Marchioness Marquez and Marchioness Chibo looked surprised at Ariadne’s sudden prostration, but Queen Marguerite remained calm without any sign of agitation.

– ‘Why on earth is she declining that treasure?’

– ‘Well… Isn’t it the glory of the family?’

– ‘Right? This is a treasure that could become a family heirloom and more.’

However, compared to Marchioness Chibo who seemed completely clueless, Marchioness Marquez appeared to have grasped some hint.

Leaving the two noblewomen whispering behind her while suppressing their presence as much as possible, Ariadne earnestly pleaded to Queen Marguerite while still prostrated.

“A treasure that does not fit one’s status tends to harm its owner. I came wearing flowers as hair ornaments because I had no accessories matching today’s outfit. I am neither worthy of possessing such an excessive item nor capable of protecting it! Your Majesty the Queen, please take pity on me and look upon me with mercy!”

The corners of Queen Marguerite’s mouth closed firmly.

“Ariadne de Mare. I understand why you’re doing this.”

The Queen gazed at Ariadne with eyes that seemed to pity her, but the cold expression on her face did not disappear.

“But this is His Majesty the King’s order. I cannot help you either.”

She descended from the Queen’s chair and personally lifted Ariadne, who was kneeling, placing the ebony jewelry box containing the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ into Ariadne’s hands.

While the Queen’s support and the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ might be the glory of the family and supreme honor to some, to Ariadne at this moment, it was tantamount to a threat to her life. She was simply pale with fear.

“Let me give you a piece of advice. The ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ is certainly too precious a treasure for you to possess. However, aside from His Majesty the King, it’s too large in size for anyone to have. There will be many who covet it. Let them balance each other out. If you don’t have the ability to protect the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ alone, make multiple people target it simultaneously. It’s not an easy task, but that’s the only way.”

Ariadne bowed her head. While her bowed head was impeccably respectful, in her honest feelings, she wanted to shout, ‘If you can do it, why don’t you try it yourself, Your Majesty the Queen!’

But objectively speaking, Queen Marguerite was indeed showing more kindness to Ariadne than she was obligated to.

Strictly speaking, she had no duty to come out here in place of the King to receive an audience as if having a conversation with Ariadne, nor did she have any obligation to accept Ariadne’s refusal to receive the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’, which was tantamount to throwing a tantrum, and even less obligation to share valuable advice.

And in fact, in the current situation, unless Leo III changed his mind, there was no better strategy than Queen Marguerite’s advice.

Ariadne decided to hope that the Queen, who had already shown generosity, would be a little more generous. She raised her head as pitifully as possible, met Queen Marguerite’s gray-blue eyes, and asked desperately.

“If so, Your Majesty the Queen, may this humble one make just one request, if it’s not too presumptuous?”

‘Please, please say yes…!’

The Queen lowered her thick eyelashes and looked down at the floor for a moment, then looked back at Ariadne directly with a hint of curiosity.

Ariadne quickly judged that what appeared in Queen Marguerite’s eyes was a faint sign of approval. She quickly stood up, approached the Queen, and whispered a few things in her ear.

After hearing it all, Queen Marguerite nodded once with a thin smile on her lips.

“It’s not a request I can’t grant.”

‘It worked!’

While Ariadne was carefully containing her excitement so as not to show it outwardly, the Queen added one more thing.

“Besides, I’ve already prepared a similar ‘gift’ for you.”

The Queen wrinkled her nose bridge while looking at Ariadne.

“You cheeky thing. But isn’t that not one request, but two?”

Ariadne had no words to respond and just grinned sheepishly. Suddenly, the tense atmosphere in the reception room dissolved.

Marchioness Marquez and Marchioness Chibo, who had been watching with wide eyes from behind, laughed out loud, and the Queen’s Gallic maids followed suit with smiles.

“Your Majesty the Queen seems to be treating this young lady too well.”

Marchioness Marquez, who had laughed out loud, complained to the Queen in a half-whining tone. The Queen laughed comfortably and lightly chided Marchioness Marquez.

“You look fifty years younger than me too. She’s young and cute, so I can’t help but feel affection.”

“It’s like seeing Your Majesty the Queen in your younger days.”

“She’s so clever and well-behaved, just like you.”

The Queen’s Gallic maids chimed in, chuckling. The Queen replied with a laugh.

“Now that you mention it, it does seem so. But her fate should be different from mine.”

With that one remark from the Queen, the lively atmosphere in the reception room sank once again.

Ariadne returned carrying the Queen’s bestowed gifts.

The ebony jewelry box containing the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ was as tall as Ariadne’s forearm and its width and depth were just slightly shorter than Ariadne’s fully extended arms, making it too massive even for Ariadne, who was tall for her age, to carry.

However, this item was too expensive to entrust to others.

In the end, Ariadne managed to bring the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ home, feeling as if she was carrying a chest rather than a jewelry box.

“Ariadne, open it once!”

Arabella brightly wanted to see the most expensive, largest, and best thing among the new items that came into the house today.

If she could just take a look at the legendary precious gem that had been the talk of the kingdom a few years ago, she thought she could brag about it to her friends for a long time.

On the other hand, Lucrezia and Isabella were more interested in practical aspects. Something like the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’ wasn’t something they could have just by looking at it.

It would only make them feel envious. But what about the small accessories or gold coins bestowed by the Queen?

“What’s the point of opening such a big box? It’ll only invite thieves!”

Lucrezia scolded Arabella. This was something Ariadne agreed with a hundred times over.

“Let us see the Queen’s jewelry box you received today.”

Isabella stuck close to Ariadne, pretending to be friendly.

The physical distance was unusually close compared to usual. Before Ariadne could express her discomfort, Isabella swiftly snatched the Queen’s jewelry box with her white, slender arm and placed it on a nearby table.

– Thud!

Although not as heavy as the ebony box dedicated to the ‘Heart of the Deep Blue Sea’, the Queen’s three-tiered jewelry box was quite weighty. Isabella, with her eyes rolling, quickly opened the lid.

‘Ah, it’s blinding!’

Isabella squinted her eyes at the reflected light as soon as she opened the lid. Various accessories ranging from 0.5 to 1 carat filled the velvet-lined box.

“This is so pretty!”

Isabella snatched the most eye-catching topaz earrings from the top tier of the jewelry box.

They were earrings with a 1-carat yellow topaz cut in a cushion shape, set in a golden frame crafted like tree branches. While the main topaz was yellow, the small decorations meticulously embedded in the branches were sparkling amethysts.

“Mom, doesn’t this match my eye color perfectly?”

“It looks like it was made just for you, Isabella!”

Isabella went beyond just trying on the earrings and started to remove her own earrings to put these on.

“Ariadne, give these to me. They suit me so well. The earrings will be sad if they can’t be on my ears. Gold looks best with blonde hair.”

Isabella, who had been struggling to remove her earrings, gave up trying to take them off without looking and examined the earrings closely in frustration.

“Why won’t these come off!”

There was a very small, delicate engraving on the earrings.

Ariadne calmly expressed her refusal to the angry Isabella.

“Sister, I would very much like to give them to you, but unfortunately, I cannot.”

“What?!”

Isabella glared at Ariadne with her left eyebrow raised. It was an attitude that seemed to say, ‘How dare you?’ The atmosphere immediately sank and the air grew chilly. Isabella threatened Ariadne in a harsh voice.

“If you don’t want to give them, just say so.”

“It’s really not like that.”

Ariadne smiled gently as she took the earrings that Isabella had been struggling to remove and removed the hook for her. Once the hook was removed, the entire engraving became visible.

– From MDB, to ARI.

It was the initials of Queen Marguerite’s maiden full name ‘Marguerite de Brian’, followed by the first three letters of Ariadne’s name. It was unusual that only the name was present, without the surname.

“As these are gifts from Her Majesty the Queen, she had initials engraved on all the accessories before bestowing them. So… if the ownership of these accessories changes for any reason other than inheritance, it would be punishable as an offense against the royal family.”

Ariadne kindly explained as if she was really troubled.

“They must not be given to others.”

And to deter Isabella, who might try to acquire the accessories through other means even if Ariadne didn’t give them voluntarily, she added a final nail.

“Theft would result in aggravated punishment.”

Ariadne forcefully took back the other earring that was still in Isabella’s hand.

Isabella helplessly lost the golden earring she had been holding. Ariadne put the two earrings together and placed them back in their original spot in the jewelry box. She closed the lid of the jewelry box with a sharp sound.

“I’ll have to ask for your understanding, sister,”

Isabella was staring blankly at Ariadne with her violet eyes wide open, still not fully grasping the situation.

But Ariadne, unconcerned, picked up the jewelry box and turned around, cheerfully heading towards her room.

– “Besides, I’ve already prepared a similar ‘gift’ for you.”

This was the thoughtful ‘gift’ that Queen Marguerite had prepared for Ariadne.

And Isabella didn’t even notice what was most important. Ariadne gently clutched the elm leaf-colored silk ribbon that she had taken off her head and tucked into her bosom.