Like Isabella, who was determined to win, Cesare was also confident.
He had never shaken off a woman who followed him around.
Duke Cesare's specialty is avoiding the harried women who seek him out and attending all kinds of social events.
But it was also true that Isabella never missed a man she had taken a picture of.
It was a showdown between a spear that could pierce through anything and a shield that could not be pierced.
However, it was not easy for Duke Cesare to visit the house of the woman he was pursuing while avoiding her older sister.
So the date on which the Duke of Pisano could appear at the de Mare mansion was almost ten days after the end of the 'Spring Festival' ball.
'Isabella de Mare said she was out today.'
Isabella these days doesn't go out as often as she used to when she would show up at social events almost every day.
Cesare was so angry that he clicked his tongue at Isabella de Mare, saying that she was a housewife who did not live up to her past reputation.
Today, he received news that Isabella had gone out to drink at Count Bartolini's house.
As soon as Cesare heard the news, he rushed to the de Mare mansion.
“Duke Pisano, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”
Cesare nodded with a slight smile from his black horse as he watched the gatekeeper of the de Mare mansion pretending not to know anything.
“Is the young lady at home?”
“Yes, he is present, but...”
He didn't listen to the gatekeeper's gossip.
Yes, they didn't get mixed up.
Cesare spurred his horse and galloped towards the entrance.
Hehehe!
Cesare's horse lifted its front legs excitedly, neighed powerfully, and stopped. He lightly jumped down from the horse's back and headed straight for Ariadne's study.
The only time he paused was when he took off his cloak and handed it to the servant of the de Mare family.
“Excuse me, Duke Pisano...”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, right?”
Cesare, in a generous mood, greeted the servant casually.
So he couldn't hear what the servant was trying to say.
He planned to show up as usual. Out of the blue, into Ariadne's life. Just like always. So he deliberately didn't bring flowers or any gifts.
Doing something he doesn't normally do and getting caught cheating is something that only amateurs do. Cesare is a professional among professionals.
Knock knock.
His knock on the door of Ariadne's study was almost simultaneous with him opening it.
“Ari...”
And he was welcomed by an unexpected person.
“The Duke of Pisano.”
A thin, handsome man with silver hair looked at Cesare with shining red eyes.
It was Raphael de Baldessar, standing next to Ariadne who was sitting at the desk.
He was in the artificial darkness created by the curtains. And yet, that damned silver hair was dazzling.
Raphael de Baldessar glared at Cesare, running his hand through his silver hair, then stepped forward as if to protect Ariadne and blocked his path.
Because of that, his skin was exposed to the sunlight streaming in through the window, and the people next to him could see his poor white skin quickly turning bright red.
But Raphael didn't care.
“Why on earth did you come here?”
Raphael roared with a ferocity that did not match his handsome appearance.
The respect shown to the Duke, a collateral member of the royal family, was omitted. An atmosphere of impending conflict flowed through the room.
***
When Cesare appeared, Ariadne thought that the second duel that had not been fought at the palace would take place in her study.
'...I hope it ends with a fight without going all the way to the sword.'
Raphael growled openly and informally. Seriously, he looked as if he was going to pull out the rapier at his waist at any moment.
Today, since it is not the palace, Cesare will also have his longsword and club at his waist.
Cesare also raised the corners of his eyes, which were already raised, and glared at Raphael. The atmosphere was really bad.
“Baldessar.”
Ariadde closed her eyes, and prepared herself for the next words to be, 'Draw your sword.'
But surprisingly, Cesare's calm voice echoed through Ariadne's study with the exact opposite message.
“...I apologize for what happened last time.”
Ariadne and Raphael were both surprised by Cesare's unexpected remark.
It was an arrogant title, neither Marquis Baldessar nor Sir Raphael, but it was also a title that a collateral member of the royal family could use, and expectations were not very high to begin with. He was not that kind of person to begin with.
Cesare's apologies continued.
“It was understandable for you to misunderstand. My fiancée was dressed disheveled and ran out of the room in a panic, so it was understandable for you to think so.”
Uncharacteristically for Cesare, his voice was calm and his speech was soft.
“But I swear on my honor, no, on God.”
He considered risking his mother's honor, but he gave up because it didn't seem like very reliable collateral.
Cesare wasn't particularly religious, but he had nothing to bet on more than God.
“I never tried to forcefully touch my fiancée that day.”
Cesare looked blankly at Ariadne. She nodded slowly.
“...Cesare is right, Raphael.”
Previously, she had put it off with the excuse that she 'wanted to explain to Raphael, but was not given the chance to do so'.
But if she doesn't say anything even when the table is laid out like this, then from there it's no different from actively lying.
For Ariadne's own honor, it would have been better if everyone had misunderstood her, but Ariadne was not the type of person to lie to others and give them a bad reputation for her own benefit.
“That day, Cesare... didn’t do anything against my will.”
For Ariadne, it was a confession that she had to make eventually. And Raphael was left speechless at those words. She said she was okay.
He felt like a stranger who had intruded into someone else's garden. An indescribable sense of despair and anger came over him.
But Raphael cared too much for Ariadne to be angry at her.
His anger was lost and turned back towards Cesare.
“Your Highness, even so, shouldn’t you have handled the situation better that day?”
It was an expression of anger that was neither respectful nor flat.
“Do you handle things like that when you know full well what kind of noise will be made if you send your fiancée out into the hallway like that?”
In some ways, it was a situation that could be considered a pointless nitpick, because Raphael was, after all, just Ariadne's 'friend'.
Cesare looked at Raphael intently. But he endured it for the third time and bowed again.
“...You’re right. I shouldn’t have done that that day. I apologize again.”
It was a generosity that was unusual for Cesare. Ariadne looked at Cesare with an expression that said, 'Has this man been struck by lightning and come to his senses?'
“It’s all my fault, Baldessar.”
And he turned to Ariadne and said.
“I’m sorry I was hasty that day, Ari.”
Cesare took a step toward Ariadne and kissed the back of her gloved hand.
Ariadne did not push Cesare away.
“From now on, I won’t do anything you don’t like. Whether it’s wearing gloves or playing with your hair, I won’t do anything trivial. Please forgive me.”
Ariadne looked at Cesare with wide eyes.
It was something she had always dreamed and hoped for in her past life, and perhaps even in this life.
Cesare doesn't find fault with anything, and Cesare doesn't start a fight for nothing. A comfortable and peaceful life with Cesare. I thought it would never come true.
No, there was a glimmer of hope for Ariadne in her previous life.
Maybe it would be different if she got married, had a baby, and Cesare became a father. It was something that would require a big change.
But is this happening like this, so casually, without any reason?
Ariadne, who had no idea what had happened with Isabella, found Cesare's change to be sudden.
And it was only natural that Ariadne had no idea what Isabella was up to.
Isabella had actually been driven out ten days ago, unable to even spend a night at the Duke of Pisano's residence.
Isabella visited Villa Sortone late in the morning and it was lunchtime that everything happened.
What she thought was 'the next morning' was late that afternoon, and the de Mare household thought that Isabella had gone out as usual that day and returned before sunset.
And the basis for Cesare's ability to display this unexpected maturity was, of course, his guilt over the injustice he had committed that day.
It was Raphael who sorted out this situation.
“...I think it would be best to end my visit here today.”
Raphael said as he closed the parchment ledger. It was the ledger regarding the fourth installment of funds to be sent to Alfonso, which they had been looking at together.
He visited the de Mare mansion today to discuss matters related to the Yesak expedition.
“I will go first.”
“...Raphael, I’m sorry.”
“No, what does Ari have to be sorry about to me?”
They have no relationship.
There was a sadness in Raphael's voice that he tried to hide, but couldn't. It was in the form of coldness. Cesare drove a wedge into it.
“Baldessar. Thank you for taking such good care of my fiancée.”
Cesare had regained his usual composure. He gave Raphael a congratulatory speech with a faint smile.
“It’s a good thing she has a trustworthy friend.”
It was also Cesare's way of pretending to be strong. Raphael raised the corners of his mouth without smiling, nodded, and left the room.
After Raphael left, Ariadne felt very sorry and stared at the study door through which he had left.
But the skilled Cesare did not give her time to wallow in guilt.
“...Miss.”
Cesare approached her affectionately and took her hand. It was the same space where Raphael had been guarding just a moment ago.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong to be angry that day.”
He took Ariadne's gloved hand and placed it on his cheek.
“If you’re upset, hit me as hard as you want.”
It wasn't just about what happened at the ball.
From Cesare's perspective, it is a confession that includes the incident with Isabella. The other person does not know. They should never know.
“Your gloved hands are pretty too. You can wear them for the rest of your life.”
He whispered in Ariadne's ear.
“Actually, it would be better to just wear gloves....”
“Cesare!”
“Hahaha, just kidding! Just kidding!”
He kissed Ariadne's palm, then kissed her cheek again.
“Honey, your birthday is coming up soon, right?”
“...Did you remember?”
Cesare never celebrated Ariadne's birthday in her previous life.
Ariadne asked with her eyes wide open in surprise. Cesare laughed lightly.
“If I don’t remember your birthday, who will?”
That was it. A birthday that no one remembered. Even Ariadne herself didn't celebrate it.
Because there was no one to congratulate her, she felt embarrassed and miserable taking care of it by herself.
She guessed that habit carried over, but she was so busy living this life that she never bothered to celebrate her own birthday.
“Let’s have a birthday party for the young lady. Let’s have a fancy ball at Villa Sortone. Invite everyone you want.”
He kissed Ariadne on the forehead.
“What kind of interior decoration do you want, what kind of dress do you want to wear? Just tell me. I’ll prepare it all.”
It is a place to proclaim to everyone: that Duke Cesare de Carlo of Pisano loves his fiancée and that their union is solid.
He will not let Ariadne go.
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment