“Wait!”
Lucrezia’s voice caught Ariadne, whose feet were already set toward the third floor. The stepmother’s tone was cloyingly, unusually sweet.
“Ariadne. It’s such an honor that Her Majesty the Queen’s seal is embossed on all those ornaments. But surely, there’s more than just that.”
It was a voice as soft as the down of a chick—a rare occurrence for Lucrezia when speaking to Ariadne.
“Good fortune should be shared. What good is it if you can’t distribute some trinkets to the family? Since you’ve received such an honorable prize, why don’t you treat your family to celebrate?”
If Isabella’s target was the jewelry, Lucrezia’s target was the cash.
“If you entrust the gold coins you received from Her Majesty to this mother of yours, I’ll have a whole cow slaughtered for dinner tonight.”
“Wow! Yay!”
Arabella began to spin and run around the first-floor entrance. Usually, Lucrezia would have shouted at her to stop being so chaotic, but she ignored Arabella, exercising uncharacteristic patience to pressure Ariadne.
“And hand over that coin pouch. What would a young lady have any use for such a large sum? Mother will keep it safe and give it to you when you need it.”
*I knew you’d say that.*
“Well. Come on.”
Lucrezia took a step closer.
Ariadne reached into her bodice.
Lucrezia’s expectant gaze hungrily awaited Ariadne’s hand. However, what was pulled out was not the heavy coin pouch Lucrezia had anticipated, but a single sheet of paper.
Ariadne handed the thin parchment to Lucrezia.
“What is this?”
It was a sleek, tanned piece of parchment decorated with silver foil. It read as follows:
[‘Received with gratitude, 50 ducats in gold.
– On behalf of the Rambouillet Relief Center, Queen Marguerite.’]
Lucrezia stared intently at the text, searching for mention of the gold being held in trust, flipping the paper back and forth. She was met with Ariadne’s indifferent response.
“I have donated the entire 50 ducats to the Rambouillet Relief Center, which Her Majesty the Queen oversees, in the name of the second daughter of the De Mare family.”
“What?!”
“This is the receipt Her Majesty gave me as proof of the donation.”
Lucrezia, who had been banking on that 50 ducats to patch the various holes in the household ledger, became so agitated that she crumpled the Queen’s receipt with a sharp *crinkle*.
“Why on earth would you donate such a precious thing?! Have you lost your mind?!”
Lucrezia shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Ariadne.
“You don’t know the value of money because we feed and clothe you well here! How could you not show even a shred of courtesy to your family and just go and donate all that huge sum away?”
Ariadne lowered her head, but she did not remain silent as she had before. She had gained a voice through the incident with the Apostle of Acereto and the charity of the King and Queen.
“A child’s role in a noble house is to polish and shine the family name. Her Majesty the Queen also praised the *noblesse oblige* of the De Mare family for not forgetting the impoverished.”
“You…! Are you talking back to me with your eyes wide open?”
Just then, the front door opened, and Cardinal Del Mare walked in. He had dropped Ariadne off at the royal palace and had returned home shortly after finishing some brief business.
“I knew, I knew it! I knew you’d be acting like this, that’s why I hurried back!”
Cardinal Del Mare waved his sleeves, chasing Lucrezia away as if swatting at a mosquito.
“Stop trying to snatch a child’s pocket money and keep your hands off!”
The Cardinal added one more remark, looking agitated.
“Do you have any idea how many eyes are watching this house? The rumors are rampant—they say the Cardinal’s mistress is speculating, starving the second daughter, locking her away, or forcing her to live among the servants! Don’t get greedy for spare change and bring shame upon us like last time; just behave yourself!”
The Cardinal continued to grumble.
“I noticed a carriage following us all the way from the palace… I can’t even live in peace.”
He handed his coat to the butler who had followed him inside, then turned his attention to Ariadne.
“I heard you received the ‘Heart of the Blue Deep.’ Well, let’s take a look at it.”
He opened the lid of the ebony jewelry box sitting in the center of the entrance hall table. Nestled against the brilliant red velvet lining, the deep-blue sapphire necklace pulsed with light.
“Oh!”
Cardinal Del Mare didn’t lift the jewel; he simply stared at it, spellbound.
“So this is the ‘Heart of the Blue Deep’…!”
The entire family crowded around the table, mesmerized by the stone. It was the size of two and a half adult men’s thumbs—an absurd scale for a gemstone. Its sheer mass gave it a depth that seemed to erupt from within.
“It’s truly mysterious!” Arabella exclaimed.
Cardinal Del Mare nodded in agreement. “Legend has it that the ‘Heart of the Blue Deep’ wasn’t found in a mine, but brought up from the depths by a dolphin.”
“Our family crest is a dolphin, isn’t it?” Isabella asked.
“That is correct, Isabella. Doesn’t it seem like the precious jewel has finally arrived where it belongs?”
Isabella looked toward Ariadne, a thin, enigmatic smile playing on her lips. “It’s perfect as a family heirloom. It will go beautifully with brother Ippolito’s ash-gray hair.”
Cardinal Del Mare made no effort to correct her. He slammed the lid of the box shut and turned to Ariadne.
“Ariadne, since you don’t have a safe of your own, how about I keep it in the study’s vault for you?”
“Father, that is…”
Ariadne nervously clutched the hem of her dress. *He promised he would send it immediately—why hasn’t it arrived yet?*
“Your Eminence!”
The front door creaked open. A servant rushed in, eyes wide with shock. “A guest has arrived.”
Following the servant was an official of the Queen, draped in finery with gold trim. This was the carriage the Cardinal had been fretting over; it wasn’t pursuing them, but rather headed for the same destination.
“I bear the command of Her Majesty Queen Marguerite!”
The official pulled out an edict and recited its contents before the Cardinal, who bowed, and the rest of the family, who knelt in unison.
“Today, an excessive gift from His Majesty the King has been bestowed upon the second daughter of the De Mare family. By the Queen’s order, a safe is hereby provided for the ease of storage. It is to be installed in the second daughter’s living quarters.”
The official approached the Cardinal and thrust a contract toward him. “Please sign here. It is an installation contract with a safe master. Her Majesty the Queen has covered all costs.”
The Cardinal signed the paper in a daze.
Behind the official, four laborers struggled across the threshold, hauling a safe the size of a waist-high bookshelf.
“Your Eminence, where should we install this?”
Ariadne spoke up quietly. “My room is the attic on the third floor…”
Cardinal Del Mare’s expression curdled. With rumors already circulating about his mistreatment of his second daughter, he could not allow the Queen’s official to see that she lived in a cramped, isolated attic. The hallway to that room was crowded with servants’ quarters, far too conspicuous.
“No! Absolutely not! Put it in the room at the far west of the second floor!”
This time, it was Lucrezia’s turn to be shocked.
“My dear! That room is Ippolito’s room, isn’t it?”
“Watch how you address me!”
At Cardinal De Mare’s sharp bark, Lucrezia tucked her head into her shoulders like a startled turtle. The Cardinal was often prone to irritability, but he usually refrained from raising his voice in front of others; this time, however, he seemed genuinely, dangerously furious.
“You cannot install ironwork directly into a young girl’s bedroom! Should we not at least have a study to place a safe in?”
He stepped directly into Lucrezia’s space, venting his rage in a gravelly whisper.
“If you had handled things correctly from the start, this would not have happened! I respected your domain and trusted you with the household affairs, and this is the result?”
“Your Eminence…”
“I have already given you many chances. Yet you have shown no improvement, and now you have shamed me in front of outsiders more times than I can count! I will take measures, so keep that in mind!”
Amidst the chaos of the couple bickering and the laborers installing the safe, Ariadne picked up the Queen’s receipt that Lucrezia had crumpled and discarded, smoothed it out, and tucked it back into her bodice.
After hugging the jewelry box containing the ‘Heart Of The Blue Deep’ tightly, she had Sancha, who had just descended the stairs, carry the Queen’s accessory chest. All preparations for their withdrawal were complete.
“Let’s head up while we have the chance. We can move to the new room. This works out well.”
* * *
“Your Majesty, please write a receipt stating that I, Ariadne, have donated 50 ducats to the Rambouillet Relief Center. However, I will withdraw the funds when I have need of them later. If I bring the money home, it will no longer be mine. The first use of those funds will be to purchase a personal safe to install in my room. Your Majesty, please simply issue an order to have that safe installed.”
This was the request Ariadne had made to Queen Marguerite. She intended to use the Rambouillet Relief Center as a private bank. It was a request she could make only because she trusted the Queen.
She had briefly debated whether installing a safe was necessary. It had cost her 15 ducats, and she had wondered if it might be less of a burden to simply dump the ‘Heart Of The Blue Deep’ onto Cardinal De Mare. She reasoned that if the Cardinal held control over the item, those who coveted the jewel would target him instead of bothering her.
But she changed her mind. Even if the ‘Heart Of The Blue Deep’ were hidden inside the Cardinal’s safe, it was ultimately an item bestowed upon Ariadne personally by Leo III. Because it was hers in name, it would be difficult for it to be moved completely independently of her.
Cardinal De Mare was a man capable of any deceit; he would likely negotiate her marriage while including the ‘Heart Of The Blue Deep’ on the dowry list, only to omit it when he actually sent the bride off. He would not have the slightest concern for an Ariadne who would arrive empty-handed and face all manner of abuse.
When she was young, she had resented and envied Isabella, whom she believed their father truly cherished. She had even felt a touch of inferiority. But she did not feel that way now. She knew well that if it came down to core interests, Cardinal De Mare would discard even Isabella without hesitation.
Since the item was in her hands, she would make good use of it. It was difficult and troublesome, but it was an excellent trump card.
The winds were shifting, unlike her previous life.
* * *
That evening, Ariadne received a parcel from the Royal Palace. It was delivered in person by a royal servant.
‘If it was sent from the palace, why didn’t they bring it along during the day?’
The question in Ariadne’s mind was answered as soon as she unwrapped the parcel and opened the box inside.
It was a gold hairpin shaped like a flower, set with over a dozen deep pink, marquise-cut tourmalines totaling roughly three carats. The fine engraving betrayed its origin: a high-end jewelry house along the Tiber River.
The sender was the Prince’s Palace.