You Think I Won't Talk?-Chapter 32

*******

Paul was sitting on the floor, supporting his upper body on a couch that had been flipped over. His room was a complete disaster, disarranged as if a storm had just passed by it.

A combination of several emotions was invading him, fury being the most dominating overall.

The Young Master of the Sylfinnier Duchy had done his very best to restrain himself for the last eight days. His only motivation to do so was his little sister, Marianne. Being away for that long... away from her; made him feel as if he had been sentenced to death. Not being able to see her... was like being deprived of air.

Marianne’s existence was the oxygen that filled his lungs. An oasis for his dark and dry heart... his everything.

Today was the day he was finally able to see her again. Yet, his urge of having her all to himself had to continue being suppressed by the circumstances. Having her so close... the torment had only intensified.

During the Ball, he had prevented his circle of friends from taking more interest in her. Leading him to lose sight of her for most of the event, as he drove the predators away.

Regardless of how things turned out, he still was able to...find her at a very... unpleasant scene.

Paul was roaming around for a moment, as he finally got away from the pestering young nobles.

Being the heir of a Duchy, these young aristocrats always approached him as a means to create a connection with one of the strongest Houses of the Empire. Having that kind of position in high society was a magnet for undesirable attention. As solicited as he was, he managed to get away from the greedy nobles and was now in search of his godly oasis.

Unexpectedly, when he caught sight of her... She found her mixed among the dancing couples.

The mere sight of her there irritated him. When he realised that there must be a dance partner by her side, his body stiffened in rage.

The fact that she was dancing with someone else... made him extremely furious.

Paul tried to discern who was the damned man that dared to get near his goddess. And once he recognised the man accompanying her on the dance floor... a horrifying emotion almost made him lose control over his rationality.

Unable to repress the overwhelming wrath for much longer, Paul returned to the Guests Palace in a hurry — Saving himself from watching the last moments of their dance.

The image of the man’s hands touching her, the close distance between their bodies... a first dance that should have been Paul’s... all of this kept echoing in his head, endlessly.

Even after making a mess out of his room, this continuous reproduction did not let the exploding emotions subside.

The inside of his mouth had now a strong taste of blood. Bitting the inside multiple times, Paul tore the flesh until blood got out, not only the taste but the smell became evident too.

He had clenched his fists so hard and for such a long time that once he released the strength... both arms were twitching heavily, from the shoulders to the tip of his fingers, in shock.

His muscles could not handle the force applied, which greatly exceeded his natural strength.

For a long time, he stared blankly at his numb hands, disassociating his mind from everything.

Like a dead doll, he stayed there, motionless.

At some point, a little bit of his consciousness came back. Looking through the darkroom, he inferred it must be around midnight now.

His eyes went in the direction of the open windows. The moonlight only shone outside. As if it were resisting its nature, it did not enter his room.

Distressed at this evident rejection. Paul’s body got up from its slumber and headed to the room that surely would be drowned in this pure moonlight.

Once there, He quietly stepped into the room without hesitation. Through the curtains, that same light that avoided him flowed inside, shamelessly searching for the guest residing in the room.

Even the moon yearned for its light to reach Marianne’s being.

Paul walked in silence, getting closer with each step to the bed where his sister sleeps. The closer he got, the better he could see her silhouette.

A flawless face like porcelain, reddish hair spread like streams on the sheets, her body shape over the blankets... made her look surreal.

Nonetheless, the beautiful sight did not alleviate his overwhelmed insides.

Driven by impulse, his hand flew to her delicate face, taking it captive in his grip.

Only her eyelids reacted to the sudden attack, opening widely to lock the hidden charcoal eyes with his.

Perplexed by the eyes under the terra cotta eyelashes, excitement made his hand grip harder, sinking his fingers into her skin to the point of being able to feel the bones beneath.

Little puffs left from her nose, grazing his hand at a restful pace and... eventually, the accumulated warmth on it, made him break out from the emotions engulfing him.

"...Marianne..."

The name, almost misshapen by his voice, rolled out of his mouth taking with it most of his intricate mood. The fact that only calling her name calmed him down, made Paul realise once again the miracle that Marianne’s existence was in his empty life.

Her eyes were looking directly into his own. As if he was hypnotised, he stared into the cloudy eyes that seemed capable to look even further inside him.

"... Marianne..."

Once again, he said her name in a gentle voice and next... Paul mentioned the one action Marianne had done that threw him out of control.

"... You danced today..."

After maintaining eye contact for so long, Paul averted his gaze seconds after saying those words, fearing that she would discover his ugly inner self.

However, knowing that she would still listen to what caused him turmoil, Paul laid his thoughts out.

"I feel disappointed Marianne... I wanted to be your first dance, you know?... Remember we practised a lot a long time ago?... But it wasn’t me who you danced with."

Paul felt how his anger began to emerge again and turned to Marianne once more.

To make sure she knew that the fact she danced with someone else wasn’t the only problem, he added.

"...That was the Crown Prince. Marianne."

Her unfazed eyes seemed to not comprehend why the Crown Prince was being mentioned, so as a good older brother, he explained the reason behind it.

"You might not know this... but that man is very dangerous..." Taking advantage of the attention she was paying to his words, his fingers brushed against her soft cheek. He always did this in a way that only wanted to demonstrate how sincere he was about caring for her... not knowing that this care had driven the original Marianne to the abyss multiple times.

"Until a moment ago... I was very upset with you Marianne... But I realized now I was being unfair... you would never dance willingly with such a scary guy, right? After all, I know you better than anyone."

Paul smiled at her and confessed his previous jealousy disguised as anger and, misguided by the impression he had of his sister, concluded this on his own.

He would make this the truth, whether it truly was or not, did not matter.

For the image he had made of Marianne in his head... that explanation was the only one that made sense. So, he held on tightly to this forced answer.

Convinced by his conclusions, Paul asked for what he truly wished.

A dance.

Taking one of her hands, he made her stand up from the bed. Paul watched mesmerised how her lovely hair followed her moves, giving off a sweet scent.

"Now...come here. Let’s dance."

A few steps away from the bed, Paul positioned his hands on Marianne. As he began to lead the dancing steps, Paul proceeded to hum the melody of a song.

The same song she had danced to at the Ball.

Feeling elated by this closeness, he unconsciously took in her scent several times to make sure this was real.

If it depended on him, he would dance all night with Marianne. Regardless, wanting to be the considerate brother Marianne knows... Paul ended their dance. Although he wasn’t nearly satisfied, he told Marianne it was time for him to leave while fiddling with her fingers, reluctant to let go of their touch.

"....I should go now... since it must have been a long day for you..." His eyes turned to her hair and with his free hand took a strand of Marianne’s loose wavy hair and entwined his fingers on it, feeling silky smooth to the touch his fingertips began to feel warm.

Paul thought about tomorrow and, with a flat and cold voice, finally said.

"You should rest here tomorrow."

The Young Master did not have a clear reason to say this, at least not one he was aware of, but he felt uneasy thinking of her going around outside. The hand he was still holding was gripped by his while struggling inside to comprehend himself.

Leaving the room, Paul closed the door and remained outside holding onto it for some time, feeling faint by having to go back and be further away from her.

Then, he recalled Marianne’s expression when he said goodbye. The kind and forgiving smile she always gave him... was as beautiful as ever.

Resting his head on the door he whispered once before leaving.

"...Marianne...."

A twitching smile materialized and slowly his hold on the door was gone. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

He regained peace of mind... the one he just stole from his sister.