Chapter Title: Closer Than Expected
Adelaide stared at the smoke of the cigar dispersing in the wind before speaking.
"You have been briefed by Sir Aegir, haven't you?"
Cesare said after a leisurely draw.
"I have."
"Why don't you blame me for not being aristocratic?"
Cesare took another draw from his cigar.
"It's complicated to explain."
"Please try."
"Hmm."
Cesare crossed his legs, rolled the cigar between his fingers a few times, and said:
"I used to feel the same way."
Adelaide was almost disappointed for a moment but decided to listen further. He said "used to."
Cesare smiled at her calm expression.
"Commoners are lazy. They don't work hard. If they tried, they could rise to the top, but they simply don't try."
"And?"
"However."
Cesare looked straight ahead and took a bite of his cigar. His gaze was deep and heavy.
"I don't think the most tenacious woman in Kimora would have been able to escape without my help."
"..."
"That's not what I want Fornatie to be."
Adelaide took a moment to translate his meaning into formal language.
"So... you didn't blame me because you feel responsible as a politician."
"Hmm. You'd make a good diplomat."
Cesare let out a pleased laugh.
"Why should I blame you in the first place?"
"It wasn't aristocratic."
"The nobility is not a single body. There are mainstream ideas, but there's no reason everyone should hold mainstream ideas. I'm sure Jude agrees with you."
Cesare said this, then shook the ash from his cigar even though he didn't need to.
"Let me be clear—I don't completely agree with either side. I'm too great for that."
He said it playfully, but Adelaide knew it was true. He was tacitly recognized as the king of this republic. It was surprising that he would try to remain neutral knowing that.
Cesare looked at Adelaide's expression and raised an eyebrow.
"I thought you'd be angry that I only half agreed, but you're not."
Adelaide laughed slightly.
"It's not that I don't understand the position of the propertied class. But I was somewhat angry at Lady Ravenna's words."
"What she said was rather harsh."
Adelaide looked at Cesare and spoke.
"That's surprising."
Cesare tilted his head, drawing on his cigar. *What is?* his eyes asked.
"That you're trying to be fair."
"Everyone is beneath me anyway, so if they fight each other, what's in it for me to take sides?"
Adelaide laughed involuntarily. Even the great nobles seemed to be just beneath him.
Suddenly, it occurred to her that a shoe shiner, a nobleman, a lawyer, or a beggar would be no different. Everyone was equally beneath Cesare Bonaparte—his unique, arrogant worldview.
How high a person's nose would have to be to even think like that. She couldn't stop laughing.
"But that's why it's so strange."
"What?"
"If that's the case, then you really don't have to care about the lower classes. Even if you ignore and exploit others, no one would be able to hurt you."
At that, Cesare fixed his beautiful golden eyes on her in silence. Then he looked at the sky and said:
"You know what human rights are, right?"
It was certainly something Adelaide never expected to hear from Cesare.
"Ha. Ahaha."
Adelaide laughed. She realized how prejudiced she had been about Cesare. As a man at the pinnacle of the aristocracy, she had vaguely assumed he would be worse than Lady Ravenna, not better.
Just as Kimora is not a monolith, neither are the nobles.
Cesare even seemed to be trying to understand Adelaide, who was merely a member of the lower classes.
*Would I have been able to do that if I had grown up like Cesare?*
Probably not. It's not easy. And that is why he is loved by the citizens of Fornatie. He's arrogant enough to treat everyone as beneath him, but at the same time, he believes everyone deserves the sunshine of Bonaparte fairly.
The citizens of Fornatie are smart. There's no way they didn't sense it.
Of course, Cesare would also sell all of Kimora into slavery if necessary. But at least he recognized you couldn't do that to fellow human beings.
Suddenly, Adelaide's laughter died down.
That's all she had wanted. To be treated like the same person. It was ironic to find it in Cesare.
"..."
Adelaide spoke quietly, suppressing the laughter that had spread like a stream.
"You're better than I thought."
Cesare, who had been watching her laugh the whole time, let out a soft laugh.
"You're dumber than I thought."
"..."
*That doesn't sound very pretty...*
Cesare laughed a little, as if her thought was reflected in her expression.
He then leaned toward Adelaide suddenly. Then he spoke quietly.
"But in your heart, did you just address me informally?"
"...!"
Adelaide's jaw dropped. Looking into her wavering eyes, Cesare smiled with crinkled eyes.
"Hmm. Cheeky for a shoe shiner."
"That's... No, it isn't."
"Hmm."
Cesare frowned and laughed. A large hand came toward her forehead as if about to flick her. Adelaide flinched and stepped back but then gave up and accepted her fate.
*Why must you do this?*
But unexpectedly, he didn't torment Adelaide. A reaching finger touched her hair. Adelaide widened her eyes in surprise.
Cesare's mischievous smile had vanished. It was the same expression she'd seen since morning—like he was thinking about many things.
He began to wrap her hair around the tips of his fingers. He maintained a solemn expression, but she could sense the complexity within him.
After brief deliberation, Adelaide decided to leave him alone. She didn't think there was any other choice.
Cesare narrowed his brow slightly when Adelaide didn't run away. It was a face pleased by something yet displeased at the same time.
But the way his hands touched her hair and occasionally brushed her earlobes and the curve of her ear was very careful.
Adelaide's tension faded. It felt better than she had expected when someone stroked her head.
The wind was pleasant and the day moderately cool. Adelaide closed her eyes involuntarily.
"..."
For a moment, Cesare's hand stopped. He smoothed her hair again a moment later. The touch slowed down.
The bell began to ring. Adelaide's eyes were still closed, and the hand that had been smoothing her hair gradually moved to the nape of her neck.
Suddenly, she felt a shadow fall over her closed eyes.
"...What are you doing?"
---
Adelaide's eyes flew open.
She flinched, surprised that Cesare was closer than when she had closed her eyes.
*When did he get so close?*
Unlike Adelaide, who was startled, Cesare was calm. He wasn't even looking at her. He was looking down in the direction of the voice.
Adelaide's spine tingled as his eyes were frighteningly calm and cold.
"What were you just trying to do?"
Meanwhile, the owner of the voice approached. Ezra looked furious. He looked alternately at Cesare and Adelaide as they sat together, and his neck turned red.
"Duke Cesare! Answer!"
Cesare slowly withdrew his hand from Adelaide's hair. At the same time, a charming dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Nothing."
"Don't lie! It looked like...!"
Ezra stopped speaking, studied Adelaide's face, and fell silent.
*Like what?*
"What happened?"
Adelaide asked. She'd had her eyes closed and couldn't comprehend what was going on.
At that, Cesare smiled, his wide mouth drawn into a grin revealing his playful disposition, while Ezra glared at Cesare with disgust.
"...Duke Cesare. Until now, I had only doubts, but now that I've witnessed this firsthand, I cannot ignore it."
"What did I do?"
Ezra bristled again at the dismissive answer. He looked around and shouted in a low voice:
"...Didn't you just try to kiss Miss Adelaide!"