.
As Ariadne was running at full speed out of the palace through the side gate of the Prince's palace towards the mansion de Mare, a young man with a decadent look on his face appeared at the party of Princess Bianca of Taranto, now that the host of the party had left and most of the guests had disappeared.
Most of the guests left in the ballroom were slightly drunk. However, anyone who saw the man doubted their eyes.
Some people sobered up, others rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were hallucinating because they were drunk, and others screamed internally that seeing this man was the best news they had heard all month.
The young man glanced at the ballroom decorations where the liquor flowed like a river, then walked straight inside.
It was very rare for him to be sober in a dance hall where everyone else was drunk.
He kept looking around, looking for someone.
When he reached the innermost part of the ballroom and still could not find the person he was looking for, he grabbed the person who seemed the least drunk in the middle of the room by the collar and asked him.
"Hey."
“Yes, huh?”
The other party, a lower-ranking nobleman from the capital, stuttered. Although it was the first time he had seen the other party as a man, the other party knew the man very well.
“Where did the ‘Guidatta’ of this ball go?”
But the man's question was drowned out by the screams of the other man. The lower-ranking nobleman who had been grabbed by the collar shouted in excitement as he was drunk.
“It’s Duke Cesare!”
The once empty ballroom began to buzz with excitement. The other party shouted again at the top of their lungs.
“Duke Cesare has returned to the capital!”
Ariadne's status was nothing more than that of a nouveau riche. It was an improvement over her status as a commoner.
By all accounts, she was not of the bloodline that would allow her to marry into a royal family whose family tree traced back to the ancient Latin Empire, like the de Carlo dynasty.
“But if you choose me.”
If she chooses him. If she trusts him and throws herself into the unknown.
He extended his thick hand toward her.
“If you hold my hand.”
There was a time when he thought it was right to let her go. He actually did let her go once.
But what Alfonso felt after going around and around for five years was only one thing: he couldn't do without her.
“I will never let go of your hand first.”
Ariadne looked down at Alfonso's hand in silence. It was large, thick, with protruding joints, and covered with calluses and scars.
The years he had lived since he was a handsome, white boy prince were all contained in that one right hand.
It was a hand that was injured while fighting to get to her.
“...”
Tears welled up in Ariadne's eyes. They were tears filled with complex emotions.
Her heart ached when she saw his injured hand, and her chest ached when she thought of her past self who had been waiting for him without end.
She remembered that late autumn afternoon when she waited endlessly for the carriage to pick her up, when he was to leave for the summer palace in Taranto with the Grand Duchess of Lariesa.
She remembers the many nights since he left for the Kingdom of Gallico, writing and rewriting letters without a reply and fantasizing about how she could have been forgotten.
She remembered those countless days when her heart was torn apart because she wanted her 'golden prince', Alfonso de Carlo, so desperately.
“...Idiot, stupid.”
She turned away from Alfonso's outstretched hand. Instead, she jumped straight into his arms.
Alfonso was surprised and hugged her. The scent of a woman hit him.
Even though she was sweating from running around all night, Ariadne's body scent was still sweet.
Ariadne's shoulders shook as she buried her face in Alfonso's chest. She couldn't stop sobbing for a while. She muttered into his arms.
“What are you asking, idiot...”
How nice it would be if he just dragged her along while her eyes were closed. If he were given a choice, hr would have to struggle with his conscience. You idiot.
She was the one who took Alfonso's life. She had committed many evil deeds. She might not have been a match for him, not only in status but also in character.
But she wanted to be greedy. For once in her two lives, she wanted to grab what she wanted without compromise, without considering cost-effectiveness or rationality.
She no longer loved Alfonso's status and wealth.
For this moment, becoming a Princess and strutting around in front of Isabella was pushed to the back of her list of life's wishes.
She just wants to hold this warm man's hand and confess her love to him without caring what he thinks.
Ariadne thought as she lay in Alfonso's arms.
Even if this choice she made, this selfish choice, comes back to her like a boomerang according to the Golden Rule, shr will not regret it.
"Ari."
After hearing Ariadne's answer, a huge smile appeared on Alfonso's face. He tightened his arms around Ariadne.
Although Ariadne was tall, she looked half of Alfonso's size in his arms.
He hugged her tightly and lifted her up with both hands, grabbing her waist.
“Whoa!”
Ariadne screamed in surprise. She stopped sobbing because she was screaming, and Alfonso lifted her into the air and smiled.
He thought of the hydrangea garden of the old Marquis of Chibo. It took all the strength of the young boy to lift the girl.
But now, Ariadne's waist was so slender that it fit perfectly in his two hands, and compared to the greatswords that the barbarians brandished on the battlefield, she was as light as a feather.
At that time, his wish was to freely embrace her whenever he wanted and confess his love whenever he wanted. Now, it is possible. This day has come.
“I will place a crown on your head.”
He said, spinning her around in the air.
“The Queen’s crown that my mother used to wear will suit you well.”
“Stop turning!”
Ariadne cried out urgently.
“One of my hair ornaments will fly away right now before I even get to the crown!”
Alfonso laughed loudly in a clear voice. Everything was happy. If she asked him to get off, he would get on, if she asked him to die, he would die.
Just as he was about to pull her down and hold her in his arms again—he had no intention of just letting her fall to the ground—a cautious voice stopped them.
“Excuse me... I apologize for the interruption. I have an important message for Countess de Mare.”
The man who came between them was Sir Bernardino.
“Someone was looking for the Countess outside the palace, but it seemed urgent, so I brought him in through the side door without putting him on the guest list.”
Sir Dino covered the man with his cloak and pushed him forward.
The man was struggling because he couldn't see, but Sir Dino caught him and carefully took off his cloak.
The person who emerged from under Dino's cloak was Sancha.
"Miss!"
Ariadne, who was barely able to step on the ground thanks to the appearance of Sir Dino and Sancha, hurriedly touched her head and asked.
“Sancha! How did you end up here? How did you know I was here?”
Sancha's hair was a mess because of Dino's cloak. However, Sancha, unlike her master, had no time to even care about her hair.
“I’ll tell you about that later! Miss, we’re in big trouble!”
“What’s the big deal?”
Ariadne's eyes widened. Sancha cried out, unable to breathe.
“Master Ippolito has had a terrible accident!”
"What?"
What on earth could have happened that would have made Sancha come all the way to the palace in the middle of the night to look for her? Besides, Ippolito's guard was actually Cardinal de Mare's job.
Did the Cardinal cause an accident that couldn't be covered by himself?
“Did my father send you?”
Sancha trailed off, looking at Prince Alfonso and Sir Bernardino.
“No... That’s not it...”
“Do I have to go now?”
Entering the palace at night is a big deal, but leaving again is also a big deal.
Ariadne's head started to hurt as she wrote down her personal details and thought about explaining why she had entered the palace without a prior appointment.
Sancha noticed the mistress's expression and realized that it would be difficult to take her out unless they had a proper conversation.
She clung closely to Ariadne and whispered in her ear.
“...So... The Cardinal doesn’t know yet... You should go and see for yourself...”
Ariadne's face turned pale at once. She asked.
“...In this matter... Wouldn’t it be better for Alfonso, or rather the Prince, to go together?”
Sancha shook her head.
“He didn’t want it.”
Ariadne agreed.
“...That could be possible. If that’s what you want, then you should do it.”
She turned her head and looked at Alfonso.
“I think I should go back home.”
Alfonso nodded slowly. Something unpleasant, of a tricky kind, seemed to have happened.
He really didn't want to send his girlfriend to a place like that, but he couldn't help but let her go because of her family history.
“Wouldn’t it be better if I went with you?”
Alfonso proposed.
“I feel like there might be something I can do to help.”
It must have been so, for Ariadne was the first to ask, 'How about taking Alfonso with you?' He trusted her judgment.
But Ariadne shook her head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. I’ll definitely let you know if I need help.”
There was no way out of it. He let out a low sigh and kissed her forehead.
“Be careful.”
"Yes."
Sir Bernardino clicked his tongue at the sight of this pair of closely attached figures.
“No, they won’t even hide it anymore.”
Sancha also asked.
“Hey, since when have they been doing that?”
Her pride seemed quite hurt by the fact that she was completely unaware of her master's love life. Dino answered.
“I don’t know the exact time, but I think it wasn’t even half an hour ago.”
“...So, you’re saying that the people you’ve been dating for about thirty minutes are acting like that now?”
“That’s right. You’re so shameless. It makes me sad to see you, old bachelor.”
Alfonso embraced Ariadne, paying no attention to the betrayed Sancha and the bewildered Sir Dino.
“Really, do you need to be careful?”
On the contrary, it was Ariadne who was disgusted.
“It’s my house, so be careful!”
She pushed Alfonso away.
“I’ll be back soon!”
But Dino wasn't the type to miss that opportunity.
“Huh, ‘I’m back’? Is this your home and the mansion your workplace? Have you already decided to set up your new home in the palace?”
Sancha, who guarded the honor of the young lady with burning eyes, would have said a few words to Sir Bernardino if it were normal, but she was so shocked that she couldn't say anything and just stared blankly at Ariadne.
“Yes, I see, Miss, your heart has changed...”
Ariadne cried out, her face turning bright red.
“That’s nonsense! Let’s go!”
Alfonso was the only one who was smiling innocently while watching all this.
***
As Ariadne was running at full speed out of the palace through the side gate of the Prince's palace towards the mansion de Mare, a young man with a decadent look on his face appeared at the party of Princess Bianca of Taranto, now that the host of the party had left and most of the guests had disappeared.
Most of the guests left in the ballroom were slightly drunk. However, anyone who saw the man doubted their eyes.
Some people sobered up, others rubbed their eyes, wondering if they were hallucinating because they were drunk, and others screamed internally that seeing this man was the best news they had heard all month.
The young man glanced at the ballroom decorations where the liquor flowed like a river, then walked straight inside.
It was very rare for him to be sober in a dance hall where everyone else was drunk.
He kept looking around, looking for someone.
When he reached the innermost part of the ballroom and still could not find the person he was looking for, he grabbed the person who seemed the least drunk in the middle of the room by the collar and asked him.
"Hey."
“Yes, huh?”
The other party, a lower-ranking nobleman from the capital, stuttered. Although it was the first time he had seen the other party as a man, the other party knew the man very well.
“Where did the ‘Guidatta’ of this ball go?”
But the man's question was drowned out by the screams of the other man. The lower-ranking nobleman who had been grabbed by the collar shouted in excitement as he was drunk.
“It’s Duke Cesare!”
The once empty ballroom began to buzz with excitement. The other party shouted again at the top of their lungs.
“Duke Cesare has returned to the capital!”
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