<Episode 564> Everything Is Going Wrong
It was true that Viscountess Panamere could see nothing at that moment. She threw herself forward desperately to push her way through the Marchioness de Ceppinelli.
"How can you leave those two alone on the island and return to the mainland?! Turn the boat around, right now!!"
Deborah, a low-ranking lady-in-waiting to Rubina, and an official from the Duchy of Manchike, each stepped forward to stand between Viscountess Panemere and the Marchioness Ceppinelli.
Sweating profusely, the two were trying to prevent the situation from escalating into a physical fight between the two noblewomen. If the Marchioness and the Viscountess were to grab each other by the hair and fight, the matter would escalate.
However, the situation was already significant enough. It was unlikely to get any worse. Everyone sensed this, except for the late Grand Duchess Rubina and the Marchioness Ceppinelli. Irene protested, pricking up her throat.
"What if the Princess gets hurt on that island! The seas are overflowing with pirates! If our Princess gets kidnapped, will you take responsibility?!"
The Marchioness de Ceppinelli shouted.
"Why would she get kidnapped while sitting peacefully on the island? Do you think pirates have that much free time?"
The former Grand Duchess and her faction had at least completed a basic investigation before committing this act.
Rubina, having learned from a visit a few days prior that the Marquis Guatieri was behind the Aceretto pirates, ordered him to clear the sea.
The Marquis Guatieri was now in the position of a dog on a leash. He returned home and vented all his frustration on his subordinates and the Marchioness, but regardless, he obeyed Rubina's command.
It was not that he hadn't considered kidnapping the Princess and the Grand Duke to get rid of Rubina, but he cleanly gave up on the idea, fearing that if the cornered Rubina were to shout, 'Guatieri is behind the pirates!', he would end up taking the blame for the kidnapping and dying.
Rubina, completely unaware of the calculations swirling in the Marquis's small head, had achieved what she wanted, and thanks to this, the sea route to and from Dolphin Island was now unprecedentedly pleasant.
"Our Princess is the sole heir to the Principality of Manchike! If anything happens to her, do not think that this can be overlooked!"
"I mean, why is something happening?!"
The area around the island, approximately 30 Miglios, had been completely cleared out, except for the fish.
Needless to say, the pirates were forbidden from landing on Dolphin Island. Although the Aceretto pirates were not a group that communicated particularly well, the Marquis Guatieri was their intermediary leader.
Even if things went awry along the way, measures to resolve the situation were fully prepared. Despite having arranged everything this way, Irene kept making a racket, and Rubina, hiding inside, grew weary and annoyed. It was not as if she could explain it all out.
Eventually, Rubina let out a groan from inside the cabin.
"My head feels like it's going to explode...!"
Everyone fell silent in an instant. Rubina, who had taken over the room, whined. It was an attempt to shift the atmosphere from something public to something private.
"I need to get to the mainland right now and see a doctor. Keep quiet over there."
It was an order given to Francesca, not Irene. The Marchioness Ceppinelli spoke to Viscountess Panamere in high spirits.
"Now, did you hear? The late Grand Duchess has suddenly collapsed, so we must hurry back to the mainland to see the royal doctor!"
While Cesare and Julia Helena had landed on the island, Rubina mobilized a large number of laborers to quickly construct lodgings on the beach and swiftly loaded everyone back onto the sailing ship.
What she had built was a tent equipped with a fireplace. It didn't take long; the part that took the longest to construct was the decoration.
Then, she sacrificed her knees. Standing in the most visible spot on the deck, she placed her hands on her head and threw herself onto the floor.
Unfortunately, Irene, who was clinging to the mast and trembling, did not witness the former Grand Duchess's passionate performance.
Rubina, who had been lying there for a moment, suddenly lifted her head, declared that her head was splitting and she needed to return to the Winter Palace immediately, and sent the ship sailing.
As soon as the order was given, the anchor was hoisted onto the deck, and everything proceeded in a flash.
Irene, a step too late, lunged at Rubina, who had erected a human curtain consisting of the Marchioness Ceppinelli, Deborah, and virtually the entire crew of the ship, and screamed at her.
"Just give them a ride!! How many minutes does it take to take two people that you're acting like this!!!"
The Marchioness de Ceppinelli shouted 1.5 times louder than Irene's voice
"Didn't you hear me tell you to be quiet?! Responsibility? Fine, you did a great job talking about responsibility! If something terrible happens to our late Grand Duchess's health because of you, will you take responsibility?!"
Viscountess Panamere changed the direction of her appeal. There was no need for everyone to turn back. Only one more person was needed to land on that island. What the Princess needed was an alibi proving her innocence.
"No, just give me one boat. I'll go to the island and bring those two back, so just give me one lifeboat!"
Seeing that Irene didn't seem likely to fall easily, Rubina grabbed her head with both hands and shouted.
"Oh my head!"
As she did so, she nudged Deborah with the tip of her foot. Deborah patted the Marchioness of Ceppinelli on the shoulder, and the Marchioness, understanding what that meant, directed loudly.
"Drag her out!!"
Rubina nudged Deborah once more. However, this time Deborah did not understand her mistress's intentions. Seeing Deborah look dazed, Rubina, annoyed, whispered directly to Francesca. The Marchioness Ceppinelli nodded vigorously.
"Drag her out! Keep a tight watch on her until we return to the harbor so she doesn't pull any stunts like jumping into the sea!"
***
"Princess! Let's hurry back to the dock!"
"Yes!"
Cesare supported the waddling Julia Helena as he retraced their steps as quickly as possible.
The girl in heels walked terribly slowly across the sand. He briefly considered carrying her on his back while running, but gave up, thinking only Rubina would like that.
When they finally arrived at the pier, having passed the heartlessly beautiful pale blue sea and dazzling white sand, a massive tent stood there, one that only a Pharaoh of the Moorish Empire would be able to enjoy on a regular basis.
It was easily three times the height of a man, and wide enough to be used as a sports field, with a slight exaggeration. Four braziers placed around the perimeter blazed fiercely, providing warmth.
Above all... In the very center lay a huge bed covered with a canopy.
"Ha!"
Cesare let out a sneering laugh without realizing it. He sneered loudly.
"Didn't you scatter any rose petals?"
He paused for a moment after speaking. It was because he felt he had spoken too harshly about his mother with Julia Helena, an outsider who knew nothing, right beside him.
However, the Princess approached the bed with a serious, frowning expression and looked around carefully.
"There are no petals, but... I have this."
What the Princess found was a towel folded into the shape of a swan. It was shaped like two swans with their beaks touching, and the space between their beaks and bodies was heart-shaped.
"Hahahahaha!"
Laughter escaped his senses. Good heavens, Mother. What does she take her son for?
But suddenly, a lightning-fast realization struck Cesare.
This bed and the ridiculous swan were not traps his mother had set to lure him in. Rubina was not the type of person to be this attentive to Cesare.
These were merely prey left behind to console Princess Julia Helena, who had already fallen into the trap.
Rubina intended to leave the two of them here overnight and make the marriage a fait accompli by claiming that since Julia Helena had lost her virginity, she had to marry Cesare.
"Princess! We must return to the mainland immediately!"
"Yes?"
Julia Helena glanced at Cesare. She didn't dislike the current situation that much.
"But there is a tent, and there is food."
On the table inside the tent, there was a spread of food sufficient for about ten people to eat, including various kinds of bread and cheese, cold meat, a mountain of fruit, and wine.
"The decorations are pretty, too."
Even amidst the chaos, Rubina had arranged fresh flowers throughout the tent. It was a truly incomprehensible priontization.
She had carefully selected the flowers. They were small, pretty wildflowers like begonias, cyclamen, saintfolia, and dendrobium. It was a floral arrangement that perfectly captured a girlish taste, ideal for creating the feeling of a country picnic. Julia Helena plucked a flower, rolled it between her fingertips, and asked back.
"Surely they wouldn't keep us here for long, right? If we wait an hour or two, we'll be back."
Cesare got a headache at the Princess's complacent perception of reality.
'Just how much do I have to explain to her?'
Whether she was naive or foolish, Cesare never imagined that this woman was so helplessly in love that she was covering her eyes like that.
Since he was the object of her unrequited love, he failed to fully grasp the intensity of it all the more.
"Princess..."
He wanted to ask where on earth she got the calculation of one or two hours, and why on earth she thought that ship had left them behind, but he couldn't bring himself to speak.
In the end, what he had to do was offer the following explanation.
'My mom intends to leave you and me here all night, and the moment you spend the night with me here, you will be treated as a woman who has lost her virginity, leaving you with no choice but to be forced into marriage while being pointed at.'
Cesare simply could not muster the courage to sit the other person down and say those words.
In fact, it might have been better to say nothing at all. He didn't have to watch the other person shout, 'That's great!'
While he hesitated for a moment, a strong sea breeze from southern Etruscany blew. The tent had its coverings unfurled on all four sides to prevent it from being blown over by the wind.
The tent flapped furiously in the strong gust, and the western cover was pulled inward, touching the edge of the brazier. Sparks flew against the thick linen used for the tent, the material coated with candle wax to block the wind.
Crack!
The small flames instantly consumed the western cover and began to spread to the entire tent. It was the inevitable price to pay for a hastily made blueprint.
Engulfed in massive flames, the western cover swayed and rippled with the wind.
From where Cesare stood, Julia Helena's small figure appeared and disappeared repeatedly as the burning cloth swirled in the wind.
Then, in an instant, Cesare's eyes snapped open.
"Princess! Get out of the way!"
A cloth coated with candle wax and filled with flames was covering the Princess.
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