Chapter 48

Lucrezia hurried to Ariadne's study, unable to understand why her husband had summoned her to the illegitimate daughter's study. Whatever it was, it certainly wasn't good. She knocked on the door of the second daughter, whom her husband had brought from outside, and after confirming his voice from inside, she entered the room.

"Lucrezia. Take a look at this."

Cardinal de Mare waved a double-entry bookkeeping sheet in front of Lucrezia, with debits and credits clearly distinguished. Lucrezia, unsure of what it meant, examined the paper. Why did he write the same thing twice, once on the left and once on the right?

"This girl managed to organize a debutante ball for just 138 ducats."

"Really?"

Lucrezia was finally surprised.

"Is that possible?"

"It's possible, which is why I still have 12 ducats left in my hand!"

Cardinal de Mare shook a bag of 12 gold coins in front of Lucrezia, clearly angry.

"How much did you spend on Ippolito's farewell party last time? This time, the number of guests was only half, yet you spent 536 ducats!"

Under Cardinal de Mare's questioning, Lucrezia lowered her head, looking at the floor.

"This time, Ariadne organized the entire ball for 138 ducats (approximately 138 million won), including 20 ducats (approximately 20 million won) for her own attire. But Isabella? Isabella spent 50 ducats (approximately 50 million won) on her dress alone!"

Cardinal de Mare looked as if he wanted to tear Lucrezia apart with the household accounts.

"And with shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, and perfumes, Isabella spent a total of 68 ducats (approximately 68 million won) on her appearance! Do you think that's reasonable?"

Even if Lucrezia had ten mouths, she had no words to defend herself. She had allowed Isabella's luxurious dress and even had a piece of jewelry made for herself while matching Isabella's.

"From now on, Ariadne will manage her own expenses directly! And Isabella will not be allowed to spend more than Ariadne!"

"Really? Your Excellency!"

Lucrezia's face turned pale at the thought of transferring some of her household management authority to her illegitimate daughter. She had her own family to support, and once she started losing ground, she knew she would continue to lose. She couldn't back down here. Lucrezia summoned her boiling anger and lashed out at Cardinal de Mare.

"What am I supposed to be if you do this! As a stepmother, how can I have any influence over the child?"

"You should have acted like a stepmother!"

However, Cardinal de Mare showed no intention of backing down today.

"What did I say when 'The Heart of the Deep Blue Sea' arrived? I said I would take action soon, didn't I?!"

He was referring to the times when Ariadne's mistreatment and lack of proper care had been exposed in the San Carlo social circle. Lucrezia had thought her husband had forgotten, but now he was attacking her, remembering even the exact ducat amounts. She felt both heartbroken and wronged.

"I have been with you for over 20 years! How can you treat me like this?!"

"Exactly 22 years. If you had managed the household accounts cleanly even once in those 22 years, I wouldn't have said anything. I have never made you suffer financially. You should have repaid my trust! I won't accept any objections this time. Understand that! Get out!"

Cardinal de Mare, who had always made small concessions to Lucrezia, was nowhere to be seen. The sensitive issue of money, combined with the distrust built up over the years due to Lucrezia's family, led to her being completely discredited and chased out by her husband. Cardinal de Mare wiped his forehead with a handkerchief after chasing Lucrezia out.

"Hmm. Hmm. Anyway, the accounts for this ball were well managed. By the way, I heard there was an incident at the ball?"

He was referring to the incident where Ariadne's dress tore.

"Yes, Father. It wasn't a big deal."

Ariadne bowed respectfully. Cardinal de Mare nodded.

"Indeed, I heard from my social circle that your reputation wasn't damaged by this incident."

In fact, the information Cardinal de Mare had gathered included things he couldn't tell his young daughter. The de Mare family was rumored to have a better younger daughter in some aspects. While a typical father would have been furious, Cardinal de Mare was a unique person. He thought that popularity in any form was good and dismissed it. Overall, the evaluation of the gentlemen improved, and among the ladies, the Marquesa's wife, who was a leading figure, only spoke of Ariadne's pitiful situation. His second product had not lost anything. Cardinal de Mare was satisfied with this. However, while one incident could be covered up by luck, the same thing happening again was unacceptable.

"Do you know how this happened? Was it a problem with the tailor?"

Ariadne shook her head.

"No, Father. It seems the dress only had issues after it was brought home. I will investigate further and report back."

"Good. Managing subordinates is also an important skill. Make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Yes, Father."

Cardinal de Mare said he would give Ariadne 10 ducats (approximately 10 million won) per month directly and left her study. After Cardinal de Mare left, Sancha, who had been waiting in the outer reception room, burst out at Ariadne.

"Miss, why didn't you reveal that Isabella was behind the dress incident!"

"Because we don't have solid evidence yet."

Without concrete evidence, any accusation would ultimately come down to a battle of words between Isabella and Ariadne. Despite everything she had built since her regression, Ariadne didn't think her father would believe her more. Winning such a battle meant not only that her father believed her more but also that she could drive Isabella away with her words alone. Ariadne shook her head. It wasn't the right time to challenge Isabella.

After the ball, Ariadne and Sancha carefully examined the torn debutante dress. The 'hook' that Maria had brought was indeed a common item, but it was made of a mixture of lead and silver, making it very soft. Mixing lead with silver, which is already softer than iron, made the hook prone to breaking over time. Additionally, they found that the front of the dress had been cut with a sharp object, stitch by stitch, every 20 stitches. The tailor, Legione, had done meticulous and sturdy hand-stitching, but the threads had been cut intentionally. It was a trap set to make the dress tear.

Sancha was convinced it was Isabella's doing, and Ariadne agreed, but they lacked decisive evidence. The hook, while unusual in material, was similar in appearance to any other hook, making it impossible to trace its origin. The fact that Maria, who was in charge of the clothes, was close to Malleta, added to their suspicion, but it wasn't enough to accuse Isabella of tampering with Ariadne's dress.

"Oh, I'm so frustrated!"

Ariadne calmed Sancha down.

"Let's wait and see. Everything will fall into place eventually."

"Are you practicing patience, Miss?!"

Ariadne smiled at the frustrated Sancha.

"This isn't about patience. Let's gather evidence systematically. Evidence is like a bomb. It's most effective when detonated all at once when the opponent is weak. If we keep detonating it bit by bit, we'll only hurt ourselves without damaging the important parts."

However, Ariadne agreed that Maria needed to be dealt with. She gave 50 florins (approximately 500,000 won) to the butler, Niccolo, whom she had recently befriended, and had Maria reassigned to the kitchen as a dishwashing maid.

"Maria has probably suffered enough from the risk of being demoted to a menial job. If she had done it for free, she would be foolish."

"She does seem a bit foolish."

"We've gotten rid of a foolish friend and brought in a capable one, so it's a good thing."

The new maid, Vincenza, whom Sancha had been watching since her days as a third-floor maid, was indeed competent and adapted quickly. Sancha's complaints were endless.

"I feel so bad about giving 12 ducats to Cardinal de Mare! We could have used it as a slush fund."

"Instead, we'll receive 10 ducats per month. It will cover the cost in a month and a half."

Ariadne smiled.

"And I didn't give all the remaining money to Father."

"Really?!"

"Didn't the clothing expenses exceed the initial plan?"

Indeed, Ariadne had initially planned to spend only 5 ducats (approximately 5 million won) on clothing, but the final account showed 20 ducats (approximately 20 million won).

"I coordinated with Mrs. Marini. For the next two seasons, I will have all my clothing made by Legione, but the bills will be slightly inflated."

Sancha's mouth dropped open.

"So, 15 ducats (approximately 15 million won) will be our emergency fund. Got it?"

Sancha could only nod in awe at her mistress's cleverness. Cardinal de Mare was being taken advantage of from all sides, but he was unaware of it.

* * *

When alone with Ariadne, Cardinal de Mare only asked for details about the incident at the debutante ball and stopped there. However, that evening, when both Isabella and Ariadne were present, he scolded them both severely.

"Family matters should not be taken outside the home. You can fight like dogs inside, but outside, you must stand together!"

Isabella's eyes welled up with tears as her father, who rarely raised his voice, scolded her.

"Ariadne, even if your sister was wrong, you shouldn't have pointed it out in front of others. You should have let it pass and dealt with it at home!"

Ariadne's positive points with her father, which she had built up over time, were reset to zero. How had her previous life been, living by the belief that he would be a fair judge?

"But on the surface, I always maintained a polite, respectful, and trustworthy demeanor and bowed to my father."

"I was shortsighted. I will be careful to prevent it from happening again."

Satisfied with Ariadne's concise apology, Cardinal de Mare turned his scolding to Isabella.

"What did you say about your sister's figure? Do you have any sense of propriety? A grown woman should know what to say and what not to say, especially to her own sister! Do you even understand the concept of sisterly affection?"

Isabella had never seen her father direct his anger specifically at her, from her earliest childhood to the present. Earlier, she could have convinced herself that Cardinal de Mare's reprimand was directed at Ariadne, not her. Now, with the specific target and content, it was clear that the scolding was aimed at her.

"Aaaaaah!"

The flower-like eldest daughter burst into tears, and Cardinal de Mare was taken aback. Isabella, undeterred, cried like a baby.

"⋯⋯I didn't do it! I didn't do it!"

Isabella truly believed she was innocent. She had to believe it. If she admitted that everyone was right about her being wrong, she felt she would become a worthless, useless piece of trash forever. In the face of emotional immaturity, the facts in her mind were bleached and turned into a flower field.

"Carmelia was the one who said I had cut the dress! I only failed to stop her!"

"Did you do it or not?"