Chapter 62

Alfonso de Carlo was a man who only made promises he could keep. It was his innate nature. However, today he found himself in a situation where he had to break his promise to meet Ariadne at the masquerade ball.

“Huh? The Duchess of Valois is coming to the San Carlo masquerade ball?”

In person? From the Kingdom of Gallico to Etruscan? It was an unprecedented and bold move for a foreign royal to visit. Alfonso was having lunch with King Leo III and Queen Marguerite in the royal reception room. The royal couple, by court etiquette, were supposed to have lunch together every Saturday, but King Leo III rarely adhered to this, so it had been quite a while since they all had lunch together. In response to Alfonso's question, Queen Marguerite nodded.

“All the major festivals and pre-festival celebrations in Etruscan are famous, aren't they? The Duchess of Valois particularly wanted to attend the St. Michael's Day masquerade ball. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, isn't it?”

It was an effort to support the distant relative, the young lady, so that she wouldn't be criticized. However, despite her efforts, King Leo III laughed and replied.

“For the Duchess to be so eager to come to the Kingdom of Etruscan, it seems your reputation, Alfonso, has crossed the border!”

The truth was that the dowry and bride negotiations with Etruscan were not going as smoothly as expected, so the Kingdom of Gallico had decided to send the bride herself to win favor with the Etruscans. The Etruscans suspected that this was a lazy repetition of the plan that had been set when the Duchess of Valois's older sister, the beautiful Suzanne, was a bride candidate. It was questionable whether the same effect would be achieved with Larissa.

Alfonso felt uncomfortable with King Leo III's choice of words, describing the foreign duchess as "eager." She was also a collateral descendant of a ruler and, in any case, a precious daughter of another family.

However, even Queen Marguerite, who disliked every hair on King Leo III's head, did not say a word about his statement because it was a generous compliment to her son.

As Alfonso felt a bit skeptical about his parents' attitude, Queen Marguerite instructed him.

“You might have had other plans for the masquerade ball, but the Duchess of Valois is a guest coming to see you. You must escort her from start to finish during the ball.”

“Yeah, yeah. I will!”

“The Duchess of Valois will be unfamiliar with our language and people, so you must stay by her side and take care of her during the ball.”

Alfonso already had prior commitments for the masquerade ball. However, after being scolded by Queen Marguerite for his specific plans with Ariadne, he couldn't make the immature statement that he couldn't escort the Duchess of Valois because he had plans with Ariadne, especially with King Leo III present.

Moreover, this was essentially a state visit. As a royal, escorting a visiting dignitary was a duty he had to fulfill. Being scolded was a secondary matter; he was, above all, the heir to the throne, the future father of the people.

With a heavy heart, Alfonso reluctantly replied.

“Yes, Your Majesty, Mother. I will escort the Duchess of Valois well at the masquerade ball.”

* * *

To my dear Ariadne,

(Excerpt) ... There is a state visit from the Kingdom of Gallico planned. I have been assigned the duty of escorting the visitor during the masquerade ball. I'm sorry I can't see you as I had hoped. I'll write to you again soon.

- With regret, Alfonso.

Ariadne showed an unexpectedly composed attitude even after receiving Alfonso's apology letter. Alfonso had only mentioned that a state visit from Gallico was coming, but Ariadne immediately realized that the visiting dignitary from Gallico to San Carlo was the Duchess of Valois, Larissa.

“It's okay, it's just what was bound to happen.”

The political marriage between Prince Alfonso and the Duchess of Valois was a secret. In the current San Carlo, only a few people knew that marriage talks were ongoing. Ariadne knew that the visiting dignitary from Valois was the Duchess of Larissa not because she had connections in diplomacy, but because the same thing had happened in her previous life.

In her previous life, the Duchess of Larissa attended the St. Michael's Day masquerade ball in San Carlo, fell deeply in love with Prince Alfonso, and returned home. Then, "that incident" happened, and their marriage talks fell through, leading to Alfonso's eventual marriage to Isabella.

“It's okay. It's okay if it's the Duchess of Larissa.”

She repeated that it was okay, but she couldn't hide her disappointment. She understood intellectually that the Duchess was visiting as a national guest and that Alfonso had to escort her. She understood intellectually that the Duchess of Larissa, for political reasons, would not end up marrying Alfonso in this life, so there was no need to be wary of her.

But she wished he would come running to her, abandoning everything, and say that he wanted to be with her, regardless of whether she was a duchess or a princess. Ariadne smiled bitterly at this thought.

It was selfish to want his certainty when she herself hadn't abandoned everything to choose Alfonso and was instead looking for a safe place, like a hamster, with her eyes darting around. Moreover, Alfonso had much more to lose than she did. Ariadne decided to shake off her disappointment. It was, in fact, something she was very good at—forgetting her resentment towards an uncertain lover.

While organizing items in Ariadne's study, Sancha, who was with her, asked,

“Miss, is something wrong? Your expression isn't very good.”

Instead of explaining, Ariadne handed the letter she was holding to Sancha. After reading Prince Alfonso's letter, Sancha looked at Ariadne with a sympathetic expression.

“What can we do, Miss... You must have been looking forward to it.”

Ariadne had never explicitly said she was looking forward to it or that she wanted to go, but Sancha, who always took care of everything for Ariadne, knew. Since Alfonso's letter inviting her to the masquerade ball, Ariadne had called Madame Marini to discuss her outfit for the ball, spent more time on skin care, and brushed her hair twice a day.

“No, it's nothing. I should have considered that the Duchess of Larissa would be coming.”

Sancha tilted her head at the embarrassed smile on Ariadne's face.

“The Duchess of Larissa? Who is that? How would you know if she's coming or not?”

Sancha looked at the letter but found no mention of the Duchess of Larissa. Ariadne felt a strong urge to confide everything to Sancha.

“Actually, I've regressed. I know the future.”

Keeping a secret was a lonely thing. Especially when the secret you alone knew influenced your actions and required you to convince others of its validity. However, regression was still an unknown area, and Ariadne decided to be cautious until she understood it fully.

In the end, it remained a secret even from Sancha. Ariadne bit her lip, trying to contain her loneliness.

“There's just someone like that.”

Ariadne paused, then continued.

“Purely based on my feeling, that person won't be the Prince's partner. So, Sancha, it will be okay. I'm not worried.”

Sancha thought she saw a strange fire in her mistress's eyes. It was the kind of determination that others might not understand, the kind of zeal a religious fanatic or a political activist might have.

If she were a normal person, she might have hesitated, but Sancha had already given everything to her mistress. If Ariadne went to commit murder, Sancha would stand by her side. For Sancha, Ariadne was the ultimate goal and the purpose of her life.

“Even if I don't understand, I will support Miss until the end!”

Sancha clenched her fist. Ariadne, unaware of Sancha's loyal thoughts, continued to think about the Duchess of Larissa and Prince Alfonso. It was okay.

If "that incident" happened, the marriage talks with the Kingdom of Gallico would automatically fall through, and one of Cardinal de Mare's daughters would become the Princess. In this life, Isabella's performance was not as outstanding as in the previous life.

Considering Isabella's various blunders, damaged reputation, doubts about Cardinal de Mare's eldest daughter, Ariadne's reputation, and the somewhat favorable relationship with Queen Marguerite, as well as the good rapport she had built with Prince Alfonso, it was highly likely that Ariadne would be chosen as the Princess.

She could endure the brief visit of the Duchess of Larissa. Time was on her side. She just needed to wait. It would be fine.

‘Sigh.’

Ariadne let out a small sigh, a look of relief on her face. She was relieved to calculate the possibility of marrying Prince Alfonso, but she couldn't pinpoint whether this relief was because it would make her safe from the de Mare family or because she thought she could have Alfonso.

Watching Ariadne and Sancha from a distance, Aurelius chuckled.

- Can it really be that simple?

* * *

At the residence of Cardinal de Mare, gifts from Count Cesare arrived almost daily. It was so frequent that Isabella would get annoyed and retreat to her room whenever the mail servant appeared.

She knew what the servant would bring. After receiving the saddle once, Count Cesare had been relentless with his endless stream of gifts. The residence of Cardinal de Mare was now filled with red roses, almost turning it into a greenhouse.

Ariadne had tried to politely decline, saying that the gifts were too much and to stop sending them, but Count Cesare was persistent. Despite her continuous rejections, today's gift was a mask, a necklace, and a set of bracelets.

The necklace and mask were actually one piece. The mask was a full-face Volto mask, made of white enamel with gold Fleur-de-Lis patterns. From a distance, it looked like a white enamel face with only the eyes covered by a golden mask. The gold decoration extended along the edge of the mask, secured behind the head with a gold cord. Thin gold chains hanging where earrings would be connected to the jaw and neck, forming an intricate gold necklace.

The deep green topaz, set like a forest, matched her eye color perfectly. The mask used only gold and green, but the necklace added a bold red. A deep blood-red ruby, the size of a man's thumb, was set in the center of the necklace, surrounded by small topazes arranged in a Fleur-de-Lis pattern.

The matching bracelet also featured a large red ruby in the center, with green topazes, each about half a carat, set in a gold setting and woven into a gold chain to form a Fleur-de-Lis pattern.

“Miss, this is really beautiful!”

Sancha exclaimed.

“Are you really going to return it?”

Ariadne had already ordered a mask for the masquerade ball, but the one she received didn't satisfy her. She didn't want to stand out, so she had ordered a Moretta mask, which was also known as the "Moretta Muto" or "Mute Maid Moretta."

The Moretta Muto was designed to fall off smoothly without any clasp or string. However, it had a small clasp inside that the wearer had to bite to keep it in place. The wearer couldn't speak while wearing it, hence the name "Mute Maid Moretta."

In her previous life, when Ariadne attended the masquerade ball, the trend had already shifted to the Colombina mask, which only covered the eyes and left the mouth exposed. She hadn't realized that the Moretta Muto would prevent her from speaking during the party.

Ariad