Ariadne De Mare

* After the Return (15)
* Before the Return (30)
* Ariadne After the Return (Comic)
* Ariadne Before the Return (Comic)

Ariadne De Mare is the protagonist of Sister In This Life I Have Become the Queen. She travels back in time after helping her fiancé steal the throne, only for him to discard her for her older step - sister.

## Appearance

Ariadne has long smooth black hair, pale skin, and green eyes. She is shown to have a large chest, something she is quite insecure about, especially after hearing that Cesare claimed her chest was too heavy and unsightly. When Isabella taunts her, she claims that Cesare said Ariadne had broad shoulders that felt like holding a man.

## History

Ariadne was the result of an affair between the Cardinal De Mare and a maid serving under his de facto wife, Lucrezia. Her mother died in childbirth. Unlike the Cardinal’s daughter with Lucrezia, who were also born out of wedlock but recognized as legitimately born children due to her parent’s de facto marriage that was recognized by law, Ariadne was considered a bastard child and sent to live and work on a farm where she was abused and bullied by other maids.

Ariadne was summoned to the house by the Cardinal when she was a teenager. At first, she was happy, believing that it meant her father wanted to recognize her as his daughter. But in reality, the Cardinal only sought to bring her into the family for his family’s selfish ambitions. Count Cesare De Como, who was recognized officially as the King’s nephew but rumored to be his illegitimate son, sought the hand of Isabella, the Cardinal’s step-daughter and second child of Lucrezia. Isabella, who had ambitions to become the highest-ranking woman in the land, refused to marry Cesare, a mere count and possible bastard. The Cardinal, who had plans to marry Isabella off to Prince Alfonso, the King’s legitimately born son and heir to the throne, agreed. Lucrezia proposed a loophole, suggesting that the Cardinal promise Ariadne to Cesare in Isabella’s place, therefore pleasing the King with a alliance with Cesare while also saving Isabella from the marriage.

### First Timeline

Despite finding out the truth, Ariadne soon fell in love with Cesare, as he treated her with love and kindness, something no one in her life had done before. He eventually got her to kill his half brother Alfonso so he could become the successor to the Crown, promising to make her his Queen if she did. She waited patiently for eight years for the wedding to happen, while Cesare worked to secure his place in the succession. Meanwhile, she lashed out at a noblewoman who was talking badly about Cesare to others. Instead of thanking her for trying to defend his honor, he admonished her harshly for making a bad impression on a vital support for his claim to the throne.

Ariadne submitted to Cesare faithfully for years in the hopes that he would fulfill his promise and marry her, making her the Queen of San Carlo. However, one night, as his coronation neared, while they were having sexual activity, Cesare dropped the sudden news that he was going to marry Isabella instead. Ariadne was horrified and devastated. She tried to argue that Isabella had already been married to Prince Alfonso, and that the King of San Carlo was forbidden to marry a widow who had lost her innocence, but Cesare claimed that Isabella had remained a virgin through her short lived marriage, and thus remained acceptable for him to wed. Ariadne argued that Isabella had in fact not retained her virtue, as she became pregnant with and miscarried Alfonso’s child, but Cesare angrily accused her of lying. Ariadne begged him to remember his promise to marry her and make her Queen, reminding him of everything she had sacrificed and done for him. Cesare was unmoved, revealing that he had lusted after Isabella during his entire engagement to Ariadne, as it was the oldest De Mare daughter whose hand he had been specifically seeking when he proposed, only to be given the "lesser daughter" instead. Ariadne was heartbroken and broke into hysterics, prompting Cesare to arrest her and lock her away in a tower.

On the day of Cesare’s coronation and wedding to Isabella, Ariadne could hear them playing the music she had selected and carrying out the ceremony she had planned, and lamented over the fact that it should have been her, not Isabella, standing at his side as he’s crowned. Isabella, the newly-crowned Queen of San Carlo, visited her sister in her tower prison. Ariadne accused Isabella of seducing Cesare away from her to gain the crown, to which Isabella revealed that Cesare had come to her first, claiming he had never stopped pining for her, even going so far as to say that he thought of her even as he made love with Ariadne, and criticizing Ariadne’s appearance. Isabella then told Ariadne that men were ungrateful and untrustworthy and that it was pointless to sacrifice anything for them the way Ariadne had sacrificed for Cesare. She then remarked that in time, Cesare would bore of her and begin to miss Ariadne for her devotion, so, to avoid this, Isabella had a knight stab Ariadne through her body from the back. In the last moments of her life, Ariadne lamented her fate and the events that had led her here.

### Second Timeline

It was then the forces that be took pity on Ariadne and gave her a second chance at life, reversing time back to the day she was summoned back to her father’s house to take Isabella’s place as Cesare’s fiancé, when she was fifteen years old. When she realizes she has returned to the past, she vows to escape Cesare’s clutches and seek revenge on Isabella.

When Arabella verbally lashes out at Ariadne, the older sister provokes her by implying that the Cardinal and Lucrezia favor Isabella over Arabella, infuriating her. Arabella lunges forward to push Ariadne, but the latter dodges out in the nick of time, and Arabella accidentally pushes Isabella down the stairs instead. When the Cardinal appears, Arabella lies that Ariadne is the one who pushed Isabella. Ariadne also lies, saying that Arabella was playing too roughly and that caused her to accidentally push Isabella, then asked the Cardinal to have Isabella confirm. Of course, Isabella, never one to pass up a chance to play the kind older sister to a half sister being bullied, said Ariadne was telling the truth. The Cardinal punished Arabella, despite her insistence that she was innocent.

Later, as Ariadne was trying to think of ways to avoid getting engaged to Cesare again, Isabella’s maid, Maletta, entered her room with a change of clothes. Ariadne asked if she would help her dress, but Maletta refused and insulted her. Ariadne struck her in the face, prompting Maletta to continue, pointing out that she was no better than the other maids, and not even a nobleman’s bastard, as the Cardinal himself was a commoner and an orphan, and even taunting that should Maletta bear his child, that child would be the same as Ariadne, which earned her another slap. Maletta went and told Lucrezia that Ariadne had struck her for no reason, but Ariadne told a lie that she had struck Maletta for speaking ill of the family, lying that Maletta had insulted the Cardinal for raising three bastard children as nobility, as well as the truth that Maletta had insulted the Cardinal’s standing and expressed the idea of earning his favor and bearing his child. Lucrezia was enraged at the idea of Maletta coveting her husband, commanding the maid to be given ten lashes. She nonetheless scolded Ariadne for handling the situation improperly, and Ariadne promised to repent by spending three days at Ramboiullet Shelter, escorted by Maletta, helping the poor, with Isabella sneakily extending it to five days.

At Ramboiullet Shelter, Ariadne arrived with Maletta, with the intention of scaring Maletta with the threat to have her sent here, where Ariadne knew her sister was, to be subservient to her. When Ariadne touched Maletta, she magically saw Maletta’s memories of her and her sister, Sancha, being approached by Isabella, who offered to take one of the sisters as her maid, but at the price of leaving the other sister behind. Maletta jumped at the opportunity, promising to send money to Sancha and take her out of Rambouillet Shelter. Through a series of questions, Ariadne confirmed that the memory was real, and found out that Sancha had in fact not heard from Maletta since. When Ariadne pressed Maletta, the latter claimed she had never seen Sancha before. Seeing her sister had in fact abandoned her, Sancha begged Ariadne to take her out of the shelter. Needing someone in the house who was indebted to her, Ariadne agreed to take Sancha on as her own maid, much to Sancha’s joy and Maletta’s chagrin.

Three days later, in the Shelter gardens, Ariadne met Alfonso, who was alive again thanks to the time reversal. She sees this as an opportunity to win his favor and use the new friendship to escape her previous fate. She flirts with him openly and talk to him kindly to spark his interest, planning to seduce and marry him later on to secure her own safety and happiness, since she has lost faith in the concept of love and kindness. He offers her the pastries he bought for himself, served on his handkerchief, and she accepts them and leaves him with her name.

Upon returning home with Sancha, Ariadne introduced her to Lucrezia and Isabella, insisting to have her as her personal maid. At first Lucrezia refused and tried to have Sancha thrown out, until Ariadne showed the handkerchief, and Isabella recognized the crest of Prince Akfonso. Ariadne lied and told her sister and stepmother that Prince Alfonso personally asked her to employ Sancha, giving her the handkerchief as evidence of his demand. Lucrezia was unmoved, but Isabella believed the story and wanted to volunteer next at Ramboiullet Shelter. When her mother forbid her, she instead insisted that Sancha stay so she could brag about helping her to the prince if and when she finally met him. Lucrezia begrudginigly agreed. Ariadne then had Alfonso’s handkerchief taken from her by Isabella, reminding her of her unstable position in the house, which saddened her for a moment before Sancha thanked her from saving her from the Shelter, vowing to one day repay her for her kindness.

Later on, Ariadne learns that she, Lucrezia and Isabella have been invited to a sermon at the palace by Queen Margaret, something that had in fact not happened in her orevious life. When Maletta and Sancha present to her Isabella’s hand-me-down gown, whoch she is to wear to the sermon, Ariadne demands that Sancya try it on, dirtying it.

During the sermon, Isabella almost shames the family by expressing envy of the Saint’s second sacrifice and the idea of having everyone mourn her death so greatly, making the other ladies upset. To save the family’s pride, Ariadne soeaks out, expressing admiration for the Saint’s bravery in performing such a selfless act. She is then praised by the other ladies for her devout belief.

After the sermon, Queen Margaret introduced Lucrezia, Isabella and Ariadne to the other ladies at the dinner. Countess De Marques complimented Isabella’s gown, to which she proudly showed off and ckaimed that it was made by the De Mare family seamstress. However, the Countess then commented that Ariadne’s gown seemed much more simple in comparison, bringing up questions as to just how Lady De Mare was treating her stepdaughter. Isabella tried to amend the situation by saying that she generously gifted Aroadne her habd-me-down because the family seamstress could not make a proper gown in time for the sermon. Aroadne pretended to appreciate the gown from Isabella, sayimg it was too good for her, then stood up and spun to show off the dirty chemise while maintaining innocence as to her true agenda. The other ladies were shocked, speculating that it was a sign og neglect on Lucrezia’s part. Queen Margaret dismissed Lucrezia and Isabella from the dinner, and sent Ariadne with her own head maid, Carla, to change into a clean chemise.

On the way there, Ariadne’s path once again crossed with Alfonso’s. Carla was horrified when Ariadne addressed Alfonso informally, but Alfonso told her that he had not told Ariadne and that she was a friend of his. He stole her away from the dinner and brought her to the gardens, where they chatted in a friendly manner. At Ariadne’s insistence, she gave him a nickname, A. Alfonso confessed that he had told his mother of Ariadne’s service at the Shelter, and that that was probably the reason the Queen had invited her and her family to the sermon. He started to vent to her his woes, only to backtrack, but Ariadne showed him sympathy before returning to the palace and wishing him well.

Ariadne later returned home to a raging Lucrezia, who accused her of deliberately staining her chemise to embarrass her and Isabella in front of the Queen. Ariadne claimed she owned no other chemise, smirking as Lucrezia ordered her room to be ransacked in search of another, knowing that the search would be fruitless. However, she was surprised when Maletta stepped forward, claiming that Sancha had stolen Ariadne’s chemise. Despite knowing that she herself was safe from Lucrezia’s wrath, she found she could not bear to see Sancha hurt by Lucrezia’s beating. When the mistress moved in to stab Sancha, Ariadne threw herself over her and took the stabbing for her. Lucrezia was even angrier that Ariadme intervened and raised her hand to strike her, but the Cardinal caught her and ordered her to stop, distracting her long enough for Ariadne to bring Sancha to safety up in her bedroom. When Ariadne questioned her as to why she did not tell the truth to save herself, Sancha answered that she owed her life to Ariadne and reconfirmed her promise to repay her kindness. This touched Ariadne, who had never had someone swear such loyalty to her, and knew now that she had at last found a true friend in Sancha. She hugged the servant girl and vowed to protect her in return, as well as punish Maletta for her crimes against her.

Her joy was short-lived, however, as a few days later, she overheard Lucrezia complaining about her to the Cardinal, and urging him to marry her off to Cesare as soon as possible. Ariadne reflects that the main reason her father refused to marry Isabella to Cesare, as she is his most valuable asset to elevating his family status, groomed and educated from birth, and thus is of far more worth than Cesare has to offer. She reflects that the Cardinal’s preferred choice of husband for Isabella was Alfonso, the true lineal heir, and that if her father sees enough potential in Isabella to make her the Crown Princess, Ariadne would have to make herself more worthy than her older sister, and if all else failed, destroy Isabella’s worth.

She interrupts a private Gallican language lesson of Isabella and Arabella, speaking perfect Gallican to the tutor, who is as impressed as Isabella and Arabella are shocked. Ariadne also displays perfect ladylike manners, especially reacting kindly to Arabella’s accusation of her cheating.

## Relationships

### Romantic

#### Prince Alfonso

Ariadne did not interact much with Prince Alfonso in her first life, besides him being her sister’s husband and fiancé’s brother, before she poisoned him to make Cesare the rightful successor. But when she travels back in time, she is determined to seduce him and marry him to secure herself, as she has abandoned all hopes for love since it was what lead to her death in her past life. She lavishes him with kindness and affection, which is initially faked, but the more time that passes, the kinder Alfonso is, and Ariadne finds her walls coming down. She begins to feel guilt for her sins against him in her past life, and eventually, she begins to prioritize his needs and happiness above her own.

After believing her dead after hearing rumors, Alfonso hears of Arabella’s death and returns to San Carlo to comfort her. In his comforting, they share a tender moment, and Alfonso realizes he loves her too much to go through with his arranged marriage, and promises to be with Ariadne.

#### Count Cesare

Ariadne was brought into her father’s household to take Isabella’s place in an arranged marriage to Cesare. This greatly displeased Cesare, as he had made the proposal specifically with Isabella in mind. Nevertheless, he was very kind to Ariadne, something new to her, and she fell hopelessly in love with him, valuing him over even her own life. When Cesare staged a revolt, he had Araidne’s support. He promised her that if she killed Alfonso and helped him secure the throne, he would finally marry her and make her Queen when he became King. She did as he asked.

Nine years later, after faithfully submitting to Cesare and fulfilling the duties as Queen without the official title for this whole time, Cesare surprised Ariadne the night before his coronation. While they were having relations in bed, he announced that he was engaged to Isabella. Ariadne was horrified, more-so when Cesare brushed off her arguments and reminders of his promise to her. He reveals that he had not once loved Ariadne more than Isabella, and sent his fiancé to the tower. The next day, Cesare’s new wife, Isabella, visited her captive sister and confessed to her that Cesare had declared love to her behind Ariadne’s back the whole time they were engaged before having her killed.

When Ariadne returns to the past, she is determined to avoid getting engaged to Cesare again. However, fate throws her an unexpected gift, as when Cesare sees that Alfonso has grown attached to her, he becomes very interested, since he likes the idea of "stealing" her away from his brother. He even tells her he will send a formal proposal to her. Ariadne cannot help but laugh at the irony that Cesare is doing everything she wished for in her past life, now that she doesn’t want anything to do with him.

### Friendships

#### Sancha

Ariadne meets Sancha at the Ramboiullet Shelter with Maletta. There, she looks into Sancha's memories about her past and takes her in to the De Mare household as her personal maid. The bond between the two girls grows stronger as Sancha pledges her life to Ariadne for saving her from dying at the shelter.

### Familial

#### Cardinal De Mare

Ariadne was the result of an affair between the Cardinal and the maid of his de facto wife, Lucrezia. Unlike her siblings, who were recognized as true-born nobility because of their mother’s noble blood and unofficial marriage to their father, Ariadne was seen as a true bastard daughter. After her mother died giving birth, Ariadne was raised on a farm apart from the Cardinal and his family for fifteen years.

The Cardinal didn’t even remember Ariadne’s existence until Lucrezia suggested her as a replacement for Isabella in an arranged marriage with Cesare. The Cardinal prized Isabella, who was beautiful and elegant and well-born, and thus considered her too precious to be married off to a lowly count like Cesare. Thus, he saw Ariadne as a tool to save Isabella from an unworthy marriage. When Ariadne was first summoned to her father’s house, she believed it was because he truly wanted her to be part of his life. She was later proven wrong.

In her second life, while Ariadne no longer holds any desire to please her father, she manipulates matters to maximize her worth to him and minimize Isabella’s, so that she’ll become more valuable to the Cardinal and thus be considered good enough to marry to a better man, or at least too good to marry to Cesare.

#### Lucrezia De Mare

In the first timeline, Ariadne once looked up to Lucrezia as the very model of a graceful noblewoman and respected her. In the second timeline however, Ariadne realizes her fake demeanor and decides to use family expectations to bring down her stepmother as the lady of the household. The two do not have a good relationship with each other as Lucrezia despises Ariadne for being an illegitimate daughter of her husband.

#### Isabella De Mare

To her older sister, Ariadne is simply a pawn to use and then discard when no longer necessary. Ariadne was only summoned to her father’s house to take Isabella’s place in a betrothal to what she deemed an unworthy man. And when that same "unworthy man" went on to become the rightful successor to the throne, she accepted his second proposal of marriage, wanting to become the most noble lady of the kingdom, despite knowing that Ariadne was devoted to him. Knowing that Cesare might someday miss Ariadne, she literally has someone stab her in the back to eliminate the problem. After returning to the past, Ariadne vows revenge on Isabella.

Upon capturing the eye of both Cesare and Alfonso, Ariadne inspires great envy from her older sister, who seeks to sabotage Ariadne at every turn. She tampers with Ariande’s brassiere for her debut ball to expose her breasts further, but this backfires on her when Ariadne cleverly amends the situation. Isabella tried to frame her sister as Marquess Campa’s illicit secret lover, but she was cleared by the testimony of both Cesare and Alfonso. In response, Ariadne doesn’t hesistate to present evidence that implies Isabella is the true mistress.

When Ariadne finds out that Isabella pushed Arabella down the stairs and inadvertently killed her, Ariadne’s vow of revenge on Isabella is given new meaning, as she now seeks to destroy Isabella to avenge their little sister.

#### Arabella De Mare

Ariadne got off on a rocky start with Arabella. In her first life, they weren’t particularly close, and their first meeting in her second ended with her getting Arabella in trouble with their father fir hurting her sister Isabella, in an attack that was meant for Ariadne. Ariadne notes that Arabella’s musical talent is overlooked in favor of Isabella’s charm and beauty. She convinces Arabella to get the organ that she so desperately wants for herself by asking Isabella to ask their parents for her, knowing that they would oblige their oldest daughter in anything.

Despite Ariadne’s initial refusal to sympathize with Arabella, due to the latter growing up in luxury while the former grew up unwanted in poverty, she soon starts to see how Arabella suffers under the neglect of her parents in favor of Isabella, especially after a concert gone wrong ends in Arabella being blamed and assaulted. Ariadne opens herself up to Arabella, and the two become closer.

Knowing that Arabella might die in the plague from her past life, Ariadne works hard o get Arabella accepted into a music academy to study abroad, so that she will be far away from the plague when it happens and not contract it and die. Arabella was grateful to Ariadne, and even sought to find her a gift while she was away to secure to acceptance upon her return. However, when Ariadne returned home to deliver the letter of acceptance to Arabella, she instead found a funeral for her little sister, who had been pushed down the stairs by Isabella after accidentally finding Ariadne’s clasp that Isabella had switched at the debutante ball. Ariadne touched Arabella’s corpse, saw what happened, and lashed at her older sister, secretly vowing revenge for Arabella.