Chapter 70

Cesare strode into the center of the crowd. He approached the noble lady, one of the first to discover the secret meeting, and snatched the Collezione bracelet she was holding.

"This is my bracelet. Please return it."

With Cesare's strength, the noble lady had no choice but to let go of the bracelet. She looked at him in disbelief.

"This is a woman's bracelet. How can it be yours?"

Cesare smiled and replied.

"I bought it to give to a lady, but she didn't accept it, so it ended up being mine."

Cesare held the green topaz bracelet he had taken from the noble lady high in the air for everyone to see.

"Ladies and gentlemen! This bracelet belongs to Count Cesare."

The moonlight and torchlight simultaneously illuminated the green gem, revealing the empty tooth where a red ruby had been.

"The mask, necklace, and bracelet of Lady de Mare were made as a set."

Cesare smiled.

"Indeed, there is a reason for you to think the bracelet belongs to her, as they were originally a set."

He first threw a message to the crowd, assuring them, "You did nothing wrong." An angry crowd often gains a life of its own and refuses to listen to anyone. It was important to start on a friendly note.

"How do I know this? Because I was the one who gave the mask to the second Lady de Mare."

Cesare stood next to Ariadne and removed his mask, holding it high to show the inside to everyone.

"Do you see? The inside of this mask?"

The pattern on the outside of Cesare's mask was almost invisible, as it was intricately and densely woven. However, the inside had a large fleur-de-lis pattern, just like Ariadne's, with the same color scheme of red rubies and green topaz. Standing next to each other, the similarity of the two masks was very clear.

"I met her at the ball and wanted to complete the set by giving her the bracelet as a surprise. But..."

Cesare dramatically shook his head.

"How arrogant! The lady who reluctantly accepted the mask refused it as soon as she realized it matched mine."

He enjoyed the crowd's attention, shrugged, and continued.

"At a masquerade ball, one cannot walk around without a mask, so she said she would return it after the ball. She also said she couldn't accept the bracelet and that we shouldn't be seen together to avoid misunderstandings. She even told me to stay at least five feet (about 2.5 meters) away from her. She was so cold and harsh!"

Cesare shook his head.

"But a man doesn't give up so easily! I knelt before her and made a bold move."

He paused and then continued.

"Marry me."

Someone in the crowd couldn't control themselves and let out a scream. Cesare glanced at the source of the sound, giving a nod to his fan. After the fan service, he fixed his gaze on the audience and shook his head dramatically.

"But I was flatly rejected! She even told me not to dream about it."

Cesare raised his hands in the air.

"And to make matters worse, Prince Alfonso de Carlo saw the whole embarrassing situation."

Cesare smiled warmly and patted Alfonso's shoulder.

"Peeking from the bushes, like a little mouse."

Alfonso clenched his teeth and forced a smile, whispering through his gritted teeth.

"That's exactly what you did, you little mouse."

"Let's have some fun, Prince. What kind of attitude is that to someone who's trying to help you?"

Cesare grinned.

"Smile, show your teeth."

Prince Alfonso clenched his fists but couldn't bring himself to strike. Cesare left the trapped Alfonso and returned to his spot, continuing his performance for the audience.

"The Prince made a noise in the bushes, and our noble lady discovered him. She then asked for his help, saying a strange man was bothering her. The distressed lady left with the Prince's escort, leaving me behind."

The crowd began to murmur again.

- "What, so you were really with the Prince?"

Cesare didn't miss the audience's whispers.

"Lady de Mare was indeed not with Prince Alfonso for the entire ball. She was with me at the beginning. But I escorted her from the very start. Her alibi is watertight."

- "But why is the bracelet here?"

Count Cesare had a plausible explanation for that as well.

"I was so angry that I went to hang out with my troublemaking friends. They were all hiding in a small room in the palace, gambling. Look, even that guy was there."

Cesare pointed at the Marquis of Campa, who was sprawled on the floor, snoring under his cloak. The Marquis of Campa no longer had anyone in the capital who would associate with him, except for those who only cared about the money.

"I had no cash to bet, so I gave the bracelet to a friend as collateral for gambling money. Later, when I won big and tried to get the bracelet back, my friend had already given it to someone else for more cash. How irresponsible, to play with someone else's collateral."

Cesare shook the bracelet.

"It seems to have ended up with the Marquis of Campa."

He pointed at the Marquis.

"Tell the Marquis to return it to me when he sobers up. I'll send someone tomorrow morning to pay back the gambling money I borrowed, and tell him the bracelet belongs to Count Cesare."

It was a perfect alibi. Count Cesare was known to give extravagant gifts to women and to use them as collateral for gambling. His association with the Marquis of Campa was also natural.

"So, please stop criticizing the lady who should have been the owner of the bracelet. She firmly rejected my advances; surely she wouldn't have played around with the Marquis of Campa."

Cesare smiled openly, mocking the Marquis of Campa.

"I'll try my failed advances one more time. Could everyone please step aside?"

He approached Ariadne and extended his hand.

"Lady, let's go."

This time, Ariadne took Cesare's hand. * * *

Ariadne finally managed to regain her composure and remove her mask, wiping the sweat from her face. She was drenched in sweat, not just on her face but all over her body.

"Thank you, Count de Como. I didn't expect things to get so messy."

"Cesare. Call me Cesare if you're grateful."

Ariadne smiled bitterly. The name was so familiar that she could finish it without thinking.

"Count Cesare. I'll stick with Count Cesare. I can't give in any more."

"Wow, so firm. I just saved you from all sorts of rumors, and it's been less than ten minutes."

"Rumors? What rumors?"

"Being a gambler, being rejected by a woman, or having a woman taken by a prince."

Cesare frowned slightly.

"Especially the part about the woman being taken by the prince."

Ariadne laughed a little.

"All of it is true. You are a gambler, and you were rejected by a woman. The gambling part is common knowledge. Everyone knows it even without you saying it. The part about the woman being taken by the prince is a bit different from the truth."

Cesare was pleased with the unexpected point.

"Wow, you know I gamble?"

"Who in the capital doesn't know that?"

"No, no, this means you're interested! Last time, you even knew I carry a club. You must be the one who cares about me the most."

Cesare looked at Ariadne suspiciously, bringing his face close to hers until he could almost feel her breath.

"Are you secretly reading the 'San Carlo Gazette' and only the articles about Count Cesare de Como?"

Ariadne burst out laughing.

"Of course not!"

"Strong denial is a form of affirmation."

"No, it's not!"

After a long argument, Ariadne finally spoke to Cesare in a softer tone.

"Thank you today."

There was a hint of gratitude in her eyes.

"You didn't have to do that for me."

"Right after you rejected me, right?"

"Oh, come on!"

"You don't need to thank me. I did it to impress you. So, please keep the gifts I gave you. Don't return them or lose them."

He paused and added,

"My sister at home will be furious. Take good care of them even at home."

She smiled.

"Is it that obvious to men?"

"I'm not just any man. I'm not as gullible as others."

Liar. You were the one who was fooled, and badly.

"These are our couple items, so take good care of them."

"Take the mask and bracelet back."

"Hey!"

A small crack appeared on the surface of the perennial ice in Ariadne's heart. She had softened a bit, thinking Cesare had stepped in for her. But standing before her, Cesare felt a different kind of pleasure.

'Alfonso de Carlo, I have the affection of the woman you like.'

* * *

After Cesare left the crowd, the happiest person was Princess Larissa.

"Was it all a misunderstanding?"

Larissa, who wanted to believe in Prince Alfonso the most, was deeply immersed in the fairy tale of the golden prince who was only for her. To maintain this, she could even reconstruct reality.

"Huh..."

Prince Alfonso, unable to confirm or deny, could only let out a hollow laugh. If he checked his horoscope for the day, it would surely say, "If you were born in 1105 and are a Gemini, don't leave your bed! The world outside the blanket is dangerous!"

"The Etruscan royal family seems to have a good relationship among half-siblings. We wouldn't have had that in our family. What happened in Montpellier...?"

Larissa's clueless chatter continued endlessly. Alfonso rubbed his forehead.

In stark contrast to the happy Larissa, the most unhappy person at this moment was Isabella de Mare. She was almost successful, but Count Cesare threw himself in to stop her. The fact that the person who interfered was the very Count Cesare she wanted made her even more furious.

"Ugh!"

Isabella kicked a stone on the ground, unconsciously mimicking what Cesare had done at the fountain. However, Cesare was a skilled rider, and Isabella lacked the necessary abdominal and thigh muscles. She ended up falling with a thud.

"Ouch..."

A red ruby rolled out of Isabella's handbag. It was the very ruby that had been set in the problematic fleur-de-lis bracelet.

"Isabella, are you okay?"

Carmelia de Castiglione, noticing Isabella's fall, asked if she was alright. As she helped Isabella up, Carmelia's bright eyes caught the rolling ruby.

"Oh, what's that?"

Carmelia fixed her gaze on the red ruby.

"You're carrying an unset gem. It must be valuable."

Isabella growled.

"Carmelia, mind your own business."

She had no energy to waste on a trivial person like Carmelia. But Carmelia wouldn't let this opportunity slip.

"Mind my own business? I'm just being considerate of my injured friend."

Carmelia smiled sweetly.

"Prince Alfonso has Larissa, and Count Cesare has his sister. What about our Isabella? What can she do? There are no men left for her."