Time is usually given equally to everyone.

“Let’s go with the dress I had made last month.”

The collar of her skyblue silk dress was adorned with golden lace, and a thick string of long pearls draped over the deep décolleté. Hanging from the pearl necklace was a gold cross pendant the size of a palm.

The end of the cross pendant rested perfectly on the cleavage created by the bodice.

Isabella knew very well that every man within sight could not take his eyes off her each time the pendant swayed.

As she descended to the first floor where her family was waiting, she pondered how to pretend to be ignorant of the gaze of men focused on her pendant and cleavage.

‘Should I turn my head to the side? Should I converse with the person next to me? Who should I talk to? Ariadne?’

As one thought led to another, Isabella took a look at her halfsister Ariadne, who was quietly waiting at the entrance on the first floor.

‘Why does she walk around in such a shabby dress? She’d look much better with a bit of effort considering she is a halfblood.’

Unlike the flamboyantly dressed Isabella, who resembled a vibrant bouquet of skyblue flowers, Ariadne was dressed in a simple black dress.

Her hair was neatly braided, and she wore no earrings on her bare face. The only piece of jewelry she had was a small silver cross hanging from a thin string around her neck.

There was absolutely no way this halfsister could ever threaten her position.

Isabella felt generous and decided to say something to Lucrezia.

“Mother, look at her shabbiness. If she goes to the Mass dressed like that, people will talk again.”

Lucrezia’s eyebrows twitched, but she was always soft with her eldest daughter.

“Gia, bring my gold earrings to her. The ones I keep in the second box at the bottom.”

At the mention of ‘gold’, Ariadne’s eyes shone brightly.

Reluctantly, Lucrezia had a maid fetch the earrings for Ariadne and fastened them to her with a grimace of distaste before hurrying her two children and a relative into the carriage.

“Come on, get in! We’re going to be late!”

It was always thrilling to ride in the lavishly adorned silver carriage, making their way through the throngs of impoverished people who filled the square, and entering the San Ercolano Cathedral.

“Make way! If you don’t want to be hit by a horse, clear the way!”

“Oh my, whose carriage is that!”

“Isn’t that the Cardinal’s carriage!”

Watching the bewildered expressions and squalid faces of the paupers through the transparent curtain as the coachman cleared the way by lashing them with his whip was one of Isabella’s favorite pastimes.

‘Just look at those lazy paupers, only running away when they’re about to be whipped. They should have moved sooner.’

It was the same as chasing pigeons in the square, but it was much more exciting to chase people. Whenever such events occurred in her otherwise hollow and boring daily life, Isabella felt a rush of vitality.

The situation after entering the San Ercolano Cathedral also always pleased her.

Clang!

The large central doors located in the nave were loudly swung open.

While others entered through the side doors, they would enter through the massive main door at the front of the cathedral, striding down the central aisle as if they were the bride walking down the Virgin Road in a wedding, marching right up to the front of the altar with full confidence.

Upon reaching the altar, she veered to the left, ascended to the second floor, and took a seat in the balcony. The only ones who could sit in the balcony besides their family were the royal family, Count Cesare, and Lady Rubina.

“She’s arrived, Isabella de Mare!”

“Today, she’s in a blue dress.”

“That gold cross, isn’t it from Luca Jewelers?”

Today was no different.

As she gently walked down the central aisle that bisects the nave, women raked their eyes over her with a mix of envy and admiration, scrutinizing what she was wearing and how she was adorned. Most of the men seated on either side of the nave craned their necks to look in Isabella’s direction, regardless of whether their wives were beside them or not.

“Darling! Show some decorum!”

“Ahem!”

Not only those in the nave, but even the men seated far away in the transept were seen craning their necks to glimpse at her. Isabella had to suppress her urge to laugh out loud, finding it amusing.

Today, Count Cesare had arrived first and was sitting in the balcony on the right, where the royal family usually sat. He was the foremost among the men who lustfully stared at Isabella during the mass.

His gaze was always pleasant, but at the same time, unpleasant.

‘I wish others would covet me the same way he does when he gazes at me. However, I don’t want to date Count Cesare, but I do hope that Prince Alfonso gets jealous seeing Count Cesare cling to me. I hope Prince Alfonso takes an interest in me.’

It was a perfect expression of her intrinsic desire.

As she almost reached the end of the nave, Count Cesare and Isabella’s gazes met in midair.

Isabella, with the intention of conveying, ‘I won’t date you, but please continue to be kind’, locked eyes with Cesare and gifted him with the most loving smile she could muster.

Ariadne observed the lustfilled gazes while following a step behind Isabella.

She had never received such gazes in her entire life.

The men didn’t gaze at Ariadne that way when she was younger because she wasn’t attractive, and when she grew up, nobody dared to look at her with such a lustful gaze because she already belonged to Cesare.

The women either pitied her or ignored her, no one had ever shot her such a ragefilled gaze.

With a mixture of disgust and envy, she followed Isabella, the target of those gazes. Then it happened. She caught sight of his gaze, one she could never forget even in death.

A beautiful young man in his early twenties, with a cold countenance like a marble statue, stood on the low balcony on the right, arms folded, looking down in disdain.

His demeanor was that of someone who believes they rule everything on earth from a height.

Unlike the young and robust Alfonso, he had delicate features and a slender jawline. He was quite tall, but overall, he was skinny.

His dark brown hair, almost black, reflected the candlelight, casting a reddish glow, and his two blue eyes, the blue eyes that Ariadne desperately longed to see warmth in, were fixed on the vibrant, amethysthued Isabella passing by in front of Ariadne.

A torrent of emotions, whether pain, regret, or anger, filled Ariadne’s dark green eyes.

She had vowed not to associate with him again, but it hurt. The feelings she had built up over 14 years were inevitably separate from her firm reasoning.

But today was an important day. She couldn’t let Cesare spoil the big event.

‘Please, let everything happen just like in my previous life, let my plan succeed.’

Ariadne tightly grasped the hem of her dress.