Chapter 9

If Isabella had known what Maleta had said, she would never have taken Maleta's side. However, Maleta only told Isabella that 'Ariadne hit me' while omitting her own actions, and Isabella, who could not refuse the role of a righteous savior, immediately reported the incident to Lucrezia. Lucrezia, who had been harboring resentment against Ariadne since the previous governess incident, marched into Ariadne's quarters with Maleta at the forefront, full of righteous indignation. The narrow corridor leading to Ariadne's small third-floor attic room was filled with the noisy stomping of five or six pairs of feet, and the old oak door was suddenly thrown open.

"Where does a girl get off being so careless and hitting people!"

Lucrezia, dressed in a revealing, tight-fitting dress, appeared with Isabella, Maleta, and the maids she always brought along. Maleta, showing her swollen cheek to Lucrezia, pleaded her case.

"While I was organizing the clothes for the young lady, Ariadne suddenly hit me without any reason."

Lucrezia nodded vigorously and bellowed.

"A person in a higher position should lead by example, but you hit someone without any provocation! Your character is truly vicious!"

There it is. Ariadne, not flustered, bowed politely.

"Mother, those in a higher position have the responsibility to guide those below them. Maleta insulted Father and Mother, so I had no choice."

"What?"

"Maleta said that Father, who doesn't know shame, raises all his illegitimate children like noble children, and that there's no need to be polite to me, who is just an illegitimate child."

Maleta's face turned pale. She looked at Isabella, silently pleading for help. Isabella was at a loss. No, she had brought her mother to support Maleta, thinking Ariadne was violent, but how could she have known Maleta would make such explosive remarks about Cardinal de Mare! Lucrezia's face turned pale as she glared at Maleta.

"Is this true?"

"No! No, it's not! I told Ariadne that Isabella and Arabella are noble and should not be hit by her!"

Ariadne threw in another line. She had run through this scenario in her small third-floor attic room more than ten times.

"More precisely, she said that Father's blood is low, and only Mother's blood is noble, so there's no need to be polite to me, who is the daughter of a mere maid like her."

This was a statement that, while satisfying to hear from Lucrezia and Isabella's perspective, could not be publicly acknowledged. Cardinal de Mare was originally an orphan of unknown parentage, and the fact that he started as a priest without the opportunity to choose a career was a sore point for him. If these words reached the cardinal's ears, it would be a serious matter. Ariadne, seeing Lucrezia's pale face, delivered her final blow.

"Moreover, she said that if she bears a child, the child will have the same status as me, so there's no need to be polite to me."

Suddenly, Lucrezia's eyes blazed with anger. This was different.

"What?"

Maleta, finally realizing the gravity of the situation, trembled like a leaf. Lucrezia, like a tigress, turned her head haughtily and glared at Maleta. The time it took for her gaze to slowly shift to Maleta felt like an eternity, and Maleta ended up kneeling on the floor.

"No, madam! How could I do such a thing! It's all lies from Ariadne!"

Lucrezia scanned Maleta from head to toe, trying to gauge whom to believe. The maid, though not a beauty, had a plump and voluptuous figure. The most attractive part of Maleta was her torso, with full and voluptuous breasts and arms, a slim waist, and short, thick legs, which made her stand out despite her ordinary face.

'What does my husband think when he sees this maid...?'

Maleta was well aware of her strengths and had tailored her maid's uniform to fit her body. Her dress was similar to Lucrezia's. Realizing this, Lucrezia's eyes gleamed with fury, and she roared.

"How dare this lowly woman covet another man's husband!"

She turned her head and barked at the head maid standing behind her.

"Give this insolent woman ten lashes!"

It was a severe punishment for a slip of the tongue. Twenty lashes often proved fatal for older servants.

"Yes, madam!"

"Ahh! No! It's all lies! Please, madam!"

The head maid and two or three of Lucrezia's direct maids pounced on Maleta, dragging her kicking and screaming to the servants' quarters on the third floor. Maleta, who had once been Isabella's direct maid, received no help from Isabella. This matter seemed to be settled, but Lucrezia could not let Ariadne off easily. It was a matter of her authority as the mistress of the house.

"And you! If something like this happened, you should have come to me for help, not hit a maid without any reason!"

She glared at Ariadne.

"Violence is never acceptable!"

- 'Violence is never acceptable in any situation!'

The words Cesare had said after the Tifati incident echoed in her ears. Ariadne smiled wryly. It's not that violence is never acceptable in any situation; it's that those without the power to justify violence should not use it. Was the violence committed by the marquess's troops, whom Cesare had brought to the capital, not violence? Was Cesare, who killed Prince Alfonso and hung him on the city walls, as pure as snow? Is Lucrezia pure? Is there a fundamental difference between a direct punch and a lash from the head maid? For Maleta, being slapped a few times by Ariadne might be a hundred times better than being tied up in the basement and receiving ten lashes.

But Ariadne bowed politely and knelt on the floor.

"My thoughts were short-sighted. I wanted to avoid troubling you, Mother, so I handled it myself, but I was wrong."

She bowed again and confessed her sins.

"To show my repentance, I will go to the Langbue Shelter. I will serve for three days and nights to reflect on my mistakes."

The Langbue Shelter was notorious. Established by Queen Marguerite to help the poor of San Carlo, it was well-intentioned but woefully underfunded. The poor often died there.

"Maleta, who has also been misled by my lack of virtue, should come with me to strengthen her faith."

Lucrezia looked slightly surprised. The Langbue Shelter? Go there voluntarily, to a place where blood and pus flow? But Isabella interjected.

"Five days might be better."

She wore an angelic smile.

"Saint Asteya of the Holy See repented for five days and nights. If we strictly follow the example of the Holy See, wouldn't it lead to a better outcome?"

Ariadne knew that Isabella had no faith. She was only doing this to torment Ariadne. But whether it was three days or five, it made little difference to Ariadne. She was used to enduring filth, cold, and danger.

"Sister, you're right. I will return after five days of reflection."

Whispering in Lucrezia's ear, Isabella removed her mask.

- 'Mother! When she returns from the shelter, she might have lice or scabies, so we can lock her in a small room for a month.'

- 'Will His Excellency say nothing if we lock Ariadne away for a month?'

- 'We'll say she might have brought a disease from the shelter and needs to be isolated until she's clean. What will Father say?'

San Carlo was a place where the plague and cholera periodically broke out. The Langbue Shelter was where the poorest and sickest people in San Carlo went. Isabella added one more point.

- 'This new one, she pretends to be obedient, but I don't like her. We need to break her in. This is a good opportunity to show who's in charge.'

Lucrezia nodded at her golden daughter. Ariadne was to pack her bags that evening and leave for the Langbue Shelter early the next morning.

* * *

The carriage to the shelter was a simple, black-painted one. There was a lavish silver carriage that the cardinal often used, but she never considered using it. It wouldn't have been given to her, and even if it had, she would have refused.

In one corner of the narrow carriage, the maid Maleta, beaten and bruised, sat nervously. Ariadne smiled and began.

"Maleta, for the next five days, it will just be you and me."

"..."

"During this time, Sister Isabella won't be able to protect you. What will you do?"

Maleta's shoulders began to tremble.

"Or will Sister Isabella protect you? Didn't you see when Mother called for ten lashes? If Sister had said one word, you wouldn't have been whipped."

The Roman general Theodosius once said that people can be ruled by fear or love. In her previous life, Ariadne failed at both. She was mocked by those around her and never loved. This time, she decided to start with fear.

"At home, you spend most of your day with me, not Sister Isabella."

Ariadne leaned towards Maleta, her tall stature and straight shoulders looming over the round, plump maid.

"You might make a wrong judgment at first. You might make mistakes. But when you realize you're wrong, you should correct your attitude quickly, shouldn't you?"

Maleta took a deep breath.

"I am a lenient mistress. I can forgive past mistakes."

Suddenly, the carriage jolted.

- "Hee-haw!"

"We've arrived."

Fortunately for Maleta, the carriage arrived at the shelter just in time. Ariadne clicked her tongue and stepped out of the carriage.

The Langbue Shelter was a rare government-operated facility for the poor, not run by the Holy See. Ariadne, unpacking her luggage in a cold room under the guidance of a royal official, asked to be given tasks like any other volunteer, as the officials were unsure how to treat the cardinal's illegitimate daughter.

'I need to go where the poor gather. That's why I brought Maleta here.'

* * *

"Line up! One bowl per person!"

Ariadne was assigned to serve soup. The pot was far away, but she had to ladle it out about 500 times a day, and her arm ached as if it would fall off. On the first day, and even the second, she noticed that the number of people receiving food was much smaller than the number of poor in the shelter. She asked a lower-ranking official who was working with her.

"Are there not more poor people in the shelter? Why are there so few people in the food line?"

"Those who are very ill don't have the strength to stand in line."

There were no personnel assigned to bring food to and feed the severely ill, which meant they were being left to starve.

'That child must be among them.'

Ariadne decided to go find her. At this point, she had no idea that she would meet someone more important than the person she was looking for.