“I can’t even use a sword or a spear.”

“Learn by then.”

Ariadne laughed at his firm spearswordmanship.

“Do you want to protect the country only with a sword? A bureaucrat can be useful, too.”

“Those people are also necessary. Great talents. But they are not knights.”

A knight who clashes with the enemy at the forefront where interests collide to protect the country. Alfonso intended to become a ruler who unites the Etruscan kingdom with a golden knight squad burning with loyalty.

“You’re planning a nepotism, not meritocracy. You’re going to make a person who can’t use a sword or a spear a knight just because you like it.”

“Looking at the story, it seems so. I should cancel it to avoid becoming a dark knight.”

Ariadne hurriedly waved her hand.

“No, I’ll learn quickly, the spear and sword skills.”

Ariadne made an exaggerated gesture and exclaimed loudly.

“I will become the best knight in the world from now on and become your first sword. I will not disappoint you with my excellent swordsmanship.”

A knight who abuses unkeepable promises, it was nothing but an antithesis of a great knight. The two looked at each other and laughed out loud. Ariadne, who was laughing loudly, felt her body balance was disturbed.

‘Uh, what?’

There was a strange buoyancy behind her back. It was a feeling of not supporting anything. Ariadne flapped her arms.

“Dangerous!”

Prince Alfonso was the one who saved Ariadne who was about to fall from the tree. Alfonso caught her by throwing himself.

First, the arms touched, and then Alfonso embraced her for a moment, and when the center of gravity was stable, the surroundings became quiet and the sound of leaves being swept by the wind and the grinding sound of the gong banging against the gong echoed.

“Ah.”

Ariadne’s face was flushed. From the prince’s side, it seemed like there was not a single grain of selfishness, Ariadne bit the flesh inside her mouth and tried to manage her expression as her expectations piled up.

She could not become awkward. It was so from a strategic aspect, but emotionally, she did not want to appear foolish in front of Alfonso now. It was the worst to appear like a stupid fool in front of the golden prince.

Fortunately, the prince first neatly seated her and changed the topic of conversation.

“What brought you here? This is not the way to your mother’s treasury.”

Ariadne’s face was now colored with embarrassment.

“That’s …”

Officially, she had to not know what flowers were in the queen’s patronage. Ariadne quickly found an excuse.

“I was looking for a flower to break and wear on my head. I’m visiting the queen and I feel too shabby in my attire… Is this the right garden?”

She was indeed on the way to the garden, only half a lie.

She knew too well where the garden was. She didn’t want to frankly tell Alfonso that her outfit was not decent enough. But one can’t always have everything they want.

Alfonso, on the other hand, looked at Ariadne with widened eyes.

“Shabby?”

From his point of view, there was nothing to add or take away from this darkhaired girl.

“Pretty girl?”

Ariadne’s face turned red once again. In front of Prince Alfonso, she felt like a fifteenyearold girl, which was strange.

She pointed at her hair and objected. When you don’t know the answer, or can’t figure out your feelings, think with your head and logic. That was the way Ariadne had lived her whole life.

“I don’t have jewelry so I decorated with fresh flowers, but the buds are small and not very flashy. I might be the only one visiting Queen in San Carlo like this.”

Even the prince, who knew nothing about women’s fashion, understood that the lady’s hair decoration was just flowers, without any jewels.

“Ah, that’s what you were worried about.”

He frowned for a moment.

“What time is your visit to the queen?”

“Three o’clock this afternoon.”

There was only about an hour left. Alfonso shook his head.

“Then we’re a little short on time.”

There were plenty of treasures in the royal palace, but there was no readymade head decoration for women. He took a moment to consider what he could offer.

“For now, let’s use this.”

He pulled and untied a long string that was decorated on his sleeve. Small jewels were intricately engraved between each stitch on the green silk, giving off a brilliant light.

Alfonso tied the jewel string like a ribbon in Ariadne’s hair.

“Is this okay?”

Ariadne was pretty sure that the green ribbon tied by the prince would look like straw tied to crops, but she could bet on it.

Judging by the prince’s clumsiness, he was not the type of man who knew how to tie a woman’s hair. But Alfonso, who took off his own decoration and tied it in her hair, was so lovely.

She responded with a smile, her eyes squinting beautifully.

“Thank you. I really like it.”

Ariadne, who was relaxing at the abandoned fountain with Prince Alfonso, returned to the waiting room of the Queen’s Palace just in time.

The ceremony of presenting the gifts from the king was usually a glamorous event presided over by several court managers. But Queen Marguerite was extremely introverted and did not enjoy such things, and if a large presentation ceremony were to be held, there would be no excuse not to invite Lucrezia, Ariadne’s mother, officially from the Queen’s standpoint.

So the audience with the queen took place in the small space of the reception room where Queen Marguerite had previously invited her to mass, with one or two Galician maidservants from the queen, the Marchioness Countess, and the Viscountess of Chibo.

“Thus I, King Leo III, grant the following reward to the second daughter of Cardinal de Mare, and hope she will continue to serve the country.”

Finally having read out the king’s decree, full of words like “merit,” “filial piety,” and “faithfulness,” Queen Marguerite, seated in her cozy chair, extended a hand to Ariadne, who was kneeling on one knee in front of her, and said kindly.

“You may rise now. Come closer.”

Following court etiquette precisely, Ariadne rose to her right foot, curtsied, and took a step towards the queen.

“Here, come closer.”

What the queen had brought out was a massive jewelry box, intricately carved on ebony, and covered with gold and silver.

“I didn’t know His Majesty would grant you this.”

Ariadne sensed something unusual in the queen’s tone.

“May I dare to ask what it is?”

To Ariadne’s question, the queen opened the king’s decree placed on the side table next to her chair and read the rest of the parchment.

“The dowry shall be fifty gold ducats, a box of jewels selected by Queen Marguerite, and the ‘Heart of the Blue Sea’.”

Ariadne’s complexion turned pale. Queen Marguerite opened the lid of the ebony jewel box, and a dazzling light flowed out.

It was an overwhelmingly luxurious necklace, exquisitely crafted with a small sapphire the size of a chestnut surrounded by very tiny, dazzling diamonds. It was utterly beautiful.

Immediately, Ariadne rose and took a step back, knelt down with both knees on the ground, bowed her head to the floor, and cried out loud.

“Your Majesty, the Queen, I cannot possibly accept this! Please have mercy!”