<Episode 575> Isabella's Husband
"What are you doing here, Count Contarini?"
It was a sharp voice that addressed him as if he were a stranger. Judging by the tone alone, it should have been the voice of Isabella's two new friends, but in fact, it was Isabella's own question.
Ottavio, dressed in shabby clothes, answered with a deliberately sly grin, as if he had expected the cold treatment.
"Look at this, Isabella, can't I even come to see my wife?"
Madame de Montefeltro and Countess Baljo exchanged glances.
They were dying of curiosity about what would happen between the two of them, whether they still had lingering feelings, and what would happen in the future, but they were veterans.
They couldn't risk getting hit by a stray bullet by sticking their head in there just to satisfy their curiosity.
If you get wrongly entangled in a love quarrel involving the King, a peaceful natural death becomes difficult.
The two ladies wanted to lie in bed and die with their bodies intact. Immediately after exchanging glances, they walked away in an instant without even saying goodbye.
Ottavio, looking even older in the meantime, pestered Isabella once again.
"You actually seem to have gotten younger."
The correct response from a sociable person is to compliment their appearance.
However, putting aside her ill feelings toward Ottavio, Isabella could not bring herself to offer such praise when she saw his appearance—stained red by the sun and with deep, crow-foot-like wrinkles around his eyes.
"You've been hit squarely by the passage of time. Get out of the way, Ottavio."
As Isabella tried to push her way through him, Ottavio slithered sideways like a crab to block her path.
"Let's talk for a moment, Giovanna's mom."
"Don't even mention that name in front of me."
A blue light flashed in Isabella's eyes.
"Oh my, what's wrong, Isabella..."
Otavio threw meaningless flirtations while trying his best to remember the feeling of spending romantic time with the imprisoned Isabella in the convent.
"We once loved each other, and the fact that Giovanna is between us cannot be changed. Even if we are no longer in a romantic relationship now that we have a child, the role of parents is unavoidable..."
"It feels like just yesterday to me that you were saying we should kill and get rid of that biological child's mother."
If Isabella had a kill list she could use at will, Ottavio would definitely be in the top 5.
Seeing his face, the humiliation on the floorboards of the Bartlini estate, which she had forgotten, came back to her. Everything, even what she had to do to escape that crisis.
It was because that ungrateful, incompetent piece of trash, Ottavio, had failed to protect her. Isabella gritted her teeth and snapped.
"Is it okay to kill someone to cut ties, but not okay to cut ties while they are alive?"
However, Ottavio came here today with the mission of collecting money from a woman who dislikes him this much.
"Ah! How long are you going to keep harping on about the past!"
Ottavio, having run out of things to say, snapped in annoyance.
'If you do so.'
Isabella looked at Ottavio with eyes that seemed to regard a flapping insect. An insect with so many legs—this was closer to revulsion than anger.
Ottavio finally got to the point.
"Count Bartolini keeps demanding that I pay back 4,000 ducats!"
Clemente borrowed 4,000 ducats from Rubina to cover the money Ottavio had to return to his former fiancée's family, the Castiglione family.
At the time, Clemente was the mistress of the Bartolini family, so this was paid by the Count Bartolini's household.
However, Count Bartolini set a condition that, in exchange for saving Clemente and returning her to her family, he would receive this money back from the Count Contarini family.
Ottavio sold everything he owned to cover the cost, but it was not enough. For starters, the capital mansion was taken from him without him even being able to dip his finger in it.
Instead of the 12,000 ducats debt incurred to refund Camellia's dowry, the Abbey of A Berluce completely took over the Contarini mansion in the monastery.
He was forcibly evicted from the capital mansion where he had grown up. As he went down to the western estate with a heavy heart, Ottavio sold the family heirlooms, his mother's mementos, and even the cat in the front yard in addition to the 1,200 ducats he had with him, but he was still short 1,700 ducats.
Moreover, living expenses continued to accumulate. The Contarini estate was located in the barren West. The yield from there was barely enough to cover the family's living expenses and interest, let alone the principal of 1,700 ducats.
In the midst of all this, why on earth is the King of the capital raising taxes like this? Ottavio was going to lose his mind at the thought of even having the sheep he was raising taken away.
"I don't even have money to buy corn porridge for your child!"
"Won't she drink the nanny's milk?"
"Do you know how many months old Giovanna is right now?!"
Isabella frowned. She knew how many months it was. Actually, she didn't know exactly how many months it was; since she remembered the birthday, she just needed to count on her fingers.
But is it her business what a baby of a few months eats?
"Honey, please, for the sake of our past friendship. Ask the late Grand Duchess Rubinar to forgive that 4,000 ducats debt, please? It would be even better if you could give it to me in cash."
She shook her head at Ottavio's stupidity. Rubina is the kind of person who would demand double the amount, including the interest the Remuins receive, if Isabella made such a request.
"Look at this, honey. I'm saying this out of consideration for our old friendship."
Isabella mimicked Ottavio in a sarcastic tone.
"Get out of here right now."
This was indeed true. Leo III's demeanor seemed ominous. He still had not spent his first night with Isabella.
If Isabella could postpone that moment as she pleased, she wanted to postpone it until the King had grown old and died.
However, even she was now sensing that the time was slowly approaching. This was because the King's wrath had grown increasingly fierce to the point of becoming unbearable.
She gave Ottavio some advice with a hint of sincerity.
"If His Majesty the King sees you, I don't know what he might do to you."
However, Ottavio raised his voice.
"Whether I go back like this and starve to death or have my head severed by His Majesty's executioner, it makes no difference to me!"
In fact, it was closer to the truth that he would die being chased by loan sharks hired by the Bartolini family rather than starving to death, but he did not want to show his ex-wife how low he had fallen.
He decided to think about later why starving to death is okay.
"If you can't stop that, we'll all die."
It started to get noisy behind them. Barbara, who had been watching the scene from behind, finally approached and whispered to Isabella.
"Master, I think you must go."
People who had finished the Mass were starting to come out. At this rate, she would be stuck surrounded by the crowd and become a spectacle. It would be very troublesome if she couldn't get out.
Ottavio tried to hold onto Isabella and say something more, but this time Agosto stepped forward and roughly pushed him away.
Ottavio staggered back four or five paces like a straw. He immediately glared.
"You slave bastard!"
Agosto did not answer the ridiculous provocation.
- Srng!
Instead, he drew the crescent-shaped sword he carried everywhere halfway out of its scabbard. As Ottavio recoiled in shock, Isabella shouted.
"Stop!"
The noise of the people who had finished Mass, approaching from behind, grew louder.
She did not want to put on display to the general public of Taranto the sight of her burly Moorish subordinate slaughtering her ex-husband. Isabella gestured to Agosto and Barbara.
"It is a waste of a blade to use on that man."
"Honey!"
Ottavio, unable to let Isabella slip away like this, called out to her loudly. Isabella ignored him—her current husband, but in reality, her ex-husband—and quickened her pace.
Then Ottavio wailed loudly.
"Oh my! My wife borrowed money and hasn't paid it back!"
People coming out of the shrine began to murmur.
- "What is that?"
- "I don't know, he's just a farmer who looks like he's been covered in filth."
Ottavio's jaw trembled. High society is so cold. To think they have already forgotten me.
But if they don't know, I just have to make them know. He raised his voice and shouted.
"I am the husband of Countess Contarini, and because my wife hasn't paid back the money she took from home, my child is starving at home!"
The murmuring of the crowd grew even louder. The wave spread to the back rows. Isabella, who was leaving, gritted her teeth, turned around, and glared at Ottavio.
Ottavio screamed at his ex-wife as she walked away.
"See? Isabella! It ends here this time, but you never know what I might do next time!"
Barbara urged Isabella.
"Master, you must get out of here first. It will be a big problem if you get surrounded."
The ex-husband's voice echoed behind the footsteps leaving at the maid's urging.
"I'll be there soon! I hope you have a satisfactory answer ready by then, honey!"
***
The people of Taranto never had a dull moment due to the explosion of gossip. The same was true for Ariadne's friends, Julia of the Marquis de Baldessar and Cornelia of the Count de Rinaldi.
"Did you hear about Ottavio?!"
"I was at the Great Mass that day."
“Did you see it?!”
They were not close to Ottavio of the Contarini family, but in any case, they had grown up watching each other closely since childhood.
They were also the kind of people who would be most curious about each other's news without any guilt. They knew Ottavio inside and out. Not only the backstory of Camellia's broken engagement, but also the bad, pathetic, and stupid things he had done since childhood.
"If they had been a complete stranger, I would have at least felt pity," Julia lamented.
"I missed out on that fun spectacle! My brother told us not to go out and just stay home, so the whole family was playing it safe. It's no help at all in life!"
Cornelia comforted her.
"I saw him on my way out, but I didn't recognize him. I only realized it after hearing the story later. At first, I thought he was just a strange commoner who was shouting."
Julia covered her mouth.
"Good heavens, is it that bad?"
"Yeah, he got tanned bright red in the sun, so his complexion looked completely different, and the wrinkles had gotten all deep in the meantime, so he looked totally like an old man. Even my sister Bedelia didn't recognize him as Ottavio just by looking at his face."
"She has good observational skills. If even Bedelia couldn't recognize him... Ah! I really should have seen it with my own eyes!"
"Of course, I should write a letter to Camellia, but I should write to Ariadne as well."
Julia spoke indignantly.
"Taranto is in chaos right now. If Isabella's position is shaken because of Ottavio, this is a political matter, isn't it? I need to let them know right away."
"However..."
Cornelia looked troubled.
"Why. What's the problem?"
Julia asked aggressively.
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