Chapter 169

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: A Secret Known, a Secret Unknown
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Ariadne de Mare did not trust people. Not others, and not even herself.

Humans were inherently weak creatures who looked out only for themselves, speaking of loyalty and compassion only when it served them. It was a lesson learned through countless experiences in her past life.

It wasn't that unicorn-like individuals didn't exist, but a unicorn was a unicorn because it was rare. As far as she knew, Caruso Vitelli of the Boccanegra Merchant Guild was a wise, quick-judging man with a devilish nose for money, but apart from that, he was just an ordinary human.

"Director Caruso, do you normally allow your page to sit in on meetings?"

Surprised by the unexpected question, Director Caruso glanced toward the office door. The page who had first guided Ariadne stood there, wide-eyed. He looked startled, as if surprised the attention had turned to him.

"He looks bright. I need hands to count my money. Would you lend him to me for a while?"

One does not entrust the handling of money to an outsider, especially when it involved not petty cash, but ducat gold coins. This was an excuse.

"...Pardon? This child?"

"Is there a problem?"

Director Caruso's eyes wavered. The page just blinked.

"Surely you don't think I'd do something wicked?"

Ariadne raised her voice.

"He will be under the wing of His Eminence, Cardinal de Mare. I will teach him everything I can. I will return him to you safe and sound."

Director Caruso exchanged a glance with the page.

Standing behind them, Giuseppe tilted his head. Ariadne was one of the best masters in all of San Carlo, but she didn't usually consider the opinions of her subordinates to this extent. *What is this? This excellent work environment the page is enjoying?*

But Ariadne wasn't surprised at all, as if she had expected it.

After exchanging looks with the page, Director Caruso finally spoke.

"...If you say you'll teach him well, it is an honor for us. You'll be leaving the necklace today, correct?"

"Yes. Please take special care not only with security, but also to ensure no rumors leak to the outside."

She swept her gaze around the room. The people inside her office came into view.

"The only people who know this necklace is here are myself, you, Director, Giuseppe who is in this room, and our page. A total of four people."

"..."

"It's a structure that will make it immediately clear where any leak came from, so I hope you won't disappoint me."

"...Credit is a merchant's lifeblood."

"I trust you."

With a concise reply, Ariadne rose from her seat.

"Then I will be waiting for 3,000 ducats in gold by midnight. I will have the terms we just discussed prepared in a contract, so please come and sign it at midnight."

"We will also prepare a copy on our side."

"As you wish."

Having stood up, Ariadne offered Director Caruso a handshake. He shook it, somewhat bewildered. Ariadne de Mare's hand, belying her slender, sixteen-year-old frame, was remarkably firm and steady.

"Then, I'll be on my way."

She bid the director farewell and looked at the page. The boy's eyes shone with a mixture of seventy percent anticipation and thirty percent fear. Ariadne met his gaze and smiled.

"You'll come with me now."

***

Leaving the "Heart of the Deep Blue Sea" in Director Caruso's office, Ariadne departed with his page in tow. In the courtyard, she dismissed all of her guards. After a conspicuous departure from the Boccanegra Merchant Guild's main building, she boarded the de Mare family's silver carriage to return home.

"My lady, how did it go?"

Sancha, who had been waiting in the carriage, asked with sparkling eyes.

"It went well."

"Who is this child?"

He was a boy with a brown shortcut, dressed in neat clothes.

"Our hostage."

A smile played on Ariadne's lips. It was a joke, but the boy seemed to have been startled.

"Pardon? He looks like a page. A page as a hostage?"

Pages were chosen from among the cleverest and most handsome of boys among the servants. If lucky, they might hold the position for a long time and eventually become their master's right-hand man, assisting in their employer's most important business. But if they proved unsatisfactory, it wouldn't be strange for them to be replaced the very next day. They held little value as a hostage.

"I feel like I've become quite the villain."

Ariadne laughed cheerfully and offered no further explanation. Sancha's question was only answered after they returned to the de Mare grand manor.

"Sancha. Please give our guest a room in the west wing on the third floor."

"The west wing? My lady, that's where the female servants reside. Even if he's young, we can't put a male in there!"

That was the very place Ariadne had stayed when she first came to the de Mare manor. It wasn't a room befitting a daughter of the house, but the private rooms used by well-treated female employees, like governesses or the head maid, were located in the third-floor west wing.

In the past, when Lucrezia's poor female relatives came for extended visits, they were also given rooms on that side.

"That's right. I told you to give him a room there because it's the women's side."

Ariadne smiled.

"What is your real name? Miss Vitelli."

The page's eyes looked as if they would pop out of their sockets.

"I know everything, so you don't have to beat around the bush. If you're uncomfortable using your real name, just give me one you'd like to be called."

The page hesitated for a moment, then came to the conclusion that lying was pointless. *This woman has eyes that see through to the truth, as if touched by God.* The page finally confessed their name.

"...It's Petruccia Vitelli."

Ariadne smiled and formally introduced the page to Sancha.

"Petruccia Vitelli. The one and only daughter of Director Caruso Vitelli."

She gave the boy—no, the girl—a smiling look, her eyes crinkling.

"I'll be in your care for a while, Miss Petruccia."

***

Discovering Petruccia was, to a certain extent, a stroke of luck. The moment Ariadne saw Petruccia Vitelli greeting her party, a flash of insight struck her.

'This is the child!'

In 1137, the last time Ariadne had seen them, the Boccanegra Merchant Guild and Director Caruso were enjoying immense success, becoming an unrivaled merchant guild throughout Etruscan. Based on this, they were growing into a force that could not be ignored on the central continent, but they had one unresolved problem: the issue of succession.

The Boccanegra Merchant Guild was not a typical guild based on a collective, so everything revolved around Director Caruso alone. Since it was not a collective leadership system, he would eventually have to choose one of his family members as a successor to inherit the guild.

However, he had no son. So instead, he named his "nephew," whom he had brought to the guild from a young age and taught the trade, as his heir. The relationship between Director Caruso and his nephew was particularly close, which led people to whisper. *That's not a nephew, but an illegitimate son.*

Then, in 1137, a rumor about Director Caruso's "nephew," "Federico Vitelli," suddenly spread like wildfire through San Carlo. The rumor claimed that "Federico Vitelli" was neither a nephew nor an illegitimate son, but a legitimate child born to his wife—and not a man, but a woman. His biological daughter.

'I couldn't confirm how it all turned out.'

That was because Ariadne, the Prince Regent's fiancée, had been defeated by her sister and locked away in the west tower.

'All the collateral relatives and the big shots in the guild tried to jump in and tear it apart.'

They argued that the guild could not be handed over to a woman, that "Federico" should be married off and the position of heir given to her husband, that she should just be married off quietly and the guild handed to the vice-director, or even that she should marry the vice-director herself.

'It was a total mess.'

Ariadne shrugged. The child seemed bright. The Boccanegra Merchant Guild would grow even faster this time. As for how things would turn out now, only time would tell.

After all, this time, she fully intended to live past the year 1137.

***

Grand Princess Lariesa's opportunity came sooner than she expected. Grand Duchess Bernadette had been invited to visit the royal palace.

Lariesa clung to her soft-hearted mother, whining and begging to be taken along to the palace.

"Well, your father did say to keep you at home as much as possible, but since the Etruscan prince hasn't arrived yet, I suppose it would be all right..."

When Grand Duchess Bernadette gave her permission as always, Lariesa's face lit up with joy.

The Grand Duchess was scheduled to offer prayers at the palace chapel with other noble ladies from the royal family's branch lines, then attend a tea party hosted by Princess Auguste in the afternoon. Since Philip IV had yet to take a consort, his younger sister, Princess Auguste, acted as the hostess of the royal court.

"Mother, while you're praying, I'll go and play with Sister Auguste for a bit!"

"But we don't know Princess Auguste's schedule. What if we impose..."

"Oh, Mother! Do I seem that clueless to you? If she's busy, I'll come right back."

It wasn't that Grand Duchess Bernadette was unaware of her daughter's cluelessness, but she thought, *Surely Princess Auguste wouldn't kick her out.* They were cousins who had grown up together. In the end, she gave in to her daughter's request.

And so, Grand Princess Lariesa was now gleefully heading toward Princess Auguste's quarters, having separated from Grand Duchess Bernadette, who had gone to the chapel to pray.

The servants of the Palace of Montpellier recognized her and all bowed, and Lariesa walked with an air of triumph.

"Grand Princess Lariesa!"

One of Princess Auguste's ladies-in-waiting, spotting her, greeted her with surprise.

"Did you have an appointment to see Her Highness the Princess today?"

"No, I just dropped by to see if my sister was in. I wanted to see her before the official tea party. Is she inside?"

"Please wait in the drawing-room for a moment. I will go and see if the princess has some free time."

Lariesa was guided to a familiar drawing-room and took a seat on a beautiful sofa. She glanced around.

'I want to go into her private chambers or study.'

If there had been a change in Princess Auguste's life—like taking a new husband—the evidence wouldn't be in the drawing-room where she received guests.

It would be inside. Lariesa wanted to overhear the princess's closest ladies-in-waiting whispering among themselves, or at the very least, see with her own eyes something like a pile of new dresses in the dressing room.

Grand Princess Lariesa scanned her surroundings, then rose and approached the door connecting the drawing-room to the inner chambers.

- "...I hate doing it."

'!'

The sound of a conversation between Princess Auguste and her lady-in-waiting leaked through the crack in the door.

'That's sister's voice!'

Grand Princess Lariesa perked up her ears and, forgetting all decorum, pressed her ear against the door.

- "Do I have to start preparing for the royal marriage already? We don't even know if it'll happen."

- "Your Highness, you must at least show your sincerity to His Majesty the King."

- "I said I don't want to."

- "That is not for Your Highness to decide. Since it's unavoidable anyway, you should at least leave a good impression. His Majesty Philip IV will be pleased if you show that you are preparing in advance."

Grand Princess Lariesa's fists clenched tightly.

*So, it's true! It's true!*

*Princess Auguste is trying to become Prince Alfonso's marriage partner!*

*Dirty traitor Auguste! Pretending to care for me, pretending to congratulate me on my good fortune, while scheming behind my back to snatch away the 'Golden Prince'!*

Grand Princess Lariesa's fists trembled. She would absolutely not let him be taken from her. She didn't care if her opponent was Auguste or Philip IV; she saw nothing but red.

'The 'Golden Prince' is mine!'

The whites of her eyes bloodshot, Grand Princess Lariesa ground her teeth and stormed out of Princess Auguste's drawing-room. She didn't want to spend a single second longer with that vicious traitor.

And so, Grand Princess Lariesa did not hear the rest of Princess Auguste's words.

"I just hate that *she* is coming to the Kingdom of Gallico for the royal marriage."