Chapter 81

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Fortune Teller's Scheme
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Ariadne closed the curtain and spoke to Sancha.

“‘Miss Rossi’ seems to be going out a lot.”

Sancha, who was tidying the desk, nodded at Ariadne's words.

“Lady Lucrezia rarely goes out, usually.”

To be precise, it wasn't that she ‘wouldn't’ but that she ‘couldn't’. Lucrezia had no connections in the capital's high society. No one invited her to events, nor were there any ladies she could invite to her home. Her outings were limited to regular High Mass, minor trips related to the Grand Basilica of San Ercole, or visits to shops to buy things. Two outings in one week with no clear destination—it was completely unlike Lucrezia.

“Could she be having an affair?”

Ariadne burst out laughing at Sancha's words, a rare occurrence. It was the first time she had laughed so heartily since Prince Alfonso had left for Taranto without so much as a letter.

“An affair, now? When she doesn't even have any money.”

“Why not? It could be a true love she found late in life.”

As she bantered with Sancha, Ariadne grumbled about her own situation. It was uncharacteristic of the ever-patient Ariadne.

“It would be perfect if I had a servant to tail her at a time like this.”

When she was the Prince Regent's fiancée under Cesare's protection, she could simply borrow his people. To become someone's woman meant borrowing his power. A sweet sanctuary.

“I know. If only we had a legitimate excuse to command the servants…!”

But if there are no teeth, one simply chews with the gums. Ariadne whispered another idea to Sancha.

“Find out which coachman drove Lady Lucrezia today.”

Sancha understood her mistress's intentions after hearing just one sentence.

“Ah! So there was such a way!”

Ariadne smiled and nodded. They planned to find out the destination by offering a small reward to the coachman who accompanied Lucrezia. Gold can make even a dead man speak.

***

When Lucrezia returned to the detached house the fortune teller had rented, the gypsy woman ran out to the entrance, her face beaming. Lucrezia was a big catch. The gypsy woman couldn't afford to lose Lucrezia—or, to be more precise, the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’. Countess Rubina had promised the gypsy woman 1,000 ducats if she brought her the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’. A lump sum, in gold. Countess Rubina was known for being impeccably true to her word when it came to money and rewards.

‘If I pull this one off, my life will be set!’

The gypsy woman had already made perfect preparations. She had even spent a large sum to prepare a replica to switch with the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ when Lucrezia brought it. She was just anxiously waiting for Lucrezia to return.

“My lady! You've succeeded. Please, come inside. Where is that blasted thing?”

Uncomfortable with the gypsy woman's brightened gaze, Lucrezia lowered her head slightly to the side and answered.

“Well…. There were some complications.”

After letting Lucrezia and her maid into the room and hearing her ‘explanation of the complications,’ the gypsy woman was so furious she nearly threw her tarot cards.

“What? You couldn't bring the necklace?”

“I couldn't help it, that girl is so meticulous….”

Lucrezia made a long-winded excuse about why she couldn't bring the necklace, while Giada, sitting beside her, feigned indifference as if she had nothing to do with it. Her attitude was as if she were listening to someone else's story. The gypsy woman wanted to smack the pathetic duo. The thought of the gold coins she'd spent on the replica of the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ made her want to scream.

“……So, is it possible to perform the purification ritual even without the real thing?”

The frustrated gypsy woman's ears perked up. A ‘purification ritual’! A customer bringing up the ritual first was the mark of a sucker. It was a chance to recoup her expenses, even if she couldn't get the necklace.

“……Without the actual item, it won't be easy….”

She deliberately dragged her words and leaned back. This was Lucrezia, who had returned despite failing to get the necklace. She must have a great deal of lingering attachment. Playing a little hard to get would probably work.

“It requires many ingredients, and a great deal of devotion…. Are you sure you can do it?”

“The effect… is the effect the same?”

The gypsy woman pressed her lips together, wanting to mutter, *what an incredibly stupid woman*, and instead gave a bewitching smile.

“It is a prayer that reaches the gods in heaven and earth. It's difficult to make it reach them, but once it does, the effect is exactly the same!”

Lucrezia let out a sigh of relief.

“I'll do anything. If this succeeds, will my daughter be released from her confinement, and will the Cardinal soften his heart?”

“Is that all? The man of blue blood will fall for your eldest daughter at first sight and make her the noblest woman in Etruscan.”

Since she was lying anyway, what did it matter if the scale got a little bigger? Besides, her prophecy that Isabella would become the king's woman was true. She had felt the same energy when she'd read Countess Rubina's fortune. The fate the gypsy woman had glimpsed for Isabella burned even more intensely than that of Countess Rubina.

“The biggest problem is that your energy and your eldest daughter's energy clash with your younger daughter's. If we perform the purification ritual to drastically weaken the gemstone's power, everything will resolve smoothly and return to how it was before.”

She narrowed her eyes and looked at Lucrezia.

“You must restore the honor of your eldest daughter, who has been unjustly disgraced, and reclaim the glory that was rightfully hers, wouldn't you agree?”

The gypsy woman had already done a background check on the de Mare household before setting this stage. High society was currently rife with rumors that Cardinal de Mare's eldest daughter was Marquis Campa's mistress. A mother who loved her daughter would not be able to resist the temptation of a purification ritual.

“To stand by and do nothing when there is something you can do is not the attitude of a mother.”

Indeed, to Lucrezia's ears, this sounded like a promise that if she just performed the purification ritual, Isabella would somehow be able to marry Prince Alfonso. And the fear that Ariadne would take that place if she didn't perform the ritual filled Lucrezia's heart. Lucrezia grabbed the gypsy woman's hand.

“Let's do it.”

But this time, it was the gypsy woman's turn to play hard to get. She stared at Lucrezia doubtfully and took a step back.

“Are you sure you can do it?”

“I will do whatever it takes.”

“The blood of a dead frog, the inner core of a monoceros, myrrh imported from the Moorish Empire and frankincense from Mount Yesak. Gold melted like lead. And the price the shaman must pay.”

The gypsy woman stared intently at Lucrezia.

“The ingredients are rare, and those who can perform this are rarer still. I must offer up my ‘causality’ as the price for this ritual.”

She held up two fingers.

“200 ducats. Not a penny less.”

Lucrezia's jaw dropped.

***

In the carriage on the way home, Giada spoke cautiously to Lucrezia.

“My lady. Don't you think 200 ducats is too much?”

She added, glancing at her nervously.

“It's been a while since we've been able to send money to Taranto. Is there any surplus left in the household accounts?”

In truth, there was. As the saying goes, a rich family's wealth lasts three generations. Lucrezia had been managing Cardinal de Mare's entire household accounts for over twenty years. She had a small fortune stashed away, both inside and outside the house. It was just that she couldn't easily touch it, as there was no guarantee she could build it up again. Lucrezia vented her frustration at Giada, who had followed her from the Rossi family and knew her situation like the back of her hand.

“Let's be honest, the money we send to Taranto just melts away. Am I wrong?”

The Rossi family, who received living expenses from Lucrezia, spent it extravagantly. Cardinal de Mare suspected it was 20 ducats a month, but in reality, Lucrezia sent over 30 ducats a month to her family. If they received 30 to 35 ducats every month, they could have saved or invested it, but the Rossis did nothing. If they had used the money Lucrezia sent over the years to buy land and farm it, they could have been called small landowners, let alone cover their living expenses. Instead, it flowed away like water on alcohol, silks, and gambling debts.

“Oh, my lady, but we can't just not send it….”

Giada's own mother worked for the Rossi family. Giada, too, would certainly be in a difficult position if the Rossi family went bankrupt. But on a more fundamental level, Giada could not advise Lucrezia to turn her back on the Rossis of Taranto. Giada held the belief that turning your back on your family was a terrible thing, that even if you received nothing from them, a sister had to do everything for her brother to be considered a proper person. And that was a belief Lucrezia also shared.

“You're right, you are. But let's just wait until the end of this month.”

As Lucrezia was leaving, the gypsy woman called out a deadline after her.

“Two weeks! In two weeks, the constellation ‘Ophiuchus’ will close and we will move into ‘Sagittarius’! This ritual can only be performed while the dark constellation is in the sky. Once we move into the era of the normal twelve zodiac signs, the gate will close!”

Since there was about a week of preparation time before the ritual could actually be performed, it meant she had to come up with the money within a week. She had already accumulated about 60 ducats that she hadn't been able to send to Taranto because she was wary of Cardinal de Mare and Ariadne, so if she could just scrape together another 140 ducats, it was somehow doable.

“If this just works out, everything can go back to the way it was! She said my daughter will become queen, didn't she?”

Between duty and greed, it was greed that won. Lucrezia was now feeling the greatest pressure she had felt in nearly a decade. Isabella was Lucrezia's pride and treasure. She had spent her entire life looking forward to the day her daughter would proudly enter the household of a magnificent man as his legal wife, resolving her mother's lifelong regret. But now, she doubted if any man would want her as a proper wife. A beautiful but illegitimate child with a fatal flaw in her reputation. Anyone could see she was mistress material.

“No……. I can't let Isabella live like me!”

If she were to be with a man of lower status, she might be able to become his legal wife. But that was worse than death. And in the midst of that, the partner of a royal…! She had to do this. To collect the money she had entrusted to various business contacts and to find her hidden pocket money, Lucrezia went out three or four more times. Among those places was the Ragione Tailor Shop. Lucrezia's movements smoothly found their way to Ariadne's ears through the mouths of the old coachman who accompanied her on most outings, and the young coachman, Giuseppe, who had followed her on one or two. The old coachman's tip came by way of gold, but the young coachman Giuseppe's came by way of a honey trap.

“You're quite talented, aren't you?”

Ariadne teased Sancha with a grin.

“My lady, what are you talking about!”

Sancha's freckled face turned beet red as she got angry. Sancha's skin was usually very pale. Right now, Sancha's skin and hair were the same color.

“It's not like that!”

“Why not? It was obvious you really like him.”

Giuseppe, in his late teens, was a quiet and reserved apprentice coachman. He was a young man diligently learning his trade in the stables. Ariadne had planned to give Giuseppe a little money and ask him some questions. But as soon as she sent Sancha down to broach the subject with Giuseppe, he immediately turned red to the tips of his ears. And he told Sancha everything Ariadne wanted to know.

“I asked you if Giuseppe was the type to blab, and you said no!”

Sancha had asserted that Giuseppe was a young man with a reputation for being taciturn, tight-lipped, and trustworthy.

“A man wouldn't go that far unless he's fallen for you!”

“I don't know! It's not true, my lady! I hate you!”

“Don't you have feelings for him too? You said he was ‘quiet and dependable’!”

“I said he was quiet and trustworthy?!”

“Same difference.”

“I don't know! It's not true!”

Ariadne decided to stop teasing Sancha. According to the testimony obtained thanks to Sancha, Lucrezia mainly went around to shops to collect money. She had even collected the 30 ducats she was supposed to receive as a rebate from the Ragione Tailor Shop in advance.

‘Where could Lucrezia need to spend money right now?’

There was the money she had to send to Taranto. But the amount was far too large for that. Besides, the money for Taranto was an amount Lucrezia could have covered from within the household in the first place. There should have been no need to gather her hidden money from outside like this.

‘It seems she's found a place to spend a large sum of money.’

The answer to Ariadne's question came soon enough.

“Lu-cre-zi-a!!!!”

A single shout that shook the Cardinal de Mare's residence rang out. And Niccolo, the butler, rushed over to Ariadne, who was spending time with Arabella in the young ladies' drawing-room, and whispered in her ear.

“Second young lady, His Eminence the Cardinal requests that you come up to your room at once. Right now!”

“Is that so? Sancha, get ready.”

“Well……. my lady. He said… you should come alone, without anyone accompanying you.”

Ariadne's left eyebrow shot up.

“To my room?”

Why my room and not Cardinal de Mare's study? Why tell me not to even bring Sancha? Seeing the doubt-filled expression on Ariadne's face, Niccolo the butler nodded in affirmation.

“Yes, your room, second young lady.”

There was a reason why Cardinal de Mare had summoned only Ariadne. As she followed Niccolo up the corridor to the second floor, a sweet, sticky smell hung in the air. Drops of a blackish liquid were splattered on the dark chestnut oak floor. A trail of the liquid led all the way into Ariadne's chambers. The full scene of the blackish liquid only became visible once she was inside her chambers. The liquid was blood. On the ivory-colored carpet in Ariadne's chambers was a black pentagram. A pentagram drawn with some unknown, blackened, scorched blood that gave off a terrible stench. At each point of the star, frankincense and myrrh were burning on burners. It was, without a doubt, the clear trace of black magic. And in the center of that pentagram sat Ariadne's safe. The very same safe that held the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’. Next to the safe, Lucrezia lay sprawled on the floor, having been harshly slapped by Cardinal de Mare.

“You… what in the world are you…!”