Chapter 22

However, Countess Rubina was not someone to be trifled with. If her son was as fierce as a wolf, Countess Rubina was like a great tiger descending from the mountains. She struck the wine glass her son had roughly placed on the table with the edge of her hand, sending it flying off the table. - *Clang!* The glass shattered into pieces on the marble floor with a loud noise. She stepped on the remnants of the glass, stood up, and thrust her face towards her son, hissing, "You, who came out of my womb, dare to raise your voice to your mother?" They were so close that their breaths and body heat could be felt. Countess Rubina harshly scolded the motionless Cesare, "You will become the king. Just try saying you can't. If you can't, you must make it so, you wretch!" Standing up, Countess Rubina began to pace around the reception room, her heels clicking. "I hear that His Majesty will bestow the 'Heart of the Blue Abyss' upon that boy. 'Heart of the Blue Abyss'! Do you know why I wanted it so much?" "I know, Mother, your astrologer-." "Cut out the sarcastic tone!" Countess Rubina turned to her son, her anger flaring. "It is said that the one who possesses the 'Heart of the Blue Abyss' will become the king." Her eyes were filled with a certainty as if she were possessed. "I will become the queen, and you will become the prince, as it was prophesied. So-." Approaching her son, she pressed her finger into his chest, pushing him back. "It's all for you. Bring me the 'Heart of the Blue Abyss'." * * * The royal gift was to be received by the queen in the palace. While it is generally the king who bestows such gifts, due to King Leo III's tight schedule with an urgent meeting, Queen Marguerite was to bestow the gift instead. Lucrezia, who had been embarrassed by Queen Marguerite before, was now scolded by Cardinal de Mare due to the incident where Ariadne, the second daughter, was defeated by the apostle of Asaretto. "Everyone in San Carlo saw it. The child had nothing to wear but rags!" "Dear, I gave her everything! I even gave her gold earrings!" "Why do you use such a tone! After disgracing me, you still call me 'dear' and 'you'? So, you're saying that what you dressed Ariadne in was decent enough for others to see?" They argued intensely. While Lucrezia felt quite wronged, in the end, Cardinal de Mare insisted on checking Ariadne's wardrobe, and when they opened the second daughter's shabby closet on the third-floor attic, Lucrezia had to admit her mistake in front of the cardinal. Ariadne's wardrobe contained only three outfits: a cream-colored outfit worn to the queen's mass, a black outfit worn to San Ercolé Cathedral, and an indoor dress that could not be worn outside. Moreover, apart from the shoes she wore on the farm, she only had one pair of children's round-toed shoes. Ariadne wore these shoes to the backyard, the mass, and the palace. "Oh, my head!" When Cardinal de Mare opened the wardrobe, he pressed his forehead, and Lucrezia was speechless. If she had argued, the issue of the household expenses would have certainly come up. "I don't know where you spend your money. The second daughter almost met the queen twice in the same outfit. Make sure that no one, when looking into this child's life, would say that the second daughter is not well-fed or well-dressed in our house!" Thus, Ariadne, after the regression, experienced the luxury of a tailor's shop for the first time. * * * "You're young, but you have such long limbs." Behind the high-end tailor shops along the Tiber River, a quality tailor shop where Lucrezia did business was well hidden. The Razione tailor shop was known for its good craftsmanship at a reasonable price, and Lucrezia often used it to make clothes for the rapidly growing Arabella. Today, Mrs. Marini of the Razione tailor shop was at Cardinal de Mare's residence, measuring Ariadne and discussing how to fit her summer and autumn outfits. "She will grow quickly, not just in height but in other areas as well." Mrs. Marini winked at Ariadne, who slightly frowned. "Should we make the décolletage a bit deeper? I know she hasn't had her debut, but her figure will soon be like other young ladies. It's too late to fit her like a child." Normally, a mother would sit with her and meticulously advise on how to fit a teenage girl's clothes, but Ariadne was alone with the tailor. After being scolded by Cardinal de Mare about Ariadne's wardrobe, Lucrezia, feeling that her presence would only cause more trouble, gave the tailor shop 5 ducats (about 5 million won) as a limit and entrusted the task of making as many types of summer and autumn outfits as possible without even checking. Therefore, instead of a mother fussing over how to make a young girl's décolletage, Ariadne had to persuade the tailor herself. "No, we should raise the collar as much as possible and not make the neckline too deep." After the regression, Ariadne had some grievances about the various criticisms from Lucrezia, but the one area where their interests aligned was food. Lucrezia did not give Ariadne proper meals when Cardinal de Mare was not around, but Ariadne had no complaints about it. - "You're too big, making it look like you're hugging a man. Your chest is too large and droopy, making you look like a cow." Before the regression, Ariadne was tall and slender. However, she always hunched to hide her figure, not wanting to appear large next to the slender Cesare. In this life, Ariadne ate as little as possible, determined not to grow. She wanted to be small and delicate like Isabella, who fit perfectly in Cesare's arms. She also detested showing her figure and wished that no one's gaze would ever fall on her. "I don't want to stand out. Don't make the clothes tight or revealing; make them loose to cover as much as possible." Mrs. Marini seemed to not understand Ariadne's request. "Yes...? I understand what you're worried about, my lady." She loosened the fabric she had draped on Ariadne while measuring her, showing it to her in front of the mirror. "You have a naturally curvy figure, and it will become more so. But if you wear a loose top... Look, it makes you look even bulkier." She then showed the silhouette by tightly draping the fabric from behind. "When you wear it tightly, it accentuates your figure, making you look slimmer. Even if you don't want your chest to be noticeable, it's better to use thicker fabric to press it down so it's not visible." Seeing it with her eyes, Ariadne realized the tailor was right. She decided to follow Mrs. Marini's advice but thought she would need to wrap her chest with a thick fabric to further reduce the volume. * * * In the end, Ariadne received a bright light green outfit, a lovely yellow outfit, and an elegant white dress. The shoes were to be custom-made by a cobbler and sent later. A few additional indoor outfits were added, and the rest were to be prepared by autumn. The white dress was to be worn to meet the queen today. It was made from thick silk produced in Etruscan, with a subtle sheen, cut neatly to minimize exposure and exude elegance. It did not look like a young lady's outfit at all. "My goodness, no one will recognize you, my lady!" This was Sancha's exclamation as she styled Ariadne's hair. Ariadne smiled wryly. "Was I that bad?" "There were aspects of that." Ariadne playfully hit Sancha's shoulder, who stuck out her tongue. "Oh, it's a compliment! You're beautiful now." As Sancha braided Ariadne's hair into a half-up style, she sighed slightly. "But my lady, you're so young. It would be nice to style your hair in a cuter and more elaborate way." Ariadne grimaced. "I don't suit that. Don't even think about it." Sancha gave Ariadne a mischievous smile. Since Ariadne only had Lucrezia's gold earrings and a silver cross necklace, Sancha bought fresh flowers to decorate Ariadne's hair. They were white lilies. She made a small bouquet with the same flowers, tied it with a ribbon, and wore it on her wrist, creating a fitting decoration without any jewelry. "Now, let's go meet the queen!" * * * Cardinal de Mare took Ariadne to the palace but did not accompany her into the queen's audience. The audience was to take place in a small reception room for women, making it inappropriate for Cardinal de Mare to enter, and he had other commitments at the palace. However, most importantly, Cardinal de Mare lacked the will to take care of his second daughter. "Don't cause any trouble and behave yourself." This was Cardinal de Mare's warning as he dropped Ariadne off at the entrance to the queen's palace. Ariadne laughed, finding it absurd. "Of course." Does my father see me as a walking powder keg? However, children often know their parents' character better than the parents themselves. Ariadne was to wait in the waiting room in front of the queen's palace until the audience time. But looking at her reflection in the glass mirror on the wall, she felt the lack of jewelry made her look rather plain. Although she had adorned herself with fresh flowers instead of jewels, the lilies were not large enough to add much vibrancy. 'The queen's garden must have peonies.' Wearing a pink peony on her all-white outfit would make her look more lively and noticeable. There was over an hour and a half left before the queen's audience. Ariadne knew the palace layout well. Once inside, there were no guards to block her movement, and there was plenty of time to visit the garden. Ariadne lifted her skirt slightly, looked around like a squirrel, and quietly slipped out of the waiting room. * * * The quickest way to the queen's garden was through the central corridor, but using the abandoned fountain allowed her to enter the garden unnoticed. Ariadne quickly crossed the abandoned fountain towards the garden. This was the most secluded area, with the lowest chance of encountering anyone. "Ariadne?" But probability and reality are different. "Who's there?" The only person who could call her by name in Palazzo Carlo was Prince Alfonso. However, when Ariadne looked around, no one was in sight. "Here, up here." A silhouette of a man sitting on an oak tree was visible through the backlight.