Sister I am the Queen in This Life [Novel] Chapter 135

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: Crisis
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Alfonso climbed the east tower of the twin spires that rose majestically before the central palace and watched the ball guests depart. Unable to bid his beloved a proper farewell, he wanted to at least see her leave. In the distance, he saw a girl with black hair in a blue dress and a young man with silver hair in a red cape waiting for a carriage.

“Raphael, that rascal.”

The thought that he was standing a bit too close to Ariadne crossed Alfonso's mind, and he found it slightly absurd that he was feeling competitive even with his friend.

‘As long as he protects her, that's what matters.’

He decided to be more magnanimous. The man in the red cape helped the woman in the blue dress into the carriage. The woman boarded, then looked down. The carriage remained stationary for a moment before departing with only the woman inside.

‘……?’

Alfonso frowned, watching the scene below intently. Raphael was slowly waving at the carriage.

‘Why did they leave separately?’

The carriage seemed a little strange, too. Alfonso had wanted to give Ariadne his ‘Signora Offerta’, so he had tipped off the driver of the carriage that was to pick up Ariadne and Raphael. According to his plan, the driver was supposed to present the ‘Signora Offerta’ to Ariadne in front of Raphael. But the driver hadn't produced any such gift. As Alfonso watched with suspicion, the carriage made a peculiar move.

“!”

Instead of heading due south toward the roundabout, the carriage veered west midway and began to race off furiously.

“What in the world!”

Realizing what was happening, Alfonso bolted from the twin towers at full speed. That wasn't the carriage he had sent. Something had happened to Ariadne. * * * Ariadne felt the carriage was moving faster than a typical palace carriage.

“Excuse me, could you please slow down?”

Instead of trotting, the driver pushed the horses to just short of a full gallop, causing the open carriage to sway violently from side to side. Fearing she might be thrown out, Ariadne gripped the inner handle tightly.

“Hello?”

But the driver didn't answer. It was then that Ariadne felt something was wrong. The sense of unease she’d had earlier began to fall into place. The palace carriage had arrived unusually early; the palace attendants used for official duties were all young and slender, yet this driver was notably old and overweight; his head was bowed so low his face was hidden! This wasn't a real palace carriage. Frantically, she looked around inside. If only there was something she could use as a weapon…!

‘If I could just smack the back of that driver’s head…!’

If she could attack the driver, the carriage would naturally stop. But the interior of the guest carriage was pristine, with nothing but blue velvet cushions. Ariadne grabbed a blue cushion and, without hesitation, threw it out of the carriage.

‘Someone, please find that cushion…!’

Next, she checked her belongings. She wished she had worn a sharp jeweled comb in her hair. The tail of a decorative comb was pointed enough to be used like an awl. But as luck would have it, her hair was in a half-up style, adorned with a delicate hairnet instead of a decorative comb. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she tore open the ‘Signora Offerta’ box Raphael had given her. Inside was a thick, sturdy decorative ribbon of blue satin studded with diamonds.

‘This is it…!’

The satin of the hair ribbon was quite strong. She wrapped the thick ribbon around her hands, spacing them appropriately. In the rattling, swaying back of the carriage, Ariadne planted her feet shoulder-width apart, braced herself, and then, with all her might, strangled the driver from behind with the ribbon.

“Hah!”

“Ugh!”

The driver let out a strangled cry and grabbed at the ribbon choking him with his right hand. In doing so, he let go of one of the reins he held. Suddenly freed, the right horse reared its front legs and thrashed about. - *Clatter!*

“Hah…!”

The carriage lurched violently, slamming Ariadne against the wall, and a small groan escaped her lips. But she refused to let go of the satin ribbon, putting her entire body weight into tightening it around the old driver’s neck.

“Urrgh!”

The driver groaned and struggled. The right horse bolted diagonally, seeking freedom, while the left horse, still tightly reined, was pulled straight ahead. The carriage shook terribly. Though caught by surprise and caught in a chokehold, the driver was twice Ariadne’s size. He was of medium height, but he was extremely heavy, even for a man. His bulk made him slow, but his weight gave him strength.

“Nngh!”

He tried to pull the satin ribbon off with one hand. Ariadne held on for dear life.

“Die!”

“You wretched girl!”

A faint Gallico accent could be heard even in the driver’s grunts, but it became certain when he spoke. This man was not Etruscan.

‘A foreigner? A Gallico man? A Gallico man causing an incident like this inside the palace?’

If he was truly a Gallico man and not a spy sent by the Holy See to sow discord between Gallico and the Kingdom of Etruscan, this was a political suicide mission.

‘Why on earth would he do this?’

But Ariadne’s thoughts were cut short by the driver’s counterattack.

“Hah!”

Realizing he couldn't break Ariadne’s hold with one hand, he dropped the other rein and pulled at the satin ribbon with both hands. She couldn't withstand the force of a large man pulling with all his strength.

“Aargh!”

- *Crash!* Now completely free, the two horses bolted in different directions. The open carriage swayed precariously, on the verge of overturning. As the carriage jolted violently, the driver succeeded in wrenching the satin ribbon from Ariadne’s hands.

“Ack!”

As the ribbon, which she had wrapped twice around her hands, was ripped away, the jewel embroidery scraped her skin. It felt like she had sprained her wrist, too. The pain was excruciating.

‘At this rate… No!’

Ariadne estimated the carriage's speed. Because the horses were running wild in every direction instead of in a straight line, the carriage’s forward momentum had slowed considerably. She quickly scanned her surroundings.

‘Now!’

She threw herself from the carriage before the driver could come to the back seat to grab her.

“That damned wench!”

A curse in the Gallico tongue came from the carriage as it careened onward. He seemed furious that his captured prey had escaped. - *Thud!* Ariadne threw herself into the palace’s meticulously landscaped garden. She had hoped the shrubs would cushion her fall. The branches did absorb some of the impact, but she was scraped and pricked all over.

‘I have to get away before he comes back…’

Lying in the bushes, Ariadne barely had time to collect herself before scrambling to her feet. There wasn't a moment to waste. Instead of fleeing into the thicket, she ran straight back the way she had come, along the paved path. There was nowhere to hide in the palace gardens anyway. Besides, she was doomed without someone’s help. Running toward a place where she might meet someone was the right choice. The palace was a place with heavy foot traffic. She was bound to run into someone, be it an attendant or a lady-in-waiting.

“Ugh!”

Running frantically, Ariadne twisted her left ankle. The high-heeled shoes she had worn for the ball were the culprit. She gritted her teeth and threw off her shoes. Kicking off the other one, she limped on, one shoe clutched in her hand.

‘No, if I slow down, he’ll catch me…!’

A pang of regret hit her; perhaps she should have run into the bushes. But one had to do everything they could until the very end. Ariadne limped on, doggedly moving forward. It was a race against time! Either she would be caught, or she would find someone. But heaven was not on her side.

“Caught you, you damned bitch!”

The driver—no, the Gallico man—had closed the distance in a flash and snatched Ariadne by the hair.

“Ack!”

She screamed at the pain, as if her scalp was being ripped off.

“You’re the first girl to make me work this hard.”

The Gallico man held Ariadne by her hair with his right hand, taunting her from behind.

“As payment, I'll give you a good show.”

“You bastard… The great Kingdom of Etruscan will not stand for such provocation!”

“Of course, it should. That's what makes it worthwhile.”

Ariadne sensed from his words that he wasn't afraid of a diplomatic incident; rather, he welcomed it.

“What is it you want?”

“You'll find out after we have a little fun today, so what's the rush? I want to draw tears from your pretty eyes and see your father fly into a rage.”

Though they spoke in their native tongues, they understood each other perfectly. Her opponent was fluent in the Etruscan language. Still holding her hair, he ripped the cloak from her shoulders. As the cloak tore away, the attached partlet also ripped, exposing her white neck and shoulders.

“I'll toss this into the woods. If someone finds it, won't they have some fun imagining things?”

“What?”

Things were becoming more and more ominous.

“You don’t mean to…?”

The Gallico man understood her fear perfectly.

“Hehehe, don't you worry. Unfortunately, this old body is too old for that sort of thing. The outdoors is a bit much.”

“You bastard!”

“A lady should use pretty words. Not that you'll be able to hold your head high in society anytime soon!”

He struck the back of her knees hard with his own. She groaned and fell to her knees.

“Why did you mess with a man you shouldn't have? You get burned when you covet things beyond your station.”

The Gallico man shook Ariadne by her hair as he threatened her.

“A certain noble lady is very angry because of you. You must be punished for acting above your station.”

He subtly hinted that today's incident was because of Grand Princess Lariesa. The other side had to get the hint and fly into a rage. Then, he could use the contract in his possession as leverage, and the Grand Duke of Eude would have no choice but to concede everything to Duke Mireille. In the short term, the marriage arrangement with the House of Carlo would be at stake; in the long term, his daughter's life.

“Now, where should we begin? First, I should pay you back for what you did to me, right?”

He placed his massive hand on the same spot on her neck she had choked him. The Gallico man squeezed hard.

“Hahk!”

She couldn't breathe. I could really die like this…! Ariadne’s entire body froze in terror. But the Gallico man seemed to have no intention of killing her, as he relaxed his grip after a moment.

“What can I do to make your father the most furious?”

She wanted to retort, to tell him that no matter what he did to her, he couldn't truly anger her father. But her voice was trapped by fear.

“Stop!”

The words she wanted to say rang out, piercing the air. But it wasn't her voice. - *Swoosh!* The sound of metal cutting through the air. - *Thwack!* The man who had been strangling Ariadne collapsed to the ground like a falling scarecrow. Suddenly freed, she gasped for air. - *Swoosh!* The sound of metal swinging came once more. - *Crack!* This time, it was the sound of a skull cracking. The Gallico man on the ground didn't even twitch. Only then did the man who had swung the ceremonial sword—Prince Alfonso—rush to his fallen lady.

“Ariadne!”