Chapter Title: Kimora
As expected, they knew everything. It must have been annoying to have such an insignificant person lingering around. Adelaide smiled faintly.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
*No, I shouldn't smile. It would look like I'm mocking him.*
Adelaide returned to a neutral expression.
"I'm sorry."
"..."
"If you decide to punish me, I will accept it humbly."
"..."
Cesare didn't respond and got into the carriage. Adelaide followed, and Aegir escorted her before taking the driver's seat. The carriage started moving. Adelaide looked at the receding buildings and closed her eyes.
---
That night, Cesare dreamt of his grandmother. In her younger days, his grandmother's bronze hair was just starting to gray. She grasped the shoulder of the seven-year-old Cesare, abandoned by his parents, with a strong grip and said,
"Cesare, everyone..."
At that moment, the dream ended. Cesare awoke in his bedroom, where the moonlight was veiled by clouds.
"..."
He blinked slowly and lay staring at the ceiling for a long time.
*What a damned dream.*
Cesare got up, rang the bell cord, and headed to the bathroom. As the head of the household stirred, the Bonaparte mansion also began to wake. After washing up and completing his early morning exercises with the knights, he returned to find his aide, Gigi, waiting for him.
"I will go over today's schedule... yawn..."
Gigi, who had low blood pressure, despised Cesare's early rising habits. Despite this, he had never been late or slept in, which was typical of Gigi. While Cesare dressed with the help of his valet, Oliver, and maid, Jane, he listened to Gigi's report.
"At eleven o'clock, you have a meeting with the head of the wool guild, and for lunch, you have a meal with Miss Adelaide..."
Hearing an unexpected name, Cesare paused while rolling up his sleeves.
"Isn't today's lunch with Laura Portduke?"
"You postponed it to have lunch with Miss Adelaide."
He had forgotten. Cesare furrowed his brow. Gigi, eyes still sleepy, twirled his pen.
"Shall I cancel it? It seems inconvenient."
"Why would I be inconvenienced?"
"Not you, sir. The young lady. I heard she cried."
"What's the big deal if a shoeshine girl cried a bit?"
"Shall I cancel the lunch, then?"
"It would be quite amusing if word got out that the head of the Bonaparte household went back on his word."
"There wouldn't be any rumors in the first place, would there? The shoeshine girl wouldn't reveal such things. It's *omertà*, after all."
Cesare straightened his cuffs in silence and dismissed the maid and valet. As he headed to his office and sat at his desk, he spoke irritably.
"What is it you want to say?"
Gigi smiled awkwardly.
"...It's just that she's pitiful."
As Cesare's confidential aide, Gigi had heard about the events at the Galeotto Club through the secret agents.
"She's from Kimora, like me."
Gigi shrugged lightly, though his dark eyes were uncharacteristically sincere. Cesare twirled his pen and spoke again.
"What's the big deal about Kimora?"
Gigi chuckled.
"I assure you, sir, you can't even imagine how miserable it can get for those with neither family nor money."
"Surely, I wouldn't have ordered such things?"
"The very things you doubt are demanded in Kimora. All the worst things you can imagine are there. And those without imagination are the first to die in Kimora."
"This isn't Kimora."
"That's what makes it sadder. Why can't I escape from there? Why can't I just be happy in this bright place?"
Gigi placed some documents on the desk, signaling he didn't want to continue the conversation. Cesare noticed a faint fear and self-deprecation in Gigi's calm words.
"..."
Cesare twirled his pen again. Gigi Manfredi was sharp and calculative. He didn't pity others lightly. For Gigi to defend Adelaide meant that what she had gone through was truly unjust.
*How do people live in that place, anyway?*
Thinking it was just another neighborhood where people lived, Cesare furrowed his brow and sighed. He found it absurd to be worrying about such things while trying to fend off the recently aggressive shipbuilding investments from Treverium.
*What a waste of time.*
"Keep the lunch as planned. And send a letter to Lucrezia under Adelaide's name."
Cesare took out the blue stationery from Adelaide and handed it to Gigi.
"Imitate her handwriting. Invite her to lunch."
Gigi looked surprised.
"The person who has never had a meal with Lady Lucrezia...?"
"Because it's unappetizing."
But it was clear that Adelaide had been circling him to build a good relationship with Lucrezia. The shoeshine girl was struggling to survive in her own way. And Cesare needed to ensure Adelaide's smooth entry into high society. He couldn't meddle in the ladies' circles, so having Lucrezia as an ally would make it easier for Adelaide to blend in. He thought it was a reasonable compromise.
"How annoying..."
At Cesare's mumbling, Gigi shook his head and tucked the letter away.
"Shall I ask Clerk Cora to handle it? Will that be alright?"
Cesare nodded. The dawn was breaking outside the window he had turned his back to.
---
Around eleven o'clock, Cesare rode out from the Bonaparte mansion. His knights and soldiers flanked him to guard him.
"Today, we'll go to Santa Croce."
Cesare said from atop his horse. The group immediately moved towards Santa Croce Street. Inspecting the streets of Fornatie every day at eleven a.m. was the duty of the head of the Bonaparte family. It was to monitor the lives of the people. In the republican system of Santnar, the power of the citizens could never be ignored. Therefore, Cesare rarely missed the morning inspections.
However, he had never gone to Kimora during these inspections. He had been there only once since becoming the head of the family, taking most of the Bonaparte soldiers with him. He had thought it was an overreaction, but Eva had advised him as an elder, so he had no choice.
Kimora. Fornatie's garbage dump. It covered a fairly large area between Porto Niro and Porto Coium, but the citizens of Fornatie avoided even going near Kimora. The decaying buildings, the desolate atmosphere, and the heavy air filled with danger were palpable from the street entrance. Cesare's impression of Kimora was no different.
*A dirty and poor neighborhood. How lazy must they be to not escape from there?*
While continuing his inspection, Cesare spotted the Fornatie Public Library. He realized the public library was quite far from Kimora.
*Did that shoeshine girl walk all that distance just to read books? What was she thinking?*
There wouldn't be any books on how to polish shoes more brilliantly, nor would there be a schedule of when the head of the Bonaparte family would come to shine shoes in San Salina Square.
"Sir?"
When he stood still for a long time, Gigi, who was riding a donkey beside him, asked. Cesare snapped out of his thoughts and said,
"Let's go back."
As he turned his horse around, the group followed him. Riding back to the Bonaparte mansion, Cesare maintained a relaxed smile. People smiled at him, peeked at him, or took off their hats to greet him. That was Cesare's role. To remain perpetually carefree and luxurious as the head of the most prominent family in Santnar.
This was because the Bonaparte family wasn't just a family of bankers and merchants. The Bonaparte family owned 1,500 small ships, 100 medium and large ships over 600 tons, and 45 galleys. Along with the Sforza family, they were the only ones with 1,000-ton ships. This constituted one-third of the sailing vessels in the maritime state of Santnar. These ships were requisitioned as warships during wartime, making the head of the Bonaparte family the strongest naval power in Santnar.
For such a person to leisurely roam the streets. That was the biggest indication that Santnar was currently at peace.
"..."
However, Kimora would not be part of that peace. Probably.