Chapter 69

Ariadne bit her lip. Her most straightforward escape route was blocked. People began to murmur.

- "Is that girl Cardinal de Mare's daughter? The one who repelled the Apostle of Asaret?"

- "Wasn't she known for her high reputation in theology? Surely a pious young lady wouldn't do such a thing?"

- "How can you know what's in someone's heart! Even in monasteries, scandals among the clergy break out from time to time!"

Someone demanded of Ariadne.

"Take off your mask!"

It was an entirely illogical demand. No one present had seen the face of the mysterious woman who had fled. Removing Ariadne's mask would not help in identifying the Marquis of Campa's secret lover. However, people added their voices, half out of curiosity and half to assert the superiority of the group they were part of.

- "Yeah, take off your mask!"

- "Let us see your face!"

- "What are you ashamed of that you can't take off your mask?"

A plausible reason was added later.

- "If the secret lover takes off her mask, her makeup will be completely smudged. She must have been kissing and sucking. Her face must be a mess, so she can't take it off."

Ariadne had no intention of taking off her mask here. Removing the mask itself was not a difficult task, but once she submitted to the irrational demands of the crowd, they would inevitably demand more. A submissive lamb could make the crowd, which was the sum of its individual members, much more cruel. If she gave in, the situation would collapse in an instant.

Ariadne lifted her chin and replied.

"I am indeed Ariadne de Mare, but I am neither the Marquis of Campa's secret lover nor in a position to prove anything to you. On the contrary, I find this baseless misunderstanding very unpleasant."

Ariadne spoke the truth, but someone was incensed by her haughty attitude. The anger quickly spread to the people around them.

- "Misunderstanding? With so much evidence, how can it be a misunderstanding?"

- "What about the bracelet? Why won't you take off your mask?"

The crowd was about to boil over.

"It's not a misunderstanding, it's a smear campaign."

The one who answered the crowd's questions was not Ariadne but a deep male voice. It was Prince Alfonso, whose voice had transitioned from adolescence to a fully mature adult. Alfonso had been wandering the garden in a troubled state since Ariadne had left him coldly. He kept telling himself he was looking for Lariessa, but in reality, he was desperately searching for Ariadne. As he searched for the woman in the golden dress, he wished she had black hair rather than brown, and a healthy, serene complexion rather than a pale, dry one. Amidst this, a commotion broke out, and when he ran to the clearing, he saw the woman he most wanted to see standing there.

The moment he saw her, he could no longer deny that he was not looking for Lariessa. He had no intention of wandering the garden any longer. His destination was right in front of him. However, the woman he was looking for was in the midst of an unpleasant situation. Considering diplomatic relations, Prince Alfonso should not have admitted to being with Ariadne. Alfonso was someone who took his duties and responsibilities seriously. But his mouth moved on its own.

"Miss de Mare was with me the whole time..."

Alfonso was shocked that Ariadne was receiving baseless accusations and was in danger. He did not just speak in support; he ran to the center of the clearing and stood beside Ariadne. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her, shielding her from the crowd. The crowd continued to gather.

Alfonso, still holding Ariadne, raised his voice and shouted at the people.

"There's nothing to see here. Miss de Mare was with me the entire time. Claiming that the virtuous lady was the Marquis of Campa's secret lover is a serious defamation of her honor."

In response to Alfonso's words, a nobleman politely countered.

"Your Highness, you can't possibly know every move Miss de Mare made."

The crowd wanted a scapegoat.

- "That's right, you didn't come together just now, did you?"

- "If you weren't always by her side, how can you prove her alibi for the entire ball?"

- "How can you prove it?"

Alfonso raised his tone and pressed on.

"Miss de Mare was with me from the beginning to the end of the ball."

Alfonso was not persuading but commanding, a natural authority as a future ruler.

"Her whereabouts are clear, so stop talking about this. Everyone, disperse now. And someone, call a servant to clear away that person on the ground."

Just as the crowd, now numbering nearly a hundred, was about to turn away, a woman in a golden dress appeared from the bushes.

"Together, Prince, with me."

It was the Grand Duchess Lariessa, of medium height, wearing a Volto mask, just like Ariadne. She looked disheveled from wandering in the bushes. Lariessa, struggling to breathe, had pulled her Volto mask down to her chin and was gasping for air.

- "Who is that woman?"

- "Isn't she the Grand Duchess from the Kingdom of Galligo who came as a state guest?"

- "No wonder she speaks our language poorly."

The Grand Duchess Lariessa, covered in every kind of plant debris from the bushes, asked Prince Alfonso pitifully.

"You, weren't you with that woman? You were with me. Lies. All lies. Who is that woman?"

The scandal of the Marquis of Campa was instantly elevated to a scandal involving Prince Alfonso. The prince was lying. For whom? The crowd murmured again at the Grand Duchess's accusation.

- "Prince, you weren't with Miss de Mare the whole time?"

- "Wait, so you fabricated an alibi?"

- "Why is the Grand Duchess crying?"

Lariessa, claiming that Alfonso was lying, tears streaming down her brown, droopy eyes, could not believe what had happened today. The "Prince of Gold" had been passed to her. It was supposed to be a perfect day, but she had ruined the atmosphere with her strange words, and the prince was protecting an unknown woman. Lariessa wanted to hit her own face.

"Prince Alfonso, who is this woman!"

The agitated Lariessa began to appeal to Alfonso in Galligoan.

"Weren't we officially engaged between our two countries? How can a national promise be so light?"

The nobles who understood Galligoan were shocked by the talk of a royal marriage. Engaged! They looked back and forth between the newly appeared Grand Duchess, Prince Alfonso, and Ariadne. The crowd was in an uproar.

Prince Alfonso closed his eyes. How could he possibly resolve this?

- "Of course, why would the Grand Duchess come to Etrusca? She came because of the engagement. But now the prince is spending time with another woman at the ball."

- "The Grand Duchess came to Etrusca to meet the prince. Now the whole country knows, and she can't marry anyone else, but the prince is distracted. Tsk tsk."

- "No, to be distracted by a potential fiancée is to be the Marquis of Campa's mistress? The prince's eye for women is just... he's like his father. Ugh!"

The claim that Ariadne was the Marquis of Campa's mistress was becoming a fact.

- "So, Miss de Mare has no one to vouch for her alibi? Is that bracelet really hers?"

- "It's a Collezione bracelet and necklace set. How many of those are there? And the dress color matches. It's completely clear."

The situation was the worst. Alfonso decided to do what he could amidst the chaos. He called his secretary, Bernardino, and gave him some instructions. Bernardino, receiving the prince's orders, ran towards the Queen's Palace. Alfonso, having given his instructions, licked his dry lips. Now he could only wait. His heart was burning.

Ariadne also bit her lip. But her thoughts were elsewhere. The Grand Duchess Lariessa, the daughter of the Duke of Valois, who appeared wearing a tiara. She had tried to act indifferent in front of Cesare, but seeing Lariessa in person made her heart ache.

'The Grand Duchess of Valois is nothing. Just wait a little longer. When 'that incident' happens, the Grand Duchess of Valois will never be near Alfonso again.'

Ariadne tried to steady her heart by recalling a future event. But unease crept up on her. Would 'that incident' happen again in this life without fail? Is the future fixed?

If 'that incident' didn't happen... She didn't even want to think about it. The stark difference between Lariessa, who had the power of a nation and aimed for the prince's side, and Ariadne, who had to do everything on her own, was clear.

"You! Speak!"

Frustrated by Alfonso's silence, the Grand Duchess Lariessa turned her anger towards Ariadne.

"Why are you silent? Even if you had ten mouths, you have nothing to say?"

The frustrated Lariessa scolded Ariadne in Galligoan. Her heart was also a mess. It's always easier to blame the mistress than the cheating husband. If Alfonso was a bad person, then she, who had fallen for him, was a fool. She couldn't bear that. So she changed her direction. That nine-tailed fox must have been flirting with the prince.

Ariadne, not answering, made Lariessa think she didn't understand Galligoan, so she pressed her in Etruscan.

"Secret meeting, you're a bad person! Prince, secret meeting, dishonest! You're a bad person!"

The secret meeting with the Marquis of Campa and the secret meeting with Prince Alfonso were becoming facts. Ariadne bit the inside of her mouth. How could she break through this?

Lariessa's excitement was growing. She revealed her identity and poured out her words in Galligoan.

"I am the Grand Duchess Lariessa, the daughter of the Duke of Valois! I am supposed to marry Prince Alfonso of your country. Who are you to flirt with my man?"

Lariessa approached Ariadne, pointed at her, and started shouting.

"I hate immoral people who don't respect sacred marriage!"

In Lariessa's mind, she had already finished her wedding with Prince Alfonso.

* * *

Prince Alfonso, seeing the Grand Duchess Lariessa getting close to Ariadne, immediately called his secretary, Bernardino, and gave him some instructions. He couldn't leave Ariadne as she was. No matter what the Kingdom of Galligo said, whether the engagement was broken, or knights were dispatched to the border, he intended to resolve this mess.

The best solution, logically, was the mediation of Queen Marguerite. The queen, a doctor to diagnose Lariessa as overly excited, and the Galligoan entourage to take Lariessa away could calm the situation.

Bernardino ran into the palace to find the necessary people. But before the secretary returned, the situation was unexpectedly resolved by an unexpected person.

"It seems there was a misunderstanding."

It was a smooth, pleasant tenor voice. As he finished speaking, he tilted his mask up to his forehead, revealing his face. His chiseled features shone smoothly in the moonlight and the torches scattered around the garden.

"Count Cesare!"

"Count Cesare!"

After savoring the shock of the crowd upon recognizing him, Cesare smiled and replied.

"That the prince is bearing the stigma for his half-brother, it seems the bond of growing up together is unbreakable."

Talking about the king's illegitimate child at an official event was a blasphemy against the royal family. Cesare would never have mentioned such a thing in Alfonso's presence. But now, Cesare was the only link between Alfonso and Ariadne. Alfonso was in no position to say anything to Cesare.

Cesare, drawing everyone's attention, smoothly made his way through the crowd to the center of the clearing. Passing by the Grand Duchess Lariessa, he stood beside Ariadne and elegantly kissed the back of her hand.

"Miss de Mare."

"Count de Como."

Cesare, receiving Ariadne's greeting, smiled.

"Someone seems to be very jealous of you. What to do? After today, there will be many more jealous people."

After making a joke to Ariadne, Cesare turned to the crowd and raised his voice.

"This lady is not the Marquis of Campa's mistress."

He glanced at Alfonso.

"Nor is she the prince's secret lover."

Cesare, looking at the Grand Duchess Lariessa, gracefully bowed.

"Don't worry, Grand Duchess. Everything will follow its natural course."

Whispering in Galligoan to Lariessa, Cesare then shouted to everyone.

"This lady is the woman I am courting. I was with her the whole time."

The appearance of a second man claiming to be with Ariadne and a third man suspected of being with her caused an immediate uproar.

Moreover, Count Cesare was publicly courting her?