It was a lively and happy reunion, except that Alfonso lost his balance and rolled on the floor while hurriedly putting his arms through his clothes, and Raphael came in and nagged him about how lucky he was to have his pants on.
Raphael went down to the Abbey of Aberruche to officially inherit the position of abbot. It was a very quick promotion.
“I can’t leave my seat right now.”
He grumbled. But there was nothing he could do, since it was the capital and the council was in session.
Ariadne briefly shared with Raphael the progress of the work.
“I’ve secured Prince Louis’s new recruits. For now, we’ll keep them secretly in our house.”
The Palazzo Carlo's princely palace may have been safer from external threats, but it housed a man more dangerous than anyone else: Leo III.
Ariadne and Alfonso decided that an assassin was better than a king.
Knock knock.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door of Ariadne's drawing room.
Their meeting was held in secret, and since there weren't many people who could enter at that time, everyone was momentarily tense.
“You little bastards.”
But the person who kicked the door open was fully qualified to enter Ariadne's drawing room.
“If you’re here, shouldn’t you say hello to me?”
It was Cardinal de Mare.
Even though it was his house, he knocked and came in because it was his daughter's space, so he was more of a gentleman than Raphael, who had just pushed his way in and seen the ugly sight.
Alfonso, the son-in-law, stood up from his seat and bowed to his father-in-law, but Raphael, the outsider, just sat crookedly on the sofa and looked up at the Cardinal with wide eyes.
The Cardinal glared at Raphael as soon as he saw him.
“You! You! You came here and didn’t even say hello to the Cardinal?”
Raphael pouted and replied.
“I was going to go now. Who wouldn’t go? No rule says you have to say hello first when you enter a city.”
The Cardinal grabbed the back of his neck. But the work he had to do to grab the back of his neck wasn't over yet.
Cardinal de Mare was once again surprised to hear that there was a successor to the throne of the Kingdom of Gallico in his house without his knowledge. You didn't tell me about this?
The Cardinal gave up all hope for his daughter and instead took hold of his son-in-law's shoulders.
“Prince. If anything happens in the future, please let me know. This kid... doesn’t even tell father about her marriage, doesn’t even tell fagher that the royal family from the neighboring country lives at home, and doesn’t say anything to father at all.”
“Yes...”
The Cardinal sighed heavily at the sight of a man nearly a foot and a half taller than his own daughter.
Ariadne lowered her head and wiggled her fingers as if she were dissatisfied.
Alfonso had a hunch. His girlfriend was about to protest to her father, saying, "I asked you if you had eaten."
To lighten the mood, Alfonso asked Raphael.
“What is public opinion on the Allemand Law?”
Raphael, who had just returned from a local monastery, was the perfect man to inquire into the public opinion among the clergy.
“Well, it’s always the same. Those who have the money are selling their pardons to make money. Since it’s something that happens all the time, the backlash isn’t that bad.”
"This."
Alfonso's mouth was shut in one stroke. The easiest way to block the Allemand amnesty was to rely on the religious community's resolute opposition, but public opinion was unexpected.
Cardinal de Mare said.
“Just trust me.”
The light in his eyes was dazzling.
“If I can't get my clan together to die, I won't let you through.”
The Reccoratio Veritas school, which followed Cardinal de Mare, comprised about one-third of the total force.
It may not be enough to make things happen on its own, but it's more than enough to stop something.
Reccoratio Veritas placed the utmost importance on principles in the interpretation of doctrine.
Even without Cardinal de Mare's intervention, no one was more averse to expedient measures such as the Allemand law of amnesty.
Moreover, Cardinal de Mare now possessed a certain degree of leadership over the immediate subordinate orders of the Pope.
With his own school and the Pope's faction combined, no one at the council could stop Cardinal de Mare.
But in the meantime, Ariadne smiled brightly.
“Father, just let the Allemand Law pass.”
Everyone looked at her in surprise at those words.
“Miss Ari?”
“Should we let it pass?”
“Hey, I’m a priest anyway... Even if illegitimate children are exempted, it won’t benefit you.”
"I know."
Ariadne laughed heartily.
“But to prevent the amnesty of the Allemand Law... it would be a waste to the port.”
Alfonso, who had been staring at her intently, opened his mouth.
“You, do you have a way?”
"Bingo."
There was a clever plan that killed two birds with one stone. It was an idea that came from a single word from Francois.
***
“Philip has finally gone mad, trying to bring his illegitimate son Jean to the forefront.”
“Was this something everyone knew?”
After Julia left, Ariadne gave Francois an update on the latest developments in Trevero.
Instead, Francois relayed the intimate stories of the Palais de Montpellier.
“I had noticed. Princess Auguste was away from the Montpellier palace for about a year that year.”
He added that she was a woman who never left her brother's side for ordinary matters.
“Philip was quite a frequent visitor to the provincial palace where Auguste was recuperating.”
Philip was also a man who never left the Palais de Montpellier.
After a year of erratic behavior, Auguste returned to the palace in Montpellier even more nervous and dissatisfied than before.
“Then they couldn’t officially register their marriage or birth?”
“The Archbishop of Montpellier may be crazy about power, but he would never have the heart to do something like that.”
Francois was blunt. A typical illegitimate child and a child born of incest were two entirely different stories.
The Archbishop of Montpellier could not have done such a thing unless he had intended to change the state religion of the Gallico kingdom to some other religion than the Catholic Church.
“Then I guess I’ll have to check to see if there’s a birth certificate.”
***
“Father, before the council is called, I want you to search through the archives of the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier. We need to see if there are any birth certificates from around 1122 with names like ‘Jean’, ‘Philippe’, and ‘Auguste’. Once we confirm that, we can move immediately.”
Cardinal de Mare nodded absentmindedly.
“Yes. I’ll look for it right away.”
***
An unexpected guest came to Cardinal de Mare, who was tired of his blunt second daughter and was looking for human warmth in the pale swindler of Baldessar.
"Dad!"
It was Isabella de Contarini, looking gaunt.
She suddenly held out the newborn Giovanna before the eyes of the Cardinal, who was momentarily speechless at the sight of his eldest daughter, whom he had driven out of the house with his own hands, a sight that was beyond words.
“Dad! It’s Daddy’s granddaughter!”
***
Isabella did it right when she did it.
She opened the door by apologizing for not having been able to see him for some time, and then came out with such a charming air that it completely stole Cardinal de Mare's soul.
Giovanna's antics here and there definitely helped.
When the baby, half a year old and fully formed, made eye contact and smiled brightly, Cardinal de Mare was disarmed and lifted the baby up to kiss her on the cheek.
As they were about to part ways, Isabella could clearly see her father's hesitation.
The Cardinal seemed to be worried about whether he should give his daughter some living expenses since she must be going through a difficult time, or whether he should tighten his purse strings since it seemed like she was out to exploit him.
“I don’t need money, Father.”
Isabella hit the player.
“I didn’t come to see you for money. I just wanted to see you.”
She saw the Cardinal's melting expression.
“Can I come visit my father once in a while?”
The Cardinal could not bring himself to refuse in front of his granddaughter and his shabby daughter, so he simply replied, “Yes.”
But when Isabella got home, she roughly took off her outer garment and threw it on the floor.
“Oh, this really pisses me off!”
She even trampled the outer garment with her high heels.
“Now you’re pretending to take care of it!”
The bag of gold coins that her father was handling while dancing in his robes seemed to be worth about five ducats, judging by the sound.
“If you’re going to give it to me, give it to me a little bigger. Whose nose are you going to put it on?! You’re going to be proud and say you’re a great father after giving me just that much, right?”
Giovanna cried, frightened by Isabella's momentum.
Agosto, a Moorish knight who had become Isabella's personal servant, picked up baby Giovanna and handed her over to one of Clemente's maids.
“Agosto! Give me my red dress!”
Isabella commanded.
“I’m so pissed off, I’m going to go drink!”
Agosto's eyebrows furrowed, but Isabella did not notice.
“Quick! Pull on the corset nicely!”
***
Isabella, dressed like a peacock and fitted with a corset by Agosto, flitted among the gentlemen like a lark.
“Countess Contarini, you look beautiful today, too.”
"Thank you."
“Good evening. Would you like to take a walk with me outside?”
“I’ll ask you later.”
The man who invited her for a walk was Count DiPascal. She liked him because he was tall and handsome.
Countess DiPascal said she was sick today and could not attend.
Isabella was also willing to go for a walk with them, but her brother Ippolito, was an obstacle as always.
“Did you hear that?!”
“Speak quickly. I have something to do.”
“I heard that the ‘Allemand General Amnesty’ was on the agenda at this Council of San Carlo!”
Isabella had heard of the Allemand amnesty, but she had never really focused on it.
“What is that?”
Because of Ippolito's insistence, she came to Cardinal de Mare and begged him, but the words did not come out smoothly. But Ippolito spoke excitedly without realizing it.
“If only we could receive the Allemand Law’s amnesty, we would no longer be illegitimate children!”
Isabella looked at her brother.
“The legitimate child! This is what happens!”
Ippolito's excitement was actually a bit misplaced.
Although illegitimate children who received a general pardon under the Law of Allemand were treated like legitimate children, this was only with succession.
It was significant in the case of illegitimate children with a deficit because it gave them a chance to inherit the title, which had previously been impossible.
In cases like Cesare and Alfonso, where there was a firstborn son and a secondborn son, it was a huge hit. Depending on luck and the father's favor, the firstborn son could beat the secondborn son.
But for houses like Ippolito that had no deficit anyway, there was no change.
Ippolito was deluded into thinking that if only the Allemand amnesty was passed, he too could act like the legitimate son of the King.
But it was highly unlikely that people would suddenly view a priest's son as an ordinary Count's son.
Isabella, whose identity had already been changed to Countess Contarini, stared at her brother, then turned around and walked away, raising one hand.
“Fighting. I’m going.”
“Hey, hey!”
As Ippolito was about to follow Isabella, a man appeared and blocked Ippolito's path.
“Countess Contarini.”
The tall, handsome man offered his right arm to Isabella without even looking at Ippolito.
“Are you done with all the busy work?”
It was Count Andrea diPascal, one of Clemente de Bartolini's mistresses.
Isabella placed her left hand on his arm with a big smile on her face.
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