Lunch that afternoon was served as usual. As occurred every day, Lucrecia appeared at the dining room entrance shortly after classes ended, immediately becoming the center of attention. Her presence always brought with it long conversations about bureaucratic matters and elaborate comments regarding the decisions of House Zehren. That afternoon seemed to be no exception, but Delilah's noticeable absence ended up altering the usual course of things.
The young woman had not only missed breakfast and classes; she was also not helping to serve the food alongside the other ladies, as she usually did on such busy days. It wasn't as if Lucrecia truly cared... but she couldn't help feeling irritated.
Because of the celebration, the entire mansion had become noisy. Servants, ladies, and assistants seemed to move from one place to another with the preparations, carrying fabrics, flowers, and trays through the long hallways. In the midst of that bustle, it wasn't hard to assume that Delilah should be collaborating somewhere.
However, although her participation in the preparations was not a strict obligation, her absence during classes was much harder to ignore. With little discretion, the brunette beauty called over one of the kitchen maids with a slight wave of her hand. The woman approached quickly, but just before Lucrecia could utter a word, the "castaño" devil rose from his seat to interpose himself.
He did so with total naturalness, as if he had simply finished eating.
—Call for Miss Delilah —he ordered calmly while adjusting his coat—. I want her to meet me in the drawing room.
The man of androgynous features barely spared a glance for the maid. His beautiful green eyes seemed much more interested in Cain's figure. And although the serene Salieri maintained his usual distant expression, as if he were paying no attention to anything happening around him, it was evident that if Raguel tried to provoke him the same way he had with Delilah... the result would be very different.
Lucrecia might have perceived that strange tension suspended between the two men. However, she limited herself to observing the proud back of the young man leaving the dining room with a steady pace.
Cain, for his part, had done nothing out of the ordinary during the meal. He had eaten and drunk quietly, maintaining a surprisingly serene attitude. His mood, in fact, had improved considerably. The anxiety that had tormented him during the previous days seemed to have dissipated during the night.
There were moments when his memories dragged him into a state of almost unbearable restlessness. Feeling empty was something he was used to, a constant sensation that slid silently inside him. That was why it felt so strange to have woken up that morning with a clear mind and a calm heart—even if he had done so in the most inexplicable way possible.
When the sun's rays penetrated the tall library windows, the light slid slowly until it reached his face, forcing him to open his eyes. Instinctively, he tried to cover himself with his hand, but then he realized he was in a rather uncomfortable position.
He was leaning against Delilah's unconscious body. His hands had become caught in the young woman's black hair, as if during the night he had unconsciously sought to cling to them.
Cain remained motionless for a few seconds. Her feminine expression, peaceful and defenseless under the morning light, seemed unexpectedly beautiful to him. The girl's body gave off a pleasant warmth that contrasted with the cold air of the library.
As he watched her in silence, he could only remember embarrassing fragments of the previous night... memories he preferred to push aside immediately. His fingers, however, still held the sensation of the skin on her cheek and the softness of her hair. Careful not to wake her, he tucked a few dark strands around her face.
Then, with a slow movement, he took her light body into his arms. He had decided to take her to her room. The sensation was strangely familiar. It was almost the same as the first time he had held her in the garden. At that moment, he had been moved by a contradictory impulse. Delilah had seemed to him then like a small, careless child who needed to be lifted from the damp ground.
Clearly, he had been wrong. When his hands had surrounded her body that time, the girl's cold and lonely gaze made it clear he could not see her that way.
—Delilah, this is for you.
Raguel's voice broke the thread of memories and returned Cain to the present. The man had raised his voice with the evident intention of catching the girl's attention.
Delilah was coming down the stairs with some haste, fully aware of how late it was. A slight shadow was drawn under her eyes; the morning's rest had not been enough to compensate for the lack of sleep.
The man who had sent for her was sitting comfortably in the main lounge. His questionable smile, always loaded with amusement, usually announced something unexpected. In front of him rested an enormous pink box. The surface sparkled delicately, as if covered in tiny diamonds that reflected the light from the windows.
Delilah could barely blink. It was truly impressive. Cain remained standing near the dining room entrance, while Leroy took his place to Raguel's left, observing the scene with his usual serious expression.
Raguel then took a small blue card that was attached to the box and held it up with theatricality.
—"I want you to wear this to the party. I am definitely going to dance with you."
He read the message aloud before extending the card toward Delilah so she could see it better.
—Bathory?
The young woman's lips felt strange pronouncing that distinguished surname. When she took the card between her fingers, her expression filled with confusion. The elegant diamond-shaped crest, with the Bathory family insignia embroidered in gold, shone clearly on the paper.
—Andrea Bathory? —she finally asked, looking up—. How do you know someone so important?
She tried to order her thoughts as she slowly approached the table to observe the box with more attention.
—There must be some misunderstanding.
Raguel smiled with evident amusement.
—Denying a relationship with the House of Bathory is truly offensive to hear.
Then he directed his gaze toward Cain.
—What do you think, Cain?
Everyone's attention immediately turned toward the young Salieri.
—Bathory is a family that does not act without thinking —he responded calmly—. There cannot be a mistake.
His expression remained completely peaceful. When he looked at Delilah, it seemed as if nothing extraordinary were happening. But a very clear memory appeared in the young woman's mind. In her room, inside a small box, she kept a silk handkerchief with that very same crest embroidered on it.
—I'm not sure what is happening...
Uncertainty was clearly reflected in her face. It was then that Cain began to walk toward the library.
—Delilah, I am going to help you with the classes you missed.
He continued moving forward without waiting for an answer, as if that decision had already been made. The dark wooden walls and the heavy curtains of the library seemed to silently call for the girl's attention.
—You should be more discreet... —Raguel whispered in his usual sweet tone—. My, how you like older men.
The comment made Delilah's face flush immediately, while Leroy observed the scene with evident bewilderment, unable to understand the joke.
—Raguel, please... could you send this to my room?
Still confused by everything that had happened, Delilah decided to follow Cain. There was no way to understand that note on her own.
—It will be a pleasure —Raguel responded with a slight bow.
Delilah left the envelope carefully on the fabric of the dress inside the box. Then, giving him a small smile of gratitude, she finally headed toward the library.
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