The cold words of the Regent caused the nobles in the reception room to turn their gazes towards Ariadne all at once. It was rude, but they didn’t even think to restrain themselves.

Because Ariadne was someone they could treat that way. Feeling this, Ariadne’s face turned bright red from her neck up.

“Don’t upset those people, Ariadne.”

Cesare had become increasingly unrestrained in his speech and actions since becoming Regent. Now he had no hesitation in expressing his displeasure, whether people were present or not.

“Behave properly.”

Ariadne bowed her head, trembling. Cesare was displeased with Ariadne’s reaction.

“Answer.”

She nodded her head with difficulty. However, Cesare was still not satisfied.

“Answer!”

Ariadne responded in a barely audible voice.

“…Yes.”

All these signs of submission took place under the watchful eyes of everyone at Palazzo Carlo. Ariadne felt dizzy and her knees trembled. Cesare looked down at her harshly.

“I’m only going this far because others are here. Be grateful, understand?”

“…Yes.”

Cesare’s breathing couldn’t be heard. When Cesare didn’t react, cold sweat ran down Ariadne’s spine. She hastily added.

“Thank you.”

Only then was Cesare’s satisfied inhale heard. Ariadne also let out a sigh of relief.

The central nobles were not the type to miss a moment when such vulnerable flesh was exposed. Though surprised by the Regent’s cruelty, Marchioness, realizing that Cesare had no intention of protecting his woman, inserted a sharp comment.

“Regent, please manage your fiancée more thoroughly.”

It was revenge for having her hair pulled. The Marchioness openly looked Ariadne up and down with a contemptuous gaze, her appearance completely disheveled.

“The way she lunged forward with her hands first, I thought she was a wolf-dog raised on a farm rather than a noble lady.”

The Marchioness and her faction of noble ladies joined in, launching a fierce attack.

“Her refinement…”

“Her education… Her lineage…”

“Doesn’t that tangled mess of hair really look like a shepherd’s dog?”

Ariadne’s hand instinctively went to her hair. As she awkwardly tried to untangle her hair with her fingers, the noble ladies of San Carlo verbally tore her apart.

“If the Regent wants a smoothly functioning social circle, he should manage his fiancée properly first.”

“Not to mention the support of the central nobility.”

“Or perhaps you should consider changing your marriage prospect altogether?”

Someone laughed brightly. This laughter completely changed the atmosphere in the reception room.

“It seems quite difficult with this woman.”

“My lady. That’s a bit…”

Cesare brushed off the suggestion with a bright smile. He didn’t even point out the rudeness of the other party. By giving up Ariadne like this, Cesare briefly gained an identity as an insider.

“A daughter of the royal family…”

“Perhaps an old noble family from the capital would be more suitable for the Regent…”

“A refined young lady…”

All these words were exchanged with Ariadne standing right in front of them. Even the fact that Regent Cesare was the king’s illegitimate son became blurred once the Regent’s fiancée was offered as a sacrificial lamb.

– You are not a proper member of high society.

They used Ariadne’s inadequacies as a topic for their pleasant conversation. After a long chat, as they stood up to leave, Marchioness advised the Regent.

“Regent, I hope you won’t forget our entreaty today.”

When the Marchioness’ eyes met Ariadne’s, she turned away abruptly and left the reception room. As the Marchioness headed for the corridor first, the rest of the noble ladies also began to exit en masse, glancing in Ariadne’s direction.

Ariadne, who alone bore their gazes, was in a terrible state. Her dress was in shambles after being manhandled, and her hair was sticky with sugar preserves from when she had leapt over the table. The tea party venue was empty, and she had no friends. The man she loved looked at her disheveled appearance with a contemptuous gaze.

It was miserable.

After that, no one openly gossiped about Cesare’s birth. However, that day was remembered not as a day when Ariadne had scored points for Cesare, but as a day when she had caused a terrible accident.

After that day, Ariadne gained many notorious nicknames: the wolf-dog woman, the Moorish slave, the farm maid, and so on. Of course, there were also sneers that it was because her birth was lowly, that she took after her mother, that she had become hysterical from being an unmarried old maid.

Ariadne repeatedly asked Cesare if he couldn’t marry her for the sake of managing the increasingly difficult social circles, but he flatly refused.

“How can I make you the Regent’s wife right now when you’re so incapable of managing your reputation? I can’t be with a woman who has flaws.”

His instructions were specific.

“Study harder than now, become proficient in lute playing, art appreciation, and Latin. Become a talented and virtuous noble lady who I won’t be ashamed to present in front of others. Then I’ll make you the Regent’s wife.”

So she thought that was all she needed to do.

* * *

It took a while, but it was only a matter of time before Regent Cesare became Cesare I. Both the military and the gold coins were all in his grasp. The only thing he lacked was legitimacy.

Such things are usually healed by time, or more precisely, by the opportunities that time brings.

Ariadne still remembered Cesare’s accession, or more precisely, the day before the coronation ceremony. It was the year she turned 30, and he turned 36.

She couldn’t help but laugh whenever she thought of that day.

“I am a generous king. I must embrace even the former crown prince’s faction.”

Cesare sat on the edge of Ariadne’s bed and buried his lips in the nape of her neck.

“Ah-”

His probing breath was sensual. Ariadne tried to pull back, but Cesare pinned both her wrists with one hand and forcefully laid her down on the bed.

“You should stay still.”

He began to indulge in her neck with his lips. She closed her eyes.

Cesare frowned at Ariadne’s indifference. Ariadne’s greatest charm was her captivating aura. He couldn’t understand why she acted like a wooden block in bed despite having such charm.

At thirty, Ariadne was a fully bloomed flower. She exuded an intoxicating richness even when she didn’t intend to. She wasn’t particularly pure or strikingly beautiful in features, but she was quite attractive with her tall stature and pleasingly filled out chest and hips. It was a beauty that captivated men more than women. Her alluring charm was the only aspect of her that Cesare, who had many requirements, praised.

“That’s right.”

Cesare boldly advanced on the compliant Ariadne. One layer, two layers, the raised walls surrendered without resistance. As Ariadne’s head became dizzy from the warmth of the intimate membrane touching her, Cesare’s casual voice flew into her ears. It was as if he was saying pork would be better than beef for tonight’s dinner.

“So, Isabella will be crowned as queen.”

Isabella de Mare,

After marriage, Isabella de Carlo. Ariadne de Mare’s half-sister and the crown princess of the deposed Crown Prince Alfonso.

The perfect sister, not resembling Ariadne at all, with amber-colored hair and amethyst-like sparkling eyes. She was renowned for her pure beauty, always had high dignity, and was a noble woman.

Ariadne suddenly came to her senses and pushed Cesare away.

“What did you say?”

She must have heard wrong.

“Cesare…? Sister was the crown princess of the late Prince Alfonso.”

It was customary for a childless widow to enter a convent and spend the rest of her life there. Remarriage was impossible, and she couldn’t even return to her maiden home.

Cesare buried his lips in Ariadne’s chest again as she pushed him away. Stroking between her skin, he answered indifferently.

“Don’t be narrow-minded. Don’t you pity your own sister?”

What did I just hear? He’s going to marry my sister instead of me?

Ariadne pushed him away once more.

The words ‘What about me? What becomes of everything I’ve done for you?’ hovered around her lips.

Seeing that Ariadne had no intention of willingly participating in his pleasant game, Cesare finally straightened up, licking his lips.

“You were only my fiancée, so you can still find a good match and live comfortably in the provinces. But poor Isabella, if I don’t take her in, she’ll have to spend the rest of her life on the cold convent floor.”

Something must have been misunderstood.

“Marriage to a widowed relative is impossible.”

Cesare gave an answer as if it were no big deal.

“We can get confirmation of divorce between the late Alfonso de Carlo and Isabella de Mare from the Holy See. Isabella was chaste throughout her marriage, so she falls under the exception to the Holy See’s policy of no divorce.”

Ariadne was dumbfounded.

“Cesare, sister is not chaste. She conceived my brother-in-law’s child in 1128, the first year of their marriage, but miscarried.”

“Be quiet!”

Isabella’s chastity seemed to be his sore spot. Cesare, who had been speaking shamelessly, suddenly became furiously red and jumped up, pointing at Ariadne.

“Lies! They say a woman’s enemy is another woman, and it’s no exception even between sisters. How base females are!”

Ariadne was so shocked she could hardly breathe.

She desperately tried to lower her voice and continued speaking in a calm tone to convince Cesare that she was not base.

“Cesare. It’s not slander, it’s the truth. All the maids who served the crown princess at that time know about it.”

“Silence!”

Cesare was not in a state to listen to reason. No rational talk could reach someone who deliberately blocked his ears.

“I was going to favor you by arranging your marriage to a merchant to ensure you a peaceful life, but how can I let such a vicious woman live!”

Merchant? Peaceful life?

It was ridiculous just to hear it.

You told me you loved me, that we would be together forever. So I did everything for you.

You said you were postponing my coronation as queen because I had flaws, that I should study hard and persevere.

But is this the conclusion, that the ‘flawless woman’ you’re looking for is my sister, the prince’s widow?

“You said you loved me. You said you would make me queen and we would be together forever.”

It was a foolish thing to say, but there was nothing else to say.

Cesare sneered with contemptuous eyes.

“I never thought you’d be such a petty woman to hinder the great cause. You have no virtue of sacrificing for the future of the country. How different you are from Isabella, who even gave up her marriage prospect for her sister’s happiness?”

Now her breath was coming rapidly.

She couldn’t tell whether tears or anger came first.

“You say I’m a hindrance? You say Isabella made a sacrifice? I sacrificed everything for you. I gave up my reputation, my marriageable age, and even drove Prince Alfonso into a corner with my own hands. What has Isabella done all this time?”

In the winter when Crown Prince Alfonso and Isabella had their grand wedding ceremony and Isabella miscarried the child that was the blessed fruit of their union, Ariadne had to chew on reed-pull leaves, a contraceptive, every time she had intimate moments with Cesare.

– “Sexual intercourse without the possibility of life creation is a sin in the eyes of the Heavenly God. I don’t want to take reed-pull anymore.”

– “If you don’t like it?”

– “…If you don’t want me to conceive a child before marriage, please marry me and then take me.”

The courageous refusal was simply ignored.

– “How embarrassing would it be if your belly swells up before we’re even married? A bastard and a bastard having a bastard, I absolutely hate that. Don’t embarrass me in front of people.”

If she didn’t want to lose Cesare, she had no choice.

In 1129, when Cesare was sharpening his sword and preparing for a coup, Ariadne, as an unmarried noble lady, secretly played the role of messenger between inside and outside the castle walls every night in the snowy paths. It was possible because no one could imagine that she, the fiancée of a high-ranking man, would play an important role in military action.

“For you, I pretended to be in love with a shepherd boy every night, climbing over walls.”

Because of Cesare, she chewed contraceptive herbs while pretending to meet another man and climbing over walls. Ridiculously.

The rumor that spread then, that she was an unfaithful fiancée, still haunted her even now, in the 9th year of Cesare’s rule.

“I threw the rightful owner of the throne to the hounds with my own hands.”

The kind Prince Alfonso, who had always treated her gently, ended up as food for crows hanging from the castle walls.

“These fingers! They rotted and fell off after drinking poison in your place.”

Ariadne showed her left ring finger that had rotted and was now one joint shorter.

In 1132, the 4th year of the Regent’s reign, she collapsed from arsenic meant for Cesare and lost her finger that had tested for poison, though her life was saved.

She found out later that it was Regent Cesare who had ordered her to test for poison with her left ring finger.

It must have been a misunderstanding, it must have been unavoidable, the left ring finger must have been the best choice.

I could do anything for Cesare, whom I love most in the world.

Because he would love me as much as I love him.

She was disabled because she had sacrificed for him, she had aged as much as the time she had devoted to him, and compared to her young, shining, and beautiful past, she was now weak, ugly, and broken.

It was time now for her to receive his care, his repayment.

But Cesare, who was supposed to provide that compensation, just looked down at her with a cold expression. His tall stature was intimidating, and his sculpture-like features, contrasting strongly with his dark brown hair tinged with red, were too beautiful even at this moment.

He opened his thin, transparent, and smooth lips.

“Someone had to harm Alfonso with their own hands. We couldn’t ask the noble Isabella to do such a thing, could we?”

Ariadne’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you and sister… even when Prince Alfonso was alive?”