She swallowed a sigh inwardly and spoke with determination.
“Let’s go back now.”
“Why? This must be your first time in a place like this. Enjoy it a bit more.”
“We didn’t come here to enjoy ourselves in the first place. And could you please step back a bit?”
He buried his face even deeper. A ticklish breath brushed past her cheek and stopped at her ear.
“I don’t want to. I like this position.”
“Do you want a scandal article to come out? I thought you disliked that sort of thing, being so clean in that regard.”
“Well. Maybe I’ll try my first experience this time.”
Emilia’s eyes sank. As if she had finally given up, she lowered her hand that was holding his shoulder. Fortunately, when she pushed firmly against the upper part of his chest, he obediently raised his head.
“I have to go out early tomorrow. Unlike the people here, I need to move diligently to prove my worth.”
While she was always struggling and trying hard, the situation that changed easily with his every word made her heart weary. Even though she had anticipated and prepared herself before making a contract with him, she couldn’t help this feeling.
Emilia calmly grabbed his arm slightly, making sure her emotions didn’t show in her attitude. While pushing away the hand on her waist, she led him off the floor in an escorted posture.
Enrico quietly looked down at her. Under the white veil attached to the mask, the corners of her mouth were turned up as if drawn. Although he had told her to smile, it somehow bothered him that she was like this, like an emotionless doll.
A strange silence flowed between them, and soon people’s gazes followed behind his back, but unlike the cold outside air, the heated atmosphere quickly made interest fade.
However, just one person, Alessandro, did not take his eyes off them until they completely disappeared. A strange light flashed in his pale purple eyes.
[This is the timeline separator]Sunday morning dawned. Emilia raised her tired body and did her habitual stretching.
‘Didn’t His Highness the Crown Prince say he would contact me today? But how is he going to do that?’
Feeling her body, stiff from the night, loosen up a bit, she slowly walked towards the window. When she slightly parted the curtain, she saw a gloomy sky.
Emilia, muttering in passing that it might rain today, blinked her eyes as she saw someone riding a bicycle from afar. As he quickly approached, she observed that he wasn’t dressed as a postman.
However, seeing him stop in front of the house and take out an envelope from his chest, she could guess that he was a messenger coming to deliver a personal letter.
‘Is it someone sent by His Highness?’
Recalling Alessandro, Emilia put on a blue robe with elaborate patterns and left the room. She could hear Zabeta talking to the messenger.
“From whom should I say this letter is?”
“You’ll know when you open it. Well then, I’ll take my leave.”
As she reached the living room, she briefly watched the messenger leaving quickly, then her eyes met Zabeta’s as she turned around.
“Young lady, are you up? Without sleeping more?”
“I woke up early. What’s that?”
“Ah, this letter? It’s a letter for you, but they said we’d have to open it to know the sender. Shall I check it first?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Emilia shook her head while extending her hand. Zabeta carefully handed over the letter and headed to the kitchen, saying she would quickly prepare breakfast. After watching Zabeta’s retreating figure for a moment, Emilia moved to the sofa and opened the envelope.
As expected, the sender was Alessandro. The letter briefly stated that he had something urgent to discuss and would send a carriage at lunchtime, asking her to take it to the Maison Grand restaurant.
Emilia sighed as she put the letter back in the envelope. Going to a restaurant that others find difficult to access, again. It must be famous for being private among the nobility, considering both the Duke and the Crown Prince ask to meet there.
‘At least there’s no need to worry about rumors.’
Although she didn’t know what he wanted to talk about, she only hoped the conversation wouldn’t be long. It felt like her life had become more twisted since meeting Enrico, as she now kept meeting Alessandro, whom she hadn’t had any occasion to meet before.
She only hoped that as much as she was doing this, the truth about her parents’ death would be properly revealed. If not, all of this would be in vain.
Another sigh brushed Emilia’s lips.
Alessandro had thoughtfully sent an inconspicuous ordinary carriage. Emilia, wearing an outing dress and a hooded coat, took that carriage and headed to the Maison Grand restaurant.
The staff, seemingly having been notified in advance, immediately guided Emilia to a room. As the door opened, she saw Alessandro, sitting at a table near the window, stand up. After taking off her coat and the staff left, Emilia slightly bent her knees in greeting.
“I greet Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Emilia, you don’t need to be so formal. We’re not strangers who’ve only met once or twice, it feels too distant.”
Isn’t it actually a distant relationship if we only met as children? Emilia inwardly questioned, but for now, she outwardly agreed obediently. She sat down on the chair he kindly pulled out for her and waited quietly.
Sitting across from her, he smiled slightly with a regretful expression.
“It’s our first meal together, but unfortunately the weather isn’t good. I hope it doesn’t rain when you return.”
“Yes. The weather is a bit gloomy, but I think it might not rain until evening.”
She wished he would skip these greetings and get straight to the point. While answering, Emilia kept wondering why he had called her here.
“Do you have any foods you dislike? I’ve already reserved a seafood course, but we can change it if you tell me.”
“It’s fine. I don’t particularly avoid any foods.”
“That’s a relief. I was a bit worried because seafood can be quite polarizing.”
It felt fresh to hear this, as she had never heard such words from Enrico. Enrico just ordered a variety of dishes as if his only purpose was to feed her, and didn’t seem particularly curious about her preferences.
Come to think of it, even when dining at the Duke’s mansion, Enrico’s table was always lavish. It was filled with dishes that seemed to focus more on appearance, and as if taste wasn’t that important, he just ate like someone merely consuming nutrients.
“Do you drink alcohol?”
“No.”
“Ah, do you not enjoy it? Or are you unable to drink?”
Ah, he did ask about alcohol once. After hearing that she couldn’t drink the first time, Enrico never offered it again.
He even showed the thoughtfulness of providing other beverages on his own, but now realizing that he had never asked about the reason why she didn’t drink, it suddenly felt very like him.
It seemed he had just asked once because alcohol was in front of him, but wasn’t particularly curious about the reason, which seemed similar to his personality that only cared about the surface and didn’t dig deeper inside.
“I’m not sure if I can’t drink since I’ve never tried, but I’m certain that I don’t enjoy alcohol.”
“I see. Then if you become interested later, try starting with low-alcohol drinks. There are many sweet drinks where you can barely taste the alcohol.”
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Emilia nodded once and then continued.
“But may I ask why you wanted to see me?”
Wondering if he was planning to speak after finishing the meal like Enrico, she just asked first.
“Ah, I’ve gone on a bit of a tangent. First, thank you for responding to my call.”
Contrary to her worries, fortunately, Alessandro didn’t seem to intend to drag things out that much. Emilia inwardly swallowed a sigh of relief at his attitude of getting straight to the point, and leaned slightly forward.
Alessandro’s eyes curved gently at Emilia’s attitude, which clearly showed her inner curiosity.
With his classically handsome features and strong facial features, Alessandro might seem stiff at first glance, but he usually wore a kind expression, so he didn’t come across as particularly cold.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to meet you at the masquerade ball. And as my uncle’s partner, no less.”
“Ah… That happened due to some circumstances.”
“I’m not trying to pry. I just found it interesting. But as I watched, you seemed more interested in Count Belmont than in my uncle, so I approached you on the off chance.”
To notice me in such a short time. It seems I must have been staring too obviously at Count Belmont.
“I’m not sure if this is the information you’re curious about, but what I can tell you is that Viscount Giorgio Este and Count Sebas Belmont have met before.”
“With our uncle?”
How did someone living in a rural corner come to be acquainted with a count who only stayed in the capital? Emilia furrowed her brow.
“Yes. It was a long time ago, but I saw Viscount Giorgio Este and Count Belmont talking. At the time, I was just passing by and didn’t think much of it, but after hearing your conversation yesterday, I remembered that the Este couple had invested in automobiles during their lifetime, and it bothered me a bit.”
“How did you…”
“Your visit to the palace with your young self was because of the investment. I remember that they had been investing in automobiles since then, and there was talk about patents related to it.”
“Ah…”
__________
Men In The Royal Harem All Yearn For Her (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The men (young empress, young empress dowager, crown prince) in the harem all yearn to become her consort.
Synopsis:
The female protagonist is a wildly popular heartthrob with a natural halo.
The male protagonist is a crazily obsessed and self-abasing loyal dog.
Qiu Shu, the top scholar’s daughter, is pure, elegant and incomparably enchanting, captivating countless admirers.
Being favored by the eldest prince, the most handsome man in the capital, and becoming his wife in a single move is truly the pride of a poor student.
However, what they don’t know is that the seemingly bright and splendid female protagonist lives in a battlefield of jealousy every day.
The cute and adorable young empress is unusually attached to her.
The gentlemanly and upright young empress dowager has an ambiguous relationship with her.
Even her aloof and proud eldest prince is actually a gloomy and petty jealous husband.
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.