Chapter 46
***
"No, father, I'm not................."
Suddenly, the Emperor was even more intolerably angry at his son's unusually turbid eyes.
The golden eyes of the Heidenberg he knew were clearer than this. Not his father, not his brother, not the Emperor Karl himself.
His son’s timidity, which was not his fault, was exasperated by the fact that he was being watched. He was too timid to sit on top of the crown prince, even with fake spots.
Even Albrecht's pearl, that cursed pearl, was nowhere to be found.
Unable to organize a major search for the imperial treasure or put a bounty on it for fear of losing it, the emperor grew increasingly bitter.
He and his brother Wilhelm, who was born a year earlier, had been at odds from the start. Try as he might, he could not escape his brother's shadow, so he enlisted the help of Galicia.
But even that was for his own good. He could not keep pace with the world's onward march if he remained alone.
His brother was a coward, believing that the empire would last forever if he kept the gates closed and gave no troops.
The cowardly emperor sought to protect the land through draconian rule and fear, and it was not difficult to add the excuse that his brother had gone mad.
With the same bloody hands that slaughtered his brother's family, he rowed the first oars for the empire. He dug the ground and laid the railroad tracks.
He served liver to the nobles who pointed fingers at his brother's blood-stained hands, gallbladders to the people who cried for food, and his flesh to the Empire.
He wanted to be better than his stifling brother.
Finally, Karl built Hyreth, a city with trains. He built an advanced empire with a publishing street.
His temporary neediness was soon to be alleviated, but it was his own son who held him back..................!
Emperor Karl let go of his son's still unmarked wrist angrily.
"Good. Now I'm going to dig up your dead mother's grave to get my answer!"
"Ah, Father.............!"
Prince Leopold stormed out of the palace, followed closely by his father. The buttons of his unfilled sleeves were still undone.
***
Within a week of her bedding him, three pairs of expensive chemises had disappeared.
Louise was forced to call a tailor.
"I just happened to have a new fabric that's all the rage in the capital, how did you know to contact me?"
The now familiar tailor, Madame Dichen, brought in several rolls of muslin, which she cut with gusto.
"Well, I'm not the kind of person who cares about fashion."
Louise replied bluntly, but Madame Dichen spoke naturally.
"Alas, I suppose that's why His Excellency has asked me to dress you in only the latest and most beautiful things."
She spread out the muslin material she had brought in front of a sighing Louise. Each one was slightly different, but all were as sheer as dragonfly wings.
"Are you sure it's not ..................too thin?"
Louise asked worriedly, and Madame Dichen smirked.
"That's what everyone wears nowadays, and a certain lady in a house I visit wears something like this, even if she's as regal as the Queen. It's crazy for the outside world."
Louise's brow furrowed a little at the ungracious remark.
She ran her palm over the unfolded muslin. It was thin enough that she could see her palm print, though that might have been due to the sunlight streaming through the window.
Pauline interrupted, echoing the tailor.
"Perhaps His Excellency will give you a day off when the dress is finished."
It was a joke the tailor didn't understand, but Louise blushed.
"Nonsense."
And with that, she scolded the maid, but the work began anyway.
Louise was encouraged by the sight of the precious muslin on her breastplate being cut in twain.
Madame Dichen, holding an hourglass pin, smiled.
"I hear it's very fashionable in the capital these days to be this fine. You have a lovely bustline, Madame, so you don't have to worry."
"But this is not the capital. The weather in Burg is different from there."
But Madame Dichen was determined to keep her promise to the Margrave to make beautiful clothes according to the latest fashions.
The pins danced busily in her hands as she picked up this excuse and that. Louise had to stand for a long time with her arms folded, sighing.
***
That same night, the man who had made another pair of chemise out of rags, spoke up.
"I'm thinking of teaching you to ride, starting tomorrow."
"You.................Your Excellency?"
Louise, stretched out on the bed with sleep pouring over her, strained her eyelids in surprise.
He smirked as he buttoned his shirt.
"I wouldn't be a good teacher, and even if I could, I don't have the time."
If she saw him in the daytime, her heart would clench in her chest and she wouldn't be able to stand it.
She felt nervous just talking to him, or even realizing that his eyes were on her in the distance.
It was a good thing, and a relief to Louise, that he was not a riding teacher himself, so she couldn’t understand the disappointment that crept up from the bottom of her chest.
"In three months, in April, it's horseback riding season, and there are quite a few noblemen you'll find at the rides. Even women are expected to know how to ride these days, so you might as well learn. It'll be good for spectating, and you'll be able to ride a horse in case of an emergency."
Louise nodded as she lay on her side, and Caius continued in a dignified manner as he opened his shirt.
"Michael will teach you tomorrow morning, so be ready."
But the words made Louise sit up.
"But I don't want Michael to....................."
She really, really didn’t want him.
She wanted to say that, but the man was faster.
"It would be unfair to blame Michael for what happened in Melk in the past. Everything he did was the same as what I did."
Louise wished she could somehow forget that the man who she had been sleeping with every night had paid someone to break into her house and turned her life upside down.
Louise pursed her lips.
From the first day she walked into this place, or the night she took the pearl from her mother. She hadn't had a choice anyway.
"I think it matters who you learn to ride from, and since I taught Michael myself, learning from him is like learning from me, so I hope you'll follow along."
The man's words, which began as a persuasion, ended as an exhortation. Now it was Louise's turn to nod.
"..................I'll do that."
He added, almost as a consolation.
"I picked the horse, though. He's a gentle one. And the color will suit you."
To have a horse.
She had once harbored such a fanciful dream behind her mother's back.
Louise realized that she was going to learn to ride.
"Thank you................"
She said absentmindedly.
It wasn't a gift for her, and she hadn't asked for it, but the words just came out of her mouth.
Louise's demeanor seemed to surprise Caius. The slow nod of his head was telling.
As he gathered up his coat for the last time, he reached out with his free hand and patted Louise's cheek.
"When they’ve learned the breaking news, let's see your worth. Good night."
After he left, Louise was alone.
She gently caressed her cheek where his broad palm had touched, then pulled away, angered by the lingering warmth.
She knew he was the coldest man she'd ever met. She would not allow her heart to be warmed by a lukewarm body.
***
The next morning, Louise put on her riding clothes for the first time.
When they were tailoring her riding suit, she wondered why she had to have all these unnecessary items, but it turned out they were all useful.
Pauline smiled as she tied the feathered riding hat to her chin to secure it.
"You look very pretty, my lady."
Louise fiddled with her jacket's trim as she listened to her maid's praise. It was the first time she'd ever worn a riding jacket, and it felt awkward.
Down in the garden, Michael Xavitzer stood with a pure white horse.
He dropped to one knee, as if to a stranger.
"I am honored to have the opportunity to serve you, my lady."
The horse's blunt expression bore a striking resemblance to its owner.
Louise sighed, not hiding it.
"Well, I'll take your word for it. I've never been around a horse in my life, so I'm sure I'll be clumsy.”
***
To donate for extra chapters for my series or to tip me visit my kofi page
Write a comment