If he had asked for permission and gone, there would have been no problem, but Alfonso felt that Queen Margaret and Leo III would not allow Alfonso to be Ariadne’s debutante partner.
“There are marriage negotiations going on with the princess of Gallico. You must behave even more properly.”
His mother had subtly hinted at this a few days ago.
“It’s just helping a friend in trouble.”
Alfonso was deceiving himself unconsciously that it was a matter unrelated to grand events such as marriage negotiations or marital alliances. He checked his schedule with his secretary.
“Bernardino, do I have any plans for the third Saturday of next month?”
“So far, it’s free, Your Highness.”
“Leave it free. Don’t make any appointments. That includes all the times my mother or father calls me.”
“What’s the matter?”
Normally, he would have told him at this point, ‘I will be attending the debutante ball of the second daughter of the Archbishop, held at the Archbishop de Mare’s residence.’
But Alfonso chose silence. He had not yet realized that his irregular handling of matters truly reflected his state of mind.
“I have some personal business to attend to. Keep the whole day free, from morning till late at night.”
[This is the time separator]Janobi and Prince Alfonso were not the only ones coveting the position of Ariadne’s debutante partner.
“She’s having her own debutante ball this time?”
“Yes, that’s correct, Countess.”
At the maid’s transmission, Countess Rubina, reclining in a long velvet chair, reflected the color of her wine, the same as her eyes, in the candlelight.
“Who did they say the partner is?”
“I heard it’s a nephew from Lucrezia de Rossi’s maternal side.”
A smile crossed the countess Rubina’s lips.
“He must be a nobody. No matter how you look at it, our son is much better. Isn’t that right, son?”
She looked at Cesare, who was sitting in a corner of her mother’s reception room.
“That girl revealed that the Lastela statue was a fake this time? Everyone at court is only talking about her. I heard she has a high reputation among the commoners?”
“I know what you’re trying to say, mother. Just stop there.”
Cesare was curled up in a corner of his mother’s reception room, looking as if life had drained out of him. Nothing was going as planned.
He had high hopes for his investigation into the merchant of the Porto Republic, but it had been a complete failure. At first, he thought that Benasio del Gato, the finance minister of the Porto Republic, was using his nephew to siphon off wealth overseas.
Benasio del Gato was a powerful candidate for the next president in the Porto Republic. If he were to confiscate the wealth that he had smuggled into the Etruscan Kingdom, it would be like repaying his opponents’ debt.
Or on the contrary, he hoped to catch the killer of Benasio del Gato’s nephew after discovering the nephew’s murder, and thereby earn a debt to Benasio del Gato. However, it turned out to be a simple murder over gambling.
While Alfonso was enthusiastically playing ball, he had wanted to show his political prowess and get into his father’s good graces, but it was all in vain. It was all wasted effort.
“Cesare, don’t be stubborn and listen to your mother. In order to be a king, you need popularity and a reputable spouse—.”
“I’ve told you to stop there!”
Cesare exploded in anger.
“I have my own thoughts too!”
Although he was quite frustrated.
“Do you think the throne will fall into my lap just by marrying her, who doesn’t even have any succession rights? Think logically!”
The defiance of her son caused a deep wrinkle to form on the forehead of Countess Rubina.
“And that pintsized girl has a horrendous temper!”
Countess Rubina didn’t back down here either.
“If a 15yearold adolescent is difficult, that’s the strange part! Are you incapable if you can’t handle a young girl and whine to me?”
Annoyance and anger swirled in Cesare’s blue eyes.
“Stop it! Are you telling me to ask her to be my debut partner now? I won’t do it, even if I die!”
And what he couldn’t say to his mother was, ‘It’s obvious that I’ll be rejected even if I ask.’ However, as expected, Countess Rubina saw right through her son.
“It seems there’s no bigger loser than a coward who can’t even try because he’s scared.”
“Seriously!”
At Countess Rubina’s taunts, Cesare grabbed the cloak he had thrown on the chair and stormed out of his mother’s parlor.
Bang!!
“That, that, that! His temper is so unbearable!”
Countess Rubina, watching the retreating figure of her son who was so much like her, was livid.
“He won’t listen to me, even if he dies! Do you think I can’t do as I please?”
In her anger, her hands swirling the wine glass became rough, and the red wine spilled over the velvet chair.
A maid of Countess Rubina quickly approached and politely wiped off the wine, then poured another glass at her glance.
“Countess, do you have a plan?”
Countess Rubina, at the maid’s question, twinkled her dark red eyes ominously.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
