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Chapter 34
Porcelain is difficult to care for. But it doesn’t break easily.
And so, declaring that one will be in the porcelain room carries an implicit meaning.
I am dissatisfied with the current situation and wish to have a serious conversation with you. However, I will treat you with consideration, so do not worry.
In short—
Cecilia Lucien was in big trouble.
No matter how old you are, a serious conversation with one’s mother—written as a talk, read as a scolding—is terrifying. Cecilia pulled a miserable face and hugged the pillow beside her tightly.
Curled into a ball, she buried her face deep into it for a long, long time.
“…No, seriously!”
Eugénie Rivelle was the one who caused the mess, so why was she the one trembling in fear?
She stamped her feet in frustration and nearly woke Alicia, who was sleeping peacefully. Seeing the white tail twitch, she hurriedly forced herself to stay still.
She was already afraid of the hours to come.
Exactly eight o’clock.
Kallia appeared after knocking on the door, looking extremely tense.
Her brown eyes rolled about anxiously as she studied Cecilia’s expression. Cecilia fluttered her hand lightly to signal that everything was fine, but Kallia’s face remained stiff.
It was obvious she was biting the soft flesh inside her mouth.
“Kiri.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
What should I say? Should I really tell her I’m fine?
While Cecilia was carefully choosing her words, Kallia stopped brushing her hair and spoke first.
Despite her low voice, the name she uttered—each syllable sharply cut—was laced with anger.
“Eugénie Rivelle—when shall I summon her?”
Ah. She had to deal with that today as well.
Taking into account the tea time with Blanche, it was going to be a rare, packed schedule.
Cecilia lowered her gaze slightly and straightened her back even more.
As if waiting patiently, Kallia resumed brushing. Cecilia’s thick black hair, tousled during sleep, gradually regained its smooth sheen.
Cecilia quietly studied her reflection in the mirror.
“You’re beautiful.”
“Am I?”
“Yes. It’s almost tragic that I lack literary talent.”
“…That’s excessive praise.”
The woman in the chemise dress stared back at them with an impassive expression.
Her eyelashes, long and dense, partially veiled her golden eyes. The gentle curve cast a subtle shadow beneath them.
It was a sight that could leave countless admirers spellbound.
Polished from an already innate beauty, her appearance could only be described as devastating.
“I don’t know when breakfast with Mother will end.”
Before Kallia could protest that it wouldn’t take long, the princess idly toyed with the strand of hair brushing her collarbone and continued,
“Once it’s over, I’ll meet her right away. Please postpone the tea time with Lady Houston to tomorrow and convey my apologies.”
“I will, Your Highness.”
“And is Baron Rivelle’s daughter behaving herself?”
Kallia failed to hide her disgust for even a split second, and that alone was answer enough.
After causing such a scene, if Eugénie Rivelle stirred up more trouble, her life would be hanging by a thread.
She was a young lady well aware of her own value—surely she knew when to keep her head down.
“Well then. Since I’ll be meeting Baron Rivelle’s daughter today, I suppose I should dress with extra care.”
“Understood.”
Kallia quickly pulled the bell cord, and the summoned maids rushed into the room.
“Your Highness!”
“Good morning!”
“The weather is lovely today!”
“You called for us?”
“It’s been so long since you summoned us!”
At the sound of Kallia’s clap, they all fell silent at once.
Cecilia rose from the vanity, turned lightly, and smiled.
“Good morning, everyone. Have you all been well?”
“Yes!”
“That’s a relief. I want to be very beautiful today. Could you help me?”
“Leave it to us!”
With that resounding chorus, the maids moved in perfect unison.
Cecilia obediently followed their directions, willingly becoming a work of art.
Their skill was flawless as ever. By the time Cecilia arrived at the breakfast room, she was confident she shone more brightly than polished porcelain.
After all, they had spared no effort from head to toe.
When she asked for the doors to be opened, a young page stared at her blankly before belatedly bowing in a panic.
“I—I’m sorry!”
“…It’s all right.”
She politely pretended not to notice his reddening ears.
Inside the blue porcelain room stood a moderately large round table at its center.
A black-haired young man, who had arrived before her, sat lounging in one of the chairs, his long legs crossed.
Under the ornate chandelier, his foot tapped lazily with a hint of arrogance.
Ah…
Cecilia stopped and sighed inwardly.
Memories of yesterday’s fierce back-and-forth with her brother resurfaced far too vividly.
She had deliberately shoved them deep into her subconscious, dismissed them as trivial, and tried to forget—but there was no way it could be that easy.
Especially not after that bombshell of an ending.
You are real.
Even without being particularly perceptive, anyone could guess what would have followed.
Her head ached, but Cecilia instinctively masked her composure.
When the man turned around, she was already wearing her familiar impassive expression.
Yet the moment their eyes met, both of them flinched.
Cecilia stared at her brother’s badly swollen face, unable to hide her shock.
“I—I…”
The words Did I really hit you that hard yesterday? lodged in her throat and never made it out.
His personality aside, his face was undeniably handsome.
The problem was that the swelling only made it more shocking to behold.
Alexis silently raised one eyebrow at the stunned Cecilia.
When she failed to continue, he spoke first, slow and deliberate.
Though his pace was leisurely, his enunciation was crystal clear.
“You look splendid today.”
“…I made an effort.”
“You are beautiful.”
“Of course I am.”
Alexis let out a soft chuckle, took her hand, and pressed a kiss to it.
Meanwhile, Cecilia had to suppress the urge to pull his face closer for inspection.
He deserved to be hit—deserved to be beaten, even. That was why she did it.
She didn’t regret it.
She mustn’t regret it.
When Cecilia deliberately sat down with feigned shamelessness, an awkward silence settled over the room.
Neither of them made any move to break it, and the density of the quiet only grew heavier.
It felt like stalking prey.
That suffocating tension before a hunt, nerves gnawed raw—
Pretending to admire the tableware, Cecilia finally lifted her head and faced her brother.
Unsurprisingly, he was openly examining her, chin propped on his hand.
His gaze traced every detail: her elaborately styled hair, carefully chosen jewelry, subtly applied makeup, and the simple yet refined dress.
At last, his eyes settled on her neck.
More precisely, on the amethyst shimmering faintly between her collarbones.
Then he smiled and tilted his head even further.
He must have noticed her gaze.
Watching his eyes soften atop flushed cheeks, Cecilia let out a small scoff.
“What. Am I that pretty?”
“An obvious question.”
The answer came without the slightest hesitation, tinged with mild incredulity—as if questioning it were absurd.
She laughed softly again.
“Oh dear. Did I raise your standards too high? What will you do now?”
“……”
“…I’m joking.”
“And it’s also the truth.”
The brief rebuttal carried a strange sense of dissonance.
As Cecilia’s smile stiffened for a moment, Alexis shrugged and switched the leg he had crossed.
His slender fingers toyed with the stem of a glass.
“I’ve always thought purple suits you well.”
The comment snapped her disrupted train of thought, and she answered naturally.
“Mmm. Gold actually doesn’t suit me much.”
“That’s surprising. I didn’t think there was a color that wouldn’t suit you.”
“There are always colors that suit someone better, and ones that don’t. You, on the other hand…”
She imagined a gold cravat beneath Alexis’s chin.
It suited him.
Perhaps unsurprising, given how he seemed to gleam under ripened sunlight.
“I think gold would suit you, too.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“But please refrain from gold suits.”
“That’s certainly a bold idea.”
“Could you not sound tempted?”
“What a shame. I’m very tempted.”
Cecilia adjusted her posture with a smile that asked Are you serious?
Alexis mirrored her, smiling back as if replying, Perhaps?
She lifted her chin slightly; he lowered his.
Throughout that series of motions, neither broke eye contact.
“…It’s strange, really.”
That after fighting so viciously yesterday, they were exchanging banter like this today.
Perhaps that was how comfortable Alexis was to her.
Just as she reached that conclusion, she immediately withdrew it.
The moment he leaned closer, her fingertips twitched.
A purely instinctive reaction.
And the perceptive man caught the disturbance in the corner of his eye.
Without warning, he reached out and lightly flicked the tip of her index finger.
“Ow.”
She quickly withdrew her hand from the table as naturally as possible and placed it neatly on her lap.
Just as he seemed about to reach further—perhaps out of spite—the doors opened, and the true master of the room appeared.
Cecilia and Alexis rose to their feet at once.
