"..."
Ariadne, who had heard at the luncheon table what had happened in the morning's 'Palace Court', put down the macaroni aserete she was about to put in her mouth. Her mouth was still open.
The one who relayed the story was Julia, who came running to the de Mare mansion as soon as she heard the whole story. She, too, was astonished. It was an absurd scandal.
“They say the Bartolini family is also in turmoil. They say that Count Bartolini notified the Contarini family immediately after returning home?”
“He's going to kill the Countess? Or throw her in a convent?”
“No. The marriage is over, take your daughter and throw up the bridegroom.”
Ariadne, who had heard at the luncheon table what had happened in the morning's 'Palace Court', put down the macaroni aserete she was about to put in her mouth. Her mouth was still open.
The one who relayed the story was Julia, who came running to the de Mare mansion as soon as she heard the whole story. She, too, was astonished. It was an absurd scandal.
“They say the Bartolini family is also in turmoil. They say that Count Bartolini notified the Contarini family immediately after returning home?”
“He's going to kill the Countess? Or throw her in a convent?”
“No. The marriage is over, take your daughter and throw up the bridegroom.”
Ariadne shook her head. It was up to the Viscount of Elba, who was in charge, to decide whether to terminate the marriage on the grounds of adultery or annulment because there was no formal relationship between the Count and the Countess. Count Bartolini had made his intentions clear. It was over with Clemente.
“Still, he's so generous. I thought he wouldn’t let her go so easily.”
“I guess Ottavio cried and begged for his sister’s life to be spared. At first, Count Bartolini threatened to beat Clemente to death with a club as per your words, but then he threatened not to annul the marriage and to have her thrown into a convent forever under the authority of the Bartolini family. It wasn’t a joke.”
“He has been wavering, so he must have listened to Ottavio’s pleas, right?”
Julia frowned.
“That’s right. I never thought I would feel a man’s love in my life when he doesn’t kill his wife.”
Ariadne clicked her tongue.
“To that extent, it is true love. By the way, the Contarini family will be in chaos too.”
“Yes, let’s say Clemente's life was saved, but where does Ottavio have the money to return his sister’s bride?”
"He has no money. He has nowhere to go.”
“...I see? Then, where are we going now? The Count Contarini family has been seized, right?”
Ariadne bashfully scrunched her nose at Julia's question. The original creditor of the Count's family was her best friend, Camellia, and the mastermind behind the seizure of the mansion was Julia's brother, and the villain who had planned the entire seizure of the mansion was right in front of Julia's eyes.
“Ah, um. Shouldn’t they go to the local territory?”
Julia frowned momentarily. The Contarini family was not wealthy or prosperous, but they had lands in the west. If they went down there, they could at least get food for themselves.
That wasn't a bad story. For Ariadne, who had grown up on a country farm and had come up to San Carlo, it was. But for Julia, who had been a nun since birth, it sounded different.
“This is... a complete downfall.”
The picture of a traditional noble family settled in the capital city being reduced to a mere provincial gentry was, in Julia's eyes, a moment of decline in class.
Julia had known Ottavio since they were young. They weren't close, but they had hung out together in the same group for years, so they had developed a certain affection for each other. It was inevitable that this situation would be somewhat regrettable and heartbreaking.
Ariadne, who could not even jokingly be called friends with Ottavio or Clemente, was worried about something else entirely at that moment.
“...What about the child?”
Her niece, Giovanna, was a child she had never seen before, but blood relatives were inevitably blood relatives.
Above all, Cardinal de Mare was so happy after meeting Giovanna that he felt like he had entered a new era in his life. Ariadne, who was worried about her father after retirement, was very concerned about Giovanna's well-being.
But as soon as she heard that question, Julia asked,
“You know what?”
Julia, with her arrogant expression on her face, shouted at Isabella, who was not present.
“Your sister, when His Majesty Leo III asked her, ‘Isn’t there anyone you can bring home from the Countess Contarini?’ she innocently pretended not to have children! Is she crazy?”
It was a perversion that captured the essence of the moment very well, although it had some distortions and misinterpretations. Ariadne covered her face with both hands. Yes, Isabella was a woman who would do that. Ariadne muttered darkly.
“If I bring her, will Count Contarini send the child?”
Although the increased responsibilities were a turn-off, she couldn't just leave it like that.
“Well, I don’t think so.”
Julia knew Ottavio well. He was a man with nothing but pride left, and even if he had no interest in his daughter, he would not give his only blood relative to his in-laws. Unless he wanted to get rid of her after he succeeded in getting married again.
“Should I ask Sister Clemente to take care of her and take her to the local estate?”
Ariadne also agreed with Julia's character assessment. She sighed deeply.
“I must send someone to ask. And I think His Majesty the King will certainly release the Contarini mansion from its seizure.”
The Contarini mansion was currently in a state of foreclosure, untouchable. If the mansion were to be sold, the creditors of the Contarini family, originally Camellia and now the Abbey of Aberruche, who had bought Camellia's bonds, would have priority in receiving the money.
But Ariadne was sure that Leo III, who had chosen Isabella, would release the mansion without following due process. It was a chance to flirt with a woman without spending a penny. Leo III would not miss this golden opportunity.
“If His Majesty releases the seizure, Ottavio will not be able to hold out without paying the money.”
Ariadne sighed once more. It felt like the roof would come off with a single sigh.
“Once the Contarini family’s seizure is lifted, I’ll have to ask Raphael to negotiate a favorable deal with Ottavio from the monastery.”
The Abbey of Aberruche was receiving less money than they could have received anyway. They had bought the bonds from Camellia cheaply, so they had not lost any cash, but they had lost money anyway. So they asked Raphael to make concessions and leave the money for Ottavio. It was purely for Giovanna.
“His Majesty the King will call the director of the Abbey of Aberruche and threaten him to tell him to eat moderately and leave, so I won’t be able to take everything... If the abbey yields, the amount of money that will go to Count Contarini will increase...There will be money to pay off the bride price received by Countess Bartolini and money to raise Giovanna, and things like that.”
Ariadne's prediction was perfectly reasonable, except that the one variable she couldn't account for was how much of a fucking bitch her own sister was.
***
“Yes? You’re releasing the seizure?”
“Yeah. Wasn’t it a conflict that arose because of a petty fight anyway?”
"No, I do not want."
Leo III, who had imagined Isabella jumping for joy with her hands clasped together, was surprised by the unexpected reaction. He was so surprised that he missed the timing to reprimand her.
“That, that. The Baron’s daughter is already married. No one has been harmed.”
Leo III could not connect the dots between the Baron's daughter, who had her husband stolen by Isabella, and the merchant's wife, who had a miscarriage because of Isabella. But even if he had known, Leo III would have insisted on the same. He had no interest in other people's sorrows. Leo III did not even look at Rubina's expression, who was in the drawing room with him, but recommended it.
“It’s okay, you can accept this. What’s the advantage of being able to appeal to the King directly? I’ll lift the seizure on the Count’s mansion, so just settle it properly. Pay off your debts. Resolve your creditors amicably.”
Instead, it became a ridiculous situation where Leo III persuaded Isabella to accept his favor.
Isabella blinked her purple eyes.
“...Your Majesty. Thank you so much.”
She pursed her lips.
"However."
'This will be recorded as one of the favors the King has done for me, and you want me to use my credit to do good deeds for Ottavio?'
“Isabella does not wish to be a burden to Your Majesty.”
'No way.'
She was leaning at the feet of Leo III, who was sitting on the throne like a puppy. This 'puppy' finished all the calculations in no time.
Isabella was nurturing a rage towards Ottavio. She would never forget him for turning his back on her in front of Count Bartolini.
That mouth that laughed at her, that vicious grip on her wrist, that merciless look in his eyes as he dragged her away... She will never forget it.
But in her boiling anger toward her husband, she forgot about her daughter, her existence, her sense of responsibility for her daughter, and her love for her daughter.
“Your Majesty. At that time, that was... I felt really wronged that I was dragged to trial and that it was talked about by others.”
It was Isabella, of course. She left out the fact that the mess was a public trial of her own choosing.
“Anyway, it’s officially my verdict. If you want to overturn it, Your Majesty the Almighty can, of course, overturn it, but I’m worried that there will be people who will say something.”
Isabella's flaxen eyelashes fluttered.
“How cunning and sinister humans are...”
This lament was real. Isabella came to her senses after experiencing the petty hatred of others, which she had dismissed as nothing, almost burning her. There was no one to help her, not a maid, not a husband, not a relative. Except the man who had an affair with her.
“When a crowd gathers, they pile on slander and slander with untrue facts until they completely destroy a person. But the human tongue is like a blade, and can cut a person, no matter how great he is.”
Isabella was instinctively training Leo III. The words she was now telling Leo III were ultimately whispering: 'Don't trust what others say. They are all liars. No matter who tells you gossip about Isabella, daughter of de Mare, Countess Contarini, it is all a lie.'
The old King kept nodding his head at the liveliness of the beautiful blonde. She wasn't wrong, was she? Humans are irresponsible for passing words, and when three people gather together, they can even create a non-existent lion.
“So, there is absolutely no need for you to release the Contarini mansion for my sake. You must not destroy Your Majesty’s cause for the sake of someone like me.”
Isabella sold her daughter's future for the King's favor. Leo III's blue eyes sparkled as he accepted this selfless flattery.
Whether it was Rubina or Marguerite, he was always angry at them for not giving him more. It was the first time he had ever heard a woman say that she didn't need anything.
He had only ever met women who were extremely devoted to their children. This was the first time he had met a woman who gave her children without even giving up her own life, and Leo III mistakenly interpreted this as a sign of extreme loyalty and love.
***
“Does this make sense?!”
Duchess Rubina, who had been forced to watch Countess Isabella Contarini's personal skills show from beginning to end with wide-eyed anticipation, exploded in anger. The person she was holding onto and harassing was Lord Delpiano.
“You’re throwing out the useful ones and bringing in things like that instead?”
Duchess Rubina's complaint about the new chief maid, Countess Contarini, was not, of course, the Countess's work ability. The Duchess knew this, and so did Lord Delpiano. However, if you were to point out that you were being pushed around as a woman, you would not even be able to make up your own bones.
“Oh my, my fate!”
Sir Delpiano, who had already committed many crimes, rolled his eyes. He had also contributed to Clemente de Bartolini's downfall by about 1/100th. He hated coming forward... Should I have kept my mouth shut...
However, Sir Delpiano was not the kind of scoundrel who would order a body search of a lady with whom he had once spent a good time in front of everyone. He let out a sigh of regret and carefully tried to convince Rubina that Clemente's disappearance was not such a bad thing.
“Don’t worry too much, Duchess. You will soon have something to make up for it.”
At first glance, it sounded like ordinary words of comfort, but the nuance was subtle and overly specific. Duchess Rubina looked at Lord Delpiano with a face that demanded an explanation.
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