Chapter 62

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Count Cesare's Gift
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Alfonso de Carlo was a man who only made promises he could keep. It was in his nature. But today, he found himself in a situation where he had to break his promise to meet Ariadne at the masquerade ball, against his will.

"What? The Grand Duchess of Valois is coming to the masquerade ball in San Carlo?"

In person? All the way from the Kingdom of Gallico to Etruscan? A visit from foreign royalty was an unprecedented and shocking event. Alfonso was having luncheon with King Leo III and Queen Marguerite in the king's drawing room. The royal couple was, by court etiquette, supposed to have lunch together every Saturday, but King Leo III rarely observed this rule. Thus, it had been quite a while since he’d had lunch with both his parents. In response to Prince Alfonso’s question, Queen Marguerite nodded.

"All of Etruscan's holy day festivals and their eve celebrations are quite renowned, aren't they? I heard the Grand Duchess of Valois was particularly eager to attend the masquerade ball for the Feast of Saint Michael. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, is it not?"

It was an effort to protect her distant young relative from any potential criticism. But despite his wife's efforts, King Leo III laughed heartily and replied.

"For the Grand Duchess to be so eager to marry into the Kingdom of Etruscan, it seems your fame has crossed borders, Alfonso!"

The truth was that negotiations with Etruscan over the dowry and bride price were not going as smoothly as hoped, so the Kingdom of Gallico had devised a plan to send the bride herself to win Etruscan’s favor. The Etruscans suspected this was merely a lazy rehash of a plan originally made when Lariesa's beautiful older sister, Suzanne, was the bridal candidate. It was doubtful whether Lariesa could achieve the same effect. Alfonso felt uncomfortable with King Leo III's choice of words, describing a foreign duchess as "eager." She was, after all, a collateral relative of a monarch and a cherished daughter of a noble house. Yet even Queen Marguerite, who despised every hair on Leo III's head, said nothing about his remark. It was, after all, high praise for her son. Just as Alfonso was feeling a hint of skepticism about his parents' attitudes, Queen Marguerite instructed her son.

"You may have had other plans for the masquerade, but the Grand Duchess of Valois is a guest coming to see you. You must escort her from beginning to end."

"Of course, of course. That's how it should be!"

"The Grand Duchess is not fluent in our language and naturally won't know many people, so you must stay by her side and look after her throughout the ball."

Alfonso did, of course, have a prior engagement for the masquerade. But having already been scolded by Queen Marguerite specifically about Ariadne, he couldn't make the childish remark that he couldn't escort Grand Duchess Lariesa because he had promised to meet Ariadne, especially not with King Leo III present. Moreover, on a more fundamental level, this was a state event. As royalty, it was his duty to escort a state guest visiting the country. Being scolded was a secondary concern; above all, before being a boy in love, he was the heir to the throne, destined to become the father of his people. With a heavy heart, Alfonso reluctantly replied.

"Yes, Mother. Father. I will escort the Grand Duchess of Valois well at the masquerade ball."

* * *

"Dearest Ariadne,
(Omitted)
...There is to be a state visit from the Kingdom of Gallico. I have been assigned the official duty of guiding our guest during the upcoming masquerade ball. I was looking forward to seeing you after so long, and I'm sorry. I will write to you separately later.
-With regret, Alfonso."

Ariadne, upon receiving Alfonso's letter of apology, remained surprisingly composed. Alfonso had only mentioned that a "state guest from Gallico" was coming, but Ariadne instantly knew that the guest arriving in San Carlo was Grand Duchess Lariesa of Valois.

*It’s fine. What was meant to happen has simply happened.*

The arranged marriage between Prince Alfonso and Grand Duchess Lariesa was a state secret. In San Carlo, only a very small number of people knew that marriage talks were underway. The reason Ariadne knew the noble guest from Valois was Grand Duchess Lariesa was not because she had connections in diplomatic circles, but because the exact same thing had happened in her past life. In her previous life, Grand Duchess Lariesa had attended the Feast of Saint Michael's masquerade ball in San Carlo, fallen completely for Prince Alfonso, and returned home deeply in love. Then, "that incident" occurred, their marriage talks fell through, and Prince Alfonso ended up marrying Isabella.

"It's fine. If it's Grand Duchess Lariesa, it's fine."

Though she repeated that it was fine, she couldn't suppress her disappointment. Logically, she knew that with the Grand Duchess on a state visit, Alfonso naturally had to escort her. Logically, she knew that, if her past life was any indication, Grand Duchess Lariesa would not end up with Prince Alfonso for political reasons, so there was no need to be wary of her. Still, she wished he would drop everything and run to her. How wonderful it would be if he told her he wanted to be with her, that he cared for neither grand duchesses nor princesses. Thinking this far, Ariadne let out a hollow laugh. How selfish it was to want his certainty when she herself wasn't choosing him over everything else, when she was darting her eyes about like a clever opossum searching for a safe zone. And Alfonso had far more to lose than she did. Ariadne decided to shake off her disappointment. In fact, that was something she did best. Forgetting her resentment for a love without a future. Sancha, who was with Ariadne in her study organizing things, approached and asked.

"My lady, is something wrong? You don't look very happy."

Instead of explaining, Ariadne handed the letter she was holding to Sancha. After reading Prince Alfonso's missive, Sancha looked at Ariadne with a pitying expression.

"Oh, my poor lady... You were looking forward to it so much."

Ariadne had never said out loud that she was excited or that she really wanted to go, but Sancha, who was always by her side taking care of her every need, could tell. Ever since Prince Alfonso's letter inviting her to the masquerade had arrived, Ariadne had summoned Mrs. Marini to discuss her attire for far longer than usual, agonized all day over which mask to wear, increased the time she spent on her skincare routine, and brushed her hair twice a day.

"No, it's nothing. I should have anticipated that Grand Duchess Lariesa would be coming."

As her mistress smiled in embarrassment, Sancha tilted her head.

"Grand Duchess Lariesa? Who is that? How did you know she would be coming?"

Sancha looked at Prince Alfonso's letter again, but there was not a single mention of Grand Duchess Lariesa. Ariadne was overcome with the urge to tell Sancha everything.

*The truth is, I've regressed. I know the future.*

It was a lonely thing to have a secret one must keep alone. It was even more so when that secret forced you to alter your actions and then convince those around you to accept them. But her regression was still an unknown territory; she didn't know why it had happened. Ariadne resolved to be careful, ever so careful, until she understood it completely. In the end, it had to remain a secret even from Sancha. Suppressing a loneliness that felt like it would burst, Ariadne bit her lip.

"She's just... someone."

Ariadne paused, then hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"It's purely my feeling, but she is not the prince's destined partner. So, Sancha, it will be fine. I'm not worried."

Sancha thought she saw a strange fervor flicker in her lady's eyes. It was the kind of look one sees in a person with a conviction others cannot understand—the look of a religious fanatic or a political activist. A normal person would have been wary, but Sancha had already bet everything on her mistress. Even if Ariadne were on her way to commit murder, Sancha would be on her side. To Sancha, Ariadne was the ultimate good, the very purpose of her life.

*Even if I don't understand, I'll be the one to protect my lady to the very end!*

Sancha clenched her fists. Unaware of Sancha's admirable resolve, Ariadne continued to think about Grand Duchess Lariesa and Prince Alfonso. It was fine. Once "that incident" happened, the marriage talks with the Kingdom of Gallico would automatically fall apart, and one of Cardinal de Mare's daughters would become the prince's bride. And this time around, Isabella's track record was not as impressive as it had been in her past life. Considering all of Isabella's foolish mistakes and her damaged reputation, the doubts surrounding the Cardinal's eldest daughter, Ariadne's own accumulated renown, her somewhat favorable relationship with Queen Marguerite, and above all, the affection she had built with Prince Alfonso himself, the chances were high that Ariadne would be the daughter of Cardinal de Mare chosen as the prince's bride. She could tolerate Grand Duchess Lariesa for a short while. Time was on her side. All she had to do was wait. It would be so.

*Phew.*

Having thought that far, Ariadne let out a small sigh. Her face showed relief. It was relief from calculating her chances of marrying Prince Alfonso, but she couldn't quite distinguish whether it was relief at the prospect of escaping the de Mare family and finding safety, or relief at the thought of having Alfonso for herself. Watching Ariadne and Sancha from afar, the Golden Rule *snickered*.

- *I wonder if you really can?*

* * *

Gifts from Count Cesare arrived at the Cardinal de Mare's residence almost daily. It reached the point where Isabella would storm off to her room in a huff whenever the servant in charge of mail appeared. It was obvious what the servant would be carrying. Since Ariadne had accepted the saddle, Count Cesare had been emboldened, launching an endless barrage of gifts. The Cardinal's residence was now so full of red roses it was practically a greenhouse. After receiving the saddle, Ariadne had been inundated with an excessive flood of gifts and had sent word back asking him to stop, saying it was becoming a burden, but Cesare was relentless. Despite her continued rejections, the items he sent today were a matching set of a mask, a necklace, and a bracelet.

To be precise, the necklace and mask were one piece. The mask was a Volto mask that covered the entire face, made of white enamel and decorated with a golden Fleur-de-Lis pattern. From a distance, the white enamel part looked like a real face, creating the illusion that she was wearing only a golden mask that covered her eyes. The golden decoration trailed down the edge of the mask to become golden ribbons for tying it behind her head. Furthermore, thin golden chains hung from where earrings would be, connecting down to her chin and neck to form an intricate, gold-wrought necklace. Inlaid along the way were deep, forest-green topazes, the exact same color as her eyes, as if custom-matched. The mask used only gold and green, but the necklace added a bold touch of red. At the center of the necklace was a deep, blood-red ruby the size of a man's thumbnail, surrounded by tiny, rice-grain-sized topazes scattered in the shape of a Fleur-de-Lis. The matching bracelet also featured a large red ruby in the center, encircled by half-carat green topazes set in gold bezels and woven together with golden threads to form a Fleur-de-Lis pattern.

"My lady, this is absolutely beautiful!"

Sancha sighed in admiration.

"Are you really going to send it back?"

Ariadne had already ordered a mask for the masquerade. However, the one that arrived was unsatisfactory in many ways. Not wanting to stand out, she had ordered a Moretta mask, the most common type for women. Another name for the Moretta mask was 'Moretta Muto', or 'Mute Maid Moretta'. The 'Moretta Muto' had a sleek design that fell smoothly without any separate straps or clasps. Instead, it had a small button on the inside that the wearer had to hold in place with her teeth. While wearing the mask, the user could not speak a single word. It wasn't called the 'Mute Maid Moretta' for nothing. By the time Ariadne in her past life was able to attend masquerade balls, the trend had already shifted to the Colombina mask, which covered only the eyes and left the mouth exposed. Thus, she hadn't known at the time of ordering that one couldn't speak while wearing a Moretta Muto. The thought of having to keep her mouth shut for the entire party did not sit well with Ariadne. She believed that seventy percent of her value after her regression had been created by her mouth and tongue. She had been worrying whether she could order a new mask in time, as the date of the ball was fast approaching, when this perfect substitute appeared. And the Volto mask Cesare had sent was truly exquisite.

Sancha urged her once more.

"My lady, you were already worried about the Moretta mask. Just use this one instead of going through the trouble of ordering a new one."

Besides, Alfonso would be spending the entire masquerade alone with Grand Duchess Lariesa. Though she told herself it was fine, it would be a lie to say there wasn't an unnamable emotion swirling deep in her heart. The thought made her mood plummet. In the end, Ariadne agreed.

"Alright. I already accepted the saddle once, so what's one more thing?"