Alfonso smiled and placed his palm against Ariadne’s to gauge the size.

“With such small hands, it would be impossible to pick grapes, right? You could only pick one bunch at a time?”

Ariadne slightly raised her palm so that the reference point was shifted from the base of her palm connected to her wrist to the tips of her fingers.

“Looking at it this way, it’s not that small! And it’s your hands that are big, not that mine are small!”

The two, lost in their own sweet world, were brought back to reality by a man who swiftly approached and abruptly grabbed Ariadne’s wrist.

“…!”

Ariadne froze like a deer in shock, and Alfonso instinctively blocked the space between Ariadne and the man with his body.

The unknown man’s hand tightly gripped Ariadne’s bracelet-laden wrist, causing the bracelet to dig into her skin. Almost simultaneously, she winced in pain and Alfonso’s large hand firmly grasped the arm of the man wearing a ‘plague doctor’ mask.

“Whoever you are, let go of that hand.”

The ‘plague doctor’ caught in Alfonso’s grip felt the nerves in his forearm being pressed, causing his hand to lose strength. He released Ariadne’s wrist, gritting his teeth.

As the freed Ariadne stepped back, the ‘plague doctor’ finally lifted his mask halfway to reveal his face.

“The Count of Como!”

“So it’s the Count of Como.”

Cesare glanced at Alfonso and sneered.

“Our noble prince, the little sun of the kingdom, reveals his identity even on a masquerade day? You might as well shout that you’re the prince.”

He was referring to Alfonso wearing a bauta mask that exposed half of his face and donning luxurious attire that undeniably marked him as the prince.

“Since it’s a masquerade day, you won’t crudely enforce royal etiquette, will you?”

Prince Alfonso coldly ignored the sarcastic Cesare. He was too busy checking on the startled Ariadne to engage in a petty argument with the likes of Cesare.

Instead, it was the freed Ariadne who rebuked Cesare.

“Count of Como! What is the meaning of this?”

“I came to save you, lady. It’s not me who should remove my hand, but Prince Alfonso.”

“What do you mean by that?”

As Ariadne questioned while almost leaning into Alfonso, Cesare directed a deep sneer towards Alfonso.

“‘Golden Prince,’ where did you abandon the Duchess of Larissa and seduce an innocent maiden here instead?”

Prince Alfonso was momentarily at a loss for words and stiffened. His hand that had been embracing Ariadne’s shoulder slightly lifted into the air.

“Don’t drive a stake through the heart of this poor Etruscan lady and take your hands off her now. Go find your noble foreign duchess.”

While Alfonso remained silent, Cesare turned to Ariadne again.

“Little lady, leave that milk-smelling brat and come with me.”

This time, instead of forcibly grabbing Ariadne’s wrist, he extended his hand to her.

His right hand, always clad in a deerskin glove, waited for Ariadne in the air.

Instead of taking Cesare’s outstretched hand, Ariadne calmly retorted.

“Is the Duchess of Larissa the state guest who came from the Duchy of Valois?”

Cesare looked at Alfonso in disbelief.

“You didn’t even tell her who the state guest is?”

Alfonso’s face turned beet red.

He thought he had thoughtfully considered his conduct at every stage related to this event to avoid any issues. He had not lied or crossed any lines.

However, it was an undeniable fact that he had not informed Ariadne about the identity of the state guest or why she was visiting San Carlo.

He simply thought there was no need to go into such minute details. That’s what he thought. But originally, Alfonso and Ariadne shared every little detail with each other.

Yes, why did I hide it?

However, Ariadne calmly turned to Alfonso and spoke without wavering.

“If it’s such a person, you should naturally go find her. I will help you look.”

The one who was rather flustered was Cesare, who had expected Ariadne to become jealous and angry.

“Lady!”

He took another step closer to Ariadne.

“Aren’t you upset? That bastard can’t be with you! He’s currently in marriage talks with the Duchess of the Gallico Kingdom! He’s swaying your heart, but he’ll swiftly marry a foreign monarch’s daughter and leave you! You’re being used!”

Cesare expected Ariadne’s reaction this time. But Ariadne remained unshaken. She even spoke to Cesare in a firm tone.

“Count Cesare, I think there is a misunderstanding. The prince and I are not in any kind of relationship.”

At those resolute words, the one more surprised than Cesare was Alfonso, who was standing beside them.

“I have never received a courtship proposal from him, nor have we met with private affections.”

It was true that he had never formally proposed a courtship. But did they meet without private affections? He had never done so.

Reflecting with a hand on his conscience, it was always nine spoonfuls of personal intentions and one spoonful of public cause. Was it not the same for her?

“Please do not drive a good friendship into a suspicious light.”

At this statement, Alfonso held his breath. Friendship, yes, friendship. Was it friendship in her eyes?

It was not friendship that he had in mind when associating with her. Maybe it was at first, but at some point, it wasn’t.

But do I have the right to ask for more from her? What can I, bound by duty, offer her?

Ariadne continued.

“And who are you to interfere with my personal life when we have no relationship?”

Alfonso was someone with many obligations, but Cesare was a free man. Alfonso had a nation, people, and a mother, but Cesare had nothing so desperately important to him.

So he could impulsively exclaim in response to this question.

“I’ll declare myself as your suitor. I can propose to you, damn it. Yes, I’ll do it, why not!”

The one most surprised by that declaration was undoubtedly Alfonso, but even Cesare himself, who uttered those words, seemed startled.

Now that it was out in the open, Cesare took another big step closer to Ariadne.

“I’ll send a marriage proposal. I’ll send it to Cardinal De Mare first thing tomorrow morning. So step away from that bastard’s side now. I can’t stand the sight of it.”

Count Cesare had brought up the topic of marriage to countless women throughout his life. In many cases, on the first day of meeting, regardless of whether the other person was a commoner, foreigner, or married woman.

This worked even better the more notorious Count Cesare’s reputation as a playboy became.

Whether or not marrying Count Cesare was realistic for them, women were greatly pleased and readily opened their hearts at the mere fact that the word ‘marriage’ came out of that playboy’s mouth.

This often became a direct ticket to their beds.

However, the most specific proposal he had ever made was the one he had just uttered. It was also the proposal with the highest possibility of materializing into an actual marriage.

Their statuses matched, their positions matched, their ages matched, and above all, Cesare’s own intention to fulfill his promise was higher than ever.

However, this became the coldest rejected proposal among all the proposals he had ever made.

“Ha, ha, hahahahahaha!”

The maiden who received the proposal laughed like a madwoman by the old fountain in the secluded garden. Unable to contain herself, she laughed and tried to wipe away the tears shed from laughter, but they were blocked by her mask.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Count Cesare.”

She took a step back and gazed intently at Cesare with her masked face. Cesare was confused.

He couldn’t even guess what expression she was making behind the white mask. The eerie blankness of the volto mask triggered his fear.

“I am well aware that your heart is lighter than a reed. You shouldn’t be tied down to someone like me and should live freely.”

Ariadne thought this life was dramatically different from her previous one. Even though she was running away from an engagement with Cesare as if escaping a plague, the very person in question was blatantly proposing to her. What a mischievous twist of fate!

If he had done this for her in her previous life, she would have been overjoyed and done everything she could for him. But not anymore. She believed that while the sequence of events could change, human nature did not.

And here stood Cesare, who was unaware of her past life. He flared up at the comment that his heart was lighter than a reed.

“What? I’m light? Heartless? You don’t know me well yet, lady.”

Even in the midst of this, he added a cheeky remark.

“And what’s wrong with you being my bride-to-be? Someone like you is perfect.”

Alfonso watched this entire scene and belatedly felt his anger towards Cesare rising. It was true that he was in marriage talks with the Duchess of Valois. But it was just talks for now.

He didn’t have a fiancée, nor did he have other women he was seeing separately like the ruffian in front of him.

Alfonso was always gentlemanly. He was taught that it was despicable to delve into a man’s below-the-belt issues in front of a lady.

But whenever it involved Ariadne, he always lost the upbringing he had received, no, his very prudent nature. Ariadne made him into something he was not.

“Count of Como, shut that filthy mouth. How dare you accuse me of using Ariadne without reflecting on your own conduct? Are you even fit to propose to a noble lady?”

Alfonso blocked Cesare with his body, shielding Ariadne from his sight. Alfonso was transforming from a boy into a full-fledged young man. His height that had grown in a few months and his broad shoulders gave an imposing impression.

“Stop toying with ladies as if it’s a game. Your scandals are heard even within the palace walls. Have you resolved matters with Lady Ragusa yet?”

It was referring to the commoner widow he had fooled around with before the millworker’s wife who recently sent a resentful letter. Cesare flared up at the mention of a woman he had ended things with over 6 months ago.

“Why are you bringing up irrelevant matters here? It’s all in the past!”

Cesare retorted, forgetting his place. But Alfonso’s attack was fierce. Not because Alfonso was sharp-tongued, but because Cesare’s history was too easy to attack.

“You met her so noisily and it’s already in the past? Have you ever taken responsibility in your life? It’s only natural that His Majesty doesn’t acknowledge you! Why would he acknowledge a troublemaker like you and suffer the consequences!”

“You son of a b****…!”

Cesare raised his fist but couldn’t bring himself to strike and only trembled. He wasn’t crazy enough yet to hit Prince Alfonso’s face inside the palace.

The one who interrupted the situation was Ariadne.

“Enough!”

She looked up at Alfonso and spoke.

“Let’s go. We need to find the Duchess of Valois. I’ll help you.”

When Alfonso didn’t respond, she pulled on his sleeve and forcibly led him away from the fountain. In times like this, humans often foolishly acted against their better judgment due to pride. Separating them was the best course of action.

Alfonso was not the type of man to stubbornly argue with a woman who spoke the truth. He silently and obediently followed Ariadne’s lead and left.

Cesare was left alone by the fountain where Ariadne had led Alfonso away. Unable to contain his anger, he roughly kicked a pebble on the ground.

“D*** it!”

The pebble hit the fountain and bounced off loudly. He kicked a few more times as if his anger wasn’t subsiding and even kicked the fountain. He couldn’t gauge what he was most furious about.

Being rejected for his proposal? That woman leaving with Prince Alfonso? The condemnation he received from Alfonso?

But even the huffing Cesare soon disappeared into the garden.

And in the darkness, Isabella watched everything with gleaming eyes.