Time seemed to have stopped. Everything in the world was erased, and only Dante, looking up at me, was visible.
'Ah...'
I tried hard to move my lips, but no words came out. I wanted to express this feeling with perfect words, a wonderful answer. No matter how many modifiers I tried to gather, it seemed that it would not be able to express all of my current joy. I nodded once, twice, and opened my mouth.
"Yes."
In the end, my voice trembled awkwardly.
"Yes. I will gladly."
And I realized that now was the time to tell you the answer to my confession. Words that were too sweet to even think about. I wiped away the tears that had welled up without me noticing and smiled brightly.
"I love you, Duke."
Dante's eyes slowly widened. The eyes that filled me soon curled into a smile. He raised his body, hugged my waist, and kissed me as if it were natural. It was a soft, warm, affectionate kiss.
'I wish time would stop like this.'
That was the moment I thought that.
Clap clap clap clap!
I was startled by the sound of applause that sounded like thousands of birds chirping.
'... Ah.'
Only then did I realize that we were standing in the middle of a square with many people passing by, and my whole face turned red. People were applauding us. Some even wiped away tears for some reason.
'Why, why are they applauding?'
I bit my lips and hurriedly tried to push Dante's shoulder away. But he didn't budge as if he were a rock.
"Say it one more time, Ariana."
Instead of being pushed away, Dante looked only at me and whispered in a sweet voice.
"Then I'll let you go."
"I'll tell you how many times, so not now...!"
I whispered urgently, and Dante laughed out loud.
"It's a promise. I'll tell you how many times."
"...Yes. Except here."
Dante burst into laughter and this time he lightly kissed my forehead. His lips that touched my forehead tickled my skin as he whispered.
"And I love you too, Ariana."
My heart finally burst out loud.
***
A vivid eyewitness account of the public courtship of the Duke and Duchess of Heigenberg! Proposals in Fountain Square become a trend! Ten couples to be married today alone!
Rio laughed as he flipped through today's <Empire Morning>. Every corner of the newspaper was covered with stories about Dante and Ariana.
<Empire Morning> definitely wasn't this kind of newspaper... Usually dealing with serious current affairs and having a strict and stiff atmosphere the newspaper was now reminiscent of any gossip magazine.
'Well, <Empire Morning> isn't the only one like that.'
The Duke and Duchess who were passionately confessing their love in the middle of the square and the palace that was the fruit of their love... No, the opera house was one of the biggest topics of conversation in the system. And another topic of conversation...
When is the first performance of <Paradise>? Beware of ticket fraud!
When it was revealed that the palace was actually an opera house, music lovers were excited. Tickets for a first performance that didn't even exist yet were even being sold on the black market.
"I'll finally be able to see Ariana on stage again!"
"When will the first performance be? I hope it opens soon!"
And at the Duke Heigenberg residence, a scene that lived up to their expectations was unfolding.
"Miss Rosalind, how about singing like this?"
"Yes! Yes! It's so good!"
Rosalind, the prima soprano of the Lopez Orchestra, nodded repeatedly. Today, too, they were practicing hard for the first performance that would be held at the same time as the construction of Paradise was completed.
After a while, Rosalind's singing filled the spacious practice room. Ariana, who was listening to the sound with her eyes closed, had a faint smile on her lips. Rio, staring blankly at the sight, muttered to himself.
"As expected... People shine the most when they do something they like."
Ariana, giving directions according to the music she wrote in the middle of the orchestra members, was dazzling yet natural. As if she was naturally where she should be.
"But are you really okay?"
Rio asked and turned around. There was Dante, leaning against the door frame and looking into the practice room as if he were admiring a masterpiece.
"You hate being crowded more than dying."
The Duke's residence was currently the orchestra's practice space, replacing Paradise, which was still undergoing internal construction. With dozens of members coming and going, the Duke's residence was more lively than ever.
"Should we look for another place?"
"No."
Dante cut him off.
"There's no need for that. The house is big, but can't it accommodate this many people?"
Even though the quiet and neat Duke's residence had become as noisy as a market, he didn't seem to care at all. His sharp appearance, once extremely sensitive due to insomnia, was nowhere to be found.
"No matter how much you love, you change..."
How could someone change that much? Rio stuck out his tongue and walked away.
Rio was also busy these days. After all, Ariana's first performance in Paradise had to be perfect In every way. The moment Rio's footsteps brushed past the lounge, a voice was heard.
"This stage, I feel like it's going to be a huge hit as soon as it's announced. I have a feeling."
"What I'm saying is, the moment I played the piece exactly as written, I got goosebumps. It's the first time in my career as a musician that I've ever experienced something like that!"
The members were huddled together in the lounge, chatting. About half were existing members, and the other half were new members who had recently been selected through a newly held audition. One of the players shouted excitedly.
"Our orchestra will soon become the best in the system! It will be a great experience to have played here."
"I told you, it's really lucky to be able to come here."
"You all have great taste."
Ruben, the youngest violinist, nodded with a pleased smile.
"Well, of course, since our Duchess personally selected them, it's only natural."
"There they go again."
That damn 'Duchess'. The new members exchanged glances in silence. It wasn't the first or second time that the existing member, Ruben, showed his trust and affection for Ariana as if he worshipped her. One of the new members nodded and said.
"Duchess, by the way, she's even more amazing than I heard."
"I mean! Did you see that earlier? She noticed that my cello was a little out of tune? Wow, how did she know that I didn't? I heard that she hurt her ear, but fortunately, it seems she's recovered completely."
"That's really fortunate. We almost lost a big star in the imperial music industry."
"Well, well."
While everyone was agreeing, someone else spoke up.
"Her personality is also silky. Earlier during practice, I kept making stupid mistakes, but she didn't get angry once and just smiled. I thought she was an angel."
"Her personality isn't the only thing that's like an angel. She was praising me and smiling at me earlier, and wow... I thought I had an eye-opening moment?"
"While we're on the subject, the Duchess."
A cellist whispered in a secretive voice.
"Don't you think she's become more beautiful than before?"
His colleagues nodded.
"Yeah, that's what I meant. She's always smiling, and her entire face seems to be shining brightly?"
"Right? I'm not the only one who thought that, right? Especially when I see her accompanying me while receiving all the sunlight pouring down on her... Whoa!"
The cellist who had let out a scream covered his mouth.
"Oh, oh, Duke."
Duke?
The other members hurriedly turned around at the cellist's final scream. There he was, really Duke Heigenberg. He was giving off an eerie atmosphere, perhaps because of the backlight.
"When on earth did you get here?!?"
The members who had hurriedly stood up were inwardly shocked as they paid their respects, but Dante opened his mouth.
"You."
The cellist who was staring at Dante's eyes trembled.
"Yes?"
"Did you make the same part wrong six times in practice today?"
"Yes? Oh, that, that..."
"Are you in your right mind?"
"Yes, yes...?"
When the cellist stammered, Dante tilted his head crookedly and said.
"Are you incapable of learning? Why should my wife waste her precious time on your repeated mistakes?"
"I, I'm sorry. I committed a mortal sin!"
The cellist instinctively begged for forgiveness. What came back was a sinister voice like the Grim Reaper.
"Be careful. I'm watching you."
"Yes, yes!"
The cellist hurriedly lowered his head and swallowed his tears inside.
'You are truly as scary as I've heard.'
The romantic public confession in the fountain square temporarily blurred the scary image, but it seemed that the rumors of him running around the battlefield like a ghost and slaughtering barbarians were not unfounded. Dante nodded arrogantly and pointed to someone else this time.
"And you."
Ruben, who had been pointed out, jumped up like a spring.
"Me, me?"
"Director Ariana must be like heaven to you, a mere musician, but isn't she being too informal?"
"Th, that's..."
"If you let your guard down even for a moment, you'll start talking nonsense."
"I, I wouldn't dare do that...!"
"Be careful."
Dante warned in a chilling voice.
"My eyes are on this entire mansion."
Dante, who froze everyone with a few words, turned his back and disappeared as if he didn't want to hear an answer. Ruben blankly stared at his back as he fluttered his coat collar like a demon King.
"What should I do?"
Ruben made a sad face.
"I think I've been targeted by the Duke."
The cellist moved around while talking nonsense.
"Hey, practice. I have to go practice."
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