Isabella's escort was the Count de Pascal, but the man who took her home was the Marquis Salvati.
He was the husband of the Marchioness of Salvati, whom she had met indirectly while working at the Silver Cross Women's Association.
The reason the old and portly Marquis Salvati took Isabella instead of the young and handsome dr Pascal was probably because of the red topaz tiara, the size of a quail egg that he had given her.
“Oh my, it’s so pretty!”
“Isabella, the sight of you being happy is far more beautiful than these things.”
But there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
The Marquis of Salvati pushed Isabella into the carriage of the Contarini family, or more precisely, the Bartolini family, and Isabella complied, pretending to be helpless.
Calculations were running wild in her head.
'How much is this! If this is a real ruby, it should easily be worth 500 ducats!'
Unfortunately, the tiara was made of topaz, so even if you include the cost of crafting and gold, its value was only about 100 ducats.
But whether it was sapphire or topaz, it was an absurd amount of money that could be obtained for one evening's laughter.
The hem of Isabella's red dress was sucked into the carriage, and her transparent red topaz tiara sparkled in the torches lighting up the outside of the party hall.
“No, no. That’s it for today.”
“Don’t do that, Isabella...”
“Oh, no. Aren’t you a gentleman?”
The voices of a man and a woman arguing inside the carriage leaked out.
Agosto, with an indescribable expression, was sitting on the coachman's seat of the carriage.
Agosto was about to run in when he heard screams inside the carriage, but his mistress was a skilled enough mechanic that she didn't need any help.
The man had to retreat without getting anything except the quail egg topaz, and Isabella finished everything off by just putting on a new lipstick.
Isabella, who had put away her lipstick, ran into the party venue once again in her bright red dress.
An old coachman from another noble family spoke to Agosto, who was sitting on the coachman's seat.
“You are dreaming in vain.”
"What?"
“I see passion in your eyes.”
The old coachman flinched for a moment at Agosto's size and deep voice, but continued speaking.
Because waiting for the owner here was just so boring.
“I’ve seen many young people like that. They all go bankrupt. Don’t even look at a tree you can’t climb. That way, you’ll live long and prosper.”
Agosto was silent for a moment, then finally answered.
“I see the future in my dreams.”
"What?"
Agosto nodded at the old man, who was looking at him like he was crazy.
“Tomorrow. Heavy rain. The city’s rivers will overflow.”
The old coachman, not understanding what nonsense this was, asked back.
“What? It’s fall now. It can’t possibly rain now.”
Agosto did not bother to speak to the coachman, but simply muttered quietly to himself.
'It's not some vain dream.'
The next day, it rained heavily in San Carlo, something that rarely happens in the dry autumn season.
The rain poured down and caused the Tiber River to overflow, killing many livestock and some people downstream.
'I see the future. With the future I see, I can do anything.'
Time passed quickly. Guests who were expected to come to San Carlo and the long-awaited news were arriving one after another.
One of them was a message from his agent in Montpellier, who had moved Cardinal de Mare.
“Your Majesty, I report to you that the archives of the Basilica of the Grande d’Auguste de Montpellier do not contain any birth certificates of children with the names ‘Philippe’ or ‘Auguste’ between 1121 and 1123.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I double-checked, triple-checked. No matter what I searched for, whether it was ‘Jean,’ a boy, royalty, or anything else, there was no birth certificate that matched or even resembled the year of birth, gender, parents’ names, or the child’s name.”
This meant that Philip's illegitimate son, Jean, was not registered at birth with the church.
Ariadne's scheme would make even the Cardinal, who specialized in tricks and schemes, open his mouth.
“Pass the ‘documentary principle’ in the council.”
Documentalism was a branch of Continental jurisprudence that emphasized the presumptive power of documents.
Now, even if you made a transaction based on a land document, if the document itself was forged, you could lose the land.
If the document principle is passed, if you believe the land document is in its proper form, the land will truly be owned as per the document.
“It is not possible to give such an effect to all documents, only to those stored in the archives of the Holy See.”
Raphael also slapped his knee.
“The authority and influence of the Holy See will rise significantly!”
“That’s right. It’s a proposal that can be passed through the council without any problems.”
Ariadne said this and smiled thinly.
“But the devil is in the details.”
The plan she proposed was as follows:
1) pass a strengthening of the documentary law, which gave absolute force to documents, but 2) only those documents kept in the archives of the Holy See; 3) not just any archive, but one in each country: in Gallicuo, the archive of the Basilica of the Holy See at Montpellier; in the Etruscan kingdom, the archive of the Basilica of San Ercole in San Carlo; and 4) the Allemand law was to apply only to those documents kept in each Holy See at the moment when the conciliar decree was promulgated.
In this case, even if the Allemand Law's general amnesty, which pardoned the year of birth of the illegitimate child Jean, was granted, he could not become the legitimate heir.
“Because the birth certificate of the illegitimate child Jean is not in the archives of the Palais des Congrès in Montpellier!”
“Yes. It only applies to documents that are already in place.”
Philippe and Auguste were not in a position to formally register the birth of their children.
"Perhaps he was planning to put it in later by switching his mother or something after the Allemand Law amnesty was implemented.”
He was the husband of the Marchioness of Salvati, whom she had met indirectly while working at the Silver Cross Women's Association.
The reason the old and portly Marquis Salvati took Isabella instead of the young and handsome dr Pascal was probably because of the red topaz tiara, the size of a quail egg that he had given her.
“Oh my, it’s so pretty!”
“Isabella, the sight of you being happy is far more beautiful than these things.”
But there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.
The Marquis of Salvati pushed Isabella into the carriage of the Contarini family, or more precisely, the Bartolini family, and Isabella complied, pretending to be helpless.
Calculations were running wild in her head.
'How much is this! If this is a real ruby, it should easily be worth 500 ducats!'
Unfortunately, the tiara was made of topaz, so even if you include the cost of crafting and gold, its value was only about 100 ducats.
But whether it was sapphire or topaz, it was an absurd amount of money that could be obtained for one evening's laughter.
The hem of Isabella's red dress was sucked into the carriage, and her transparent red topaz tiara sparkled in the torches lighting up the outside of the party hall.
“No, no. That’s it for today.”
“Don’t do that, Isabella...”
“Oh, no. Aren’t you a gentleman?”
The voices of a man and a woman arguing inside the carriage leaked out.
Agosto, with an indescribable expression, was sitting on the coachman's seat of the carriage.
Agosto was about to run in when he heard screams inside the carriage, but his mistress was a skilled enough mechanic that she didn't need any help.
The man had to retreat without getting anything except the quail egg topaz, and Isabella finished everything off by just putting on a new lipstick.
Isabella, who had put away her lipstick, ran into the party venue once again in her bright red dress.
An old coachman from another noble family spoke to Agosto, who was sitting on the coachman's seat.
“You are dreaming in vain.”
"What?"
“I see passion in your eyes.”
The old coachman flinched for a moment at Agosto's size and deep voice, but continued speaking.
Because waiting for the owner here was just so boring.
“I’ve seen many young people like that. They all go bankrupt. Don’t even look at a tree you can’t climb. That way, you’ll live long and prosper.”
Agosto was silent for a moment, then finally answered.
“I see the future in my dreams.”
"What?"
Agosto nodded at the old man, who was looking at him like he was crazy.
“Tomorrow. Heavy rain. The city’s rivers will overflow.”
The old coachman, not understanding what nonsense this was, asked back.
“What? It’s fall now. It can’t possibly rain now.”
Agosto did not bother to speak to the coachman, but simply muttered quietly to himself.
'It's not some vain dream.'
The next day, it rained heavily in San Carlo, something that rarely happens in the dry autumn season.
The rain poured down and caused the Tiber River to overflow, killing many livestock and some people downstream.
'I see the future. With the future I see, I can do anything.'
***
Time passed quickly. Guests who were expected to come to San Carlo and the long-awaited news were arriving one after another.
One of them was a message from his agent in Montpellier, who had moved Cardinal de Mare.
“Your Majesty, I report to you that the archives of the Basilica of the Grande d’Auguste de Montpellier do not contain any birth certificates of children with the names ‘Philippe’ or ‘Auguste’ between 1121 and 1123.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. I double-checked, triple-checked. No matter what I searched for, whether it was ‘Jean,’ a boy, royalty, or anything else, there was no birth certificate that matched or even resembled the year of birth, gender, parents’ names, or the child’s name.”
This meant that Philip's illegitimate son, Jean, was not registered at birth with the church.
Ariadne's scheme would make even the Cardinal, who specialized in tricks and schemes, open his mouth.
“Pass the ‘documentary principle’ in the council.”
Documentalism was a branch of Continental jurisprudence that emphasized the presumptive power of documents.
Now, even if you made a transaction based on a land document, if the document itself was forged, you could lose the land.
If the document principle is passed, if you believe the land document is in its proper form, the land will truly be owned as per the document.
“It is not possible to give such an effect to all documents, only to those stored in the archives of the Holy See.”
Raphael also slapped his knee.
“The authority and influence of the Holy See will rise significantly!”
“That’s right. It’s a proposal that can be passed through the council without any problems.”
Ariadne said this and smiled thinly.
“But the devil is in the details.”
The plan she proposed was as follows:
1) pass a strengthening of the documentary law, which gave absolute force to documents, but 2) only those documents kept in the archives of the Holy See; 3) not just any archive, but one in each country: in Gallicuo, the archive of the Basilica of the Holy See at Montpellier; in the Etruscan kingdom, the archive of the Basilica of San Ercole in San Carlo; and 4) the Allemand law was to apply only to those documents kept in each Holy See at the moment when the conciliar decree was promulgated.
In this case, even if the Allemand Law's general amnesty, which pardoned the year of birth of the illegitimate child Jean, was granted, he could not become the legitimate heir.
“Because the birth certificate of the illegitimate child Jean is not in the archives of the Palais des Congrès in Montpellier!”
“Yes. It only applies to documents that are already in place.”
Philippe and Auguste were not in a position to formally register the birth of their children.
"Perhaps he was planning to put it in later by switching his mother or something after the Allemand Law amnesty was implemented.”
“So you narrowed the scope down to the documents you had in there at the time!”
“That’s right. Even if the Allemand Law’s amnesty is passed, Jean’s succession to the throne is in jeopardy.”
Cardinal de Mare thought that Ariadne was his daughter, but that she had a truly devilish talent for screwing others.
He said a hundred times that it was a brilliant idea to package the Allemand Law amnesty and the strengthening of documentary standards into one bill.
But he didn't have the guts to push through with it right away.
Moreover, the amnesty under the Law of Allemand was in itself a privilege that went against the principles, so Cardinal de Mare could not readily agree to it.
This was the innate temperament of Simon de Mare. It was inevitable.
But Cardinal de Mare decided to endure the discomfort for the sake of his daughter.
This was a huge challenge for an old man well over fifty—an age that would have been considered acceptable even if he died today.
Ariadne always felt a little guilty. This too was a rare emotion for a man of high status in the Central Continent, where illegitimate children were common.
It was largely because they didn't know who their parents were.
It's a vague memory from half a century ago, of counting the stains on the ceiling of an orphanage while waiting for their parents who never came to find them, and a girl who came up from a farm in the countryside.
He didn't have the motivation to confess it to his daughter, but he was willing to torment someone much higher up for her sake.
The Cardinal was waiting for the next guest to arrive at San Carlo.
The next guest to arrive at San Carlo was none other than Pope Ludovico.
“Hahaha! Is this what your house looks like? This looks like the interior decoration of a rich person’s house.”
The de Mare mansion was treated like private property, but it was still an official residence. Cardinal de Mare felt embarrassed and protested.
“Is this the official residence attached to the Basilica of Sant’Ercole?”
“I know that as soon as you were appointed Cardinal San Carlo, you bought a mansion that was on the verge of collapse and remodeled it, leaving only the frame. Isn’t this all just your style? Oh, gilded. It’s so shiny.”
Cardinal de Mare simply blushed and trembled.
The last rebellion he could make against his dignity was to keep his mouth shut, omitting the lame excuse that it wasn't gold, but silver that looked gold in the autumn sun.
“Stop talking nonsense and come up.”
“Is it nonsense to say that the next Pope’s tastes are infinitely closer to the rich?”
“The capital is full of people who want to see the Pope.”
“To those shells that will soon die. They’re like fools.”
“Stop being sentimental and come over here quickly. There are a lot of things to check out.”
“Simon. You are truly the most heartless person in the world.”
Having succeeded in forcing Ludovico into his study, Cardinal de Mare made sure the door was properly closed and got straight to the point.
“I have decided to accept the amnesty under the Allemand Law.”
Ludovico's eyes sparkled.
“Huh?”
The Pope expected that Cardinal de Mare would naturally oppose the Allemand amnesty proposed by Philip.
“Doesn’t this run counter to the interests of Prince Alfonso, which you have almost captured?”
It was Leo III's fault for creating the unusual situation of the eldest son and the younger eldest son.
“If the Allemand Law of Amnesty is passed, wouldn’t it create a foundation for the King’s illegitimate son to act in a certain way?”
“That’s it...”
After the explanation, the Pope's loud laughter echoed through Cardinal de Mare's study.
“Oh, de Mare!”
What a dark swindler. Then, the thought suddenly crossed Ludovico's mind that Cardinal de Mare was not so smart.
“Whose idea was this?”
“That’s right. Even if the Allemand Law’s amnesty is passed, Jean’s succession to the throne is in jeopardy.”
Cardinal de Mare thought that Ariadne was his daughter, but that she had a truly devilish talent for screwing others.
He said a hundred times that it was a brilliant idea to package the Allemand Law amnesty and the strengthening of documentary standards into one bill.
But he didn't have the guts to push through with it right away.
Moreover, the amnesty under the Law of Allemand was in itself a privilege that went against the principles, so Cardinal de Mare could not readily agree to it.
This was the innate temperament of Simon de Mare. It was inevitable.
But Cardinal de Mare decided to endure the discomfort for the sake of his daughter.
This was a huge challenge for an old man well over fifty—an age that would have been considered acceptable even if he died today.
Ariadne always felt a little guilty. This too was a rare emotion for a man of high status in the Central Continent, where illegitimate children were common.
It was largely because they didn't know who their parents were.
It's a vague memory from half a century ago, of counting the stains on the ceiling of an orphanage while waiting for their parents who never came to find them, and a girl who came up from a farm in the countryside.
He didn't have the motivation to confess it to his daughter, but he was willing to torment someone much higher up for her sake.
The Cardinal was waiting for the next guest to arrive at San Carlo.
The next guest to arrive at San Carlo was none other than Pope Ludovico.
“Hahaha! Is this what your house looks like? This looks like the interior decoration of a rich person’s house.”
The de Mare mansion was treated like private property, but it was still an official residence. Cardinal de Mare felt embarrassed and protested.
“Is this the official residence attached to the Basilica of Sant’Ercole?”
“I know that as soon as you were appointed Cardinal San Carlo, you bought a mansion that was on the verge of collapse and remodeled it, leaving only the frame. Isn’t this all just your style? Oh, gilded. It’s so shiny.”
Cardinal de Mare simply blushed and trembled.
The last rebellion he could make against his dignity was to keep his mouth shut, omitting the lame excuse that it wasn't gold, but silver that looked gold in the autumn sun.
“Stop talking nonsense and come up.”
“Is it nonsense to say that the next Pope’s tastes are infinitely closer to the rich?”
“The capital is full of people who want to see the Pope.”
“To those shells that will soon die. They’re like fools.”
“Stop being sentimental and come over here quickly. There are a lot of things to check out.”
“Simon. You are truly the most heartless person in the world.”
Having succeeded in forcing Ludovico into his study, Cardinal de Mare made sure the door was properly closed and got straight to the point.
“I have decided to accept the amnesty under the Allemand Law.”
Ludovico's eyes sparkled.
“Huh?”
The Pope expected that Cardinal de Mare would naturally oppose the Allemand amnesty proposed by Philip.
“Doesn’t this run counter to the interests of Prince Alfonso, which you have almost captured?”
It was Leo III's fault for creating the unusual situation of the eldest son and the younger eldest son.
“If the Allemand Law of Amnesty is passed, wouldn’t it create a foundation for the King’s illegitimate son to act in a certain way?”
“That’s it...”
After the explanation, the Pope's loud laughter echoed through Cardinal de Mare's study.
“Oh, de Mare!”
What a dark swindler. Then, the thought suddenly crossed Ludovico's mind that Cardinal de Mare was not so smart.
“Whose idea was this?”
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