(125) I am not Ariana
If this were her past life, Ariana would have been the Viscountess Alfreich by now, having a terrible time.
-“Because of you, our son is suffering and has become very thin. All you do is play and eat, so why are you so extravagant?”
-“What kind of party is this, you ask? If you don’t even know etiquette, going to a place like this will only bring shame to the Alfreich family.”
-“I had high expectations because you were a Princess, but if I had known this would happen, I would have just brought in a maid. Maids are good at their jobs. You're weak and sick all the time.”
The verbal abuse her mother-in-law unleashed wasn't as sharp as Rachel's. She been able to bear it, so she didn't cry, but the intensity intensified, as if they wanted to see her cry.
'This time, Viscount Alfreich isn't married yet. The cards they need to send must be discarded, yet still seem plausible. Without me, they probably can't find anyone suitable.'
Alfreich ran one of the largest arms dealers on the continent, one of the top five. He was highly sought after by the Western Lord, who had the weakest military power among the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Territories, and they would not abandon him.
"I should start moving now. If the Lord of the West takes a major hit from the perfume issue, he'll move quickly to make up for the loss, so I need to keep up with him."
Suddenly, Cyrus came to mind.
If Cyrus had been there at this time, they could have planned the future together without much explanation to him.
"The Northern Lord must have attended the Crown Prince's wedding. Did he meet Victoria there? If so, what would he be doing? Victoria must be growing more and more beautiful. She must be maturing faster than before, having been hurt."
Her mind was stuffed.
Ariana closed her eyes and breathed slowly, calming her turbulent emotions.
"He's not mine. From the beginning, we only intended to use each other. So there's no reason to feel hurt by his sudden change of attitude. As long as he doesn't interfere with my work, there's no problem between us."
Every time Cyrus came to mind, she repeated the same thought over and over again, like a mantra. Still, the suffocating feeling persisted, so she thought of her grandmother, grandfather, father, Isabelle, Averaster, her uncles, and aunts.
Then Ariana felt better enough to smile.
Ariana quickly got up and left the room before thoughts of Cyrus clouded her mind again.
When her father and brother were away, she had to attack her grandfather.
Because it's easier to deal with one person than with three.
Even though Ariana went there first without contacting him, her grandfather, Theodore, just smiled brightly.
“I was just about to buy a gift for our baby.”
“Again?”
“Again. When did I ever give you a gift?”
“You gave me the pink shoes just now.”
"Oh, right. It really suits you. I guess that's why I thought I should buy it."
Theodore said, holding up a pale pink bonnet. It was a bright and lovely hat, draped in pale pink silk and trimmed with white frills.
“It’s really pretty. Thank you, Grandpa.”
Theodore smiled happily as he looked at Ariana with her hat on her head.
"As expected, my baby. The prettiest in the world. This old man can't sleep at night for fear of flies swarming around you."
Lately, her father and grandfather have been talking a lot about "the damn flies." One day, Carradine, overcome with the two men's squeaks, clicked her tongue and said,
-“Because of you guys, Ariana can’t even get married.”
Ariana smiled slightly as she recalled that time.
“Where did Grandma go?”
"Yeah. I heard there was some trouble in the East, so she went to look into it."
“What’s going on?”
"I heard there are a lot of people coughing, as if the epidemic is spreading. It seems like they're vulnerable to illness because it's a poor area."
“Are there people there who use the perfume called Helon Flower... that, Eribel?”
"Eribel? Oh, that perfume that's so popular these days? Oh, by the way, I heard that one of the Counts gave out large gifts to the commoners to celebrate his daughter's wedding. Maybe that's the perfume."
"Yes."
So there was no risk of her grandmother contracting an infectious disease. It was a problem caused by perfume, not an infectious disease.
'I'll have to distribute the medicine for free to those in need, even if it means spending my own money. The wealthy might be okay, but ordinary citizens won't even have a chance to protest to Count Gabion. Oh, and moving the temple would be a good idea."
Ariana gathered her thoughts and spoke to Theodore.
"Grandpa, I actually came here because I have something important to tell you. Could you spare me a moment?"
“Well, well. How much time does this old man have?”
With both the Lord and the little Lord away, she knew how busy Theodore was. Still, her grandfather's unwavering demeanor touched her heart.
"Come here. Would you like some sweet chocolate cookies? I bought some for you and my baby."
“Yes, I like it.”
Ariana sat across from Theodore and munched on a chocolate cookie for a while. Her face twitched under Theodore's seemingly adorable gaze.
Ariana, who had finished eating a cookie the size of her face, moistened her throat with tea and spoke calmly.
“Grandfather, while I was in the North, I heard many stories from the Northern Lord. He says the Third Prince’s movements are suspicious.”
Her visit to the Northern Territory proved useful in situations like this, as she could express her thoughts as if they were those of the Northern Territory.
"The Third Prince... um. Was his name Harold? Yeah, I ran into him once in front of the courthouse. He seemed to be a dark man, despite his looks."
Theodore, once the lord of East, had a good grasp of the Third Prince.
"Yes, that's right. It seems that's true. The Northern Lord believes the Third Prince is aiming for the Crown Prince position. I agree."
Theodore's expression darkened.
It wasn't a good thing that someone was vying for the Crown Prince's position while he was still alive and well. It was a problem so serious that it would have repercussions not only for the empire but also for other nations.
If Isabelle or Averaster had said something like this, he would have thought it was nonsense and not listened to it any further.
But Ariana said something different.
At first, she was just a pitiful, pitiful granddaughter. A little wild animal so wounded that no one trusted her. He hoped that by showering her with love, Ariana would open her heart and realize that not everyone was like the Brontës.
But as they spent more time together, he began to sense that Ariana was more than just a hurt little girl.
Ariana seemed smart, more straightforward than she appeared, and had a lot on her mind.
Although less so in front of his family, his every action was calculated. That's how it appeared to the older lord, who had been through thick and thin.
"The Third Prince will have joined hands with the Western Lord. No, he has already joined hands with the Western Lord."
"Of the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Territories, Western is the weakest in both military and financial power. Why would the Third Prince neglect the North and the South and join forces with the Western Lord?"
"Because it's the weakest country in terms of both military and financial power. The Third Prince is weak, but his greed is endless. That's why he still clings to Western lord, clinging to it and seeking more. Those who are weak but brimming with greed become desperate. The Third Prince has recognized that desperation."
As Ariana said, there was no reason for the other nations to join hands with the Third Prince. Each was content with their own country and wanted to maintain peace.
“But what would the Western Lord gain by helping him?”
“The Western Lord has many granddaughters of marriageable age.”
The answer was enough.
The Western Lord was not one to take the lead. To wield power in the forefront meant becoming a target for enemies.
The Western Lord was the kind of person who would have preferred to make one of his granddaughters the Empress and then wield power behind her.
“There is no strong military in the West, so how can they help the Third Prince?”
"They don't have a strong military, but they do have a large arms dealer. Viscount Ingo Alfreich. The Western Lord will take him in and provide him with unwavering support. There are many benefits to be gained from Alfreich's growing arms dealership: money and power."
Theodore stared blankly at his granddaughter, who was answering each question point by point. Were all these words really coming from the Northern Lord's mind?
He had a feeling that wasn't the case.
But Theodore didn't dig too deep.
“It seems you have a favor to ask of me.”
"Yes, Grandfather. Please recruit a weapons dealer named Robern Bethan, who hails from the outskirts of the Empire, and an engineering doctor named Hertio, who was expelled from the Imperial Academy. I want to recruit them as my companions."
Theodore was worried.
He wanted to ask why Ariana was so confident in recruiting Robern and Hertio. He wanted to know what she was thinking.
But he felt that if he continued like that, Ariana would hide her feelings that she had barely revealed and hide behind her thick walls.
Finding the two men wasn't difficult. Bringing in a small-time arms dealer and a displaced engineering doctor wouldn't jeopardize the East.
So, rather than upset his granddaughter, Theodore agreed. Ariana smiled as beautifully as a flower, and Theodore felt more than rewarded just by seeing her smile.
The Crown Prince's wedding celebration, held for over a week, concluded successfully. The event that most excited the nobles was the appearance of Northern Lord Cyrus Carha.
The fact that they could briefly see the face of the Northern Lord, who rarely attended parties, made the nobles excited.
The nobles returned to their lands, praising the beauty of the Northern Lord, whom they had only heard rumors about. However, the Bronte family's carriage ride back to the West was not so peaceful.
"Hey, answer me quickly! Why did Grandpa send you to the North? Why did you hide it from me?"
From the day she met Cyrus until now, Helena has constantly pestered Victoria. Victoria simply smiled gracefully and didn't respond.
Helena was seething.
She was already feeling uneasy because the Lord of the West seemed to be protecting Victoria. But the fact that she was sent to the Northern Territory to meet with the Northern Lord made Helena dizzy.
"Speak quickly! What did you talk about with the Northern Lord? What were you doing in the Northern Territory? Why did your grandfather send you there?"
Victoria chuckled as she watched Helena question incessantly. Helena, upset by this sight, raised her hand.
“Is this funny?”
Victoria forcefully swatted away the hand that was flying towards her cheek. Helena's body tilted and fell to the carriage floor.
Helena opened her eyes wide and glared at Victoria.
“Are you crazy?”
“You’re the crazy one, sister.”
"What?"
“Sister, I’m not Ariana.”
“What is that...?”
“Don’t think you can treat me like you treated Ariana.”
If this were her past life, Ariana would have been the Viscountess Alfreich by now, having a terrible time.
-“Because of you, our son is suffering and has become very thin. All you do is play and eat, so why are you so extravagant?”
-“What kind of party is this, you ask? If you don’t even know etiquette, going to a place like this will only bring shame to the Alfreich family.”
-“I had high expectations because you were a Princess, but if I had known this would happen, I would have just brought in a maid. Maids are good at their jobs. You're weak and sick all the time.”
The verbal abuse her mother-in-law unleashed wasn't as sharp as Rachel's. She been able to bear it, so she didn't cry, but the intensity intensified, as if they wanted to see her cry.
'This time, Viscount Alfreich isn't married yet. The cards they need to send must be discarded, yet still seem plausible. Without me, they probably can't find anyone suitable.'
Alfreich ran one of the largest arms dealers on the continent, one of the top five. He was highly sought after by the Western Lord, who had the weakest military power among the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Territories, and they would not abandon him.
"I should start moving now. If the Lord of the West takes a major hit from the perfume issue, he'll move quickly to make up for the loss, so I need to keep up with him."
Suddenly, Cyrus came to mind.
If Cyrus had been there at this time, they could have planned the future together without much explanation to him.
"The Northern Lord must have attended the Crown Prince's wedding. Did he meet Victoria there? If so, what would he be doing? Victoria must be growing more and more beautiful. She must be maturing faster than before, having been hurt."
Her mind was stuffed.
Ariana closed her eyes and breathed slowly, calming her turbulent emotions.
"He's not mine. From the beginning, we only intended to use each other. So there's no reason to feel hurt by his sudden change of attitude. As long as he doesn't interfere with my work, there's no problem between us."
Every time Cyrus came to mind, she repeated the same thought over and over again, like a mantra. Still, the suffocating feeling persisted, so she thought of her grandmother, grandfather, father, Isabelle, Averaster, her uncles, and aunts.
Then Ariana felt better enough to smile.
Ariana quickly got up and left the room before thoughts of Cyrus clouded her mind again.
When her father and brother were away, she had to attack her grandfather.
Because it's easier to deal with one person than with three.
***
Even though Ariana went there first without contacting him, her grandfather, Theodore, just smiled brightly.
“I was just about to buy a gift for our baby.”
“Again?”
“Again. When did I ever give you a gift?”
“You gave me the pink shoes just now.”
"Oh, right. It really suits you. I guess that's why I thought I should buy it."
Theodore said, holding up a pale pink bonnet. It was a bright and lovely hat, draped in pale pink silk and trimmed with white frills.
“It’s really pretty. Thank you, Grandpa.”
Theodore smiled happily as he looked at Ariana with her hat on her head.
"As expected, my baby. The prettiest in the world. This old man can't sleep at night for fear of flies swarming around you."
Lately, her father and grandfather have been talking a lot about "the damn flies." One day, Carradine, overcome with the two men's squeaks, clicked her tongue and said,
-“Because of you guys, Ariana can’t even get married.”
Ariana smiled slightly as she recalled that time.
“Where did Grandma go?”
"Yeah. I heard there was some trouble in the East, so she went to look into it."
“What’s going on?”
"I heard there are a lot of people coughing, as if the epidemic is spreading. It seems like they're vulnerable to illness because it's a poor area."
“Are there people there who use the perfume called Helon Flower... that, Eribel?”
"Eribel? Oh, that perfume that's so popular these days? Oh, by the way, I heard that one of the Counts gave out large gifts to the commoners to celebrate his daughter's wedding. Maybe that's the perfume."
"Yes."
So there was no risk of her grandmother contracting an infectious disease. It was a problem caused by perfume, not an infectious disease.
'I'll have to distribute the medicine for free to those in need, even if it means spending my own money. The wealthy might be okay, but ordinary citizens won't even have a chance to protest to Count Gabion. Oh, and moving the temple would be a good idea."
Ariana gathered her thoughts and spoke to Theodore.
"Grandpa, I actually came here because I have something important to tell you. Could you spare me a moment?"
“Well, well. How much time does this old man have?”
With both the Lord and the little Lord away, she knew how busy Theodore was. Still, her grandfather's unwavering demeanor touched her heart.
"Come here. Would you like some sweet chocolate cookies? I bought some for you and my baby."
“Yes, I like it.”
Ariana sat across from Theodore and munched on a chocolate cookie for a while. Her face twitched under Theodore's seemingly adorable gaze.
Ariana, who had finished eating a cookie the size of her face, moistened her throat with tea and spoke calmly.
“Grandfather, while I was in the North, I heard many stories from the Northern Lord. He says the Third Prince’s movements are suspicious.”
Her visit to the Northern Territory proved useful in situations like this, as she could express her thoughts as if they were those of the Northern Territory.
"The Third Prince... um. Was his name Harold? Yeah, I ran into him once in front of the courthouse. He seemed to be a dark man, despite his looks."
Theodore, once the lord of East, had a good grasp of the Third Prince.
"Yes, that's right. It seems that's true. The Northern Lord believes the Third Prince is aiming for the Crown Prince position. I agree."
Theodore's expression darkened.
It wasn't a good thing that someone was vying for the Crown Prince's position while he was still alive and well. It was a problem so serious that it would have repercussions not only for the empire but also for other nations.
If Isabelle or Averaster had said something like this, he would have thought it was nonsense and not listened to it any further.
But Ariana said something different.
At first, she was just a pitiful, pitiful granddaughter. A little wild animal so wounded that no one trusted her. He hoped that by showering her with love, Ariana would open her heart and realize that not everyone was like the Brontës.
But as they spent more time together, he began to sense that Ariana was more than just a hurt little girl.
Ariana seemed smart, more straightforward than she appeared, and had a lot on her mind.
Although less so in front of his family, his every action was calculated. That's how it appeared to the older lord, who had been through thick and thin.
"The Third Prince will have joined hands with the Western Lord. No, he has already joined hands with the Western Lord."
"Of the Eastern, Western, Southern, and Northern Territories, Western is the weakest in both military and financial power. Why would the Third Prince neglect the North and the South and join forces with the Western Lord?"
"Because it's the weakest country in terms of both military and financial power. The Third Prince is weak, but his greed is endless. That's why he still clings to Western lord, clinging to it and seeking more. Those who are weak but brimming with greed become desperate. The Third Prince has recognized that desperation."
As Ariana said, there was no reason for the other nations to join hands with the Third Prince. Each was content with their own country and wanted to maintain peace.
“But what would the Western Lord gain by helping him?”
“The Western Lord has many granddaughters of marriageable age.”
The answer was enough.
The Western Lord was not one to take the lead. To wield power in the forefront meant becoming a target for enemies.
The Western Lord was the kind of person who would have preferred to make one of his granddaughters the Empress and then wield power behind her.
“There is no strong military in the West, so how can they help the Third Prince?”
"They don't have a strong military, but they do have a large arms dealer. Viscount Ingo Alfreich. The Western Lord will take him in and provide him with unwavering support. There are many benefits to be gained from Alfreich's growing arms dealership: money and power."
Theodore stared blankly at his granddaughter, who was answering each question point by point. Were all these words really coming from the Northern Lord's mind?
He had a feeling that wasn't the case.
But Theodore didn't dig too deep.
“It seems you have a favor to ask of me.”
"Yes, Grandfather. Please recruit a weapons dealer named Robern Bethan, who hails from the outskirts of the Empire, and an engineering doctor named Hertio, who was expelled from the Imperial Academy. I want to recruit them as my companions."
Theodore was worried.
He wanted to ask why Ariana was so confident in recruiting Robern and Hertio. He wanted to know what she was thinking.
But he felt that if he continued like that, Ariana would hide her feelings that she had barely revealed and hide behind her thick walls.
Finding the two men wasn't difficult. Bringing in a small-time arms dealer and a displaced engineering doctor wouldn't jeopardize the East.
So, rather than upset his granddaughter, Theodore agreed. Ariana smiled as beautifully as a flower, and Theodore felt more than rewarded just by seeing her smile.
***
The Crown Prince's wedding celebration, held for over a week, concluded successfully. The event that most excited the nobles was the appearance of Northern Lord Cyrus Carha.
The fact that they could briefly see the face of the Northern Lord, who rarely attended parties, made the nobles excited.
The nobles returned to their lands, praising the beauty of the Northern Lord, whom they had only heard rumors about. However, the Bronte family's carriage ride back to the West was not so peaceful.
"Hey, answer me quickly! Why did Grandpa send you to the North? Why did you hide it from me?"
From the day she met Cyrus until now, Helena has constantly pestered Victoria. Victoria simply smiled gracefully and didn't respond.
Helena was seething.
She was already feeling uneasy because the Lord of the West seemed to be protecting Victoria. But the fact that she was sent to the Northern Territory to meet with the Northern Lord made Helena dizzy.
"Speak quickly! What did you talk about with the Northern Lord? What were you doing in the Northern Territory? Why did your grandfather send you there?"
Victoria chuckled as she watched Helena question incessantly. Helena, upset by this sight, raised her hand.
“Is this funny?”
Victoria forcefully swatted away the hand that was flying towards her cheek. Helena's body tilted and fell to the carriage floor.
Helena opened her eyes wide and glared at Victoria.
“Are you crazy?”
“You’re the crazy one, sister.”
"What?"
“Sister, I’m not Ariana.”
“What is that...?”
“Don’t think you can treat me like you treated Ariana.”
Previous Next
Is 124 missing? Thanks for the TL!
ReplyDelete