Philip IV looked up at the words of Pope Louis. Looking at his doubtful face, the Pope spoke kindly.
“My dear young King, I must appeal to your sympathy.”
In Ludovico's view, Lariesa was mad, but Philip was not sane either.
No matter how evil they were, the Pope felt a bit of pity for the Princess of Lariesa, or rather, the commoner Odes's bloodline, who had been completely ruined.
“I understand that she is a sinner who has committed a serious crime, but isn’t she a sick person? Even if we take her away and make her pay for her sins, she won’t have the ability to realize what she has done and reflect on it...”
In addition to the principle of retribution, which states that one should receive compensation for the suffering one has caused, the Recorctio Veritas school, led by Cardinal de Mare, also viewed the criminal's reflection as a function of punishment.
The mere mention of the ‘ability to reflect’ was a boost to Cardinal de Mare.
And having said that, the Pope glanced at Lariesa.
“It would be impossible for there to be any additional threat to the monarchy.”
Lariesa had no power of her own. If they could capture the Grand Duke of Odes, the Grand Duke would be finished.
Since she has no right to the throne, it is natural that there would be no reason for them to plot something using her.
“She’s just a lonely patient. Let’s send her to a convent under the Holy See and have her live out the rest of her life there.”
Pope Louis himself would be out of office in half a year at most, and the next administrator would be Cardinal de Mare.
So, the person who would eventually take ultimate responsibility for Lariesa's imprisonment was the father of Ariadne de Mare, who had been harmed by her. This was not a completely neutral appointment either.
But Pope Louis thought that a vengeful de Mare would have a more merciful ending than a mad Philip.
The Pope spoke in a gentle voice.
“Will you spare my face, Your Majesty?”
The Pope asked gently, but from Philip's perspective, it was no different from a request.
It wasn't just because the old man who spoke with that trembling voice was a huge man with a bushy beard.
Pope Louis has not yet stated his position on the Alemannian amnesty.
Philip, who had something he absolutely had to get, had no choice but to bite his lips and bow his head.
“As Your Holiness the Most Merciful One wills.”
One big incident was brought to a close when a man who rarely had anything to say was forced to submit.
The people present breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Philip IV had so readily accepted Pope Louis's offer.
Philip had his captain of the guard seize Odes and drag him away like a dog, apparently out of resentment at having been forced by the Pope to give up his family.
Alfonso watched the Grand Duke Odes being dragged away and held Ariadne's hand tightly in relief that everything was over.
She also took Alfonso's hand in hers, and they locked hands for a very brief moment before letting go.
But Lariesa caught that brief moment with her sharp eyes.
Not knowing what favor she had just received, she took advantage of the moment when the Northern Alliance guards' grip loosened and pulled her upper body out, screaming, even though she was safe from the Pope.
“You too, Alfonso de Carlo!!”
The Grand Duchess's pent-up anger finally turned towards the person in question, Alfonso. This was by far the first time in all their history together.
“In the end, it was the pretty girl that you liked!!!”
People were surprised by the Grand Duchess's outrageous behavior and stared at her. Lariesa paid no attention to it.
“You liked that woman because she was tall, thin, and had big breasts!!! You didn’t even look at me because I wasn’t like that!!! I can’t change it, so if I weren’t born with it, I’ll never have it?!”
Princess Lariesa's voice came out as if she had swallowed molten iron and split into pieces.
“It’s not fair, it’s not fair! What is that, what is that! I am worthy of your status and position. There is no other woman of your class in the entire Central Continent! Considering the Kingdom of Gallico that I would have taken as a dowry, I am a hundred times, a thousand times superior to that fat bitch!”
Prince Alfonso has been the wind of the wind today, staying out of most of the action himself.
Prince Alfonso, who had maintained a relatively mild expression throughout, compared to the others, was the first to frown at Ariadne's insult.
He walked forward, step by step.
The Prince crossed the hallway and brought his face close to the Grand Duchess, who was being held by two guards.
Even late at night, when the only light source was a dozen or so blazing torches in a narrow hallway, the difference between the two was stark.
The Prince's skin, tanned by the sun and full of youthful vitality, and the Grand Princess's skin, pale and aged beyond her years, were in perfect harmony.
But the biggest difference between Alfonso and Lariesa's faces was the way they used their facial muscles and the wrinkles they created, the expressions they had on their faces.
“Watch what you say.”
Lariesa belittles Ariadne for what she lacks, but she doesn't know what's most important.
“Ariadne is not someone you can lightly insult when you know nothing about her.”
Courage when faced with an insurmountable situation, perseverance and sincerity to make a leap forward instead of feeling frustrated even if you cannot overcome it in the end, kindness to encourage the weary person next to you, and leadership to lift up those who have lost their goals and take the weak under one's wing.
But Lariesa was not the one who understood these words. To her ears, it sounded like a man in love ignorantly taking his woman's side.
“Men’s brains are ruled by sexual desire! Here’s another one, a man with his head eaten by his lower body!”
Princess Lariesa's eyes flashed like those of a madwoman.
“I hate your hypocrisy, pretending to be as pure as a thousand-year-old love on such a topic!!! It’s disgusting!!!”
Lariesa screamed, this time looking at Ariadne.
“Even if you captivate men with your beauty right now, when you grow old and ugly, you will definitely be abandoned!!! I am your future!!!”
Serialism. Distorted causality.
Alfonso clicked his tongue.
“How did a monster like you come into existence?”
It was a total mess caused by the mistaken belief that the person who ranked first in terms of overall bride potential should get the most popular spouse and his love.
Ariadne, who heard Lariesa's curse, slowly approached.
Alfonso tried to stop Ariadne from getting too close to Lariesa, but Ariadne raised her hand to indicate that it was okay.
“I’ve heard a similar story before.”
'No matter how much a man longs for a woman, once he gets her, his love for her fades. A man eventually gets tired of any woman after a year, after three years!'
“That wasn’t true. That’s not how the world works.”
The reason it ended up in such an unfortunate way is that it wasn't love. It wasn't love, it was desire, lust, and greed.
Because they wanted to own and use rather than communicate, understand, and protect.
Lariesa cried.
“Lies!!! All men are the same! You believe that women are all about looks! Look at me! Alfonso de Carlo is the same bastard!”
Ariadne looked straight at Lariesa.
“If you weren’t the kind of person who thought that way.”
Ariadne's voice was extremely dry. Calm, without highs or lows. Dry and contemplative.
“Perhaps the Grand Duchess was by Prince Alfonso’s side.”
Lariesa looked as if she had been hit in the head with a hammer at those words.
'I... Did I do something that made Alfonso leave me? Was this a possible relationship?'
It was Alfonso who objected to that statement.
“No way.”
Prince Alfonso laughed in disbelief.
“Stop thinking useless thoughts.”
Even things that were just passing fragments when spoken out loud become thoughts that follow one another.
After he finished what he had to do, he didn't have enough time to think good and happy thoughts, so he felt it was a waste of time to waste time on such wasteful and useless thoughts.
“There was no possibility from the beginning.”
Alfonso kissed Ariadne's forehead while Pope Louis and the great men of the Central Continent watched.
Rumors were circulating that the Etruscan Prince was having a serious affair with the Cardinal's second daughter, but everyone who had dismissed it as just a passing fancy was in an uproar.
Regardless of what others did, Alfonso extended his arms to Ariadne.
“Let’s go, Ari.”
Ariadne smiled and gently placed her left hand on his right forearm.
Lariesa watched this scene intently, held tightly by two guards.
The golden Prince, who is not her own, escorts the black-haired beauty who is worthy of him out of the room. Their world is bright, beautiful, and splendid.
This is where I am... This is..
“Ugh, sob sob sob... Sob sob sob, sob...”
Lariesa cried. In the space where her father had been dragged away, she cried endlessly, with tears and snot streaming down her face, her arms tied by the guards.
Her relationship with the Golden Prince, whether or not there was room for development at first, was definitely a sand castle built on pieces of fact and illusion, but today it has completely collapsed and ended.
“Let’s go, Valoa.”
The Northern Union guard kicked her in the groin. The warden of the Holy See declared that she was a criminal.
After the spectacular exit of the Princess of Lariesa, Philip IV, dissatisfied but unable to grumble, also returned to his quarters in a daze.
Prince Alfonso and Countess Ariadne de Mare had already left, and as the Pope and his new sidekick were the last of the important figures to leave, the onlookers began to disperse one by one.
What remained was a messy room, with young priests on duty sifting through the floor, wiping away the parchment papers that had been trampled underfoot.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!”
The one who jumped in front of the young detectives who were cleaning was Sir Manfredi.
“This is a private letter written by our Prince! It should naturally be returned to its original owner!”
“But this is the Holy See....”
As the young priests held out formidably, Raphael, who had been idling around, helped his old friend.
“A letter written directly by the monarch’s blood relatives is likely to contain undisclosed information, so it is treated as a national secret. If this letter was written by a Prince of the Etruscan Kingdom, then it is a confidential document of the Etruscan Kingdom. Even the Pope has no right to open it. It is right to return it.”
When even the man in the priest's robe said the same thing, the young monks of Trevero had no choice but to take a step back.
It was too late to ask the Pope or other superiors directly.
As the priests moved out of the way, Sir Manfredi began to hurriedly gather up the parchments that had fallen to the floor.
“Do you need help?”
Sir Manfredi shook his head at Raphael's question.
“No, I’ll do it myself.”
He said it playfully.
“The people of the Holy See should go and mind their own organization’s business! I do all the work for Prince Alfonso!”
Raphael glanced at Sir Manfredi and muttered something like, 'Even if you help me, it's still a mess,' and stumbled inside.
Sir Manfredi, who had taken Raphael away, scratched at all the parchment with desperate movements.
His diligence in securing the parchment was not an expression of loyalty. It was a pursuit of extremely personal interests.
While Sir Manfredi was busy picking up Prince Alfonso's letters, he also worked diligently to find a letter from Miss Bedelia.
Sir Manfredi stuffed all the letters into his bag and held on to a few of them carefully.
The order was a bit messy, and even within the same letter, it was scattered, as if Lariesa had only excerpted the parts she wanted to read, but that was enough.
"To my dear Sir Manfredi,
When autumn passes and the leaves fall, I think of your back...(omitted)."
"Dear Sir Manfredi,
My father sent an ultimatum to Count Manfredi.
It's been almost three years since you left the Etruscan kingdom without a word, and I can't condone your actions without hearing any news.
Count Manfredi's family told him to calm down since they, as his parents, had never received a single letter of condolence, but his father came back and said, "A man who doesn't even contact his own parents is an uneducated man."
Count Manfredi also responded by saying, "What kind of situation is this for parents whose sons are representing their country and going to war for the glory of heaven? It's too much when we don't even know if they're alive or dead," and the fathers of both families had a huge fight.
To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. Are you okay? You're not in a situation where you're down on a battlefield and can't even write letters, are you?"
After that, Miss Bedelia's heartbreaking letters continued.
The second battle between the two sets of parents, the pressure from Bedelia's parents, her desperate search for Sir Manfredi, and her own unanswered question.
Sir Manfredi's hands trembled as he held the letter, and his vision became blurry.
“Miss Bedelia...”
As soon as he was out of sight of the people, Pope Louis staggered and leaned against the wall.
Cardinal de Mare hurriedly took a small glass vial from his bosom and poured its contents into the Pope's mouth.
Ludovico leaned against the wall for a moment, gasping for breath, then groaned as he straightened up. The intervals between his intake of the purple poison were becoming shorter and shorter.
“I guess today’s commotion is over. It was a good show.”
“Why did you stop there?”
It was a question from Cardinal de Mare.
“Didn’t the testimony come out today that Philip IV attempted to assassinate Prince Alfonso?”
He could have tangled it up a lot more.
“If we were to bring to light all the acts of the King of Gallico, such as not bringing the gold he had promised to the temple, and obstructing the Commander-in-Chief, the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg, in every matter, it might even lead to excommunication.”
Even if it doesn't actually lead to excommunication, the threat of excommunication alone can provide significant benefits to the Holy See.
Because the Kingdom of Gallico will have to give something up to avoid excommunication.
“Why did you let Philip IV go so obediently?”
Pope Louis looked at Cardinal de Mare with an ambiguous expression, which was due to a mixture of emotions.
His first feeling was, 'Is this guy crawling up to me?'
'Does this challenge my judgment?'
The second emotion is...
“Do you really think this is what I saw?”
Can he really leave the rest of the work to this idiot?
“Do you think I held onto Princess Lariesa for nothing?”
“My dear young King, I must appeal to your sympathy.”
In Ludovico's view, Lariesa was mad, but Philip was not sane either.
No matter how evil they were, the Pope felt a bit of pity for the Princess of Lariesa, or rather, the commoner Odes's bloodline, who had been completely ruined.
“I understand that she is a sinner who has committed a serious crime, but isn’t she a sick person? Even if we take her away and make her pay for her sins, she won’t have the ability to realize what she has done and reflect on it...”
In addition to the principle of retribution, which states that one should receive compensation for the suffering one has caused, the Recorctio Veritas school, led by Cardinal de Mare, also viewed the criminal's reflection as a function of punishment.
The mere mention of the ‘ability to reflect’ was a boost to Cardinal de Mare.
And having said that, the Pope glanced at Lariesa.
“It would be impossible for there to be any additional threat to the monarchy.”
Lariesa had no power of her own. If they could capture the Grand Duke of Odes, the Grand Duke would be finished.
Since she has no right to the throne, it is natural that there would be no reason for them to plot something using her.
“She’s just a lonely patient. Let’s send her to a convent under the Holy See and have her live out the rest of her life there.”
Pope Louis himself would be out of office in half a year at most, and the next administrator would be Cardinal de Mare.
So, the person who would eventually take ultimate responsibility for Lariesa's imprisonment was the father of Ariadne de Mare, who had been harmed by her. This was not a completely neutral appointment either.
But Pope Louis thought that a vengeful de Mare would have a more merciful ending than a mad Philip.
The Pope spoke in a gentle voice.
“Will you spare my face, Your Majesty?”
The Pope asked gently, but from Philip's perspective, it was no different from a request.
It wasn't just because the old man who spoke with that trembling voice was a huge man with a bushy beard.
Pope Louis has not yet stated his position on the Alemannian amnesty.
Philip, who had something he absolutely had to get, had no choice but to bite his lips and bow his head.
“As Your Holiness the Most Merciful One wills.”
One big incident was brought to a close when a man who rarely had anything to say was forced to submit.
The people present breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Philip IV had so readily accepted Pope Louis's offer.
Philip had his captain of the guard seize Odes and drag him away like a dog, apparently out of resentment at having been forced by the Pope to give up his family.
Alfonso watched the Grand Duke Odes being dragged away and held Ariadne's hand tightly in relief that everything was over.
She also took Alfonso's hand in hers, and they locked hands for a very brief moment before letting go.
But Lariesa caught that brief moment with her sharp eyes.
Not knowing what favor she had just received, she took advantage of the moment when the Northern Alliance guards' grip loosened and pulled her upper body out, screaming, even though she was safe from the Pope.
“You too, Alfonso de Carlo!!”
The Grand Duchess's pent-up anger finally turned towards the person in question, Alfonso. This was by far the first time in all their history together.
“In the end, it was the pretty girl that you liked!!!”
People were surprised by the Grand Duchess's outrageous behavior and stared at her. Lariesa paid no attention to it.
“You liked that woman because she was tall, thin, and had big breasts!!! You didn’t even look at me because I wasn’t like that!!! I can’t change it, so if I weren’t born with it, I’ll never have it?!”
Princess Lariesa's voice came out as if she had swallowed molten iron and split into pieces.
“It’s not fair, it’s not fair! What is that, what is that! I am worthy of your status and position. There is no other woman of your class in the entire Central Continent! Considering the Kingdom of Gallico that I would have taken as a dowry, I am a hundred times, a thousand times superior to that fat bitch!”
Prince Alfonso has been the wind of the wind today, staying out of most of the action himself.
Prince Alfonso, who had maintained a relatively mild expression throughout, compared to the others, was the first to frown at Ariadne's insult.
He walked forward, step by step.
The Prince crossed the hallway and brought his face close to the Grand Duchess, who was being held by two guards.
Even late at night, when the only light source was a dozen or so blazing torches in a narrow hallway, the difference between the two was stark.
The Prince's skin, tanned by the sun and full of youthful vitality, and the Grand Princess's skin, pale and aged beyond her years, were in perfect harmony.
But the biggest difference between Alfonso and Lariesa's faces was the way they used their facial muscles and the wrinkles they created, the expressions they had on their faces.
“Watch what you say.”
Lariesa belittles Ariadne for what she lacks, but she doesn't know what's most important.
“Ariadne is not someone you can lightly insult when you know nothing about her.”
Courage when faced with an insurmountable situation, perseverance and sincerity to make a leap forward instead of feeling frustrated even if you cannot overcome it in the end, kindness to encourage the weary person next to you, and leadership to lift up those who have lost their goals and take the weak under one's wing.
But Lariesa was not the one who understood these words. To her ears, it sounded like a man in love ignorantly taking his woman's side.
“Men’s brains are ruled by sexual desire! Here’s another one, a man with his head eaten by his lower body!”
Princess Lariesa's eyes flashed like those of a madwoman.
“I hate your hypocrisy, pretending to be as pure as a thousand-year-old love on such a topic!!! It’s disgusting!!!”
Lariesa screamed, this time looking at Ariadne.
“Even if you captivate men with your beauty right now, when you grow old and ugly, you will definitely be abandoned!!! I am your future!!!”
Serialism. Distorted causality.
Alfonso clicked his tongue.
“How did a monster like you come into existence?”
It was a total mess caused by the mistaken belief that the person who ranked first in terms of overall bride potential should get the most popular spouse and his love.
Ariadne, who heard Lariesa's curse, slowly approached.
Alfonso tried to stop Ariadne from getting too close to Lariesa, but Ariadne raised her hand to indicate that it was okay.
“I’ve heard a similar story before.”
'No matter how much a man longs for a woman, once he gets her, his love for her fades. A man eventually gets tired of any woman after a year, after three years!'
“That wasn’t true. That’s not how the world works.”
The reason it ended up in such an unfortunate way is that it wasn't love. It wasn't love, it was desire, lust, and greed.
Because they wanted to own and use rather than communicate, understand, and protect.
Lariesa cried.
“Lies!!! All men are the same! You believe that women are all about looks! Look at me! Alfonso de Carlo is the same bastard!”
Ariadne looked straight at Lariesa.
“If you weren’t the kind of person who thought that way.”
Ariadne's voice was extremely dry. Calm, without highs or lows. Dry and contemplative.
“Perhaps the Grand Duchess was by Prince Alfonso’s side.”
Lariesa looked as if she had been hit in the head with a hammer at those words.
'I... Did I do something that made Alfonso leave me? Was this a possible relationship?'
It was Alfonso who objected to that statement.
“No way.”
Prince Alfonso laughed in disbelief.
“Stop thinking useless thoughts.”
Even things that were just passing fragments when spoken out loud become thoughts that follow one another.
After he finished what he had to do, he didn't have enough time to think good and happy thoughts, so he felt it was a waste of time to waste time on such wasteful and useless thoughts.
“There was no possibility from the beginning.”
Alfonso kissed Ariadne's forehead while Pope Louis and the great men of the Central Continent watched.
Rumors were circulating that the Etruscan Prince was having a serious affair with the Cardinal's second daughter, but everyone who had dismissed it as just a passing fancy was in an uproar.
Regardless of what others did, Alfonso extended his arms to Ariadne.
“Let’s go, Ari.”
Ariadne smiled and gently placed her left hand on his right forearm.
Lariesa watched this scene intently, held tightly by two guards.
The golden Prince, who is not her own, escorts the black-haired beauty who is worthy of him out of the room. Their world is bright, beautiful, and splendid.
This is where I am... This is..
“Ugh, sob sob sob... Sob sob sob, sob...”
Lariesa cried. In the space where her father had been dragged away, she cried endlessly, with tears and snot streaming down her face, her arms tied by the guards.
Her relationship with the Golden Prince, whether or not there was room for development at first, was definitely a sand castle built on pieces of fact and illusion, but today it has completely collapsed and ended.
“Let’s go, Valoa.”
The Northern Union guard kicked her in the groin. The warden of the Holy See declared that she was a criminal.
***
After the spectacular exit of the Princess of Lariesa, Philip IV, dissatisfied but unable to grumble, also returned to his quarters in a daze.
Prince Alfonso and Countess Ariadne de Mare had already left, and as the Pope and his new sidekick were the last of the important figures to leave, the onlookers began to disperse one by one.
What remained was a messy room, with young priests on duty sifting through the floor, wiping away the parchment papers that had been trampled underfoot.
“Wait a minute, wait a minute!”
The one who jumped in front of the young detectives who were cleaning was Sir Manfredi.
“This is a private letter written by our Prince! It should naturally be returned to its original owner!”
“But this is the Holy See....”
As the young priests held out formidably, Raphael, who had been idling around, helped his old friend.
“A letter written directly by the monarch’s blood relatives is likely to contain undisclosed information, so it is treated as a national secret. If this letter was written by a Prince of the Etruscan Kingdom, then it is a confidential document of the Etruscan Kingdom. Even the Pope has no right to open it. It is right to return it.”
When even the man in the priest's robe said the same thing, the young monks of Trevero had no choice but to take a step back.
It was too late to ask the Pope or other superiors directly.
As the priests moved out of the way, Sir Manfredi began to hurriedly gather up the parchments that had fallen to the floor.
“Do you need help?”
Sir Manfredi shook his head at Raphael's question.
“No, I’ll do it myself.”
He said it playfully.
“The people of the Holy See should go and mind their own organization’s business! I do all the work for Prince Alfonso!”
Raphael glanced at Sir Manfredi and muttered something like, 'Even if you help me, it's still a mess,' and stumbled inside.
Sir Manfredi, who had taken Raphael away, scratched at all the parchment with desperate movements.
His diligence in securing the parchment was not an expression of loyalty. It was a pursuit of extremely personal interests.
While Sir Manfredi was busy picking up Prince Alfonso's letters, he also worked diligently to find a letter from Miss Bedelia.
Sir Manfredi stuffed all the letters into his bag and held on to a few of them carefully.
The order was a bit messy, and even within the same letter, it was scattered, as if Lariesa had only excerpted the parts she wanted to read, but that was enough.
"To my dear Sir Manfredi,
When autumn passes and the leaves fall, I think of your back...(omitted)."
"Dear Sir Manfredi,
My father sent an ultimatum to Count Manfredi.
It's been almost three years since you left the Etruscan kingdom without a word, and I can't condone your actions without hearing any news.
Count Manfredi's family told him to calm down since they, as his parents, had never received a single letter of condolence, but his father came back and said, "A man who doesn't even contact his own parents is an uneducated man."
Count Manfredi also responded by saying, "What kind of situation is this for parents whose sons are representing their country and going to war for the glory of heaven? It's too much when we don't even know if they're alive or dead," and the fathers of both families had a huge fight.
To be honest, I'm a bit nervous. Are you okay? You're not in a situation where you're down on a battlefield and can't even write letters, are you?"
After that, Miss Bedelia's heartbreaking letters continued.
The second battle between the two sets of parents, the pressure from Bedelia's parents, her desperate search for Sir Manfredi, and her own unanswered question.
Sir Manfredi's hands trembled as he held the letter, and his vision became blurry.
“Miss Bedelia...”
***
As soon as he was out of sight of the people, Pope Louis staggered and leaned against the wall.
Cardinal de Mare hurriedly took a small glass vial from his bosom and poured its contents into the Pope's mouth.
Ludovico leaned against the wall for a moment, gasping for breath, then groaned as he straightened up. The intervals between his intake of the purple poison were becoming shorter and shorter.
“I guess today’s commotion is over. It was a good show.”
“Why did you stop there?”
It was a question from Cardinal de Mare.
“Didn’t the testimony come out today that Philip IV attempted to assassinate Prince Alfonso?”
He could have tangled it up a lot more.
“If we were to bring to light all the acts of the King of Gallico, such as not bringing the gold he had promised to the temple, and obstructing the Commander-in-Chief, the Grand Duke of Yuldenburg, in every matter, it might even lead to excommunication.”
Even if it doesn't actually lead to excommunication, the threat of excommunication alone can provide significant benefits to the Holy See.
Because the Kingdom of Gallico will have to give something up to avoid excommunication.
“Why did you let Philip IV go so obediently?”
Pope Louis looked at Cardinal de Mare with an ambiguous expression, which was due to a mixture of emotions.
His first feeling was, 'Is this guy crawling up to me?'
'Does this challenge my judgment?'
The second emotion is...
“Do you really think this is what I saw?”
Can he really leave the rest of the work to this idiot?
“Do you think I held onto Princess Lariesa for nothing?”
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