You Think I Won't Talk?-Chapter 475

The hands of the Prince grasped the edge of the window, anxious to climb it and fall onto her balcony as he once used to do to aid with her beautiful sound... and he inhaled... deeply the frisky breeze of an Autumn night... inspired by the picture in his mind of the beloved resting below.

"I’m... overjoyed to know you are there... so close... that my hand could easily touch, even if slightly, your wonderous figure... smooth skin... solely if blessed by the gods..." — Immersed in the depths of the romance, Zeleskiaz’s conflicted entrancement frowned to the restraint he was told to keep, closing his lids wishing to obey as he believed would do good for the beloved... yet resigning to the selfishness of a deep craving. — "No... I cannot wait for a blessing... much less until tomorrow."

Climbing the window and jumping with the accustomed skill used to land on the beloved’s balcony, Zeleskiaz left aside every hesitation, hoping to only get a glimpse of the Lady from a distance. And with anxious anticipation, he looked around, aware of the layer a beastly god surrounded the chamber, stepping closer to the glass he would usually tap so she could welcome his visit... only placing his hand over its cold material to sigh entranced by the loveliness of the ambience this protected balcony allowed of the woman.

"... my love..." — Zeleskiaz whispered fascinated by the warmth his senses took in, breathing in the scents of the night and a lady, as well as the sounds of his heartbeats and the ambience of a secret visit... So entranced in the daydream that... his guard did not notice how a balcony’s door opened...

"...?"

Following the movement, his hand was watched as it moved along the glass, turning to look on the edge of it, slightly lower from where his hand rested as a woman’s hand appeared while opening the door further.

"... M... my Lady..." — He stuttered, surprised to meet the woman whose gaze shined to the moonlight as it met his rosy ruby losing the violet, gracefully lifting her corners in a pleased expression while trouble commenced to invade him. — "I- I wasn’t... I did not want to wake you... I..."

"... Are you not coming in, your Highness?"

"... Er... uhm... is it alright? I do not want to keep you from the rest you need..." — While he was talking, Marianne swiftly moved already welcoming his steps into the chamber, soft and warm in her essence... which had woken up with two souls meshed as one.

"It is alright... I... came to this balcony thinking that maybe... like we used to, your call would announce your presence, my prince."

"..."

"Do come in..."

The bashfulness in her shade and sound made his heart halt with the same thrill the first time her whispers invited a secret meeting, and dizzy by the effect of the lady, Zeleskiaz stepped in, carefully walking by her side, glancing at her appearance that in a lovely gown stood barefoot with an ankle and a neck cleanly bandaged while her youthful beauty almost could forbid attention from the wounds. However, his love was a selfish yet thoughtful one...

"... does the lady’s ankle not ache...? You are walking yet... is it alright for my Lady’s health...?"

"... it is alright..." — Shy she answered, moved by the concern in his eyes, deciding to give a pure peek, extending her limb so he could take it. — "Yet if aid is given by your hand... I will certainly appreciate it, your highness."

"! Yes. Yes, of course..."

"Thank you." — Walking further inside, hiding her smile, Marianne held onto the nervous man’s arm, mischievous as her new self had within a naughty essence, that like that one who owned it would take advantage in wishes to provoke the man she felt for, owning as well the gracefulness of her upbringing in this realm... However, her gaze that avoided his for a second found the coffer the prince inadvertently brought with him, telling about it as her motion stopped. — "... Your Highness? May I inquire... why does his Highness have possession of that coffer?"

"? Ah... this... when we retrieved the lady from the house you were kept in... We found this between your belongings. I was... I had it with me and as I thought it was necessary to give it back... I ended up on your balcony..."

"... I see..." — Taking it in her hand, Marianne fondly stared at the coffer aware of its content and purpose. Fiddling timid with it as she asked more to the man. — "Has the Prince... peeked at it?"

"I wouldn’t... It is my lady’s... I should not look through your belongings."

"... haha~ Indeed... The Prince is a gentleman..."

"..."

"..."

"Yet I did wonder..." — Zeleskiaz, after letting the caress of her laughter settle in his heart added. — "Why did the lady carry such an item with herself at the Ball..."

"Ah... that is right... I did bring it to the Autumn Ball... to that night."

Marianne’s lids lowered, recalling the night that had changed her and Elizabeth’s lives, thinking of the events that had led to a separation she now wished to repair with the talk they could not have that day. Nevertheless, just as she did, the Prince who saw the essence of the woman lightly wither with the sadness of the recall, held the hand that was moving away from his limb. Stopping her from retrieving the touch from him, demanding her hues to meet the lovesome pink overtaking the ultramarine that begged for the woman to listen.

"! My lady." — He said in hast, meeting her beautiful and surprised gaze. — "About... About that night... what you saw, it was nothing of the likes you would think."

"... what I saw..."

"I-I understood after you left. That my appearance and that woman leaving our place could have created wrong ideas in the Lady... I... I searched for you to tell that it was not what my lady could think... I-... I truly..."

"You are correct that I crafted some ideas at the sight..." — Marianne said, aiding his desperation to convey the truth while the eagerness confused his tongue. Meeting his eye, honest as she usually was to the also sincere man... conveying the will to listen with the return of his hand’s hold. — "Yet... Could it be... that other reasons were behind it?"