Chapter Title: The Fall
"As unlikely as it seems…"
"What are you talking about?" Cesare took a deep drag of his cigar and exhaled. He thought of the expressionless shoe shiner. She was supposed to be getting an education but ended up crushing someone's foot. Went for a walk and ended up attracting men. Went for another walk and got targeted by Lucrezia. So what now? Cesare sighed and stood up.
"Where did you find this?"
---
Adèle's hands, gripping the railing, trembled. She glanced down with a grim expression. There was one fortunate thing: she could faintly see the balcony of the second floor below her. The exterior wall narrowed as it went up, which made it possible. One unfortunate thing: the ceiling of each floor in this noble mansion was high. One floor was almost equivalent to six floors of a normal building. The shawl that had blown away was nowhere to be seen. Adèle looked up again. Through her hair, wildly whipped by the wind, she saw the terrified maid. The maid's cap had also blown away, revealing her face. A face full of freckles, hazel-colored pigtails. Lucrezia's maid.
"Ah…!" The maid turned even paler when she met Adèle's eyes. She hadn't expected Adèle to cling to the railing. Adèle gritted her teeth.
"Is this Lucrezia's doing?"
"Ah… Ah…!"
"Never mind that—just grab me! I'll make sure she's held accountable!"
"No! If I fail, I have nowhere to go…!" Adèle felt like crying herself, seeing the maid's desperate sobs.
"You idiot! Do you think Lucrezia will spare you after this? Just grab my hand!"
"What… what?"
"Lucrezia will kill you to keep you quiet!" Adèle shouted over the roaring night wind.
"…" Slowly, the maid's eyes widened. Then her eyes rolled back.
"…The lady would never!" She then stuck her foot through the railing and started stomping on Adèle's fingers.
"Ugh…!"
"Die! Die! Hurry up!" With relentless kicks, Adèle's fingers started losing their grip. At this rate, she'd fall without a chance of recovery. Just then, a concerned voice called out from below.
"Adelaide?" The unmistakably smooth voice belonged to Cesare, but Adèle couldn't look down.
"Wait a moment. Could that be the young lady up there?"
"There's someone above."
"I'm going up!" Urgent voices came from below, and the maid seemed to have heard them too.
"No! No!" She muttered frantically and grabbed Adèle's fingers, prying them off the railing one by one.
_No more…!_ Adèle's grip finally gave way. In the last moment their eyes met, the maid's fear turned to joy.
_Fool._ Adèle felt like crying again. She could see the maid's future, likely not much different from her own.
"Jump!" A shout mingled with the wind reached her ears. Adèle closed her eyes and let gravity take her.
---
Cesare Bonaparte. The youngest priory member. Grandson of Eva Bonaparte, the chairwoman of the Signoria. Head of the Bonaparte family. Gossips said he was "a man blessed by fate and the gods." Currently, that very man was lying on the stone ground, staring at the stars.
"I've never…" It was his first time catching a falling woman. Cesare clicked his tongue, lacking the energy to laugh. Instinctively, he looked down at the troublesome girl who had fallen into his arms. Adèle Bibi was curled up, perched on top of him. Cesare reflexively released the hand that had wrapped around her back. She didn't seem to be hurt. She shouldn't be. The most valuable man in Santnar had caught her.
"Hey. Little sister."
"…" Adèle flinched at Cesare's call. Slowly, she lifted her head. Her vivid yellow eyes stared at him in a daze. Cesare suddenly thought that she looked like a mermaid caught in a net. Her shocked expression was frozen, her fingertips trembling as they rested on his chest.
"…" Not the thought he should have, seeing someone who had just narrowly escaped death, but he found her face strangely appealing. That usually emotionless face could change like this. He wondered if she might start crying—a mischievous thought passing through his mind. But he kept it to himself. She was his little sister, after all.
"Adelaide."
"…"
"If you don't plan to let me touch you the same way, get off my chest."
"…" She was in a bad state. Cesare raised his upper body. Adèle's eyes widened, and she stammered.
"Sorry… um." She almost rolled off him. Like a pill bug. Cesare frowned habitually, then paused at the pain in his back. _Tsk._ He clicked his tongue. He must have hurt his back when he fell catching Adèle.
_Not worth the trouble…_ As Cesare grimaced, Adèle asked.
"Are you hurt?"
"It's noth…" Cesare started to reply but stopped at the look in Adèle's eyes. She seemed confused. Why? Adèle's lip-biting expression revealed the answer. It was surprisingly genuine concern.
"…" Cesare briefly considered asking if she remembered stomping on his foot. He recalled her cold, expressionless face when she came to his office wanting to attend the ball. And now, concern? A cynical smile formed. No wonder she had almost been sold after being pushed around among the shoe shiners. No wonder men claimed her as their own after saving her from drowning. The pitiful shoe shiner before him seemed even more insignificant. Yet Cesare chuckled kindly.
"If I'm hurt? Will you nurse me in my room?"
"I don't have medical qualifications, so that's…" _Ha._
"Better not speak."
"If it doesn't require professional knowledge, then…"
"Never mind, miss." Cesare cut off the conversation. Adèle couldn't say more, just glanced at him anxiously. Cesare massaged his stiff neck, giving some credit to her naive sympathy.
"So, explain what this is all about."
"…It was Miss Lucrezia Della Valle's maid. She was wearing a Bonaparte maid's uniform and said you were calling me." Adèle calmly explained, now composed.
"It was Lucrezia's doing. Where's Epony?"
"Lady Flavia called her away before the maid came."
"…" Cesare's eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to speak, a loud voice came from above.
"Cesare!" Both Cesare and Adèle looked up. Jude, battered by the night wind, was peering over the third-floor railing.
"The culprit was too quick! Couldn't catch her!"
"Why did you go up there?"
"What? Can't hear you! Speak louder!" Jude shouted, but Cesare ignored him.
"Let's go to the office first…" Cesare stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Adèle's attire. She was wearing only a negligee. The loose neckline barely covered her ample chest. Cesare closed his mouth and smirked in disbelief.
"Were you really going to come to my room like that?" Adèle belatedly crossed her arms over her chest, but it only emphasized her figure.
"The shawl flew away…"
"Is the shawl armor? If it's off, it's off."
"They said it was urgent…"
"If someone said 'let's do it because it's urgent,' would you?"
"…" Adèle stared blankly at Cesare. He couldn't tell if she was hurt or not. Usually, he could guess her thoughts from her face, but not this time. Cesare frowned and smiled reluctantly, taking off his jacket.
"Wear this."
"…Thank you." Adèle accepted the jacket without hesitation. Cesare's jacket was too big for Adèle. His broad shoulders were partly to blame, but Adèle's slender frame made it look oversized on her. Seeing her look like she was wearing a sack, Cesare laughed aloud.
"Aren't you going to say, 'Cesare, you're really well-built' or something?"