But the illegitimate child of the Cardinal received condolences from tens of thousands of people at the largest cathedral in all of Etruscan and held a funeral.

Ariadne was precariously maintaining herself, stepping on lies piled on top of lies, and enjoying the benefits of all these injustices. She was angry but in a position where she couldn’t even be openly angry.

“Let’s pray. The merciful God who always pities us and generously forgives us…”

From here on, the priest sang the first verse and the rest of the worshipers repeated the next verse.

“May Arabella, who left us today, be guided by the holy angels and receive a peaceful and safe new life in the sacred cycle of reincarnation. In the next life, may she be born into a good life, in the name of God, amen.”

“In the name of God, amen.”

“Oh, my daughter!”

Lucrezia’s tragic scream sharply rose above the people’s chant.

She indeed was Isabella’s biological mother, begging for attention. The ignorant people of San Carlo supported the sorrow of a mother who had lost her child with sympathetic eyes. Ariadne’s expression twisted.

‘Arabella. I’m not sure if you would like the blood of your mother that you offer at your altar.’

She quietly clenched her fist.

‘But I’ll surely take revenge and offer it to your spirit. Lucrezia, Isabella. Wait.’

The mourners who filled the San Ercole Cathedral like a cloud were, of course, mostly guests of Cardinal de Mare. As the children’s friends were mostly in Taranto, they mostly sent condolences by letter instead.

Among the countless letters pouring into the house, there were sincere letters, hypocritical letters, and formal letters.

‘To the honorable Ariadne de Mare,

I express my condolences. I also have a deceased older brother, so I can somewhat understand what it feels like to have a younger sister lose her reputation. Losing a sibling is like…(rest omitted)

In March, when the court returns to Taranto, let’s pay our respects together at the ossuary behind the San Ercole Cathedral. My beloved grandmother also passed away two years ago and is kept there. The deceased will be eternal in the hearts of the living. Once again, may the deceased rest in peace.

From Julia de Baldesar.’

Among them, Julia’s letter was extremely sincere. There were many who paid lip service, but there were not many who put time, care, and effort like Julia.

Camellia de Castellione sent a letter that seemed pieced together from about six in a book like ‘100 Selected Consolation Letters.’ It was a typical case of paying a lot of lip service and then washing her mouth with a single letter.

Count Cesare expressed his interest with a long and beautiful letter full of interest and generous money, but for some reason, it felt closer to Camellia’s letter than Julia’s.

It might have been because she compared it to Alfonso, who had come to pay his respects in person.

Ariadne’s thoughts were somewhat unfair from Cesare’s point of view.

When Alfonso received the news of Cardinal de Mare’s death, he was on his way to San Carlo, while Cesare was heavily drunk at a party. He didn’t hear the news until the next morning.

By that time, some had already received the news directly from Cardinal de Mare, later than his own son. The news that the deceased was not the second daughter, but the youngest, had widely spread in the Taranto social circles.

Naturally, Cesare, believing Ariadne was dead, had no need to panic, and sent a formal condolence message to Ariadne for her sister.

However, he was not a man to be easily dismissed by the woman he was courting.

Along with the beautifully written letter with black ink as if it was printed by a machine, there arrived an extremely luxurious rosary made of ebony and silver, adorned with black diamonds. It was very much Cesare.

“If I send this back……. will a courier have to carry it to Taranto?”

Ariadne, after pondering for a moment, called the mail servant and instructed him.

“Send it to the Count of de Como.”

“Should I say it’s being returned?”

“No, send it as if it’s a new gift in response. So that their housekeeper unknowingly keeps it until the master returns.”

Having confirmed her feelings with Alfonso, Ariadne did not want to receive gifts from Count Cesare.

She didn’t want to mislead Cesare and deal with the hassle later, and above all, she didn’t want to disappoint Alfonso if he found out that Ariadne had received this.

However, Cesare was the type to cling more if pushed away. It was better to quietly distance oneself without him noticing.

Even if he finds out that the gift was rejected when he returned to the capital a month and a half later, there would be other distractions by then.

The last remaining letter was from Prince Alfonso. Ariadne had deliberately left this letter until the end. The envelope was thick.

Since returning to Taranto, Prince Alfonso had started to send letters regularly. It was a letter with normal paper and an ordinary package, not stamped with the seal of the royal palace.