Thinking Ariadne might not want to discuss her recently departed mother and sister, Julia talked about her grandmother who passed away the year before last.

“She was a remarkable person, but also very warm. She would threaten to disinherit us when we misbehaved, but not an hour later, she’d bring cookies because she was worried.”

Thinking of her late grandmother, Julia gave a small smile. She had a cold face, and her first impression was icy and sharp, but when she smiled like this, she looked like a completely different person.

“It seems you had a lot of good memories with your grandmother.”

“Indeed. My brother, my older brother who has now passed away, and I were left in our grandmother’s care when we were young. Our parents did this to help with her depression.”

She wrinkled her nose slightly and added.

“We were substitutes for puppies.”

But then she laughed out loud.

“But you don’t know how fun it was to frolic like puppies! We spent the most time with our grandmother among the grandchildren.”

Julia stared for a long time at a part of the wall where her grandmother’s remains were kept in the ossuary. A statue of the Virgin Mary, carved to resemble the face of the late Valdesar grandmother, the former Duchess of Valdesar, adorned the surface of the ossuary.

“Every time I come here, I feel how finite time is. At first, I was terribly sad that I could no longer see my grandmother, but visiting often made me realize that there must be an end to the time spent with someone, and that I, too, might stop breathing, feeling, and being alive at any moment. That makes me realize how precious each moment is.”

Julia turned her body and looked at Ariadne, who had been standing silently.

“So, Ariadne, let go of any guilt. We don’t have much time left to feel alive. Let’s also stop unnecessary worries. The dead would want that.”

Julia only revealed what she usually thinks, not knowing the whole situation.

But Ariadne thought that even if Julia knew all the circumstances, such as the story related to Arabella’s death, the secret of her return, and Lucrezia’s evil deeds, she couldn’t have given better advice.

“Indeed. You’re absolutely right, Julia.”

But Julia did not stop there.

“Ariadne, you have something on your mind right now, don’t you? Your brow is furrowed. Tell me.”

Ariadne realized that she was worried when she heard Julia’s words. It was true that she had something on her mind.

But she couldn’t tell everything straight. She couldn’t say things like ‘I’m trying to see how much blood money I can get without being punished by the Golden Rule,’ or ‘Where can I find the secret of the return?’.

Even coming down a bit more worldly, she couldn’t talk about things like ‘In fact, I’m secretly dating Prince Alfonso, but it’s awkward because he has a strategic marriage partner.’

In the end, Ariadne revealed her most trivial concern.

“He asked me to attend the royal ball, the eve of the ‘Spring Festival’, with him, Count Cesare. But I don’t really want to go with him.”

“Do you remember what we talked about at the tea party back then, Miss Ariadne?”

It was a story of the day when girls gathered at Julia’s tea party and divided into two camps, saying that they prefer Prince Alfonso or Count Cesare, and laughed merrily.

With a playful smile, Julia asked.

“So, is Prince Alfonso your choice, Miss Ariadne?”

Ariadne was astounded by Julia’s ability to approach the truth. As of now, there was no connection between Ariadne and Prince Alfonso.

“No, it’s not like that! Just, it’s very burdensome the way Count Cesare is acting.”

“Well, it can be burdensome if Count Cesare is too pushy.”

Julia readily accepted Ariadne’s excuse.

“Then you can go with someone else.”

“I can’t think of another suitable partner to refuse Count Cesare.”

This time, Julia sincerely agreed. She had never heard of any other suitors for Ariadne, or even any close male friends.

If Ariadne were to refuse Count Cesare and randomly select a partner to attend the ball, rumors would circulate that Ariadne and the de Mare family truly, really, intensely disliked Count Cesare.

“All you need is an excuse.”

“Exactly.”

“How about this, Ariadne?”

Julia clapped her hands once. It was a suggestion made partly to help her friend’s troubles, and partly to get rid of the malicious stock at home.

“Bring my brother to the royal ball.”

“Your brother?”

Ariadne had never seen Julia’s brother in all her visits to the House of Baldesar. She didn’t recall seeing him in her past life either.

‘He’s the eldest son of the House of Baldesar, why don’t I know him?’

In fact, the Duke of Baldesar lived a very long and healthy life. Ariadne’s social circle in her previous life included the nobles of San Carlo, either the heads of households or their wives.

Since Duke Baldesar held his position until just before Cesare’s accession to the throne, his children did not appear in the forefront of the social scene.

A faint hint appeared from the memories of the past that Ariadne was feeling around.

“Ah, he was studying abroad?”

“Yes, he was in Padua. He returned a while ago.”

It seemed he had not returned to San Carlo from there in her previous life. She had no memory of seeing him in social gatherings.

Julia frowned slightly.

“Well, he hasn’t fully returned. He’s insisting on going back.”

Ariadne thought, ‘as expected’. It seemed Julia’s brother had successfully returned to Padua in her previous life.

“He seems to be very interested in his studies.”

“Yes……. He finished studying military science and returned home, but he wants to study theology again, take the priest’s vow, and become a theologian……. Mother is very worried.”

She grumbled about her older brother with a furrowed brow.

“Can you believe it? Who will take care of the house if the only son becomes a priest……. If my brother becomes a clergyman, everyone will rush in to take advantage of our family. He only thinks of himself. Even after returning to San Carlo, he locks himself in his study all day reading books……. Even if mother pleads with him to participate in social events, he barely listens.”

Upon hearing that he had completed his university studies in military science in Padua, Ariadne thought she might be able to dig up some stories from Epolito’s school days. He might not have lived cleanly and nobly there, even if she didn’t know it.

“But Ariadne, you’ve made a name for yourself in theology because of the Apostolic incident in Aselato, right? If it’s you, my brother, who has no interest in anything other than theology, might agree to meet.”

‘Eek.’

Ariadne was tense. If she engaged in deep conversation on a single topic, her shallow knowledge might be exposed.

“And because he’s our brother, Count Cesare, you see, Lady Julia de Valdesar keeps pleading him to bring out her brother from his room, so it would suffice to promise her that he would see her next time.”

This was intriguing.

“What do you think, shall we proceed?”

“…Please ask my brother first. It seems like a good idea.”