“Hey! Don’t touch her!”
Ophelia heard Claudio shout somewhere nearby, and the next thing she knew, she was being yanked forcefully away from the unknown man. With Claudio supporting her with an arm around her shoulders, Ophelia’s shaking lessened a bit, and she finally got her first glimpse of the other man’s face.
“Claudio…”
This time, the pitch of the man’s voice was just a bit lower than before, and the tone was cold. The man’s eyebrows crept up on his forehead in surprise as he spoke Claudio’s name. He had pin-straight blond hair that reached his collarbone and long eyelashes the same color, framing jade-colored eyes. The man wasn’t remarkably tall, and his slender frame was dressed in high-quality clothing. The cravat wrapped around his neck was secured with a tiepin decorated with a large jewel. Ophelia recognized immediately that this man embodied yet another type of male beauty, different from Claudio’s. As he waited for Claudio’s response, the man seemed melancholy and almost lonely.
“You old dog, Claudio! Having a secret tryst in a place like this…” In contrast to his first impression, the man grinned teasingly at Claudio as he said this.
“Shut up,” Claudio snapped. “She’s my employee. You’re not to go anywhere near her. In fact, get lost immediately.”
“Hmph, that’s not how it looks to me. Shouldn’t we take her to see a doctor?”
“She’ll be just fine as soon as you leave. So get out of here.”
“Fine, fine, I’m going. Take care, miss.”
With an incredulous expression, the man stood. The fact that he was speaking so casually to Claudio could only mean that he was a very highly ranked nobleman with ties to the royal family. Ophelia felt compelled to apologize for her unsightly display, but while she was internally debating whether it would be okay to speak to someone of such a high rank without being addressed first, the man left with a guard who seemed to have come to get him.
“Hey, can you stand on your own?”
“Yes. For some reason, as soon as that gentleman left, my trembling stopped.”
It was only after she’d unwittingly taken the hand Claudio held out to help her stand that Ophelia realized the extent of her situation and let out a horrified gasp. No wonder Claudio’s voice sounded so close! He had his arm wrapped around her back, hugging her shoulders against his body. Ophelia’s eyes widened so far it was a miracle her eyeballs didn’t pop out of their sockets, and then she scrambled away from Claudio. The only reason she didn’t let out a little shriek was that she was too shocked to do so.
“I-I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to cause such trouble for you!”
“Yup, you seem to be back to normal. It’s fine, here.”
With that, Claudio again held out his hand. Ophelia reached out falteringly, and after several awkward pauses, finally forced herself to lightly hold onto just the tips of his fingers. In response, Claudio grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled. Ophelia’s eyes were so wide they must’ve looked almost completely white when he forcefully tugged her to her feet, yet some part of her couldn’t help feeling a tiny bit sad when he immediately released her arm. Once he’d confirmed that Ophelia wasn’t about to fall over again, Claudio opened his mouth as if to speak, but then paused, his face twisting into an uncharacteristically troubled expression.
“…You’d be better off staying away from that guy.”
“Was that gentleman an acquaintance of yours?”
“That was the current head of the Vigatto ducal house, Gian. It’s rare to see him out and about, but… Hmm…” Without saying any more, Claudio cupped his chin in his hand as if deep in thought.
Ophelia had gotten the impression that the two didn’t get along, but she sensed it was probably best not to mention it, so she kept her mouth shut.
The Vigatto ducal house was an old family with a long history, and even Ophelia had heard that the current duke had been so sickly as a child that he’d spent most of his time in bed. Although he’d gotten a bit stronger as he grew older, even after inheriting his title, he didn’t attend any society functions and never showed himself in front of people. They were in a similar predicament, so Ophelia, being as out of touch with the world as she was, only knew of Duke Vigatto by name. Although in Ophelia’s case, she was only pretending to be sick…
The last time she’d shaken so badly that she couldn’t control her body and ended up with dirt smeared on her face had been at that tea party she’d been forced to attend as a child. At that time, it had been because of the large number of aristocratic girls putting on airs and talking themselves up, but that wasn’t the case just now. Duke Vigatto hadn’t said anything offensive at all. Sure, he’d spoken a bit harshly to Claudio, but Ophelia hadn’t sensed animosity directed at her personally. And besides, she’d started shaking even before she caught sight of him. Could this mean that the duke was planning to tell several people’s worth of lies?
But he looked so sad…
Without realizing what she was doing, Ophelia reached up to place her hand on her chest.
The duke had only been here for a brief moment. He appeared suddenly, all by himself, as if out of thin air, and left just as abruptly. And yet he’d left such a strong impression… What kind of person must he be? Ophelia found herself feeling as if the entire exchange had been nothing more than a short, intense dream. But the sensations of the dirt smeared on her cheek and Claudio’s warm hand holding onto her wrist were very real. The only thing that seemed like a lie was Duke Vigatto’s presence…
Only his presence is a lie… Ophelia mouthed the words to herself without speaking them out loud. A presence that gave even Claudio pause… In short, a presence that doesn’t exist in this world…
“Could it be… that gentleman just now was a ghost…?”
“Are you stupid? There’s no way…” Claudio looked down at Ophelia coldly, but suddenly he tilted his head back slightly and gazed off into the distance with a grin. “I suppose it’s not that crazy of an assumption. There is a graveyard right over there, after all…”
“Eek! Director, let’s go quickly! I can walk now!”
Laughing at Ophelia’s panicked state and the tears welling in her eyes, Claudio gazed out over the hill that could be seen in the distance with a hint of nostalgia.