A line of huge carriages glided into the ducal palace. Sophie opened her eyes dimly. Judging from the absence of the family crest on the carriage, it was not a guest, so it was most likely a merchant's carriage.
'What? Oh, no way!'
Had the Duke called in another dress shop or jeweler?
Every citizen of the island knew that Dante had bought expensive dresses and jewels for his new bride. Sophie's face lit up. Ariana's mood might have improved as she looked at the pretty and expensive things.
"Madam, madam! The merchant's carriage is coming in. I think His Highness has given you another present!"
"...Oh. So?"
However, Ariana's reaction was different from what Sophie had expected. She glanced at her watch as if she was trying to gauge how long it would take to fit the dress. There was no emotion like joy or excitement in her appearance. Sophie was quietly disheartened.
'Well, even if Miss Elena blatantly took the dress, she wouldn't even notice...'
Even when she was young, Ariana would be so happy about the dress, but now she wouldn't be happy about it.
"Madam."
Soon, the butler Oren knocked on the door.
"The merchants sent by the Master for the Madam have arrived. Could you please step aside for a moment?"
"Oh. Of course."
Ariana got up with a dutiful smile.
"Yes, please come out slowly. I will let the instrument merchants in after the madam comes out."
"Yes?"
Ariana raised her head brightly.
"Did you say, instrument merchant?"
It was the first time Sophie had seen her lady's eyes sparkle like that.
Thump, thump.
Her heart was pounding fast. It couldn't be just because she hadn't slept much.
"Madam, I heard that all the instruments have been installed in the performance room."
Since the butler had said that to me a little while ago, I couldn't hide my excitement.
Since morning, countless carriages had been coming and going from the Duke's residence. According to the servants, they were all instruments that Dante had bought for me. From that moment until now, my heart has been racing.
'Was I really this, obsessed with instruments?'
I was taken aback when I realized that my steps were like those of a child running to unwrap a birthday present. I had thought that a piano was enough to compose music. But as I slowly looked back, I realized that I had thought that it was enough because there was no other way.
'Lucas had made everything happen with just one piano.'
So for a very long time, the only instrument I could play to my heart's content was the piano. I had to compose the rest by imagining it in my head. But since I could still write the music, Lucas must have thought it was a great value for money.
"Ah, you've arrived, Ma'am."
The butler, who had been checking the music room first, noticed me and bowed his head politely. I looked inside and slowly held my breath...
Ah. The soft chandelier lighting slid down like a veil over the ivory grand piano. A lustrous violin, a cello with delicate and elegant curves. And most of all...
My eyes were completely captivated by the being that took up an entire corner of the room. A divine instrument, modeled after the voices of angels. A harp that shone as if it were cut from a diamond, dazzled my eyes with its elegant appearance.
"What the heck is this...'
Even if I came across a treasure trove filled with gold and silver, I wouldn't feel this way. I was speechless as I looked around the room filled with all sorts of rare instruments. My own room was filled with tools that could produce various kinds of sounds. It seemed like the shape of my dreams, which I had only imagined as a child, looked exactly like this.
"The Master sent a message to tell me if anything was lacking."
What was lacking?
I absentmindedly caressed the strings of the violin and cello. They were of the highest quality. Everything. Especially that harp... It was dizzying to imagine its price.
My steps, as if possessed, led me to the harp. When I gently plucked the strings, a surprisingly beautiful sound rang out.
'Ah...'
I hurriedly lowered my head, feeling as if I was going to cry. After my grandfather passed away and the family fortune began to decline, my father sold the harp first. That was the last time I remember playing the harp.
"Do you know how to play the harp?"
Startled, I looked back. When on earth had you arrived here?
Dante was leaning against the wall, his jet-black hair, so dark that it could not even be dyed by the sunset, fluttering lightly.
"Your Highness."
I greeted him reflexively, but I was inwardly embarrassed. Did he really ask if I could play the harp?
...You brought the instrument out without even knowing how to play it?
'The harp is one of the most expensive instruments.'
What value does money have to that person?
I heard rumors that the Duke's assets, inherited through the rewards accumulated from his successive victories since his childhood, were ridiculously enormous...
Swallowing my embarrassment, I tried to answer in a calm voice.
"Yes, I'm not very good at it. My grandfather taught me most of how to play the instrument."
As I said that, I carefully sat down in front of the harp. My grandfather especially liked the sound of the harp. I placed my fingers on the strings, recalling the memory of that time. It creaked a little at first, but soon, as I moved my fingers more and more easily, a beautiful sound began to resonate.
"Oh, thank goodness."
My body remembers.
"I thought I had completely forgotten."
It seems that memories engraved in the body do not easily disappear. Like the memories of the days when I sat next to my grandfather playing the harp, rubbing my head against my mother and acting spoiled.
I wonder if I had been lost in the past for a while. When I stopped playing, I suddenly realized that the surroundings were too quiet.
'I wasn't expecting applause, but....'
...Is it true that he's still there? Maybe the performance went on too long and he left. Thinking that, I absentmindedly turned my head and forgot how to breathe.
'Ah.'
The eyes that didn't catch a single ray of light in the backlight were staring at me. With an expression as calm as an endless lake, with no way to read what they were thinking.
'Since when.... Since when have you been looking at me like that?'
I felt a strong sense of deja vu. Dante had looked at me with that gaze the other day when I played the piano. The silence was as thin as ice in the air. In this precarious balance that seemed like it would shatter if I took a wrong breath, I froze as if time had stopped.
"Did I tell you? I..."
At one moment, Dante suddenly broke the tension and approached me.
"A fascinating talent."
"..."
My heart leaped once.
"I want it."
My breath was suffocated by the eyes that didn't hide their longing. His eyes were filled with a blatant desire like a child easily reaching for something shiny. I slowly moved my lips as I felt my palate dry up.
"I am already your exclusive servant."
"Yes."
Dante reached out to me. I couldn't move at all as I watched his large hand intertwine with mine on the harp.
"But I still feel thirsty."
I shivered slightly at the sensation of our fingers intertwining. Dante bent down toward me. I bit my lower lip. Just meeting his eyes that were so close to me felt like I was being swept away by a tidal wave.
"How far do I have to go before I feel like I have you completely in my hands?"
A hot palm wrapped around the back of my neck. My whole body felt like it was being consumed by the hot and humid heat.
"What do you think?"
What do you think?
I let out a trembling breath. One thing was certain. Dante had already crossed the line. Dante had broken down and invaded the wall that had been built high and clearly delineated the boundary without care. I moistened my dry lips and answered.
"I am the Duke's wife now."
Dante's eyes widened slightly.
"So you can do whatever you want."
In exchange for becoming the stepping stone for my revenge, I would offer my talent and myself to this man. That was the contract we had made.
"Really?"
A dark smirk appeared in his red eyes.
"If that is what I want."
His fingers approached and lifted my chin.
"Will you allow whatever it is?"
I nodded slowly. I felt entangled in a spider's web, but it was the web I had chosen.
"...Yes. Of course."
"Okay, then."
Dante pulled my waist tightly and raised the corners of his mouth. I closed my eyes tightly without realizing it. I felt his fingertips rubbing my lower lip. As I was conscious of my lips slightly parting and catching my trembling breath, I heard a low voice nearby.
"Sing, Ariana."
I heard a heart-pounding, sinking hallucination. I opened my eyes and stared blankly at him.
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