<Episode 557> The Big Rat That Heard the Night Talk
Marquis Guatieri's face turned pale, as if he had seen a ghost. No, it was worse than a ghost.
A ghost could not physically harm him. However, if Rubina were to report what she had seen today to the King, Guatieri would be dead on the spot.
'How much did that woman hear?!'
However, the Marquis was indeed qualified to be the leader of the East. Instead of worrying about how Rubina got in or looking for a subordinate to blame, he began by taking care of the situation first.
"You, get out."
Upon hearing the Marquis's order, Baron Giordini immediately headed toward the exit. However, to do so, he had to pass by Rubina.
The Marquis prayed to the heavens. Please, let the former Grand Duchess Rubina never know Baron Giordini's face. And Baron Giordini shared the same wish.
No, if anything, it was even stronger, certainly not less. He bowed his head low and attempted to pass the former Grand Duchess at the speed of a cockroach. It was to this Baron that Rubina spoke.
"Haven't we definitely met somewhere before?"
Baron Giordini shook his head incredibly fast, even as he walked away. He didn't answer, either, afraid his voice would be heard. However, cruelly enough, Rubina scanned the side of his face and grinned.
"I know your wife."
Cold sweat ran down the Baron's spine. Please, let them be wrong, please.
"I've seen you going around with my chief lady-in-waiting."
No, no...
"Give my regards to Aneta, Baron Giordini."
Baron Giordini let out a sigh involuntarily upon hearing his wife's name from Rubina's lips.
"Ah..."
Baron Giordini thought that the day he would meet the Heavenly God might come sooner than the day he would meet his wife, who had left for the estate a few days ago.
How quickly would the news of his execution for treason reach the estate? Would his wife be able to escape safely with the children?
Rubina turned a blind eye to Baron Giordini, who was grinning and instantly sucking up all the world's worries and anxieties into his mind.
Now, her prey was the Marquis Guatieri, left all alone.
"Guatieri."
"Your Highness, former Grand Duchess Rubina."
The Marquis bowed respectfully.
"What brings you to such a humble place at this late hour?"
Rubina smiled broadly
"It seems the Heavenly God has guided me."
If it hadn't been for divine intervention, how could they have pinpointed such a massive success?
Cold sweat ran down the Marquis Guatieri's spine. The divine message was ominous. At the last minute, the Marquis Guatieri and Baron Giordini had spoken of the Apostle of Aseretto, and he was a man excommunicated as a heretic by the Holy See.
Rubina had certainly heard up to a certain point.
"Guatieri. What are you plotting?"
The Marquis flatly denied it, holding onto a glimmer of hope.
"What do you mean? I was discussing next year's harvest with Baron Giordini."
"I definitely heard it."
Rubina spoke clearly, one letter at a time.
"Apostle of A-Se-Re-Tto."
Guatieri closed his eyes. Rubina became increasingly anxious after Isabella regained Leo III's favor. She disliked the swarm of high society ladies, but she could endure it. She knew better than anyone how fleeting and sudden public opinion could be.
However, something felt off. Leo III took care of trivial matters for Isabella, such as the order of dressmakers outside the palace, and even turned a blind eye to a Moorish slave roaming the palace grounds with a crescent sword.
Furthermore, Leo III had made advances toward Princess Julia Helena for Isabella's sake. From that moment on, Rubina began to slowly suspect where Leo III's priorities lay.
'The Principality of Manchike is about to roll in like a vine, yet you sidelined that daughter to take care of your mistress's dress?'
Of course, Leo III was a man of unpredictable temperament who did not mind putting state affairs on hold for the sake of personal matters.
A prime example was when Rubina herself went out to greet Queen Marguerite upon her arrival. As the saying goes, 'a mistress cannot stand the sight of another mistress,' Rubina felt her insides twist as the glory she had once enjoyed was passed on to the newcomer, Isabella.
However, what ultimately compelled Rubina to take action was Isabella's attitude.
'Accepts it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.'
The Isabella of today was different from the days when she was Cardinal de Mare's precious daughter and the flower of high society, and even different from when she was a lady-in-waiting under her.
'...I'm bored.'
Isabella was a woman driven by desire. She wanted everything. Rubina knew this because she was of the same ilk.
Isabella staked her life on every little thing, from the slightest attention and glances at a ball to the center of attention at a tea party. She acted as if her life would be over if she missed even a single one.
This was the reason Isabella had failed to fully blossom, despite possessing numerous strengths and social resources. However, lately, at least in Rubina's eyes, her energy appeared much more organized than before.
This was a bad omen. For instance, like the beginning of a long-term government.
'Something is needed to turn things around.'
After the death of Count Contarini, Rubina had no trustworthy advisor. Then, she remembered the Marquis Guatieri, who had recently approached her.
'He came looking for me because he wants something from me, too. I need to find out what that is and establish a closer cooperative relationship.'
Late at night was preferable to broad daylight for a heart-to-heart conversation. A glass of wine would likely make it easier for both parties to reveal their innermost thoughts.
No socialite of Rubina's stature would turn her away simply because she lacked an invitation. Thus, one late night, she made a sudden visit to the Marquis de Guatieri's villa.
The Marchionesses de Guatieri were startled to welcome Rubina, but she could not obey the former Grand Duchess's order to summon her husband immediately. Her husband was holed up in a secret study, citing important business and forbidding her from even approaching.
The Marchioness bit her lip.
'Of all days, today...!'
Since the former Grand Duchess had come all the way to the house, she had no excuse.
Even if she said her husband was already in bed, she would have to wake him up. If she were to say he had gone out, she would need to provide an alibi.
The Marchioness lacked the skill to come up with a believable lie up to this point. Although she did not know much about her husband's business, she knew that making a mistake while trying to cover it up was a serious matter.
In the end, acting like a lady of the house, she tried to keep the former Grand Duchess company by attending to various matters. Her intention was to buy time.
However, Rubina was a player, too.
'She has a long tongue.'
She realized at a glance that the Marquis de Guatieri family was somewhat suspicious just by looking at the Marchioness's response.
"I'll be right back. I'm just going to the restroom."
"The maid...!"
"It's fine. It's not my first time at the Marquis's villa, and I'm not some old geezer in the back room who needs help with that."
In any case, even if a maid were assigned to her, she could not restrain Rubina. It would not be easy even if the Marchioness Guatieri herself accompanied her. So, Rubina took a look around Guatien's first villa under the pretext of a great call from nature.
Just then, she saw a group of burly men pouring out of the courtyard. They were clearly retainers of a noble family.
A smile formed on Rubina's lips.
'I found you, Marquis.'
There was no way that retainers of that caliber would gather at their lord's villa to play poker among themselves and then return home.
Well, that might be possible, but if so, they would have been heavily intoxicated and returned past midnight; they certainly wouldn't have swarmed out sober in the early evening.
The Marquis Guatieri was over there, and he must have been busy with something over there, which is why he couldn't rush out to see her immediately.
It started with good intentions. A high-ranking official personally visits a subordinate's office to look for them. How could this not be an act of kindness?
However, when Rubina saw the door at the end of the corridor through which the burly men had emerged, she immediately sensed that she had caught a huge fish. It was not an ordinary door, but the entrance to a secret passage disguised as part of the wall.
She pushed open the door, which was covered with cut sandstone. It was incredibly heavy, but it was unlocked since the men had just come out.
A short corridor followed behind it. At the end of the corridor stood a proper oak door. Sounds leaked from inside, penetrating through it.
"...Apostle... Aseretto..."
Rubina's eyes widened as she quickly moved closer. The secret room had poor soundproofing facing the hallway, so the conversation could be heard clearly.
"The Apostle of Aseretto is not in a position to dare to strongly protest to the Marquis."
Upon hearing that much, Rubina threw open the door in ecstasy.
Done Guatieri, you are now in my hands.
"Your Highness, former Grand Duchess, whatever you have heard, it is all a misunderstanding."
The fighting spirit of 'it ain't over till it's over' was good, but she wasn't an opponent that would work.
Rubina said with a smirk.
"I thought the Marquis of Guatieri was quite extravagant, even considering how wealthy they are. The gift you brought me last time wasn't exactly an amount to be handed over so casually, was it?"
At the mention of gifts, cold sweat ran down Guatieri's back once again. In the hands of the late Grand Duchess Rubina was the peacock feather fan he had presented as a tribute that day.
"I have heard that Aseretto's bandits are ravaging the entire country."
She continued speaking while tapping the fan against her hand.
"So you were the mastermind behind it."
"What do you mean, the mastermind!"
Guatieri vehemently waved his hands and denied it.
"We were talking about how, now that we have defeated the Aseretto bandits within the territory, the Apostle of Aseretto who commands them might protest to us."
"Do you think people are fools?"
Rubina, the former Grand Duchess, raised her voice.
"The Aseretto bandits are connected to you. The money they earn is going into your pockets. And on top of that, you are even making deals with a heretic excommunicated by the Holy See..."
She narrowed her eyes and glared at Guatieri.
"If we can't understand each other like this, dear Marquis Guatieri."
For a brief moment, Guatieri weighed whether he could clean up the mess if he stabbed Rubina now and buried her on the back mountain.
"His Majesty the King and Cardinal San Carlo... saying that the Heavenly God sent me, a humble servant, here to capture a filthy heretic... well, the position is vacant. Anyway, I have no choice but to go see the high-ranking officials."
If Guatieri had known that the only person in the royal palace who knew Rubina's destination was the coachman she had brought with her, he would have stabbed Rubina immediately.
Fortunately for the former Grand Duchess, the Marquis was unaware of this fact.
Thinking that he should at least listen to her demands, the Marquis opened his mouth with trembling lips.
"W-what do you want?"
"For now."
Rubina revealed her true nature
"I wish my grandson would become a royal descendant of the Etruscan kingdom."
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