That evening, when most others were already asleep, Sylvester summoned two guests to one of the castle’s guest rooms: his redheaded childhood friend and a male dancer. The latter he had requested as a tutor. While Claudia was purifying herself and observing all those prohibitions, he itched to change himself in the meantime. After much contemplation, he decided self-improvement was the answer.
The next time they could touch each other again, Sylvester wanted to captivate her the way she did him. His motivations were the exact opposite of the purity she was trying to achieve, but self-improvement was an expansive enough category that this still fit. To achieve more sex appeal, however, one needed another perspective—which was why he’d enlisted a dancer.
Sylvester had attended a party where he learned that male dancers had special techniques for drawing people’s attention. Hiring a male courtesan was another option, but to start, Sylvester had opted for the dancer, whose techniques had wider applications. He’d called Tristan to join him since Tristan hadn’t been making much progress lately with Louise.
The tutor was in his late twenties, with a similar height and build to Sylvester and Tristan. He understood he was here not to perform but to teach, so he’d come dressed in casual wear rather than his dancing attire.
“First you must draw people’s attention, for without that, techniques are useless. This is true even when you’re alone with someone. You need to be able to control their gazes.” Loose-hanging, colorful clothing was eye-catching, but wearing such attire would be out of place on anyone other than a dancer or other performer. “The most natural way to accomplish this is by using your hands. Though slightly less effective, you can also use your eyes.”
The tutor demonstrated examples while sitting and standing. Some of his techniques were particularly suggestive.
Dropping his voice, Tristan whispered, “Hey, Syl, you sure this is necessary?”
“You’re the one who told me you wanted to learn too,” Sylvester responded curtly.
Tristan had been eager when Sylvester first brought it up, but now that it was time for him to try the moves, he was losing his nerve. His discomfort must have been obvious to the tutor because the man gently said, “You don’t need to use all these techniques. All I’m doing is teaching you ways to express yourself. What matters most is your individuality. You shouldn’t try anything that feels too unnatural for you.”
“Oh, okay.” Tristan nodded stiffly.
“If your emotions aren’t in it, it won’t matter how much you try, it won’t have the desired effect. Also, it doesn’t matter how much you try to appeal to the other party—if they aren’t interested, there’s no point.”
Tristan stared down at his feet. “Right…”
Unable to remain silent, Sylvester chimed in, “Perhaps you should build more self-confidence first.”
Perhaps it was too early to learn this together. Still, there was probably something Tristan could learn tonight, if Louise’s reactions to him were anything to go by.
The tutor, too, noticed Tristan’s uncertainty. “If you lack confidence, why don’t you focus on trying to entertain your conversation partner instead? You can try a few different things to gauge their interests.”
Sylvester nodded thoughtfully. The tutor’s advice was starting to come together. He’d spoken a moment ago about trying to appeal to one’s audience, which was exactly what royalty had to do with their subjects.
Now that I think about it, public addresses are also about pleasing the crowd. As a leader, he had to maintain his expected public image. Was this not essentially the same?
Tristan perked up. “Entertain them?”
“Precisely,” said the tutor. “Simply put, if you’re enjoying yourself, the other person will as well. Wouldn’t you like that?”
“Yes.”
“And don’t you think it would be good to have as many tools in your arsenal as possible to achieve that?”
Different people had different interests. There was no way to know for certain what worked. As the tutor said, it was ideal to have as many options as possible.
This time, Tristan’s head bobbed eagerly. “Yes!”
“Good answer. It’s best to try these techniques out in front of others to see how they work. But if you’re too embarrassed, you can do them in front of a mirror instead.”
Their little lesson ended safely, and Sylvester decided he’d request another when time permitted.
“Why don’t we invite Virgil along next time?” Tristan suggested.
Sylvester scoffed. “I very much doubt he’d want to participate.”
“You don’t know if you don’t ask.”
Sylvester pictured his future brother-in-law, and he didn’t feel the least bit compelled to reach out. But what if Virgil did have someone he wanted to entertain and appeal to? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to ask. Mainly because helping Virgil out might help soften him up so he didn’t constantly butt heads with Sylvester.
Sylvester left the guest room where Tristan would be staying for the night and started toward his own quarters. He passed the room that had been repurposed for Claudia’s use, remembering how he’d snuck inside on the night of their engagement ceremony. He’d been able to maintain his hold on reason at the time, even though his emotions were on the verge of spinning out of control. Claudia had been the one to soothe his soul. That was something she could do that even the saint never could. No one in the world could ever replace her.
Moments with her flitted through his mind: her smiling adorably, her blushing in his arms. There were even moments when she was so sensual, it was nearly impossible to resist her. She occupied his thoughts entirely as he slipped into his quarters, the crackling fireplace providing a comfortable warmth.
Sylvester stood in front of his mirror, remembering the techniques the tutor had imparted to them. He slid his hands down his body. I wonder what Dia likes about me.
There were times when he felt her gaze on him, seemingly ogling his muscles. The easiest ones to make out through his clothes were his pecs and arm muscles. His abs and calves were only noticeable when he wore something thinner and more formfitting.
The tutor said it’d be best to show them directly when possible. Specifically, by rolling up his sleeves or leaving his shirt slightly unbuttoned. He’d noted that this was especially effective for Sylvester, who always wore sleek, modest uniforms. It would be more stimulating when he showed skin.
I hope it works on her. All he could do was try to gauge her reaction.
After testing some of the techniques in the mirror for a bit, Sylvester blew out all the candles in the room, save for the lamp at his bedside table, then cracked the window to let in some air. The heat that had built in his body cooled instantly when the chill hit him.
The sun had long since set, leaving the sky pitch-black. Sylvester stared out at the empty abyss as he lost himself to his thoughts. When he considered how desperately he was trying to capture Claudia’s interest, he chided himself. Anyone else would think he was ridiculous, surely.
“I should practice what I preached to Tristan.” Sylvester didn’t have much self-confidence either.
Maybe it was because he’d made so many foolish mistakes before Claudia finally accepted his proposal, and some part of him worried if he was making them still. Being petty and small-minded certainly didn’t help. He knew that.
But there was this worry that wouldn’t go away, one that popped up out of nowhere when he least expected it: What if Claudia disappeared? The incident with the terribly unlucky boy detective hadn’t caused this sudden anxiety in him. It had existed long before that, sheltering in the depths of his heart.
Sylvester had no idea why.
Maybe everyone who fell in love felt this way. People had reassured him the fretting didn’t last forever. It was possible that all his more minor worries had snowballed into this big one. He didn’t know for sure either way. Nor was he confident that he could overcome it in the future. It wasn’t something that he was content to leave be, which was why he was doing everything in his power to combat that fear.
He muttered his beloved’s name. “Dia.”
There was no response, of course. She wasn’t here.
But still…
“Dia…” He called her name, a desperate wish in his voice.
As his eyes slid shut, a final wish ran through his mind. He hoped that nothing would prevent him from seeing her again, and that they could share more sweet moments together.