Chapter 19 – That Beautiful Name

Eloise, who had promised to walk home together, pushed Sasha’s back with an interested look and then walked off alone. Damien, who had come all the way, couldn’t say a word in front of Sasha, who had her arms crossed. He hesitated, then reached for the bag slung over Sasha’s shoulder.

“Give me your bag. I’ll carry it for you.”

“No thanks. I won’t fall for it anymore.”

Sasha held onto her bag tightly to keep it from being snatched. Offering to carry her bag was one of Damien’s tricks. He’d pretend to carry it, then toss it onto the dirt or run off with it, making her chase him all the way to his house.

Rejected, Damien flushed red and blue again. Sasha ignored him and strode out the school gate. She hated that Damien had come to school on his own. She hated even more that he followed her like a tail-wagging puppy. Other girls would see and misunderstand their relationship. But clueless, stubborn Damien kept talking.

“I came today to apologize for last time. Since then, you haven’t met me or even looked at me. When you do that, I don’t know what to do.”

“Fine. Then I’ll forgive you for that day.”

Sasha accepted Damien’s apology indifferently. There were plenty of boys who chased her and picked fights, and Damien was the most mischievous of them all. He’d tease her, apologize, then torment her again just when things seemed to improve, and if she got angry, he’d watch for her mood and apologize again… She was tired of these meaningless apologies.

“You’re accepting it?”

“Yes.”

“Then let me walk you home today.”

Damien’s bold declaration made Sasha frown. People kept glancing at Damien’s navy boys’ school uniform. Everyone in Manolie knew the youngest son of the Barbeau family chased Sasha Vinoche. Damien was proud of that fact, though Sasha wasn’t.

“Why? Your house is the other way.”

When she pointed out there was no need, Damien hesitated, then suddenly got angry.

“You’re not seriously in love with Mr. Robert, are you?”

“What? Of course not. Why would I be?”

“Well, all the girls are interested in him. Don’t you know how they hang around the café whenever he goes out to buy a newspaper?”

It was true that the café was especially crowded whenever Mr. Robert went out. A stranger coming to Manolie was rare, and he certainly stood out.

“No, I don’t like him.”

When Sasha answered firmly, Damien bent over and looked closely at her face, as if she were lying. Annoyed, Sasha pushed Damien’s face away with her fingers.

“I really don’t like him.”

She thought about it, but the answer was the same. To like someone meant wanting to hug and kiss them, right? Sasha had never thought of that man in that way. He was a good friend, even if he was a bit older—like Enzo in Yelwae.

Just as Damien said, Mr. Robert was handsome. Tall and well-proportioned. If all the models hired by the Royal Academy looked like Mr. Robert, Sasha wouldn’t have been scolded for painting their flaws so realistically.

But, he was very handsome and also a little mean. Well, maybe not just a little—maybe quite a lot. Sasha sometimes wondered: would he treat a woman he liked politely and kindly?

“You, if that’s the case, you too—”

“What about me?”

“You’re an idiot. You dummy.”

Damien pretended to smack her head. Sasha stared at him with a childish face and giggled.

“Liar. You were about to call me pretty just now.”

Damien froze, standing like a scarecrow in a field. The real idiot was Damien! Sasha tried to hold back, but couldn’t and burst out laughing.

Damien, standing dumbfounded, said nothing. Sasha Vinoche was smiling brightly at him. A girl with big, clear green eyes and white teeth, laughing wide—it was incredibly… beautiful. Not just that her face was pretty—well, that wasn’t wrong—but he liked her smiling face…

Suddenly, Damien’s heart pounded as if it would burst. Flustered, he just moved his lips. When he didn’t react, Sasha looked a little surprised and carefully approached. Sasha reached out to check Damien’s forehead. Her white skin showed under her thin blouse. The orange scent from the Vinoche yard lingered. Damien couldn’t stand it and pushed Sasha away with all his strength. Sasha, who landed on her bottom, glared at him.

“I… I like you.”

Damien panted as if he’d run a long distance. After blurting out his confession, he looked surprised, his earlobes bright red.

“I want to marry you.”

Of course, Sasha didn’t take Damien’s words seriously. She got up, brushed the dirt off her skirt, and picked up her bag.

“You always torment me.”

“That… I won’t anymore. I promise. No, I swear. I’ll never treat you like that again. I won’t let others pick on you either.”

Damien seemed overly excited. His tie, slung carelessly over his chest, moved up and down as he breathed. Seeing Sasha’s doubtful look, he quickly made an aggrieved face.

“Sasha Vinoche. Even if it’s not me, except for Enzo, none of the boys in Manolie ever leave you alone.”

“At least Mr. Robert never tormented me like that.”

But Sasha immediately regretted mentioning that name. Damien’s blue eyes burned with jealousy.

“Why mention him? He doesn’t live in Manolie! He’s completely unrelated. And anyway, he already has a woman.”

Sasha shrugged. She knew Mr. Robert had a woman. She hadn’t talked to her, but had seen her. Probably someone from Laurent who came to see him. She didn’t know exactly who.

“Madame Eleonore. I saw her go into Hawthorn Mansion.”

Damien, watching Sasha’s reaction, declared Mr. Robert’s infidelity. Madame Eleonore—a romantic name, probably because she was from Laurent. Sasha remembered her violet-colored skirt. The ornate corsage decorations on her coat had occupied a place in Sasha’s mind for a long time.

“Who’s that? Is she famous?”

“You idiot. She’s the most famous opera singer in Laurent.”

That sounded a bit suspicious. How did Damien know such a famous actress?

“When I went to Laurent last vacation with my brother, I saw her perform at the Corbizié Theater.”

Again, Sasha looked doubtful, and Damien snapped.

“I already recognized her face! You’re the only one in Brissen who doesn’t know her. Idiot. My uncle sends us newspapers from Laurent, and her face was in the articles.”

Having shouted, Damien didn’t elaborate further, just mumbled. After thinking, Sasha asked,

“You cut out the opera singer’s photo from the newspaper and kept it?”

“I didn’t! My brother put it in a frame.”

Damien, flustered, insisted he didn’t like women like Madame Eleonore.

“She’s a shameless woman. She chose to become the Duke of Guienne’s lover, even though everyone knew he had a fiancée.”

Damien criticized Mr. Robert for having an affair with such a woman. Sasha listened indifferently, as if it was someone else’s business. She didn’t know why Damien was so heated about this.

Duke of Guienne.

Sasha was surprised to realize the name didn’t feel unfamiliar, even though she hadn’t heard it in a while. As if she’d sometimes thought about that high-up person she’d never meet. The Duke of Guienne’s name was always connected to beautiful things. The elegant owner of Lorthez Castle, whom she once visited thanks to the Marchioness’s favor. And the dazzling owner of Hotel d’Ecran, as if entering another world.

Enzo said the Duke of Guienne had died a few years ago. His son inherited the title and became the young Duke of Guienne.

A man with the power to buy and sell Lorthez Castle at will, but who had never actually lived there. So he didn’t even know the beauty of the lily pond he owned. Now, he must be the castle’s master.

Does the Duke of Guienne know his lover loves another man? 

It was a ridiculous thought, but Sasha felt a bit sorry for him.