“Do not leave the room until you have copied everything! In the meantime, eat only dry bread and water twice a day!”

Isabella looked at her father in surprise. Cardinal de Mare did not forget the last admonition.

“Don’t even dream of getting within 100 piedi of a man, either inside or out! You won’t be sent anywhere alone now! Solo outings are forbidden!”

Bang!

The heavy oak door closed in front of the shocked Isabella. That was the last outside light she would see until she finished copying ‘Meditations’.

Fortunately, the partial wig box was still on the vanity. It didn’t look expensive, so the butler Nicolò didn’t collect it.

Isabella rushed to stash the box under the vanity and then cried, flailing alone in the locked room.

‘It’s unfair! It’s unfair! What on earth did I do wrong!’

The day after the masquerade, King Leo III and Queen, Prince Alfonso, and Grand Duchess Lariessa were taking a morning walk together.

Although Leo III was old, he was confident in his physical strength. He set this walking schedule early in the morning to show off his robustness to the Gallico staff, despite waking up early the morning after the party.

Thanks to this, the other three were forcibly admiring the autumn foliage of Palazzo Carlo, having been dragged out from the crack of dawn without being able to enjoy their sleep.

“So, Grand Duchess Lariessa, how was the masquerade last night?”

When the interpreter sitting next to him passed on King Leo III’s question to Grand Duchess Lariessa, she asked the interpreter with a smile.

“I’ll speak directly.”

“But it’s a custom……”

“If I’m going to marry into San Carlo, I’m eventually going to become an Etruscan, right? I should get used to the local language from now on.”

The interpreter showed discomfort. In the midst of the ongoing conversation, Grand Duchess Lariessa, who had to compromise on just standing next to the interpreter, answered King Leo III with a smile.

“It was a fantastic ball. Thanks to you. Thank you.”

It wasn’t completely grammatically correct, but it was cute enough to give a pass.

How could it not be adorable from the king’s point of view when the grand duchess of the Gallico kingdom, which had been rapidly increasing its national power recently, making King Leo III scratch his head, bent over and came in first?

Leo III laughed heartily and answered Lariessa pleasantly.

“Grand Duchess, did you meet many people?”

This was a question asking if she made new friends, but Grand Duchess Lariessa took it as ‘who did you see’. She naturally started talking about the people she saw yesterday.

“People from Etruscan. So handsome and beautiful.”

“Hehe, you saw them all even with masks on? It seems like you enjoyed an intimate masquerade!”

This was a completely inappropriate joke. At a masquerade, masks were only taken off for a kiss or something more intimate.

Saying “intimate masquerade” was no different from asking a stillunmarried grand duchess of a foreign country who she had skinship with. As Queen Marguerite was slightly frowning, Grand Duchess Lariessa dropped a bombshell.

“Two royal sons. Took off the masks. Both handsome and very close to me.”

King Leo III’s eyes widened. Two sons? Officially, I only have one son, don’t I? No, I only have one son to the Grand Duchess of Galicia, so how did the Duchess see the faces of two sons?

‘What do they mean by being close? They couldn’t possibly be close to each other… Surely they’re not saying they both kissed her?!’

Prince Alfonso and Queen Marguerite also failed to maintain their composure at the Grand Duchess Lariessa’s outrageous description. Following a step behind was the king’s secretary, Sir Cipriano Delfiano, who promptly corrected her.

“Your Majesty, Count Cesare unveiled his face in front of the people, and that’s when she saw it. There was also no issue with Prince Alfonso.”

“Ahh, was it related to that incident?”

“Yes, it was.”

King Leo III had also received a brief report about yesterday’s event. ‘Duke Campa was found committing an immoral act at the masquerade and there was a bit of a disturbance, Count Cesare resolved the situation.’ was the gist of it.

Yet, despite the situation being resolved on the surface, the crease in his brow showed no sign of smoothing out.

“But, two sons?”

King Leo III officially only had one son. Within the kingdom, there might have been whispers that Cesare was also the king’s son. It’s impossible to silence all rumors.

However, for a foreigner, especially a grand duchess who was discussing a political marriage with the enemy prince, it was definitely not something that should have reached her ears.

In this difficult situation, the Grand Duchess Lariessa was of no help. She didn’t read the room and nodded her head with a naive smile.

“Your Majesty, two sons! They are so close. Prince Alfonso lied for Count Cesare’s girlfriend.”