Chapter 83

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Translator: Harry Potta
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: My Dearest Son
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The moment Cardinal de Mare mentioned “cleaning up,” Ariadne knew this was the day her hands would be stained with blood.

Cardinal de Mare had many enemies within the church. The head of the Holy See himself, Pope Ludovico, was one of them. As the leader of the New Faction, Pope Ludovico was constantly looking for an opportunity to dispose of Cardinal de Mare, the champion of the Old Faction and the leader of the Etruscan bishops.

If word got out that black magic had been practiced in the Cardinal’s residence, it would be the end.

Excluding the gypsy fortune teller, the only ones who knew the full story of this sordid affair were Cardinal de Mare, Lucrezia, Ariadne, Arabella, the butler Niccolo, and the head maid, Giada.

The family members could be trusted for now, as they would all be the ones tied to a cross and burned at the stake if the story leaked. They were all forcibly in the same boat.

The only family member to worry about was Lucrezia. It wasn't that she was malicious, but rather that she couldn't distinguish friend from foe, making her unpredictable. However, she would be confined to the Bergamo estate, so the chances of her running her mouth were slim.

That left the butler Niccolo and the head maid Giada.

“…”

Ariadne gazed silently at Giada, who was diligently sweeping and wiping the room as if to prove her usefulness.

Niccolo could be trusted. He was the one who had informed Cardinal de Mare to stop Lucrezia’s foolishness. Besides, it was clear her father still trusted the butler. Niccolo was not the one Ariadne had to deal with today.

As for Giada, Lucrezia’s confidante… Ariadne believed that when Cardinal de Mare had said, “You take care of the cleanup,” he had intended for her to silence Giada by killing her.

Giada, cleaning with swift hands, oblivious to what was happening, seemed pitiful.

In truth, even if Cardinal de Mare’s intention had been to let Giada live, Ariadne would have had to strike her down today. Giada was Lucrezia’s one and only confidante. This was the perfect opportunity to cut off Lucrezia’s arms and legs.

And she had a good excuse. Giada was a servant who had already betrayed Lucrezia once. One who betrays once will betray again.

‘Pity is pity. What must be done, must be done.’

Feeling sorry for someone was one thing; ensuring her family’s safety was another matter entirely. So Ariadne stood with her arms crossed, personally standing guard to ensure no other servant entered while Giada cleaned. She couldn't entrust a matter of life and death to someone else.

Once Giada, who had no idea what was about to happen to her, had wiped away every bloodstain on the carpet by hand and thrown the caked frankincense and myrrh from the burner into a trash sack, Ariadne asked her casually.

“Is this everything that needs to be disposed of secretly?”

“Pardon?”

“I’m asking if there’s anything else strange left in my mother’s room. We can’t have drawings of demons or black magic spellbooks turning up in the lady’s wardrobe, can we?”

Giada finally understood and nodded.

“In the sack I received from the Moorish woman, besides these things, there was also melted gold and some kind of black pill.”

At the word “Moorish,” Ariadne’s ears perked up.

“Moorish? Was that fortune teller a Moor?”

Ariadne was always contemplating the cause of her regression. Since her return, she had scoured various books, but nothing like what she had experienced had ever appeared in the proper literature of San Carlo. If that was the case, the answer must lie outside of mainstream continental scholarship.

In her past life, Ariadne had been killed by Isabella’s subordinate, a Moorish knight. Something had happened then. The culprit was either Isabella or that Moorish knight. Ariadne believed Isabella was not the cause of her regression. It was impossible for Isabella to possess such an esoteric power. If one were to pick the person least interested in spiritual matters in all of Etruscan, the Isabella she knew would easily be in the top five.

That left the Moorish knight who had killed her, and the red halo that had flashed in his eyes. If she could meet a Moor, they might know that knight, or at the very least, provide another hint. Perhaps they could point her to Moorish texts she should start researching.

“You received it yourself? You accompanied her to see the black magician?”

“Ah… Not a black magician…”

Giada made various excuses to Ariadne, trying to assert that the person she met was not a black magician but a harmless fortune teller, and that she herself was a devout believer with no connection to black magic whatsoever. She had completely failed to grasp the problem at hand. Truly a subordinate worthy of Lucrezia.

“…She’s a fortune teller. Countess Rubina said she’s had her for a long time. She’s not a strange person.”

Ariadne’s eyes glinted sharply.

“Enough. Where did you meet this fortune teller?”

“In a back alley behind Campo de Spezia. She was in a detached house on a street where many Moors live.”

“Do you know the way?”

“I went with the coachman, Giuseppe.”

Giuseppe was the young coachman whose lips loosened in front of Sancha. Ariadne immediately grabbed her overcoat.

“We’re going right now.”

“What? Me too?”

“Without you, how will I know if I’m meeting the fortune teller or just some random Moor passing by?”

Ariadne snapped, annoyed with Giada, who was only thinking of evading responsibility.

“I need to hear what that woman told my mother.”

Ariadne called Sancha and instructed her to prepare the carriage. She specified Giuseppe as the coachman, since he knew the way.

Her plan was to meet the Moorish fortune teller and ensure her silence. She would try to talk first, but if that failed, she was prepared to use more forceful means. It would be extremely troublesome if word got back to Countess Rubina that the Cardinal de Mare’s mistress had practiced black magic within the Cardinal’s residence.

And if she could learn something about her regression in the process, it would be the icing on the cake.

“My lady, the carriage is ready!”

Despite Sancha’s urging, Ariadne stood in the room for a moment, thinking. Finally, she picked up a self-defense dagger and tucked it into her clothes.

“All set.”

Ariadne grabbed Giada, who had been unable to move from her sight, and boarded the carriage immediately.

“Let’s go.”

***

Before being banished to the Bergamo estate, Lucrezia was given a brief moment to pack her belongings.

“My lady. You must hurry. You’ll be in trouble if His Eminence the Cardinal sees you.”

Niccolo, the butler, urged her as he kept an eye on their surroundings.

Lucrezia frantically gathered her valuables and jewels. Gold coins would be useful wherever she went. She packed all sorts of gems and accessories as well. After collecting all the gold coins from her small safe, Lucrezia’s gaze fell upon a corner of her desk.

There lay a tiara set with pink sapphires. It was the very one Isabella had received from Ottavio de Contarini. The tiara was here because Cardinal de Mare had ordered all the extravagant gifts Isabella received from men to be confiscated and stored in the master bedroom.

Lucrezia hesitated for a moment. For her daughter’s reputation, she might have to return this tiara to the Contarini family someday. But she needed money now. First, there was her family in Taranto, crying out like baby birds starved for ten days, and then there was her eldest son, who might need his mother’s help at any moment. A woman’s emergency fund was her power.

‘Ah, well. I’ll just hold onto it without selling it, and I can bring it back later.’

Between her eldest daughter, eldest son, and her own family, Lucrezia ultimately chose her son and her family. Lucrezia packed the sapphire tiara and put it in her pocket.

Feeling a pang of guilt, she thought she should at least see her daughter’s face before she left. Lucrezia turned her head and pleaded with the butler, Niccolo.

“My dear man, can’t I see Isabella before I go?”

The butler Niccolo looked troubled.

“My lady, I’ve already done you a great favor by letting you come up to your room for a moment.”

Lucrezia begged Niccolo with the most pitiful expression in the world. Even for Niccolo, who had served the Cardinal and Lucrezia for a very long time, it was the most pathetic he had ever seen her.

“The children… shouldn’t I at least tell them what happened? In that case, I’ll give up on seeing them myself. Just deliver a letter to Isabella and one to Ippolito.”

Lucrezia took out a ring with a gem half the size of her pinky nail and pressed it into Niccolo’s hand. Niccolo grunted and quickly shoved the ring into his pocket.

“One for the young ladies, and one for the young master. Write them right now and give them to me. Quickly.”

Having secured Niccolo’s permission, Lucrezia dipped her pen in ink and wrote as fast as she could. The letter to Isabella was relatively simple and short. It said that her mother had fallen out of favor with her father and was being sent to the Bergamo estate, so she should take care of herself. Of course, she added that she loved her.

The one for Ippolito was grand. She even chose a different paper. Instead of a memo sheet, she picked proper stationery and began to write a long, heartfelt letter, pressing down on each and every word.

「To my beloved son, Ippolito,

My dearest son, whom I always miss, I dedicated my life to carrying and giving birth to you, but I do not regret it one bit. I always wish for my son to do well and be happy. It breaks my heart and I feel so sorry to have to ask a favor of you, whom I raised so preciously; it is truly difficult to bring this up.

My beloved son, please help your mother. Something terrible has happened to me. Your father… (omitted)… I am being exiled to the Bergamo estate. That girl Ariadne is about to take control of the household. As I wrote in my last letter, Isabella is also confined to her room under indefinite punishment, so there is no one to help me.

Ippolito, I haven't received a reply from you; are my letters arriving safely? Is everything alright? Are your studies going well? Since vacation is coming soon, couldn't you do something for me while you're back? Your mother is counting only on you, my son.

I should always be a strong mother for you, but for things to turn out this way, I am truly ashamed and my heart aches. But you are the only one I can trust. I love you, and I miss you, my son.

- Hoping to meet you with a smile, with all my love, Mother.」

Lucrezia sealed Ippolito’s letter tightly and handed it to Niccolo. She gave him Isabella’s letter as well. It was in an envelope, but she had skipped sealing it.

“These two.”

There was nothing for Arabella.

“Please take good care of them. You must deliver them properly. I’m begging you.”

“Do not worry, my lady.”

“I haven’t been getting replies from Ippolito. The road to Padua is long, but they’re not getting lost, are they?”

Niccolo’s expression became a little troubled. The letters to Padua were being sent safely via a reliable courier. It was Ippolito who wasn’t replying. But Niccolo was too soft-hearted to say that to his mistress, who was in a difficult situation with only her firstborn son left to rely on.

“I will take responsibility for making sure the letters come and go safely, so please do not worry, my lady. Is there anything you'd like to leave for Lady Arabella?”

Lucrezia replied without a change in her expression.

“She’s just a child, what would she understand from a letter? Besides, you saw her earlier. There’s nothing else to leave her.”

Niccolo barely suppressed a look of dismay and nodded his head.

“I understand. Let us depart now. The carriage should have arrived downstairs.”

Lucrezia pulled on a thick velvet robe, clutched the bundle of valuables to her chest, and followed Niccolo out. As she walked, she kept looking back at the Cardinal de Mare’s residence, a place steeped in twenty-two years of glory and hardship.

This was the home she had built with her blood and tears. She would never be pushed aside by a child like that illegitimate daughter.

Never.