“Welcome home, master. My lady!”

The servants bowed, greeting the Duke and Duchess returning from their outing.

Catching sight of the two, Linda blushed slightly.

‘How can they be such a handsome couple?’

Since the wedding, the two had never gone out together.

To be precise, it would be more correct to say that Ariana had not gone out properly.

Because of that, it had been a very long time since they had seen the Duke and Duchess dressed up and standing side by side like this.

Ariana extending her leg out of the carriage and Dante escorting his wife. What a dazzling pair they were. Linda’s heart swelled with pride.

However, even such a seemingly perfect couple had their secrets.

‘Will they share a bedroom tonight?’

It was a secret among the mansion staff that the two had never greeted the morning together in the marital bedroom.

It was an incomprehensible situation.

After all, the way Dante’s gaze swept over Ariana’s nape or lowered eyelashes was occasionally so intense and blatant that it made even Linda’s cheeks flush.

“Um, my lady. Shall I prepare the bath?”

At the head maid’s polite inquiry, Ariana shook her head.

“I’ll go to the music room.”

Hmm. Without fail, as always.

Indeed, our lady. How diligent you are every night…

Linda sighed deeply as she withdrew.

Everyone in the mansion knew that Ariana had been spending every night for the past month, without fail, in that music room.

Still, there was hope.

Linda stole a glance at Dante’s back as he followed Ariana into the music room she had entered first.

Even catching Ariana looking at him with eyes that couldn’t hide her bewilderment.

Soon after, thud.

The heavy door of the music room closed.

“…Hehe.”

Due to the perfect soundproofing, no one knew exactly what was happening inside.

* * *

Inside the closed music room, silence reigned.

Perhaps due to the perfect soundproofing, it was a stillness as if we were the only ones left in the world.

While I found this silence suffocatingly burdensome, was he not bothered by it at all?

Striding over, Dante sat deep in the sofa and leisurely crossed his long legs.

About to sit on the piano bench, I opened my mouth.

“…Will you be sitting there again today?”

“Yes.”

After hesitating, I gathered my courage and said.

“…I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but I can’t concentrate well when you’re here, Your Grace.”

“Liar.”

Dante raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“Once you start, you forget even my presence in no time.”

I couldn’t hide my disbelief as I looked back at him.

Right, of course. Isn’t he the one who embraced her waist so casually at the Count’s mansion, calling her ‘my wife, my lady’? As if they were truly a loving couple.

Such nonchalance is probably something I’ll never possess in my lifetime.

As I was thinking this, Dante arrogantly tilted his chin up.

“Begin.”

“…”

I looked at him with eyes containing a slight protest, but he didn’t even blink.

Finally giving up, I took a deep breath and placed my fingers on the keys.

‘Once I concentrate, I soon forget even his presence?’

I couldn’t understand why he said such a thing.

…What does he know.

I gently clenched and unclenched my fist once.

Even with my back to Dante, the back of my head kept tingling. Though Dante might not realize it, forgetting that presence was by no means an easy task.

“…Phew.”

After taking a deep breath, I tried to focus on the sheet music. The part I had already seen dozens, hundreds of times caught my eye again.

Although I had worked on it until dawn today, I still couldn’t come up with any musical ideas for this section.

I pressed the keys this way and that.

I continued playing for quite a while, but still unsatisfied, I stopped and stared intently at the sheet music.

“…”

Hm. A small groan escaped between my teeth.

For the past month.

I had devoted every day solely to this piece. Especially at night, I focused on playing through the sheet music I had worked on all day.

Dante often watched me like this.

And when I would suddenly turn my head, feeling a strange sense of discomfort while deeply immersed in playing…

“Ah.”

I would find Dante with his eyes closed, leaning against the sofa or doorway.

When I stopped playing in surprise, Dante would invariably open his eyes before long.

“Why did you stop?”

Then he would urge me on in a languid, husky voice.

So I had to continue playing with my nerves on edge. Feeling as if my back and nape were unbearably itchy.

‘…Is he asleep now too?’

Such a thought suddenly occurred to me as I continued playing for a while.

Gently lowering the tempo, I carefully turned to look behind me, only to feel my heart sink.

Red eyes were staring directly at me. With that piercing gaze that now felt familiar.

“What’s wrong?”

Dante moved his lips to speak.

“You seem to be having trouble concentrating today.”

Right.

Because you came in today.

“Is it because of your brother after all?”

Dante frowned in displeasure.

No, it was because of Dante.

I had to swallow my bewilderment. Thinking of Edward never made me feel this complicated.

Even today, my dear brother had taken the bait beautifully.

He’s probably frantically searching through the secret safe right now. Just thinking about it makes me want to laugh with satisfaction.

So the only one disturbing my state of mind was Dante alone. If only that man’s gaze wasn’t constantly unsettling the back of my neck…

‘No, no.’

I shook my head, chiding myself. I couldn’t blame this on Dante.

In truth, there was an issue with the progress of the work.

The aria was now almost complete.

Except for one part that was still not satisfactory.

It was the scene where the protagonist girl first becomes fully immersed in the joy of the festival.

This part needed to be supremely joyful and beautiful, yet somehow bizarre.

The first taste of pleasure, an overwhelming ecstasy that makes one forget even the passage of time, was not something normal after all.

“Hmm.”

Dante stroked his chin once and approached with long strides.

He suddenly came close and leaned over the sheet music.

“Seems like there’s a part you’re having trouble with?”

With the playing stopped, silence once again enveloped the surroundings.

In such extreme quiet, one’s senses become heightened.

It was also inevitable that my sense of smell keenly picked up the unfamiliar, refreshing scent that had suddenly drawn near.

Turning my head slightly, I said.

“…It’s an emotion that’s a bit difficult to express.”

“What is it?”

“They say that excessive joy and sorrow are connected, don’t they? I want to express that.”

“Hmm?”

Dante’s eyes widened slightly as if surprised.

His gaze towards me soon narrowed.

“So what you’re saying is.”

Dante said, raising the corner of his mouth in a smirk.

“You’re curious about a sensation so pleasant it makes you cry.”

“…”

I frowned slightly.

‘Isn’t that… somewhat different from what I meant?’

And somehow, coming from his mouth, it sounded terribly lecherous.

Dante took another step closer to me and leaned his head in.

“Shall I teach you?”

“…”

Only then did I fully grasp Dante’s true intentions and swallowed.

“It would be my first time teaching someone, but.”

Rough fingertips calloused from work gently grasped my chin.

“If it can help with your creative work, I’ll do my best.”

“…”

I gently bit my lower lip.

Dante’s gaze, tone, and gestures all hinted at the act to follow.

The first and second kisses at our respective weddings were simply unfamiliar and overwhelming.

The third… I couldn’t come to my senses due to a strange sensation as if butterflies were fluttering in my stomach.

What would the fourth be like?

Feeling confused, I looked up at him, clenching my fists tightly.

Every time this happened, I felt a little frustrated at being swept along by him.

Perhaps due to that strange impulse, my lips blurted out words without my knowing.

“Do you know so well?”

Dante’s eyes widened slightly before he chuckled.

“Probably better than you?”

He tapped the bridge of my nose as if amused.

“I’ve lived longer, after all.”

‘No. You don’t know, but.’

Of course, even counting the years I’ve lived before and after death, I couldn’t match this man’s proficiency.

I couldn’t understand why that made me feel so frustrated right now.

I took a breath and grasped his collar. Dante’s eyes widened once more.

“…Then.”

Then.

I moved my lips slightly.

“Then teach me. …What it feels like.”

I heard Dante take a short breath.

Due to our extreme closeness, I could clearly feel his chest muscles tensing slightly beneath his shirt.

My heart was pounding wildly.

I looked up at him, trying hard to appear nonchalant.

* * *

Shortly after Ariana and Dante left, the party dispersed in a chaotic atmosphere.

Edward silently glared at the lobby where guests had ebbed away like the tide.

The area around his neck that had been gripped by Dante earlier was still uncomfortable.

Footsteps approached such an Edward.

“You seem greatly disheartened, Count Lopez.”

“…Sir Leonard.”

“By the way, I hear you’re submitting Part 3 of for the National Founding Festival.”

Right. That was the main point of today.

When it was announced, the response was tremendous. I thought it was successful.

But now, due to the Duke’s appearance afterwards, I had to worry whether the guests had all forgotten that major announcement.

Until the moment they left, everyone was only talking about Dante and Ariana.

Edward gritted his teeth. Ariana, that vicious thing had perfectly ruined what should have been a flawless soirée today.

Recalling the overall humiliation suffered today made his chest burn as if a ball of fire had settled in it.

“Yes. I’ll be presenting the never-before-seen Part 3. A successful response is guaranteed.”

Of course, the debut of the famous final concluding part of would naturally be a hit.

“So you needn’t worry, Sir−”

Tsk.

Clicking his tongue, Leonard shrugged.

“How disappointing.”