Previously
Mercedes harbors deep resentment toward Irenia and plots to destroy her beauty, reflecting on a dark secret she buried in the dirt. Meanwhile, Irenia experiences a vivid, agonizing nightmare where she is the daughter of Marquis Peregrino, dying of poison from a cannoli on her wedding day to a monstrous Caesar.
I didn't quite know what came over me in that moment, but unable to hold back, I suddenly planted a soft kiss on Caesar's cheek.
This sort of greeting had become fashionable in the capital lately, though it was usually reserved for those closest to one another, such as family or lovers. I had never done it myself, which left me worrying whether it had come across as strange or inappropriate.
Naturally, such a kiss did not involve actual contact; one simply brought their cheek close to the other person's and made the sound of a kiss. I leaned in close, but when he felt no physical touch, a bewildered look crossed his face. He shifted his cheek slightly against the spot where my lips had lingered, forming a deep dimple.
His eyes settled steadily on mine, and a heavy silence fell between us. Caesar was never a man of many words, rarely speaking his feelings aloud, but his eyes always gave everything away. At first, I hadn't understood him, but now I could read his emotions with clarity. Whether he liked something or despised it, it was plain to see. He never concealed what he felt.
So it wasn't hard to tell what he was feeling right now. The gaze in his eyes, the flush across his cheeks, and the faint smile playing at the corner of his lips all spoke of one thing: he loved me.
My lips parted nervously.
“Th-that's just a common greeting in the capital these days!”
A strange thirst parched my throat, as though it had completely dried up. I tried to act as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Then, without a sound, Caesar drew close to me.
“Huh?”
Before I could stop him, he planted a real kiss on my cheek. It wasn't merely a sound against the air like mine, but an actual kiss.
A pleasant tickle brushed my cheek, filling me with a curious warmth that drew out a smile. Then, without hesitation, he kissed my other cheek with a sound even clearer than the first.
“So… that's how it's done, is it? How did you know it was done on both sides?”
I pulled back slightly, stammering the words. Yes, I had explained how the greeting worked, so he was merely copying me. Yet, for some reason, the heat in my face refused to fade.
Perhaps this embarrassing flutter was simply because Caesar was so remarkably handsome. To tell the truth, I had never interacted with a young man my age before, nor had I ever held a proper conversation with one. And so, I convinced myself that everything I felt was due to his good looks and nothing more.
“Ren, love you.”
“Huh?”
I knew he didn't mean love in a romantic sense. The love he spoke of was innocent and pure. Even so, an involuntary smile touched my lips. Why had I been so tense?
“I love you too.”
I answered without hesitation. Though Caesar frightened me at times, and hurt me at others, I couldn't help but love him.
“Love you.”
“I love you.”
We traded the words back and forth like children who knew no other phrase. A gentle warmth spread through my chest, and I couldn't keep from smiling.
Night still draped the sky in heavy darkness.
“I should get back to sleep…”
I was terrified that closing my eyes would bring back that awful nightmare. Because of that, I couldn't bring myself to ask him to return to his own room.
“I told you to stop coming in here every night.”
Though having him beside me brought comfort, I ended up speaking stiffly, almost spitefully.
“You have your own room, Caesar. If you only come because you're scared of sleeping alone…”
His room was directly across from mine, so there was truly no need for him to come to me every single night.
Even so, I didn't think forbidding him would do any good, but I felt bound to say it—as if reminding him that even between spouses, there were lines that should not be crossed.
“…Called me.”
“What?”
“You called me.”
“I did?”
He nodded. Had I really been crying out in my sleep? A wave of embarrassment washed over me.
“Was I muttering something in my sleep?”
“No.”
Then how did he know I had called for him?
“You called me.”
He repeated the phrase. At times, deciphering what Caesar meant was impossible.
“All right, I suppose I did.”
“Mmh.”
I raised the white flag and surrendered. I had no choice but to take him at his word.
“So, did you come to save me, Caesar?”
He let out a deep sigh and nodded. The gesture was so endearing that it made me smile once more.
“Thank you for waking me up.”
“Mmh.”
We stayed wrapped in each other's arms for a long time. Perhaps because I had settled down, drowsiness began to creep back in. I let my body relax and rested my head against the pillow.
A gentle warmth radiated from beneath his arms. I had grown so used to it by now that I knew I would miss it if it were gone.
Just a short while ago, I was terrified to sleep. Now, I felt as though everything would be all right. And if another nightmare came, Caesar would surely wake me again.
Cradling that thought, I drifted peacefully off to sleep.
When I awoke the following morning, the space where Caesar had slept was empty. It wasn't surprising; he had always been in the habit of slipping away unnoticed.
I called for Delfina, who was waiting outside my room to assist with my morning toilet. As usual, Mercedes was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Madame Arontxo?”
Delfina offered a hesitant smile. I had told her previously that I no longer needed Mercedes's assistance, but her complete disappearance ever since was unusual.
“Madame hasn't left her room all morning, I believe.”
“I see.”
This was the first I had heard of her since that incident.
I stared into the empty air. Mercedes had always appeared calm, composed, and dignified. Yet from time to time, I caught glimpses of a hidden, dark side within her—one that was deeply unsettling.
I began to suspect there was a part of her character she kept concealed from me.
“What do you think of Madame Arontxo?”
Delfina's hands paused mid-wash, and her head dipped slightly, hesitating to answer.
“She… cares deeply for His Highness the Prince.”
We all knew that much. It wasn't the answer I was looking for. I looked into her eyes, which wavered slightly under my gaze.
“Yet sometimes… it seems her devotion goes too far, beyond proper bounds.”
“I see…”
Going too far. Yes, I had felt the very same thing. Delfina must have witnessed something to hold such an opinion.
“Has Madame Arontxo ever done anything unusual?”
“To tell the truth…”
She hesitated for a beat, then seemed to make up her mind to speak.
“Before Your Highness arrived at the palace, there were other fiancées before you.”
“Yes… that's true.”
I had forgotten that for a moment. There had been four fiancées before me, and every one of them was gone. Her words reminded me that I was the fifth.
“I didn't meet them all, but I heard about how Madame Arontxo treated them.”
She said that the former fiancées had stayed at the palace before their weddings to receive private instruction, and during those times, they frequently clashed with Mercedes.
“Especially the Daughter of Marquis Peregrino, the fourth. She caused quite a scene on the wedding day, which enraged Madame Arontxo beyond measure.”
“A scene?”
“They said she screamed in the hall that she refused the marriage, throwing everything into utter chaos.”
“Peregrino…?”
The Peregrino family was an illustrious noble house, rivaling the Flores family in status and influence. Yet the name felt so familiar to me… Why?
‘Why must I, the only daughter of the Peregrino family, marry such an idiot?!’
That very name had appeared in last night's dream without a shadow of a doubt. What made it even more terrifying was that the dream's details matched current reality perfectly.
Could that dream have been a reflection of the young lady of House Peregrino's memories? But how could such a thing even be possible?
Did that mean it wasn't just some meaningless, fleeting dream after all?!
“She distinctly said… Peregrino…”
The moment that realization struck, an icy chill raced through my entire body. A violent dizziness followed, making my vision go dark for an instant. A faint groan slipped past my lips as cold sweat began to pour from my brow like rain.
“Milady, you're terribly pale!”
Noticing my severe distress, Delfina rushed to bring a small vial of vinegar and held it under my nose. The pungent smell was sharp enough to make my tongue curl. Though it restored some of my senses, the suffocating dread that gripped me did not subside.
“Th-thank you…”
This had happened before.
I had experienced a dream like this once before.
I slowly lifted my eyes to meet Delfina's deep hazel gaze.
It had been on the night before she was falsely accused.
That dream had led me to uncover the true jewelry thief because of an image I had seen within it.
Could it possibly be…?
FADE OUT