Madam Carla replied with vigor.
“A sound plan, wouldn’t you agree, Your Majesty?”
Her reasoning was indeed quite reasonable.
“Since Duke Mireille has died, the Kingdom of Gallico will not stay quiet. It doesn’t matter if we name someone other than Prince Alfonso as the culprit. If we can’t provide a valid reason for killing Duke Mireille, this will inevitably turn into a diplomatic issue!”
“Hmm.”
“There’s a need to publicly announce what misdeeds Duke Mireille attempted to commit. If the victim is a respected young lady like Lady de Mare, who has been wellraised in a good home, public opinion will be even more likely to censure the Kingdom of Gallico and Duke Mireille.”
Queen Marguerite kept her eyes closed.
“We are running out of time, Your Majesty.”
Then it happened.
“Carla.”
The voice of Alfonso, tinged with rage, interjected.
“Do you not realize what your proposal could lead to?”
Alfonso’s clenched fist was trembling violently.
“You, of all people, who are wellversed in social etiquette?”
Unable to hide his anger, Alfonso continued his words.
“It’s the same as using Ariadne as a scapegoat. All of San Carlo, no, all of Montpellier in the Central Continent will chew her up and spit her out, and we would be hiding behind Ariadne’s reputation all the while!”
Madam Carla stared straight back at Alfonso.
“Did I suggest announcing to the world that Duke Mireille is an unrivaled scoundrel?”
She glanced at Ariadne.
“I am merely suggesting we announce the facts as they stand.”
Madam Carla, brimming with confidence, shot a significant sidelong glance at Ariadne, who was veiled only by the prince’s cloak over her torn dress.
“If even stating what truly happened is denied, then that young lady should have behaved more decently in the first place!”
“Carla!”
Alfonso abruptly rose from his seat. He produced a letter from Larisa, showing it to his mother and Madam Carla.
“Carla! Look at this. It’s a letter from the Grand Duchess Larisa. After seeing this, do you still think this is an issue of Ariadne’s conduct?”
Prince Alfonso handed the letter to his mother.
Having received the parchment letter from her son’s hand, Queen Marguerite closely examined it. Her eyes squinted slightly, possibly due to the onset of presbyopia. She blinked twice. Soon, her eyes began to fill with horror.
“……!”
Without uttering a single word, the Queen handed the letter to Madam Carla. Madam Carla, who received the letter with both hands and read its contents, was equally astonished.
“No……. In the world…….”
Wiping off the cold sweat trickling down her temples, Madam Carla was stared down by Alfonso, who berated her.
“The Grand Duchess Larisa had a purpose! It had nothing to do with Ariadne’s personal behavior, whether she walked around late at night or wore indecent clothes!”
Choked with emotion from Carla’s words, Alfonso pounded his chest.
“Ariadne was victimized without any means of escape!”
A cold voice interrupted Prince Alfonso’s tirade.
“That is, your fault.”
It was a remark from the previously silent Queen Marguerite. Alfonso was startled and turned to look at Queen Marguerite.
“It’s something that happened because you rashly left an engagement unresolved and set off to find your love.”
Alfonso, who had been passionately arguing until then, suddenly found himself lost for words.
Larisa was not a normal person. But one cannot always be associated with only normal people. Even if the other party was abnormal, he had a responsibility to protect Ariadne.
……His mother was right.
Tears welled up once again in Prince Alfonso’s eyes.
“Your Majesty is correct……. It’s all my responsibility.”
He hung his head for a long while, staring at the floor. Tears as tiny as pebbles fell onto the delicate carpet, leaving a stain.
Having controlled his emotions, the prince lifted his head with a resolute expression.
“So I can’t possibly put Ariadne in the front and let her endure the lash of public opinion.”
He clenched both fists and exclaimed.
“…If you’re going to announce the fact itself, please also announce that Prince Alfonso was the one who took the Duke of Mireille’s life.”
The atmosphere in the room was ominous. In the presence of a deeply agitated Alfonso and Lady Carla, Queen Marguerite maintained a heavy silence. From Ariadne’s perspective, that silence was as terrifying as hellfire.
But Ariadne held no grudge against either Queen Marguerite or Lady Carla. She had never had any expectations in the first place.
‘Lady Carla is right. I would have done the same.’
There was no one who could rescue her from this situation. If Prince Alfonso declared to the world that he was the one who killed the Duke of Mireille, there might be a chance for them to go down together.
However, that would be a way to die together, not to live together.
Finally making up her mind, Ariadne opened her mouth.
“…Lady Carla is correct.”
Ariadne’s low voice echoed throughout the ‘Queen’s reception room’. Her subdued voice was sharp, tasting of iron and steel.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
