Alex's voice came from behind me. Alex seemed surprised to see Dante after returning because he had something he had not told me. I felt his gaze turn towards me. I suddenly felt a strange impulse. I wanted to drag Dante out and slam the dressing room door.
'I'm the only one who knows how messy you are.'
I, who was suffering from childish jealousy that suddenly came to my mind, was surprised when my hand was suddenly grabbed. Hot body heat wrapped around my fingers.
"Ariana Heigenberg."
I felt my body being pulled in, and Dante took a short breath. A low laugh escaped his lips.
"Ha."
I froze. Dante had only called my name and had not said a single proper word, but I could clearly feel it. That he was angry.
'But, why?'
I blinked quickly at the question I could not answer. Dante smiled coldly,
"I see that today is a day without rehearsal."
"Huh? Ah."
I remembered that I had lied about having a script reading rehearsal tonight.
"Oh."
I bit my lip in frustration, and Dante's gaze fell on .e.
"Ariana."
Thump.
The dressing room door slammed shut. I looked back in surprise. Alex was already out of sight as if he had sensed something unusual and escaped through the back door.
"Ariana."
Dante called my name again. His voice was so sweet and affectionate that it felt different from the eerie aura he gave me.
"There should be no secrets between a married couple."
A large hand gently cupped my cheek. Dante spoke as if he was engraving it into my mind, meeting my gaze that looked up in surprise.
"It doesn't matter if it's a secret that you were briefly shaken by another child."
Dante lowered his head as if he was shaking. With their foreheads touching, he continued to whisper,
"Just tell me. I'll take care of putting it back."
"Your Highness, what the hell is this... Yes? Wait a minute. Yes?"
I, who had been stammering, unable to understand the situation, shouted loudly.
"What, what did you just say? Another brat?"
"I know you have feelings for another guy."
"What?"
Shocked, I pushed hard against the embrace that had me confined. The embrace that seemed like it would never be pushed away collapsed unexpectedly.
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"Ariana."
Dante brushed back my disheveled hair. In the brief glance between his fingers, his tired and sad expression could not be
hidden. My heart sank at that sight.
"You may not believe it, but listen. I'm not blaming you-"
"What the hell, what the hell are you thinking!"
I screamed.
"I have feelings for another man! Who are you talking about?"
"Alex Vito."
Dante continued darkly.
"The cellist you praised so much that your mouth was dry."
"Ha...!"
I opened my mouth blankly. I was beyond surprised and embarrassed, now angry. I was so angry that my blood felt cold. I let out a breath and looked straight up at Dante.
"What on earth are you basing your suspicions on? Explain."
"I don't want to say it with my own mouth."
"Tell me? Let me hear it out."
"...First, perfume."
"Perfume?"
"That new perfume you bought that's supposedly great for attracting the opposite sex. It wasn't for me."
"It's for you! I just sprayed it on today as a demonstration!"
Dante flinched at the absurd shout. After a moment, he continued with hurt eyes.
"You even made up a rehearsal that didn't work. To meet that guy."
"No, it's not just Alex here! There are other members too! Alex just came back for a moment!"
"... But then why did you lie about having a rehearsal in the first place?"
"That's...!"
I was speechless for a moment.
'I've kept it a secret so far.'
There was only a week left until the promised day. I didn't want to reveal it like this right before that day, but I couldn't help it. More than anything, I wanted to wash away that hurt look in Dante's eyes right now. I thought it would be better to force him to watch that really scary and disgusting bug. I didn't want to see that look in his eyes for even one more second.
"It's half a lie, but the other half isn't."
"What do you mean?"
"It wasn't a script reading rehearsal, but it means that we came to practice."
Ariana sighed thinly and confessed.
"It's the Duke's birthday soon."
"..."
Dante's eyes slowly widened.
"I wanted to prepare a special gift. It's not easy to give a special gift to someone like the Duke who has everything, but I thought there would be a gift that only I, his wife, could give."
"..."
"I was thinking of making a very small performance. The only audience would be the Duke, and there would be only two singers."
Dante opened his mouth blankly, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything. I glared at him with resentful eyes.
"But now that I think about it, I was wrong. Instead of preparing a stage as a birthday present, I should have invited a skilled doctor. To cure the Duke's hypochondria!"
"... Ariana."
Dante opened his mouth with a miserable expression. I shook my head as if I wasn't finished yet.
"And above all, Alex is a woman!"
"... What?"
"I didn't think you didn't know. Alex likes to wear pantsuits, but no matter how you look at it, she's a lady!"
Dante couldn't say anything else. I opened my mouth, looking at his pale face.
"Sir Dante Heigenberg."
Dante's shoulders tensed at my straightforward tone.
"How could you doubt me? No matter how much suspicious evidence there was, you should have asked me first!"
"... I'm sorry."
After a moment of silence, Dante finally spoke.
"It was my fault."
I kept my mouth shut and glared at Dante with resentful eyes. Dante took a deep breath and continued.
"I was scared. I was afraid that my suspicions might be true. That's why I suddenly threatened you. Whether my suspicions were true or not, I wanted to force you to stay by my side."
A low, hushed voice poured out his confession. I stared at him silently for a moment longer, then took a few steps closer and leaned against Dante's chest, my forehead pressed against his.
"Don't do that again."
Dante's hand carefully wrapped around mine.
"...Yes."
"That was a truly absurd suspicion. Now that I hear it, I think I would have been shocked if the situation had been the other way around. But you should have trusted me and asked me first."
"Yes. You're right."
"Even if I said it was for a surprise gift, I wouldn't lie."
"I have nothing to reflect on. It's all my fault."
Dante hesitated for a moment and asked.
"But, Ariana. You said there were only two singers on stage. Who's the other one?"
"It's Louis."
Dante's eyes widened at the unexpected answer.
"What? That guy?"
"Yes. He asked me to add harmony."
"... Did he say he would do it willingly? Louis?"
"Of course, he said he would do it willingly."
I looked up as if asking the obvious.
"Because Louis loves you. Just like you love Louis."
"..."
"It's to celebrate the birthday of his beloved father, so there's no way he would refuse."
"... I see."
A week ago, he remembered the young boy who had said something strange like he didn't seem to love him, and then turned away.
'Even after that, he was still really angry at me, but I thought he was practicing singing for my birthday.'
He had not been able to properly teach the child how to express himself. Yet, the child was trying to express himself to him.
"There's a lot to reflect on today."
Dante hummed softly and hugged my head deeper. At the moment when many emotions were mixed, there was one emotion that felt the deepest.
'Thank goodness.'
It was fortunate that he had not lost this warmth. More than anything else, that feeling of relief dominated his mind.
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