It was an exaggerated high-pitched exclamation. But coupled with her nightingale-like voice, everyone’s eyes were instantly drawn to Isabella.

The person she addressed was her own mother, Lucrezia. However, the intended audience was clearly Queen Marguerite and her ladies-in-waiting.

“I’m so glad that the Queen requested a sermon on the part about Yesach’s sacrifice. It’s my favorite part too, Mother.”

Lucrezia happily played along with her daughter’s tune.

“It’s rewarding to see you’ve learned the Galican language well. Which part did you like best?”

“The part where Yesach sacrificed himself! I love the part where the people all thanked him when Yesach sacrificed himself for everyone.”

The atmosphere suddenly grew cold. According to the holy scriptures, Yesach sacrificed himself twice.

The first time he gave his life, he died in loneliness while being scorned. Only after showing the miracle of resurrection and sacrificing himself to prevent divine punishment on the continent did the general public finally praise and look up to Yesach.

Today’s sermon was about Yesach’s first sacrifice.

Isabella, due to her limited Galican, had only understood the word ‘sacrifice’ and thought it was about the second sacrifice that the nobles preferred. She had tried to show off but ended up revealing her poor foreign language skills.

“After a long journey, praise eventually follows sacrifice.”

A lady-in-waiting who had accompanied Queen Marguerite from the Kingdom of Galica tried to lighten the mood with an awkward smile. But Isabella, not understanding the maid’s kind intention to help her, smiled brightly.

“But right after Yesach died on the cross, all the residents of the Seven Hills of Gaius immediately came out and wailed in unison! Ah— Of course it’s sad that he died, but how thrilling must it have been for Yesach’s disciples?”

Now the atmosphere had turned as cold as the air inside an ice house. To praise a saint’s sacrifice with gratitude was one thing, but to envy the fame he might have gained was a statement that was hard to cover up even by calling it immature – it was enough to make one question her character.

Even Lucrezia, who couldn’t understand Galican at all and thus couldn’t gauge what mistake her daughter had made, was cowed and looked around nervously.

However, Isabella, who was always oddly clueless in such situations, was looking around at the people with her big, pretty eyes wide open and blinking.

Finally, Ariadne stepped in with a wry smile.

“I like the courage that Yesach showed the most.”

At this point, the only way to salvage the situation seemed to be for the youngest to act cute.

“He must have been very scared before he died.”

“Ah.”

“The young lady is so kind.”

The sight of a girl, still on the border between child and adult, deeply empathizing with a saint’s suffering brought smiles to the adults’ faces.

As the atmosphere momentarily lightened, the ladies threw in a social comment or two and swiftly changed the topic.

A little late, Ariadne added, “He must have also been anxious about leaving things to those who were immoral, selfish, and not very smart,” but everyone seemed not to hear.

But Queen Marguerite was an exception. She looked at her lady-in-waiting and whispered in her ear.

“So the younger one speaks Galica.”

The Queen’s satisfied gaze now shifted to Lucrezia.

Lucrezia, wearing a dress with a neckline that was about a finger joint deeper than socially acceptable, curtsied exaggeratedly when she caught the Queen’s eye.

“Lucrezia de Rossi, a devotee from the Taranto diocese of the Etruscan state, greets Queen Marguerite!”

The exaggeration was a struggle to hide her intimidation. Lucrezia was merely the Cardinal de Mare’s mistress. So officially, she still had to refer to herself by her maiden name.

Ariadne thought it would be really funny if Queen Marguerite called Lucrezia ‘Miss Lucrezia’ here.

Despite having given birth to three children and her eldest son being grown, Lucrezia had never been married.

If someone called her ‘Miss Lucrezia’ to her face, she’d probably turn pale and tremble, then go home and throw a hysterical fit for about 7 days and 8 nights, breaking household items.

But Queen Marguerite, seemingly not wanting to antagonize the Cardinal’s mistress, acknowledged Lucrezia’s greeting with a nod.

“……”

Perhaps finding the Queen’s silence awkward, the Queen’s lady-in-waiting cheerfully guided them.

“Please come to the reception room. The ladies are gathered there.”

The Queen moved on with dignity without directly addressing any of Cardinal de Mare’s family members, and instead her lady-in-waiting led Lucrezia and her party to the reception room behind the small chapel, connected by a small corridor.

“Oh my! It’s so pretty!”

Matching Isabella’s exclamation, the small reception room, beautifully decorated with green silk and mahogany wood, had a few ladies sitting with cups of afternoon tea. They were Queen Marguerite’s closest noble ladies.

Lucrezia entered hesitantly, looking around to see where she should sit. This inner circle was Lucrezia’s lifelong dream, but now that the day had come, she seemed unsure how to behave.

“Ah, hello.”

As Lucrezia awkwardly greeted and moved towards the central sofa, the noble ladies shifted away like a flock of street pigeons avoiding a passerby.

The one who most noticeably avoided Lucrezia was a tall lady with gray hair. Ariadne let out a small laugh.

‘To meet like this here.’

It was the Marchioness of Marquez. She was the very lady who, in Ariadne’s previous life, had spread rumors that Cesare was Leo III’s illegitimate child and had her hair pulled by Ariadne at a tea party.

The Marchioness of Marquez, of course, did not recognize the young Ariadne. Instead, as Queen Marguerite entered the reception room, she stood up with a beaming smile to greet the Queen.

“We greet Your Majesty the Queen!”

The ladies in the reception room greeted the Queen brightly and boisterously.

Queen Marguerite, who hadn’t uttered a single word to Lucrezia, smiled broadly and responded warmly to the Marchioness of Marquez.

“My faithful friend, Marchioness of Marquez, you look well today.”

“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty’s gracious care.”

The pale-skinned Queen with blonde hair, the same color as the prince’s, couldn’t hide her unmistakably foreign accent.

Lucrezia was slightly surprised by the thick Galican accent, but none of the noble ladies in the Queen’s reception room showed any sign of finding it strange, all smiling brightly.

Queen Marguerite glanced sideways at Lucrezia, Isabella, and Ariadne, who were standing awkwardly on the outskirts, and casually introduced them.

“These are Cardinal de Mare’s family members. I heard his daughter is intelligent and devout, so I invited them.”

The noble ladies whispered and looked towards Isabella at the mention of ‘the Cardinal’s daughter’.

Despite Lucrezia’s struggle to establish herself in high society due to her status, Isabella had already gained a reputation for being clever and the most beautiful in San Carlo since her debutante ball last year.

Isabella stepped forward half a step, grasped her dress skirt, and curtsied gracefully.

“I am Isabella de Mare. It is an honor to meet the most noble people in the kingdom.”

The slight rosy blush on her fair skin was extremely lovable. With a pearl-adorned headdress and wearing a peach-colored dress of the highest quality, Isabella looked undeniably pretty and precious, regardless of the blemish of her birth.

“Oh, so this young lady is Isabella de Mare.”

“She’s as pretty as the rumors say.”

“How adorable.”

Facing the chattering noble ladies, Ariadne curtsied half a beat late. But her greeting was not directed at the noble ladies, and her gaze and body were turned towards Queen Marguerite.

“I am the second daughter, Ariadne de Mare. May the noble bloodline be blessed by Yesach’s protection.”

The noble ladies seemed to lose their words a bit when they saw the shabby and gloomy second daughter after seeing the pretty and innocently raised eldest daughter. They had used up all the compliments like ‘how pretty’ on the eldest daughter who came first, so there were no more praises left to give.

But the Queen gladly accepted Ariadne’s greeting. Her mouth was stern, but deep crow’s feet formed at the corners of her eyes as if she were smiling.

“Such a young child, yet so polite in her greetings.”

It was the first direct word Queen Marguerite had spoken to a member of the de Mare family. She seemed pleased that the honor was given to the Queen, not the noble ladies.

As Ariadne received the Queen’s approval, the noble ladies, as if they had never once glanced at Isabella, began to shower Ariadne with praises, saying things like how composed the young lady was and how well-educated she seemed.

Suddenly pushed to the outskirts of attention, Isabella gritted her teeth.

‘Queen Marguerite must be cross-eyed!’

At that moment, the Marchioness of Marquez, who was leading the group of ladies, addressed Lucrezia who was sitting on the outskirts.

“Isabella’s dress is very pretty. Which dressmaker did you have it made at?”

Lucrezia, delighted by a word from a real noble, answered with a bright face.

“Our house’s seamstress made it at home.”

Isabella, as if not wanting to miss this opportunity, smoothed out her dress skirt to draw people’s attention.

It was a top-quality custom-made dress, generously using the highest grade silk to add volume and complement Isabella’s thin frame. Under the thick silk fabric, a glimpse of high-quality chemise lace could be seen.

“Your seamstress has good skills. I’d like to have one made for my daughter too, but it’s a shame it’s not from a dressmaker.”

Lucrezia, who desperately craved regular interaction with real noble ladies, offered excessive kindness to someone she had just met.

“You can leave it to our seamstress. The Marchioness of Marquez is always welcome.”

The Marchioness of Marquez smiled with a strange expression.

“It seems your skilled seamstress is slow-handed, as I can’t add more work. Did different seamstresses make the clothes for your eldest and second daughter?”

“……!”

“Now that you mention it?”

At these meaningful words, the noble ladies began to alternately look at Isabella’s and Ariadne’s dresses.

Indeed, the attire of the eldest and youngest daughters differed greatly.

Isabella’s outfit was extremely luxurious. Her dress, shoes, and hair ornaments were all top-quality items that precisely matched the latest fashion. However, Ariadne clearly showed a lack of adult attention.

If Lucrezia had been more established in high society, the noble ladies would have held their tongues. But Lucrezia had no standing, and Queen Marguerite didn’t seem to think of her as special.

The Viscountess of Cibo, who was always second to the Marchioness of Marquez, slightly gauged Queen Marguerite’s mood, and judging it to be alright, openly fired the first shot.

“A virtuous lady should take good care of her children.”

As if not wanting to lose, or as if she had been waiting for this, the Marchioness of Marquez immediately chimed in.

“A mistress may be bad, but the child is still a member of the family. The family must exist for me to exist.”

The ladies each added a word or two.

“Refinement… Common sense…”

“The child is innocent…”

“How pitiful…”

Lucrezia’s face turned red and blue, but she had no defense, having dressed her own daughter in the finest clothes while dressing her illegitimate daughter in cheap ones. Lucrezia was not quick-witted either.

It was Isabella who saved her mother from the predicament.

“Pardon me, ladies. My sister has poor health and has just come up from the Bergamo estate where she was staying.”

Isabella smiled prettily as she approached Ariadne, taking her hand affectionately for all to see.

“The seamstress is currently making all of my sister’s clothes of the highest quality. She’s still thin and small, so I gave her the clothes I wore last year.”

“……”

“It’s because they were made to match my originally frugal taste. Sisters often share clothes when they’re young, don’t they?”

Isabella looked at Ariadne with a gentle smile. A dimple formed on her baby-like skin.

“Isn’t that right, my sister?”

Ariadne smiled along with Isabella.

‘Seeing is believing.’

Instead of tattling on Lucrezia’s misdeeds, Ariadne abruptly stood up and smoothed out her dress skirt just as Isabella had done earlier.

“That’s right, sister. It’s a dress too good for me. I didn’t know it was a hand-me-down, but I really like it.”

As the dress skirt fluttered, the cotton chemise worn underneath became visible. The noble ladies were all shocked to see the worn and tattered chemise.

“My goodness! Look how coarse that cotton is!”

“The color is completely yellow? What was its original color?”

“Look at those stains! Are those stains from kitchen work? Do they make her do housework too?”

Lucrezia’s face turned pale.