<Episode 570> The Greatest Filial Piety a Child Can Perform
Rubina, who had returned to the Winter Palace and was overjoyed about her son's imminent marriage, was upset by the intrusion of the Marchioness de Ceppinelli.
"Your Highness the late Grand Duchess, ah, something terrible has happened!"
Rubina, who already felt guilty, answered irritably.
"Get straight to the point! What is the big deal that everyone is making such a fuss?"
"Lady Taranto... Bianca..."
"What about that girl?!"
"They have gathered people at the dock and are shouting at the top of their lungs. They are saying that the Grand Duke has gone missing."
Rubina snapped at her.
"What do you mean missing? He's perfectly fine on Dolphin Island! He had a great first night in the tent, and you're being such a busybody to a guy who's getting married tomorrow..."
"They say the tent burned completely to ashes, and the Grand Duke and the Princess are nowhere to be found on the island!"
"An old woman jealous of not being able to get married... what did she say?"
The former Grand Duchess sprang to her feet. However, she did not immediately sit back down on the sofa.
"It must be a lie. There's no way that's true."
She folded her fingers one by one and even gave a reason.
"One, since it is a seaside location, there is water right next to it, so there is no way a fire could break out; and two, no matter how many people there were, Bianca would not have had enough time to search the entire island and return, besides..."
The Marchioness de Ceppinelli stomped her feet in frustration at Rubina's mental victory.
"But if it weren't true, how would Lady Taranto clean up the mess?"
The Marchioness thought that if this was true, it was a really big problem. Rubina agreed with her on that point. So she became even more irritable and sharp-tongued.
"He's just a thoughtless kid by nature!"
It was exactly the same as Bianca's assessment of her son. However, this one was a highly emotional assessment. The Marchioness de Ceppinelli pleaded.
"Your Highness, Grand Duchess. I think you need to go to the dock. The situation is serious."
Seeing that Ceppinelli's expression was much more serious than usual, Rubina asked the single most important question.
“His Majesty?”
"His Majesty left the office early and returned to his quarters."
Upon hearing the news that Trevero's envoys were coming, he closed his door and stayed indoors, but such deep circumstances were not conveyed to Rubina's side.
"Fortunately, since no one was permitted to enter, it seems that Lady Taranto was also unable to have an audience with His Majesty."
“Then that’s it!”
If Rubina had known that Trevero's envoys were coming down, she would have lingered in her room a little longer. It was a great relief for her. Ceppinelli urged Rubina on once again.
"What if it is true that the Grand Duke has gone missing?"
Rubina's expression finally wavered slightly. However, it was closer to worry about the tool breaking than to attachment or concern for her son.
After all, her lifelong wish to claim the throne could not be realized unless Cesare were alive.
"Lady Taranto is currently going around the neighborhood spreading rumors that the disappearance of the Grand Duke and the Princess is the fault of the late Grand Duchess."
"What?!"
What lifted the late Grand Duchess's heavy buttocks was the insult directed at her. Rubina only stood up from her seat after hearing this.
"Th-this cheeky brat... I kept telling you how pretty you were just because you were young..."
When one has nothing to say, one has nothing to do but curse. Rubina repeatedly vented her sense of betrayal toward Bianca, using vulgar language. The Marchioness offered loyal advice to her mistress, who was wasting her time idly.
"Go back to the island immediately and find the Grand Duke and the Princess..."
If they weren't missing but had just holed up somewhere to spend some quality time together, then all of Bianca Taranto's claims would turn out to be nonsense. However, this was a proposal that Rubina would never adopt.
"Or at least you should pretend to minimize the criticism..."
Rubina was moved by those words. She was willing to do at least that much.
"You're right. Let's go to the harbor."
She stepped out of the red sandstone chambers of the Winter Palace, wrapped in a thick red fox fur cloak. Rubina's fiery hair was disheveled and fluttered in the biting winter wind.
It was time for the Red Queen, who had run her entire life, to arrive at the scene.
***
When Rubina arrived at the port, the docks were completely filled with people holding torches.
"What is all this commotion about?"
Before that group of people, the late Grand Duchess Rubina, dressed in bright red, appeared, accompanied by the Marchioness Cappinelli, Deborah, and about a dozen guards. Her party was quite dignified.
"Late Grand Duchess."
Bianca of Taranto stepped forward and briefly bowed her head. At that, Rubina felt a pang of resentment.
"You're so curt, aren't you?"
No, actually, she had been feeling resentful even before setting off. She resorted to the primary tactic of those who have nothing to say: nitpicking over the lack of protocol and manners.
"Lady Taranto, I am your paternal aunt and a direct member of the royal family! Show proper respect to the royals!"
Bianca's brown eyes gleamed. It was useless talk not worth listening to.
If Rubina was indeed the wife of Biagio de Como as she claimed, she was not a direct member of the royal family. If the uncle she referred to was Leo III, she had never married him.
Bianca of Taranto was not the type to like talking. She hated exchanging words with people who talked nonsense even more. So she got straight to the point.
"Grand Duke Cesare has gone missing in 'Il Liberta Mondo' right now; is that important?"
Rubina snorted.
"Stop lying!"
She had rushed over to avoid being criticized, but she still did not believe that Cesare and Julia Helena had gone missing.
"The kids should be living happily on the island. What? Missing? I'll send a boat soon to bring them back."
She still needed to stall a little longer. Although it was already close to midnight, Rubina wanted to make sure everything was clear and wait until the morning sun rose before bringing the two of them back. In short, she was out of her mind.
"I have come to prepare the boat, so stop making a fuss and go back to your mansion."
At those words, Bianca gestured. Her subordinate came running, clutching something. It was a pitch-black mass. A soldier of the Taranto family threw the object to the ground.
Slurp!
As the puddle fell, a pungent smell spread all around. It was the smell of ash.
Rubina's brow twitched. She took a step forward. It was to bend down to touch it.
After shaking off the tin part, the remaining part was revealed. Rubina muttered heavily.
"That makes no sense..."
It was clearly the remains of the tarpaulin she had personally picked out last night. Bianca said coldly.
"The tent was completely burned down. We searched the Grand Duke and the Princess the entire island, but they are nowhere to be found."
Bianca's subordinate threw another lump onto the floor. This time, it was something furry.
Thud.
“Oh my!”
Rubina took three or four steps back after recognizing what it was. It was the carcass of a wild dog, something unbearable for her as a dog lover.
"Who would do such a terrible thing!"
Bianca raised her voice.
"It is the pack of wild dogs living on the island where you released your own son and the precious heir of a foreign country!"
That woman had absolutely no idea what was important or what the priorities were.
"We scoured the entire island, but the Grand Duke and the Princess could not be found!"
Bianca, having decided to escalate the situation, did not care whether she had found it after she left. It was just as she learned in *The Prince*. A just cause does not necessarily have to coincide with the substantive truth.
"Let's set the matter with the Grand Duke since he is your son. But if Princess Manchike goes missing or is found dead, how on earth will you bear the diplomatic responsibility?"
"I... I..."
That was not part of Rubina's calculations at all. Like a blindfolded racehorse, she simply jumped in to achieve the desired result.
"That can't be happening..."
If Cesare and Julia Helena spend the night alone together, Cesare will become the son-in-law of the Principality of Manchike.
Since it is common for a Queen's husband to rule as a proxy, it means he was on the verge of becoming a formidable force with his own kingdom, even aiming for the position of the Etruscan Kingdom next in line.
“Say it!”
A group of people holding torches surrounded Rubina and Bianca. Rubina, luxuriously dressed and full of air, arrived accompanied by a considerable number of guards, but the crowd gathered at the dock was too large.
At first, most of the people holding torches were private soldiers of the Duke of Taranto's household. However, now dock sailors appeared as onlookers and were whispering from all directions.
"What did the former guerrilla just do?"
"She left her son and his future wife on the island."
"Why would you do such a thing?"
"I heard it happened because the bride's father didn't give permission!"
“At the awards ceremony.”
"Even a distinguished person is doing vulgar things."
"There is no escaping greed."
As far as Taranto, the southernmost country facing the sea, was not well known, not only of Rubina's original origins but also the fact that she was actually a concubine rather than the King's sister-in-law.
However, if this news reaches the socialites in San Carlo—no, in Taranto—the gossip Rubina will have to endure will not end at this level.
"How many people have you seen who came out unscathed after getting greedy! Now, on the island, both his son and the Princess are nowhere to be found..."
"Oh my goodness. There are so many pirates around here..."
Amidst the murmuring of the crowd, Rubina screamed spasmodically upon hearing the story of pirates.
“No, no!”
As she lost her composure, the Marchioness Ceppinelli lifted Rubina into her arms. The former Grand Duchess clung to the Marchioness and struggled desperately.
"There is no way pirates would touch my son! I made sure the sea was clean before sending him!"
As the high-ranking official lost her dignity and shouted angrily, the onlookers hid behind the soldier holding the torch, not wanting to be struck by lightning. However, their eyes, shining with curiosity, remained unchanged.
Bianca shouted sternly.
"I will inform His Majesty the King of this incident as soon as tomorrow morning breaks!"
Rubina widened her eyes and shook her head.
"That's not possible."
It was an absurd wish that even a dolphin couldn't grant. This was bound to eventually be revealed to the King.
"Your Highness, former Grand Duchess, please give some thought to what you will have to give to the Manchike Marquisate if something happens to the tribute girl!"
When Queen Marguerite died, Gallico wanted Rubina's head. To be precise, they said they would capture Rubina alive and put her on trial in Gallico.
Rubina's expression contorted. There was no way a weak nation like Manchike would dare do such a thing.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
What she meant was that even though her son was dead, the Marquisate could not touch her.
The son, wanting to believe that his mother loved him, took it as he pleased, shouting that there was no way the son could be wrong.
"...Yeah, nonsense."
A small, creaking boat quietly pulled into the dock. The sail on the single mast was tattered, and the bow and deck were so rickety that they looked as if they would sink into the water at any moment.
Plop!
Since the boat was inherently small, the sound of the anchor being thrown into the water spread out like a toy. However, the resonance was not small.
“Cesare?”
Still, being a mother, Rubina was the first to recognize her son's voice.
Bianca, not yet fully grasping the situation, frowned and looked around.
In the meantime, Rubina was already running toward the dock where the sound had come from.
"My son! Cesare!"
On the wobbly boat with its stern pushed against the dock was Cesare, wearing only trousers and flushed crimson by the sun.
The Princess, wrapped tightly in a fur cloak and various cloths, was also there, blinking only her eyes. With even the darkness joining in, the condition of the Princess's fingers was completely invisible from the outside.
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