Chapter 65

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: A Secret Meeting at the Abandoned Fountain
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Alfonso couldn't believe his luck. He had thought he wouldn't be able to see her, had forced his feet to stay put when they yearned to seek her out, and had walked on to fulfill his duties, only for her to appear right before his eyes. It was enough to make him wonder if God himself had given him a gift.

“Ari, is that you?”

A smile spread across Ariadne's lips as well. Though hidden by her mask, its warmth reached Alfonso like a gentle breeze.

“Yes! What brings you here?”

The words, *And what about Grand Duchess Lariesa?* rose to her throat, but Ariadne didn't want to let on to Alfonso that she knew about the Grand Duchess. It was a feeble attempt to protect her pride.

*‘Since you're not telling me, I'll pretend not to know. When everything is resolved, just come back to me as if nothing ever happened.’*

Strictly speaking, Alfonso had never told Ariadne that he liked her, so she considered this nothing more than her own wishful thinking. Therefore, she never voiced her thoughts, instead wrapping them up tightly and burying them deep in her heart. But the smile that bloomed on her face and the vitality that coursed through her body the moment she saw Alfonso were impossible to hide.

“I was wandering through the garden and ended up here. I was just walking aimlessly, and there you were.”

In Alfonso's mind, Lariesa had already been completely erased. He had forgotten his mother's warning. They talked about each other's splendid appearances, the masquerade ball, and their plans for the future.

“In mid-November, the entire court leaves for Taranto. You've never been, have you, to Taranto?”

“No, I've heard it's the hometown of His Eminence the Cardinal and 'Mother,' but I've never been.”

Cardinal de Mare was an orphan and had no family or estate in Taranto. Lucrezia's family were people best left unseen. Moreover, as a cleric of the Holy See responsible for the Diocese of San Carlo, he was in no position to follow the Etruscan court down to the southern villa for the winter.

“It would be wonderful if you could come too. The Prince's Palace can send invitations.”

Having said this much, Alfonso bit his tongue. *Ah, that's not certain yet.* But he desperately wanted to go to the southern villa with her. The scent of the sea carried on the dry air, and the shrubs unique to the south, evergreen yet with a muted saturation unlike the deciduous trees of the north—a color somewhere between dark green and olive. He wanted to show her all of it. He wanted to feel the pride of watching Ariadne's eyes widen in wonder at the sight, and to keep showing her new and beautiful things so that her curiosity would never fade.

“An invitation?”

But Ariadne herself tilted her head in confusion. *The Prince's Palace isn't in a position to be inviting an unmarried young lady—an unrelated woman—to the southern villa right now.* Alfonso quickly backtracked.

“Well, due to various circumstances, it might be difficult to send an invitation in the name of the Prince's Palace. But my second cousin, Bianca, is in Taranto.”

With Ariadne before him, he didn't want to disappoint her, so he revealed his preliminary plan—one he hadn't even mentioned to his secretary, Bernardino. It was uncharacteristic of the ever-cautious Alfonso.

“Bianca of Taranto is the sole heir to a ducal house without a master, and she always comes to spend time with us when we go to the southern villa. If you receive an invitation from Bianca, you can visit the villa in Taranto naturally.”

The relationship between Prince Alfonso and Bianca of Taranto was quite good for second cousins. Alfonso was an affectionate older cousin, and Bianca was a gentle younger cousin. In other words, their relationship was such that she would likely grant his request to invite the young Lady de Mare. So, although he hadn't yet heard Bianca of Taranto's opinion, Alfonso threw the idea out to Ariadne first. Again, it was a completely un-Alfonso-like thing to do. Ariadne smiled brightly. She had been wanting to meet Bianca of Taranto as well. By then, the Grand Duchess of Valois would have returned to her own country.

“That would be wonderful! Please, do invite me!”

***

While Alfonso and Ariadne were chatting pleasantly at the abandoned fountain, two uninvited guests were making their way toward it.

The first of these guests was Isabella de Mare. During her confinement, Isabella had been forbidden from even sending or receiving letters, so she could only contact her friends just before the masquerade ball. They had exchanged letters about where to meet, but time was short, and the date of the ball arrived before they could reach a firm conclusion. Based on the nuances of the letters they'd exchanged, Isabella assumed the meeting spot was the entrance to the grand ballroom. However, when Isabella actually went to the ballroom entrance, Leticia de Leonati and Camelia de Castiglione, whom she was supposed to meet, were nowhere to be found. Instead, she ran right into Giulia de Valdesal and the rest of her clique. Of all things, she was wearing a Colombina mask that only covered half her face; it was terrible luck to run into them while she was alone.

“...!”

Spotting Isabella from a distance, they covered their faces with their fans and began to whisper amongst themselves. At least, that's what Isabella thought they were doing. So, though she didn't dare approach, she let out a sharp *Hmph!* with all the force of someone trying to convey, *I'm ignoring you, not the other way around,* before covering her mouth with her fan and flouncing out of the ballroom. After leaving the ballroom alone, she hadn't wanted to be seen, so she had walked aimlessly toward a secluded spot, which was how she had ended up here. Isabella sniffled, feeling tears well up for no good reason.

*‘For the great Isabella de Mare to be in such a state…!’*

*I should have worn a mask that concealed everything, not one that showed my face. Then I could have hidden in the crowd…!* But Isabella's ordeal was not over yet. Stomping through the garden in a huff, Isabella heard voices ahead and immediately quieted her presence, composing herself.

“...The grapes you can eat at the Taranto villa are a real delicacy.”

“Really?”

A man and a woman were flirting. But it wasn't just their voices; the woman's dress looked familiar.

*‘Ariadne? Prince Alfonso?’*

For a moment, Isabella's eyes grew so wide they looked as if they might pop out. It was unbearably grating. Isabella hastily hid behind a block of shrubs and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“Behind the Taranto villa, there's an old vineyard. They say the vines are too old to be harvested for wine anymore, but the grapes that fall naturally from the old vines are the sweetest.”

“Is it okay to eat them after they've fallen on the ground?”

“Well, you're not going to eat the skin anyway, right?”

Isabella listened intently, vowing to jump out and ruin their reputations if they said even the slightest lewd thing, but Alfonso and Ariadne's conversation was utterly wholesome.

*‘Ugh, how frustrating!’*

***

In stark contrast to the first uninvited guest, who was hiding behind cover in the garden to eavesdrop, the second uninvited guest strode confidently through the garden, heading straight for the fountain. Cesare had appeared at the masquerade ball today in the perfect 'plague doctor' attire. The plague doctor mask, with its long, beak-like nose, looked like a bird from hell. Usually, the white masks were left plain, but his was a custom piece from Collezioni, adorned with small, intricate fleur-de-lis patterns in black enamel and onyx that started around the eyes and covered the entire mask. The mouth was covered with black velvet fabric, and from head to toe, he was draped in black and red velvet, an outfit designed so that no one could recognize him. He was confident in his handsome looks, but he also wanted to confirm that his popularity wasn't solely due to his appearance. For that reason, trying to see if he could still appeal to the opposite sex while wearing a mask that hid his identity was a game Cesare played every year at the Feast of Saint Michael masquerade ball.

Furthermore, this year there was a more practical reason. Count Cesare had been ignoring all the letters from his female companions and had not replied. Since there was more than one such woman, Count Cesare was deeply worried that attending the ball might lead to an encounter with a resentful 'old friend'. So, fearing he might run into the tearful storm of a 'friend' heartbroken by his lack of response, he chose an outfit that would make it impossible for anyone to recognize him as Count Cesare at a glance. Still not feeling safe, Cesare delved deeper into the deserted garden, lest he run into one of his 'friends'.

The area around the Queen's Palace was one of his favorite hiding spots. Before he received a mansion in the city of San Carlo and became independent at the age of thirteen, the young Cesare had lived with Countess Rubina in the 'Mistress's Quarters,' deep within the San Carlo Royal Palace. Whenever Countess Rubina screamed in a rage for one reason or another, his younger self would slip away from his mother's sight and hide in the Queen's Palace. To hide from Countess Rubina, whose eyes were everywhere, the Queen's Palace was the safest place. Besides, Queen Marguerite considered mistreating a bastard to be a vulgar act, unbecoming of a noble lady's dignity. Even if Cesare were caught roaming freely inside the Queen's Palace, no matter how much she might dislike the five- or six-year-old boy, Queen Marguerite would, at least outwardly, gently scold the child, give him a snack, and then return him to Rubina. Each time, Rubina would fret, worried that her own son might have tattled on her misdeeds to the Queen, while young Cesare, delighted that his mean mother who had scolded him was getting punished, would repeat his escapes to the Queen's Palace.

Young Cesare stopped doing this only after Alfonso had grown a little older. One day, when six-year-old Cesare was whipped thirty times with a disciplinary rod by Countess Rubina for getting three words wrong on a Latin dictation, he fled to the Queen's Palace as usual. While playing in the dirt, he ran into Queen Marguerite in the palace garden and cozied up to her, repeating something he had overheard.

- “Your Majesty the Queen, I heard that you are my stepmother. Does that mean I can call you Mother, too?”

Queen Marguerite replied with the inscrutable expression of a porcelain doll, though her voice was benevolent.

- “That depends on whether His Majesty the King acknowledges you as his son. Not now.”

Not immediately understanding the implications condensed in her words, Cesare continued to visit the Queen's Palace and cling to Queen Marguerite like an adolescent puppy. Then one day, Cesare saw a scene: Leo III strolling through the Queen's Palace garden with Queen Marguerite and the young Alfonso. The atmosphere between Queen Marguerite and Leo III was far colder than that between Rubina and his father, but their attitude toward their son, who was like a golden puppy, was as sweet as dripping honey.

- “My son! My heir!”

Queen Marguerite gazed at the young, incompetent, chubby Alfonso with a face dripping with happiness. It was a kind of gaze that was never shared with Cesare. The first to spot Cesare, who was watching from his hiding place, was Leo III, who had been lifting Alfonso into the air and playing with him.

- “...!”

He handed Alfonso to Queen Marguerite, strode over, and slapped Cesare across the face.

- *Smack!*

Struck unexpectedly, Cesare stared at his father with shocked eyes.

- “Father…”

- “How dare you come here!”

Leo III roared sternly.

- “Get back to your mother at once!”

- “I want to play with Father and Mother, too…”

- “Who is your mother! And who is your father!”

Leo III seemed greatly alarmed that young Cesare's words would offend Queen Marguerite, who was standing behind them and with whom his relationship had not yet soured so badly. He lashed out at Cesare with twice the harshness.

- “I coddled you, and now you don't know your place! We played at being parent and child, and now the boy doesn't understand reason! Get lost! This is not a place for you!”

Cesare looked pleadingly toward Queen Marguerite, hoping the benevolent queen would stop Leo III. But Queen Marguerite wasn't even looking in Cesare's direction. It was because young Alfonso had suddenly started to fuss. She was preoccupied with soothing Prince Alfonso, who had been happily playing with his father only to be suddenly handed off to his mother, his eyes filling with tears of sorrow.

- “Waaah!”

- “My son, were you surprised? Don't cry, there, there, my baby.”

There was no warmth to spare for Cesare. All of it belonged to that dazzling blond baby. The benevolent mother and the affectionate father had both been taken by that chubby, golden lump.

After that, Cesare became a faithful young son who complied with Rubina's absurd demands. No matter how terrifyingly his mother scolded him for the most nonsensical things, she was the only one on his side. He never went near the Queen's Palace again.

Was it because enough time had passed for the scars of the past to fade that he had found himself walking toward the Queen's Palace today? But it seemed he was fated to be disappointed and frustrated every time he came to the Queen's Palace.

An elegant woman in a golden dress, wearing the mask he had gifted her, wearing the bracelet he had gifted her, was laughing affectionately with the man he hated most in the world, their palms pressed together.