Chapter Title: The Bonaparte Palace
"Ha!"
Jude shouted in delight and turned to Cesare.
"Hey, Cesare. Isn't she good? I already like this girl! If it's a girl like her, I'd join your scheme! Or maybe I'll just take her myself… No, I'm not really serious about that."
Jude, who was excitedly chattering, trailed off, noticing Cesare's reaction. He quickly cleared his throat and turned his head.
Cesare looked at Adèle with a displeased smile. He wasn't happy about the situation seeming to go his way too easily. Moreover, there was one last test left, but he had a feeling this stoic woman in front of him would easily pass that as well.
Cesare sighed and spoke.
"There isn't a single drop of blood in me that doesn't tremble."
Adèle didn't hesitate.
"I am looking at the traces of the old flame."
The moment Adèle fluently answered with the old lines from Durante's poem in Drinang, Cesare put down his cigar.
"Noble?"
"No."
"Parents?"
"None."
"Then did you come from the sea? Don't spout nonsense and answer properly."
"There's no more foolish question than asking about the circumstances of parents to an orphan who's never seen their faces."
Cesare paused. He raised his head to look at Adèle, but she didn't avoid his gaze, maintaining a slightly bored expression.
Cesare clicked his tongue and laughed.
_She's a bit arrogant, but that might be good for deceiving Della Valle._
"One last question."
He slowly stood up. For the first time, Adèle, who had been calm, flinched slightly. Her gaze darted around, unable to look at her own chest as her collar parted, and Cesare felt somewhat amused.
"You don't seem stupid enough not to know that getting caught means death, so why did you step forward?"
"…"
Adèle's eyes widened slightly. There was a brief silence. Her amber eyes, whose inner thoughts were hard to read, quietly looked at Cesare before blinking once quickly.
"…Because I'm hungry."
Cesare raised an eyebrow.
_Was it a metaphor?_
But Adèle just looked at him with clear eyes, not saying anything more.
_Well, it doesn't matter._
"Come to Bonaparte tomorrow."
---
_King of Kings, Lord of Lords._
Adèle read the phrase repeatedly in a daze. It was engraved on a statue at the top of the front gate of the Bonaparte mansion.
The statue of a mermaid holding a star—the mermaid symbolizing the sea goddess and the star symbolizing Bonaparte. In other words, it meant that the Bonaparte family was chosen by the sea goddess.
In Santnar, which was formally a republic, it was a statue bound to cause discomfort. Of course, no one would show that openly. The current position of the Bonaparte family in Santnar was indeed fitting of the title King of Kings, Lord of Lords.
_And here I am, a mere shoe shiner._
Adèle thought about how unpredictable life was as she headed towards the small door next to the main gate.
"What brings you here?"
The gatekeeper, who had been watching her for a while, asked. He looked like a knight, yet he was kind. The fact that he used polite language despite Adèle's shabby appearance showed his courtesy.
"I have an appointment."
Adèle said calmly. Her voice didn't tremble at all, as she was naturally expressionless and composed.
The knight looked puzzled for a moment at the melodious voice coming from the ragged shoe shiner but then asked professionally.
"Who are you here to see?"
"Mr. Cesare Bonaparte."
Adèle's heart was pounding as she spoke.
_What if he forgot the appointment? Or didn't tell the gatekeeper?_
But the knight nodded with dignity.
"Understood. However, there will be a verification before entry."
"Verification?"
"Yes."
The knight cleared his throat.
"I, who am sending you, am Cesare."
Adèle, who had momentarily widened her eyes, immediately answered.
"I come from the place you long to return to."
The knight nodded.
"Verified. The head butler will come shortly. Please wait."
"Yes."
Adèle secretly sighed in relief and lifted her head, pretending to admire the marble sculpture at the gate. She was actually cursing Cesare inside.
_Who uses that as a password? It's like telling people not to enter._
It was a passage from Durante's play, but not a particularly famous one. She realized anew that Cesare was not only meticulous but also not as simple as he appeared. Using such a password meant his scholarly knowledge was quite extensive.
_If you can't pass even this, go back._
Adèle recalled Cesare's appearance from the day before. His large frame, contrasting cute smile, and sweet voice. She also remembered his cold golden eyes hidden behind all that.
She had a feeling the future wouldn't be smooth.
At that moment, an elderly butler appeared.
"Are you Miss Adèle?"
"Hello. I am Adèle."
Adèle reflexively bowed and greeted him.
"I am Ernst, the butler of the Bonaparte family."
The old man greeted her politely, even though she was wearing an unsightly hat.
"Please follow me inside."
Feeling awkward under the respectful gaze, Adèle followed the butler.
Once they passed the gate, a vast garden appeared. It was a garden with paths lined with low shrubs. In the center stood a statue of a mermaid with her hair down. Clear water trickled from the jug the mermaid was holding.
It was a beautiful fountain.
Adèle stared at it, mesmerized, as she walked behind Ernst.
"It's the work of the sculptor Verchelli."
The butler spoke without even turning around, as if knowing what she was thinking.
"Yes. I read about it in a book."
Adèle answered blankly.
"…It's more beautiful than I imagined."
The impact of seeing the artwork she had read about in books was greater than she had anticipated. Ernst seemed pleased, noticing the sincerity in her words.
"You have a good eye."
Once inside the mansion, Adèle was even more surprised.
"This is the Bonaparte outer palace. It's a space for external guests."
A massive crystal chandelier hung from the towering ceiling. It looked about three times her size. The floor was covered with a damask carpet featuring dark blue stars on a reddish-brown background, and each room had double brocade curtains with silver fringes on the edges.
The walls were overflowing with countless small portraits framed in gold, or sometimes a whole wall was covered with frescoes.
It was beautiful. And strange.
It was hard to believe that this museum-like space, where grandeur and serenity coexisted, was someone's living quarters.
She thought of the shack she had left that morning. Water leaked from the ceiling when it rained, and it was like an oven in the summer. It was fortunate that Santnar wasn't a cold country in winter. If it were a country where it snowed, she would have frozen to death long ago.
And it wasn't even hers. She had borrowed it from old Nino with money saved from enduring hunger.
"…"
A bitter smile crossed her face. Suddenly, the surrounding beauty felt empty. Adèle stopped looking around and focused only on Ernst's back.
Soon, the palatial building ended. There appeared a colonnade of marble columns that looked like congealed milk. Beyond that, a three-story house with a more comfortable atmosphere came into view.
"This is the Bonaparte inner palace for direct descendants."
Listening to the butler's explanation, Adèle looked at the elegant house sitting at the upper part of the stepped garden. It was indeed less grand. Though the comparison was, of course, with a museum.
Shortly after entering the inner palace, Ernst stopped in front of a massive door.
"Here it is."
Each door panel was carved with four mermaids and a cross-shaped star. It was a door clearly crafted with great care by an artisan.
"This…"
"You know it. It's the work of the sculptor Javer."
Ernst said proudly.
"I heard the Bonaparte palace is a gigantic piece of art itself, and it seems true."
The elderly butler's eyes softened at Adèle's words. But only for a moment, as he soon returned to his dutiful demeanor to fulfill his role.