Seeing the woman’s face dimly revealed under the moonlight, Isabella shuddered. It was the young Countess Bartolini, known for her modesty and devotion.

Her maiden name before marriage was Clemente de Contarini, the elder sister of Ottavio de Contarini.

Judging by her unfocused eyes and flushed skin, Countess Bartolini seemed to have drunk quite a bit as well.

The unsightly couple was engrossed in their affair, gradually progressing further when they were finally discovered by someone other than Isabella.

“Who goes there!”

“Oh my goodness!”

The ones who cried out were a noble couple taking a walk together. They screamed upon discovering Count Campa and Countess Bartolini.

“……!”

“!”

The man and woman on the bench also froze. Especially startled, Countess Bartolini, despite being drunk, snatched her mask with her hand and used monstrous strength to push Count Campa away.

She sprang up and began running in the opposite direction of the sound. Coincidentally, that direction was where Isabella was standing.

The eyes of Countess Bartolini, wearing a light brown dress, and Isabella’s eyes met for a moment. Deep dismay was evident in the woman’s eyes. At that moment, an inspiration came to Isabella.

‘This is it……!’

The moment Countess Bartolini and Isabella’s eyes met was truly fleeting. She pushed past even Isabella and quickly ran deep into the garden.

Pushed by the woman, Count Campa fell off the bench with a thud. People gathered from the direction of the screaming noble couple, murmuring.

– “What is going on here?”

– “How can they engage in such vulgar acts at a masquerade ball…!”

– “Wait, isn’t that Count Campa?”

People were all shocked at the same point as Isabella.

– “Who on earth is the woman?”

– “Did you see her face?”

– “He has no shame!”

– “He must be out of his mind!”

Isabella put her hand inside her handbag. Inside was Ariadne’s fleur-de-lis bracelet that she had picked up earlier. Taking advantage of the chaos, Isabella surreptitiously rolled Ariadne’s bracelet into the open space.

The red ruby remained in the handbag, but the green topaz bracelet rolled and stopped about 2 piedi (approximately 1 meter) away from Count Campa, among the grass.

Isabella shouted loudly.

“Look over there! It’s a woman’s bracelet!”

Isabella’s cry indeed garnered a good response. People immediately focused on the grass where her finger was pointing, and there was a jeweled bracelet sparkling incomparably brighter than the plants, despite being the same color as the grass.

The noblewoman from the couple who first discovered the secret rendezvous in the garden, the Marchioness Daffiani, quickly ran inside and picked up the green topaz bracelet. The Marchioness raised the bracelet and exclaimed excitedly.

“It must belong to the woman he was with!”

People rushed in and examined the bracelet in a group. The open space became noisy with murmurs, and the crowd quickly gathered, with about a dozen people assembling.

Count Campa was utterly drunk. Too intoxicated, when the woman pushed him and ran away, he couldn’t even overpower his mistress’s strength and rolled off the bench, burying his face on the ground and starting to snore in that posture.

His trousers, not properly adjusted, were in a messy state. A gentleman, unable to bear the sight, pulled Count Campa’s cloak to cover his entire body.

Among the people flocking in, there were indeed some who recognized the bracelet.

– “This looks like one of Collegioni’s accessories for this season, right?”

– “Yes, yes, I think I saw it in the catalog too. It’s in the shape of a fleur-de-lis.”

‘Good, everyone is gradually approaching the correct answer.’

But the pace was too slow for her liking. Pretending to stand idly by, Isabella decided to give a little more help to the ignorant crowd.

She feigned indifference and casually interjected.

“Hardly anyone bought that. I also inquired about purchasing Collegioni’s fleur-de-lis jewelry, but they told me it was no longer being sold because someone had preempted it.”

There seemed to be a few others who had similar experiences besides Isabella. People began to murmur with interjections of agreement.

“Then we just need to find the woman who bought Collegioni’s new product this season!”

The people’s curiosity was ignited. With that level of specificity, they would surely be able to find her. Moreover, the woman who ran away was wearing a deep yellow dress.

A woman in a yellow dress, wearing Collegioni’s new product. People started discussing loudly about who had come wearing Collegioni’s new product today.

– “I think I saw the Marquis and Marchioness wearing fleur-de-lis decorations today!”

– “No, that’s not a Collegioni accessory, it’s from Alfeto. The details are different.”

– “Wasn’t the woman who ran away wearing a deep yellow dress? The Marchioness is wearing a red dress today.”

Amidst the heated debate, a figure appeared from the direction of the queen’s palace.

It was Ariadne, who had come to check if the Grand Duchess of Valois had been found, seeing the gathered people.

The woman who appeared gracefully paused her steps upon seeing the people gathered and causing a commotion.

“Look over there!”

At someone’s cry, everyone’s gaze turned towards Ariadne in unison. Ariadne was wearing a deep golden dress and a volto mask decorated with a fleur-de-lis pattern.

Looking closely at her volto mask, there was a golden fleur-de-lis patterned decoration, and also a green topaz necklace with a fleur-de-lis pattern connected to the mask.

Anyone could see that it was unmistakably a set made with the green topaz bracelet found on the ground.

Isabella secretly clenched her fist.

‘Done!’

If I can’t have it, neither can you. Let’s see your reputation ruined for once. How dare you aim for the prince despite your status.

Ariadne, who had entered the open space, was quite startled by the blatant stares piercing her. However, rather than being intimidated or hastily speaking, she waited for others to approach her first and explain the situation.

Among the people who were whispering among themselves while looking at the woman standing quietly, the noblewoman who had first picked up the bracelet took the initiative. She held out the bracelet and asked.

“Could this bracelet possibly belong to you, young lady?”

As soon as Ariadne saw the bracelet, she realized it was hers. She hadn’t even realized she had lost it until now, but the shimmering quality of the jewels and the intricate pattern weave were undoubtedly her bracelet.

But something seemed off. The noblewoman’s eyes were gleaming strangely. If she admitted it was hers here, it seemed like there would be more to the story afterward.

“Why do you ask?”

Ariadne answered cautiously, taking care not to look down at her wrist. Fortunately, her face was hidden behind the mask, so her expression was not readily apparent to others.

However, despite her caution, someone from the crowd pointed at her and shouted.

“Look at the necklace attached to the mask! It has the same fleur-de-lis pattern!”

That cry started the murmuring.

– “The necklace is also green topaz, so it must be it!”

– “The dress color is the same too. I saw it clearly, it was a dark golden color!”

– “That woman seems to be Count Campa’s mistress for sure!”

Upon hearing that, Ariadne finally understood what was going on.

She was also aware of Count Campa’s notoriety. On the ground of this open space lay a middle-aged man utterly drunk, who seemed to be Count Campa.

A cloak was haphazardly covering him, but it was immediately apparent that his attire was in disarray.

It appeared that some woman resembling her had been enjoying a secret rendezvous with Count Campa and had run away after being caught by people.

Ariadne shook her head and replied.

“I believe there is a misunderstanding. I have just arrived at this open space. If I were truly Count Campa’s mistress, I would have fled into the garden, so why would I have returned?”

Isabella wanted to shout, ‘To find your precious bracelet, of course!’ but she suppressed the urge by biting the tip of her tongue.

She had already received a stern warning from Cardinal De Mare not to tarnish her sister’s reputation outside.

Once at the debutante ball, and once at the hunting competition, albeit unjustly. If she were caught this time, it would be the third time. Cardinal De Mare would not let Isabella off easily if she were caught a third time.

Her mouth itched to speak, but Isabella was no one-day villain. To live well and prosper forever, she had to be prudent.

The people murmured.

‘Someone say something, anyone!’

Growing impatient, Isabella bit her thumbnail. But she trusted the crowd’s vulgar curiosity and laziness. Although there was a brief delay, once the crowd had asked, they would not let go without firm rebuttal.

People disliked changing their minds once they became convinced of something. With the stage set like this, even Ariadne would not be able to escape unscathed.

“Young lady, why don’t you prove it? Anyone can present such circumstantial evidence.”

Indeed, someone made the initial distorted suggestion. The correct way to debate is to place the burden of proof on the one raising the question.

But such a carelessly thrown, flawed proposal took hold of those who weren’t thinking deeply.

– “Right? If she didn’t do it, she can just bring evidence.”

– “That person is suspicious. Why hasn’t she taken off her mask all this time?”

In fact, Ariadne had not removed her mask with the intention of fleeing into the bushes if necessary. What’s the point of knowing who she is when not an inch of her skin is showing, even her fingertips tightly concealed?

As Ariadne was gauging the angle to escape, she noticed Isabella standing in the corner, biting her nails.

“……”

“……”

The gazes of the half-sisters met in midair. The moment Ariadne saw Isabella, she realized why her bracelet had been found here. It was Isabella.

Whether it fell from the carriage or was stolen from the house, that bracelet had undoubtedly been discovered here due to Isabella’s scheming.

Isabella knew Ariadne’s outfit and mask for today.

‘If I flee from here now, Isabella will surely blab about who I am.’

Isabella smiled meaningfully at Ariadne. She was undoubtedly waiting for Ariadne to leave.

While the two sisters were in a standoff, more people kept gathering. Among them was Viscountess Leonati, Isabella’s thoughtless friend.

She recognized Isabella at a glance and approached her side. The two whispered to each other and then giggled.

Viscountess Leticia Leonati, looking delighted, confidently approached the woman in the golden dress wearing a volto mask. Then she raised her voice and shouted loudly.

“Second De Mare daughter? What a coincidence to meet you in a place like this!”