Adele pressed herself tightly against the statue and held her breath. Fortunately, the statue, made generously with marble, was large enough to completely hide her body.
As the group approached the fountain, they expressed their admiration for the “Goddess of Spring.” Soon, the sound of their footsteps began to fade away.
‘Are they gone…?’
Just as Adele, who had been crouching and barely breathing, slightly lifted her head.
“Look at this?”
“……!”
A man suddenly appeared in her line of sight. It seemed he had deliberately approached quietly.
“I wondered what it was when I saw shoes lying around. Hey! Look here, everyone! I caught a mermaid at Buonaparte!”
Before Adele could escape, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her.
“Ouch.”
Her foot throbbed in pain. The force of the pull made her knees buckle, and Adele fell into the water with a loud splash.
“Henry, hey! That’s a bit much!”
“Huh? It wasn’t me! She just fell on her own!”
Bastards…
Adele, who had banged her knee on the bottom of the fountain, barely stifled a groan. Slipping as she fell, she managed to lift her upper body by clinging to the railing.
“Cough, cough….”
The water that had entered through the nose and mouth came back out as a cough. Her hands and feet gripping the railing trembled.
Then, as she wiped away the flowing tears and pushed back her wet hair, Adele realized that the surroundings were strangely quiet.
“……?”
As she raised her head, beyond her water-soaked and sunlight-dappled vision, she saw the shadows of men.
They all wore strange expressions as if by agreement. Their gazes were focused on her wet face and body.
“……!”
Adele tried to quickly cover herself, but the man called Henry was faster.
“Tsk. Tsk. Who said you could move on your own?”
Henry cruelly twisted Adele’s wrist. As she let out a weak moan, Henry made a strange nasal sound.
“Doesn’t seem to be a lady or a young miss…”
He had apparently checked even Adele’s bare feet by now.
“Too well-dressed to be a maid. Who is she? I’ve never heard of Cesare bringing in a woman.”
A mischievous smile appeared on Henry’s lips. The way he had slicked back his hair with oil, leaving just a few strands hanging, looked as vile as his tone.
But he must be a nobleman. And one who knows Cesare, at that.
Adele trembled, unable to speak. She didn’t know how to act.
“Not talking? Will you be punished if you do? Or do you want to be punished? Haha!”
Henry pulled her arm straight again.
Adele was dragged like a fish caught by its tail and was draped over the railing. As her waist hung over, her cleavage became more exposed.
One of the men tilted his head slightly, as if trying to get a better look.
Bastards!
Adele bit her lip and struggled to shake off his hand, but his grip did not loosen.
In the meantime, she could see the hems of the ladies’ skirts beyond the men surrounding her. However, upon seeing the commotion, they fluttered away like a flock of birds relocating their habitat.
“……”
Right. She hadn’t expected anything from the start.
Some of the men had come closer, while others had moved further away.
“Henry. Why don’t you stop? This is Buonaparte.”
“So what?”
Was it a sore spot? Henry’s voice turned harsh.
“Do you expect me to be mindful of Buonaparte even when handling a maid? Should I even call Buonaparte a king?”
“Henry. You’re too excited right now.”
“Besides, doesn’t she… look a bit like him?”
At those words, someone who had been watching cautiously spoke up.
“Did you think so too? I somehow felt the same…”
“What are you talking about?”
Henry shouted irritably and roughly grabbed Adele’s chin.
“Hey. Are you a noble? No, right? Just look at you! Would a lady be hiding barefoot in a fountain?”
He swung Adele’s head back and forth, then lifted her hand.
“Look at this. Her hands are rough too!”
Her straight and white but scarred hands dangled as the man pulled her.
“Definitely not the hands of a lady….”
Someone said that as they scanned Adele up and down again. It seemed like they were smacking their lips.
You bastard, can’t you stop?
Adele, who was about to shout like someone from Kimora, mustered her patience and glared at Henry. For the first time, she opened her mouth.
“If you pull a little harder, it might be possible.”
“What?”
“To tear my arm and torso apart.”
Henry hesitated.
Of course. This is how you people talk.
Adele seized the moment of hesitation.
“Let go of me. You will regret it.”
She struggled to pull herself inside the fountain, trying hard not to speak in the Kimora way.
Henry almost let go of Adele.
At that moment, a droplet of water that had been hanging on the tip of Adele’s chin fell.
The clear droplet captured the men’s gazes as it settled between her wet cleavage. Soon, the stream of water flowed down her white skin, which had risen into a mound, and into the collar of her clothes.
“……”
Adele’s anxiety grew uncontrollably in the gathered gazes and the oppressive atmosphere.
As she hesitated, the hem of her skirt on the water’s surface swayed accordingly. It looked like a mermaid’s tail swaying.
Henry’s hand, which was about to let go of Adele, tightened again.
“…Ha. This is no joke? What’s this?”
Even those who had been pretending to stop him until just now exchanged meaningful glances.
“Looking closely, she doesn’t seem to resemble him much…”
“A maid or a noble lady?”
“Or maybe, a prostitute who snuck in.”
“Ah, a prostitute.”
“There are many customers here.”
The gentlemen snickered quietly.
“…I told you to let go!”
Adele shouted through gritted teeth. The atmosphere was becoming ominous.
Henry, on the contrary, pulled her arm and smiled mischievously.
“Hey, you wench. You’re not even treated as a person by that bastard Cesare anyway.”
“That’s not it…!”
“So why don’t you just sleep with me…”
It was then. A sharp ‘click’ of a shoe echoed.
The sound didn’t come from around the fountain. Adele, Henry, and the others turned their heads simultaneously.
“……”
There stood Cesare, with a cold expression on his face.
Adele slowly drew in a breath.
After looking at the men before her and then at Cesare, she suddenly felt her vision clear. His striking appearance became more apparent.
Cesare had his coat draped over his broad shoulders, as if out of habit. The light gray Sogdian silk frock coat was visibly high-end at a glance.
The black pants, tailored to fit perfectly, revealed the solid line of his thighs in an almost indecent manner.
As always, the front of his white poplin shirt was carelessly unbuttoned. It seemed as if he had a disease that would kill him if he didn’t expose at least a third of his chest.
And today, his dark blue hair was particularly stylishly swept back. Beneath it, his golden eyes shone like a silent thunderbolt.
“Du-Duke Cesare….”
“Wh-when did you arrive…. This is, well….”
Even though he knew people were watching him, Cesare remained silent with his hands in his pockets.
Then he moved his hand, as if to put a cigar in his mouth. But soon, realizing that there was nothing in his hand, he muttered lowly.
“Shouldn’t have thrown it away.”
At that moment, one of the men grabbed Adele’s other arm.
“D-Duke Cesare! We have captured an intruder!”
Adele let out a small groan, but no one paid attention to it.
Only Cesare heard the groan and looked at Adele. His golden eyes, like a strange star, stared at Adele and then scanned the others.
“Hmm.”
He slowly furrowed his brows and smiled. Dimples appeared on his cheeks, and his aegyo-sal (under-eye fat) puffed up, creating a smiling expression.
It was clearly a smile expressing displeasure.
“Is there a Duke Cesare here? It seems there is a bastard named Cesare, but no Duke Cesare.”
At that, the gentlemen immediately turned their backs on Henry and leaned towards Cesare. It was blatant.
“……!”
Henry’s brown eyes were stained with humiliation and displeasure.
Cesare also saw it. He walked leisurely through the crowd with a relaxed smile.
“Henry. Henry Fetch.”
“……”
Cesare, with his tall stature and majestically broad shoulders, stood before Henry.
Henry, who had been wearing a sullen expression, belatedly pulled his protruding lips inward.
“‘That bastard Cesare?’”
Before Henry could respond, Cesare continued.
“The Earl of Fetch would be delighted to hear this. He’s been fervently coming and going to Buonaparte, trying to borrow a few coins with his old body. Even bringing along Lady Fetch to evoke my sympathy.”
Fire sparked in Henry’s eyes. But Cesare wasn’t finished.
“If you wanted to cross me, you should have said so earlier. I was getting tired of your parents anyway. I’m not the type to deal with beggars.”
Adele couldn’t help but be impressed. At this point, it was hard to tell who the real villain was.
Henry, unable to contain himself, clenched his fist.
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