Chapter 74

Isabella was terrified. She was disappointed at missing the winter social season in Taranto, but she had to get out quickly and spread the rumor that the real mistress of Count Campa was the Marchioness Bartolini, so she could escape this dirty quagmire!

“Enough! That’s enough! You’re still being disobedient and arrogant, even in this situation!”

“No, no, Dad, that’s not it...”

Lucrezia’s sharp rebuke followed.

“Be quiet! Listen to your father! I’m so embarrassed I can’t even show my face in public!”

Lucrezia usually took Isabella’s side no matter what, so Isabella’s face grew even more sullen. Cardinal de Mare’s judgment continued.

“No correspondence with the outside world. No church. Stay out of sight and live like a mouse.”

“No correspondence! Don’t cut me off!”

I have to at least tell my few remaining friends that the real mistress of Count Campa is the Marchioness Bartolini, not me! However, Cardinal de Mare, seeing his eldest daughter insist on continuing her correspondence, concluded that she must have a pen pal with whom she was in a romantic relationship and that she was infatuated with a man.

“Are you so blinded by a man that you can’t see your own reputation being ruined? You have no sense at all!”

Cardinal de Mare roared.

“All the luxury items in this room are confiscated! I’ll take them all and return them when you come to your senses!”

Cardinal de Mare signaled to his butler, Niccolo, who was standing outside the room.

“Niccolo! Gather all the luxury items in this room that a man could have given, or that are inappropriate for a young lady, and move them to the master bedroom!”

“Yes, Your Eminence!”

Butler Niccolo and a few burly servants rushed into the room and began stuffing Isabella’s valuables into a large wooden box. They confiscated not only the cosmetics and jewelry on the vanity but also furs and dresses. Among the valuable luxuries, a servant’s hand reached near Isabella’s partial wig box. Isabella’s partial wig was evidence of her mischief with Ariadne’s hook.

Isabella screamed in terror. She couldn’t let this be discovered!

“Dad!”

“Enough!”

Seeing Isabella still not submitting, Cardinal de Mare felt his blood boil.

“You seem to have lost your mind, not just from ‘The Tale of the City of Ladies.’ This time, it’s the Royal Chapel! You won’t even think about leaving this room until you’ve copied the ‘Meditations’ in full!”

Isabella’s face turned pale. Last time, it was house arrest within the house. This time, it was house arrest in her room. It was a punishment that Arabella often faced, but Isabella had never experienced it.

“Moreover, what about the fact that you let your sister bear the stigma because you coveted the ruby? Do you even have a concept of sisterhood?”

Cardinal de Mare, frustrated, pounded his chest.

“I’ll be gone, and you’ll be all that’s left! You’ll have to rely on each other to survive!”

Isabella muttered to herself. After Father is gone, I’ll confide in my brother and have her kicked out of the house. Cardinal de Mare, as if he had heard his daughter’s thoughts, bellowed.

“While you copy the ‘Meditations’ carefully, think about what you’ve done wrong! Apostle Barnabas taught in the ‘Epistle to the Carthaginians’ that one should not place a stumbling block before a brother, and that one must restrain oneself to avoid causing a brother to stumble! How can you, as the eldest sister, think only of how to torment your younger sister instead of setting a good example as the Royal Chapel teaches?”

He was revising his judgment of his eldest daughter. His eldest daughter, the pride of San Carlo and the most beautiful woman in San Carlo, was not only beautiful but also a troublemaker. Could he really push her into a match with Prince Alfonso?

Even if he managed to push her into the royal family after great effort, could she make the right decisions for the family’s benefit?

But Cardinal de Mare did not give up hope. He sentenced Isabella with the expectation of her reform. This girl, or rather, this beauty, would be sold somewhere, no matter what. Please, my snow-white daughter, come to your senses while copying the ‘Meditations.’

“Copy the ‘Meditations’ in full, two or three times! Start with the ‘Epistle to the Carthaginians’ on brotherly love! No, start with the ‘Book of Deuteronomy’ on a woman’s chastity!”

Reputation comes first. Then, brotherly love. Or should it be the other way around? His head ached.

“Don’t leave this room until you’ve copied everything! During this time, you’ll eat only twice a day, dry bread and water!”

Isabella, shocked, looked at her father. Cardinal de Mare did not forget his final warning.

“Of course, not in the room, but even after you leave, don’t even dream of going within 100 feet of a man! You won’t be allowed to go anywhere alone! No solo outings!”

- Thud!

The heavy oak door closed in front of the shocked Isabella. It was the last light she would see from outside until she finished copying the ‘Meditations.’ Fortunately, the partial wig box remained on the vanity, perhaps because it didn’t look valuable. Isabella hurriedly hid it under a box and, trapped in the room, cried alone.

‘Oh, it’s so unfair! So unfair! What did I do wrong?’

* * *

The day after the masquerade ball, King Leo III, Queen Marguerite, Prince Alfonso, and Grand Duchess Larissa were taking a morning walk together. King Leo III, though elderly, was confident in his physical strength. He set the walk schedule very early to show his robustness to the Gallican delegation.

As a result, the other three were dragged out of bed at dawn and were now forced to admire the autumn foliage of Palazzo Carlo.

“So, Grand Duchess Larissa, how was the masquerade ball last night?”

The interpreter relayed King Leo III’s question to Grand Duchess Larissa, who smiled and dismissed the interpreter.

“I’ll speak directly.”

“But the custom...”

“I’ll become an Etruscan when I marry into San Carlo, right? I need to get used to the local language.”

The interpreter looked uncomfortable but failed to chase him away. Grand Duchess Larissa, standing beside him, compromised by having him stay nearby and smiled at King Leo III.

“It was a fantastic ball. Thank you.”

Her grammar was imperfect but cute. The Grand Duchess of the rapidly rising Gallican Kingdom, which was giving King Leo III a headache, bowing and speaking so humbly was endearing to him. King Leo III laughed heartily and replied.

“Grand Duchess, did you meet many people?”

He meant to ask if she made new friends, but Larissa took it as a question about who she saw. She naturally began to talk about the people she saw yesterday.

“The Etruscans. They are so handsome and beautiful.”

“Ha ha, you saw them all despite the masks? Did you enjoy the intimate masquerade ball?”

It was a completely inappropriate joke. Masks were only removed for kisses or more. Mentioning an ‘intimate masquerade ball’ was like asking an unmarried princess from another country who she had physical contact with. Queen Marguerite slightly frowned, and then Grand Duchess Larissa dropped a bomb.

“The king’s two sons. They took off their masks. Both are handsome and very friendly.”

King Leo III’s eyes widened. Two sons? I only have one official son. How did the Grand Duchess see the faces of two sons?

‘What does she mean by “friendly”? They can’t be friendly with each other... Could she have kissed both of them?!’

Prince Alfonso and Queen Marguerite also failed to maintain their composure at Larissa’s blunt description. At that moment, the King’s secretary, Sir Cipriano Delfiano, quickly intervened to correct her.

“Your Majesty, Count Cesare took off his mask in front of her. Nothing happened with Prince Alfonso.”

“Ah, was it related to that incident?”

“Yes.”

King Leo III had received a rough report of yesterday’s events: ‘Count Campa was caught in a scandal at the masquerade ball, and Count Cesare resolved the situation.’ But his furrowed brow did not ease.

“Two sons?”

King Leo III officially had only one son. There might be rumors in the country that Cesare was the king’s illegitimate son, but they should not reach the ears of a princess from another country, especially one in marriage negotiations with the crown prince.

In this awkward situation, Larissa was no help. She, oblivious to the tension, nodded cheerfully.

“Your Majesty, two sons! They are very friendly. Prince Alfonso and Count Cesare lied for a girl.”

Larissa’s chaperone, Count Levein, was a close associate of the Duke of Valois and was not present. There was no one to rein in Larissa’s words. Queen Marguerite, trying to prevent a major disaster, jabbed a maid to fetch Count Levein from somewhere in the palace. The interpreter, pale, tried to prevent the disaster by suggesting to Grand Duchess Larissa.

“Grand Duchess, would it be better to speak in Gallican for smoother communication?”

Larissa, feeling stifled, agreed brightly.

“Sure?”

Free from the language barrier, Larissa spoke freely. To Secretary Delfiano, it sounded like bombs exploding all around.

“I almost misunderstood, but Prince Alfonso personally intervened to save Count Cesare’s fiancée from a scandal. She was wrongly accused of being someone’s mistress, and Prince Alfonso testified that he was with her! Later, Count Cesare came and thanked Prince Alfonso. The chivalry of Etruscan men is truly admirable.”

“Count Cesare’s fiancée...?”

Cesare has no fiancée. But the king’s intuition pointed in a certain direction.

“Is it the Cardinal de Mare’s second daughter?”

The interpreter relayed the question, and Larissa looked at King Leo III with wide eyes.

“Yes, that’s correct... But, Your Majesty, don’t you know who Count Cesare’s fiancée is? Has he not yet received Your Majesty’s approval? Yet, he still intervened, how romantic!”

King Leo III was a seasoned ruler. Upon hearing Larissa’s story, he quickly pieced together what had happened. Cesare has no fiancée. Alfonso must have been up to something in the palace garden. The girl was likely the Cardinal de Mare’s second daughter. Cesare must have cleaned up the mess, and Alfonso pretended to be the king’s son.

Cesare, his illegitimate son, wouldn’t act purely for others’ benefit unless it was to his advantage. He must have found it amusing or wanted to owe Alfonso a favor.

King Leo III slowly turned to the trembling Delfiano.

“Delfiano, there’s more to this report, isn’t there?”

Delfiano, already drenched in sweat, understood immediately and bowed deeply to King Leo III.

“I will arrange for a detailed report.”

King Leo III, with an unreadable expression, nodded to Larissa and glanced at Queen Marguerite and Prince Alfonso. Queen Marguerite gasped. It was the expression King Leo III made when he was extremely angry.

“You. Follow me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

King Leo III, omitting the respectful title for his queen, left the group and headed toward his study. Realizing the king’s anger, Prince Alfonso followed, but Queen Marguerite stopped him.

“Shh. Go back to the prince’s palace. You don’t need to come in.”

She quickly followed King Leo III and Delfiano into the study, leaving Prince Alfonso and Grand Duchess Larissa behind. Confused, Larissa asked Alfonso.

“Prince, what did I do wrong?”

Alfonso, unable to say ‘It’s not your fault,’ replied briefly.

“It’s a domestic issue, Grand Duchess. Let’s go, I’ll escort you back to your quarters.”

By the time Count Levein, the marriage negotiator and Larissa’s guardian, arrived, the situation was already over.