Sister I am the Queen in This Life [Novel] Chapter 112

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth, a Life for a Life
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Ariadne entered Mr. Scampa’s living room, adjusted her attire, and greeted the master of the house.

“Mr. Scampa.”

Ariadne bowed deeply, her greeting impeccably polite.

“I offer my sincerest apologies for the harm that has come to your daughter because of the actions of someone from my household.”

Although he had been furious that they hadn't even come to offer condolences, Scampa had never imagined that a high noble—or a member of a Cardinal's family, which was just as grand—would come in person and bow to a commoner like him. He shot up from the sofa in surprise. He waved his hands dismissively and said,

“Wh-what is the meaning of this? Please, rise.”

The high nobles he knew were people who could greet you on a whim and then have you brutally killed if they didn't like the way you returned the gesture. It was best to avoid them at all costs and to do everything in one's power to avoid provoking their volatile tempers.

“I don’t want such excessive courtesy. I just want my daughter, my daughter back.”

His wish was simple, yet in this situation, it was the most extravagant one of all.

“I would wish for nothing more if that were possible. But life and death are in the hands of God; they are not matters that can be changed by human hands.”

Ariadne looked at Mr. Scampa.

“A debt of blood must be paid in blood.”

Her deep green eyes shone with intensity.

“I came here today because there is something I must tell you, Mr. Scampa.”

Scampa's elderly mother, who had rushed to the kitchen, returned hurriedly with a teacup. With trembling hands, she servilely offered the tea to the high-born lady, the likes of whom she had never seen before. Ariadne was about to refuse, but seeing the person before her trembling so violently, she reluctantly accepted the teacup. Once she took it, however, she smiled and brought the cup to her lips. Her expression was confident, her gaze intense.

“The official statement released by Cardinal de Mare is a lie.”

“What did you say?”

“The deceased maid stole nothing, nor was the body desecrated by mistake due to a miscommunication. The client specifically ordered them to bring back her head.”

“How could this be!”

Mr. Scampa shot up from his seat.

“I knew it! And they tried to placate me with money!”

But Ariadne stopped Mr. Scampa.

“However, I must defend him on one point. Cardinal de Mare was completely unaware that any of this was happening.”

“What am I supposed to do with that!”

Mr. Scampa cried out.

“Ever since your family came into my life, nothing has gone right! First, it was pointless jobs, then constant complaints about every little thing, and now my daughter is dead! And you’re telling me to forgive it all because the Cardinal himself didn’t know?!”

Ariadne replied calmly.

“Of course not.”

She stared directly at Mr. Scampa with burning eyes. Their gazes met.

“You must take revenge on the one who caused your daughter’s death.”

Ariadne set the teacup down on the side table with a soft click. At the sound of the cup touching the table, Scampa's elderly mother flinched in surprise.

“A life for a life. Blood for blood.”

Ariadne did not take her eyes off Scampa.

“The person responsible for the death of your only daughter, Mr. Scampa, is Cardinal de Mare’s mistress, Lucrezia.”

Ariadne had clearly set Lucrezia as the target of this incident. It would be best if she could entangle Ippolito in the affair as well, but having two culprits would dilute the focus. If she wanted to make it unequivocally clear to the public who was behind the red-haired girl's murder, choosing Lucrezia was the right move. By sending her closest maid, Loretta, Lucrezia had inextricably tied herself to the case. Mr. Scampa sat on the sofa, his hands trembling as a fresh wave of rage washed over him. Ariadne watched Mr. Scampa with a discerning gaze.

“The leaders of the local associations will inevitably prefer to accept a cash settlement. They have many mouths to feed and little money. But they only see one side of the coin. The amount of gold you receive increases when you threaten to take a life in return.”

Ariadne spoke to Mr. Scampa in a low voice.

“Tomorrow, reveal that Lucrezia is the one who killed Paola and demand her life. The maid held by the local associations is your proof. She is Lucrezia’s closest confidante.”

Ariadne rose from her seat.

“I cannot stay long. The fact that I was here today must remain an absolute secret. However, Mr. Scampa, proceed tomorrow as I have told you. I will deliver the results you desire.”

“How do you know what results I desire?”

Ariadne answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Bloody vengeance.”

Then, Ariadne turned to Scampa's elderly mother and smiled faintly.

“And the maximum amount of gold.”

Ariadne bowed her head to the old woman.

“My deepest condolences for your granddaughter. You must be overcome with grief.”

Scampa's mother caught her breath, flustered. She felt she ought to at least pretend to be sad.

“Even if you demand only a life and no gold, the Cardinal’s residence will not simply wash its hands of the matter. I promise you that the amount of gold offered by the Cardinal’s residence will not fall below the three hundred ducats promised today.”

*Gold is what matters; what use is a debt of blood?* This was what Scampa's mother had been unable to say. Her face brightened. She grabbed her son’s arm and shook it.

“Yes, isn’t it wonderful that this noble lady will handle things so well for us!”

Ariadne bowed once more to the old woman and her son.

“I will take my leave now. My deepest condolences.”

Ariadne handed a white rose to Mr. Scampa and stood up. The pure white rose was a funeral flower, symbolizing respect, humility, purity, and youth. She donned a thick robe and left the middle-class house in Castel Ravico, walking out into the darkness.

***

The next morning, Cardinal de Mare was met not by a grieving family satisfied with three hundred ducats, but by a resolute family and an angry mob.

“We want blood for blood!”

Mr. Scampa, the leaders of the two local associations, and the vigilantes swarmed the front of Cardinal de Mare's residence, erupting in fury. They dragged with them the maid, Loretta, who was tightly bound in ropes and had clearly suffered all sorts of hardships. The vigilantes, having found a lead during their interrogation and tormented Loretta severely through the night, had managed to extract a useful testimony.

- ‘The red-haired maid who died with Paola Scampa was carrying the young master’s child.’

- ‘Lady Lucrezia was displeased by this fact.’

- ‘At first, she only ordered her to be driven out, but then she changed her mind and ordered her to be captured.’

This was where the truth ended. Beaten and threatened, Loretta began spouting things she didn't even know.

- ‘If they had caught Maletta alive, she would have surely killed her.’

- ‘Lucrezia has killed many other servants and maids before.’

- ‘The vicious Lucrezia has a hobby of collecting heads.’

Cardinal de Mare's grand mansion was located in a secluded, high-end residential area with little foot traffic, but it was impossible for such a commotion to pass without rumors. First, rumors began to spread like wildfire among the middle class of Castel Ravico and the poor of Comune Nuova.

- “Did you hear? They say Cardinal de Mare’s mistress killed someone!”

- “I heard she was a poor young lady!”

- “She was the good daughter of an honest family. Why on earth would they kill her?”

- “Was the Cardinal trying to take a new mistress?”

- “If only that were the case, it wouldn't be so unjust! The son of the house got a maid pregnant, and they tried to kill her, but they got the wrong person and killed that poor girl who was returning from volunteer work!”

- “My goodness, how wicked!”

- “Even if she was just a maid, to kill the mother of your son’s child?”

- “Well, she’s a mistress, not a proper wife, so what do you expect from her behavior!”

- “She got her position the same way, yet she couldn’t stand the sight of her own daughter-in-law?”

- “What? Cardinal de Mare’s mistress got her position that way too?”

- “You must not know because you’re young and from San Carlo! This is a story only those from Taranto know, but Lucrezia married Cardinal de Mare when she was young and already with child! The son she had then is the only son everyone’s talking about now. He really did a poor job raising his child, tsk tsk!”

- “Can you really say he did a poor job when the son just copied what his parents did? The crop reflects the field and the seed.”

- “You’re right about that! Hmph!”

And so, the story began to spread to high society through the servants employed by noble families and the market merchants who did business with them. Cardinal de Mare had met with the lower nobles and merchants remaining in San Carlo to prepare for the 'Spring Festival' and the Annunciation Mass, only to be subjected to their meaningful whispers, which they dared not say to his face. He returned home early, seething with rage.

“Niccolo!”

The butler, Niccolo, crept out hesitantly, his posture incredibly deferential. He was extremely intimidated, having failed to successfully conclude the negotiations with the family and the local associations despite being ordered to handle it. He nervously watched the foul-tempered Cardinal, greeting him with trepidation.

“Yes, Your Eminence.”

But Cardinal de Mare’s target was not the butler, Niccolo.

“Tell Ippolito to come to my study at once!”

“Yes, Your Eminence.”

***

Ippolito, tense at his father's summons, headed for Cardinal de Mare's study, located in the east wing of the second floor.

*Did he find out I was in contact with those vagrants?!*

One ominous thought led to another.

*Or did he find out Maletta is carrying my child? I’ll just have to deny it’s mine. Who knows who she’s been sleeping with.*

But what Ippolito truly feared was something else entirely.

*Surely he hasn’t found out I failed to earn my degree?*

With a heavy heart, he knocked on his father’s study door.

- *Knock, knock.*

“Enter.”

The voice that greeted Ippolito was dripping with Cardinal de Mare’s irritation. It was so brusque that a chill ran down Ippolito’s spine.

*Don’t tell me he found out I might not be his real son?!*

But to Ippolito’s immense relief, what Cardinal de Mare interrogated him about was something completely different.

“Ippolito de Mare. When you brought your mother back from the Bergamo estate, you said, ‘Father, I will take responsibility.’”

Ippolito was so relieved that his father had used his full name that he didn’t properly hear what he'd said at first.

“I… I did.”

“And is this mess the result of the responsibility you claimed you would take?”

*When did I say I’d take responsibility?*

With a bewildered Ippolito sitting before him, Cardinal de Mare interrogated him sharply.

“I thought you had sacrificed for your mother’s sake, fully aware of the role and responsibilities you must fulfill as the next head of House de Mare!”

*Me?*

Ippolito was taken aback.

“But look at this situation now! Your mother has become uncontrollable again and caused a major incident! And you, who boasted you would stop her, are just sitting there, gawking! This father is gravely disappointed in you!”

At the Cardinal’s use of the word ‘disappointed,’ Ippolito automatically straightened his posture. Disappointed? Disappointed in *me*!

“No, Father! I can fix everything!”

“You fool! All talk and no action, even in a crisis like this!”

In truth, Ippolito had no way to fix it, so he could only lower his head, stung by the Cardinal’s rebuke.

“As the next head of the house, if you have any opinion on this situation, speak.”

“…”

Ippolito was in a state where he could barely manage his own affairs. Lucrezia was the one being pointed to in the streets as the culprit of the murder. But strictly speaking, the vagrants who committed the murder were the ones Ippolito had arranged. Ippolito had given the order to kill. And the reason Lucrezia had decided to kill Maletta was all because of Ippolito. Ippolito deserved to bear at least half the responsibility. However, he was neither clever nor heartless enough to throw his mother to the wolves as a public scapegoat and save himself. Nor was he filial enough to step forward and sacrifice himself for his mother. In a word, he was indecisive. When his son remained silent, Cardinal de Mare revealed his true intentions.

“Ippolito. For the sake of your future, it might be better to give up your mother.”

The heartless and shrewd one was not the son, but the father with whom he shared no blood.