Chapter 7

The central staircase was dizzyingly high. Arabella didn't care about the height at all and didn't slow down, as if it didn't matter as long as she could push Ariadne away. However, there was a significant difference in physical strength between a fifteen-year-old and a ten-year-old. No matter how hard Arabella tried, she couldn't beat Ariadne. Ariadne took a light step to the side. But unfortunately, Isabella was standing diagonally next to Ariadne. With Ariadne stepping aside, Arabella's path went straight towards her older sister, Isabella.

“Eh, eh?”

“Huh?!”

Isabella couldn't avoid the charging Arabella in time and collided with her younger sister, then rolled down the stairs.

- Clatter!

“Ah!”

“Ouch!”

Thanks to her forward momentum, Arabella managed to grab the railing near the stairs and barely stopped. However, Isabella, who was standing with her back to the stairs, had nothing to grab onto and no support to cushion her fall. She rolled down about one floor to the landing and collapsed in the narrow space between the stairs.

- Thud!

She couldn't even get up from the severe fall.

“Ouch...”

The central staircase of Cardinal de Mare's residence was strangely high and narrow. The steep slope and narrow width made it look very dangerous. The high ceiling made the screams echo loudly. In response to Isabella's scream, the door to Cardinal de Mare's private reception room burst open.

“What's going on here!”

Cardinal de Mare, alarmed by the noise, rushed out of his private reception room and looked around. He scanned the scene, taking in the terrified Arabella and the calm Ariadne, then spotted Isabella lying on the landing at the bottom of the stairs and roared.

“What happened here!”

He gestured to a maid to help Isabella up. The maids who had rushed over helped Isabella sit up and started applying ice packs from the kitchen. Isabella, with an injured ankle, couldn't stand properly. Seeing Isabella sitting on the landing, Cardinal de Mare roared again.

“Who did this!”

Isabella, cleverly, kept her head down and said nothing. There was no point in speaking up and losing face. Cardinal de Mare, seeing Isabella's silence, glared at Ariadne and Arabella in turn.

“Which one of you did this?”

Arabella, pale with fear, stammered an attempt at an excuse. Ariadne, who would have cried at the sight of her father's intimidating presence at ten, spoke calmly, which Arabella found quite impressive.

“Father, it wasn't me... It was Ariadne, Ariadne...!”

While it was impressive, it was a different matter whether she was saying something Arabella liked. Cardinal de Mare immediately picked up on Arabella's attempt to shift the blame.

“Ariadne! You've only been back from the Bergamo estate for a few days, and you're already causing trouble!”

Arabella sighed in relief at having a scapegoat, and the maids gathered on the landing looked at Ariadne as if she were a strange foreigner. Having just returned from the countryside to the San Carlo Castle, Ariadne had already injured the precious eldest daughter, Lucrezia, and incurred the wrath of Cardinal de Mare. Her future would not be easy. However, Ariadne, showing no signs of fear, began to speak with a regretful and misunderstood tone, maintaining a composed and calm demeanor.

“Father, I apologize for causing such a commotion so soon after returning from the estate. Moreover, Isabella was only trying to help me...”

‘Help?’

Isabella, who had been bowing her head, looked at Ariadne with a suspicious eye.

‘What's her plan?’

Arabella frowned and glared at Ariadne. Ariadne, undeterred by the sisters' glares, continued.

“Isabella, as I've heard many stories about her while at the estate, is truly kind. She is indeed the most esteemed young lady of San Carlo Castle. I just arrived, but I am truly grateful to Isabella for reaching out to help me. However...”

Ariadne glanced at Arabella.

“Arabella needs to be more careful. She pushed me while playing, and Isabella tried to help me and fell down the stairs. At ten, she's no longer a child and should start behaving more like a lady.”

Arabella's face turned bright red from the roots of her ears. She had been relieved that a girl who had just returned from the countryside wouldn't be able to speak properly in front of the intimidating Cardinal de Mare, but Ariadne spoke fluently and fearlessly before the cardinal.

“No! No!”

Arabella shouted desperately. She knew what her father was capable of when he was angry. She couldn't let herself be the youngest daughter who had injured her beloved older sister.

“It wasn't that Isabella was trying to help her. She was standing next to me, and I pushed her! It was her who hurt Isabella!”

Ariadne, unfazed by Arabella's bold lie, bowed her head with a hurt expression. After all, there was no objective evidence, and only one witness.

“I may have just returned from the countryside, but I do not lie.”

Ariadne pointed at Isabella, who was lying on the lower landing.

“If you don't believe me because I'm inexperienced and unfamiliar, ask Isabella herself!”

Arabella was confused.

‘What's her game?’

On the other hand, Isabella, who had been a promising young lady from a young age and had later become a notorious villain in the Etruscan Kingdom's court, quickly regained her composure and dramatically bowed her head.

“Father...”

Isabella's decision was clear.

“I was just trying to help Ariadne...”

She didn't miss the opportunity to appear kind and even added a touch of selflessness.

“Arabella was just playing, Father. Please don't punish her too harshly.”

In an instant, Arabella, who had been a kind older sister, became a mean step-sister who bullied the good step-sister. She stared at Isabella with her mouth agape. Isabella modestly bowed her head, and Ariadne inwardly sighed in relief.

‘Nothing has changed. You're still the same, Isabella.’

Whether a sister or not, Isabella was not the type to let go of her own interests.

* * *

“Arabella! You will stay in your room for two weeks, eating only dry bread and water, and pray!”

“Father! I really didn't do it!”

“Call me 'Your Excellency'! How dare you call me 'Father'! You should repent after being caught lying, right? Really? Another week for backtalk! Pray for three weeks!”

Arabella trembled and looked at the floor. Isabella, avoiding eye contact with her sister, rubbed her ankle continuously.

“Call a doctor for Isabella. Where is Lucrezia? What kind of parenting is this!”

The house was in chaos. Ariadne, who had sown the seeds of discord on her first day back, laughed to herself.

‘So... this works?’

The whole household, except for Ariadne, stood in silence, looking at the floor. Cardinal de Mare, displeased with their reaction, stomped his foot.

“What are you all standing there for? I don't like it, bah!”

He shook his white robe and slammed the door to the reception room. Isabella, despite her injured ankle, seemed satisfied with the opportunity to appear kind in front of everyone and was helped to her room on the second floor by the maids. Arabella, just before being dragged away by the head maid, glared at Ariadne with a venomous look.

“This isn't over!”

Ariadne only smiled.

“You, poor thing.”

“What?”

“Father and Mother only like Isabella.”

Arabella's face turned bright red, and she trembled.

“What do you know! You don't know anything!”

“Miss, let's go. Making a scene here will get you another scolding from His Excellency.”

Arabella, unable to resist the head maid Giada's urging, was dragged away. As she was dragged, she shouted various insults like "cheap," "ugly," and "country bumpkin," which echoed through the hallway. Ariadne, dusting off her dress, composed herself. The only ones left were the maids busily cleaning up and the red-haired maid Malleta, who had been standing guard in front of the cardinal's reception room. Ariadne, noticing Malleta's even more respectful demeanor, smiled brightly.

“Shall we go?”

* * *

Cardinal de Mare ordered Ariadne to receive the same education as his other two daughters, but Isabella was bedridden with an injured ankle, and Arabella was under house arrest for three weeks, leaving only Ariadne to study. Lucrezia, perhaps finding it wasteful to spend money on a tutor for Ariadne, told the usual tutor to take a month off and brought in a different one. This was something that hadn't happened in her previous life. It seemed the cause and effect had changed due to Isabella's injury and Arabella's punishment. Back then, she had sat through incomprehensible lessons with the other two, unable to follow the advanced curriculum.

“This is Mr. Giovanni. He will teach you Latin and arithmetic. Listen well.”

Mr. Giovanni was a man in his thirties who looked somewhat unhealthy. His nose was red from alcohol, and his pores were prominent. The smell of a drunkard stung Ariadne's nose. She was skeptical. He didn't seem like a proper teacher. Moreover, why was he only giving his first name?

“Mother, how can we call a teacher by his first name? What is Mr. Giovanni's last name?”

Lucrezia flew into a rage.

“Stop making unnecessary remarks and study! If he's Giovanni, then he's Giovanni. Why so many questions!”

Lucrezia, perhaps feeling guilty about something, reacted sensitively to even a simple question. Mr. Giovanni's smirking face was even more suspicious. He nodded without showing any displeasure at being addressed by his first name.

‘Something doesn't feel right.’