There was a moment of silence. What does Duchess Rubina love? The old Leo de Carlo? Or the wealth and power he possesses?
The answer was so obvious that it took a moment to lick her lips. Duchess Rubina cried out only slightly later.
“There are decades between us!”
She cried out powerfully as if trying to make up for her delayed timing.
“I gave birth to Your Majesty’s son! You were my first, and I dedicated all my youth to You!”
Duchess Rubina screamed loudly.
“I met Your Majesty when I was young, and I have dedicated all my good days to Your Majesty."
Leo III had stopped listening to a single word Rubina said. When Duchess Rubina started screaming, the old King felt greatly relieved.
'It's cheap even if you get abandoned.'
Her screams gave him a free pass. He was sick of Rubina's fierce temper, her fiery anger. He was sick of her cleverly twisting the facts and using him like a sword.
Just yesterday, in the case of Alfonso, the King was fooled by the fact that Rubina had not conveyed the facts. Leo III did not want to leave Rubina alone, but Isabella's intrusion made him hesitate. He felt a pang of conscience in dismissing Rubina from her position for Isabella's sake. But with this, Leo III's heart was completely relieved.
'She should be grateful that she got through it safely.'
Leo III thought he had done her a great favor by not punishing Rubina and leaving her in her position as caretaker of the palace, something she would have been beaten and locked up in the West Tower for.
Duchess Rubina was muttering something downstairs. Leo III turned around without saying a word and left her quarters.
“...Your Majesty? Your Majesty!”
Rubina's voice was heard screaming from behind. Leo III did not respond.
'A man like me, always living at a loss. Ha, a fool who only knows love. The many years we've spent together have become my enemy...'
Duchess Rubina's bet that she would have taken the Contarini mansion was wrong. It was right not to take the mansion.
In one fit of temper, the Duchess emptied the King of all his accumulated savings. In this way, Leo III completed his divorce on his own.
[ Isabella, Countess of Contarini, is appointed as the King's official mistress.
- Leo III. ]
This short letter caused quite a stir. Ariadne, who read this letter, gave it a short review.
“They say even a centipede can roll.”
When Alfonso looked at her, Ariadne felt embarrassed that her relationship with her older sister was so bad, but she did not change her mind.
“That’s true.”
The person who was most surprised to hear this news was Princess Julia Helena.
“What? So it was true that Countess Contarini and the King had a relationship like that?”
She shuddered. Her father, the Marquis Synadenos, had not lived only for his mother, but he had at least a modicum of common sense. He had never lusted after a woman his son could marry, nor had he ever targeted his son’s fiancée. Isabella had never been engaged to Leo III’s son, but Julia Helena, as always, was correct in her results.
“What kind of family is this? It’s a total dog family tree!”
The Princess began to have her first doubts about whether marrying into an Etruscan royal family was the right decision.
Although the foreign Princess were the most surprised by Isabella's appointment, there was another person who was most shocked.
“What? Isabella?”
Cardinal de Mare, who had been exploring the monasteries throughout the country that had shown a willingness to receive him, returned to San Carlo as soon as he heard the news.
To be honest, he wasn't surprised. His eldest daughter was a pretty good girl. But as a parent, he felt devastated.
“Father, you’re here.”
“Yes.”
Cardinal de Mare, who entered the mansion of de Mare, which was in the midst of preparations for moving in, handed his youngest daughter a coat. It was not the red silk coat he had worn as a Cardinal, but a monk's garment, woven from thick linen.
The furniture and fixtures of the mansion had been largely disposed of, so the house was empty. There were only a few days left. He looked around with a complicated feeling, but this was not the time.
“I must go into the palace right now.”
“...You came to the capital because of my sister.”
Ariadne resented her father. When she was in pain, he never showed his face, but when he heard about Isabella, he came running. She didn't specifically contact her father because she was in pain, but that was how she felt. When did Isabella ever contact her father to ask him to look after her?
But the Cardinal had no time to consider Ariadne's feelings.
“The King’s government!”
The King's government was a place where all the luxuries and extravagances could be enjoyed, but it was also a place for official humiliation.
The official government was quickly made a scapegoat when political problems arose. The country's financial problems were attributed to her extravagance, and the country's foreign affairs to her unscrupulous meddling in state affairs.
It didn't matter if it wasn't true. It was just a piece of meat to throw at an angry serf. No proper parent would be happy to have their daughter become the King's official mistress.
“Hey, prepare the carriage for me.”
“How long will you be staying in the capital?”
“Well? I don’t know either.”
Ariadne clung tenaciously.
“I need to discuss what to do with my father’s things.”
“You take care of that yourself.”
Cardinal de Mare headed to the stables in a daze, not even waiting for the carriage to pull up to the porch.
“...”
Ariadne stared blankly at Cardinal de Mare's back. She didn't really want to talk to him because she needed guidance on how to handle his belongings. She just wanted to talk.
She stared at her father's back as he ran away in a panic, silently, for a very long time. It was the same back she had always seen when she was young. He never showed his face. It was the same even here. She was getting angry.
But she sighed deeply and turned around. A good daughter does what she is told. She will do so today as well.
The father ran out to catch a wild rabbit without considering the feelings of the domestic rabbit, but the wild rabbit showed no intention of being caught.
“Countess Contarini, I would like to request an audience.”
As soon as Isabella was officially appointed to the government, her household began to improve. First, she moved into a guest house on one side of Duchess Rubina's apartment.
Her new apartments were the government apartments in the Palazzo Carlo Royale, occupied by Leo III. They had been used by the Duchess Rubina during the lifetime of Queen Marguerite, and were almost directly adjacent to the King's bedroom. It was a forward base for the power of the gatekeepers.
“Huh? Who wants to see me?”
Isabella asked with a triumphant smile. It wasn't just the new room that she had gained. As the King's official mistress, Isabella was now entitled to a yearly allowance of 450 ducats. She was also allowed to have a maid.
'Is this the noble lady of San Carlo who volunteered to be my maid?'
No noble lady had yet offered to be the maid of honor to the infamous Countess Contarini, but Isabella was optimistic. As soon as she had secured the old quarters of the Duchess of Rubina, many nobles who wanted to get in touch with her began knocking on her door. Most of them were lowly, but some had connections to the great nobility.
'If I don't accept it, he'll end up offering his own wife.'
Time was on Isabella's side. At least she thought so. But the Countess Contarini's face, which had been cheerful, suddenly darkened as she heard who her audience was.
“That is... His Eminence Cardinal de Mare.”
Cardinal de Mare was no longer a Cardinal, but everyone called him by his old title as a courtesy, especially in front of Isabella. But Isabella herself was not interested in being treated like her father.
“What? Why is that old man here now?”
The palace attendant was embarrassed. He didn't think that a father would need a special reason to come see his daughter, so he didn't ask.
“He didn’t specifically state the reason for requesting an audience...”
“Oh, yes!”
Isabella was shocked and angry.
“Aren’t you neglecting your children when you are young and doing well, and then when you get old and have no money and no one around you, you start pretending to care about them?”
She couldn't control her anger. She imagined what her father would say when he came to see her. To nag her? To whine and ask her a favor? Either way, she was sick of it. She was angry at the lofty meddling, and even more so at the base request.
“When you were oppressed by money and authority, why are you acting friendly now?”
The servant could not join in on the curse against her father, but he could not stop Isabella, who had such a powerful presence, so he could only fidget.
“Tell him to get out immediately!”
The attendant asked cautiously.
“Should I say you’re not feeling well..?”
“Health? Huh!”
Isabella held out her hand in an irritated manner to the servant. Isabella threw all her rage at the servant, who was confused about what to give her.
“How stupid! That! That!”
What she was pointing to was the envelope knife on the desk.
“That thing?”
Why are you pointing your finger at me when you can just bring it yourself?
“Not that one, bring me something sharp!”
As the servant hurried to the kitchen to fetch a sharp dagger, Isabella held it up to her hair. In front of the terrified servant, she cut off a chunk of her hair.
“Throw this on his face!”
She held out a piece of severed hair to the servant. Isabella spat out at the confused servant.
“He will understand what you are saying!”
What her father did to her. What he did to her when he threw her out, saying she was not his daughter. She will do the same to him.
“I told you not to come back again!”
No, that was not Isabella's true intention. When she reached the highest point, she would call her father and have him kneel at her feet.
'Father, you see? I am the most noble woman in this kingdom. You didn't believe in me and didn't support me until the end, but I did it. I am right and you are wrong!
Until that day, don't die, don't perish, don't be happy, and live a long and healthy life.
'Watch me closely with those eyes!'
Isabella never realized that the belief that someone was always watching her was a belief that she could have only because she was loved.
“Visiting is not permitted. The exit door is on the left.”
The answer was so obvious that it took a moment to lick her lips. Duchess Rubina cried out only slightly later.
“There are decades between us!”
She cried out powerfully as if trying to make up for her delayed timing.
“I gave birth to Your Majesty’s son! You were my first, and I dedicated all my youth to You!”
Duchess Rubina screamed loudly.
“I met Your Majesty when I was young, and I have dedicated all my good days to Your Majesty."
Leo III had stopped listening to a single word Rubina said. When Duchess Rubina started screaming, the old King felt greatly relieved.
'It's cheap even if you get abandoned.'
Her screams gave him a free pass. He was sick of Rubina's fierce temper, her fiery anger. He was sick of her cleverly twisting the facts and using him like a sword.
Just yesterday, in the case of Alfonso, the King was fooled by the fact that Rubina had not conveyed the facts. Leo III did not want to leave Rubina alone, but Isabella's intrusion made him hesitate. He felt a pang of conscience in dismissing Rubina from her position for Isabella's sake. But with this, Leo III's heart was completely relieved.
'She should be grateful that she got through it safely.'
Leo III thought he had done her a great favor by not punishing Rubina and leaving her in her position as caretaker of the palace, something she would have been beaten and locked up in the West Tower for.
Duchess Rubina was muttering something downstairs. Leo III turned around without saying a word and left her quarters.
“...Your Majesty? Your Majesty!”
Rubina's voice was heard screaming from behind. Leo III did not respond.
'A man like me, always living at a loss. Ha, a fool who only knows love. The many years we've spent together have become my enemy...'
Duchess Rubina's bet that she would have taken the Contarini mansion was wrong. It was right not to take the mansion.
In one fit of temper, the Duchess emptied the King of all his accumulated savings. In this way, Leo III completed his divorce on his own.
***
[ Isabella, Countess of Contarini, is appointed as the King's official mistress.
- Leo III. ]
This short letter caused quite a stir. Ariadne, who read this letter, gave it a short review.
“They say even a centipede can roll.”
When Alfonso looked at her, Ariadne felt embarrassed that her relationship with her older sister was so bad, but she did not change her mind.
“That’s true.”
The person who was most surprised to hear this news was Princess Julia Helena.
“What? So it was true that Countess Contarini and the King had a relationship like that?”
She shuddered. Her father, the Marquis Synadenos, had not lived only for his mother, but he had at least a modicum of common sense. He had never lusted after a woman his son could marry, nor had he ever targeted his son’s fiancée. Isabella had never been engaged to Leo III’s son, but Julia Helena, as always, was correct in her results.
“What kind of family is this? It’s a total dog family tree!”
The Princess began to have her first doubts about whether marrying into an Etruscan royal family was the right decision.
Although the foreign Princess were the most surprised by Isabella's appointment, there was another person who was most shocked.
“What? Isabella?”
Cardinal de Mare, who had been exploring the monasteries throughout the country that had shown a willingness to receive him, returned to San Carlo as soon as he heard the news.
To be honest, he wasn't surprised. His eldest daughter was a pretty good girl. But as a parent, he felt devastated.
“Father, you’re here.”
“Yes.”
Cardinal de Mare, who entered the mansion of de Mare, which was in the midst of preparations for moving in, handed his youngest daughter a coat. It was not the red silk coat he had worn as a Cardinal, but a monk's garment, woven from thick linen.
The furniture and fixtures of the mansion had been largely disposed of, so the house was empty. There were only a few days left. He looked around with a complicated feeling, but this was not the time.
“I must go into the palace right now.”
“...You came to the capital because of my sister.”
Ariadne resented her father. When she was in pain, he never showed his face, but when he heard about Isabella, he came running. She didn't specifically contact her father because she was in pain, but that was how she felt. When did Isabella ever contact her father to ask him to look after her?
But the Cardinal had no time to consider Ariadne's feelings.
“The King’s government!”
The King's government was a place where all the luxuries and extravagances could be enjoyed, but it was also a place for official humiliation.
The official government was quickly made a scapegoat when political problems arose. The country's financial problems were attributed to her extravagance, and the country's foreign affairs to her unscrupulous meddling in state affairs.
It didn't matter if it wasn't true. It was just a piece of meat to throw at an angry serf. No proper parent would be happy to have their daughter become the King's official mistress.
“Hey, prepare the carriage for me.”
“How long will you be staying in the capital?”
“Well? I don’t know either.”
Ariadne clung tenaciously.
“I need to discuss what to do with my father’s things.”
“You take care of that yourself.”
Cardinal de Mare headed to the stables in a daze, not even waiting for the carriage to pull up to the porch.
“...”
Ariadne stared blankly at Cardinal de Mare's back. She didn't really want to talk to him because she needed guidance on how to handle his belongings. She just wanted to talk.
She stared at her father's back as he ran away in a panic, silently, for a very long time. It was the same back she had always seen when she was young. He never showed his face. It was the same even here. She was getting angry.
But she sighed deeply and turned around. A good daughter does what she is told. She will do so today as well.
***
The father ran out to catch a wild rabbit without considering the feelings of the domestic rabbit, but the wild rabbit showed no intention of being caught.
“Countess Contarini, I would like to request an audience.”
As soon as Isabella was officially appointed to the government, her household began to improve. First, she moved into a guest house on one side of Duchess Rubina's apartment.
Her new apartments were the government apartments in the Palazzo Carlo Royale, occupied by Leo III. They had been used by the Duchess Rubina during the lifetime of Queen Marguerite, and were almost directly adjacent to the King's bedroom. It was a forward base for the power of the gatekeepers.
“Huh? Who wants to see me?”
Isabella asked with a triumphant smile. It wasn't just the new room that she had gained. As the King's official mistress, Isabella was now entitled to a yearly allowance of 450 ducats. She was also allowed to have a maid.
'Is this the noble lady of San Carlo who volunteered to be my maid?'
No noble lady had yet offered to be the maid of honor to the infamous Countess Contarini, but Isabella was optimistic. As soon as she had secured the old quarters of the Duchess of Rubina, many nobles who wanted to get in touch with her began knocking on her door. Most of them were lowly, but some had connections to the great nobility.
'If I don't accept it, he'll end up offering his own wife.'
Time was on Isabella's side. At least she thought so. But the Countess Contarini's face, which had been cheerful, suddenly darkened as she heard who her audience was.
“That is... His Eminence Cardinal de Mare.”
Cardinal de Mare was no longer a Cardinal, but everyone called him by his old title as a courtesy, especially in front of Isabella. But Isabella herself was not interested in being treated like her father.
“What? Why is that old man here now?”
The palace attendant was embarrassed. He didn't think that a father would need a special reason to come see his daughter, so he didn't ask.
“He didn’t specifically state the reason for requesting an audience...”
“Oh, yes!”
Isabella was shocked and angry.
“Aren’t you neglecting your children when you are young and doing well, and then when you get old and have no money and no one around you, you start pretending to care about them?”
She couldn't control her anger. She imagined what her father would say when he came to see her. To nag her? To whine and ask her a favor? Either way, she was sick of it. She was angry at the lofty meddling, and even more so at the base request.
“When you were oppressed by money and authority, why are you acting friendly now?”
The servant could not join in on the curse against her father, but he could not stop Isabella, who had such a powerful presence, so he could only fidget.
“Tell him to get out immediately!”
The attendant asked cautiously.
“Should I say you’re not feeling well..?”
“Health? Huh!”
Isabella held out her hand in an irritated manner to the servant. Isabella threw all her rage at the servant, who was confused about what to give her.
“How stupid! That! That!”
What she was pointing to was the envelope knife on the desk.
“That thing?”
Why are you pointing your finger at me when you can just bring it yourself?
“Not that one, bring me something sharp!”
As the servant hurried to the kitchen to fetch a sharp dagger, Isabella held it up to her hair. In front of the terrified servant, she cut off a chunk of her hair.
“Throw this on his face!”
She held out a piece of severed hair to the servant. Isabella spat out at the confused servant.
“He will understand what you are saying!”
What her father did to her. What he did to her when he threw her out, saying she was not his daughter. She will do the same to him.
“I told you not to come back again!”
No, that was not Isabella's true intention. When she reached the highest point, she would call her father and have him kneel at her feet.
'Father, you see? I am the most noble woman in this kingdom. You didn't believe in me and didn't support me until the end, but I did it. I am right and you are wrong!
Until that day, don't die, don't perish, don't be happy, and live a long and healthy life.
'Watch me closely with those eyes!'
Isabella never realized that the belief that someone was always watching her was a belief that she could have only because she was loved.
***
“Visiting is not permitted. The exit door is on the left.”
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