Ariana watched the stage carefully throughout the performance and diligently took notes during breaks. Pedegreen raised his hand and stroked the round back of his head as if he found her cute. The platinum hair tangled around the fingers of a nobleman without a single scar or callus. Dante stared at her, his hood pulled down and his body curled deep into his seat, and suddenly had a funny thought.
'If only I hadn't gone to war.'
Even though he was an illegitimate child, he had been grateful for being born into the ducal family's bloodline and had just lived quietly as his stepmother had said, and had taken a share of the wealth and become independent. Even if it was only half, he had boasted about his ducal bloodline and had grown into a decent man, if not a great one, while bragging about the wealth his stepbrother had thrown away. If only he had never gone near the border with the distant barbarians. If only he had lived quietly in this narrow system.
If that was the case, could it have been me sitting there?
'Crazy guy.'
Dante laughed to distract himself from his stray thoughts. Whenever he couldn't sleep, he recalled the old lullaby too often, and it seemed to have manifested into a strange obsession.
Let's stop being crazy here. After all, isn't she a woman who became happy next to another guy?
Thinking that, Dante left. He couldn't go back right away because he felt so dirty, so he took out a cigarette in a back alley and lit it.
"Oh, really. The Marquis too. Do you have to do this outside? It's so embarrassing."
"Hehe, my pretty girl. You were so lovely on stage earlier. How hard was it for me to hold back from wanting to pounce on you? Come here quickly."
He had witnessed Lucas Pedegreen, that bat-like guy and the soprano. They say that when you turn your eyes, time stops for a moment. His vision turned bright red for a moment. When he came to, he was already on top of the bastard and was throwing his fist.
"Ugh! Ugh!"
The bastard tried to cover his face with his hand, but his hand was crushed along with it. Blood spurted out on his fingers, which had been tangled in Ariana Lopez's hair as if it were his own, and had just been tugging at another woman's waist.
"Gyaaaaah!"
The soprano screamed loudly next to him. Dante ignored her and continued to throw his punches.
"T-stop it!"
What?
Dante finally turned his head to the side. The one standing there wasn't the soprano whose singing voice had been blaring. Ariana Lopez. The fiancée of the man he had been crushing to pieces. She was looking at him with terrified eyes.
'Why?'
Something was wrong. For the first time, Dante felt a sharp sense of unreality. This had never happened in the past. This was a memory he didn't know about. But Dante couldn't continue his thoughts.
"Oh, how, how could you do this..."
Ariana Lopez's green eyes looked back and forth between his fist and the motionless Lucas Pedegreen. Ariana's eyes, facing her fiancé who was half-dead, were filled with deep fear and hurt.
Ariana looked at Dante with those fearful eyes. Dante knew those eyes well. It was the look that the assassin who had come to harm him had given him long ago. The look that looked at a savage, a murderer. No. Dante muttered blankly.
"No, Ariana. I didn't mean to kill him."
No. In fact, he really did want to kill him. However, if he had known that woman would look at him like that, he would never have reached out.
"No."
All of those excuses were expressed in just one useless word. Dante repeated that word helplessly.
"Ariana, I..."
I didn't mean to hurt you, I just. I...
"Yes... No..."
A soft voice tickled his eardrums. Dante Instinctively grabbed the words as if he had found a rope.
"Yes, no. I just..."
Dante suddenly stopped breathing. Slowly, he felt a hand stroking him from another dimension.
"What you are seeing, Duke, is not reality. So wake up now."
Dante gasped as if he had been released from his restraint.
"... glGasp."
When he opened his eyes, everything was dark. His eyes, which had quickly adapted to the dark, looked around. It was his bedroom. The familiar ceiling, the bed, and his wife... his wife.
"You're finally awake."
Dante looked around as if he was possessed. Ariana, wearing a thin silk gown, was looking at him. Her large eyes were filled with worry.
"I was so embarrassed because you didn't wake up even when I shook you. Oh my God, what kind of nightmares do you have?"
Nightmares. Yes... nightmares.
When he thought about it, it was obvious that they were nightmares. The real self didn't kill Lucas in a fit of anger like that. He let him live fiercely and agonizingly for a very long time before killing him. In his previous life, and in this life. He never told Ariana the specific process.
"Oh my. You're sweating so much. First of all, the window- ah!"
Ariana was dragged away without any resistance as her wrist was grabbed. Dante inhaled while holding Ariana in his arms. Her sweet, soft, and unique body odor filled his lungs. Ariana tilted her head while he held her tightly. Then, when she showed no sign of letting go, she poked Dante's shoulder with a troubled expression.
"Um, Isn't it about time to go see Louis?"
"I'll go."
"I have a tutor interview this morning..."
"I'll go. You get some rest until noon."
"Huh? It's not a holiday, so how..."
"It's okay."
Dante whispered as he laid his slender body back down.
"Trust me. It's okay."
Ariana looked completely bewildered but eventually collapsed onto the bed as if she had no choice.
***
Ariana came to her senses only when the sun was high in the sky. When she pulled the rope, Sophie appeared with hurried steps. With a warm smile on her face as if she knew everything.
"Hehe, ma'am. Did you sleep well last night?"
"Don't tease me, Sasha..."
"Oh my, I didn't say anything. I just thought maybe you two were still on good terms like newlyweds."
"You're teasing me, right? What about Louis?"
"Oh, he just finished lunch. Do you want to go and check it out?"
Ariana headed to the playroom. Beyond the servants, she saw a child sitting on the floor of the playroom. Dozens of elaborate blocks were lined up in front of him, and his forehead was furrowed as if he was facing the world's most serious problem.
His profile looked quite stubborn. She couldn't help but laugh at him. He already had the same facial features as Dante, but with his expression, he really looked exactly like her father. Ariana bit her lower lip and shuddered slightly.
"Ah, he's so cute."
The child turned his head sharply as if he sensed her gaze. The serious eyes widened in an instant.
"Mom!"
Louis approached, using language that was excessively polite for a four-year-old. He wanted to run to his mother, but his mind desperately recalled the etiquette lessons, so his gait was ambiguous, neither running nor walking.
"Louis. Did you have fun? What about your father?"
Ariana looked around the playroom. It was not long after Louis's tutor interview was over. Dante had assured him that he would be interviewing alone, so he shouldn't worry about it. So she had to stay around the child. An unexpected answer came out of Louis' mouth.
"My Dad left home."
"... Really?"
"My Dad was supposed to stay with us Louis all morning, but where did he go?"
"The Emperor called him. He said he had to go in a hurry. I'm sorry."
"Ah..."
There was nothing he could do about state affairs. Ariana nodded and leaned down to meet the child's eyes.
"Are you sad that Dad left so quickly, Louis?"
"Um. No."
The child thought for a moment and then shook his head. Then he gave an unexpected answer.
"Because it wouldn't be fun if Dad was here."
"Huh? Why wouldn't it be fun? I'm playing with Louis."
"Isn't Dad at an age where things like blocks are trivial?"
"Whether it's playing with blocks or anything else, just playing with Louis would be fun for you."
"Hmm..."
The child looked to the side. He didn't seem to agree. Ariana held the child's shoulder tightly and said.
"Of course. Because Dad loves Louis."
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