Francois explains how Prince Louis's heir arrived in the Etruscan kingdom.
Anne of Chance was unable to return to her parents' home. When her father died, Anne had no male siblings, and the ducal crown went to her uncle.
However, his uncle strongly supported Philip IV, fearing that if Prince Louis became King, he would demand that his wife give up the duchy on his own behalf.
He could not entrust his cousin, who had both his lands and the right to the Gallico throne, to such an uncle.
Instead, Francois headed south to the Etruscan kingdoms, accompanied by Anne of Chance and the posthumous children of Prince Louis.
It was hoped that she might be able to rely on Queen Margaret of the Etruscan kingdom, who had always been friendly to Prince Louis.
“But once we arrived in San Carlo, we found that the entire capital was swarming with Gallico spies.”
Francois tried to make contact with the Queen through Madame Carla, one of the Queen's closest confidants, and confessed that he had seen an agent of Philip IV, disguised as a merchant, enter the palace and meet Madame Carla.
“Nobody could believe it.”
Madame Carla's family sided with Prince Louis and, like Francois's family, were stripped of their titles, and all of their surviving family members were imprisoned.
If even such a person had conspired with Philip IV, wouldn't there have been no one left?
“It turned out to be a good thing that I didn’t act rashly then. After that, Her Majesty the Queen passed away soon after, and her son, Prince Alfonso, also had to leave the country for a long time.”
In fact, even if Prince Alfonso had been in the country, he might not have made contact, Francois confessed.
The situation with the Gallico spies running wild had not changed, and it was said that they could not trust Prince Alfonso, who was not familiar with them and who was actively arranging marriages with the Grand Duchess of Gallico under Philip's arrangements.
“I can believe him now.”
“Is it because he broke off the engagement?”
“That’s true too... That was just a confirmed fact.”
After the return of Prince Alfonso's forces to the Etruscans, the activities of the Gallico spies decreased noticeably.
Alfonso learned that the Gallicans were behind the execution of Sir Elko, and he mobilized his knights to actively search for enemy spies.
Francois was always listening to the Gallican community and had seen many instances of people who had been established as middle-aged merchants, successful traders, and restaurant owners disappearing in an instant.
They were all disguised Gallico spies. He was convinced of Prince Alfonso's course after seeing the investigation of spies after the Prince's return.
“Anne of Chance died of a high fever shortly after arriving in the Etruscan kingdom. Prince Louis’ son was left in my poor care for a while.”
Francois frowned as he thought about how inadequate the care had been.
He will never tell anyone about the incident where he fed raw milk to the baby, and it caused a rash all over his body, almost killing the heir to the throne of Gallico.
Francois had a small sum of money, made up of the valuables he had taken with him when he escaped from the palace of Montpellier and the jewels of the dead Princess Anne.
But he can't live off of that forever.
He collected the remaining money and gave it to the baby for living expenses, leaving Prince Louis' son in a village outside San Carlo.
Francois himself remained in San Carlo.
He had to look into the situation in the Kingdom of Gallico, find out in the capital whether there was any source of bloodline for Prince Louis, and at the same time earn money to cover the living expenses of the baby Prince.
“The people I entrusted the Prince to were a middle-aged couple without children, and fortunately or unfortunately, their family gradually became more prosperous.”
The middle-aged couple, who had originally taken in a baby to supplement their income, no longer needed the living expenses for the baby sent by Francois as their income increased.
Instead, they asked Francois, whom they knew to be the baby's father, to stop trying to find the child now that they had the money.
He couldn't help but feel heartbroken, but there was no way he could raise a baby who had just started talking on his own.
The couple, whose household began to prosper, also began to provide their baby Prince with a good education, including Latin, mental arithmetic, and simple exercises.
“I tried to find a way to bring him in, but it didn’t seem to be a good thing for the Prince in any way.”
A rural farmhouse was perfectly safe.
If the identity of the baby Prince was revealed, he would naturally be able to entrust himself to a prestigious Etruscan noble family, but what would happen after that? There was no other way than to drift helplessly into the political turmoil according to the will of the landlord.
Julia added.
“I suggested that we bring him to our house, but Francois refused.”
Francois lowered his head. He could not allow Julia's family, who knew nothing about it, to be put in danger because of him. But at the same time, it was a kind of betrayal of Prince Louis.
The fact that he had not served his deceased master's interests for the sake of the woman he was seeing greatly distressed Francois, who was a man of perfection.
Ariadne, who had been listening patiently to Francois's long story, let out a thought that had been on her mind from the beginning.
“This time... if the Allemand law of amnesty is not accepted, then the first in line to the throne of the Kingdom of Gallico will be the posthumous son of Prince Louis?”
"You're right."
Philip's nephew. He is the niece of the current King of Gallico. He is the clear heir to the throne, one step ahead of his cousin Alfonso, the Princess of the North Sea Union, and the Grand Duke of Gredo.
“What is his name?”
“Louis. This is Prince Louis.”
“Louis...”
Ariadne, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened her mouth.
“What a good name for a King.”
It was the moment when she declared that she would become the kingmaker of another country.
Thus, the illegitimate son Jean and the posthumous son Louis began to compete for the throne of the Kingdom of Gallico.
Ariadne did not delay. She immediately sent for the posthumous Louis.
The process of bringing him in was easier than expected. The middle-aged couple who accepted Louis as their son happened to be a seamstress and a mid-level manager at Lazione’s tailor shop.
The point at which life suddenly improved coincided with the village of Lazione becoming wealthy through subcontracting with the de Mare family.
Ariadne meets Madame Marini, who made her first dress after a long time, and tells her that the child's biological father wants to go and claim the child.
There may have been tears and appeals from the adoptive parents who did not want to separate, but in terms of justification and power, this side was too perfect.
“That child... maybe he would be happier if he just continued living in that farmhouse.”
Julia added a slight sentiment, but Ariadne shook her head.
“That child’s status is too high. If Philip’s succession had been secure, then it might have been okay, but not now. If his identity is revealed, it’s only a matter of time before an assassin appears.”
That was true. Four people already knew Louis's identity: Francois, Julia, Alfonso, and Ariadne.
There are no eternal secrets. In the end, Louis arrived at the de Mare mansion less than two days later.
At the first meeting with the posthumous Louis, not only Francois, Julia, and Ariadne, but even Alfonso took time out of his schedule to attend. It was only natural that they all acted in utmost secrecy.
A boy of about ten years old who had entered the de Mare mansion looked around hesitantly.
It reminded Ariadne of the day she first entered this mansion.
'I wonder if I was that intimidated, pretending not to notice and looking around.'
But this was not the time to be sentimental. Everything was happening too quickly for that.
When the boy entered Ariadne's splendid drawing room, Francois could not control his emotions and knelt down and kissed the back of the boy's hand.
The child looked at Ariadne, who seemed to be the landlady, with a confused expression.
“I came because my father said he was looking for me.”
He spoke fluent Etruscan. By all accounts, the speaker's native language was Etruscan.
When there was no answer, the boy asked again.
“Where is my father?
The child's question was reasonable.
There were only two men in the room, but one of them was welcoming him with an attitude that was obviously that of a subject, while the other was just quietly watching him with an attitude of contemplation.
Ariadne asked quietly.
“What is your name?”
“Luigi. It’s Luigi Razione.”
The surname was that of her adoptive parents, and the first name was an Etruscan pronunciation of 'Louis.' She squatted down so that she was eye level with the child.
“Your real name is Louis de Briand. You are a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Gallico.”
Francois was so moved that he wiped away his tears, and Alfonso, who had been a step away, stepped forward and shook the boy's hand.
“I am Alfonso, Prince of the Etruscan Kingdom, your cousin and protector. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The child's eyes were filled with surprise, trembling, and a hint of excitement all at the same time.
Ariadne, of course, did not reveal the identity of the posthumous Louis to the public.
Inside the de Mare mansion, he was introduced only as a 'relative of the Baldessar family.'
There were several rumors in the family as to why such a child did not go to the Baldessar mansion but to the de Mare mansion, but they soon died down.
The most popular theory was that Raphael de Baldessar, who had become a priest, could not bear to take his illegitimate son home and left him in the care of his friend Ariadne. Either way.
Alfonso sent about 30 knights to guard the mansion at all times. Outsiders thought the Prince was just being terribly protective of his girlfriend. Well, that was true.
Ariadne rested her chin on her hand and said.
“Yes, this looks like a painting that Grand Duke Odes drew.”
“Huh? What?”
Alfonso asked comfortably, leaning back against the back of her sofa, his voice relaxed and contented like a contented lion.
“Prince Louis... is clearly an Etruscan boy.”
The Gallico and Etruscan kingdoms did not have particularly pronounced racial differences.
Prince Louis looked like any other San Carlo boy his age, with healthy, sun-kissed skin.
“He doesn’t speak Gallico, he doesn’t know anything about the culture, and he doesn’t even realize that he's Gallic.”
If Grand Duke Odes had taken Alfonso and Ariadne's child to the Kingdom of Gallico, lying that it was Lariesa's, wouldn't he have raised him like that?
A Gallico person of Etruscan descent, but embodying Gallico culture and way of thinking.
If the bloodline of the bright sun is ceded to the Etruscan kingdom, but the content is all Gallico, and the one who ascends to the throne of the personal union is victorious over which country and whose unification is that?
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, it will be repaid in kind.”
Alfonso said to Ariadne, and Ariadne answered him.
“If Louis can ascend to the Gallico throne.”
Alfonso said with a smile.
“It’s my job to make it happen. My wife is a pushover.”
The young Louis' guardian was now Prince Alfonso. Although not a close blood relative, Prince Alfonso was the only friendly relative to the posthumous Louis.
Now that he had taken him under his wing, Alfonso was obliged to uphold Louis' claim to the succession.
Alfonso felt a strange sense of responsibility as he watched young Louis.
He has to take care of that child and protect and support him so he can find his own place. There is no one else who can do that job but him.
This feeling was... different. It was different from the days when he rode horses and galloped freely with his men in the desert of Yesak.
Alfonso looked at Ariadne's face with a new feeling.
If a child is born between them, Alfonso will now have to walk with a responsibility that is incomparably greater than that of Louis.
He still couldn't imagine life without her, but Ariadne, now the mother of his child, would become inseparable from him on another level.
Alfonso pulled Ariadne into his arms without saying a word.
“Huh? Why are you suddenly like this?”
Alfonso buried his head in Ariadne's arms and took a deep breath.
“Let’s stay like this for a moment.”
The sunlight of the season transitioning into autumn was warm, and she smelled of citrus, musk, and wood mixed with flesh.
Her chest rose and fell with her breathing, and he rested his head there and followed the movements gently.
The wind brushing his cheek through the window was light and sweet at the same time. It was a beauty that could only be felt when he focused on the moment.
Their peaceful time was interrupted by a harsh voice.
“It’s like calling someone over and telling them to sleep.”
It was Raphael de Baldessar who arrived in San Carlo late.
Anne of Chance was unable to return to her parents' home. When her father died, Anne had no male siblings, and the ducal crown went to her uncle.
However, his uncle strongly supported Philip IV, fearing that if Prince Louis became King, he would demand that his wife give up the duchy on his own behalf.
He could not entrust his cousin, who had both his lands and the right to the Gallico throne, to such an uncle.
Instead, Francois headed south to the Etruscan kingdoms, accompanied by Anne of Chance and the posthumous children of Prince Louis.
It was hoped that she might be able to rely on Queen Margaret of the Etruscan kingdom, who had always been friendly to Prince Louis.
“But once we arrived in San Carlo, we found that the entire capital was swarming with Gallico spies.”
Francois tried to make contact with the Queen through Madame Carla, one of the Queen's closest confidants, and confessed that he had seen an agent of Philip IV, disguised as a merchant, enter the palace and meet Madame Carla.
“Nobody could believe it.”
Madame Carla's family sided with Prince Louis and, like Francois's family, were stripped of their titles, and all of their surviving family members were imprisoned.
If even such a person had conspired with Philip IV, wouldn't there have been no one left?
“It turned out to be a good thing that I didn’t act rashly then. After that, Her Majesty the Queen passed away soon after, and her son, Prince Alfonso, also had to leave the country for a long time.”
In fact, even if Prince Alfonso had been in the country, he might not have made contact, Francois confessed.
The situation with the Gallico spies running wild had not changed, and it was said that they could not trust Prince Alfonso, who was not familiar with them and who was actively arranging marriages with the Grand Duchess of Gallico under Philip's arrangements.
“I can believe him now.”
“Is it because he broke off the engagement?”
“That’s true too... That was just a confirmed fact.”
After the return of Prince Alfonso's forces to the Etruscans, the activities of the Gallico spies decreased noticeably.
Alfonso learned that the Gallicans were behind the execution of Sir Elko, and he mobilized his knights to actively search for enemy spies.
Francois was always listening to the Gallican community and had seen many instances of people who had been established as middle-aged merchants, successful traders, and restaurant owners disappearing in an instant.
They were all disguised Gallico spies. He was convinced of Prince Alfonso's course after seeing the investigation of spies after the Prince's return.
“Anne of Chance died of a high fever shortly after arriving in the Etruscan kingdom. Prince Louis’ son was left in my poor care for a while.”
Francois frowned as he thought about how inadequate the care had been.
He will never tell anyone about the incident where he fed raw milk to the baby, and it caused a rash all over his body, almost killing the heir to the throne of Gallico.
Francois had a small sum of money, made up of the valuables he had taken with him when he escaped from the palace of Montpellier and the jewels of the dead Princess Anne.
But he can't live off of that forever.
He collected the remaining money and gave it to the baby for living expenses, leaving Prince Louis' son in a village outside San Carlo.
Francois himself remained in San Carlo.
He had to look into the situation in the Kingdom of Gallico, find out in the capital whether there was any source of bloodline for Prince Louis, and at the same time earn money to cover the living expenses of the baby Prince.
“The people I entrusted the Prince to were a middle-aged couple without children, and fortunately or unfortunately, their family gradually became more prosperous.”
The middle-aged couple, who had originally taken in a baby to supplement their income, no longer needed the living expenses for the baby sent by Francois as their income increased.
Instead, they asked Francois, whom they knew to be the baby's father, to stop trying to find the child now that they had the money.
He couldn't help but feel heartbroken, but there was no way he could raise a baby who had just started talking on his own.
The couple, whose household began to prosper, also began to provide their baby Prince with a good education, including Latin, mental arithmetic, and simple exercises.
“I tried to find a way to bring him in, but it didn’t seem to be a good thing for the Prince in any way.”
A rural farmhouse was perfectly safe.
If the identity of the baby Prince was revealed, he would naturally be able to entrust himself to a prestigious Etruscan noble family, but what would happen after that? There was no other way than to drift helplessly into the political turmoil according to the will of the landlord.
Julia added.
“I suggested that we bring him to our house, but Francois refused.”
Francois lowered his head. He could not allow Julia's family, who knew nothing about it, to be put in danger because of him. But at the same time, it was a kind of betrayal of Prince Louis.
The fact that he had not served his deceased master's interests for the sake of the woman he was seeing greatly distressed Francois, who was a man of perfection.
Ariadne, who had been listening patiently to Francois's long story, let out a thought that had been on her mind from the beginning.
“This time... if the Allemand law of amnesty is not accepted, then the first in line to the throne of the Kingdom of Gallico will be the posthumous son of Prince Louis?”
"You're right."
Philip's nephew. He is the niece of the current King of Gallico. He is the clear heir to the throne, one step ahead of his cousin Alfonso, the Princess of the North Sea Union, and the Grand Duke of Gredo.
“What is his name?”
“Louis. This is Prince Louis.”
“Louis...”
Ariadne, who had been lost in thought for a moment, opened her mouth.
“What a good name for a King.”
It was the moment when she declared that she would become the kingmaker of another country.
Thus, the illegitimate son Jean and the posthumous son Louis began to compete for the throne of the Kingdom of Gallico.
***
Ariadne did not delay. She immediately sent for the posthumous Louis.
The process of bringing him in was easier than expected. The middle-aged couple who accepted Louis as their son happened to be a seamstress and a mid-level manager at Lazione’s tailor shop.
The point at which life suddenly improved coincided with the village of Lazione becoming wealthy through subcontracting with the de Mare family.
Ariadne meets Madame Marini, who made her first dress after a long time, and tells her that the child's biological father wants to go and claim the child.
There may have been tears and appeals from the adoptive parents who did not want to separate, but in terms of justification and power, this side was too perfect.
“That child... maybe he would be happier if he just continued living in that farmhouse.”
Julia added a slight sentiment, but Ariadne shook her head.
“That child’s status is too high. If Philip’s succession had been secure, then it might have been okay, but not now. If his identity is revealed, it’s only a matter of time before an assassin appears.”
That was true. Four people already knew Louis's identity: Francois, Julia, Alfonso, and Ariadne.
There are no eternal secrets. In the end, Louis arrived at the de Mare mansion less than two days later.
At the first meeting with the posthumous Louis, not only Francois, Julia, and Ariadne, but even Alfonso took time out of his schedule to attend. It was only natural that they all acted in utmost secrecy.
A boy of about ten years old who had entered the de Mare mansion looked around hesitantly.
It reminded Ariadne of the day she first entered this mansion.
'I wonder if I was that intimidated, pretending not to notice and looking around.'
But this was not the time to be sentimental. Everything was happening too quickly for that.
When the boy entered Ariadne's splendid drawing room, Francois could not control his emotions and knelt down and kissed the back of the boy's hand.
The child looked at Ariadne, who seemed to be the landlady, with a confused expression.
“I came because my father said he was looking for me.”
He spoke fluent Etruscan. By all accounts, the speaker's native language was Etruscan.
When there was no answer, the boy asked again.
“Where is my father?
The child's question was reasonable.
There were only two men in the room, but one of them was welcoming him with an attitude that was obviously that of a subject, while the other was just quietly watching him with an attitude of contemplation.
Ariadne asked quietly.
“What is your name?”
“Luigi. It’s Luigi Razione.”
The surname was that of her adoptive parents, and the first name was an Etruscan pronunciation of 'Louis.' She squatted down so that she was eye level with the child.
“Your real name is Louis de Briand. You are a member of the royal family of the Kingdom of Gallico.”
Francois was so moved that he wiped away his tears, and Alfonso, who had been a step away, stepped forward and shook the boy's hand.
“I am Alfonso, Prince of the Etruscan Kingdom, your cousin and protector. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
The child's eyes were filled with surprise, trembling, and a hint of excitement all at the same time.
***
Ariadne, of course, did not reveal the identity of the posthumous Louis to the public.
Inside the de Mare mansion, he was introduced only as a 'relative of the Baldessar family.'
There were several rumors in the family as to why such a child did not go to the Baldessar mansion but to the de Mare mansion, but they soon died down.
The most popular theory was that Raphael de Baldessar, who had become a priest, could not bear to take his illegitimate son home and left him in the care of his friend Ariadne. Either way.
Alfonso sent about 30 knights to guard the mansion at all times. Outsiders thought the Prince was just being terribly protective of his girlfriend. Well, that was true.
Ariadne rested her chin on her hand and said.
“Yes, this looks like a painting that Grand Duke Odes drew.”
“Huh? What?”
Alfonso asked comfortably, leaning back against the back of her sofa, his voice relaxed and contented like a contented lion.
“Prince Louis... is clearly an Etruscan boy.”
The Gallico and Etruscan kingdoms did not have particularly pronounced racial differences.
Prince Louis looked like any other San Carlo boy his age, with healthy, sun-kissed skin.
“He doesn’t speak Gallico, he doesn’t know anything about the culture, and he doesn’t even realize that he's Gallic.”
If Grand Duke Odes had taken Alfonso and Ariadne's child to the Kingdom of Gallico, lying that it was Lariesa's, wouldn't he have raised him like that?
A Gallico person of Etruscan descent, but embodying Gallico culture and way of thinking.
If the bloodline of the bright sun is ceded to the Etruscan kingdom, but the content is all Gallico, and the one who ascends to the throne of the personal union is victorious over which country and whose unification is that?
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, it will be repaid in kind.”
Alfonso said to Ariadne, and Ariadne answered him.
“If Louis can ascend to the Gallico throne.”
Alfonso said with a smile.
“It’s my job to make it happen. My wife is a pushover.”
The young Louis' guardian was now Prince Alfonso. Although not a close blood relative, Prince Alfonso was the only friendly relative to the posthumous Louis.
Now that he had taken him under his wing, Alfonso was obliged to uphold Louis' claim to the succession.
Alfonso felt a strange sense of responsibility as he watched young Louis.
He has to take care of that child and protect and support him so he can find his own place. There is no one else who can do that job but him.
This feeling was... different. It was different from the days when he rode horses and galloped freely with his men in the desert of Yesak.
Alfonso looked at Ariadne's face with a new feeling.
If a child is born between them, Alfonso will now have to walk with a responsibility that is incomparably greater than that of Louis.
He still couldn't imagine life without her, but Ariadne, now the mother of his child, would become inseparable from him on another level.
Alfonso pulled Ariadne into his arms without saying a word.
“Huh? Why are you suddenly like this?”
Alfonso buried his head in Ariadne's arms and took a deep breath.
“Let’s stay like this for a moment.”
The sunlight of the season transitioning into autumn was warm, and she smelled of citrus, musk, and wood mixed with flesh.
Her chest rose and fell with her breathing, and he rested his head there and followed the movements gently.
The wind brushing his cheek through the window was light and sweet at the same time. It was a beauty that could only be felt when he focused on the moment.
Their peaceful time was interrupted by a harsh voice.
“It’s like calling someone over and telling them to sleep.”
It was Raphael de Baldessar who arrived in San Carlo late.
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