To Prince Alfonso's question with a deep voice, Lord Rothschild answered cheerfully.
“Me, me! Rothschild!”
“My wife has a terrible eye for people.”
Alfonso held Ariadne in one hand. Almost suspended in mid-air, Ariadne blushed at her childish appearance.
Sir Bernardino, accustomed to palace life and Sancha, who was sick of that kind of thing, pretended not to notice. Sir Manfredi stopped himself from grabbing Sir Dino's hair and opened his eyes wide.
Sir Rothschild tried to whistle, but was kicked in the heel by Sir Bernardino. Although Sir Dino kicked Sir Rothschild just in time, Ariadne saw the shape of his lips just before he started whistling.
Ariadne grimaced majestically, her toes barely touching the floor, dangling, strictly speaking, in mid-air.
“That’s right. I made a mistake.”
“Your Highness, the Princess!”
Sir Rothschild protested, his face sullen. Just as he was about to say more, Alfonso whispered softly in Ariadne's ear.
“Are you feeling better?”
In an instant, all the others were reduced to noise. They were the only two people in the room. Ariadne, who had been straining her stomach to maintain a certain formality, unconsciously relaxed. She settled into a comfortable position, draped over Alfonso's arm.
“I feel good.”
She could feel her husband's relieved smile vibrating through their skin.
“Yes. That’s fine.”
Alfonso lightly kissed Ariadne's earlobe.
He hadn't been feeling particularly well lately. It was as if he'd been on a short-acting painkiller, and only when he was close to her did his uneasiness ease a little.
Alfonso let go of her, and his torso touched Ariadne and fell.
At that contact, Ariadne remembered a memory she had forgotten.
Once upon a time, the girls were chatting in Julia's drawing room. They were arguing about who was the most handsome, and they mentioned that Prince Alfonso had a large chest. Back then, he was still a boy, so he wasn't as intimidating as he is now.
'Your eyes are so bright.'
...Who was the first person to say that?
Ariadne thought for a moment and then remembered.
'Felicite.'
She was the daughter of the Viscount Elba, a lawyer, and was taken to a monastery because her family had no dowry.
Felicite was a kind and gentle person by nature, and she only saw the good in others.
All the candidates for maids that had been brought to mind so far had gone down to Taranto with Leo III's court and could not be brought.
If it were Felicite, she would naturally be in a convent somewhere near San Carlo, not Taranto. Unless the Viscount of Elba was so frugal with his money that he couldn't even send his daughter to a convent near the capital.
“Sir Manfredi. Come to think of it, there’s someone I’d like to call that maid.”
“Who are she?”
Sir Manfredi was delighted. He was eager to clear himself of the accusation of conspiracy to bring Miss Bedelia to the palace.
“Let’s find out if she comes from a good family...”
Prince Alfonso interrupted Sir Manfredi.
“Why does it matter who it is?”
He looked at Ariadne and spoke in a very plain tone.
“Write the name and give it to Manfredi.”
Then he turned his thick upper body towards Sir Manfredi.
“Have them come here next week after you finish talking to their family.”
Isabella had to wait several days before she could meet Leo III. As soon as she met His Majesty, she couldn't help but let out a torrent of resentment.
"Your Majesty! When Grand Duchess Rubina gave me that donut pillow that day, she was mocking me!"
Rubina was meticulous in her efforts to prevent Leo III's movements from intersecting with Isabella's. During their journey, Rubina, who oversaw the procession, acted like a King.
On the eighth day of the journey, the old King asked, "Isabella, I haven't seen you for several days. Where have you gone?" Thanks to this, Isabella was finally able to welcome Leo III.
However, as soon as Leo III met Isabella, he immediately regretted saying such things.
“Isn’t it considerate to give me a cushion?”
“Consideration?!”
“I was beaten so much that my whole body hurt.”
Leo III's ears were aching from the whining of his mistress, whom he hadn't seen in almost a week. His throat was so sore that he gave a very vague response.
“You said you were too sick to even serve me. A loyal subject would have been considerate and given you something soft to eat.”
Leo III's tone clearly contained resentment toward Isabella, who refused to sleep with him.
Isabella was quick to notice this. She immediately gave up on further questioning Rubina.
Considering the overall atmosphere at the time and the story they told about the facial scars, arguing that it was absolutely not considerate would fall on deaf ears now.
Instead, Isabella did a 180-degree turn.
“I went there thinking I would be able to see Your Majesty...”
The irritation sublimated into tears. The tears welled up in her beautiful amethyst eyes, adding a sparkling effect like a jewel.
“I guess I was sad that Your Majesty wasn’t there...”
The veil draped over her face surprisingly accentuated Isabella's eyes. While her entire face was beautiful, looking at her eyes alone made them appear less cute, but instead enhanced their alluring charm. Tears welled up in her beautiful eyes.
“Because I look like this… I can’t even meet people... I’ve become so sensitive...”
“Ha...”
Leo III sighed deeply. The King prayed to heaven for the quick appearance of that Moorish skin care specialist.
“Hasn’t the esthetician contacted you yet?”
“Yes, Your Majesty...”
If she doesn't regain her beauty, he'll end up providing mental support to the untouchable woman.
The King's mistress was meant to please him, but Leo III felt that the relationship between him and Isabella had been quite the opposite. He was starting to get tired of it.
“Ha. I’ll tell my captain to find it quickly.”
Only if her face gets better soon will this whining stop. Leo III has decided that after this trip to Taranto, he will take Isabella and head straight to the Forest of Orthe.
And if Isabella failed to regain her beauty after being immersed in the mercury pond tended by the alchemists of the Orthe Forest, she would be immediately discarded. This was Leo III's deadline.
“Really?! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Isabella, who had no idea what Leo III was thinking at that moment, was enthusiastically delighted.
To be precise, she pretended to be happy with all her might. She was just learning how to handle men these days. Or so she thought.
If they did something well, they would be praised profusely, and if they did something wrong, they would be scolded severely. It wasn't much different from training a dog.
“Your Majesty is the most handsome man in the world!”
Isabella's effusive praise suddenly lifted the King's spirits. He cleared his throat sharply. Seeing Isabella's beautiful amethyst eyes sparkle, Leo III pretended to change the subject.
“Where did you get your maid?”
For Leo III, it was a question he could comfortably ask to have a maid for his government.
When a palace staff member was looking for a maid for the lady he was serving, he had to first consult the royal etiquette rules and worry about the maid's family background and whether there was anything that could be impugned.
But the King simply said, "Assign a maid to my government."
This was the difference between those in power and those without.
“That is...”
Isabella's complexion darkened in an instant. A slight annoyance appeared between her eyebrows.
The problem lay elsewhere. No matter how much the King's power allowed him to increase the number of concubines living in the palace, no noble daughter wanted to become Isabella's maid.
The challenging mission of rescuing Isabella's maid fell to Sir Delpiano. Sir Delpiano was like Leo III's trash can. All the ambiguous tasks, with no clear destinies for them, ultimately ended up on him.
“She is the maid of the Countess Contarini. My daughter.”
First of all, the noble families with unmarried daughters all looked at Sir Delpiano with disgusted faces.
“How can it not be done?”
Even for Sir Delpiano, a seasoned veteran, this wasn't easy. He didn't have many cards to play. He had no choice but to give in.
The Marquis of Colonna, whom he visited today, was also one of those nobles with a shit-eating face.
“How can you do that when it’s my child?”
Normally, entering the palace as a maid was an event that everyone would envy.
Who became the royal lady's maid and which family produced the chief maid were the subjects of intense interest in high society.
It was also routine for everyone to keep an ear out for information, to find out when a maid position would open up and whether their daughter would have a chance next time.
Sir Delpiano tried to appease the Marquis Colonna by preaching generalities.
“As you know, entering the palace as a maid is a very good opportunity for you, isn’t it?”
A Queen or older royal woman typically had "maids of honor" alongside her "maids-in-waiting," married women of the same age. These maids-in-waiting were usually unmarried girls between the ages of twelve and sixteen, and were not old enough to serve as companions to the Queen or Queen dowager.
Therefore, apprentice maids were exempt from the number of maids listed in the royal etiquette code. Entering as an apprentice maid and receiving court etiquette training was, in effect, the most advanced education a prospective female courtier could receive.
This was a position that noble families usually sought with burning eyes. Therefore, royal women, if it didn't involve a financial burden, often carried a large number of apprentice maids with them, either to flaunt their power or to show favor to the noble families who followed them.
But the Marquis of Colonna remained steadfast.
“The position of Queen is vacant. She must have a teacher to learn from before she can be sent.”
It wasn't clear whether he was referring to Rubina or Isabella, but in any case, he was told that her daughter was not to be Countess Contarini's maid.
Sir Delpiano brought out all the anger from the depths of his stomach and showed his affection to the Marquis of Colonna, who was about ten years older than him.
“Ah, just broadening your horizons is enough to broaden your learning!”
If you keep lying like this, you will die and not be able to reincarnate, and will fall into the Avici Hell. However, Sir Delpiano spoke without even licking his lips.
“Don’t you remember? In the old days, daughters of foreign nobles would come to study at Palazzo Carlo to learn the latest fashions of the continent.”
The Marquis of Colonna answered with a grimace.
"That's just a rustic nobleman from a remote country trying to get his daughter married well. That doesn't apply to us."
Ha. That's right, that's right. As the daughter of the Marquis Colonna, there was no need to worry about not being able to marry. Even if you were a noble in the harsh western region, a Marquis was akin to a local leader.
He would have hired a special tutor and taught her well, and even if she was so poorly educated that she would have died trying to eat, she would have been able to get married thanks to her father's influence alone.
Sir Delpiano touched his last hidden trump card. Take this out, stop it.
'Do I... do I even have to say this with my own mouth?'
But considering the nearly twenty rejections he'd faced, he'd come to the conclusion that being picky was a luxury he couldn't afford. If he returned to Isabella's carriage today without securing a single maid of honor, he'd have to endure all of her arrogant tantrums.
'Because of that woman, I did this...'
Isabella had not hidden her hostility toward Lord Delpiano since being whipped by Prince Alfonso, of course, only in Leo III's absence.
"The whipping the Prince gave you wasn't for me. It was to save you, you idiot!"
No matter how much he muttered to himself, it was just a silent echo.
Sir Delpiano took a deep breath before speaking his prepared words. Ah. If he insists on saying this, he feels like he's being dragged into a swamp. But there was no other way. He reluctantly opened his mouth.
“...If you assist Countess Contarini at her side, you will be able to glimpse the mind of His Majesty the King at close range.”
The proposal was to use his daughter to connect with the King's government and rise through the ranks of central politics. Of course, Sir Delpiano also offered a Plan B.
"Of course, the Marquis of Colonna is a precious child. I fully understand that you might feel uncomfortable sending your own daughter. So, honestly, I don't mind if she's a relative..."
However, the Marquis of Colonna, who had been expected to relent after receiving a plan B that would save his daughter, unexpectedly raised his voice.
“Listen here, Mr. Secretary!”
“Me, me! Rothschild!”
“My wife has a terrible eye for people.”
Alfonso held Ariadne in one hand. Almost suspended in mid-air, Ariadne blushed at her childish appearance.
Sir Bernardino, accustomed to palace life and Sancha, who was sick of that kind of thing, pretended not to notice. Sir Manfredi stopped himself from grabbing Sir Dino's hair and opened his eyes wide.
Sir Rothschild tried to whistle, but was kicked in the heel by Sir Bernardino. Although Sir Dino kicked Sir Rothschild just in time, Ariadne saw the shape of his lips just before he started whistling.
Ariadne grimaced majestically, her toes barely touching the floor, dangling, strictly speaking, in mid-air.
“That’s right. I made a mistake.”
“Your Highness, the Princess!”
Sir Rothschild protested, his face sullen. Just as he was about to say more, Alfonso whispered softly in Ariadne's ear.
“Are you feeling better?”
In an instant, all the others were reduced to noise. They were the only two people in the room. Ariadne, who had been straining her stomach to maintain a certain formality, unconsciously relaxed. She settled into a comfortable position, draped over Alfonso's arm.
“I feel good.”
She could feel her husband's relieved smile vibrating through their skin.
“Yes. That’s fine.”
Alfonso lightly kissed Ariadne's earlobe.
He hadn't been feeling particularly well lately. It was as if he'd been on a short-acting painkiller, and only when he was close to her did his uneasiness ease a little.
Alfonso let go of her, and his torso touched Ariadne and fell.
At that contact, Ariadne remembered a memory she had forgotten.
Once upon a time, the girls were chatting in Julia's drawing room. They were arguing about who was the most handsome, and they mentioned that Prince Alfonso had a large chest. Back then, he was still a boy, so he wasn't as intimidating as he is now.
'Your eyes are so bright.'
...Who was the first person to say that?
Ariadne thought for a moment and then remembered.
'Felicite.'
She was the daughter of the Viscount Elba, a lawyer, and was taken to a monastery because her family had no dowry.
Felicite was a kind and gentle person by nature, and she only saw the good in others.
All the candidates for maids that had been brought to mind so far had gone down to Taranto with Leo III's court and could not be brought.
If it were Felicite, she would naturally be in a convent somewhere near San Carlo, not Taranto. Unless the Viscount of Elba was so frugal with his money that he couldn't even send his daughter to a convent near the capital.
“Sir Manfredi. Come to think of it, there’s someone I’d like to call that maid.”
“Who are she?”
Sir Manfredi was delighted. He was eager to clear himself of the accusation of conspiracy to bring Miss Bedelia to the palace.
“Let’s find out if she comes from a good family...”
Prince Alfonso interrupted Sir Manfredi.
“Why does it matter who it is?”
He looked at Ariadne and spoke in a very plain tone.
“Write the name and give it to Manfredi.”
Then he turned his thick upper body towards Sir Manfredi.
“Have them come here next week after you finish talking to their family.”
***
Isabella had to wait several days before she could meet Leo III. As soon as she met His Majesty, she couldn't help but let out a torrent of resentment.
"Your Majesty! When Grand Duchess Rubina gave me that donut pillow that day, she was mocking me!"
Rubina was meticulous in her efforts to prevent Leo III's movements from intersecting with Isabella's. During their journey, Rubina, who oversaw the procession, acted like a King.
On the eighth day of the journey, the old King asked, "Isabella, I haven't seen you for several days. Where have you gone?" Thanks to this, Isabella was finally able to welcome Leo III.
However, as soon as Leo III met Isabella, he immediately regretted saying such things.
“Isn’t it considerate to give me a cushion?”
“Consideration?!”
“I was beaten so much that my whole body hurt.”
Leo III's ears were aching from the whining of his mistress, whom he hadn't seen in almost a week. His throat was so sore that he gave a very vague response.
“You said you were too sick to even serve me. A loyal subject would have been considerate and given you something soft to eat.”
Leo III's tone clearly contained resentment toward Isabella, who refused to sleep with him.
Isabella was quick to notice this. She immediately gave up on further questioning Rubina.
Considering the overall atmosphere at the time and the story they told about the facial scars, arguing that it was absolutely not considerate would fall on deaf ears now.
Instead, Isabella did a 180-degree turn.
“I went there thinking I would be able to see Your Majesty...”
The irritation sublimated into tears. The tears welled up in her beautiful amethyst eyes, adding a sparkling effect like a jewel.
“I guess I was sad that Your Majesty wasn’t there...”
The veil draped over her face surprisingly accentuated Isabella's eyes. While her entire face was beautiful, looking at her eyes alone made them appear less cute, but instead enhanced their alluring charm. Tears welled up in her beautiful eyes.
“Because I look like this… I can’t even meet people... I’ve become so sensitive...”
“Ha...”
Leo III sighed deeply. The King prayed to heaven for the quick appearance of that Moorish skin care specialist.
“Hasn’t the esthetician contacted you yet?”
“Yes, Your Majesty...”
If she doesn't regain her beauty, he'll end up providing mental support to the untouchable woman.
The King's mistress was meant to please him, but Leo III felt that the relationship between him and Isabella had been quite the opposite. He was starting to get tired of it.
“Ha. I’ll tell my captain to find it quickly.”
Only if her face gets better soon will this whining stop. Leo III has decided that after this trip to Taranto, he will take Isabella and head straight to the Forest of Orthe.
And if Isabella failed to regain her beauty after being immersed in the mercury pond tended by the alchemists of the Orthe Forest, she would be immediately discarded. This was Leo III's deadline.
“Really?! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Isabella, who had no idea what Leo III was thinking at that moment, was enthusiastically delighted.
To be precise, she pretended to be happy with all her might. She was just learning how to handle men these days. Or so she thought.
If they did something well, they would be praised profusely, and if they did something wrong, they would be scolded severely. It wasn't much different from training a dog.
“Your Majesty is the most handsome man in the world!”
Isabella's effusive praise suddenly lifted the King's spirits. He cleared his throat sharply. Seeing Isabella's beautiful amethyst eyes sparkle, Leo III pretended to change the subject.
“Where did you get your maid?”
For Leo III, it was a question he could comfortably ask to have a maid for his government.
When a palace staff member was looking for a maid for the lady he was serving, he had to first consult the royal etiquette rules and worry about the maid's family background and whether there was anything that could be impugned.
But the King simply said, "Assign a maid to my government."
This was the difference between those in power and those without.
“That is...”
Isabella's complexion darkened in an instant. A slight annoyance appeared between her eyebrows.
The problem lay elsewhere. No matter how much the King's power allowed him to increase the number of concubines living in the palace, no noble daughter wanted to become Isabella's maid.
***
The challenging mission of rescuing Isabella's maid fell to Sir Delpiano. Sir Delpiano was like Leo III's trash can. All the ambiguous tasks, with no clear destinies for them, ultimately ended up on him.
“She is the maid of the Countess Contarini. My daughter.”
First of all, the noble families with unmarried daughters all looked at Sir Delpiano with disgusted faces.
“How can it not be done?”
Even for Sir Delpiano, a seasoned veteran, this wasn't easy. He didn't have many cards to play. He had no choice but to give in.
The Marquis of Colonna, whom he visited today, was also one of those nobles with a shit-eating face.
“How can you do that when it’s my child?”
Normally, entering the palace as a maid was an event that everyone would envy.
Who became the royal lady's maid and which family produced the chief maid were the subjects of intense interest in high society.
It was also routine for everyone to keep an ear out for information, to find out when a maid position would open up and whether their daughter would have a chance next time.
Sir Delpiano tried to appease the Marquis Colonna by preaching generalities.
“As you know, entering the palace as a maid is a very good opportunity for you, isn’t it?”
A Queen or older royal woman typically had "maids of honor" alongside her "maids-in-waiting," married women of the same age. These maids-in-waiting were usually unmarried girls between the ages of twelve and sixteen, and were not old enough to serve as companions to the Queen or Queen dowager.
Therefore, apprentice maids were exempt from the number of maids listed in the royal etiquette code. Entering as an apprentice maid and receiving court etiquette training was, in effect, the most advanced education a prospective female courtier could receive.
This was a position that noble families usually sought with burning eyes. Therefore, royal women, if it didn't involve a financial burden, often carried a large number of apprentice maids with them, either to flaunt their power or to show favor to the noble families who followed them.
But the Marquis of Colonna remained steadfast.
“The position of Queen is vacant. She must have a teacher to learn from before she can be sent.”
It wasn't clear whether he was referring to Rubina or Isabella, but in any case, he was told that her daughter was not to be Countess Contarini's maid.
Sir Delpiano brought out all the anger from the depths of his stomach and showed his affection to the Marquis of Colonna, who was about ten years older than him.
“Ah, just broadening your horizons is enough to broaden your learning!”
If you keep lying like this, you will die and not be able to reincarnate, and will fall into the Avici Hell. However, Sir Delpiano spoke without even licking his lips.
“Don’t you remember? In the old days, daughters of foreign nobles would come to study at Palazzo Carlo to learn the latest fashions of the continent.”
The Marquis of Colonna answered with a grimace.
"That's just a rustic nobleman from a remote country trying to get his daughter married well. That doesn't apply to us."
Ha. That's right, that's right. As the daughter of the Marquis Colonna, there was no need to worry about not being able to marry. Even if you were a noble in the harsh western region, a Marquis was akin to a local leader.
He would have hired a special tutor and taught her well, and even if she was so poorly educated that she would have died trying to eat, she would have been able to get married thanks to her father's influence alone.
Sir Delpiano touched his last hidden trump card. Take this out, stop it.
'Do I... do I even have to say this with my own mouth?'
But considering the nearly twenty rejections he'd faced, he'd come to the conclusion that being picky was a luxury he couldn't afford. If he returned to Isabella's carriage today without securing a single maid of honor, he'd have to endure all of her arrogant tantrums.
'Because of that woman, I did this...'
Isabella had not hidden her hostility toward Lord Delpiano since being whipped by Prince Alfonso, of course, only in Leo III's absence.
"The whipping the Prince gave you wasn't for me. It was to save you, you idiot!"
No matter how much he muttered to himself, it was just a silent echo.
Sir Delpiano took a deep breath before speaking his prepared words. Ah. If he insists on saying this, he feels like he's being dragged into a swamp. But there was no other way. He reluctantly opened his mouth.
“...If you assist Countess Contarini at her side, you will be able to glimpse the mind of His Majesty the King at close range.”
The proposal was to use his daughter to connect with the King's government and rise through the ranks of central politics. Of course, Sir Delpiano also offered a Plan B.
"Of course, the Marquis of Colonna is a precious child. I fully understand that you might feel uncomfortable sending your own daughter. So, honestly, I don't mind if she's a relative..."
However, the Marquis of Colonna, who had been expected to relent after receiving a plan B that would save his daughter, unexpectedly raised his voice.
“Listen here, Mr. Secretary!”
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