He wanted to go to the ball with Isabella, but he sent this kind of letter because he didn’t want to risk being rejected by her!

“Coward!”

Isabella hit the desk in anger. However, this was clearly unjustified anger. Jacopo Attendoro had shown more courage than any other knight currently in San Carlo.

Isabella could not objectively see how far her reputation had deteriorated. Or maybe she knew vaguely but didn’t want to admit it.

Knock, knock.

The person knocking at the door of the girl’s reception room was a mail delivery servant.

“Miss. A letter has arrived for you.”

Isabella’s sullen face lit up instantly. A more decent gentleman than Jacopo Attendoro might have sent a partner request!

“Who is the gentleman who sent the letter?”

The mail delivery servant handed her the envelope, a little bit scared, looking at Isabella.

“Well…… It seems to be a lady……”

At the sound of a woman sending a letter, Isabella’s mood instantly soured. ‘Is it Leticia, that useless chatterbox,’ she muttered as she received the letter envelope.

The envelope, adorned with silver foil, was written as follows:

“For Lady Isabella de Mare. Compensation from the Count Bartolini’s family.”

“What’s this, why is it so strange?”

A smile rose on Isabella’s lips. ‘Compensation from the Count Bartolini’s family,’ could it be a letter sent by the Count himself, not the Countess? Maybe he suspected his wife’s infidelity and wanted to hear it from her?

If the Countess Bartolini had already been caught by her husband, Isabella had nothing to lose. It would naturally reveal who the mistress of the Duke of Campa was as the Countess’s adultery or divorce becomes a rumor. Count Bartolini, that stupid husband, would take care of gathering people and spreading rumors.

Isabella didn’t need to raise suspicions and dig up the past. If only that happened, she could easily shed this persistent stigma.

However, the thing that came out of the torn envelope was an invitation from the Countess, not the Count.

“To Lady Isabella de Mare,

We haven’t been in touch for a while, and you reached out first. If you are free in the late morning five days from now, would you like to meet?

From Clemente de Bartolini.”

Well, this was also good. Isabella’s smile deepened.

The date suggested by Countess Bartolini was just two days away. This was a rather hasty date to invite someone for tea. Plus, the time slot she suggested was not typically when guests were invited.

‘It seems she looked at her schedule after receiving my letter. The earliest available time was this.’

Countess Bartolini must have been extremely nervous.

‘Yes, she must be scared of what I’m going to say. It’s better to get hit first.’

Isabella looked at the servant with a smile.

“There’s no need to write a letter. Send someone to let him know that I will visit on the day he mentioned.”

Replying verbally instead of in writing was a method of response only used by those confident that the other party would not forget their appointment. It was either an incredibly intimate relationship, or a way for superiors to treat their subordinates.

Isabella stretched out languidly.

‘Whether it goes to the left or right, if this isn’t a winning move, what is?’

Ariadne, who had been looking at the ledger at home, received a sudden courier.

“Miss, a messenger who just ran here asked me to deliver this note to you.”

The servant added.

“If I were in between, I would have stopped it on my line, but he didn’t reveal who he is. However, his clothes were fancy, and he seemed religious, so I thought I’d bring it just in case.”

Ariadne unfolded the note handed by the servant.

‘Unexpected external schedule has come up. Can you come within an hour? The location is Centro Anima.

A.

P.S. The courier who sent this is a knight named Elko. You can come under his escort.’

With a bright expression, Ariadne praised the servant. Her heart throbbed.

“You did well to bring it. I’m going to go out for a while, so tell the messenger downstairs not to leave and wait.”

“Shall I order a carriage?”

Ariadne pondered for a moment then nodded.

“Yes. Let’s go with a black one that’s not very noticeable. For the coachman…. bring Giuseppe.”

She was not usually picky about her attendants. It was rare to specify even a coachman, so the servant looked up at Ariadne. She hurried him.

“The messenger can’t leave, can he? Quickly!”

After kicking the servant’s rear to send him away, she focused on getting herself ready.

“Bring Sancha and Anna. Quickly!”

They were Sancha, who was in charge of Ariadne’s clothes, and Anna who did her makeup. She was already behind on time. Considering the time it takes to get from the residence of the Bishop of De Mare to Centro Anima, she had about 35 minutes to prepare.

Ariadne rushed them and hurriedly prepared. Anna did her makeup while she discussed what to wear with Sancha.

“Miss, formal dress… you’re going to wear it, right?”

There was no need to dress formally when going out in disguise… Ariadne was tempted for a moment but decided to resist.

‘Planning everything on the assumption that ‘I won’t get caught’ is foolish. Every plan has a chance of failure.’

It would be disastrous if it was revealed that she was having a secret meeting with Prince Alfonso, but it was out of human control. However, the gossip that she was not even wearing formal dress during the secret meeting could be avoided with effort.

“Yes. Something as fresh as possible.”

Ariadne replied with a light sigh.

Ariadne, who had elegantly dressed up in a short amount of time, stepped out of the main gate of the De Mare mansion wearing a veil to cover her face and a French hood to hide all her hair.

There, a single black carriage was waiting, and a young man with ashcolored hair whom she saw for the first time was waiting next to it in black clothes.

Ariadne looked at him with a smile.

“So you are Knight Elko. Your lord did not tell me your full name.”