Cesare De Como

* Cesare After the Return (21)
* Cesare Before the Return (36)
* Cesare After the Return (Comic)
* Cesare Before the Return (Comic)

Count Cesare De Como is the main antagonist in "Sister In This Life I Have Become the Queen". The bastard son of King Leo III, he is jealous of his half brother, Prince Alfonso, and seeks to steal the throne for himself.

## History

### Early Life

Cesare is the illegitimate son of King Leo III and his favorite mistress Countess Rubina De Como. Though officially, he is recognized as the Prince’s cousin, there are are still rumors that he is a bastard son. Growing up, Cesare got whatever he wanted, from the best clothes and horses to the favor of every lady in the land. Cesare is very jealous of his brother Alfonso, who, despite being younger, was born legitimately and thus is the rightful heir to the throne.

### First Timeline

Cesare had his eye on Isabella De Mare, the daughter of the Cardinal, who was considered the most beautiful and coveted woman in San Carlo. He managed to get his father to suggest a marriage between Cesare and Isabella. Unfortunately for Cesare, Isabella had higher ambitions than to marry a count and possible bastard. She got out of the arrangement by her father, Cardinal De Mare, bringing in her half sister Ariadne, a bastard child like Cesare sired by her father with a maid, to take her place. The Cardinal sent word that his daughter would marry Cesare, which delighted the count, but upon arriving to confirm the engagement, Cesare found out that he was betrothed to Ariadne, not Isabella. This deeply angered Cesare, and he blamed both Ariadne and the Cardinal for losing his chance to wed Isabella.

However, Cesare uses Ariadne to further his goals for the throne, using her lonely upbringing and desperation for love to his advantage. He manipulates her by pretending to love her, to get her to murder Alfonso so that he can have the throne, promising to make her his Queen. He then spends the next eight years working to win popular favor and secure his place before he is crowned, all while Ariadne loyally serves him. But Cesare soon acts ungrateful to Ariadne, even scolding her when she lashes out at a prominent noblewoman who was talking badly about him in private.

On the cusp of his coronation, Cesare proposes to Isabella, having lusted for her even after she married his brother Alfonso and professed love for her throughout his engagement to Ariadne. Since Cesare is no longer a mere count but the future King, this time Isabella accepts his proposal, as she aims to become Queen. One night, as he is in bed with Ariadne, he tells her that he is to marry her sister instead of her. Ariadne is devastated, telling Cesare that Isabella is not a virgin any longer and thus forbidden to wed the King. Cesare claims that Isabella remained chaste through her short marriage to Alfonso and thus allowed to remarry. Ariadne refutes by claiming that Isabella was pregnant with Alfonso’s child but miscarried, to which Cesare responds by accusing her of lying out of jealousy. Ariadne cries and reminds Cesare of his promise to marry her, but he is unmoved. He reveals his long infatuation with Isabella and his disappointment when he was given Ariadne instead of her. Ariadne reminds him of all the sacrifices she has made for him, but Cesare is ungrateful and has her locked in the tower while he is married to Isabella and crowned King.

### Second Timeline

After Ariadne travels back in time, she is determined to avoid getting engaged to Cesare like in her first life. At the state mass, Cesare is lusting after Isabella, stating that only the most coveted woman in San Carlo was worthy to be his wife, and discussed his plans to press the Cardinal and his father about his proposal to her.

Later on, he bids on a piece that Ariadne bids on, forcing her to spend more than she planned to get it. When Ariadne questions the authenticity of a sculpture, he interrogates her. Later on, his mother tries to convince him to get closer to Ariadne, who has gained adulation for calling out the Apostle as a heretic, and awarded the Heart of the Deep Blue Sea, which Rubina was told by a fortune teller that the the one who possesses it would one day rise to the throne. Rubina asks Cesare to get close to Ariadne and bring her the jewel.

He attends Ariadne’s debutante ball to be her official escort. Then he notices how close Alfonso has become to Ariadne. It is then that his marriage goals shift, as he now sees Ariadne as "Alfonso’s woman" and therefore seeks the satisfaction of taking her away from his brother who has everything. He tries to make decent conversation with her, but she rejects his attempts. After the ball, he sends her a bouquet of roses and an expensive new dress from an exclusive designer. She keeps the roses but sends back the dress.

Cesare continues to pursue Ariadne, sending her letters attached to expensive presents, like a fine saddle for horseback riding. Eventually, their paths cross once again during the royal hunt, of which Ariadne is a participant.

## Relationships

### Romantic

#### Ariadne De Mare

Ariadne, the illegitimate daughter of Cardinal De Mare, was summoned to her father’s house to take her half-sister Isabella’s place in a betrothal to Cesare, who had made the proposal specifically with Isabella in mind. Count Cesare was extremely disappointed and angered when he found out he was betrothed to a different De Mare daughter than the one he had sought, blaming both Ariadne and the Cardinal. He saw Ariadne as the "lesser daughter", inferior to the beautiful and refined Isabella.

Nevertheless, Cesare made do, and began to manipulate Ariadne, pretending to love her and gaining her trust. He eventually convinced her to murder his half-brother, Alfonso, making Cesare the new successor to the throne, with the promise he would marry her and make her Queen as soon as he secured the throne.

Eight years passed, and Cesare grew colder to Ariadne, scolding her for lashing out at a noblewoman who was talking badly about him and making him look bad. Nonetheless, Ariadne remained faithful to Cesare, expecting him to fulfill his promise to make her his Queen, until one night, on the cusp of his coronation, he told her that he was going to marry Isabella and make her, not Ariadne, his Queen, having continued to lust for the older De Mare sister during all these years. Ariadne was distraught at the news and pleaded hysterically with Cesare, reminding him of his promises to her, but he cruelly dismissed her and had her locked away in a tower while he married Isabella and was crowned King.

When Ariadne traveled back in time, she was determined to avoid becoming engaged to Cesare again. Cesare was still set on marrying Isabella, and was initially dismissive of Ariadne, despite his mother’s suggestions. That all changed when he noticed how fond Alfonso had become of Ariadne, and Ariadne, in Cesare’s eyes, became "Alfonso’s woman" and thus a tool to get one up on his brother by taking her away. Cesare then directly pursues Ariadne, intent on seducing her away from Alfonso.

#### Isabella De Mare

Cesare originally sought Isabella’s hand in marriage, as he knew having her, the most beautiful and sought-after woman in San Carlo, would prove he was the most distinguished man in the kingdom. Unfortunately for him, Isabella was uninterested at the time, as she had plans to marry his brother, Prince Alfonso, the legitimate heir to the throne, thus becoming the most highly-exalted lady of the kingdom. She got out of marrying Cesare by having her illegitimate half sister take her place, and married Alfonso instead of Cesare, who blamed Ariadne and the Cardinal for keeping Isabella from him.

His engagement to Ariadne and Isabella’s marriage to his brother did nothing to stop him from wanting her. He visited her and professed love for her, even as they were attached to others. He manipulated Ariadne to kill Alfonso, and spent the next eight years after securing the throne for himself, then on the cusp of his coronation, he proposed to Isabella again. This time, she accepted, since he could now give her the position of the most noble woman in San Carlo. They were married and crowned King and Queen while Ariadne was imprisoned in the tower.

When Ariadne travels back in time, Cesare is still lusting after Isabella, but discards any regard for her when he sees that his brother Alfonso has grown attached to Ariadne, cementing her in Cesare’s eyes as "Alfonso’s woman" and thus something precious to take from his brother who has everything. This actually causes a similar reaction from Isabella, who cannot stand the idea of losing to Ariadne, and she starts trying to regain Cesare’s favor out of jealousy.

### Familial

#### King Leo III

As a child, Cesare was treated coldly by his father, who blatantly favored his newborn brother over him. Leo once even slapped Cesare for entering the palace without his permission, and dismissed him as his child.

#### Queen Margaret

Surprisingly, despite being the son of her hisband’s mistress, Cesare had a good relationship with Queen Margaret as a child. She was kind to him and brough him snacks when he came to play, and he even preferred her to his own mother, occasionally calling her such. Sadly, Queen Margaret’s attitude towards Cesare changed drastically when she had her own child, Alfonso. All her love and kindness was reserved solely for her "true" son, even glaring Cesare when he got slapped and scolded by Leo.