Sister I am the Queen in This Life [Novel] Chapter 161

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: Feelings to Share
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“Your Highness….”

Bernardino, his aide, greeted Alfonso with a pale face as the prince emerged from Leo III's audience chamber.

“What did you discuss with His Majesty the King?”

“Father has ordered me to go to Gallico.”

“What?!”

Leaving his stunned aide behind, Alfonso strode down the corridor leading from the King's private chambers. Bernardino hurried after him.

“Are you really going?”

“It is a royal command. How could I possibly disobey?”

Prince Alfonso's voice held a mix of irritation and resignation. It was strangely reminiscent of his late mother's.

“Then, the date of your departure….”

“Tomorrow.”

“What?!”

To the doubly shocked Bernardino, Alfonso gave an order that would surprise him for a third time.

“Bring me my horse.”

“What? Now?”

If he was leaving tomorrow, the prince needed to pack and select his retinue immediately. Seeing the look on Bernardino's face, Alfonso replied with a bitter smile.

“You seem to have many questions for me, but I don't have the answers you seek. Go ask Count Marquez. He has been appointed as the chief negotiator for this trip to Gallico. He'll know Father's intentions better than I do.”

Whether the prince would be sent to the Kingdom of Gallico alone or with a proper escort of knights depended entirely on Leo III's whim. Confirming that was the first step in all preparations.

And it would be far better to inquire indirectly through Count Marquez than for Prince Alfonso, who had just provoked his father, to ask himself.

“Where are you going, Your Highness?”

Bernardino paused for a moment before adding.

“You're not... planning to run away, are you...?”

“It's one of the options.”

***

Ever since hearing of Queen Marguerite's death, Ariadne had been throwing up once a day, without fail. She threw up whether she ate or not.

“I can't seem to find the cause... It must be due to your great anxiety...”

The doctor who examined her could find nothing physically wrong, shaking his head at the mysterious ailment.

“They say that since Her Majesty the Queen passed away, many of the young ladies who admired her have been suffering from nervous breakdowns.”

Ariadne, who had apparently become one of Queen Marguerite's young fans overnight, let out a dry laugh. *Well, in essence, that might be true. The person I admired, albeit one-sidedly, has died.*

“Resting your mind is the best remedy. I'll prescribe a sedative for you. It's a concoction of valerian root, St. John's wort, and a few other nerve-calming herbs. It's particularly effective for gastrointestinal issues caused by neurosis.”

The doctor jotted down several herbs on a piece of parchment. He blew on the finished script to dry the ink and added.

“It will make you sleep like the dead, so please avoid taking it during the day. Take it before you go to bed.”

Sancha, who had now fully learned to read, peered at the prescription and spoke to Ariadne with a brightened face.

“We have most of these herbs at home, my lady. We're only out of mugwort, but it's common enough that I can buy it in town right away. Shall I go get some and prepare it for you this evening?”

Ariadne took the prescription and looked it over herself. Having survived the treacherous court, she had become well-versed in common herbs. They were all common sedatives; nothing on the list seemed problematic.

She handed the parchment back to Sancha and nodded.

“Yes, let's do that.”

Ariadne then dismissed the doctor.

“Thank you for your trouble, Doctor. Sancha, please see the doctor out and give him his fee.”

“Yes, my lady! This way, Doctor.”

Sancha escorted the doctor to the family carriage waiting downstairs, and on her way, she went out herself and quickly returned from town with the finest mugwort.

Since Queen Marguerite's poisoning, Sancha had been meticulous about anything that went into Lady Ariadne's mouth. Though the kitchen staff were all trustworthy, she would watch over the cooking process with folded arms, supervising even as the food was brought to the dining hall. And for something like medicine, she handled the entire brewing process herself.

Lady Ariadne wasn't a major figure exposed to political assassination like the Queen, but with two vipers in this house, Sancha couldn't let her guard down. *What if my lady can't eat properly because she's worried about the food?*

It was a small gesture of care from Sancha for her lady, who threw up everything she ate.

Thanks to her, Ariadne, who had retired to her bedroom earlier than usual, could take the doctor's prescription without worry. It was a dark, concentrated liquid of brewed herbs in a goblet.

Sancha's thoughtfulness didn't end there.

My Lady! Happy 16th birthday.

P.S. I bought the cookies with my own wages.

Next to the goblet was a pretty sugar cookie. It was a popular item from 'La Montagne Pâtisserie'.

Sancha had fallen in love with La Montagne Pâtisserie (not with Giuseppe) ever since Giuseppe had bought her a cookie from there once. She had gifted Ariadne her most favorite thing.

A faint smile spread across Ariadne's lips. Sancha was the first person since her late mother to genuinely celebrate her birthday.

‘Thank you, Sancha.’

Today was Ariadne's first birthday since she had returned to the past.

With her current standing, she could have thrown a birthday party so grand it would make the term 'tea party' seem laughable. More than a hundred people would have scoured San Carlo's high society like hyenas, desperate for an invitation to Ariadne de Mare's birthday party.

But with the court in mourning for Queen Marguerite, it was impossible, nor did she want to. Ariadne hadn't told anyone, so her birthday passed quietly with only Sancha's well wishes.

She tasted the yellow liquid. The smell was foul, but it wasn't as bad as she'd expected. She took a bite of the sugar cookie next to it, and the sweet taste in her mouth made it much more palatable.

After draining the goblet, Ariadne curled up on her bed, hugging a cushion.

‘I don't think anything's changed...?’

Her stomach didn't feel settled, nor did she fall asleep instantly as if struck from behind.

‘It would be nice if my thoughts would just stop...’

Ariadne stared blankly at the canopy above her bed.

***

The prince, who had left the palace at dusk dressed inconspicuously with a hood pulled over his head despite the late spring weather, arrived at... the de Mare estate.

Alfonso, who had ridden here on impulse, hesitated before the main gate. He was in no position to pay an official visit to the de Mare estate.

It was because of Ariadne.

First, he was worried that Ariadne might get caught up in a scandal if it became known that Prince Alfonso had visited Cardinal de Mare's residence before leaving the country.

He regretted not sending word to Cardinal de Mare that he intended to visit, but it was too late now. This was no time for a respectable guest to be calling on someone's home.

And second, he still remembered Ariadne's words: 'Let's not contact each other for a while.' Since her firm rejection, he hadn't heard from her again.

‘Ari... she must be disappointed in me, right?’

Alfonso mistakenly believed that Ariadne had closed her heart to him after Duke Mireille attacked her, all because he hadn't cleanly resolved the matter with Grand Duchess Lariesa.

‘I couldn't even protect her reliably...’

He had succeeded in physically sticking a knife in Duke Mireille's back, but when it came to the political cleanup afterward, Alfonso had essentially stood by and watched.

His late mother and Ariadne had handled the aftermath themselves. It felt like proof that he was just a novice, and Alfonso hung his head atop his horse on a small path near the de Mare estate.

He hadn't grown an inch. Even now, he had come to hear Ariadne's opinion.

He wanted to borrow her wisdom on whether he should follow the King's will, how to handle Gallico's engagement demand, what Gallico's next move would be, and how he should respond.

Whenever he had a problem, he had always discussed it with his mother and made decisions based on her opinion. Was he now, before his mother's body had even grown cold, using Ariadne as a substitute for her?

“Ha, hahaha….”

Alfonso laughed alone on his horse like a man who had lost his mind. The worst. An idiot. A fool who has nothing but his bloodline and can't do anything with his own two hands.

- *Swoosh...*

As if on cue, a downpour—too heavy to be called a spring shower—began to beat against the ground. Prince Alfonso flinched and straightened his posture. Tucked inside his coat was something that absolutely could not get wet.

That gave Alfonso his excuse. It was too late to return to the palace. By the time he got there, he would be soaked through. The only option left was to enter the de Mare estate.

But his deepest, truest desire was...

‘I want to see Ari.’

Tomorrow, he would depart on a long journey with no certain return date. He would never let it happen, but if things didn't go his way, he would be a betrothed man by the time he returned to Etruscan.

He wanted to see her before then. He wanted to confess to her.

That she was the only woman who filled his heart, that she alone was the master of his heart and body, and to please, please trust him and wait. That he wouldn't mess it up this time. That he would never let go first.

Alfonso tied his beloved horse in a secluded corner of a less-traveled path and headed not for the main gate of the de Mare estate, but for a remote corner. There was a side gate that led to the estate's rear garden.

Enduring the downpour, Alfonso gently pushed on the oak door, which was just large enough for one person to squeeze through.

- *Clunk.*

It was locked.

He reached into his coat and pulled out a medium-sized key. It was the key to the side gate that Ariadne had given him back at Arabella's funeral.

He gave a self-deprecating laugh for having brought the key, then inserted it into the lock and turned. So I planned to get in from the start. If not through the front, then through the back.

- *Creeak.*

The gate, seemingly not well-maintained, opened with a slight groan. Alfonso slipped his flexible body through the narrow opening and entered the de Mare estate.

Perhaps because of the heavy rain, there was no sign of anyone. The sun had completely set, and the surroundings were dark. It was the time of evening when the family would have finished dinner and retired to their rooms.

Alfonso scanned the building for Ariadne's room. He had only been inside it once, briefly, during her débutante, but he remembered it vividly. He would probably never forget it.

The sunlight pouring in through the arched window that took up an entire wall, and Ariadne crying in his arms, bathed in that light... she had been so beautiful it stirred his very soul.

And that arched window was conspicuously large even for the luxurious de Mare estate, making it easy to spot from the outside. It was dark inside, but he could see the faint, flickering light of a single candle behind the curtains.

- *Tok!*

Alfonso picked up a fingernail-sized pebble from the ground and tossed it at Ariadne's window.

But there was no response from within the room. Growing a little anxious, Alfonso found a slightly larger pebble and threw it at her window again.

- *Clack!*

This time, the sound was so loud that even Alfonso flinched, but still, there was no reaction from inside.

‘Is the sound of the rain drowning it out...’

The downpour was certainly deafening. Anxious, Alfonso hunched over a little more.

He was currently curled up as much as possible to protect the paper inside his coat from getting wet. But if he stayed in this deluge any longer, it wouldn't matter how he positioned himself; nothing would remain intact.

Just then, a small door of the mansion in Alfonso's line of sight creaked open. Alfonso's eyes widened.

A maid he had never seen before emerged from the door. She came out of the side door and immediately ran towards a shabby-looking annex that resembled a stable. It seemed she was on an errand.

‘She didn't lock the door.’

The maid must have intended to return quickly, as she hadn't bothered to secure the door.

Alfonso rose from the bushes where he was hiding and dashed to the side door the maid had come from, grabbing the handle.

- *Click.*

The handle turned smoothly.

‘Success!’

Alfonso rejoiced inwardly as he slipped inside.