Six Meetings Remain
Lucio bolted upright and scrambled across the floor.
"It's a six! A six!"
His voice, thick with excitement, rang out a moment later. Lucio held the die in his open palm and thrust it alternately before Delfina and Cesare. After confirming the number, Delfina took a sip of her tea. Whether the die had truly landed on six was something only Lucio would know.
"A rare number."
She looked unconvinced, yet offered no further comment.
"Is that so."
Cesare's voice, which had remained subdued throughout, rose a fraction. The truth was impossible to verify, but she accepted it, and now six meetings remained between the two of them.
"I have no desire to become a rival to my friend, but since you insist the meetings cannot be transferred, I shall have to give careful thought to the venue for my first—and last—encounter with the young lady."
Lucio rose from his seat with a light joke, and a formal reply came back.
"I'll look forward to it."
Just as Lucio, out of habit, reached naturally for her fingertips to press a kiss to the back of her hand—
"We'll send a letter to the coachman."
Cesare's stiff voice cut between them like a barrier.
"Please do."
Cesare stepped smoothly between the two. Standing so close in the bright light, her slender frame became all the more striking.
That fragile form…
The memory of that night flooded back, and heat rushed to his face. He held his breath for a moment, then stepped half a pace back and covered his mouth.
"The mansion is quite magnificent," Lucio said, dabbing lightly at the sweat on his brow with a handkerchief.
"Thank you."
"Then I'll take my leave for today."
Lucio gripped Cesare's shoulder firmly and steered him away. The moment they left the mansion and climbed back into the car, Lucio unleashed the question he had been holding back.
"You. What on earth has gotten into you? Is this the Cesare I know?"
"You're exaggerating."
Cesare waved a dismissive hand through the air, as if annoyed.
"…Your resolve to fulfill your father's wishes seems rather different from mine."
Having guessed at Cesare's reason for stepping forward, Lucio muttered in a lowered voice.
"Hm?"
"It's nothing. Let's head back. My head already aches at the thought of overhauling the entire plan."
When Cesare, who hadn't caught it, asked again, Lucio returned to his usual manner, gave a light shake of his head, and started the car.
"…There's still time before the Baron arrives, so we'll have enough to think."
"…Yes. You'll have somewhere to go before then yourself."
After their conversation died away, only the rattling of the automobile filled the silence.
After the guests had departed, Delfina watered the plants on the terrace that had yet to receive any. She gazed absently at the soil growing dark with moisture and let the memories of that day surface. She had pretended not to remember, but there was no forgetting.
That man came.
The man who had been her sole deviation. The heat of his touch that night remained vivid even now. She had never expected to encounter him again in this fashion. Striving to hide her agitation, she clenched the watering can in her hand, yet her trembling fingertips betrayed her feelings.
Before she could pursue the thought any further, the sound of a door opening reached her ears.
Click—.
"Oh my, Delfina. Are you all right?"
Her stepmother, Rosetta Pignatelli, who had returned after seeing the guests off, started in surprise at the sight of Delfina's flushed face.
"…I think I might be running a fever."
In that instant, her racing heart cooled as if doused with ice. Delfina stepped naturally away from the terrace.
"What were you thinking about so hard?"
Rosetta Pignatelli's voice truly sounded concerned. She set the tray she had brought on the table beside the bed.
"Just… thoughts about what to do with this latest suitor."
Delfina lowered her gaze and answered obediently. Rosetta laid her hand over the one resting on Delfina's knee and spoke.
"I simply cannot understand you, no matter how hard I try."
"…"
It was a question of why a young lady of a noble house would engage in such eccentric behavior. There had been a time when she had firmly believed this concern to be genuine.
"Since I'm not your birth mother, my words may not sound welcome to you."
Her tone was so tender it was hard to believe she was only a stepmother.
"…"
"For a daughter of the Pignatelli family to marry a little late is no flaw at all."
"…"
"Why don't we spend enough time together as a family first, and then look for a proper match through the correct procedures?"
"Enough time?"
It was not to soothe her loneliness with sufficient time. Delfina gave a dry laugh.
"Yes. And you ought to refrain from dining out as well, shouldn't you?"
"Is that what you truly hope for?"
Like an awl hidden in a pocket, a sharpness she could not fully conceal slipped out unbidden.
"Why are you being so prickly?"
"Because I've been terribly lonely since Father passed away."
"What sort of talk is that?"
Rosetta cried out in alarm and seized Delfina's shoulders firmly with both hands.
"I suppose that's why."
"Oh dear. You have us, don't you?"
"…"
Had she known nothing, she would have been deeply moved by those words. Now they only sounded detestable.
"Since you've gone and started this without a word, I'll indulge your whim for now, but if you bring shame upon the family, how do you think your sister will feel?"
"…"
"I'll trust that this behavior will stop soon enough."
Having finished what she meant to say, Rosetta turned her gaze to the tray she had set aside.
"It will be soon enough."
Delfina whispered so softly that even Rosetta could not hear. Her voice was barely a breath, and Rosetta, her attention elsewhere, asked again.
"What did you say?"
"Nothing at all."
The teapot, delicately engraved with floral patterns, was turned, and tea so darkly steeped that the bottom of the cup could not be seen was poured.
"Ah, do try some tea."
"I'm a little tired."
Delfina refused once, but Rosetta pressed the cup closer.
"How fortunate, then. I've brought a tea that eases tension."
Her manner suggested she would hold it until it was accepted, so Delfina reluctantly took the cup. A strong fragrance of tea billowed forth, as if trying to mask some other scent within. Delfina's gaze shifted to Rosetta. After taking a small sip, she set the cup down.
"I want to go see Father."
"You cannot go alone."
"…I'll be back quickly."
"I cannot send you off by yourself when you're this emotional. The journey is rather long, isn't it?"
"But Mother, you're busy."
As the representative of the Pignatelli family, Rosetta was in the midst of throwing herself into external affairs.
"Then take your sister with you."
"…My sister?"
"Your sister misses Father a great deal as well."
"My sister does?"
She barely managed to hide the scoff that threatened to curl her lips. Even while telling such an obvious lie, her firm resolve not to let Delfina go alone made Delfina smile thinly.
"Of course. You don't think her feelings are any less simply because she isn't the Baron's natural daughter, do you?"
At the darting look in her eyes, Delfina realized only one answer remained.
"…I'll go with my sister."
"Good. My daughter."
At the compliant answer, the taut air finally loosened.
Rattle.
The carriage made a noisy clatter every time it hit a puddle. Delfina drew back the curtain and watched absently as a fallen leaf on the ground grew wet.
"These days there are automobiles, yet we're stuck with this backward carriage—! The Count always insisted on clinging to old things while he was alive."
Evelyn cried out in a loud, disgusted voice. It was clearly meant to be heard. Knowing that ignoring it would only bring an even louder response, Delfina replied.
"And in the end, he did purchase a car."
"But that belongs to Mother. It isn't mine, is it?"
The shrill voice brought on a headache. Delfina pressed her temples firmly and let out a shallow sigh.
"…Hah."
Evelyn Savelli. The daughter Rosetta Pignatelli had brought with her. A vain woman who regarded Delfina, the only daughter of the Pignatelli family, as a thorn in her eye. After long persuasion by Rosetta she had sought to be registered in the Pignatelli family, but before the legal procedures could be completed, Count Pignatelli's sudden death had prevented her from becoming a member of the house.
Perhaps because of that, Evelyn was more open in her displays than Rosetta. Displeased by the sigh, she immediately retaliated.