“How dare you behave like that!”

Arabella bowed her head, staring endlessly at the floor.

“No, no, it’s just that… I thought my sister gave her permission… The score was wrongly placed, the composition was about to be announced like that…”

“Whether the piece is wrongfully announced or not, what does it matter! It’s just a piece! Your sister’s reputation is ruined now, that’s what matters!”

Isabella wailed even more pitifully at the mention of her mother’s words. Arabella tried to avoid being swept up in her mother’s anger, imagining that the patterns on the marble floor resembled a donkey or a puppy.

“You should have just kept quiet!”

Isabella chimed in from behind Lucrezia, who was scolding and swatting the air.

“Yes! Acting up and spreading strange rumors about my composition!”

Arabella, who had been trying her best to ignore the situation, finally snapped at Isabella’s phrase, ‘my composition’.

“Your composition? But that’s my composition!”

“What did you say?”

“You stole my composition! You took it from me!”

“Hey!”

Arabella gave up on Isabella and appealed to Lucrezia.

“Mother, mother. That really is my composition. Sister stole it from me. Even if no one else knows, you should know, mother.”

But Lucrezia was stuck on something else.

“Are you talking back to your sister?”

“Mother!”

“You should always be polite to your elders! Didn’t I tell you not to talk back to your sister, didn’t I?”

As Arabella began to cry in frustration, Lucrezia scolded her harshly.

“Is it that important who composed it? Sisters share everything! Are you going to take responsibility if your sister’s marriage path is blocked?!”

With the mention of ‘the marriage path being blocked’, Lucrezia scolded Arabella even more harshly, ignoring Isabella who was wailing in the background.

“Our Isabella is such a highclass jewel in society! She is the proud daughter of her mother! I can’t tolerate anyone ruining that, whether it’s you or your damned composition!”

Lucrezia picked up a disciplinary birch rod. It had never been used on Isabella, only ever on Arabella, and recently, Ariadne as well, making it a stick exclusively for the two mischievous girls.

“How many times should you be hit? You decide how many times you should be hit for your mistakes!”

Arabella spoke to Lucrezia through tearstreaked face.

“I did nothing wrong! It’s Isabella, my sister, who’s wrong for stealing my composition! None of this would’ve happened if she hadn’t stolen it!”

“Are you talking back to your mother now?! And stop blaming others! How can your temperament be so rotten that even at this point you’re blaming your sister?”

Thump!

Lucrezia swung the birch rod threateningly in the air.

“Kneel! Hand out!”

Arabella, startled by her mother’s roar, did kneel but was still reluctant to be hit. She twisted her body, gradually moving backwards. Lucrezia leaned forward, chasing after Arabella as if ready to pounce.

Ariadne did her best to avoid her mother in the confined space without blatantly running away, but Isabella viciously intervened here.

She forcibly pressed Ariadne’s back, who was kneeling on the ground, with her knee, offering her younger sister to their mother, and Ariadne’s brief struggle ended.

“Like this!”

Held down, Ariadne finally reached out her hand, crying her heart out.

Thwack!

Lucrezia hit Ariadne’s palm with a club.

Thwack!

With each hit, Ariadne shed endless tears. However, Lucrezia did not stop her hand.

Lucrezia, who had given ten full strikes, hit one more time saying that she didn’t want to see Ariadne crying, and then finally threw the club on the ground.

“You, stay in your room and reflect! You cannot go anywhere except mass for a month! Eat separately in your room! Understand that you won’t even get a glimpse of meat!”

Ariadne, who had barely received the grateful banishment order, threw herself out of her mother’s parlour as if escaping.

Bang!

The heavy chestnut door closed in front of Ariadne’s eyes. It was good that she had managed to escape, but being expelled was heartbreaking.

The love and bond between her mother and sister, which Ariadne couldn’t be a part of, remained inside Lucrezia’s parlour.

Ariadne, who was expelled from Lucrezia’s parlour, ran as if escaping to the western wing used by the children. The maids, seeing the little lady running while crying, muttered among themselves, but no one spoke or comforted her.

From the standpoint of the lower people, the anger of the lady, which could explode at any time, was terrifying.

Instead, in the west wing, there was Ariadne, who had come out after hearing about the commotion that Lucrezia was making in the east wing parlour. Seeing Ariadne in such a mess, Ariadne didn’t say anything and just opened her arms.

Ariadne neither apologized nor said that she had made a mistake, she just ran into Ariadne’s open arms.

Ariadne, who had entered Ariadne’s room, nestled in Ariadne’s arms, sucking out her tears and snot, and sobbed.

Ariadne just silently comforted Ariadne by patting her small back. Ariadne’s tiny body burrowed into Ariadne’s arms like a small wild animal.

Body temperature met body temperature, silent apologies and understanding passed between them, and no more words were needed between the two.