Chapter 5

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Repaying an Old Debt
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Young Ariadne’s life had been arduous. Her time on the farm was a relentless cycle of beatings and hunger. After entering the grand San Carlo estate, she was met with mistreatment and betrayal born of cunning schemes. Ariadne had believed it was only natural, for she was the child of a lowly maid, not the noble Lucrezia. She told herself that even as an illegitimate child, she was still family in the grand scheme of things. That she was lucky to be, at the very least, half the noble daughter of Cardinal de Mare. She thought that if she lived a diligent and virtuous life, she would be rewarded by those who had been kind to her.

The reality was the opposite. If she stayed quiet, she was exploited and deceived. All the rewards went to the selfish and the loud. The old woman, Gian Galeazzo, was one of them. When Niccolo, the butler from the estate, arrived, she had fawned, claiming she knew this day would come and that her efforts in raising Lady Ariadne had paid off. She’d refused to let Ariadne go unless she was compensated for her troubles, extorting gold coins from Niccolo.

Young Ariadne, who had been beaten daily with the old woman’s broom, had been dumbfounded and furious. But back then, she had believed her merciful and just father, or the virtuous society of San Carlo, would find and punish those who had wronged her.

What a foolish expectation. She had to protect herself.

‘I will not be a victim again.’

* * *

“My, my, Butler! What brings you to such a humble place?”

Niccolo, the butler with the cold expression, stated his purpose.

“I have come to escort Lady Ariadne to the main residence.”

“Ariadne, that wench… I mean, the young lady?”

Old Woman Gian Galeazzo was utterly flustered. Just that morning, she had beaten Ariadne with a broom, leaving bruises on her face, and she hadn’t provided any decent clothes for her to change into.

“Lady Ariadne is lazy and isn’t usually awake at this hour. She’ll need to wash up and get ready before she’s presentable enough for the grand estate.”

“Preparing here would just be a hassle. I will take her immediately.”

Old Woman Gian Galeazzo’s eyes darted about. Just then, Ariadne appeared before Niccolo.

“I can go right now.”

Her clothes were terribly old and shabby. But although Niccolo clearly saw Ariadne’s disheveled state, he decided to feign ignorance. There was no need to side with a powerless, illegitimate young lady and create an awkward relationship with Old Woman Gian Galeazzo, the real power on the Bergamo farm, a direct domain of the Holy See.

“Ahem. Let us go. Old Woman Gian Galeazzo, thank you for your hard work in caring for Lady Ariadne.”

“Oh, of course! Absolutely! No one could ever mistake the loyalty of this Gian Galeazzo!”

A hint of mischief flickered in Ariadne’s deep, blue-green eyes.

“Old Woman Gian Galeazzo, you’ve worked hard. But from now on, I will be in Butler Niccolo’s care. Won’t you give what’s left of the two ducats Lady Lucrezia sent each month for my well-being to Niccolo as a fee for his trouble?”

Niccolo had planned to ignore the shabbily dressed illegitimate lady, but it was a different story if money was involved.

“Two ducats? You took that much, yet the young lady is in this state? Where did all that money go?”

Old Woman Gian Galeazzo’s face turned deathly pale.

“No, it’s slander! Lady Lucrezia never gave me any money. I fed, clothed, and housed Lady Ariadne with my own money, which is why I am so poor.”

Ariadne, a wide smile on her face, cut the old woman off.

“Old Woman Gian Galeazzo, are you suggesting my parents are so ill-mannered as to entrust their child to someone without compensation?”

The old woman’s pupils trembled anxiously. Ariadne delivered the final blow.

“Enough with the lies, Old Woman Gian Galeazzo. I know you received the money on the first of every month.”

Ariadne turned to face Niccolo.

“Butler, if you don’t believe me, search the head of Old Woman Gian Galeazzo’s bed!”

Two of the servants who had accompanied Niccolo forced the old woman to her knees, while the other two rushed into her room. They soon returned with a money pouch and a ledger.

“Sir, we found it!”

It was a hefty pile of gold coins. But for fifteen years of monthly payments of two ducats, the amount was absurdly small.

“Will you still deny it?”

“Oh! I was wrong, sir. Lady Lucrezia did give me money each month. But I swear I never received two ducats a month.”

Old Woman Gian Galeazzo knelt on the floor, groveling obsequiously as she shouted.

“Lady Lucrezia only gave me 50 florins! After feeding, clothing, and housing Lady Ariadne, this is all that was left.”

‘Perfect.’

Ariadne smiled to herself.

‘Now that those words have left your mouth, you’re finished, Gian Galeazzo.’

You should have claimed you spent all two ducats raising me in luxury. Since there was no proof anyway, that would have looked far better in Lady Lucrezia’s eyes.

“First you said you received nothing, and now you say you only received 50 florins!”

Ariadne looked Old Woman Gian Galeazzo up and down with a cold expression unfitting for a fifteen-year-old girl.

“To my knowledge, Lady Lucrezia most certainly gave you two ducats a month.”

Someone had embezzled one ducat and fifty florins every month. That someone was either Gian Galeazzo or Lady Lucrezia.

“We’ll know who the liar is as soon as we ask Lady Lucrezia how much she sent each month. Go and ask her right now!”

A smile crept onto Niccolo’s lips. This was a sure bet. If the embezzler was Old Woman Gian Galeazzo, she would bribe Niccolo before Lady Lucrezia ever heard of it. If it was Lucrezia, she would pin all the blame on the old woman and slip Niccolo a little something to keep things quiet. The young, illegitimate lady’s words held no authority, but Niccolo wasn't one to pass up an opportunity for some extra income.

“Very well. Men, lock Gian Galeazzo in the storehouse!”

“Oh, I’ve been wronged, sir! Please save me, my lady!”

Two servants rushed forward again and dragged Old Woman Gian Galeazzo away to the storehouse, which doubled as a pigsty and a place for cleaning tools.

Too bad. If she had clung to Niccolo’s legs and offered her entire fortune as a bribe, she might have survived. Gian Galeazzo had just missed her last chance.

According to her memories of her past life, the living expenses her father, Cardinal de Mare, had set for her were indeed two ducats. However, his mistress, Lucrezia, loath to part with even that much, had skimmed one ducat for herself before paying the old woman. Gian Galeazzo, in turn, had diligently embezzled another 50 florins from that. This mess was their joint creation; no one was innocent.

‘Lucrezia isn’t the type to let Father find out she skimmed money.’

If word of this reached Lucrezia’s ears, Old Woman Gian Galeazzo would be lucky to be thrown out with her life intact. By tonight, at the latest, she would be dead or, at the very least, cast out with broken legs.

“Let’s go, Niccolo.”

Ariadne was no longer using polite speech with the butler. Even in her rags, she walked confidently toward the main residence.

That night, just as she’d predicted, two sturdy, dark figures slipped into the pigsty-storehouse where Old Woman Gian Galeazzo was being held. Lucrezia was every bit as cruel as Ariadne had expected.

“Agh!”

A few murmurs came from the pigsty, followed by a single, sharp squeal like a stuck pig. The two dark figures, who had entered empty-handed, emerged carrying a large, black bundle on their shoulders. The bundle, weighed down with stones, was thrown into the Tiber River.

The next morning, when Old Woman Gian Galeazzo’s sons and eldest daughter heard the news and rushed to the Bergamo farm, she had already vanished without a trace.

One old grudge, a long-standing debt, was finally paid in full.

* * *

The Cardinal’s residence within the de Carlo estate was magnificent and opulent. There was no trace of the modesty that was supposed to be a clergyman’s primary virtue. The finest tapestries and carpets adorned the white marble walls and floors. As Ariadne crossed the center of the lavish residence in her rags, the maids gathered in small groups stared at her. Among them, a bolder group giggled.

“What’s this, a new maid?”

“Even a maid’s uniform is more expensive than that.”

With the rumors being so obvious, they couldn’t possibly be unaware that Ariadne was the young lady of the house. It meant one of two things: either the discipline among the servants was terrible, or the masters of the house saw Ariadne as someone who could be treated that way.

‘It must be the latter.’

The first floor of the Cardinal’s residence was a public space with reception rooms, parlors, a small banquet hall, a dining room, and guest rooms. The second floor was a more private area, with the master bedroom, the children’s rooms, and the Cardinal’s study. The butler led Ariadne past the first floor, with its guest rooms, and the second floor, the family’s living quarters, taking her up to the third floor.

The third floor housed the servants’ quarters, the attic, and storerooms.

“This is your room, my lady.”

The room Ariadne was assigned was in the third-floor wing and looked like an unused governess’s room.

“Please make yourself comfortable. I will send a maid up shortly.”

As Niccolo closed the door and left, Ariadne glanced around. It was a reasonably clean room. Inside the wardrobe hung a couple of modest silk dresses—one for outings, one for indoors, and a cotton nightgown. There was also a single pair of shoes. It was just enough to create a decent appearance.

Ariadne smiled bitterly. The clothes were a clear indication of how this family viewed her. The bare minimum, just enough to avoid losing face.

*I even came back in time, yet nothing has changed.*

- Knock, knock.

“Coming in, my lady.”

A maid entered abruptly without waiting for a reply.

“Hurry and change your clothes. The Cardinal is asking for you.”

Her attitude was strangely—no, blatantly—arrogant and disrespectful.

“I’ll be waiting outside, so be quick.”

“Who do you report to?”

“Why would you need to know that, miss?”

Detecting the disrespect in the maid’s tone, a fire sparked in Ariadne’s deep green eyes.