Chapter Title: A Proposal in the Ashes
Adele's eyes widened slightly. Cesare snorted and took a bite of his cigar.
"That's right. What do you think?"
"Hmmm..." Adele let out a vague murmur.
"Lord Ezra. Thank you for your concern, but... it's probably a misunderstanding."
"What misunderstanding!"
"My brother doesn't feel that way at all."
"..."
"Miss Adelaide! You don't see it because you're too close to the situation!"
Adele smiled uncertainly.
"Why would my brother do that to me? We're brother and sister."
"Miss Adelaide!"
Ezra ran a hand over his forehead in frustration and bit his lip. His pale eyes narrowed sharply.
"Are you asking because you truly don't understand?"
Adele frowned slightly. It was a way of speaking she didn't particularly like. Ezra noticed her expression and paced for a long moment. Then he let out a low curse and spoke quickly.
"What kind of grown man would truly treat you like a little sister!"
Ezra himself seemed to have said it with some kind of death-defying resolve, but Adele remained silent.
*I'm pretty. But I'm a shoeshine girl. Cesare wouldn't touch such a troublesome woman.*
In fact, all the women he had ever been involved with were aristocrats. Setting aside his dislike of arranged marriages, it was proof that he managed his desires thoroughly and rationally.
Even now, Adele could feel Cesare's silent gaze fixed on her reaction.
*He's waiting for me to make excuses.*
Adele said firmly.
"Lord Ezra. Absolutely not."
Ezra looked like he was about to cry.
"Miss Adelaide. Don't you believe me?"
"I'm sorry, but I do believe you're mistaken. It was a little close, but it didn't feel like a kiss. I'm sure he was just trying to blow an eyelash off my cheek."
"An eyelash!"
Ezra laughed bitterly.
"No, my lady. Absolutely not! It can't be! That's because you can't see Prince Cesare for what he truly is!"
"Lord Ezra. You're saying too much. Don't betray my brother."
Ezra washed his face with his hands in frustration. But when he lowered them, the flames in his mauve eyes had not been extinguished.
"You can see how cleverly Prince Cesare has been deceiving you. I believe that's what you truly think."
"That's not the case."
"No, my lady. Again, it is not."
He glared at Cesare, who was watching the situation unfold, and gritted his teeth. He held out his hand to Adele.
"Miss Adelaide. Come here."
*Even if you ask me to come... I can't even walk.*
Adele hesitated, and Ezra approached first.
"I'll escort you. I can no longer allow you to remain by the side of that immoral man."
That was the moment. A hand shot out from the side.
"I don't think so."
In an instant, Cesare pressed the lit end of his cigar against the back of Ezra's hand.
"Ugh—!"
Ezra groaned and grabbed his wrist. This time, even Adele was shocked.
"Brother!"
*Even if you're out of your mind, what kind of madman does something like that!*
Adele looked around hastily. Luckily, there was a birdbath nearby.
"Wait a moment!"
Adele limped to the basin and filled her hands with water. The pain in her legs was nothing to worry about now. She limped back and dripped water over Ezra's wound, and his expression eased a little.
Cesare watched with his legs crossed. The pitch-black pupils within his bright golden irises clung to Ezra without wavering. It was a fiercely refined hostility that made the fine hairs on Adele's skin stand on end.
*Why on earth?*
At that moment, a guess flashed through Adele's mind.
*...Is it because it hurts his pride to be associated with a shoeshine girl?*
Adele knelt next to Ezra and looked up at Cesare.
"Brother. No matter how unpleasant his assumptions were, this is too much."
"Unpleasant?"
Cesare snorted.
"He looked like he was about to flirt with my sister. Is this supposed to be excessive?"
"..."
Adele read from his cold gaze that the word that should have been "sister" was really "shoeshine girl."
*Expressionless. Expressionless. Expressionless.*
Adele said frantically.
"...You're mistaken. I could have resolved it with words."
"I didn't think so."
"Stand back, Miss Adelaide."
That's when Ezra gently pushed Adelaide behind him, standing in her way. He, too, was as cold as Cesare.
"Prince Cesare is right. This is unacceptable."
"Lord Ezra. You should seek medical attention..."
"It's fine. Thanks to you, my lady."
Ezra looked back at Adele and smiled slightly. Then he turned to face Cesare again.
"Prince Cesare. I'll ask you once more."
"Go ahead."
"Have you truly not harbored improper feelings toward Miss Adelaide?"
At that moment, Cesare's gaze slid to Adele. She looked at him, frowning slightly in confusion. Cesare stared at her, then sneered as he took another drag of his cigar.
"Of course not."
"I see. Then I trust you will wish Miss Adelaide well."
Ezra spoke coldly and stood up as if he had been waiting for this moment. He rummaged through his clothes and made a troubled expression. Soon, in his hand was a pocket watch with a long gold chain.
"Miss Adelaide."
Ezra slowly knelt down before Adele.
"For now, this is all I can give you as a token. But I trust it will not be lacking in expressing my sincerity."
He gently took Adele's hand and placed the pocket watch in her palm. Cesare's eyes widened, and Adele's breath caught at the thought of what Ezra might say next. Only Ezra looked straight at Adele and spoke.
"Marry me."
---
Two days later, an invitation arrived from Salon Genoble.
Adele announced her intention to attend without hesitation. Two days after that, Salon Genoble opened. The venue was the Ginoble family's villa. The weather had grown quite chilly, and Adele mounted her horse wearing a fitted coat made of Lycester wool.
Behind her sat Aegir.
Even though she could now walk on her own, and her aversion to horses had faded considerably, he insisted on riding with her.
"I'm not skilled enough to ride alone yet."
Aegir said so, but Adele knew that wasn't the whole truth.
*He's watching me in case I meet Ezra.*
Resting her head against Aegir's chest, Adele thought blankly about the past four days—and the moment when Ezra had proposed to her.
"I don't trust Prince Cesare. Anyone who witnessed the ball that night would feel the same. So I will legally take you out of Buonaparte."
That was what Ezra had said. And while Adele and Cesare stood frozen and unresponsive, he had placed her in a chair, kissed the back of her hand, and departed.
"I will send you a formal courtship letter soon. Until then, hold on."
Since then, it had been terrifying... and silent.
"...Brother. Congratulations. The plan seems to have worked already..."
Adele had said this in an effort to lighten the mood, and Cesare had turned to look at her, his face as hard as a corpse's.
From that day on, Cesare forbade Adele from socializing. Not only that, but he also prevented her from going out at all. As a result, Adele couldn't leave the resort for three days.
*I wouldn't have been able to come out this time if it weren't for the invitation from Prince Ginoble, who is a Priori.*
When she asked why, the answer she received was, "Because the situation is too favorable."
*Love only burns in adversity.*
She wanted to ask him what on earth he was talking about, but Cesare wouldn't even show his face. She needed to discuss some matters regarding Salon Genoble, but even then, all she received was a card telling her to handle it herself.
*What a terrible man. I've done so well, but he won't even give me my due.*
Adele sighed.
"Sir Aegir. Has there been any courtship activity from the Della Valle side?"
"...I don't know."
"I see..."
*I should get married as soon as possible so this frustrating thin ice can finally break.*
Then Aegir spoke from behind her.
"It's the Ginoble family's vacation home."