A tense atmosphere pervaded the tent where the brain trust had gathered. Everyone was holding their breath and carefully watching the situation.

“Hahaha, sending a son to marriage is quite difficult indeed.”

King Leo III laughed heartily and entertained the group.

“Forget about all the complications, let the practitioners handle it. For now, let’s each have a grand drink in a national spirit. We need to understand each other first for negotiations! Let’s share some interesting stories!”

The nobles of San Carlo all laughed loudly following Leo III. When the king himself stepped in to lighten the atmosphere, the envoys from the Kingdom of Gallico no longer held their poker faces and obediently laughed along.

They all raised their glasses of Gallico mountain champagne for a toast and pursed their lips, but their palms and armpits had already become sweaty. It seemed to be a tough negotiation.

Not knowing Prince Alfonso’s situation, Ariadne aimlessly walked along the solitary path at the edge of the hunting ground, driving her horse, feeling down.

She was not bad at horseback riding, but because she was neither exceptional at hunting nor enjoyed it, she had no intention of going deep into the forest.

She was merely circling around outside because if she went into the tent and took a seat, she would have to spend time with Lucrezia, Isabella, and Janobi.

“I’d rather die than suffer.”

Ariadne was slowly turning her horse around to head back to the tent. However, one piece of trash, which she thought should have been well contained in the trash bin, had apparently escaped.

“Hey, let’s talk.”

It was Janobi. He had been following Ariadne for a while now and was covered in dust. Janobi approached her, driving his small, muscular horse. Ariadne scowled and stepped back.

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“But I do!”

He came off aggressively, trying to dominate from the beginning. Ariadne pulled on the reins of her horse to put more distance between herself and Janobi.

“Please have some dignity. There are many observers at the hunting festival, surely you don’t want to make a fuss in public, not even inside the house this time?”

Janobi’s face turned red, thinking Ariadne was referring to his past mistake. She was referring to the time at Ariadne’s debutante ball when he whistled at the sight of her costume malfunction.

Embarrassed at having been scorned by the capital’s nobles for being a country bumpkin, he resented Ariadne for reminding him of that incident.

Angry, he pursued Ariadne even more aggressively.

“There’s no one here. No one will know even if I bury you right now.”

As if threatening, Janobi drove his horse closer to Ariadne. Despite Ariadne’s horse stepping backward, Janobi’s horse overlapped with Ariadne’s chestnutcolored horse.

“How dare you, with your dirty mouth? Threatening to drown me? Is that language fit for a lady?”

Aah, it seems Isabella has had a word with Janobi, Ariadne thought, raising her head and giving Janobi a cool stare. She decided to deny everything cleanly.

“What are you talking about? I have no idea.”

“Ha! Look at this girl. She lies without a shred of conscience as if she had a rag in her mouth!”

Janobi’s voice got louder and he was now yelling at Ariadne. He seemed to feel a sense of superiority and ecstasy as he shouted.

There was a reason for all of this. Janobi felt like a knight standing up for poor Isabella.

“Remember your place! You can end up in a grave without anyone knowing! If you torment poor Isabella one more time, this Brother Janobi won’t let you off!”

“Hmph!”

Ariadne snorted loudly. With every additional word from Janobi, Ariadne understood more clearly why he was so agitated. It was for Isabella, or more precisely, to look good in front of Isabella.

There was no way for Janobi and Isabella to share a true friendship, and there was only one reason why Janobi flattered around Isabella. Once she realized that, Janobi seemed all the more despicable.

“Listen, even if our clothes are crooked, let’s talk straight.”

Having understood the situation, Ariadne changed her tone towards Janobi. After running the calculations, she concluded that there was no harm Janobi could do to her. Ariadne decided not to hide her strength and stop flattering around.

Primarily, it was a habit of Ariadne, who had been unable to discard her polite and kind manner towards anyone since her past life. But that was not a strategy of superiority.

Sometimes, when stepping on a worm, it realizes it’s a worm and doesn’t squirm anymore. Ariadne revealed her true feelings, which she usually kept hidden, with a smirk and an icy gaze.

At the same time as revealing her true colors, she reined in the conversation. She had no intention of being alone with Janobi on the narrow woodland path.

“You seem to be eager to look good in front of Isabella, but it’s meaningless. No matter if you give her your liver or gallbladder, do you think Isabella will look at a poor, jobless loafer like you?”