Chapter 8

Ariadne, who was officially raised in a rural village until the age of 15, found the Latin and arithmetic lessons she was being taught to be quite simple. She sat in the middle of a boring class, pondering her future.

‘How can I avoid my engagement to Cesare and survive?’

The first thing that came to mind was marrying another man. But Ariadne soon shook her head.

‘They won’t let me marry just anyone.’

Ariadne had been brought up from the farm to save Isabella from Count Cesare’s proposal. If she didn’t marry Cesare, she would be of no use to the manor.

‘Should I try to earn some money and run away? They say in the northern Republic of Porto, gold coins are king, regardless of one’s title.’

However, money came from the land, and as a girl without a title, Ariadne could neither create an initial fund nor grow it. It was an era where only noble men with land and serfs could possess money and power, as commerce had not developed sufficiently.

‘...A happy ending where he loves me will never happen.’

An engagement to Cesare, being cherished by him, getting married, and being crowned queen—such a sweet life. Ariadne shook her head. She wasn’t that naive. And most importantly,

‘I will make him pay.’

Once a betrayal occurs, it cannot be forgiven without a price. Cesare de Como, who for 14 years had built up sweet promises only to cruelly discard Ariadne for her beautiful sister at the end. Isabella de Mare, who treated Ariadne as her personal accessory from the beginning to the end and then took her life when she became a threat. And Cardinal de Mare, who, despite being a father, treated Ariadne as a mere chess piece for the sake of his children with Lucrezia.

“I won’t let this go.”

“Ariadne, pay attention.”

Unconsciously, her resolve slipped out, and Giovanni, the strawberry-nosed tutor, immediately rapped the desk with a stick to scold her.

“Even if you’re stupid, you should at least try.”

This was a very unfair statement. In her previous life, Ariadne, as the de facto wife of the Regent Duke, had written various official documents in Latin, and the learning materials Giovanni brought were very basic.

- auctor

“What does this word mean?”

“It means founder or author.”

Giovanni’s brows furrowed.

- officium

“What about this one?”

“It means duty or obligation.”

Ariadne answered correctly and fluently, and Giovanni looked displeased. Ariadne glanced at him and asked casually.

“Teacher, must ‘divitiae’ always be used as a feminine noun? Is there no way to refer to it neutrally?”

“Stop making useless comments and memorize the words. ‘Wealth, property, treasure’ are always feminine. When did you ever refer to them in the neuter form? Stupid.”

The neuter form of divitiae is divitiis. Giovanni was clearly someone who had only memorized Latin words and knew nothing about sentence structure. Ariadne decided to test him.

“Teacher, will you continue teaching us even after my sisters return in a month?”

Giovanni flinched.

“I’ll teach for a month. After that, I’ll spend the money I earn in Carlo and then go back.”

‘He’s not from around here.’

His accent had a faint southern tone.

“You must be making a lot. As the tutor of the Cardinal’s daughters, you must have a good reputation and a substantial salary.”

She had simply flattered him, but Giovanni immediately perked up and started boasting. He was clearly someone who didn’t often receive respect.

“When I return home, this will be a good experience, and I’ll get more work. I’ll be treated better outside. You, being a sheltered young lady, wouldn’t understand. Even the courtesans in Carampan are worth visiting.”

Ariadne frowned at Giovanni’s arrogance. Indeed, he was not a man who lived a righteous life. Carampan was a pleasure district, and courtesan was a respectful term for a high-class prostitute. Spending a night with a Carampan courtesan would cost 10 ducats (about 10 million won), which was not a small amount, even for the Cardinal’s daughters, let alone a basic Latin teacher.

“Teacher, you’re amazing. You’re so cool.”

Ariadne suppressed her disgust, feigning innocent admiration as she looked up at Giovanni. Being young had its uses. If an adult made such a face, it would be seen as insincere.

* * *

Dinner at the de Mare Cardinal’s residence was not the same as usual. Isabella, whose ankle had not yet healed, was eating separately in her room, Arabella was under house arrest, and the eldest son, Ipolito, was studying abroad. There were no children left at the table. Lucrezia, who usually sat there, was also eating separately, claiming she was unwell.

This was the perfect opportunity for a private conversation.

- Clatter.

Only the sound of cutlery echoed, and the dinner table was quiet. The Cardinal de Mare showed little interest in Ariadne.

“Ariadne, I thank you for providing such an excellent teacher.”

The Cardinal de Mare responded indifferently.

“Yes, are you doing well in your studies?”

“Ego habeo, pax universalis.”

Ariadne recited proudly.

“It’s a Latin sentence my teacher taught me. I memorized it. Did I do well?”

The Cardinal de Mare’s expression darkened.

“Who taught you such terrible Latin? Did you memorize it correctly?”

“No, I memorized it correctly. E-g-o, h-a-b-e-o...”

“Then the teacher must be the problem.”

“No! Teacher Giovanni is a famous person. Mother spent 10 ducats to bring him here.”

“What? Per year?”

“For a month. He’s going back south next month.”

“What? What’s that man’s name!”

“His name is Giovanni. He didn’t tell me his last name.”

The Cardinal de Mare was a sharp man. The excessive tutoring fee for a non-heir, the teacher’s poor skills, and the teacher’s southern origin—all these clues made him realize what was happening. His face turned red and pale.

“Lu-c-re-ti-a!!!!”

* * *

Accusing someone directly like this would lose its effectiveness if done too often, but it could work a few times. Ariadne smiled, thinking that if she had regressed to a child five years younger, she could have milked it for a whole year.

The household was completely turned upside down. The Cardinal de Mare, a penny-pincher, went to Lucrezia and demanded to see the household accounts. Sure enough, the accounts showed “Education Fee—10 ducats.”

‘I guessed the amount, but I hit the mark.’

“Spending 10 ducats (about 10 million won) a month on Ariadne’s education, who isn’t even a son or Isabella, is ridiculous!”

“It was to bring a good teacher...”

“A good teacher who can’t even use Latin cases properly! Where did he study!”

Lucrezia couldn’t answer.

“He’s not even from San Carlo. Who brought a Latin teacher from the countryside instead of the capital? Who is he, anyway? He’s from the south, right?”

Giovanni’s hometown was the southern Tarento territory, and his last name was Rossi, Lucrezia’s maiden name. In other words, he was from Lucrezia’s family.

Lucrezia wanted to help her family, but with the Cardinal de Mare watching her closely, she had hired an unqualified tutor and set an abnormally high salary.

“Are you out of your mind? No, you’re not!”

“Your Excellency... Your Excellency... I was wrong. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“I won’t let it go!”

‘Lucrezia’s family must be very poor, probably a fallen noble family.’

She remembered that her family members all depended on Lucrezia, who had improved her fate by becoming a cleric’s mistress.

‘If I dig through those accounts, I’ll find a lot of interesting things.’

Lucrezia’s situation was such that she couldn’t stop sending money to her family once she was caught. Her entire family hung on her like grapes. This structure would inevitably lead to more incidents.

Giovanni was stripped of his salary, beaten with a stick, and chased away. Lucrezia had to get the Cardinal de Mare’s permission for every item in the household accounts for a month.

‘I hope they’ll leave me alone after this.’

Ariadne wished she could have a heart-to-heart talk and negotiate with Lucrezia. Unfortunately, the de Mare family and their servants were not the kind of people who could engage in such a pleasant transaction.

* * *

“The laundry is in the wardrobe. Change and come to dinner.”

After Arabella’s house arrest, the red-haired maid Malleta had been cautious around Ariadne for about four days before returning to her usual self. Ariadne and Malleta were old acquaintances, though Ariadne didn’t recognize her at first.

Malleta, a close maid to Isabella, had followed her to the palace in the previous life and ended up as a mistress to a married palace official.

“Are you busy?”

“Yes.”

The maid’s voice was curt. Ariadne, thinking she would give Malleta another chance, asked innocently.

“Can’t you help me change?”

It was a maid’s duty to help her mistress. But Malleta, missing the opportunity, turned around irritably.

“Aren’t you old enough to do that yourself? You must have done it alone on the farm!”

‘Farm?’

Ariadne’s patience snapped.

‘She’s looking down on me completely.’

A maid just like her original owner. Once you let someone look down on you, it’s hard to control. This was a lesson from her previous life. Malleta, muttering about how a spoiled girl like her couldn’t even change herself, received something on the back of her head.

- Thud!

“Ouch!”

The thing that hit Malleta’s head and made a dull sound was the imperial decree Ariadne always carried. When Malleta turned around, clutching her head, she saw Ariadne with a cold expression.

“You need to know your place. Who do you think you are to act so insolently?”

Ariadne, tall for her age and with a cold, childlike gaze, was intimidating. But Malleta had something to say and a reason to believe.

“Hey, if you were born to a maid, aren’t you in the same position as us?”

“Huh?”

“Honestly, your father is a self-made cleric. Strictly speaking, clerics aren’t nobles, so you’re not even a noble’s illegitimate child.”

Ariadne stared at Malleta, curious to see how far she would go.

“Go on.”

Malleta, pushing out her plump, sensual chest, continued.

“To be blunt, if I catch the Cardinal’s eye tomorrow, my child and you would be the same, right?”

Malleta raised her voice.

“Isabella and Arabella are fine because Lady Lucrezia is a noble, but for Ariadne to try to be on the same level as them is disrespectful!”

- Slap!

Stars appeared in Malleta’s eyes. Ariadne had slapped her. There was no need to listen further.

“Are you saying my father’s blood is low and not noble?”

Ariadne said coldly.

“This is punishment for insulting my father.”

Before Malleta could recover, Ariadne slapped her other cheek.

- Slap!

Holding her right cheek, Malleta received a harsh slap on her left. Ariadne sternly said,

“This is punishment for your jealousy.”

Ariadne picked up the fallen imperial decree and slapped Malleta’s cheek with it one last time.

- Thwack!

“Aaah!”

The sound was not a high-pitched slap but a dull thud as the thick book hit her skull. Malleta stumbled back and fell to the floor.

“Moreover, are you daring to dream of taking your mistress’s husband and stepping into her place? This is punishment for a servant overstepping her bounds and commenting on the private lives of her superiors.”

Malleta, holding her swollen cheeks, glared at Ariadne through gritted teeth. Looking down at the fallen Malleta, Ariadne added kindly,

“If someone else had heard what you said today, they would have beaten you. Watch your tongue.”

Ariadne dismissed the trembling Malleta.

“Get out.”

Pointing to the door, Malleta hurriedly fled Ariadne’s attic room. Left alone, Ariadne clenched her teeth.

‘The fundamental difference between you and me is not bloodline.’

Malleta’s words had some truth. Ariadne could only enjoy her current status because of her father’s power in the capital. Strictly speaking, she was no different from a commoner. But the issue wasn’t about who could seduce a man based on their looks. Life wasn’t that simple.

Ariadne had already experienced in her previous life how a life of relying on a successful man could end in a miserable conclusion.

‘The real difference between you and me is about setting goals and how much we can endure.’

Ariadne’s jaw muscles tightened. She didn’t want to live like Malleta. She wanted to protect her dignity with her own hands. A life where she wasn’t violated, attacked, and respected. A life where her fate wasn’t tied to a single man.

‘This time, I will stand at the top to avoid being trampled. I will get rid of the damned maid, the damned family, everything.’