Leo III trembled all over. He called out to someone in the hallway even before he had entered the royal apartments.
“Call Sir Delpiano!”
The King was about to call Duke Cesare from Villa Sortone, but stopped short of doing so. Cesare was just a chess piece. There was no need to explain in detail what was going on for a mere chess piece. It would be a waste of time.
“Get ready to open the Hall of the Sun!”
More important than that was the style and formality of the day of the ceremony. Leo III thought that he had to open a large hall and decorate it properly so that he could tell the Marquis of Manchike about the change of groom.
“We must promote Duke Cesare to Grand Duke!”
At present, Cesare is not a suitable match for Julia Helena. A Duchess cannot be called a Principessa. The title of monarch starts from the Grand Duke. Therefore, the promotion of this Duke to Grand Duke was a preliminary step to match Cesare with Julia Helena.
“Find out when the new Cardinal will arrive in the capital! Gather all the ambassadors in the country and prepare a grand award ceremony!”
In the end, Lord Delpiano's prediction came true. Leo III offered Cesare as a husband to swallow up the Princess's dowry. Lord Delpiano was a man who knew Leo III very well.
However, even if the marriage of the legitimate son had failed, there was no guarantee that the marriage of the eldest son would proceed so easily. Leo III's children all resembled him and were very stubborn.
San Carlo is a place where rumors travel fast, especially when they involve royalty.
“Huh? Suddenly?”
“This is a very secret, but there is a story that His Majesty the King has ordered preparations to open the ‘Hall of the Sun.’ What else could possibly open the Hall of the Sun?”
“No, there’s also the appointment of a Princess, and the appointment of a Crown Prince...”
“He won’t even make the Countess de Mare, whom the Prince just brought, the Crown Princess, so he will make it much easier for him to make Prince Alfonso the Crown Prince.”
At every tea party in the capital, royal tales burned like dry logs on a fire.
“Is that so? I heard that His Majesty and His Highness had a huge fight after that marriage announcement.”
“It’s worth fighting. They’re of mixed race, so what are you going to do about the succession?”
“The Prince didn’t have a plan either. He should have slowly asked for permission and done it, but he just brought it up in front of his father.”
“I guess that’s because he didn’t think his father would allow it. Isn’t it romantic? Love that goes against one’s parents?”
Opinions varied. However, the capital's aristocrats tended to have a conservative stance.
“It’s romantic if it’s someone else’s business. He’s the successor to our kingdom. What if a war breaks out during our children’s generation?”
“Which line should I take? The line will become clearer soon, right?”
“Ah. Let’s leave it to the husbands. Countess Morosini, what do you mean? When you decide something, you have to let us know?”
“Of course, Marchioness Colonna.”
“Now then, the investiture of the Princess, the investiture of the Crown Prince, and the awarding of the title of Grand Duke. Do you want to bet on which of the three will happen in the Hall of the Sun that day?”
This rumor reached Princess Julia Helena. To be precise, it was Duchess Rubina who let it slip through her ears.
On the very night that Lord Delpiano had told Duchess Rubina that something good might happen to Duke Cesare, Viscountess Panamere, a subordinate of Princess Julia Helena, hurriedly sought out the Princess with the news.
“Are you going to award the title of Grand Duke to Duke Cesare?”
“Yes, my lady. Isn’t this just to comply with the Principessa clause in the contract? It seems that the marriage proposal with Prince Alfonso was wrong.”
“I knew that.”
Princess Julia Helena's eyes sparkled brightly. She recalled the ballroom that day.
If she really liked Prince Alfonso, her pride would have been hurt a little, but the Prince was a business partner, and since it was their first meeting that day, she could look at it objectively. The Prince's girlfriend, Countess Ariadne de Mare, whom she had met at the ballroom of Palazzo Carlo, was a tall and charming beauty. The Prince's eyes dripped with honey as he looked at her.
Princess Julia Helena was young and confident that she knew the ways of the world. The more sane the Prince was and the more power he had, the more impossible it was to take him away from Countess de Mare and bring him to her. It was absurd to separate such a couple by royal command.
'Does Leo III think the Marquis of Manchike is a fool? If his son had a woman, he should never have proposed marriage in the first place.'
Julia Helena did not speak her mind. Instead, the Princess glanced at Irene, the Viscountess of Panamere, who was standing before her. If she were to criticize Leo III's actions here, Aunt Irene would get angry and report a negative report to her father, and it would all be a bust.
The proposal that Leo III was expected to make, seemingly because he saw the Marquis of Manchike as a vassal, was actually pleasing to her heart. The Princess smiled.
“Then Grand Duke Cesare will be my husband?”
The Viscountess of Panamere frowned. In the eyes of the Viscountess, a woman in her late thirties, Duke Cesare did not look like a very good person.
“The Etruscan Kingdom has not made an official proposal yet...”
Better yet, Julia Helena ordered Viscountess Panamere.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, so don’t report it to our home country.”
“Yes? Your Highness, how...”
“Nothing has been decided yet, so if we write a letter to my father and send it to him, and we say, ‘That’s not true, Marquis,’ he’ll just get confused. Just wait a little.”
Julia Helena knew that Marquis Synadenos would not remain silent if he heard that her husband had changed. She was afraid that her father would cancel the contract and order her to return home as soon as he heard the story. Before that, she had to make some progress.
“And Grand Duke Cesare? Try to arrange a meeting with him. I need to know what a prospective groom looks like.”
Viscount Panamere pointed out harshly.
“Your Highness. It’s not so much ‘what kind of person’ they are as it is ‘what they look like’...”
“Ah, let’s do it roughly! That’s it!”
The face is everything. The face is the character. After urging the Viscountess Panamere to arrange another meeting with Duke Cesare and then sending her away, Princess Julia Helena burrowed into the large, plush bed of the Palazzo Carlo.
“Tch, lying down reminds me of something.”
The tall, slender, red-haired, handsome man she had seen at the ballroom loomed before her eyes. She rubbed her head roughly against the 800-count Mount Yesak linen pillowcase to clear her mind of the thought.
'Why am I like this? It's weird. It's really weird.'
Viscountess Panamere of the Marquis of Manchike sighed as he stepped back after seeing the Princess's face full of anticipation.
There was nothing wrong with what the Princess said. She will report only after something is confirmed.
It didn't seem like a bad idea to arrange a meeting with Duke Cesare. After meeting him, the Princess might cool off, or she might decide that he's too bad and that she should return home immediately. It would certainly help her come to a quick conclusion.
Then the subject was overcome with a slight sense of unease. The story that Duke Cesare, the nephew of the Etruscan King, was a very handsome man spread far and wide, even across the Central Continent and across the seas. In addition, there was a rumor that the Duke was a womanizer.
'What if the Princess meets Duke Cesare and that Duke wags his tail like crazy and makes the Princess fall for it?'
A woman in love is not a good negotiator.
'Our Princess may act smart, but in the end, she's just a teenage girl.'
When an older man is determined and twitches his tail, it is not easy for the younger generation to see through it. However, the worries of the Manchike vassals turned out to be unfounded, at least in some cases.
“You’re calling me Grand Duke? All of a sudden?”
"Yes!"
The excited Duchess Rubina shouted, unable to control her voice. Cesare, although surprised by the news of his promotion to Grand Duke, did not seem to be in a bad mood. The Duchess explained to her son in detail the reason for his promotion.
“He’s even giving you a title just to get you married! Oh my, you have to be nice to Princess Julia Helena!”
Cesare's face, which had been brightly lit, instantly hardened.
“Marriage?”
He was having trouble putting the context of the situation into context. Cesare asked back.
“So, are you saying that you are making me a Grand Duke to get me married?”
"Yes!"
Rubina shot back.
“Otherwise, why on earth would we give someone as useless as you the title of Grand Duke?”
Cesare felt the adjective 'useless' was omitted in the middle of the sentence. Useless to his mother, of no help to her...
The useless son swallowed hard. He had to say it. He was afraid of the accusations that would pour down, but he had to say it. He couldn't be dragged away like this.
“...Mother. I have no intention of getting married.”
"What?"
This was the first time Duchess Rubina had heard this in her life. Her thoughts were going in a slightly strange direction.
“Are you rejecting women?”
Cesare washed his face with a hardened face. Well, if you think so. It might be better for his mother to accept this than to say that he remains single because he cannot get over his obsession with Alfonso's woman, Countess de Mare. He decided to ride on Rubina's illusion.
“...I like being alone.”
Cesare continued speaking without looking at Rubina, covering his eyes with his hand.
“If the promotion to Grand Duke is related to this...”
“Shut up and take it.”
Rubina threw something. The fluttering cloth fell directly on Cesare's face. It was a purple robe.
“You don’t get married because you’re sick of women? Don’t even talk nonsense!”
It was a special custom-made costume that Duchess Rubina had the Collezione dress shop make in one night. All the Collezione's bedding was sewn overnight. The cut was designed to accentuate Cesare's slender figure.
“Don’t you know that you used to chase after women, saying that anything goes as long as you wear a skirt? How can you get tired of a woman? You?”
Duchess Rubina snorted.
“If you’re going to talk about love and affection, just shut up before you even open your mouth. Oh, my dear son. You should have stopped having such delusions when you were twelve.”
She snapped at her son, the most handsome man in the capital, who stood there with a dazed look on his face, his gorgeous robe turned inside out.
“This is business. This is your chance to grow bigger.”
Duchess Rubina grabbed hold of the robe her son was wearing and shook it, scolding her son.
“Put that on and crawl out now. What are those dark circles under your eyes? Don’t you take care of your skin?”
“...”
“I have already made a tea time appointment with Princess Manchike for lunch today.”
Cesare reacted to these words. It was as if he was being told to go out and wag his tail.
“Mother...!”
“You worked hard to catch it, so shut up and come out before anyone says anything bad.”
Alfonso could refuse Leo III's outrageous demands because he had the resources and power to do so.
Everything Duke Cesare had came from his parents. The income of the Pisano estate was his, but it was not entirely his own achievement. It could be lost tomorrow at the whim of the King.
Duchess Rubina, who had a tight grip on access to the King, glared straight at her son.
"Hurry."
Cesare sighed as if he was going to die, but eventually put on the blood-red purple suit his mother had given him.
“My son. I gave birth to you, so you are definitely the most handsome man in San Carlo.”
Duchess Rubina, who did not like Cesare wearing his formal attire over his dressing gown, poked her son's shoulder and scolded him.
“Shoulders up! What’s with that expression! Put the dead body in!”
The Duchess Rubina's demands were endless. But there is a limit to what can be obtained through coercion.
Duke Cesare was dragged to the Palazzo Carlo like an ox to the slaughterhouse by his mother, but he never regained his smiling face.
So, Julia Helena, who first met Duke Cesare in the 'Queen's Quarter' of Palagio Carlo, met Cesare in a state of death, quite different from his reputation as a womanizer, shaking the Central Continent.
“Oh my god.”
“Call Sir Delpiano!”
The King was about to call Duke Cesare from Villa Sortone, but stopped short of doing so. Cesare was just a chess piece. There was no need to explain in detail what was going on for a mere chess piece. It would be a waste of time.
“Get ready to open the Hall of the Sun!”
More important than that was the style and formality of the day of the ceremony. Leo III thought that he had to open a large hall and decorate it properly so that he could tell the Marquis of Manchike about the change of groom.
“We must promote Duke Cesare to Grand Duke!”
At present, Cesare is not a suitable match for Julia Helena. A Duchess cannot be called a Principessa. The title of monarch starts from the Grand Duke. Therefore, the promotion of this Duke to Grand Duke was a preliminary step to match Cesare with Julia Helena.
“Find out when the new Cardinal will arrive in the capital! Gather all the ambassadors in the country and prepare a grand award ceremony!”
In the end, Lord Delpiano's prediction came true. Leo III offered Cesare as a husband to swallow up the Princess's dowry. Lord Delpiano was a man who knew Leo III very well.
However, even if the marriage of the legitimate son had failed, there was no guarantee that the marriage of the eldest son would proceed so easily. Leo III's children all resembled him and were very stubborn.
***
San Carlo is a place where rumors travel fast, especially when they involve royalty.
“Rumors are going around that Duke Cesare will be promoted to Grand Duke!"
“Huh? Suddenly?”
“This is a very secret, but there is a story that His Majesty the King has ordered preparations to open the ‘Hall of the Sun.’ What else could possibly open the Hall of the Sun?”
“No, there’s also the appointment of a Princess, and the appointment of a Crown Prince...”
“He won’t even make the Countess de Mare, whom the Prince just brought, the Crown Princess, so he will make it much easier for him to make Prince Alfonso the Crown Prince.”
At every tea party in the capital, royal tales burned like dry logs on a fire.
“Is that so? I heard that His Majesty and His Highness had a huge fight after that marriage announcement.”
“It’s worth fighting. They’re of mixed race, so what are you going to do about the succession?”
“The Prince didn’t have a plan either. He should have slowly asked for permission and done it, but he just brought it up in front of his father.”
“I guess that’s because he didn’t think his father would allow it. Isn’t it romantic? Love that goes against one’s parents?”
Opinions varied. However, the capital's aristocrats tended to have a conservative stance.
“It’s romantic if it’s someone else’s business. He’s the successor to our kingdom. What if a war breaks out during our children’s generation?”
“Which line should I take? The line will become clearer soon, right?”
“Ah. Let’s leave it to the husbands. Countess Morosini, what do you mean? When you decide something, you have to let us know?”
“Of course, Marchioness Colonna.”
“Now then, the investiture of the Princess, the investiture of the Crown Prince, and the awarding of the title of Grand Duke. Do you want to bet on which of the three will happen in the Hall of the Sun that day?”
***
This rumor reached Princess Julia Helena. To be precise, it was Duchess Rubina who let it slip through her ears.
On the very night that Lord Delpiano had told Duchess Rubina that something good might happen to Duke Cesare, Viscountess Panamere, a subordinate of Princess Julia Helena, hurriedly sought out the Princess with the news.
“Are you going to award the title of Grand Duke to Duke Cesare?”
“Yes, my lady. Isn’t this just to comply with the Principessa clause in the contract? It seems that the marriage proposal with Prince Alfonso was wrong.”
“I knew that.”
Princess Julia Helena's eyes sparkled brightly. She recalled the ballroom that day.
If she really liked Prince Alfonso, her pride would have been hurt a little, but the Prince was a business partner, and since it was their first meeting that day, she could look at it objectively. The Prince's girlfriend, Countess Ariadne de Mare, whom she had met at the ballroom of Palazzo Carlo, was a tall and charming beauty. The Prince's eyes dripped with honey as he looked at her.
Princess Julia Helena was young and confident that she knew the ways of the world. The more sane the Prince was and the more power he had, the more impossible it was to take him away from Countess de Mare and bring him to her. It was absurd to separate such a couple by royal command.
'Does Leo III think the Marquis of Manchike is a fool? If his son had a woman, he should never have proposed marriage in the first place.'
Julia Helena did not speak her mind. Instead, the Princess glanced at Irene, the Viscountess of Panamere, who was standing before her. If she were to criticize Leo III's actions here, Aunt Irene would get angry and report a negative report to her father, and it would all be a bust.
The proposal that Leo III was expected to make, seemingly because he saw the Marquis of Manchike as a vassal, was actually pleasing to her heart. The Princess smiled.
“Then Grand Duke Cesare will be my husband?”
The Viscountess of Panamere frowned. In the eyes of the Viscountess, a woman in her late thirties, Duke Cesare did not look like a very good person.
“The Etruscan Kingdom has not made an official proposal yet...”
Better yet, Julia Helena ordered Viscountess Panamere.
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, so don’t report it to our home country.”
“Yes? Your Highness, how...”
“Nothing has been decided yet, so if we write a letter to my father and send it to him, and we say, ‘That’s not true, Marquis,’ he’ll just get confused. Just wait a little.”
Julia Helena knew that Marquis Synadenos would not remain silent if he heard that her husband had changed. She was afraid that her father would cancel the contract and order her to return home as soon as he heard the story. Before that, she had to make some progress.
“And Grand Duke Cesare? Try to arrange a meeting with him. I need to know what a prospective groom looks like.”
Viscount Panamere pointed out harshly.
“Your Highness. It’s not so much ‘what kind of person’ they are as it is ‘what they look like’...”
“Ah, let’s do it roughly! That’s it!”
The face is everything. The face is the character. After urging the Viscountess Panamere to arrange another meeting with Duke Cesare and then sending her away, Princess Julia Helena burrowed into the large, plush bed of the Palazzo Carlo.
“Tch, lying down reminds me of something.”
The tall, slender, red-haired, handsome man she had seen at the ballroom loomed before her eyes. She rubbed her head roughly against the 800-count Mount Yesak linen pillowcase to clear her mind of the thought.
'Why am I like this? It's weird. It's really weird.'
***
Viscountess Panamere of the Marquis of Manchike sighed as he stepped back after seeing the Princess's face full of anticipation.
There was nothing wrong with what the Princess said. She will report only after something is confirmed.
It didn't seem like a bad idea to arrange a meeting with Duke Cesare. After meeting him, the Princess might cool off, or she might decide that he's too bad and that she should return home immediately. It would certainly help her come to a quick conclusion.
Then the subject was overcome with a slight sense of unease. The story that Duke Cesare, the nephew of the Etruscan King, was a very handsome man spread far and wide, even across the Central Continent and across the seas. In addition, there was a rumor that the Duke was a womanizer.
'What if the Princess meets Duke Cesare and that Duke wags his tail like crazy and makes the Princess fall for it?'
A woman in love is not a good negotiator.
'Our Princess may act smart, but in the end, she's just a teenage girl.'
When an older man is determined and twitches his tail, it is not easy for the younger generation to see through it. However, the worries of the Manchike vassals turned out to be unfounded, at least in some cases.
***
“You’re calling me Grand Duke? All of a sudden?”
"Yes!"
The excited Duchess Rubina shouted, unable to control her voice. Cesare, although surprised by the news of his promotion to Grand Duke, did not seem to be in a bad mood. The Duchess explained to her son in detail the reason for his promotion.
“He’s even giving you a title just to get you married! Oh my, you have to be nice to Princess Julia Helena!”
Cesare's face, which had been brightly lit, instantly hardened.
“Marriage?”
He was having trouble putting the context of the situation into context. Cesare asked back.
“So, are you saying that you are making me a Grand Duke to get me married?”
"Yes!"
Rubina shot back.
“Otherwise, why on earth would we give someone as useless as you the title of Grand Duke?”
Cesare felt the adjective 'useless' was omitted in the middle of the sentence. Useless to his mother, of no help to her...
The useless son swallowed hard. He had to say it. He was afraid of the accusations that would pour down, but he had to say it. He couldn't be dragged away like this.
“...Mother. I have no intention of getting married.”
"What?"
This was the first time Duchess Rubina had heard this in her life. Her thoughts were going in a slightly strange direction.
“Are you rejecting women?”
Cesare washed his face with a hardened face. Well, if you think so. It might be better for his mother to accept this than to say that he remains single because he cannot get over his obsession with Alfonso's woman, Countess de Mare. He decided to ride on Rubina's illusion.
“...I like being alone.”
Cesare continued speaking without looking at Rubina, covering his eyes with his hand.
“If the promotion to Grand Duke is related to this...”
“Shut up and take it.”
Rubina threw something. The fluttering cloth fell directly on Cesare's face. It was a purple robe.
“You don’t get married because you’re sick of women? Don’t even talk nonsense!”
It was a special custom-made costume that Duchess Rubina had the Collezione dress shop make in one night. All the Collezione's bedding was sewn overnight. The cut was designed to accentuate Cesare's slender figure.
“Don’t you know that you used to chase after women, saying that anything goes as long as you wear a skirt? How can you get tired of a woman? You?”
Duchess Rubina snorted.
“If you’re going to talk about love and affection, just shut up before you even open your mouth. Oh, my dear son. You should have stopped having such delusions when you were twelve.”
She snapped at her son, the most handsome man in the capital, who stood there with a dazed look on his face, his gorgeous robe turned inside out.
“This is business. This is your chance to grow bigger.”
Duchess Rubina grabbed hold of the robe her son was wearing and shook it, scolding her son.
“Put that on and crawl out now. What are those dark circles under your eyes? Don’t you take care of your skin?”
“...”
“I have already made a tea time appointment with Princess Manchike for lunch today.”
Cesare reacted to these words. It was as if he was being told to go out and wag his tail.
“Mother...!”
“You worked hard to catch it, so shut up and come out before anyone says anything bad.”
Alfonso could refuse Leo III's outrageous demands because he had the resources and power to do so.
Everything Duke Cesare had came from his parents. The income of the Pisano estate was his, but it was not entirely his own achievement. It could be lost tomorrow at the whim of the King.
Duchess Rubina, who had a tight grip on access to the King, glared straight at her son.
"Hurry."
Cesare sighed as if he was going to die, but eventually put on the blood-red purple suit his mother had given him.
“My son. I gave birth to you, so you are definitely the most handsome man in San Carlo.”
Duchess Rubina, who did not like Cesare wearing his formal attire over his dressing gown, poked her son's shoulder and scolded him.
“Shoulders up! What’s with that expression! Put the dead body in!”
The Duchess Rubina's demands were endless. But there is a limit to what can be obtained through coercion.
Duke Cesare was dragged to the Palazzo Carlo like an ox to the slaughterhouse by his mother, but he never regained his smiling face.
So, Julia Helena, who first met Duke Cesare in the 'Queen's Quarter' of Palagio Carlo, met Cesare in a state of death, quite different from his reputation as a womanizer, shaking the Central Continent.
“Oh my god.”
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