Chapter 25
***
Perhaps it was lust, not anger, that was rising in Ezekiel's gut, and he felt a nervousness, as if something was not quite right.
He stepped from the carriage and entered the Duke of Schwaben’s residence, and Loella quickly followed. In the carriage, she had been too shaken to speak, but after being ignored like this, she couldn't take it anymore.
"Ezekiel, what's wrong? Did something happen that you don't like?"
"......."
"Did you get an urgent call or something? Why are you so upset?"
Stomping toward the bedroom, Ezekiel pulled off his gloves and tossed them to the butler. The quick-thinking butler quickly removed his coat. He loosened his tie, too, and tossed it aside.
He felt very tired, and at the same time, his eyelids felt heavy. The woman's shadowy silhouette, the whiteness of her neckline against the black, the vibrant red of her lips, all of it clearly etched in his mind's eye. By the time he took off his hat, he had stopped breathing.
He was absentmindedly recalling the old tale of the monster jumping out of the box. The creature was strikingly handsome, but he believed it was even more so in its skill at decorating and revealing itself.
But what emerged was an innocent, innocent face. It was not what he had imagined when she was on the other side of the curtain, but now that he saw it in person, it was a beautiful face, as it should be in such an enchanting body.
Thinking so, he was puzzled. He'd never been so captivated by the idea of human form before. No, it was more accurate to say that his mind was filled with thoughts.
It annoyed him.
"Fear, anticipation.”
'Fearful, anticipating,' he thought back to the song the female actress had been singing in a voice that sounded like it was sinking to the floor. It's an absurd thought. What did he have to fear?
"Ezekiel!"
Loella shouted. Ezekiel finally turned around to face her.
He suddenly realized that it must have been half a year since he had last been with a woman, Loella included.
This intense lust must be due to that. It wasn't the woman herself, Lady Laila, that was the problem; it was the new atmosphere that could be arousing.
Ezekiel approached Loella slowly. He could see a mixture of anticipation and fear in Loella's eyes. It was an easy emotion to understand.
His hand cupped her cheek. Her cheeks flushed as he rubbed his thumb across her eyes.
"What happened to...? Mmm."
He leaned down and crushed his lips against hers.
Loella forgot all about Ezekiel's odd demeanor and the fact that they had just rushed out of the palace's music salon.
A sweet shiver ran through her. Ezekiel's tongue slipped between her teeth and curled around her lips, and her body heated up instantly.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. Ezekiel's hands untied the straps of her dress from her back and touched her bare skin.
The butler and servants who had come to attend to him retreated in unison, closing the door behind them. Letting out a quick, heated breath, Loella looked up at Ezekiel with pleading eyes.
He touched his thumb to her lips. Desire burned in his blue eyes. Knowing what he wanted, she willingly knelt before him.
He unzipped his pants, revealing a viciously erect penis. Loella cupped it between her hands and pressed her lips to it, as if touching something precious.
"Hmmm."
Ezekiel let out a short moan and grabbed a handful of Loella's hair, even as his mind wandered to the memory of Laila’s full, plump lips.
They must be just as moist inside. Women are all the same when you fuck them.
Even as he thought this, he became fiercely aroused and thrust his cock into Loella's mouth.
***
It was ten days later that Janet, Countess of Andex, burst into the cottage.
Olivia, resting in the living room with tea, smiled bitterly at the bundle of envelopes in the Countess’s hand. This had been Janet's daily routine ever since Olivia had gone to the palace's music salon.
<The Curtain rises> was a great success. Invitations poured in for Lady Laila and the Marel Theater Company. Noblemen wanted to open a music salon, and theaters wanted to stage a full-scale opera.
Of course, there were also many invitations sent out of interest in Lady Laila herself.
Janet found this amusing and irresistible, for she herself, as an ordinary noble young lady, had never received such attention, even in her debut year in society.
She wasn't jealous of Olivia, the gap was too wide to begin with, and she was well aware of the special position of extremism.
"You got a funny sender or something?"
Olivia asked, smiling, as Janet set down the bundle she had divided into three.
"This one's from a theater company, this one's from a music salon, and this one's an invitation to Laila."
"Did you read them?"
"No. But you can tell by the sender, and the Marquis of Salier was not sure which one to put in."
He had been sending letters for ten days. He couldn't wait to talk about the opera.
Olivia, though a theater artist, had never really had much of a taste for music or opera, and now she felt a little overwhelmed.
"I'll connect Mr. Marel.”
Even as she thought it, she couldn't help but worry that he'd steal people away.
"And this."
Janet, ever the cautionary tale of saving the best for last, handed her a letter she had set aside. Olivia looked at her questioningly.
"It's from Count Capelin!"
"Oh."
"Why are you being so coy? It's Count Ferdinand Capelin!"
Janet said excitedly.
Ferdinand was a handsome man. Not overwhelmingly handsome, like the Duke of Schwaben, but handsome enough that you could put him in any theater company right now and mix him in with a bunch of young actors.
Moreover, he had become the head of a family at a young age and was still unmarried. The Count of Capelin himself was a man of declining fortune, but he was well-liked among his fellow noblemen.
But Olivia only smirked.
"It's not what you think it is."
"What is it that I think it is?"
"Count Capelin is taking a shine to me and asking me to meet him."
"......."
"No, I asked him to contact me to talk about the theater."
"The theater?"
"Count Capelin owns a theater. It's business."
Janet couldn't hide her disappointment.
Olivia tore the letter open. She had been waiting for this communication, which was why she hadn't spoken to the other theaters and declined the invitation to the music salon. It wasn't necessary to perform at the Litch Theater, but it would be a natural way for her to meet Ferdinand.
The letter was simply written. It said he would come if she would allow him to, but if he didn't want to cause any gossip, she could meet him at the Litch Theater, or she could choose another location.
He was being considerate because after the music salon, Laila’s beauty had become the talk of the town. In fact, at this point, the mere fact that a young, unmarried, aristocratic man was visiting her was enough to cause a fuss about who had proposed to whom and who was in a relationship with whom.
Olivia wrote back immediately. The meeting would be at the Litch Theater, and they shouldn't be seen by anyone.
***
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