Blair’s strident voice flowing through the crack in the door slowed Ariadne’s footsteps.

“I can’t do this. It’s too hard.”

She was undoubtedly talking about Ariadne. Ariadne completely stopped in her tracks.

To the fidgeting maid, Ariadne spoke calmly.

“I suddenly have a terrible stomachache. I think I need to stop by the privy, so go to the governess and tell her that the second young lady will be a bit late.”

“But young lady…!”

“You won’t get in any trouble. Just go and say that.”

Ariadne unfastened one of the poor pearl earrings she was wearing and put it in the maid’s apron pocket. It was her only pair of earrings, but she had to show generosity when needed.

“Keep your mouth shut about what you saw and heard, even to your mistress. Hurry and go.”

The maid, not knowing what to do, seemed tempted by the pearl earring and soon nodded, leaving as Ariadne instructed.

Ariadne pressed her body tightly against a pillar in the corridor and listened to the conversation flowing through the crack in the door of the Cardinal’s reception room.

“No, what’s wrong with you again? It was your idea to bring Ariadne in the first place.”

“That was then and this is now! The girl is so unruly and stubborn, it’s so hard to attend to her!”

Cardinal De Mare’s voice was heard, dumbfounded but trying to appease Lucrezia.

“Then what will you say to Count Cesare? Every time we meet at Mass, he’s been dropping hints.”

“He originally wanted Isabella, do you think he’ll just back off if we foist someone like Ariadne on him? You think of a good solution! You’re good at that sort of thing! I can’t live with that girl.”

“If you can’t live with her, there’s always the option of quickly marrying her off to Count Cesare.”

− ‘…!’

At this point in her eavesdropping, there was suddenly a presence at the far end of the corridor. Startled, Ariadne quickly moved away from the reception room door and tried to act as if she was just casually passing by.

The source of the presence was maids going to clean. They seemed not to notice anything strange and greeted Ariadne with curtsies as they passed by, chattering among themselves.

‘Phew.’

That was close.

Marrying her off to Cesare early – it sent a chill down her spine. Ariadne realized that simply keeping her head down and hiding was not a solution. If she just let herself be carried by the flow, the conclusion would be the same as in her previous life.

A life handed off as a substitute to the man who loved her sister like his own life, keeping a place by his side like an old piece of furniture and serving his convenience, only to be miserably discarded when the time came.

It couldn’t end up like that. Now was the time to act.

Ariadne instinctively grasped that Cardinal De Mare and Lady Lucrezia’s interests did not align perfectly.

To Lucrezia, Isabella was her other half, a more perfect version of herself, her precious princess who must succeed. But to Cardinal De Mare, Isabella was the best “possession” he had.

Cardinal De Mare certainly loved Isabella to some extent. He wished for Isabella’s happiness and would be willing to make some sacrifices for Isabella’s laughter and peaceful daily life.

‘Only to that extent.’

Ariadne knew well how cold Cardinal De Mare could become. Recalling his actions in her previous life, she shuddered at the chill that swept over her. The fine hairs on her arms all stood on end.

Just as a well-bred horse is raised to win races and a hunting dog can be allowed to get hurt if it means catching the prey, to him, the essence of a daughter was a commodity to be sold in service of the everlasting “De Mare family.”

Teach, groom, and dote on them so they sell well, and in exchange for a beautiful and renowned daughter, the family would gain titles, land, gold coins, and glory. What the daughter liked or disliked was a secondary point.

The only reason Cardinal De Mare did not want to marry Isabella to Cesare de Como was because Isabella’s value was too high to hand over to the likes of Cesare.

− “Oh, my beautiful daughter! As expected of our family’s bloodline. She’s superior because of our family’s bloodline, and she’s excellent, so she’s my daughter.”

Cardinal De Mare always praised Isabella’s beautiful appearance, her brilliant mind, and her popularity in social circles.

Even racking her brain for memories of her past life, there was not a single instance where he had praised Isabella’s efforts to achieve such results or Isabella’s character.

Cardinal De Mare favored Isabella because Isabella was excellent.

Eldest daughter Isabella was the top priority on Cardinal De Mare’s list of assets. To be precise, the position of cardinal would undoubtedly be ahead of Isabella in importance, so she was second on the list of assets.

After Isabella would be the prize-winning steed from the royal regatta and the quail egg-sized emerald on the cardinal’s jewel, and going further down that list, Ariadne would appear.

He wanted to receive a price worthy of his best possession through a marriage with Alfonso, the sole heir to the throne. That was all.

‘If Father cherishes Isabella over me because her value is higher, and wants to make her the crown princess… Then I just need my value to exceed Isabella’s.’

If she gained renown, cultivated her appearance, and became the most outstanding young lady in San Carlo, the maiden of the De Mare family to be presented to Prince Alfonso would be Ariadne, not Isabella.

‘I don’t even need to be the best in San Carlo. I just need to be higher than Isabella. If I can’t rise, it’s enough to diminish Isabella’s value.’

− “He says he doesn’t like big women. He always imagined holding me while holding you. He said your breasts sagged like a dairy cow’s. I’m the one who will be queen.”

Isabella’s nightingale-like voice rang in her ears like an auditory hallucination. Ariadne unconsciously touched her still flat chest. She felt no guilt about harming Isabella.

The 1st daughter to Prince Alfonso, the 2nd daughter to Cesare de Como.

There was no third path anyway. She couldn’t suddenly become a trade genius, board a galley of the Porto Republic, and set off to import spices from the East. Nor could she inherit the title in place of Ippolito, the eldest son and Lucrezia’s child.

Even if she made a big concession, acknowledged that Lucrezia was ultimately just a concubine and decided not to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate children, poisoned Ippolito and Isabella who would still have seniority, this household itself had no title to inherit.

They had no hereditary noble title and were merely a family with a high-ranking clergyman father.

In the end, the option left to her was to ride on her father’s temporary power, become someone’s wife, and enjoy his wealth and status together.

If there were only two choices, Alfonso and Cesare, and the prize for the winner was a chance to escape Cesare, then this was a race she had to win.

Ariadne strode down the 2nd floor corridor and flung open the door to the girls’ reception room. At her late entrance, governess Madam Romani and Isabella and Arabella, who had been immersed in Gallic language lessons, all looked towards the door.

Ariadne performed a perfect court-style curtsy.

“Good afternoon, Madam Romani.”

In a Gallic Kingdom accent so smooth, one would never believe it belonged to an Etruscan language speaker.

“Sorry to interrupt, shall we continue?”

Arabella gaped at Ariadne.

“How are you so good at Gallic?”

Ariadne answered with a small smile.

“It’s nothing. I just picked some up over the shoulder.”

The ever-gentle Madam Romani spoke to Ariadne in surprise.

“Your accent is perfect. Where did you learn it?”

“Someone I grew up with knew Gallic. They only knew how to speak it, not the grammar or proper expressions, but after studying with you, I seem to be picking it up quickly. It’s all thanks to you, teacher.”

As Ariadne gauged an alibi in case she was pressed on who it was, she didn’t forget to gently pass the credit to Madam Romani.

Madam Romani marveled at her student’s rapid achievement and her own teaching ability, and Arabella seemed to see Ariadne in a new light, in addition to Ariadne shielding her from Lucrezia’s outburst.

But Isabella glared at Ariadne with smoldering eyes.

‘I’m the protagonist, why is she acting up? I won’t tolerate her stealing the spotlight!’

Isabella gritted her teeth and devoted herself to her studies to become Madam Romani’s most favored student again, but with her lacking foundation, she could not surpass Ariadne in any subject related to studying, be it Gallic, Latin, history, theology, or court etiquette.

“Perfect!”

Madam Deluca, in charge of court etiquette, clicked her tongue.

Court etiquette had over three hundred pages of parchment books to memorize, and even after memorizing all of it, there were many things the body had to learn, such as the proper depth of a curtsy, the ideal speed of shifting one’s gaze, a leisurely and beautiful bearing, and so on, making it a subject that improved drastically after actually entering society.

No matter how much one memorized at home, they would stumble again the next week.

“And you haven’t even made your debut yet?”

“Aside from being invited once to Her Majesty the Queen’s Mass, I have never been out in society.”

Madam Deluca marveled again at her brilliant student’s ability to learn.

“This is… talent!”

‘I’m sorry. It’s experience.’

It’s not as if Isabella particularly excelled in the arts and physical education either. Ariadne also had no special talent in the arts and physical education, so the two of them went back and forth, but the one who showed outstanding ability in this area was young Arabella.

“Your lute playing is fantastic! You handle the dynamics well and the rhythm is perfect!”

Miss Mancini, the music teacher, lavished praise on Arabella. Miss Mancini, always kind, wrung out praise like a wet rag for Isabella, who was glaring at the elated young Arabella.

“Isabella seems to handle the mandola very preciously.”

‘Aaaah!’

Unable to suppress her internal scream, Isabella threw the ‘precious’ mandola, stomped her feet, and left, slamming the door. That was extra.

Even Isabella had an opportunity to show off her talents to the fullest – the various social events and the monthly Mass they attended.

The Mass celebrated at San Ercole Cathedral, the largest cathedral in the capital San Carlo, was traditionally presided over by Cardinal De Mare, and barring special circumstances, all those living in the capital gathered at San Ercole Cathedral to hear the sermon.

Only nobles could enter the inner parts of the cathedral, while commoners gathered in the square outside, waiting for the sermon to the nobles to end, at which point Cardinal De Mare would give them a brief remark or two before dispersing.

The interior of San Ercole Cathedral was like a showcase of luxury, extravagance, and beauty. Isabella was by far the most eye-catching jewel there.

“Girls! Get ready! We have to be in the carriage and out of the house by 7! We absolutely cannot be late!”

The incident Ariadne knew of would happen today.

The Trebero Council week was last week. The conclusion to that issue would have already been reached, and today’s Mass would be the day to open the lid on the Trebero Council in San Carlo.

It was time to steal the attention at Mass and her father’s favor that Isabella monopolized.