'That's...!'
The Grand Duke Odes bit his lip. The woman before his eyes was Ariadne de Mare, the daughter of Cardinal de Mare and the lover of Prince Alfonso.
The Grand Duke suddenly felt very upset.
Although he had said with his own mouth that he wanted his daughter to be his wife in name only and his mistress by his side, it was a completely different thing to actually see with his own eyes an extramarital affair with a woman who was obsessed with his prospective son-in-law.
Prince Alfonso, who had discovered Grand Duke Odes, looked unhappy.
The woman next to him stopped the Prince from saying something by tugging at his sleeve. This also did not please the Grand Duke.
But Grand Duke Odes was in no position to speak loudly now. He was experiencing firsthand the saying that life is like a flowing river.
It is mainly a metaphor for the fact that life is not fixed like a river and is constantly changing, but it also contains an aspect that it could change violently, like a downstream river with heavy rain pouring down on the upstream at any moment.
To throw away all the highbrow talk and put it simply, damn, things changed so quickly. What he thought were constants became variables.
It was the same when Philip got up and came to Trevero, and when Lariesa followed him there.
There was also a lot to be said about the black-haired woman standing with her arm linked next to the Prince.
That woman originally had the perfect qualifications to work in the government.
She was not the kind of person with outstanding features to be the government of the most successful young Prince in the Central Continent, but since she was originally a concubine who would be made to do something if she was outstanding in one thing—who would make her a second wife if she was outstanding in everything—she definitely had a strangely charming side.
Even the eyes of Grand Duke Odes, the greatest figure in the Central Continent, were critical of Ariadne de Mare.
Moreover, she was the illegitimate daughter of a powerful Cardinal. It was perfect in terms of having connections in the religious world.
But that woman's powerful Cardinal father was becoming a bit too powerful.
Grand Duke Odes, who was not fully informed of the health of Pope Louis, assumed that Cardinal de Mare was simply becoming one of Louis's closest associates.
But even if that misjudgment were to occur, Cardinal de Mare's rise was incredibly formidable.
He was a Cardinal who was closely related to the Pope, and he was not even a rabble rouser, but he led the clergy of the entire Etruscan kingdom, the home of the Catholic Church, and he was a great figure who continued the progress of the Antoninus faction among the theological trends that had been handed down from ancient times.
'He may not be the Pope, but doesn't he have everything in the religious world besides his position?'
Grand Duke Odes would have been horrified to learn that Cardinal de Mare, with the full support of Pope Louis, was soon to become Pope himself.
Anyway, the only advantage that Lariesa had over that woman, being a successful father, was completely diluted.
Dissatisfied with his position as the greatest carrot on the continent, the Gallico crown, yet with no choice but to flee from Philip's sword, Grand Duke Odes took a step toward Prince Alfonso with a sociable smile on his face.
The Grand Duke Odes bit his lip. The woman before his eyes was Ariadne de Mare, the daughter of Cardinal de Mare and the lover of Prince Alfonso.
The Grand Duke suddenly felt very upset.
Although he had said with his own mouth that he wanted his daughter to be his wife in name only and his mistress by his side, it was a completely different thing to actually see with his own eyes an extramarital affair with a woman who was obsessed with his prospective son-in-law.
Prince Alfonso, who had discovered Grand Duke Odes, looked unhappy.
The woman next to him stopped the Prince from saying something by tugging at his sleeve. This also did not please the Grand Duke.
But Grand Duke Odes was in no position to speak loudly now. He was experiencing firsthand the saying that life is like a flowing river.
It is mainly a metaphor for the fact that life is not fixed like a river and is constantly changing, but it also contains an aspect that it could change violently, like a downstream river with heavy rain pouring down on the upstream at any moment.
To throw away all the highbrow talk and put it simply, damn, things changed so quickly. What he thought were constants became variables.
It was the same when Philip got up and came to Trevero, and when Lariesa followed him there.
There was also a lot to be said about the black-haired woman standing with her arm linked next to the Prince.
That woman originally had the perfect qualifications to work in the government.
She was not the kind of person with outstanding features to be the government of the most successful young Prince in the Central Continent, but since she was originally a concubine who would be made to do something if she was outstanding in one thing—who would make her a second wife if she was outstanding in everything—she definitely had a strangely charming side.
Even the eyes of Grand Duke Odes, the greatest figure in the Central Continent, were critical of Ariadne de Mare.
Moreover, she was the illegitimate daughter of a powerful Cardinal. It was perfect in terms of having connections in the religious world.
But that woman's powerful Cardinal father was becoming a bit too powerful.
Grand Duke Odes, who was not fully informed of the health of Pope Louis, assumed that Cardinal de Mare was simply becoming one of Louis's closest associates.
But even if that misjudgment were to occur, Cardinal de Mare's rise was incredibly formidable.
He was a Cardinal who was closely related to the Pope, and he was not even a rabble rouser, but he led the clergy of the entire Etruscan kingdom, the home of the Catholic Church, and he was a great figure who continued the progress of the Antoninus faction among the theological trends that had been handed down from ancient times.
'He may not be the Pope, but doesn't he have everything in the religious world besides his position?'
Grand Duke Odes would have been horrified to learn that Cardinal de Mare, with the full support of Pope Louis, was soon to become Pope himself.
Anyway, the only advantage that Lariesa had over that woman, being a successful father, was completely diluted.
Dissatisfied with his position as the greatest carrot on the continent, the Gallico crown, yet with no choice but to flee from Philip's sword, Grand Duke Odes took a step toward Prince Alfonso with a sociable smile on his face.
He had no choice but to eat and live. Ha. If he gets rid of Philip and becomes a real person, he wonders if something like this won't happen.
“Your Highness, Prince Alfonso! What a delightful coincidence we meet!”
Prince Alfonso's expression hardened. It's not that he couldn't control his expression, but rather that he didn't try hard to do so.
Grand Duke Odes hurled all sorts of curses. Of course, only in his head. He was in no position to show his displeasure at the moment.
“How does it feel to walk with the future of the Central Continent on your shoulders? Even His Holiness the Pope couldn’t help but smile when he saw Your Highness the Prince!”
After Philip IV entered Trevero, Grand Duke Odes behaved like a raccoon pursued by a lion.
The sight of Grand Duke Odes, flustered and showering with praise, was a bit pitiful to anyone who saw it.
Even Ariadne de Mare, who was more objective than anyone else, fully agreed with that assessment.
Now, the Grand Duke of Odes was desperately wanting to shout, 'Will you marry my daughter or not?', but he was not confident that he could take 'No' as an answer, so he just kept whining.
She looked down at the Grand Duke Odes in silence, with Alfonso's arm crossed, though she could not speak.
Grand Duke Odes thought that he had to satisfy his last bit of pride in this way, so even though he was about to die, he did not make eye contact with Ariadne or give any hint that she existed in the same space as him.
Even so, despite Raphael's persuasion to move slowly, Alfonso actually wanted to have a final discussion with Grand Duke Odes today.
Alfonso brought all the evidence and documents with him, not like a Prince going to a banquet, but like a low-level official going to a working-level meeting. He was unwavering even when Ariadne tried to dissuade him.
“Because I want to finish it for sure.”
'Wouldn't it be better to say let's meet up after it's over?'
Pope Ludovico and the other guests would be waiting inside. But Ariadne's distracted thoughts were shattered by a shrill voice.
“Prince, no, my lord!”
The side door in the middle of the hallway opened with a bang, and a figure dressed in blue appeared.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”
It was Princess Lariesa. But there was something strange about her.
First of all, let me point out the simplest thing: the Grand Duchess's hair, which was originally soft brown, was now pitch black, as if it had been dyed with ink.
“Amore mio!”
The Grand Duke Odes was taken aback, and Alfonso looked at the Grand Duchess of Lariesa with his mouth slightly open.
“Well, I’m hungry!”
She quickly approached Alfonso, whispering a few words of love in Etruscan.
Surprisingly, her Etruscan skills were up to a decent level.
Princess Lariesa staggered from side to side as she approached Prince Alfonso. Her gait was very unsteady.
Ariadne was also captivated by Lariesa.
Although Alfonso could not take his eyes off the Grand Duchess, Ariadne did not blame him at all, because the Grand Duchess's appearance was that shocking.
Princess Lariesa was so skinny that it was a wonder she was still alive.
She was not a small person, but she weighed about 100 pounds (about 34 kg). If children had seen her, they would have nicknamed her a walking skeleton.
Being severely underweight also left scars on other parts of her body that had nothing to do with her weight, such as her skin and hair.
Ariadne immediately understood why Grand Duke Odes had so readily permitted Alfonso to have his successor by another woman.
If she's that underweight, shr probably won't be able to run.
Princess Lariesa's hair, dyed black, was thin and sparse. She covered it with a headscarf worn by married women.
Even the headscarf was of a style popular in the Etruscan kingdom, not one worn by the women of the Gallico kingdom.
The Princess's attire was also, in general, or in fact, entirely that of the Etruscan kingdom. She followed the latest fashions of San Carlo with a curious accuracy.
Her dress was of dark fabric and had a deep plunging neckline, and the Grand Duchess wore awkwardly high heels.
Princess Lariesa's unsteady walking was also due to some shoe problems.
The dark blue dress that Lariesa wore was quite revealing. But being revealing is not synonymous with being racy.
Princess Lariesa's neckline was so low that it almost reached her navel, but all that could be seen between them were her exposed bones.
He was so skinny that you could see the shape of his collarbone and ribs beneath a thin, flaky layer of skin.
“Lariesa!”
Grand Duke Odes stepped forward and tried to stop his daughter, but Grand Duchess Lariesa completely ignored her father.
"You!"
It was because Ariadne was discovered late.
Princess Lariesa's face turned into that of a demon.
Her face was originally like a crumpled piece of dough when she was making faces, but now she really looked like a demon crawling out of hell.
"You!!"
Princess Lariesa trembled on the spot as she scolded Ariadne.
She still remembered.
The kiss in the daffodil garden, where he was the audience and the two of them were the main characters. Prince Alfonso, who was chasing the woman in the dark blue dress, with eyes dripping with affection.
The young lovers were sweetly exploring each other, and she, ugly and shabby, was left standing alone in the darkness.
Lariesa returned to Montpellier and always dreamed of meeting Prince Alfonso again.
'You will love me.'
Because she will be the perfect woman for him.
The woman in the daffodil garden was thin, tall, and had hair as black as a moonless night.
Lariesa stopped eating. She had to become prettier. Even prettier than that woman. All she could do was lose weight.
She wanted that smooth nape of her neck that glistens under the moonlight and those wrists that look like they'll break if you hold them.
She wanted that slender silhouette that showed off her slender bones even when wearing a thick silk dress.
Despite her mother's nagging that she should eat properly, the words of other girls her age who wanted to look good to Lariesa kept ringing in her ears.
“You are so beautiful!”
“This month is much prettier than last month!”
Starving was not easy. On days when she gave in to the urge to eat—or rather, to live—and slurped down food, Lariesaa threw up everything she had eaten.
After doing that for nearly a year, her teeth started to decay, and her salivary glands started to swell.
“Don’t you think I have a double chin?”
Here, Lariesa's chief maid, who realized that Lariesa would be making a fuss if she answered 'perfect', came up with a solution that even the Grand Duchess would agree with.
“If you lose more weight, won’t that go away?”
It was a wise plan learned from watching her senior fly away after telling her to eat a little more and stop vomiting after eating.
That wasn't all. Lariesa, who regularly received letters from Alfonso flying in from Yesak, became engrossed in them.
"It rarely rains in Yesak, but today it's really pouring down. The dry rivers are filled with turbulent water, but tomorrow, as if nothing had happened, it will return to dry land. This war, like the heavy rain in the desert, will be completely forgotten in our lives. Isn't that right, Ari?"
The first thing Lariesa did to Prince Alfonso's letters was to look up unknown words in a dictionary and write down their Gallican translations.
But sooner or later, she also began to add her own impressions to it.
"Your fever is just a passing rainstorm."
You will soon forget about your love for that woman, because I love you.
But as Lariesa's condition worsened, her actions in the letter also became increasingly worse.
"Ari, do you remember what we talked about in the carriage?"
Lariesa muttered.
“I remember. I remember, of course.”
Lariesa knew which carriage ride they were talking about. The Prince's closest aide surrendered and handed over all the information to the Grand Duchess.
She could even write a thesis on the love story between Prince Alfonso and Ariadne de Mare.
“You asked me to be the daffodil girl.”
To whom? To that woman?
It was so annoying. It would have been perfect if only one thing had been fixed. Lariesa picked up her quill and added some notes.
L.
LAri. Your beloved LAri.
You asked me to be the Lady of Narcissus! That must have been so! The next day, at the festival of the Etruscan kingdom, the Lady of Narcissus would be chosen, and the Prince's informer reported that nothing unusual had happened that day, so what else was there to talk about in the carriage?
“Your Highness, you are so beautiful.”
“You look perfect after losing weight.”
Lariesa crossed a river that she was not supposed to cross that day.
That did make her happy.
In a fake reality that is not real, her fiancé, no, her husband, Prince Alfonso, who loves her dearly and sends her letters regularly, and herself, the Grand Duchess of Lariesa, who becomes more beautiful by the day.
The problem was that a real person was standing in front of the Grand Duchess, shouting that her happiness was all fake.
Princess Lariesa shouted with sparks flying from her eyes.
"You!!!"
It was the moment when the Grand Duchess, who had been floating through dreams, returned to the real world after several years.
“Your Highness, Prince Alfonso! What a delightful coincidence we meet!”
Prince Alfonso's expression hardened. It's not that he couldn't control his expression, but rather that he didn't try hard to do so.
Grand Duke Odes hurled all sorts of curses. Of course, only in his head. He was in no position to show his displeasure at the moment.
“How does it feel to walk with the future of the Central Continent on your shoulders? Even His Holiness the Pope couldn’t help but smile when he saw Your Highness the Prince!”
After Philip IV entered Trevero, Grand Duke Odes behaved like a raccoon pursued by a lion.
The sight of Grand Duke Odes, flustered and showering with praise, was a bit pitiful to anyone who saw it.
Even Ariadne de Mare, who was more objective than anyone else, fully agreed with that assessment.
Now, the Grand Duke of Odes was desperately wanting to shout, 'Will you marry my daughter or not?', but he was not confident that he could take 'No' as an answer, so he just kept whining.
She looked down at the Grand Duke Odes in silence, with Alfonso's arm crossed, though she could not speak.
Grand Duke Odes thought that he had to satisfy his last bit of pride in this way, so even though he was about to die, he did not make eye contact with Ariadne or give any hint that she existed in the same space as him.
Even so, despite Raphael's persuasion to move slowly, Alfonso actually wanted to have a final discussion with Grand Duke Odes today.
Alfonso brought all the evidence and documents with him, not like a Prince going to a banquet, but like a low-level official going to a working-level meeting. He was unwavering even when Ariadne tried to dissuade him.
“Because I want to finish it for sure.”
'Wouldn't it be better to say let's meet up after it's over?'
Pope Ludovico and the other guests would be waiting inside. But Ariadne's distracted thoughts were shattered by a shrill voice.
“Prince, no, my lord!”
The side door in the middle of the hallway opened with a bang, and a figure dressed in blue appeared.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”
It was Princess Lariesa. But there was something strange about her.
First of all, let me point out the simplest thing: the Grand Duchess's hair, which was originally soft brown, was now pitch black, as if it had been dyed with ink.
“Amore mio!”
The Grand Duke Odes was taken aback, and Alfonso looked at the Grand Duchess of Lariesa with his mouth slightly open.
“Well, I’m hungry!”
She quickly approached Alfonso, whispering a few words of love in Etruscan.
Surprisingly, her Etruscan skills were up to a decent level.
Princess Lariesa staggered from side to side as she approached Prince Alfonso. Her gait was very unsteady.
Ariadne was also captivated by Lariesa.
Although Alfonso could not take his eyes off the Grand Duchess, Ariadne did not blame him at all, because the Grand Duchess's appearance was that shocking.
Princess Lariesa was so skinny that it was a wonder she was still alive.
She was not a small person, but she weighed about 100 pounds (about 34 kg). If children had seen her, they would have nicknamed her a walking skeleton.
Being severely underweight also left scars on other parts of her body that had nothing to do with her weight, such as her skin and hair.
Ariadne immediately understood why Grand Duke Odes had so readily permitted Alfonso to have his successor by another woman.
If she's that underweight, shr probably won't be able to run.
Princess Lariesa's hair, dyed black, was thin and sparse. She covered it with a headscarf worn by married women.
Even the headscarf was of a style popular in the Etruscan kingdom, not one worn by the women of the Gallico kingdom.
The Princess's attire was also, in general, or in fact, entirely that of the Etruscan kingdom. She followed the latest fashions of San Carlo with a curious accuracy.
Her dress was of dark fabric and had a deep plunging neckline, and the Grand Duchess wore awkwardly high heels.
Princess Lariesa's unsteady walking was also due to some shoe problems.
The dark blue dress that Lariesa wore was quite revealing. But being revealing is not synonymous with being racy.
Princess Lariesa's neckline was so low that it almost reached her navel, but all that could be seen between them were her exposed bones.
He was so skinny that you could see the shape of his collarbone and ribs beneath a thin, flaky layer of skin.
“Lariesa!”
Grand Duke Odes stepped forward and tried to stop his daughter, but Grand Duchess Lariesa completely ignored her father.
"You!"
It was because Ariadne was discovered late.
Princess Lariesa's face turned into that of a demon.
Her face was originally like a crumpled piece of dough when she was making faces, but now she really looked like a demon crawling out of hell.
"You!!"
Princess Lariesa trembled on the spot as she scolded Ariadne.
She still remembered.
The kiss in the daffodil garden, where he was the audience and the two of them were the main characters. Prince Alfonso, who was chasing the woman in the dark blue dress, with eyes dripping with affection.
The young lovers were sweetly exploring each other, and she, ugly and shabby, was left standing alone in the darkness.
***
Lariesa returned to Montpellier and always dreamed of meeting Prince Alfonso again.
'You will love me.'
Because she will be the perfect woman for him.
The woman in the daffodil garden was thin, tall, and had hair as black as a moonless night.
Lariesa stopped eating. She had to become prettier. Even prettier than that woman. All she could do was lose weight.
She wanted that smooth nape of her neck that glistens under the moonlight and those wrists that look like they'll break if you hold them.
She wanted that slender silhouette that showed off her slender bones even when wearing a thick silk dress.
Despite her mother's nagging that she should eat properly, the words of other girls her age who wanted to look good to Lariesa kept ringing in her ears.
“You are so beautiful!”
“This month is much prettier than last month!”
Starving was not easy. On days when she gave in to the urge to eat—or rather, to live—and slurped down food, Lariesaa threw up everything she had eaten.
After doing that for nearly a year, her teeth started to decay, and her salivary glands started to swell.
“Don’t you think I have a double chin?”
Here, Lariesa's chief maid, who realized that Lariesa would be making a fuss if she answered 'perfect', came up with a solution that even the Grand Duchess would agree with.
“If you lose more weight, won’t that go away?”
It was a wise plan learned from watching her senior fly away after telling her to eat a little more and stop vomiting after eating.
That wasn't all. Lariesa, who regularly received letters from Alfonso flying in from Yesak, became engrossed in them.
"It rarely rains in Yesak, but today it's really pouring down. The dry rivers are filled with turbulent water, but tomorrow, as if nothing had happened, it will return to dry land. This war, like the heavy rain in the desert, will be completely forgotten in our lives. Isn't that right, Ari?"
The first thing Lariesa did to Prince Alfonso's letters was to look up unknown words in a dictionary and write down their Gallican translations.
But sooner or later, she also began to add her own impressions to it.
"Your fever is just a passing rainstorm."
You will soon forget about your love for that woman, because I love you.
But as Lariesa's condition worsened, her actions in the letter also became increasingly worse.
"Ari, do you remember what we talked about in the carriage?"
Lariesa muttered.
“I remember. I remember, of course.”
Lariesa knew which carriage ride they were talking about. The Prince's closest aide surrendered and handed over all the information to the Grand Duchess.
She could even write a thesis on the love story between Prince Alfonso and Ariadne de Mare.
“You asked me to be the daffodil girl.”
To whom? To that woman?
It was so annoying. It would have been perfect if only one thing had been fixed. Lariesa picked up her quill and added some notes.
L.
LAri. Your beloved LAri.
You asked me to be the Lady of Narcissus! That must have been so! The next day, at the festival of the Etruscan kingdom, the Lady of Narcissus would be chosen, and the Prince's informer reported that nothing unusual had happened that day, so what else was there to talk about in the carriage?
“Your Highness, you are so beautiful.”
“You look perfect after losing weight.”
Lariesa crossed a river that she was not supposed to cross that day.
That did make her happy.
In a fake reality that is not real, her fiancé, no, her husband, Prince Alfonso, who loves her dearly and sends her letters regularly, and herself, the Grand Duchess of Lariesa, who becomes more beautiful by the day.
The problem was that a real person was standing in front of the Grand Duchess, shouting that her happiness was all fake.
Princess Lariesa shouted with sparks flying from her eyes.
"You!!!"
It was the moment when the Grand Duchess, who had been floating through dreams, returned to the real world after several years.
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