Isabella's voice, which had been clenching her teeth and pretending to be calm, finally cracked.
"Hey."
Isabella's words had been abusive up until now, but at least her tone had retained a certain elegance. But she couldn't bear it any longer, and jerked her head up to glare at Ariadne.
“Who says such things?”
Correcting the facts was of the utmost importance.
“You said I wasn’t naked!”
Although she was wearing a torn chemise, she was definitely not naked. That was the most important part for Isabella.
“Countess Contarini!”
Rubina, the Grand Duchess, loudly tried to dissuade her. But it wasn't enough. Isabella snapped back.
"I came out of the dungeon naked?! That's not only an insult to me, but also to His Majesty the King!"
Bianca, who was watching Isabella's seizure in real time, blinked in confusion. If that were true, Leo III was forcibly assaulted by a naked woman while sitting on his bed. How could his honor be tarnished?
But Isabella believed that Leo III's greatest virtue was that he still tolerated seeing her naked.
“Our Majesty is a gentleman!”
If Leo III had already seen her naked, Isabella's image of the King's dignity would be undermined. Bianca's image of Leo III was devoid of dignity, but everyone's perceptions varied.
Isabella, her face flushed, squealed and squealed.
"I'll tell His Majesty that I won't let this go, I won't let this go! Where did you hear that?"
When it became clear that Isabella had completely lost her composure, Grand Duchess Rubina finally raised her voice and shouted.
“Countess Contarini! Calm down!”
But Isabella wasn't the type to be so easily distracted. Completely losing her wits, Isabella yelled at Rubina, too.
"The same goes for Your Highness, Grand Duchess Rubina! How can you, who has established yourself in the palace by His Majesty's grace, speak ill of Him so vehemently?"
The tone of the remark was risqué. "Remaining in the palace by His Majesty's grace"—if she may be so harsh, doesn't that sound like a reference to the former titles of Rubina?
“Watch what you say!”
Isabella looked straight into Rubina's eyes and spoke back.
“You called His Majesty an idiot just a little while ago, didn’t you?!”
“Please refrain from overinterpreting!”
“It’s treason, treason!”
Rubina's patience finally wore thin at the sound of "treason." The Grand Duchess raised her right hand. This was the signal. The royal attendants from both sides approached in an instant.
Isabella, feeling a sense of unease, suddenly came to her senses.
She shut her mouth in an instant.
Last time she was in a similar situation, she was whipped and pinned down by Alfonso's knights.
The sensation of the thick whip coiling like a snake around her back was vivid. It stung at first, then a burning pain followed, and finally a dull, bone-chilling jolt. Isabella trembled with instinctive fear.
Rubina rose from the round table and slowly approached Isabella. Her red hair and wine-red eyes perfectly matched the burning anger she was expressing.
“Dear Countess Contarini.”
It was the same introduction as the letter Marquis Synadenos sent to Viscountess Panamere, but the nuance was completely opposite.
“The position you occupy is one where you have to be very careful about where the line is.”
Isabella wanted to back away, but she was trapped in the chair. Instead, she sank deeper into the dining chair.
“Crossing the line once doesn’t mean you’ll be instantly blown away. Crossing it twice doesn’t mean you’ll be immediately executed.”
In the palace, the only people who can cross the line are the mistress and the clown.
“But every line you cross is recorded.”
Rubina was seated right next to Isabella at the round table. She left her own spot empty and stood close to Isabella. Rubina's shadow overwhelmed Isabella's entire slender frame.
"I'm not talking about something written in history books. It will remain vivid in the memories of the courtiers, and it will become the material for the cannonballs fired at you the next time you make a mistake."
Isabella was already trembling. Rubina's fierce gaze gave way to a hint of sympathy.
“The position you hold is one where your main job is to get cursed at.”
This was advice from a predecessor. Her successor was truly obnoxious, to the point where even a slap in the face would be unbearable, but as someone who once performed the same role, or rather, function, Isabella could clearly see the stress she was under.
“Everything I did and didn’t do is my fault. So I get angry and say something, and then I get blamed for that too.”
"Hey."
Isabella's words had been abusive up until now, but at least her tone had retained a certain elegance. But she couldn't bear it any longer, and jerked her head up to glare at Ariadne.
“Who says such things?”
Correcting the facts was of the utmost importance.
“You said I wasn’t naked!”
Although she was wearing a torn chemise, she was definitely not naked. That was the most important part for Isabella.
“Countess Contarini!”
Rubina, the Grand Duchess, loudly tried to dissuade her. But it wasn't enough. Isabella snapped back.
"I came out of the dungeon naked?! That's not only an insult to me, but also to His Majesty the King!"
Bianca, who was watching Isabella's seizure in real time, blinked in confusion. If that were true, Leo III was forcibly assaulted by a naked woman while sitting on his bed. How could his honor be tarnished?
But Isabella believed that Leo III's greatest virtue was that he still tolerated seeing her naked.
“Our Majesty is a gentleman!”
If Leo III had already seen her naked, Isabella's image of the King's dignity would be undermined. Bianca's image of Leo III was devoid of dignity, but everyone's perceptions varied.
Isabella, her face flushed, squealed and squealed.
"I'll tell His Majesty that I won't let this go, I won't let this go! Where did you hear that?"
When it became clear that Isabella had completely lost her composure, Grand Duchess Rubina finally raised her voice and shouted.
“Countess Contarini! Calm down!”
But Isabella wasn't the type to be so easily distracted. Completely losing her wits, Isabella yelled at Rubina, too.
"The same goes for Your Highness, Grand Duchess Rubina! How can you, who has established yourself in the palace by His Majesty's grace, speak ill of Him so vehemently?"
The tone of the remark was risqué. "Remaining in the palace by His Majesty's grace"—if she may be so harsh, doesn't that sound like a reference to the former titles of Rubina?
“Watch what you say!”
Isabella looked straight into Rubina's eyes and spoke back.
“You called His Majesty an idiot just a little while ago, didn’t you?!”
“Please refrain from overinterpreting!”
“It’s treason, treason!”
Rubina's patience finally wore thin at the sound of "treason." The Grand Duchess raised her right hand. This was the signal. The royal attendants from both sides approached in an instant.
Isabella, feeling a sense of unease, suddenly came to her senses.
She shut her mouth in an instant.
Last time she was in a similar situation, she was whipped and pinned down by Alfonso's knights.
The sensation of the thick whip coiling like a snake around her back was vivid. It stung at first, then a burning pain followed, and finally a dull, bone-chilling jolt. Isabella trembled with instinctive fear.
Rubina rose from the round table and slowly approached Isabella. Her red hair and wine-red eyes perfectly matched the burning anger she was expressing.
“Dear Countess Contarini.”
It was the same introduction as the letter Marquis Synadenos sent to Viscountess Panamere, but the nuance was completely opposite.
“The position you occupy is one where you have to be very careful about where the line is.”
Isabella wanted to back away, but she was trapped in the chair. Instead, she sank deeper into the dining chair.
“Crossing the line once doesn’t mean you’ll be instantly blown away. Crossing it twice doesn’t mean you’ll be immediately executed.”
In the palace, the only people who can cross the line are the mistress and the clown.
“But every line you cross is recorded.”
Rubina was seated right next to Isabella at the round table. She left her own spot empty and stood close to Isabella. Rubina's shadow overwhelmed Isabella's entire slender frame.
"I'm not talking about something written in history books. It will remain vivid in the memories of the courtiers, and it will become the material for the cannonballs fired at you the next time you make a mistake."
Isabella was already trembling. Rubina's fierce gaze gave way to a hint of sympathy.
“The position you hold is one where your main job is to get cursed at.”
This was advice from a predecessor. Her successor was truly obnoxious, to the point where even a slap in the face would be unbearable, but as someone who once performed the same role, or rather, function, Isabella could clearly see the stress she was under.
“Everything I did and didn’t do is my fault. So I get angry and say something, and then I get blamed for that too.”
Ariadne, who had doubled as the regent's fiancée in her previous life, not only as Queen but also as the government's scapegoat, completely sympathized with Rubina's words. Spiral, whose explanations only increased the scope for criticism, was truly appalling.
“If you keep making excuses for everything, getting overly excited and depressed over every single thing, you’ll only shorten your life. Let go of what needs to be let go of. Endure what needs to be endured.”
Isabella had to sense, even if only vaguely, that Rubina wasn't saying these things out of ill will toward her.
It was the advice of a senior colleague who had become her own flesh and blood. However, Isabella was too narrow-minded to believe that even the words of an enemy could contain good intentions. She clenched her jaw and said nothing in response.
Rubina said with a shallow sigh.
“The five of us here are like that; we can’t fight even if we want to.”
These words struck Julia Helena's heart more than the intended audience, Isabella.
The five women gathered here are members of the royal family. In order of age, they are as follows:
The King's younger brother's wife.
The King's official government.
The Prince's wife.
The King's fifth cousin.
And Julia Helena, who hopes to become the wife of the King's nephew in the future.
'Royal Ladies.'
In a society where blood relatives gathered together to form a family and seek power and wealth, they were people so close that they could not be separated.
What happens when these two fight each other was demonstrated yesterday by Ariadne and Isabella. When they fought, the court was turned upside down. If something similar happened, it would also create a huge scandal.
And as Ariadne and Isabella of today attest, they'll be dragged back again, beaming and greeting each other. The seats they're sitting in are the kind of places where even the younger sister, who suffered a miscarriage because of her older sister, and the older sister, who was beaten because of her younger sister, look forward to sitting together at a tea party, laughing and drinking tea together.
'Even if the people inside here fight, they will have to see each other's faces and fight for the rest of their lives.'
Julia Helena knew it in her head, but her heart could not accept it.
'No. I'm going to blow up Countess Contarini.'
If the Princess had been a little more experienced, if she had not been so overcome by her pride, she would have known what was wise.
She hadn't yet truly set foot in this morass. The superior strategy would have been to walk away immediately and find another royal family with a healthy court. But she was a hot-blooded adolescent girl.
"Government and all. I can take care of my own place."
A King's government is inherently a non-regular position, with constantly changing positions. She would never live face-to-face with a prostitute like Countess Contarini for long.
Isabella also had a realization that was the exact opposite of what Rubina had intended.
'What's urgent right now isn't Ariadne.'
She had secretly hoped that Princess Julia Helena would become Prince Alfonso's wife and drive Ariadne out of court. But judging by the Princess's attitude today, that seemed absolutely unlikely.
Instead, Isabella only confirmed Julia Helena's burning hostility towards her.
'I must expel her before she takes up residence in the palace.'
Isabella hoped for a bit of a windfall. If the Marquis Manchike refused the marriage alliance, claiming that Cesare was unsuitable, wouldn't Princess Julia Helena have no choice but to return to her homeland?
'I should have been more friendly and cussed out Cesare to my heart's content.'
She could have done better than anyone else, but she lost because she took the wrong stance.
'Someday the opportunity will come.'
She must divide them up and defeat them one by one. She must never allow the union of Ariadne, Rubina, Julia, and Helena to come to fruition.
Isabella decided to learn the one virtue she lacked: patience.
Patience began with an apology. Isabella rose from her slumped chair and faced Rubina. She bowed at a 90-degree angle.
“I am grateful for the teachings of the late Grand Duchess .”
This was the first tribute Rubina had ever received from Isabella. Everyone present, especially Ariadne, stared at Isabella with wide eyes. She wasn't the kind of person who would do that.
But Isabella's conversion ended there. She had no intention of apologizing to Ariadne.
Isabella sat back down. It was Ariadne who was the one who apologized today.
“Oh my.”
Rubina, the Grand Duchess, let out a deep sigh. She wasn't satisfied, but she'd settled for this today. She didn't have the loyalty to step in for Ariadne and accept an apology for someone else. She was also wary of ordering Isabella, who looked like a salt-sprinkled octopus, to do anything else, and then she'd go crazy again.
“...I never want to see you act rashly again.”
“...Yes.”
As Rubina turned and sat back down, a deathly silence settled over the round table.
Just before Ariadne stood up and said, "I'll go first," the lively Julia Helena broke the silence.
“Let’s have a fun talk.”
She asked with a bright smile.
"I heard about Countess de Mare's love story, but not about anything else. When and how did Grand Duchess Rubina meet her husband?"
It was a bombshell, thrown with a feigned innocence. Everyone was momentarily speechless. No one in the room knew exactly how much Julia Helena, a foreigner, truly knew.
Rubina was also momentarily flustered.
“Him?”
She was troubled. Should she tell the story of her first meeting with Leo III? Or should she make up a story about her first encounter with the nonexistent fictitious character Biagio de Como?
If only she knew how much the Princess knew, her mind would be clear. But no one here was willing to risk asking. Rubina was no exception.
“Um, I met him when I was little and went to a local festival.”
Rubina started talking randomly. She decided to tell a story that was as harmless as possible, without revealing specific facts like names, places, or periods.
How Rubina first met Leo III was not a widely known fact, nor was it likely to be revealed to the public in the future.
The truly innocent Bianca listened to the words of the Grand Duchess Rubina with her mouth open in a daze.
'Right now... That man that Rubina met at the local festival when she was young, and the man that Countess Contarini met for the first time naked in the bedroom a while ago, are they the same person?'
Thank you very much
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