CH 16.7

Irritated, Michael wanted to go somewhere else.

As he strolled down the corridor leading to the terrace with an annoyed expression on his face, he was stopped in his tracks by an angry voice.

“Ugly! Hey, you splashed tea on my skirt!”

“Whoa, isn’t she crying?”

“With glasses like that, how would I know?”

Tired of people’s malice, Michael was about to walk past when he was stopped in his tracks by a very sweet scent.

It smelled like Lila, and he couldn’t help but notice.

“Ha.”

With a long sigh, Michael entered another room, this one with only girls in it.

At first glance, it was obvious what had happened. One girl was lying on the floor, surrounded by other girls.

“Don’t come in here!”

One of the girls said to Michael, her cheeks flushed.

Michael rolled his eyes as he followed the scent and found the child crouched on the floor.

She had pale pink hair pulled up in a bun and wore glasses that covered half her face. Her eyesight was very poor, and it was hard to see her pupils through the opaque lenses.

Michael looked at her indifferently, then lifted his head to survey the children around him.

Covering his freckles, Michael’s appearance was identical to Lucas’s. His eyes were piercing, but handsome.

One of the girls, her cheeks flushed at his gaze, spoke in a quiet tone.

“Men are not allowed in here. I don’t know what brings you here, but I suggest you leave, and I suggest you call a private servant.”

The child’s calm words caught Michael’s eye. Then, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice, he replied.

“Calling a servant will get you in trouble.”

“What do you mean?”

The child with the angry voice from earlier spoke up. Michael’s gaze shifted to the pale pink-haired child on the floor for a moment.

“What if your parents found out about you two going on a verbal tirade over one of their kids? Of course, judging by your behavior, I don’t think they’d be any different, but I think you’d be reprimanded for doing it at a big event like this… What do you think?”

The kids were speechless at Michael’s logical reasoning. He was right, they shouldn’t have gotten into trouble at the Autumn Ball.

Michael was distracted by the sweet scent that had been tantalizing his olfactory senses from earlier. The scent wasn’t as thick and dense as Lila’s, but it hit him like a nameless wildflower that subtly stopped him in his tracks. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

Michael asked the pale pink-haired child, holding out his hand.

“Take my hand and get up. I’ll call the maid so you can straighten your dress.”

His gesture was so gentle that the other children were speechless. The one who had been sitting on the floor the whole time hesitantly took Michael’s hand.

When she stood up, she was much taller than him. Her pink eyes fluttered slightly, but her expression remained resolute as she held out her arm.

He mimicked Lucas’s gesture to Lila.

“I’ll escort you.”

She managed to keep a straight face, but her voice was raspy with embarrassment.

“…Thank you.”

He glanced at the child, who placed her hand thoughtfully on Michael’s arm, and then slowly pulled away.

Together they walked out of the room and down the hall. Michael felt very strange. He didn’t quite recognize what it was.

Unconsciously, he walked out onto the terrace. He looked at the garden that connected to the terrace and thought for a moment.

Shouldn’t we part ways now? 

After helping her so much, she should be able to take care of herself in the future, he thought, but for some reason he couldn’t find the words.

The girl spoke first.

“My name is Chloe L. Kleist. You must be the Little Duke of Montefeltra, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Thank you so much, I don’t know how to repay you… I’m so grateful.”

She lowered her hand from Michael’s arm and smoothed the hem of her skirt.

The pale pink hair that flowed in her wake looked like an unnamed wildflower. For a moment, Michael felt his heart pounding. His blood rushed through his veins like a raging fire.

“Well, there’s nothing to be thankful for… You’re just being played for a fool, and it’s easiest to just ignore kids like that.”

“Hehe, yeah. I’ll do that from now on.”

She shyly propped up her large glasses with both hands…

“That’s cute…”

“What?”

Embarrassed, Michael blurted out.

“No, nothing!”

“Yes.”

“But your glasses are really thick. You don’t have very good eyesight, do you?”

“It’s been like that since I was born. My parents used to worry a lot about it, but now that I can wear glasses like this, it’s fine.”

Her lips curved upward gently. Suddenly, Michael thought they were pretty.

“Tools aren’t cheap, especially if they’re personalized. My uncle’s aide, Owen, wore glasses like that at first, but I don’t know how he did it, but he switched to thinner glasses. Do you want me to ask? If they’ve made them before, I’m sure they can recreate them in no time.”

Michael rambled on, as if he’d forgotten his own thoughts about helping out.

“Don’t feel pressured, my family is nothing like that, as you know.”

Michael felt a pang of impatience as Chloe hesitated, unable to answer his offer.

He crossed his arms and bounced on his toes.

“But how can I ask you to do me a favor? My family can’t even afford one of these, and I know they’re expensive, so can I just accept the little lord’s heart?”

Michael’s heart felt like it was going to burst at what Chloe had just said, even though he knew full well that she meant to take the heart for his warmth.

For a moment, he wanted to say yes. He was confused by the emotions that defied logic.

His face grew redder and redder as he looked at Chloe, who held his hands tightly in hers and gently curled her lips toward him.

Then he realized that he could make it himself without having to ask his uncle.

“Sure, I’ll make it myself. I’m not that good yet, but it’s not like I can’t make tools.”

As a bonus, he wanted to show off.

“You’re amazing. You can make tools? That’s amazing!”

When Chloe responded with the bright smile he’d hoped for, he jerked his chin up slightly.

Then, with a stern look, he spoke again.

“Would you mind giving me your glasses, I need to know how bad your eyesight is.”

“You can tell just by looking?”

Chloe was puzzled and took off her glasses. Apparently her eyesight was very poor, and she couldn’t find Michael’s hand when she took them off.

As she was about to drop them, Michael hurried to catch them.

The glasses were very heavy in his hand. He felt sorry for the woman who would have to wear them over her delicate ears.

As he looked at the glasses, a wave of gold swirled in his pupils. They were for sensing tools.

With an instantaneous understanding of the tool’s capabilities, he lifted his golden eyes.

The look in Chloe’s eyes left him speechless.

Squinting to look at him, Chloe was beautiful. Her dark purple eyes, beneath pale pink lashes that fell like butterflies, were mesmerizing.

Her eyes, which looked like purple and red, shook finely. The dainty, full lips mumbled beneath the sharp nose.

It was a habit of Chloe’s.

Michael froze, holding his glasses. A cool fall breeze blew through the garden.

It was perfect for cooling his flushed face, but the scent of Chloe’s perfume wafting on the breeze only made him blush harder.

“… Hmm, it’s so big and thick, I think I need to look at it more closely.”

“It’s okay, Little Duke.”

Chloe smiled brightly as she tucked a strand of windswept hair behind her ear. Michael watched her out of the corner of his eye, pretending to look at her glasses.

“Pretty…”

Even though Lila was still the prettiest, Michael blurted out without realizing it.

“What?”

Chloe repeated, cocking her head. Michael coughed, then said.

“I thought your glasses were pretty…”

“Hehe, my late father gave them to me, and they’re very precious to me.”

“I see. My father died too.”

“I see…”

Chloe’s voice was tinged with sadness, and Michael put the glasses on her face.

“I’ve seen it well, and I think I can help you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Well, why don’t we go for a walk?”

“Are you sure about that?”

“There’s a garden right out front, so why not?”

Michael took Chloe’s hand as casually as he’d done with Lila and led her away. As Chloe cautiously followed, Michael asked, a little exasperated.

“By the way, are you kind of tall?”

“Oh, my dad was big, I guess I take after him.”

“My dad was big too, so don’t worry about it.”

“Good to know.”

Michael turned his head and smiled at the shape of her mouth. Chloe’s scent did not fade in the midst of the many floral scents.

* * *

After returning from dropping Michael off, Lila naturally looked for Lucas. Seeing that he was still with the Emperor, she returned to her seat next to him.

The ceiling was made entirely of glass, giving her an excellent view of the night sky. There were only a few lanterns illuminating the greenhouse, so it was dark.

As Lila moved, the jewels on her dress glinted in the small light. People admired Lila’s dress in awe as they could only see the jewels scattered over her ultramarine blue dress.

Returning to her seat, Lila plopped down on the couch. As if waiting for her to sit down, Louie and Becky approached.

“Hey, Lila.”

“Miss…”

Lila’s eyes narrowed at the pair’s mournful look, and she thought about saying something stupid, but then stopped herself. She didn’t even care anymore, as she had grown to hate them.

Lila spoke in a blunt tone.

“What is it, Baron Este?”

“Hey, there is no need to be so formal with your cousin.”

“That’s true, but lady…”

Becky eyed Lila’s dress with curiosity and greed.

“How many jewels are on your dress, I don’t think I can count them on my hands, it’s so beautiful…”

Turning to Becky, who was speaking in ecstatic tones, Lila scolded her coldly.

“If you have nothing else to say, why don’t you go home.”

“No, hey, listen to your cousin. You need to know exactly where you stand, you cannot go ahead with your marriage to the Duke as it is. I don’t know if you realize it, but the Crown Prince is very worried. He fears for your safety. He cares so much about me as your cousin… I’ve heard rumors that the Crown Prince is a cold-hearted man… but rumors are not to be trusted.”

Lila didn’t even pretend to listen to Louie’s words, because he had to do a little nonsense to get someone to listen.

“I see.”

But Louie took it differently and sat down next to her without asking permission.

“I’ll take care of everything, so don’t worry about it, and come home when the honeymoon period is over.”

“Yes, Madame. Trust us, we have a life together after all.”

At this escalating bullshit, Lila raised her champagne glass and smirked.

“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.”