My Wonderful Second Life

Chapter 19- The painful truth

Emmanuel was never tired of seeing Lucreatia's expressions change in a heartbeat. Her easy-to-read personality allowed for some fun moments to all around her. It was a change from Florence, her mother. She was undoubtedly her daughter. Those eyes and that hair could only come from the Benedicto family. And even how she cared for others was reminiscent of her mother and the others before her.

Yet, Lucreatia surprised him every time, with her honesty, with her stubbornness, and with her relentless search for something outside the life she had. For a freedom and a control, she so desperately thought she needed and could be her downfall.

His eyes veered into the broken bracelet on her wrist and his heart sank. The glow that once graced the grey stones was nowhere to be seen. Very soon, their power would flatten. Time had come for a new bracelet and for the Mountnero ladies to leave.

While Emmanuel watched Lucreatia's face go from shock to resignation (due to the prospect of a ball and dancing), he thought of how noisy the house had become. And how long it had been before they arrived, since a flash of laughter and normalcy had filled the corridors of Rosalinda's mansion. All changed because of these children with such distinct personalities. Lucreatia was loud and a troublemaker, Jennifer was sneaky and scheming, and Fanny was a saint who cried too much. Yet he would miss not being alone. Not passing his days on his study or his nights drinking stolen brandy or cooking too much.

He would miss the disorder, but he would get used to the calm. And he would wait like he always did until the Lady of the house returned to take her place, as the owner of Rosalinda's manor. As Aerabitina's regent.

Breakfast soon ended and, as usual, Bianca wasted no time and started right away with their classes. Emmanuel went along as well when he saw the duke's intent on overseeing them. The boy had always been a control freak in all aspects of his life, and it didn't surprise Emmanuel his wish to see with his own eyes the girl's lessons. Though, Emmanuel realized it could be also a subconscious fear he had gained from Lady Beatrice. Even if both knew Bianca was incapable of mistreating the children, a father would always worry after such horrifying incident.

However, with all that had happened between him and Bianca's family, the room and the lessons were bound to be hard for everyone involved. His sheer presence added an unwanted pressure, and while Bianca and Jennifer fared well under the circumstances, Lucreatia struggled with her steps (more than usual). For a while, Emmanuel just watched from the corner, sitting on a chair and sipping on a strongly brewed coffee. He observed as the duke's aide played on the piano, a very nice tune yet easy to dance. He saw the Duke lean on the white pianoforte, arms and legs crossed, face closed off.

Emmanuel lasted one hour until he intervened. The air had gotten too heavy for him. "Lady Sargosa." he called while she corrected Lucreatia's posture. Bianca took a moment to register his voice, but she turned with her hands on Lucreatia's back. "The day is quite dry today. Why don't we stop for some refreshments?"

Bianca paused, some strands of her hair falling out of her tight bun. She gave a look to the Duke before returning to Emmanuel. "It seems a good idea."

"That is wonderful." he said, rising from his seat excited. "A sip of a saffina tea refreshes even the soul. Why don't you and his excellency go to the gardens and fetch some saffinas, while I and Franco take the girls to prepare the rest of the ingredients?" Emmanuel approached the girls, making a movement with his chin to Franco, who waited for the Duke's call.

When the man itself left the pianoforte and took Bianca's arm, Franco then did as Emmanuel said, helping him steer the children away from the classroom. Overall, Emmanuel was satisfied with the excuse he came up with. Those two were too hardheaded and terrible at talking to each other. It would have taken them days or weeks to address their issues. However, with his excuse, even if flimsy, they had plenty of time for that. If they wished for.