Chapter 234

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 234
Chapter Title: The Bride in Pure White
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“Mother, tell me everything. What on earth happened?”

Rubina cried out in despair.

“When I woke up this morning and made my rounds, what do you know, the Hall of the Sun was open!”

Rubina was rambling, but listening closely, the story was that a ceremony to appoint a new queen was being prepared without the knowledge of even Rubina, who was in charge of the royal household. When she burst into the Hall of the Sun in a rage, she was thrown out.

“The royal decree went out this morning, but they say it didn't even have the words 'appointment of a queen'! How secretly they must have planned this! I asked Count Contarini, and he said it was the first he'd heard of it too!”

It seemed the King had proceeded with this matter in absolute secrecy, telling no one except for Sir Delpianosa.

It was even possible that the other party in the marriage proposal was unaware.

“This is actually for the best.”

“Cesare?”

Rubina questioned her son's seemingly deranged words.

But her son showed no intention of calmly explaining his thoughts to his mother.

“I'm going out for a bit. Mother, don't return to the palace. Stay here.”

“What are you planning to do now?”

“Or maybe not? If it's all ruined anyway, what's the difference between here and there?”

Seeing her son rambling, Rubina called his name again.

“What are you talking about right now?”

But Cesare stormed out of the bedroom, leaving his mother behind. He didn't look back.

* * *

Leo III sat in the Hall of the Sun, grinning foolishly.

Attendants bustled about, hanging decorations and lighting the braziers. Preparations to welcome the new queen were nearly complete.

Everything was satisfying.

His only regret was having no one to chat with, as he had sent Sir Delpianosa away with the royal decree.

‘I really am a genius.’

This was a truly perfect plan.

If he made Ariadne de Mare the queen, all the grain she possessed would fall into his hands.

Previously, Cardinal de Mare had drawn a clear line when he had requested the grain be given to the state.

“That is my daughter's private property. It is not the family's wealth. I have no authority over it.”

If the grain was the daughter's personal property and not the family's, then it was only natural for it all to be transferred to the husband's family upon marriage.

The Cardinal, trying to be clever, had dug his own grave.

“Heh heh heh.”

Furthermore, if the King himself married Ariadne de Mare, he could immediately reclaim the title bestowed upon the de Mare family.

She would hold it for her generation, but in the end, she would be a member of the royal family.

If he had a son with Ariadne de Mare, the title of Count de Mare would pass down to that child.

‘When that time comes, I'll just attach an estate to the title.’

With estates emptying one after another due to the plague, finding a vacant piece of land would not be difficult.

He had a history of gobbling up the Pisano estate and granting it to Cesare.

‘Besides, the commoners will be ecstatic about this marriage.’

The story of a commoner-born clergyman's daughter who actively participated in plague relief, received a countess's title, entered the royal palace, and became queen—a true rags-to-riches tale!

It was a classic fairy tale where the good are rewarded.

Moreover, Ariadne de Mare already had positive images like 'the Saint of the Rambouillet Almshouse' and 'the Mother of the Poor'.

Considering the girl's brazen personality, like a market merchant's, it was absurd, but the common rabble lacked the capacity to see through to the truth anyway.

‘With the commoners' support, those provincial lords won't dare to challenge me!’

The only military force Leo III had was the capital's Royal Guard.

While the plague suppressed everyone from making any rash moves, he needed to quickly recruit commoners and create a sizable standing army.

‘And as for her brazenness…’

Taming a wild filly of a girl into a proper queen would have its own kind of pleasure.

Strictly speaking, Ariadne de Mare's appearance was not to Leo III's taste.

He typically preferred classic beauties who looked as if they had stepped out of a painting.

A style with outstanding sculptural beauty, an innocent yet glamorous aura, was what caught Leo III's eye.

But there was something special in the combination of her vibrant youth and sharp personality.

Her tall stature and curvaceous figure weren't bad either.

It would be a different kind of fun from the young Rubina, who had been as compliant as the tongue in his mouth.

Leo III felt like patting himself on the back for concocting and executing a plan that killed so many birds with one stone.

The most brilliant part of this whole affair was not informing Cardinal de Mare of the queen's appointment.

Just imagine the look on his face when, having sent his daughter expecting her to be engaged to Cesare, he finds she's become the King's consort, unable to smuggle out the grain and watching it all be devoured by the royal family!

‘Hee hee hee.’

As Leo III sat alone in the guest seats of the Hall of the Sun, reveling in his plan, a slight commotion reached his ears.

“Delpianosa?”

Was it already time for Delpianosa to return with the new bride?

No, she might have arrived, but it was certainly too early for her to have prepared herself and come up to the hall.

The ceremony was still about an hour away.

“What is this commotion?”

At the King's irritated voice, the palace attendants, who had been busy with the final decorations, also stopped and looked toward the entrance.

The person placing the royal decree announcing the queen's appointment on the dais also froze.

*Creeak, slam!*

The doors to the Hall of the Sun swung open, and a splendidly dressed man strode inside.

“My dear King.”

He was smiling broadly, but his eyes were not smiling at all. The King, after identifying the man, spat out sullenly.

“Cesare!”

Duke Cesare of Pisano gave a smooth bow.

“Your Majesty.”

“How dare you barge in here without a word! Do you know where you are?”

The King couldn't contain his anger.

“Did Rubina send you?”

He snapped, feeling a pang of guilt.

“Tell Rubina to stop this nonsense! She needs to know her place!”

Leo III stared directly at Rubina's son and said.

“Your mother desires what she shouldn't and meddles where she doesn't belong. That's why things that should work out, don't!”

The guilty party lectured the son with a long tirade.

“Go back and tell her clearly. Be content with what you have and stay quiet. As the King's sister-in-law and a duke's mother, she's the second-highest-ranking woman in this country! I've given her enough!”

At Leo III's words, "know her place," Cesare clenched his fists tightly before relaxing his grip.

There were countless rebuttals he could have made, but he erased them all from his mind.

The rights and wrongs of it didn't matter. Only the result needed to change.

“Father. Rescind the appointment.”

Leo III's eyes widened in fury. The form of address, the content of his words—it was all a mess.

“You brat, did my words go in one ear and out the other?! Get lost! Don't bring your bad luck here on this auspicious day, get out!”

Instead of retreating, Cesare took another step forward, closing the distance to Leo III.

The large-boned father and the slender son stood face to face.

But Leo III, whose height had shrunk and back had stooped with age, looked diminutive before his fully grown son.

“Father. Rescind Ariadne de Mare's appointment as queen.”

“You bastard!”

Leo III raised his right hand to slap Cesare's face. But his hand was caught by his grown eldest son.

Cesare glared at his father, his aquamarine eyes gleaming fiercely.

“Rescind. The appointment.”

Leo III couldn't overcome his rage at the fact that his wrist was being held by his son.

“Y-you... madman...! Guards! Guards!”

Released by his son, he shouted convulsively.

“Get in here at once and drag this insolent bastard out! He dared to lay a hand on the King's sacred person!”

Soldiers poured in through the open doors of the Hall of the Sun. They were all in full military gear. But their uniforms were different.

“What is this...?”

A chilling sensation ran up his spine, and Leo III carefully surveyed the soldiers who had swarmed in.

They were not men wearing the ceremonial dress of the King's personal Royal Guard.

They were faces he had never seen before, wearing coarse brown pauldrons. He cried out urgently.

“Where have my Royal Guards gone?”

Cesare answered brazenly.

“As the commander-in-chief of the Kingdom of Etruscan, even the Royal Guard is under my command.”

He looked at his father. His eyes flashed.

“I had them switch shifts for a moment. These friends who've just entered are kind enough to look after the security of the Palazzo Carlo in place of the Royal Guard.”

It was the only standing army in the Kingdom of Etruscan, formed by mixing the private soldiers of the Pisano estate with the forces of lords that Leo III had gathered from all over the country.

Cesare's soldiers swarmed in and surrounded Leo III.

“Escort His Majesty the King to the front of the dais.”

Cesare glanced and confirmed that the King's decree was on the dais.

“I shall have to help you revise the decree.”

Leo III struggled, but he was no match for the soldiers in full armor.

Unable to lay hands on the King, they jostled and penned him in, escorting him to the front of the dais.

“Now, Father.”

Cesare gestured with his chin.

One of Cesare's soldiers, dressed as a commander—one of Cesare's aides-de-camp—forced a quill pen dipped in ink into Leo III's hand.

The King struggled not to take the quill, but with his wrist caught in the aide's powerful grip, he had no way to resist.

Cesare looked at the royal decree.

“Let's see...”

「The Countess de Mare, Ariadne de Mare, shall marry King Leo III, Leo de Carlo.」

It was a simple decree. The countess title and various luxuries, which would have been wedding gifts, had already been bestowed, so there was little to include in the main text.

Cesare grinned and said.

“We just need to change the name.”

He said to Leo III.

“Father, please make the correction. We just need to change 'Leo III' to 'the Duke of Pisano'.”

Leo III, his wrist still held by the aide, trembled and shouted.

“Cesare! What do you think you're doing!”

Cesare paid no heed to Leo III's threat.

“Is it difficult for you to write? I shall correct it for you myself.”

Cesare took another quill, crossed out 'King Leo III, Leo de Carlo', and wrote in 'the Duke of Pisano, Cesare de Carlo'.

He looked at his father with a blank expression and said.

“Sign it.”

The aide's grip on Leo III's wrist tightened.

He struggled, but even as he strained until the blue veins on the back of his hand looked ready to burst, Cesare's aide didn't budge.

The once vigorous Leo III realized he could no longer resist the young man's strength.

Feeling infinite humiliation, he moved the quill and wrote his name.

*Leo III.*

The King's signature was brief. Cesare picked up the royal decree and placed it in Leo III's arms.

“In a little while, when the bride arrives, you will read it aloud yourself, Father.”

Leo III's eyes blazed with fire as he shouted.

“You bastard, do you think you can get away with this?”

Restrained by the soldiers, he couldn't raise his voice, so he ground his teeth and growled in a low tone.

“This is a coup d'état!”

When the words 'coup d'état' left Leo III's mouth, Cesare gestured for his men to step back.

As the soldiers withdrew in unison, Leo III momentarily lost his balance and staggered.

“My soldiers have been rude to Your Majesty.”

Cesare drew the sword from his hip. It was not a ceremonial dress sword, but a real sword with a gleaming, sharp edge.

And he swung.

*Shunk!*

Blood splattered everywhere. Bright red blood sprayed across Leo III's face and Cesare's tunic.

*Thump.*

The person struck by the sword collapsed to the floor without even a single cry.

The dead man was Cesare's aide, the one who had grabbed Leo III's wrist and forced him to sign.

Cesare declared slowly.

“I have personally made an example of the insolent one who dared to lay a hand on His Majesty's sacred person.”

Not only Leo III, but also Cesare's soldiers and the palace attendants were all so horrified they couldn't even breathe.

“A coup? What an outrageous suggestion. Is His Majesty's person not perfectly unharmed?”

He said this, but fresh blood dripped from the bloodstained sword.

His aura was so menacing it felt as if one more word would have the sword drinking the next person's blood.

“And no one was injured.”

Cesare nudged the fallen aide with his foot.

“Except for the one who sinned.”

He looked around.

A madness glittered in Cesare's eyes, and his mouth was set in a hard line, making his expression difficult to read.

“Now, don't stand around with long faces on this auspicious day. Hurry and finish the preparations. It's almost time for the ceremony.”

At Cesare's urging, the palace attendants were the first to scatter hastily.

The soldiers held their positions, and Leo III, trembling with humiliation, did not move.

It was then.

*Creeak.*

An unfamiliar sound was heard. It was the sound of the doors to the Hall of the Sun opening.

The doors swung open to reveal today's bride, dressed in pure white, being escorted into the ceremonial hall by Sir Delpianosa.

It was Ariadne.

Cesare sheathed his sword and took a step forward.

“Has my bride arrived?”

For the first time, Cesare's aquamarine eyes curved as he smiled.