~Chapter 25~
His tone was cold. His lips were pressed tightly together.
Was he angry…? Well, I did make a mistake… Etienne was even taking his own time to teach me. I should get it together!
“I’m sorry. I won’t joke around anymore.”
Etienne looked at me for a moment. He seemed to be thinking about whether he should help me again.
I quickly went to him and put my hand on his shoulder. He sighed and picked up my hand.
The dance started again. My movements were a bit better than before. Still, I tried to focus on my steps so I wouldn’t make another mistake.
That’s when I saw Etienne’s right ear.
Huh?
His ear was so red, it looked like all the blood in his body had rushed there. It was so red, it almost looked painful.
I reached out and touched his ear with the hand on his shoulder. Etienne was so surprised that he pushed me away.
Suddenly, I lost my balance and fell to the floor, landing hard on my butt.
“Ow… Why did you do that all of a sudden?”
I rubbed my butt and frowned. Etienne was holding his right ear where I touched him. His face twisted with anger and embarrassment, turning red and pale.
“Is it because I touched your ear? Does it hurt? S-sorry.”
I asked again, but Etienne just stood there trembling with anger. Finally, as if he couldn’t hold it in anymore, he stormed out of the room.
I was left alone. I asked Simon if I had done something wrong. Simon just smiled awkwardly and shrugged.
The palace was busy and noisy.
Two times a week, people could visit the Emperor or the Crown Prince.
Today, orphans sponsored by the palace were visiting. Veseth went up to the kids, bowing politely with an awkward smile. He got down on one knee to meet their eyes.
But the children didn’t dare get close. Even they could see that Veseth’s spotless, perfect clothes made him look like someone from another world.
“I’m happy to see you all looking so healthy. Ben, you’re really grown up.”
Veseth smiled warmly and called the boys by name. He even called every other child by their name, one by one, and the children started to relax.
A little girl with black hair was so happy when Veseth called her name that she grabbed his hand tightly.
“Ena!”
The head of the orphanage, surprised, called out her name. The girl called Ena quickly let go. Her small face filled with fear.
“Haha, it’s okay.”
Veseth took her hand again as she tried to run away. Ena’s face turned bright red.
“Grow up to be a wonderful lady.”
With those words, Veseth stood up. The children were led out of the room in a line by the orphanage director.
A servant brought Veseth a towel. Veseth silently held out his hand. The servant carefully wiped each of Veseth’s fingers.
Then, Veseth took the towel and rubbed his own hands even harder. When he finished, he dropped the towel on the floor. The servant picked it up and quietly left.
Just then, the captain of the knights entered.
“Reporting in.”
Veseth slumped into a chair covered in red velvet, looking tired. His voice was sleepy as he leaned back.
“Keep it simple.”
“It’s definitely changed.”
Veseth fixed his sleeve but didn’t even look at the captain.
“According to people close to her, it’s like she’s become a different person. Her food, her clothes, even the way she talks and acts. She hasn’t mentioned the letter anymore. Lately, she’s even been getting along with Lord Etienne and went out with him.”
As soon as Etienne’s name was mentioned, Veseth looked up. The usual smile was gone from his face.
A shadow fell across his high nose. The captain noticed Veseth’s mood and quickly kept talking.
“They’ve eaten together and even danced. I followed them a few times, but I couldn’t find out where the document went.”
“You can leave now.”
Veseth cut him off. The captain quietly left the room.
Now, Veseth was left alone in the big hall, not moving for a while. But inside, he was boiling.
He remembered the day he visited Etienne’s estate, when Dalia pulled away from him. He clenched his fists.
‘Have you lost your mind? How dare you try to run from me.’
He closed his eyes, fighting the urge to shout. His mind was burning with anger.
After a while, Veseth opened his eyes. His gaze was deep, like a lake you couldn’t see the bottom of.
He took out a letter from his pocket and opened it.
TO. My soul’s partner, Veseth.
I miss you so much, I feel like I’ll go crazy.
Even if I have to tear off my flesh and walk over it, I want to come to you.
If my blood could become a river,
If I could swim across that river to reach you, how wonderful would that be.
Just like I promised, I’ll bring it to you.
I’m not afraid of anything like that.
If I do, we’ll meet soon, right?
Just the two of us forever, with nobody else.
That’s all I want. I’ll do anything.
Veseth gave a bitter smile and crumpled up the letter.
He didn’t need it anymore. For some reason, she had forgotten the promise. He couldn’t find the document she promised to bring.
Maybe Etienne had already hidden it deep in his hands.
It was a mistake. He never imagined a woman like her would betray him.
He remembered her smiling face that day, so clean, like she had never belonged to anyone.
Veseth’s fist tightened, veins popping out. He took a deep breath. He was burning inside.
He didn’t want to let Dalia go. His anger was tangled up with a fierce desire to possess her.
“Hm-hmm.”
I spun around while humming to myself.
My green skirt spread out in a big circle. The dress was trimmed with leather at the waist, making it look more lively and sporty than my other dresses. I had just bought it. It was a little big since it was ready-made, but much better than my old clothes.
“Natan really does make good clothes. It’s so pretty.”
Then I remembered I hadn’t finished the contract with him.
I’d been so busy learning new things lately.
Normally, I would have spent the whole day studying with Simon today.
“Why was that stingy guy so nice?”
I thought about Etienne’s face when he reluctantly gave me a day off.
Since morning, Etienne had been locked in his office, skipping breakfast to work on something.
When I heard he was moving to the dining room, I quickly went to find him. Because of that, I found him in the wide hallway.
I folded my hands nicely and spoke the way I’d practiced for days, like a proper lady.
“Good morning, Etienne. The sunshine is beautiful today. They say it’s rude to stay inside on a day like this.”
My arms had goosebumps, but if that’s what a lady does here, I had to do it.
But before I could finish, he answered sharply.
“No.”
“Wh-what do you mean, no? Haha.”
“I know what you want, and the answer is no.”
He said it again.
Ugh.
I got stubborn and ran ahead to block his path. He simply walked around me.
I quickly grabbed his waist.
Etienne flinched but didn’t stop walking. He seemed to know by now that if he stopped, he’d lose.
“Why are you so strong? Just talk to me for a minute!”
I tried to hold on, but he just dragged me along.
“Are you really going to do this? You just saw how perfect my manners were! Even horses need both a whip and a carrot for training—don’t you think people do, too?”
He dragged me from one end of the hall to the other. Only then did Etienne turn and look at me.
I took my chance and spoke quickly.
“I’ll be careful. Penny says there’s a theater troupe from the capital today. She said it’s really fun. If you let me go just for today, I’ll be good, come back without causing trouble, study hard, and become a perfect wife…”
Etienne shook off my hand.
“Do as you want.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. Did he really say I could go?
“Really? I can go?”
Etienne turned without a word. His silence meant yes. I cheered.
While I was smiling at myself in the mirror, Penny came over and put a hat on my head.
It was a small round hat with cute pleats. In the middle was a green ribbon, just like my skirt.
“You look pretty.”
“Thank you, Penny.”
Penny gave a simple compliment. I gave her a big hug and smiled.
Going out was nice, except that Etienne had assigned too many guards to me.
I could see at least five guards around me.
So there were probably more I couldn’t see. How much does it cost to pay all these people? Oh, right. Etienne’s rich.
I thought about sending some back, but quickly gave up. After all, last time I acted recklessly, I got kidnapped. It was better to just listen to Etienne for now.
The theater wasn’t far from the house.
When I arrived, I was taken straight to my seat without waiting. I tried to move with the grace I had practiced and looked around.
The theater was built with wood and covered with thick fabric. The mix of sweat and wood gave it a unique smell.
My heart was pounding.
“Ah, these places are supposed to be for dates…”
