Chapter 8

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: My Place in This House
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Officially, Ariadne was a child who had grown up in the countryside until the age of fifteen, so the Latin and arithmetic she was being taught were quite simple. She sat through the tedious lesson, contemplating her future.

*What must I do to avoid the engagement with Cesare and survive?*

The first thing she considered was marrying another man. But Ariadne quickly shook her head.

*They would never let me marry so easily.*

Ariadne was the child brought from the farm to save Isabella from Count Cesare's proposal. If she wasn't going to marry Cesare, there was no point in keeping her at the main residence.

*Should I try to earn money and run away? They say in the northern Republic of Porto, gold coins are king, regardless of title.*

But money came from land, and as a girl with no title, Ariadne had no way to raise initial capital, let alone grow it. It was an era where commerce was not yet developed enough; only noblemen with land and serfs could possess money and power.

*...A happy ending where he loves me is not going to happen.*

The kind of sweet life where she gets engaged to Cesare, he cherishes her, they marry, and she is crowned queen. Ariadne shook her head. She was not that naive. And above all,

*I will make them pay for their sins.*

A betrayal, once committed, could not be forgiven without a price paid in blood. Cesare de Como, who had piled up sweet promises for fourteen years only to cast her aside so cruelly for her beautiful sister. Isabella de Mare, who, devoid of familial affection or even a human conscience, had treated Ariadne as her personal accessory from beginning to end, then took her life when she became a threat. And Cardinal de Mare, a father who should have protected and cared for his child, but instead treated Ariadne as a mere pawn on a chessboard for the sake of the children he had with Lucrezia.

"I won't let them get away with it."

"Ariadne, focus."

At the vow that had slipped from her lips, the strawberry-nosed Giovanni promptly rapped the desk with a wooden stick and scolded her.

"If you're going to be stupid, at least be diligent."

It was a deeply unfair accusation. In her past life, as the de facto wife of the Prince Regent, Ariadne had drafted various official documents in Latin. The materials Giovanni brought were elementary. - auctor

"What does this word mean?"

"It means creator, author."

Giovanni’s brow furrowed. - officium

"And this word?"

"It means duty, office."

As Ariadne answered correctly and fluently without a single mistake, Giovanni looked displeased. Ariadne glanced at him and asked a simple question.

"Sir. Must 'divitiae' always be used as a feminine noun? Is there no way to refer to it neutrally?"

"Stop your useless chatter and just memorize the words. 'Wealth, riches, treasure' is always feminine! When would you ever refer to it in the ablative case? You fool."

The ablative of *divitiae* was *divitiis*. Giovanni was clearly a man who had only memorized a few Latin words and was illiterate when it came to sentence structure. Ariadne decided to test him.

"Sir, will you continue to teach us even after my sisters return next month?"

Giovanni flinched.

"I'll be teaching for one month. After that, I'll take the money I've earned, have some fun in San Carlo, and then head back."

*He's not from around here.*

His speech carried a faint southern accent.

"You must be earning quite a lot. To be teaching the Cardinal's daughters, you must have a great reputation, and the salary for a private tutor must be substantial."

It was simple flattery, yet Giovanni immediately became excited and began to boast. He was clearly not a man who was used to being praised.

"When I return to my hometown, this will be quite the credential and I'll get more work. I'll be treated well when I go out. You're a sheltered young lady, so you wouldn't know. It's enough to visit a courtesan in Carampane."

Ariadne frowned at Giovanni's boasting. As expected, he was not a man who lived an upright life. Carampane was the name of an entertainment district, and a courtesan was a term for a high-class prostitute. A night with a Carampane courtesan could easily cost ten ducats. No matter that they were the Cardinal's daughters, it was not a sum to be paid to a beginner's Latin tutor.

"You are truly amazing, sir. How wonderful."

Suppressing her disgust, Ariadne pretended not to understand and looked up at Giovanni with a feigned expression of innocent admiration. This young body was quite useful. Had an adult made such a face, they would have been condemned for being insincere.

***

Dinner at the Cardinal de Mare's residence was not as it usually was. Isabella, whose ankle had not yet healed, ate separately in her room. Arabella was under confinement, and the eldest son, Ippolito, was studying abroad. There were no other children left at the table. Lucrezia usually attended, but today she claimed to be unwell and took her dinner separately. In other words, it was the perfect opportunity for a private audience.

- *Clink, clank.*

The only sounds were those of silverware, and the dinner table was silent. Cardinal de Mare showed little interest in Ariadne. Ariadne spoke first.

"Your Eminence, thank you for providing me with such an excellent teacher."

Cardinal de Mare answered indifferently.

"Yes, are your studies going well?"

"*Ego habeo, per pax universalis.*"

Ariadne recited the phrase out of the blue and smiled proudly.

"It's a Latin sentence the teacher taught me. I memorized it. Didn't I do well?"

Cardinal de Mare’s expression soured.

"Who taught you such terrible Latin? Are you sure you memorized it correctly?"

"No, I memorized it perfectly. E-g-o, h-a-b-e-o..."

"Then the teacher must be the strange one."

"No! Giovanni is a famous teacher. I heard Mother spent ten ducats to hire him."

"What? For a year?"

"He's only teaching for one month. He said he's returning south next month."

"What? What is that fellow's name!"

"His name is Giovanni. He didn't tell me his surname."

Cardinal de Mare was a sharp man. The excessive tutoring fee for an illegitimate daughter—an expense Lucrezia would normally begrudge—the so-called teacher's abysmal skills, and the man's origins as someone from Lucrezia's hometown. Grasping the situation, the Cardinal's face turned red, then purple.

"Lu-cre-zi-a!!!!"

***

Tattling so openly would lose its effect if done too often, but it was possible to do it once or twice. *If I had returned as a five-year-old, I could have milked this for a whole year,* Ariadne thought with a smirk. The house was turned completely upside down. The miserly Cardinal de Mare ran to Lucrezia and demanded the household account book, and sure enough, under 'Education Expenses—10 ducats,' the entry was written.

*I just guessed the amount, but it turned out to be correct.*

"Not for a son, but a daughter—and not even Isabella, but Ariadne! Does it make any sense to spend ten ducats a month on her education!"

"To hire a good teacher..."

"A good teacher who can't even get his Latin particles right! Where did he study? Who is he!"

Lucrezia stammered, unable to answer.

"He's not even from San Carlo! Who on earth brings a Latin tutor from the countryside instead of the capital! Who is that man! He's a southerner, isn't he? Huh?"

Giovanni's hometown was the southern territory of Taranto, the same as Lucrezia's, and his surname was Rossi—Lucrezia's maiden name. In other words, he was one of Lucrezia's relatives. Lucrezia had wanted to send money to her family, but with Cardinal de Mare watching her like a hawk, she had hired an unqualified person as a tutor and set an abnormally high salary for him.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"Your Eminence... Your Eminence... I was wrong. I will make sure this never happens again."

"I won't let this go!"

*Lucrezia's family were fallen nobles, dirt-poor if I remember correctly.*

I recall her entire family clinging to Lucrezia, the one who had improved her lot by becoming a clergyman's mistress.

*If he digs through that account book, he'll find a lot of incredible things.*

Lucrezia's situation was not one where she could simply stop sending money to her family just because she'd been caught once. Her whole family depended on her, clinging like a cluster of grapes. Incidents like this were bound to keep happening. Giovanni's salary was confiscated, he was beaten with a club, and then thrown out. Lucrezia was now forced to get Cardinal de Mare's approval for every single item in the household accounts for a month.

*After all this, I wish they'd just learn their lesson and leave me alone.*

Ariadne felt like she wanted to have a frank negotiation with Lucrezia, to lay everything out on the table. But unfortunately, the de Mare family and their servants were not the kind of people with whom such pleasant transactions were possible.

***

"The clean clothes have been put in the wardrobe. Please change and go down for dinner."

The red-haired maid, Maletta, had been wary of Ariadne for about three days after Arabella's confinement, but she had since reverted to her old ways. Ariadne hadn't recognized her at first, but she and Maletta were old acquaintances. Maletta, Isabella's personal maid, had followed Isabella to the royal palace in her past life, only to have an affair with a married palace official and become his mistress.

"Are you busy?"

"Yes."

The maid's voice was blunt. Deciding to give her one more chance, Ariadne feigned innocence and asked Maletta a question.

"Aren't you going to help me change?"

It was a maid's duty to her lady. But Maletta failed to recognize the opportunity she was being given and instead turned away with a huff of irritation.

"My lady, you're not a child. Can't you do something like that on your own? You must have done it by yourself all the time on the farm!"

*The farm?*

Ariadne's patience snapped.

*This one really thinks she can walk all over me.*

A maid just like her original mistress. Once they see you as a pushover, it's impossible to control. That was a lesson Ariadne had learned in her past life. Something flew through the air and struck the back of Maletta's head as she muttered aloud, "The little brat is already acting like a lady."

- *Thwack!*

"Ack!"

The object that had struck the back of Maletta's head with a dull thud was the holy book Ariadne always carried. As Maletta clutched her head and turned, she saw Ariadne's icy expression.

"You should know your place. Who do you think you have backing you to act so insolently?"

Ariadne was tall for her fifteen years, and her unnaturally cold eyes were intimidating. But Maletta had things to say, and she had someone she could rely on.

"Excuse me, but if you were born to a maid, aren't you in the same boat as us?"

"Ha?"

"Honestly, your father is a self-made clergyman. Strictly speaking, clergymen aren't nobles, so you're not even the illegitimate child of a nobleman."

At the maid's true feelings, now laid bare, Ariadne stared intently at Maletta. She wanted to see just how far she would go.

"Go on, continue."

Maletta puffed out her plump, sensual chest and continued.

"Frankly, if I were to catch His Eminence's eye tomorrow, what's the difference between my child and you?"

Maletta raised her voice.

"Lady Isabella and Lady Arabella, I can understand, since Lady Lucrezia is a noble. But for you, Lady Ariadne, to try to be on their level—that's what's truly out of line!"

- *Slap!*

Stars exploded before Maletta's eyes. Ariadne had slapped her across the face. There was no need to hear any more.

"Are you saying, then, that my father is not noble because his bloodline is common?"

Ariadne rebuked her coldly.

"This is punishment for insulting my father."

Before Maletta could come to her senses, Ariadne slapped her other cheek.

- *Slap!*

As Maletta clutched her right cheek, now struck hard on her left, Ariadne declared sternly.

"This is punishment for your jealousy."

Ariadne picked up the fallen holy book and used it to strike Maletta's face one last time.

- *Thwack!*

"Aaargh!"

Struck by the thick book, it wasn't the sharp sound of a slap on a cheek, but a dull thud that seemed to rattle her skull. Maletta staggered back a step and collapsed to the floor.

"Furthermore, do you dare to dream of stealing the husband of the mistress you serve and taking her place? This is punishment for a servant of the house who does not know her place and dares to gossip about the private affairs of her betters."

Maletta clutched her swollen cheeks, gritted her teeth, and glared at Ariadne. Looking down at the collapsed maid, Ariadne added one more thing, kindly.

"If anyone else had heard what you said today, you would have been severely punished. Watch your tongue."

To the trembling Maletta, Ariadne gave the order to leave.

"Get out."

As she pointed to the door, Maletta scrambled out of Ariadne's attic room. Left alone, Ariadne finally gritted her teeth.

*The fundamental difference between you and me isn't something like bloodline.*

There was some truth to Maletta's words. Ariadne was only able to live this life because of her powerful father in the capital; strictly speaking, in terms of social status, she was no different from a commoner. But it was not, as Maletta implied, a matter of who was pretty enough to seduce which man. Life was not that simple. Ariadne had already learned firsthand in her past life what a miserable end awaited a woman who was lucky enough to latch onto a successful man.

*The real difference between you and me is the ability to set a goal and how much one can endure to achieve it.*

Ariadne's jaw tightened. She did not want to live like Maletta. She wanted to protect her own dignity with her own hands. A life where she was not violated, not attacked, where she was respected and could respect others. A life where her lifeline was not tied to a single man.

*This time, I will reach the top so I can no longer be trampled on. This damn maid, this damn family—I'll get rid of them all.*