Julia Helena let out an exclamation of admiration at Cesare's overwhelming appearance before they could even introduce themselves, and covered her mouth with her hand in embarrassment. Cesare glanced at the Princess with a flushed face and then introduced himself.
“I am Cesare, the ‘Duke’ of Pisano. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
To Julia Helena, Cesare's self-introduction sounded like the singing of a heavenly angel.
His words, which he had pressed down hard to call 'Duke' instead of 'Duke', crumbled into the air without reaching the teenage girl who had fallen in love with him at first sight.
“You, Julia Helena, of Manchike.”
She had even proudly shouted out the names of her ancestors in front of the Prince she thought was her husband, but she forgot to recite them in front of this man. It was best not to look too foolish.
Duchess Rubina was looking at this situation with a very satisfied smile. Her son, who had a handsome face like hers, showed off his overwhelming destructive power against young women. Cesare's facial features, which were beautiful even among women with slender lines, immediately disarmed young women, especially among those of marriageable age.
'As expected, my son.'
But what's lacking continues to catch their eye.
'It would have been perfect if only he had brightened his expression a little.'
Rubina was starting to get annoyed that Cesare wasn't reaching his full potential. Her son wasn't just looking dead today. He was also keeping his mouth shut.
'Do you think I don't know that you've been putting olive oil on your tongue? Why is he acting like this today?'
The conversation was led by Princess Julia Helena alone. As is often the case with conversations where there is no response from the other party, moments of silence began to appear, no matter how well the Princess spoke. Duchess Rubina, shivering from the awkward silence, had no choice but to join in with a smile on her face.
“Your Highness, please forgive my son’s rudeness. He often gets distracted during the day.”
It was a story that would have made anyone passing by in San Carlo laugh if you asked them about it. It was just a show of courage because Julia Helena was a foreigner. And it worked.
“Oh, is that so?”
Julia Helena smiled bashfully. She was even about to say, 'He's not like the rumors say,' but stopped herself for fear of being rude.
Julia Helena began to think coolly that rumors could be different from facts. Rubina's fraud almost succeeded, until an intruder who knew Cesare better than anyone else intervened.
“Oh my! Duchess Rubina! I have neglected my duties! I should have stayed with you all the time... You were just in time!”
It was Countess Isabella de Contarini, the 'chief maid' of Duchess Rubina, who had been flirting with Leo III until then and showed up late.
Isabella's purple eyes shone with a vulgar light. Duke Cesare. Duchess Rubina. Then, is the one before her the rumored Princess of Manchike?
“Isabella was very careless to leave the Duchess alone when she was the chief maid.”
She smiled unnaturally and stood right behind Duchess Rubina. It was where she should have been. But she couldn't take her eyes off Duke Cesare.
'Are you going to get married again?'
The man who abandoned me. The man who rejected me as I cried and clung to him. Isabella instinctively glanced at the young thing sitting in front of her. The plump cheeks, the shiny olive skin, the rich brown hair. It was a round, yet young and lively beauty, completely different from her own.
Her anger doubled. If she had been really ugly, she wouldn't have been angry. If she had been prettier than her, she would have accepted it.
'Is that what you chose to reject me for?'
It wasn't Cesare's choice, but it didn't matter. It was much easier to get angry at a new, sly person than to burn old anger against a sister who had no hope of victory. Isabella's anger flared up brightly against the Amnesiac. And Rubina grabbed the back of her neck. Why did she have to show up now?
'How do I get rid of that?'
Cesare did not react at all to Isabella's appearance. From his perspective, it was, in fact, 'let it be'.
Of course, it was not pleasant for Cesare to meet Isabella, who had slept with him, standing on the wide and straight road to becoming his father's woman. It was burdensome, knowing how much this woman had once risked her life for him. But Isabella was just one item at the end of his to-do list, a relatively minor one among the many problems he was currently facing.
Now his mind was full of Ariadne, whom he could not have. If he expanded it a little, it was how he could avoid marrying this young Princess who would forever separate him from his lifelong rival, Alfonso, and Ariadne. Just this alone was giving him a headache.
In the midst of all this, Isabella's clear voice echoed through the living room.
“What the Duchess said is entirely correct.”
Rubina glanced at Isabella, surprised that Isabella was responding to her words. What is that? But, as expected, Isabella had her own ulterior motive.
“Our Duke has no interest in women whatsoever.”
Isabella smiled brightly at Julia Helena, holding the back of the sofa with both hands behind Rubina and Cesare.
“Our Duke is so uninterested in women that he is still single at this age.”
Cesare, by the standards of the high-ranking nobles of the Central Continent, was already old enough to have one or two children. Isabella smiled brightly as she looked at Julia Helena.
“The more successful a man is, the faster he leaves the market. Old bachelors stay for a reason, right?”
Duchess Rubina's smile cracked.
'If that's the case, then so be it.'
Cesare was dumbfounded by the unexpected situation where the enemy provided covering fire. It was a bit unpleasant, but overall, it was a win-win.
In fact, for Cesare, it didn't matter if someone attacked him by calling him an old bachelor. He was confident that if he walked up to a hundred people and proposed to them, about eighty of them would accept his proposal.
The twenty who did not accept were married women. And among the eighty who accepted, there must have been quite a few married women. He did not respond to Isabella.
“Oh really?”
Julia Helena was also bewildered. As a foreigner, it was pleasant to have a dazzlingly pretty older sister come in and talk to her so friendly, but no matter how she looked at that pretty older sister, her nuances were subtle.
“Our Duke has a fiery temper and many incomprehensible habits...”
Yeah, first of all, that 'our' sound really bothered Julia Helena strangely. Even the smiling face looked like a mask.
At this moment, Duchess Rubina's hand was placed on Isabella's hand, who was smiling brightly and spouting nonsense at the person in front of her.
“Hey.”
The Duchess smiled gently and whispered through gritted teeth without even looking back.
'I won't leave you alone, you son of a bitch.'
Isabella flinched for a moment.
'What the heck, this woman wiggles when I step on her. She just goes along with it, so I thought she'd just get stepped on when I step on her...'
Indeed, Duchess Rubina was no pushover. She snapped in a low voice.
'Have you heard the story of Viscountess Leonati? She got married but was kicked out because she didn't shed her virginity on her wedding night?'
After these words, Isabella also felt strength in her body.
'Don't feel free to split up just because you started out as a married woman in front of the King. The same rules apply in this industry. Do you think a man's greed to own all of a woman's past is going to go away here?'
Isabella answered with a big laugh.
“Don’t misunderstand, Duchess. I was just trying to tell you how noble and lofty Your Highness the Duke is.”
She leaned down and whispered to the Duchess in a very friendly manner.
'People in the same industry are too stingy. Well, it's hard to be friends with people in the same business.'
Isabella, who caught Rubina's breath as if she were a ghost, looked at Princess Julia Helena just before the Duchess opened her mouth and spoke clearly.
“There are no such slanderous remarks, such as ‘there are many women’ or ‘there is promiscuity.’”
“Ugh!”
“It’s better to get it straight from the beginning.”
At this point, Julia Helena, who had sensed the mood, looked straight at Isabella and asked.
“Is there something you want me to say?”
Isabella smiled and waved her hand at the bright young Princess.
“Oh no, that would be impossible! If there’s anything you should hear, it’s how wonderful our Duke Cesare is. He has the greatest wine collection in the capital.”
That damned 'our' sound. Duchess Rubina ground her teeth. She asked Cesare outright. She didn't even whisper.
“Did you brag to that bitch about your wine cellar?”
Julia Helena flinched at the harsh words, and Cesare shook his head calmly. He had never done that before. Isabella used the rumors she had heard in high society to pretend to be friendly with Cesare, in front of Julia Helena.
It was just marking the territory.
Isabella was also a little surprised by Rubina's belligerence, as she had been convinced that the Duchess would continue to play nice in front of Princess Julia Helena.
“You go in now.”
Duchess Rubina ordered coldly.
"Yes?"
Oh my, it's already this fun?
“Shall we go back to His Majesty’s side?”
Rubina's hand tightened. It was marking its territory all over the place. It's a rule for women who really like men to mark their territory to multiple men, but animals would be more polite than that.
“Get the reception room ready.”
Rubina spat out, barely holding back her anger. If Julia Helena hadn't been there, she would have beaten her up.
“I have decided to have tea with Countess Cepinelli in the afternoon.”
Isabella flinched inwardly at the name of Countess Cepinelli. Count Cepinelli was the man who had given her 400 ducats.
'How much do you know?'
But she didn't show it. She didn't receive the gold and didn't write a receipt, so there's no evidence.
“Get the living room ready, ma’am.”
“Yes. Right now.”
Only then did Isabella get up. She had done everything she could. She had marked her territory, sprinkled some ashes, and felt better.
“After the reception room is ready, may I go to His Majesty?”
Rubina glared at Isabella with her eyes as if they were about to turn white. Isabella decided to stop provoking her, as she felt like she was really losing her mind and might get beaten up. She shrugged and left the living room.
And as Isabella left, Julia Helena belatedly ground her teeth.
'Oh! I should have asked what your status was!'
She asked Duchess Rubina an hour later.
“Who is that person now?”
Surely you're not of a higher rank than I?
“Oh, this is Countess Contarini... She is my chief maid.”
Rubina didn't want to mention that she was her maid, so she spat out the words as if chewing them out. But regardless, Julia Helena was relieved to hear that the person she was talking to was a Countess.
She is the daughter of a monarch and a descendant of an empire, but her title is a Marquis, so she often finds herself in trouble. But if the other person is a mere Countess, there is no need to worry.
“Countess Contarini, Countess Contarini...”
Duchess Rubina barely managed to hold back her words, afraid that speaking ill of her chief maid would embarrass her, and there were many untold stories about Isabella that even Cesare could not reveal, and she smiled as she changed the subject.
“The weather is getting chilly, so it might be a bit too cold to go for a walk outside. Why don’t we go and look at some silk? You’ve probably seen many rare fabrics along the Silk Road in Latgalin, but in San Carlo, beautiful things from all over the world gather.”
But even if Duchess Rubina did not gossip directly, Princess Julia Helena was determined to collect Isabella's scandals herself.
'Countess Contarini... Countess Contarini... I won't leave you alone.'
In the midst of all this, Duke Cesare stared blankly into space with his handsome face as if it were someone else's business. He couldn't think of any other way. Except for extreme options.
Julia Helena was not the only one who was angry. Even a man who had no idea what anger was could not keep his composure when confronted by Leo III.
“No matter how much you hate your children, you must put the country first!”
Alfonso paced around the room, roughly running his hands through his blond hair.
“It’s not something else, it’s national defense, national defense!”
He turned around quickly.
“Cutting the entire budget of the palace is like saying you’ll destroy the Black Helmet Knights. Is that something you say when you’re the King of a country?”
“I am Cesare, the ‘Duke’ of Pisano. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
To Julia Helena, Cesare's self-introduction sounded like the singing of a heavenly angel.
His words, which he had pressed down hard to call 'Duke' instead of 'Duke', crumbled into the air without reaching the teenage girl who had fallen in love with him at first sight.
“You, Julia Helena, of Manchike.”
She had even proudly shouted out the names of her ancestors in front of the Prince she thought was her husband, but she forgot to recite them in front of this man. It was best not to look too foolish.
Duchess Rubina was looking at this situation with a very satisfied smile. Her son, who had a handsome face like hers, showed off his overwhelming destructive power against young women. Cesare's facial features, which were beautiful even among women with slender lines, immediately disarmed young women, especially among those of marriageable age.
'As expected, my son.'
But what's lacking continues to catch their eye.
'It would have been perfect if only he had brightened his expression a little.'
Rubina was starting to get annoyed that Cesare wasn't reaching his full potential. Her son wasn't just looking dead today. He was also keeping his mouth shut.
'Do you think I don't know that you've been putting olive oil on your tongue? Why is he acting like this today?'
The conversation was led by Princess Julia Helena alone. As is often the case with conversations where there is no response from the other party, moments of silence began to appear, no matter how well the Princess spoke. Duchess Rubina, shivering from the awkward silence, had no choice but to join in with a smile on her face.
“Your Highness, please forgive my son’s rudeness. He often gets distracted during the day.”
It was a story that would have made anyone passing by in San Carlo laugh if you asked them about it. It was just a show of courage because Julia Helena was a foreigner. And it worked.
“Oh, is that so?”
Julia Helena smiled bashfully. She was even about to say, 'He's not like the rumors say,' but stopped herself for fear of being rude.
Julia Helena began to think coolly that rumors could be different from facts. Rubina's fraud almost succeeded, until an intruder who knew Cesare better than anyone else intervened.
“Oh my! Duchess Rubina! I have neglected my duties! I should have stayed with you all the time... You were just in time!”
It was Countess Isabella de Contarini, the 'chief maid' of Duchess Rubina, who had been flirting with Leo III until then and showed up late.
Isabella's purple eyes shone with a vulgar light. Duke Cesare. Duchess Rubina. Then, is the one before her the rumored Princess of Manchike?
“Isabella was very careless to leave the Duchess alone when she was the chief maid.”
She smiled unnaturally and stood right behind Duchess Rubina. It was where she should have been. But she couldn't take her eyes off Duke Cesare.
'Are you going to get married again?'
The man who abandoned me. The man who rejected me as I cried and clung to him. Isabella instinctively glanced at the young thing sitting in front of her. The plump cheeks, the shiny olive skin, the rich brown hair. It was a round, yet young and lively beauty, completely different from her own.
Her anger doubled. If she had been really ugly, she wouldn't have been angry. If she had been prettier than her, she would have accepted it.
'Is that what you chose to reject me for?'
It wasn't Cesare's choice, but it didn't matter. It was much easier to get angry at a new, sly person than to burn old anger against a sister who had no hope of victory. Isabella's anger flared up brightly against the Amnesiac. And Rubina grabbed the back of her neck. Why did she have to show up now?
'How do I get rid of that?'
Cesare did not react at all to Isabella's appearance. From his perspective, it was, in fact, 'let it be'.
Of course, it was not pleasant for Cesare to meet Isabella, who had slept with him, standing on the wide and straight road to becoming his father's woman. It was burdensome, knowing how much this woman had once risked her life for him. But Isabella was just one item at the end of his to-do list, a relatively minor one among the many problems he was currently facing.
Now his mind was full of Ariadne, whom he could not have. If he expanded it a little, it was how he could avoid marrying this young Princess who would forever separate him from his lifelong rival, Alfonso, and Ariadne. Just this alone was giving him a headache.
In the midst of all this, Isabella's clear voice echoed through the living room.
“What the Duchess said is entirely correct.”
Rubina glanced at Isabella, surprised that Isabella was responding to her words. What is that? But, as expected, Isabella had her own ulterior motive.
“Our Duke has no interest in women whatsoever.”
Isabella smiled brightly at Julia Helena, holding the back of the sofa with both hands behind Rubina and Cesare.
“Our Duke is so uninterested in women that he is still single at this age.”
Cesare, by the standards of the high-ranking nobles of the Central Continent, was already old enough to have one or two children. Isabella smiled brightly as she looked at Julia Helena.
“The more successful a man is, the faster he leaves the market. Old bachelors stay for a reason, right?”
Duchess Rubina's smile cracked.
'If that's the case, then so be it.'
Cesare was dumbfounded by the unexpected situation where the enemy provided covering fire. It was a bit unpleasant, but overall, it was a win-win.
In fact, for Cesare, it didn't matter if someone attacked him by calling him an old bachelor. He was confident that if he walked up to a hundred people and proposed to them, about eighty of them would accept his proposal.
The twenty who did not accept were married women. And among the eighty who accepted, there must have been quite a few married women. He did not respond to Isabella.
“Oh really?”
Julia Helena was also bewildered. As a foreigner, it was pleasant to have a dazzlingly pretty older sister come in and talk to her so friendly, but no matter how she looked at that pretty older sister, her nuances were subtle.
“Our Duke has a fiery temper and many incomprehensible habits...”
Yeah, first of all, that 'our' sound really bothered Julia Helena strangely. Even the smiling face looked like a mask.
At this moment, Duchess Rubina's hand was placed on Isabella's hand, who was smiling brightly and spouting nonsense at the person in front of her.
“Hey.”
The Duchess smiled gently and whispered through gritted teeth without even looking back.
'I won't leave you alone, you son of a bitch.'
Isabella flinched for a moment.
'What the heck, this woman wiggles when I step on her. She just goes along with it, so I thought she'd just get stepped on when I step on her...'
Indeed, Duchess Rubina was no pushover. She snapped in a low voice.
'Have you heard the story of Viscountess Leonati? She got married but was kicked out because she didn't shed her virginity on her wedding night?'
After these words, Isabella also felt strength in her body.
'Don't feel free to split up just because you started out as a married woman in front of the King. The same rules apply in this industry. Do you think a man's greed to own all of a woman's past is going to go away here?'
Isabella answered with a big laugh.
“Don’t misunderstand, Duchess. I was just trying to tell you how noble and lofty Your Highness the Duke is.”
She leaned down and whispered to the Duchess in a very friendly manner.
'People in the same industry are too stingy. Well, it's hard to be friends with people in the same business.'
Isabella, who caught Rubina's breath as if she were a ghost, looked at Princess Julia Helena just before the Duchess opened her mouth and spoke clearly.
“There are no such slanderous remarks, such as ‘there are many women’ or ‘there is promiscuity.’”
“Ugh!”
“It’s better to get it straight from the beginning.”
At this point, Julia Helena, who had sensed the mood, looked straight at Isabella and asked.
“Is there something you want me to say?”
Isabella smiled and waved her hand at the bright young Princess.
“Oh no, that would be impossible! If there’s anything you should hear, it’s how wonderful our Duke Cesare is. He has the greatest wine collection in the capital.”
That damned 'our' sound. Duchess Rubina ground her teeth. She asked Cesare outright. She didn't even whisper.
“Did you brag to that bitch about your wine cellar?”
Julia Helena flinched at the harsh words, and Cesare shook his head calmly. He had never done that before. Isabella used the rumors she had heard in high society to pretend to be friendly with Cesare, in front of Julia Helena.
It was just marking the territory.
Isabella was also a little surprised by Rubina's belligerence, as she had been convinced that the Duchess would continue to play nice in front of Princess Julia Helena.
“You go in now.”
Duchess Rubina ordered coldly.
"Yes?"
Oh my, it's already this fun?
“Shall we go back to His Majesty’s side?”
Rubina's hand tightened. It was marking its territory all over the place. It's a rule for women who really like men to mark their territory to multiple men, but animals would be more polite than that.
“Get the reception room ready.”
Rubina spat out, barely holding back her anger. If Julia Helena hadn't been there, she would have beaten her up.
“I have decided to have tea with Countess Cepinelli in the afternoon.”
Isabella flinched inwardly at the name of Countess Cepinelli. Count Cepinelli was the man who had given her 400 ducats.
'How much do you know?'
But she didn't show it. She didn't receive the gold and didn't write a receipt, so there's no evidence.
“Get the living room ready, ma’am.”
“Yes. Right now.”
Only then did Isabella get up. She had done everything she could. She had marked her territory, sprinkled some ashes, and felt better.
“After the reception room is ready, may I go to His Majesty?”
Rubina glared at Isabella with her eyes as if they were about to turn white. Isabella decided to stop provoking her, as she felt like she was really losing her mind and might get beaten up. She shrugged and left the living room.
And as Isabella left, Julia Helena belatedly ground her teeth.
'Oh! I should have asked what your status was!'
She asked Duchess Rubina an hour later.
“Who is that person now?”
Surely you're not of a higher rank than I?
“Oh, this is Countess Contarini... She is my chief maid.”
Rubina didn't want to mention that she was her maid, so she spat out the words as if chewing them out. But regardless, Julia Helena was relieved to hear that the person she was talking to was a Countess.
She is the daughter of a monarch and a descendant of an empire, but her title is a Marquis, so she often finds herself in trouble. But if the other person is a mere Countess, there is no need to worry.
“Countess Contarini, Countess Contarini...”
Duchess Rubina barely managed to hold back her words, afraid that speaking ill of her chief maid would embarrass her, and there were many untold stories about Isabella that even Cesare could not reveal, and she smiled as she changed the subject.
“The weather is getting chilly, so it might be a bit too cold to go for a walk outside. Why don’t we go and look at some silk? You’ve probably seen many rare fabrics along the Silk Road in Latgalin, but in San Carlo, beautiful things from all over the world gather.”
But even if Duchess Rubina did not gossip directly, Princess Julia Helena was determined to collect Isabella's scandals herself.
'Countess Contarini... Countess Contarini... I won't leave you alone.'
In the midst of all this, Duke Cesare stared blankly into space with his handsome face as if it were someone else's business. He couldn't think of any other way. Except for extreme options.
***
Julia Helena was not the only one who was angry. Even a man who had no idea what anger was could not keep his composure when confronted by Leo III.
“No matter how much you hate your children, you must put the country first!”
Alfonso paced around the room, roughly running his hands through his blond hair.
“It’s not something else, it’s national defense, national defense!”
He turned around quickly.
“Cutting the entire budget of the palace is like saying you’ll destroy the Black Helmet Knights. Is that something you say when you’re the King of a country?”
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