Ariadne had a feeling something was wrong when she saw that alltoofamiliar expression.

“You see, Arabella.”

Isabella warmly hugged her younger sister, and then gestured for Ariadne to leave.

As Ariadne reluctantly hesitated, Isabella sweetly whispered to Arabella.

“We have something to discuss, just the two of us.”

Though Isabella had previously fussed over being called “sister” in front of Cardinal de Mare, she now easily changed her demeanor. Arabella looked at Ariadne with a slight sense of guilt.

Isabella hurried Arabella.

“Hurry up.”

Pressured by Isabella, Arabella reluctantly addressed Ariadne.

“Can… can you leave, please?”

Arabella found it hard to call Ariadne “sister” while being watched by Isabella, even though the word was on the tip of her tongue.

Since Arabella had also requested it, Ariadne had no reason to stay. She got up, made her courtesy, and left the sister’s parlor.

Once Ariadne was gone, Isabella looked at Arabella, her eyes glinting with a small but intense smile.

“The entire family becomes valuable due to the most remarkable person in the family. Understand?”

Without realizing it, Arabella nodded. She seemed intimidated by Isabella’s beauty or the weight of the elder sister.

“Are you going to hand over your position to a stone rolled in from the outside?”

Isabella cupped Arabella’s cheeks with both hands and made her look at her own face.

“I’m your real sister.”

Isabella stared straight into the young Arabella’s eyes, her stunning amethyst eyes comforting as if she were nurturing a bird.

“There’s a celebration mass coming up where His Majesty the King, the Queen Mother, and the prince will all be present. There, young nobles and ladies can make a talent donation, and there was talk of applying.”

Isabella let go of Arabella’s face, twirling her purple hair around her finger as she spoke.

“You’re too young to qualify for application. Give this to me, and I’ll submit it on your behalf. And since you need to practice, you’ll need a pipe organ. I’ll ask mother for that, too.”

Arabella looked slightly confused. As a tenyearold girl, it was hard for her to make a judgment when her sister’s honeyed words flowed so sweetly.

Something was off, but she couldn’t pinpoint what.

“But Isabella, can you play the pipe organ well?”

“No. I’m not particularly good with keyboard instruments.”

“Then how are you going to offer it at the church? This is primarily a piece to be rearranged for the pipe organ. You’re not very good at playing string instruments, right?”

Isabella looked at Arabella as if she was saying something very foolish.

“Of course, I’ll submit the music score that I’ve composed. Someone else will perform it.”

Arabella looked at Isabella with a strange expression. At her sister’s unenthusiastic response, Isabella’s mood seemed to be slightly hurt.

“Arabella, I don’t even need the pipe organ to submit this piece. But I’m asking mother and father for a pipe organ just for you. I’m doing all this for you, and yet you’re acting so uneasy?”

Isabella flipped her hair back and rose from her seat next to Arabella.

“If you don’t want to, then don’t.”

‘My clever sister wouldn’t harm me, would she?’

“Sister, wait a moment.”

“What do you mean, ‘wait’? Make your decision now. Don’t drag this out, it’s annoying.”

Under Isabella’s pressure, Arabella finally gave in.

“No, sister. I’m sorry. I’ll give you this song.”

Isabella’s pretty face shone with victory. She returned to her sweet voice and stroked her sister’s head.

“You made the right decision.”

Although Isabella was a cunning negotiator, she was a reliable trading partner. She faithfully kept her part of the agreement.

Isabella had pleaded to Lucrezia and Cardinal de Mare that she needed a pipe organ, and so a small pipe organ came to be in her house.

Of course, the pipe organ, a product that easily takes 34 years to install at home, having pipes made from an alloy of lead and tin, assembled in the workshop, and then finally assembled in the installation location, could not be brought in immediately.

But when Isabella said she needed it, Cardinal de Mare happily paid gold coins close to several hundred ducats, and Lucrezia gladly gave up the prayer room with high ceilings in the eastern annex for the installation of the pipe organ.

The major construction had begun, and a small wind harp was installed for Isabella to use until then.

Arabella awkwardly watched the pipe organ coming in smoothly.

A pipe organ was indeed a too expensive item to be installed in a private house just because the daughter of a mere cardinal wanted to play it at home, even if she was not a professional player.

“But why does it work for sister Isabella, but not for me?”

While Arabella was awkwardly watching the construction site from the 2nd floor railing of the eastern annex, Ariadne quietly approached.

“So you finally got it, the pipe organ.”

Arabella looked up at Ariadne and nodded.

“Are you happy you got it?”

At Ariadne’s question, Arabella shook her head.