Chapter 31
***
Louise shook her head in disbelief.
As soon as she accepted his proposal, he went with her to the pawnshop to pay off the loan and retrieve her mother's pearl. It was Caius who suggested they make the pearl into a necklace so it would never be lost again.
As much as she was bothered by her mother's strange wishes, she also had to think about her own lack of possessions.
Making a wedding gift out of her mother's pearl would ease her burden.
Still, she didn't dare speak of her mother's will in front of the Margrave.
"No, I like it."
Louise forced a smile.
Caius pulled out a pair of earrings from the jewelry box.
"Let's try these, too. I got some pearls that are similar in color to match."
The pearls in the earrings were not baroque pearls, but perfectly round, and therefore, though smaller in size, much more precious, Louise had the absurd illusion that they would be.
"Thank you, Caius."
Louise answered naively, for she really knew nothing about pearls. The man's gaze broke contact, and she was left alone to stare at the pearl.
****
"Oh, my God, I'm so excited!"
The wedding was now a day away.
Pauline spent the evening fussing over Louise as if it were her own wedding, dutifully applying cosmetics to her skin that she said were good for her.
Then, for the umpteenth time, she said the same thing.
"Even if you can't sleep, you must go to bed early, because tomorrow is a busy day."
Louise linked fingers with her young maid and promised.
"Okay, Pauline. I promise."
Finally alone, Louise peered through the curtains and out the window. In the garden, several hired hands were diligently making the last preparations by the dim light, as if they had forgotten the night.
For a family wedding with no outside guests, she hadn't expected so much work.
She wondered what her mother would say if she told her that this gorgeous garden, with its ribbons tied to every lamppost, was being prepared for her wedding. Would she still be pleased?
Louise quietly closed the curtains. Once the bustle of the night had died down, she carefully removed the jewelry box and opened it.
The jewelry box was no match for the garden in terms of splendor. Inside the red velvet, her mother's pearl was dressed in new clothes.
"..................Mother."
Louise called her mother out of habit.
"Can you tell me I'm doing well, that I'm going to be okay?"
Of course, there was no answer.
Only the pearl, now refurbished and even more sparkling, stood there, nonchalantly emitting a milky white glow.
She took the pearl in her hand. Deciding that the familiar weight was a comforting reminder of her mother, she took the necklace and slipped it around her neck.
The weight of the pearl pressing against her chest made her feel close.
She lay down on the bed, but contrary to her promise to the maid, sleep eluded her, no matter how hard she tried.
She wanted to meet Caius.
At first, of course, she was afraid of him, difficult and reluctant.
But he was the first other person to offer Louise a shoulder to lean on when she was alone under the sky.
She had to admit that he was the one who pulled her out of the quagmire. Even if he chose her as a useful trinket, she wanted to fulfill her intended purpose.
That way, if one day she served her purpose and went their separate ways again, he wouldn’t blame her.
But first, she had to be grateful for all of this.
Louise pushed herself to her feet. She put on her mother's pearl as armor and turned to the man who would become her husband.
***
"There is nothing to be gained from this marriage!"
Louise was about to knock out of habit, but withdrew her hand in surprise. The stranger's voice leaked through the slightly open doorway.
It's a good thing he had vassals trying to stop this marriage. Anyone in their right mind would.
But it was not a conversation she would want to overhear.
But before Louise could get a word in, Caius's brusque laugh broke through.
"I remember Ermoli’s name better than anyone, and I have nothing to gain."
Louise took an awkward step backward. The man was saying something unintelligible in a flat voice.
"Ermoli would be the most fitting scepter for me. Wouldn't it be great to get the current emperor's attention by pretending to be loyal to him and actually offering him his daughter and the pearl? The pearl that has finally found its owner after all these years is almost touching."
A daughter and a pearl?
Louise's cheeks, where she had planned to say thank you, slowly turned white.
The unexpected stranger of the words had somehow crystallized in her mind. Her mother's words rang in her head.
"When the crown prince is crowned, take this............"
A tidal wave of fear and natural curiosity washed over her.
Louise pressed her ear to the door.
"Petty revenge is for another time, Your Highness. After entering the palace, proving your lineage is more important than anything else, so how could your mind be so clouded?"
Your Highness? Revenge? Proof of lineage...............?
The chatter in the room grew louder and louder.
She finally recognized the unfamiliar voice.
Not a vassal. It was the man she had always believed to be Caius’s father, the Duke of Burg.
Bang, the sound of something being struck, echoed loudly.
"Are you afraid that the time is near for me to leave Burg, that I will no longer be able to maneuver the chess pieces of Burg when I am gone?"
"Absurd, sire; for even the smallest minion of Burg will know that for twenty years this Ferdinand's allegiance has stretched in one direction only!"
"Alas, and now you wish to be praised for the grace I have fostered?"
Spittle slipped down Louise’s dry throat.
Louise digested the sudden onslaught of information.
So, Caius was the adopted son of the Duke of Burg. He and Miriam were not related by a drop of blood, which would explain why he was so cold. The title of 'Your Highness' suggested that perhaps he...............
"When the crown prince is crowned, take this..................."
Her heart sank at the sound of her mother's voice echoing in her head.
The future crown prince she was referring to was not the current crown prince, Leopold.
The crown prince her mother hoped for was a descendant of Wilhelm, the rumored dead emperor. Perhaps it was the man behind the door.
But even if that was the case, what was this pearl?
The pearl around her neck choked her, sending goosebumps through her thin chamber dress.
Louise resolved to flee. She knew instinctively that it was better that way.
Caius knew she was an Ermoli, a loyal servant of the Emperor, but she had deliberately concealed her identity and never spoke of the pearl. She did not even consider herself a loyal Ermoli.
This marriage was a trap, as she first realized.
Whatever he hoped to gain from this marriage, it had nothing to do with her. All she had to do was let go of the pearl and run. If Caius was the crown prince her mother said he was, then her wishes would have been fulfilled.
But just as Louise was carefully removing her ear from the door, a small rattle sounded. At the same time, she heard Caius's voice.
"Wait."
The sound of shuffling feet came urgently. Louise took another step or two backward, but he was quicker to open the door.
The man stood with his back to the wide-open door, the corner of his mouth twitching lazily.
"------ah."
He grabbed Louise's wrist, which was whiter than the moon, and said,
"How much have you heard, lady?”
***
Caius slammed the door behind him.
Louise looked up at the man in front of her with trembling eyes.
"I need an explanation........... what is this all about?"
"Well................where to begin?"
His lips curled, but his golden eyes were cold. And the unnerving grip on her wrist did not diminish in the slightest.
Louise's shoulders clenched, afraid of his changed demeanor, as if he were a different person.
The man raised one eyebrow nonchalantly and suggested.
"Perhaps we should start with your name? Louise Henriette Ermoli, daughter of Stefan and Elisabeth?"
Louise inhaled sharply.
Her heart sank at the way he pronounced her parents' names so naturally.
***
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