Chapter 40

The prince's letter was more of a note.

"To the astonishing Ariadne.

Did you enjoy that day? The hydrangeas are in full bloom in the palace garden, so I thought of you and decided to contact you. I hope we can meet at the palace.

- A."

For a message from the prince, it was rather romantic. Even the secret pet name they had agreed upon long ago was written.

But for Ariadne, who was about to make her debut at the ball, a once-in-a-lifetime event, and had to enter with a repulsive fake cousin, there was no time to read between the lines. She hastily wrote a reply with her own message.

"To my dear Alfonso.

I didn't know you could use a wish token. I need your help. Will you be my debutante partner? I have to enter the ball as the debutante with the prince. I'll tell you the details later.

- Ariadne."

The reply came much faster than expected. Ariadne had sent the letter in the afternoon on the day Janobi arrived, and the prince's messenger arrived the next morning at seven.

It would have been impossible without the palace insisting on sending it express the next morning.

"To my dear Ariadne,

You don't need to use a wish token to debut with the prince. Tell me the date and place.

- Alfonso."

Ariadne stood there, dazed, after receiving Alfonso's note. The first thing that struck her was the difference between her past life and the present.

In her past life, she had been treated like a married woman from a young age without even going through a debutante ball, but now she was in a position to have a solo debutante ball, the dream of every girl, escorted by a prince.

'Is this a dream?'

She pinched the back of her hand, but it definitely hurt.

The second thing that struck her was the unfamiliarity of the prince's unconditional kindness. Since her mother passed away long ago, no one had ever shown her such unconditional kindness.

Even in her past life, the few acquaintances she had only exchanged conditional kindness or interactions with her.

They supported her emotionally or listened to her stories because she could give them some benefit, or because she listened to their complaints with sincerity.

When it came to the stories of Cezare and the de Mare family, the complaints they had made were far more than what they had received. Love, affection, youth, trust, dedication, effort, and loyalty were all betrayed and used.

To Ariadne, who was only familiar with such relationships, the prince's kindness brought a mix of gratitude, awkwardness, and a bit of fear.

While Ariadne stood there, dazed, Sanza ran over and poked her head in.

"Miss, what did the prince say?"

Sanza took the note from Ariadne's hand and, using her recently learned reading skills, read it haltingly and then screamed.

"Kyaa!!! Really, Miss?!"

"Shh, shh, be quiet."

"That's great! Let's flatten Janobi's nose!"

* * *

Ariadne's debutante partner was thus decided, but Ariadne and Alfonso agreed to keep it a secret until just before the ball.

For Ariadne, it was a headache to think that if she officially announced that Prince Alfonso would be her debutante partner, she would have to endure the glares of Isabella and Lucrezia for weeks at home.

Isabella would be purely jealous, and Lucrezia would also scold Ariadne because the event where she could give her nephew a tip as a reward would be gone.

While not a formal law, the debutante's partner was usually found through the parents' connections, so in practice, the parents decided.

If Lucrezia found out in advance that the partner had been changed to Alfonso, she might say, "Mom doesn't agree," and back out. If that happened, there was a risk that the prince's escort would be in vain.

Lucrezia was not a quick thinker, so it seemed unlikely that she would raise objections when the prince appeared on the day and announced that he would be the partner.

Ariadne decided to crush Lucrezia's opposition with the prince's authority and a surprise attack.

Moreover, Isabella was the type who would definitely do something nasty if she was upset. It was impossible to predict what kind of mischief she would cause. The fewer variables, the better.

And there was Janobi. It would have been better to inform him in advance for the sake of his dignity, but he needed to be taught a lesson.

Thinking about how he would tremble when he was informed on the day that he had been replaced by the prince made her feel good.

"Just wait and see, you nasty guy."

Keeping the fact that Alfonso would escort her as her debutante partner a secret was also a satisfactory way of handling things for Alfonso.

He had a scheduling issue, which was minor, and a diplomatic issue, which was major.

While it was technically the prince's decision to set his schedule, until now, his mother, Queen Marguerite, had been involved in every detail.

If he asked for permission, there would be no problem, but based on Alfonso's feeling, Queen Marguerite and Leo III would not allow him to be Ariadne's debutante partner.

"He's in talks for a marriage with a princess from Gallico. He needs to behave properly even more."

This was something his mother had hinted at a few days ago.

"It's just helping a friend in trouble."

Alfonso was unconsciously deceiving himself, saying it had nothing to do with grand matters like a marriage alliance or a political marriage. He checked his schedule with his secretary.

"Bernardino, do I have any plans for the third Saturday of next month?"

"It's still open, Your Highness."

"Keep it open. Don't schedule anything, including if my father or mother call me."

"What's the matter?"

At this point, it would have been normal to inform that he would be attending the debutante ball for the second daughter of the Cardinal de Mare at the Cardinal's residence. However, Alfonso chose to remain silent. He had not yet realized that his unconventional handling of the situation reflected his emotional state.

"I have some personal matters to attend to. Keep the whole day from morning to late night open."

* * *

Ariadne's debutante partner was not just a target for Janobi and Prince Alfonso.

"Is it true that the girl is having a separate debutante ball this time?"

"Yes, that's right, Countess."

Upon hearing the maid's report, Countess Rubina, lying on a long velvet chair, looked at the deep red wine, which matched her eye color, reflecting in the candlelight.

"Who is the partner?"

"I heard it's the nephew of Lucrezia de Rossi's family."

A smile appeared on Countess Rubina's lips.

"He must be a nobody. Our son is much better in every way, isn't he, son?"

She looked at Cezare, who was sitting in the corner of the drawing room.

"I heard the girl revealed that the Lastera statue was a fake? They only talk about her at court. They say she is popular among the common people?"

"I know what you're going to say, Mother. Just stop there."

Cezare was slumped in the corner of the drawing room, bitter about his life. Nothing was going his way.

The investigation of the Porto Republic merchant, which he had hoped would be a big project, was a complete failure. At first, he thought the Republic's finance minister, Benazio del Gato, was using his nephew to smuggle assets out of the country.

Benazio del Gato was a powerful figure in the Porto Republic, even considered a potential successor. If he could seize the assets Benazio del Gato had smuggled to the Etruscan Kingdom, it would be a debt to his opponents.

Or, on the contrary, he hoped that after discovering his nephew's murder, he could catch the murderer and erase the debt to Benazio del Gato. But it turned out to be a simple murder due to gambling.

While Alfonso was busy playing ball, he wanted to show his political skills to impress his father, but it was all in vain, a complete waste of effort.

"Cezare, stop being stubborn and listen to your mother. To become king, you need to be popular and have a high-profile spouse to help you—"

"Stop right there!"

Cezare burst out in anger.

"I have my own thoughts!"

Even if they didn't work out.

"Just because she's not a princess with succession rights, does that mean the throne will fall into her lap if we marry? Think more rationally!"

Cezare's blue eyes were filled with annoyance and anger.

"And that little brat has a terrible personality!"

Countess Rubina, who was not one to back down, frowned.

"And a fifteen-year-old teenager with a calm personality is a miracle! If you can't win over a young girl, what does that say about your incompetence?"

Cezare's blue eyes were filled with frustration and anger.

"Stop it! Are you telling me to ask her to be my debutante partner? I'd rather die than do it!"

And what he couldn't bring himself to say to his mother was, "Even if I asked, she would definitely reject me." But his mother, being his mother, saw right through him.

"Your cowardice is the epitome of failure."

"Really!"

Annoyed by his mother's taunting, Cezare grabbed the cloak he had thrown on the chair and stormed out of the drawing room.

- Bang!

"There, there, there! What a terrible temper!"

Countess Rubina, seeing her son's back, which was a spitting image of herself, was furious.

"You never listen to me! Do you think I can't do what I want?"

In her anger, she roughly swirled the wine glass, spilling the red wine onto the velvet chair. Her maid quickly approached and politely cleaned it up, then refilled her glass at her gesture.

"Countess, do you have a plan?"

Countess Rubina's dark red eyes gleamed maliciously at the maid's question.

"I do. I have never failed to achieve what I set my mind to."

* * *

While the villain at the palace was trying to freeload on Ariadne's glory, the villain at the Cardinal de Mare's residence was plotting to undermine her glory in a relatively honest way.

"Is it true that she's getting her dress made at Lazio?"

"Yes, I heard that Mrs. Marini from Lazio's tailor shop came by."

"What kind of confidence does she have?"

Beauty was something that could be cultivated with money. The more money you spent, the better you looked.

Isabella couldn't understand why a girl who wasn't particularly beautiful would get her debutante dress made at a tailor shop instead of a designer's studio.

"You will be the most beautiful, Miss."

The dress Isabella was having made at the Collezione studio was being crafted from oganza, a fabric imported from the Moorish Empire through Porto merchants.

Oganza, a thin, shiny, and flowing silk, could not be produced in Etrusca, where the silk industry had not yet developed.

"I know."

Despite her words, Isabella was biting her nails. She felt uneasy.

"Is there a way to make sure I stand out more?"

In response to her request, Maleta, her maid, suggested a simple but effective method.

"Maybe spill some wine on the dress on the day?"

Isabella was annoyed by the maid's short-sighted suggestion.

"Then it would be obvious who did it! And it would make her look pitiful!"

After scolding Maleta, Isabella suddenly had a good idea and asked her a question.

"Right, you said Ariadne uses a 'chest pad,' didn't you?"

"That's right, Miss. I saw the maid girl take out some calico and do regular laundry. If she didn't use a 'chest pad,' what would she use the calico for?"

Isabella used the 'chest pad,' made from calico and special padding imported from the Moorish Kingdom, to enhance her insufficient bust. This was her biggest complex.

"If the 'chest pad' slips out during the ball, it would be quite a sight, wouldn't it?"

Isabella's emerald eyes narrowed. Maleta chimed in.

"If the calico comes loose, the cotton balls will pop out! It would be very obvious and embarrassing! Moreover, the rumor that she wore a 'chest pad' in society would spread, and she wouldn't be able to show her face!"

In the social circles of San Carlo, a noblewoman had to be beautiful, but naturally so.

Excessive makeup or artificial enhancements were frowned upon and could lead to gossip that she was like a courtesan from Carampan, which would be a fatal blow to her reputation as a virtuous noble lady.

The 'chest pad' was unknown to other noblewomen in San Carlo and was imported secretly from the Moorish Empire. If the use of it was discovered, it would not be taken lightly.

Isabella, who had been keeping an eye on her half-sister, whose reputation in society was rising even before her debut, saw this as the perfect opportunity.

Isabella's narrowed eyes gleamed maliciously.