Sister, I'm the Queen This Life (330 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 36

Even at Prince Alfonso’s command, Cesare did not immediately release Ariadne’s wrist. Alfonso, however, remained neither flustered nor agitated. He walked straight up to Cesare, stopping just before him, and spoke in a calm voice without raising his tone at all.

“I suppose you didn’t hear me. Let go of her hand, Count de Como.”

Alfonso, four years younger than Cesare, was still unmistakably a boy in anyone’s eyes. The faint down on his cheeks, his smooth skin, and his youthful voice all betrayed his age. Yet his demeanor carried such grace that it rendered his youth irrelevant.

Though slender in build, Cesare stood unusually tall—at four piedi and three dito (approximately 183 centimeters). Alfonso, still in the midst of growing and thus half a head shorter, held his own perfectly beside Cesare thanks to his squared shoulders and solid frame, appearing in no way inferior despite the height difference.

In that standoff, the prince spoke once more, gently.

“And it seems the count has also forgotten how to show proper respect to royalty.”

These were words Cesare could not ignore. Failure by a commoner to show proper deference to royalty was punishable as an offense against the Crown. Cesare had not been formally acknowledged by King Leo III—he was not officially a member of the royal family.

Gritting his teeth, Cesare bowed his head in the curt nod customarily given by men to royalty, all while still clutching Ariadne’s wrist.

Alfonso glanced briefly at Ariadne’s wrist still held by Cesare, then looked Cesare straight in the eye and spoke again. His voice was remarkably composed, devoid of any inflection—like droplets sliding smoothly across marble.

“Count de Como. Not that greeting. Today marks our very first meeting.”

In the Kingdom of Etruria, formal audiences with royalty required both men and women to kneel on one knee and bow their heads deeply when offering their first salutation.

On the same day, a second meeting, or situations involving advanced age, mobility issues (with explicit royal permission), or exceptionally close relationships, permitted alternatives: men might offer a simple nod, while women could perform a curtsy by grasping their dress hems.

Prince Alfonso was pointing out precisely this point. Though he usually waived formalities with easygoing generosity, this time he showed no leniency whatsoever.

Clenching his jaw, Cesare finally released Ariadne’s wrist, stepped back one pace, and knelt on one knee before Alfonso, bowing his head deeply in the proper formal greeting.

Every movement was slow and brimming with resentment. His jaw muscles bulged tautly, so fiercely did he grind his teeth that they seemed ready to burst. Ariadne thought he would probably be too furious to sleep that night.

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