<Episode 572> Karma of the Past
“Hmm, is that right?”
In fact, it was none of the envoys' business what was happening at Taranto's Winter Palace. What mattered to them was reinforcements, and to obtain them, they had to meet the King.
"I would like to meet His Majesty Leo III as soon as possible. If it is not too much trouble, we are fine right now."
Prince Alfonso granted an audience to the envoys from Trevero as soon as they arrived. The envoys were under the delusion that since it was the same country, everything here would run swiftly and according to priority, just like there.
Sir Delpiano answered with a kind smile on his face.
"...His Majesty has already gone to his bedchamber today."
Trevero's adjutant, who was displeased with the answer, raised his voice.
"This is a serious matter."
However, Lord Delpiano's poker face did not crumble. With a smile like a rubber mask, he kindly but firmly refused the envoy's request, as if he were a retaining wall.
"If you give me a heads-up about the matter, I will deliver it to His Majesty at the time he wakes up."
This was all a carefully calculated remark. He had to make up an excuse that Leo III was asleep and that no one could touch the King at that time to stall for as much time as possible until tomorrow morning.
The envoy screamed at the request to tell him the content.
"Trevero is in danger of being attacked! Philip IV of Gallico is gathering an army!"
Thanks to Prince Alfonso's detailed report, even Leo III knew the whole story.
“Oh, really?”
"Yes?"
Trevero's official thought that Sir Delpiano would be surprised by the news that King Gallico was preparing for war.
However, Lord Delpiano replied nonchalantly, as if he had heard that the menu for dinner tonight was chickpeas and roasted pork tenderloin.
"I will make sure to convey this to His Majesty."
It was a meaningless echo.
***
Although the quick audience late at night had failed, Trevero's envoys were still full of hope. After being escorted to their lodgings, unpacking their bags, and washing up roughly, the chief envoy spoke to the deputy envoy.
"Don't worry, tomorrow is Sunday and the Grand Mass is held, so you will be able to meet His Majesty the King of the Etruscan Kingdom at the shrine, even if only for a brief moment."
However, that was said because he did not know how formidable a rival Leo III was.
The next morning, Trevero's envoys, having arrived early at the shrine in Taranto, inquired about the whereabouts of the King when he did not appear even as time was running out. They received the following answer.
"What? You mean His Majesty the King will not be attending the Grand Mass?"
"Yes. Because he wasn't feeling well..."
The fact that the monarch of Yesak does not attend the Great Mass is a matter for the Holy See to handle by summoning an envoy from that country, and separately from that, the King's health is a national secret.
At Sir Delpiano’s words, which refreshingly trampled upon both of those things at the same time, Trevero’s chief minister merely blinked. While the chief minister was flustered, the deputy quickly asked.
"Are His Majesty feeling very unwell?"
"No, it's not that bad..."
Lord Delpiano trailed off. He had no choice but to.
If he says the old King is seriously ill, it amounts to exposing to the outside world the weakness that the country might soon face a major tragedy; but if he says he is not very ill, there will be no excuse to avoid meeting Trevero's envoys!
"In that case, could you possibly arrange an audience this afternoon?"
Sure enough, the deputy quickly thrust their business at him. Lord Delpiano turned bright red and gave the agreed-upon excuse.
“It’s Sunday, right?”
"Yes?"
"Sunday is a day to step away from all work. Did not the Heavenly God command it so?"
The faces of Trevero's envoys also turned red, just like Lord Delpiano. It was because they were dumbfounded.
"No, sir aide!"
"There are always exceptions to every rule, aren't there...!"
"Our devout His Majesty the King of the Etruscan Kingdom does not conduct business on Sundays. That is all."
Lord Delpiano hurried past Trevero's envoys and went to his place at the shrine.
'Ha, damn it. This kind of embarrassing work is always mine.'
The Etruscan Kingdom ought to have provided at least iron masks using the national budget. It was necessary for state affairs.
However, considering the precarious state of the national treasury, it seemed unlikely to be easy.
'I wonder if the fines for the sheep limit will be collected properly...'
Enormous backlash was expected. Only Leo III and the Countess of Contarini, the original proposer, were put forward. Lord Delpiano sighed. It was a relief that his profession was not that of a tax collector.
***
Leo III was not the only one who did not attend the Great Mass. Princess Julia Helena, who had suffered a misfortune, and Manchike and her party were all absent.
- "Did you hear? The Princess's finger!"
- "Of course I heard. Viscountess Vanedetto visited our house last night and told me that opening the door at such a late hour was not a waste..."
- "Tell me in more detail."
- "Well, suddenly a ship came into the harbor and..."
- "What? You're saying the Princess admitted to sleeping with the Grand Duke?!"
Grand Duke Cesare, the subject of the scandal and himself in poor health, could not attend, and the former Grand Duchess Rubina, who could be considered the party responsible for the incident, did not appear at the grand mass.
- "Then what happens to the former Grand Duchess Rubina now?"
- "They say His Majesty is staying indoors, and no one knows!"
- "I wonder if they know?"
- "How could he not know! With all this chaos!"
Only the connoisseurs from San Carlo, excited by the rumors, packed the shrine. The San Jeronimo shrine in Taranto was narrower than the San Hercole great shrine in San Carlo, so the words of the person in front could be heard vividly, as if they were coming from the person next to you.
- "Should we just leave the former princess at Manchike?"
- "But the Princess has nowhere else to go right now. Things have come to this point; are you going to go back without getting married?"
- "That... isn't easy."
- "You can't do that unless you want to live alone in a room, being pointed at for the rest of your life!"
- "If you're marrying her off, you become a mother-in-law, so it would be difficult to demand punishment."
- "But we can't just let it slide. After doing that to your daughter's hand, and then the process..."
From the perspective of the Principality of Manchike, it was no different than the Etruscan Kingdom using Prince Alfonso to seduce her, kidnapping her, and then marrying her off to Grand Duke Cesare.
- "It's a fraudulent marriage."
Even the conclusion of San Carlo's social circles was this.
Even Bianca stayed holed up to sort out her thoughts and did not attend the Great Mass. So, in the mountain where tigers, bears, snakes, and the like were all absent, the fox was king.
- "It is Countess Contarini!"
A gasp escaped someone's lips. It was a purple-eyed beauty with radiant blonde hair styled in an updo, wearing a hairnet adorned with strands of pearls.
Isabella appeared wearing large, gold Baroque pearl earrings, a cream-colored dress with a subtle sheen that was too revealing to wear on a Sunday.
From her attire and beauty, it was not difficult for anyone to deduce that she was the King's mistress. It was the same for the envoys from Trevero.
"Sir, it seems that woman is the mistress of Leo III, who has recently risen to power."
"According to the reports, the fastest route to approach the King might be through her..."
As high priests of the Holy See, they would normally never have tried to strike up a conversation with such a wicked figure as someone else's mistress, but these two were in a hurry. They were not in a position to be picky.
However, as the position of Cardinal San Carlo had been vacant for a long time, the reports Trevero was currently receiving were different from usual.
Bishop Chiriani, Rafael de Baldesar, was currently compiling reports from priests across the country, removing what was unnecessary and adding what was needed before sending them out.
Naturally, there was not a single positive opinion regarding Countess Isabella Contarini. The mention that she was not a trustworthy counterpart was included without fail.
"If there is no way..."
However, the worries of the Trevero envoys, who were debating whether or not to approach the King through a low-quality channel like the King's mistress, were in vain.
The King's mistress, Isabella, with a disgusted look on her face, very quickly brushed past the envoys and disappeared into the balcony stone on the right side of the shrine.
The two envoys were taken aback, as they had naturally expected the King's government to stop and entertain them with a brief conversation as foreign guests.
“What is this…?”
The Prince's palace in San Carlo and the King's court that had come down to Taranto were like two different worlds.
***
Isabella was not in a good mood. It wasn't just that she wasn't in a good mood; she was on the verge of exploding with anxiety, nervousness, and irritation.
"Did Grand Duke Cesare really send an engagement letter to the Princess?"
"To be precise, they say it was the Grand Duke's family, not the Grand Duke himself, who sent it."
“That’s it!”
Isabella couldn't stand it and snapped in annoyance.
'Cesare de Carlo, back when it was me, you washed your hands of it and pretended you didn't know anything... but to send an engagement letter to the Princess the very next day?'
She felt ashamed. It seemed as though the whole world was ruminating on its own failures. She wanted to sweep up the whispering crowds sitting on the floors on the day of the grand event with a broom and drown them in the sea off Taranto.
The thing is, their real concern right now is what kind of punishment Rubina will receive.
"Master, from what I have found out, that engagement letter wasn't sent by Grand Duke Cesare."
Barbara spoke again to comfort Isabella, who seemed not to understand. This time, Isabella was also tempted.
"...Yes?"
"Yes, they say it was sent in the name of Rubina, the former Grand Duchess."
Barbara even took out significant confidential information from her pocket to encourage Isabella in order to create a pleasant working environment. This lifted Isabella's spirits a little.
"Right, there is no way that guy would willingly take responsibility for something he didn't even do."
"What? You're saying he didn't do it?"
Barbara asked back. Everyone insisted that the two should be married on the premise that they had done so, and hadn't Princess Julia Helena actually admitted it?
“He didn’t!”
Isabella snapped fiercely. Barbara, who had absolutely no intention of getting scolded for Cesare's sake regardless of whether he had done it or not, kept her mouth shut.
"There's no way the two of them did it!"
Isabella knew Cesare quite well. Aside from Ariadne and Rubina, Isabella might have been the woman who knew him best.
This is because, although the time they spent together was short, their souls were twisted in similar directions.
"That guy is so stubborn that once he makes up his mind, he doesn't change it. You saw the look in the Grand Duke's eyes when he looked at the Princess, too. He's not within defensive range."
Isabella re-examined her thoughts to comfort herself. Even if they were trapped alone on some fantastic island, that man would never touch a woman he didn't like.
Especially in a situation where the moment he touches that woman, he will be separated forever from the woman he has longed for day and night.
"You idiot, there's no way he'll become yours just because you do that."
Isabella gave a twisted smile. She was curious about Grand Duke Pisano's current situation. Very curious.
"Barbara, any more news?"
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