Sister I am the Queen in This Life [Novel] Chapter 166

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 166
Chapter Title: Grand Duchess Lariesa's Excitement
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“What? Prince Alfonso is coming to Montpellier?!”

Upon hearing the news, Grand Duchess Lariesa shot up from the chaise lounge where she had been reclining.

Since returning home, she had been recovering her health quickly, finding stability in the embrace of familiar faces. Her harsh temper and volatile moods had also improved considerably compared to her time in San Carlo.

“Compose yourself, Your Highness!”

Madame Eugenie chided Lariesa for her sudden movement. A handmaid who had followed Grand Duchess Bernadette from her family home, Madame Eugenie had been the wet nurse to Lariesa's late sister, Suzanne, and was her mother's closest confidante.

It was the highest position a non-noble lady could attain, making her one of the true powers within the household. Lariesa, immediately intimidated, lowered her head.

Grand Duchess Bernadette, who was beside her, chimed in.

“Don't be so hard on her, Eugenie. She's been ill.”

“Your Grace is far too lenient, and that is the problem! We must strictly instill a sense of dignity in her so that she may present herself with grace wherever she goes, is that not so?”

It was a reprimand for Lariesa's poor conduct in Etruscan. Somehow, the story had spread, and Madame Eugenie had been relentlessly criticizing Lariesa for returning without having secured the marriage proposal.

Even Grand Duchess Bernadette had nothing to say in defense of Lariesa's behavior in the Kingdom of Etruscan. As the atmosphere grew awkward, Lariesa broke the heavy silence. Though she felt self-conscious, the 'Golden Prince' was coming! She couldn't contain herself.

“Mother, is His Highness the Prince coming to Montpellier to see me?”

The Grand Duchess answered her daughter gently.

“I don't know much about outside affairs, but according to what I heard from someone in the Montpellier Heavy Cavalry, that is the case. His Majesty Philippe IV supposedly requested that Prince Alfonso visit Montpellier himself to finalize the marriage alliance.”

“Aah!”

Grand Duchess Lariesa let out a cry of delight. Her face, as pale as dough, flushed crimson all the way to her neck.

*He's...! Coming to see me...!*

Just as Grand Duchess Lariesa's mind was about to drift into another world, Madame Eugenie pulled her back with a loud roar.

“Your Highness! Maintain your dignity!”

“Stop it!”

With her mother's implicit support, Lariesa snapped in irritation. Or rather, she tried to. But a weighty voice cut her off.

“Lariesa!”

A short but broad-shouldered man strode unhesitatingly into Grand Duchess Bernadette's private chambers. It was Grand Duke Eudes, whose white hairs were beginning to outnumber the black.

“Father!”

“You've arrived, my dear.”

He nodded a greeting to the Grand Duchess and then glared sternly at his daughter.

“Do not act rashly, Lariesa!”

“...What?”

She was being scolded the moment her father entered the room, even though she couldn't think of a single thing she had done wrong. Lariesa's face flushed red with indignation.

But unlike usual, Grand Duke Eudes raised his voice sternly, showing not a shred of pity for his daughter.

“Don't even think of going anywhere near the prince!”

“What? Father?”

Grand Duchess Lariesa's long, narrow eyes widened.

Frozen in fear of her father, Grand Duchess Bernadette asked in her stead.

“But why, my dear? Isn't His Majesty summoning the Prince of Etruscan for the purpose of a marriage alliance? Is there another prospective bride besides our Lariesa?”

Behind them, Madame Eugenie spitefully mumbled something like, ‘The little Grand Duchess gets rejected because she carries herself so poorly.’ But Grand Duke Eudes paid her no mind, answering only the Grand Duchess.

“You, too, should pay it no mind. Just make sure Lariesa doesn't go gallivanting outside the house.”

Grand Duchess Bernadette was an obedient woman. Though curious, she didn't press her husband for more. She lowered her head and replied.

“Yes, my dear.”

It was Lariesa whose insides were burning to a crisp.

*Don't tell me... Is there another prospective bride for the Prince? Here, in the Kingdom of Gallico?*

***

“We meet again so soon.”

Ariadne glanced at the middle-aged, goateed man sitting before her, a broad smile on her face. He grunted noncommittally, as if unsure why this meeting was even taking place.

Ariadne was currently visiting Camelia's home for a private meeting with Baron Castiglione.

“And what interesting matter brings you to your friend's father today?”

Thanks to Ariadne's tip last time, Baron Castiglione had been able to settle an old score with the Margrave of Gaeta. As a member of the proud old nobility, the Margrave was now suffering the humiliation of being dragged around by a new master who had suddenly appeared in his own house.

The upright old Marquis Montefeltro also happened to be a master of military affairs, and an elite order of Gallican knights was encamped just outside the walls of the Gaeta domain. The old marquis even had the pretext of being there under King Leo III's orders to resolve the Gallican situation.

Incensed by the fact that Gaeta Castle's infantry was a disorderly mob and its walls were on the verge of crumbling, all while an elite Gallican knight order was stationed right on his doorstep, the old marquis began a grueling training regimen for the Margrave's soldiers, heedless of the man's reputation.

Whenever the Margrave tried to dissuade him, citing the budget or the soldiers' morale, the old marquis would fly into a rage and treat him like human garbage. It was a humiliation the likes of which the Margrave of Gaeta, the ruler of the borderlands, had never before experienced.

*I wasn't expecting to be thanked for the matter with the Margrave, but is he really going to let it pass without a single word of appreciation?*

Ariadne maintained her smile and tilted her head.

“I'm here to talk about money.”

It wasn't a topic for a cardinal's daughter. Nor was it something to be discussed by the 'girl who sees the truth,' praised for her profound knowledge of theology. It wasn't a conversation for San Carlo's brightest mind, and certainly not for the scandal-plagued woman rumored to be involved with both a prince and the king's illegitimate son.

“Hah, money?”

Baron Castiglione's expression perfectly mirrored his thoughts.

“Do you need some sort of allowance, my lady?”

Baron Castiglione's tone was growing increasingly casual.

Of course, in terms of title and age, the baron's station was indeed higher than that of a mere commoner's daughter, but she was no ordinary commoner's daughter—she was 'Lady de Mare.' And his casualness wasn't because she was his daughter's friend; the baron had never once treated Ariadne as such.

Ariadne didn't let the smile leave her face, simply shaking her head.

“Aren't you interested in making a lot of money?”

Baron Castiglione seemed to find this remark incredibly impudent. He let out a short, 'Hah,' then burst into loud laughter.

“Hahahahaha, hahahahaha!”

He laughed so hard he clutched his stomach, an act that went beyond mere rudeness. Ariadne sat before him, her expression completely unruffled, observing his outrageous behavior.

“Ah, forgive my discourtesy. It's just that you're so adorable, like one of my own children.”

Baron Castiglione, who was only seven or eight years older than Ariadne had been before her regression, looked at her as if she were a child not yet ten.

“I'd have no other wish if my youngest son were as bright as you. Being a boy, he's just too soft-hearted, you see.”

He didn't bother to add that he would not want a daughter like Ariadne.

“A lot of money, you say? How much are you thinking? One ducat?”

Ariadne's brow began to furrow. This man had no intention of recognizing her as an equal business partner.

Ariadne stood up from her seat.

“Your scale is quite small.”

Standing, her gaze was now higher than that of the seated Baron Castiglione. Looking down imperiously at the middle-aged, goateed man, Ariadne spat out the words as if chewing them.

“The required investment is in the tens of thousands of ducats.”

“What? Ten thousand ducats?”

Stunned by the absurd amount, Baron Castiglione asked again to confirm he had heard correctly.

“In the tens of thousands of ducats. If ten thousand were enough, I would have said ten thousand.”

“Listen here, young lady. Ten thousand ducats is not child's play. What on earth would you spend such a large sum on? Dresses?”

“If you wish to remain a trivial silk merchant for the rest of your life, then so be it. A man content with a life of peddling wares for pennies could never accomplish anything great.”

Ariadne continued, looking down at him coldly.

“The return will be whatever I name it.”

“...Does a young lady like you intend to overthrow a throne? Where would you use that kind of money, unless you plan on hiring a condottiero?”

Ariadne didn't answer the baron's question. Instead, she turned and opened the door to the drawing room.

“You will come to regret this day.”

Leaving Baron Castiglione seated behind her, she strode down his hallway without a backward glance.

***

*Clip-clop, clip-clop!*

Inside the de Mare family's silver carriage, Ariadne rubbed her temples as a headache began to creep in.

She had stormed out of the Castiglione estate with bravado, but finding a lender who could provide that much money was not easy. The commerce of the Kingdom of Etruscan—no, of the entire central continent—had not yet evolved much beyond the guild system.

*I can't borrow from multiple people in smaller amounts, either.*

She had only one piece of collateral. It couldn't be divided, and above all, she had to avoid rumors spreading that 'Ariadne de Mare put up the Heart of the Deep Blue Sea as collateral.'

*Dellatore... Marquez... Montefeltro...*

Ariadne thought of several wealthy high nobles but shook her head. Their wealth was based on land. They didn't have liquid assets. She needed ducat gold coins, not land or castles. And she needed them now.

*Wait a minute...*

Ariadne thought to herself.

*How big would the Boccanegra Company be by now?*

Boccanegra. In her past life, they were the company that had pushed aside Baron Castiglione to become the undisputed top merchant guild in Etruscan.

Unusually for an establishment founded by a commoner, it had no guild backing, which allowed it to grow large without being constrained by the interests of a cooperative.

It was also the company to which the Margrave of Gaeta had transferred the distribution rights for the Gaeta Rose after tearing them away from the Castiglione Company.

Their true rise to prominence came after Cesare's coup, thanks to attaching themselves to the royal palace, whose administrative power had weakened, and becoming its hands and feet. As a result, Ariadne knew their circumstances very well.

*They haven't reached the stage of having a nationwide distribution network yet. That comes later, when the Boccanegra Company begins collecting taxes on behalf of Palazzo Carlo.*

But the Boccanegra Company was special. Unlike other merchants who needed a distribution network to make money, Boccanegra would be overflowing with cash even without one.

Because their origins were in tobacco smuggling.

*Addictive substances have high margins, and the addicts flock to you like clouds.*

And what Ariadne needed was cash, not a distribution network.

*If Boccanegra gets in on this and makes a fortune, the look on Baron Castiglione's face will be a sight to see.*

Finally, a mischievous smile befitting her physical age appeared on Ariadne's face.