[color=lightgray]
[h1][center][color=salmon]Lorenzo[/color] & [color=BBC7E1] Charlotte [/color] [/center][/h1]

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Charlotte had finally left the guesthouse, greeted into the outdoors by the serenade of crickets and the cool air against her skin. Seeking respite from the weariness that weighed upon her, she hurriedly stepped inside, allowing her body to sink into the plush cushion. Her eyes found Lorenzo's familiar presence within the carriage. Concern etched across her face, she softly asked, [color=BBC7E1]“... Are you alright? Did you and Benjamin load everything?”[/color] 

A soft sigh escaped her father who had remained abnormally quiet since the conclusion of the dinner with the Alidasht royal family. However, his silence was not accompanied by any troubled expression. Though he didn't voice it, Lorenzo just wanted to get back to his estate as quickly as possible. There was also the fact that he was slightly winded after having to load most of the gifts. At the time, he did not understand why Benjamin insisted on his constant need to stop and meticulously organize each bag or box into the cab, but it left Lorenzo with the task of repeatedly going back and forth into the guest house. He could have asked for help from one of the servants inside but felt they had served well enough tonight.

[Color=salmon]“I am fine, I think.”[/color] He cracked a smile, breaking from the neutral expression he held. [Color=salmon]“And we loaded the cab with all the gifts we carried. If I forgot anything, I can let it be if it means we leave for home sooner. And you? Are you alright?”[/color] 

[color=BBC7E1]“No.”[/color] The word spilled from her mouth involuntarily. She sighed and gripped her knee as she considered whether she should be opening this can of worms right now. Her gaze slid to his sadly as she shut the carriage door. [color=BBC7E1]“I’m not…”[/color] Charlotte confessed, [color=BBC7E1]“...I need to talk to you about something serious.”[/color] 

Lorenzo's brows raised as he dropped his smile, wondering what could be troubling her. 

[Color=salmon]“What is it, Lottie? If it's about the dinner, that's… that's how dealing with hungry royals typically is. There are so many large egos in a single space and then when you add in animals… It's just bound to be rough.”[/color] Lorenzo was attempting to ease Charlotte's troubles but per usual, he wasn't quite hitting the mark.

She stared at him in disbelief briefly before speaking once more. [color=BBC7E1]“Prince Wulfric told me you were abusing drugs… and um, well…suicidal.”[/color] Charlotte wasn’t sure if she was still feeling the wine or if she simply had no idea how to handle this other than to be straight with him. Either way, it was a blindsiding utterance. Lorenzo's face twisted with confusion while he averted his gaze down toward the floor of the cab, trying to completely absorb Charlotte's words. He looked at her face again but still held the same confused expression.

[Color=salmon]“That's nonsense! Why would he even say something like that to you?”[/color] Lorenzo shook his head. [Color=salmon]“I think I should have a word with him, or perhaps his parents. And to think I was making good ground with him.”[/color] He let out a defeated sigh. [Color=salmon]“Worry not, Lottie. I am not some junkie of a vagrant. I'm a duke! The duke of Veirmont! And I'm definitely not suicidal.”[/color] It was clear Lorenzo was frustrated by Wulfric as he spoke without giving Charlotte so much as a chance to reply. [Color=salmon]“Damn, why would he spread such a nasty rumor when we're on good terms?! And to put you in the middle of this? I mean… Ugh! We'll see how he likes it when I start telling people the [I]truth[/I] about him!”[/color]

[color=BBC7E1]“…It’s not a nasty rumor; he was concerned about you…Prince Wulfric only told me, no one else.”[/color] Her expression saddened and she sighed deeply. [color=BBC7E1]“I am concerned about you. It’s… It’s been a lot and hard. Struggling is nothing to be ashamed of.”[/color]

Lorenzo was dumbfounded as Charlotte clasped her hands together in her lap, her gaze lowered.  [color=BBC7E1]“Lorenzo, I found the opium and liquor…The rooster went in your room so I had to go in there and try to get him out.”[/color] Lorenzo shook his head once more at this, rapidly this time as he felt he'd be crazed to believe the words coming out of Charlotte's mouth.

[Color=salmon]“The what and the what? A rooster?! A rooster in my room?!”[/color] Lorenzo was completely confused but fortunately, the recollection of the rather large bird pieced together at least half of what was said. [Color=salmon]“Wait…”[/color] Lorenzo placed an index finger on his brow as he lowered his head trying to piece together the rest of her words. [Color=salmon]“You went through my things?”[/color] Lorenzo asked, yet he was sure he knew the answer. There was only one way someone could have found his stash of opium and gin. His raised hand lowered as he met her gaze with a face that was a stranger to Charlotte. Never had Lorenzo looked so furiously at her. [Color=salmon]“Why… why would you go through my things, [b]in my room[/b]? And don't blame the rooster! Roosters don't have thumbs, Charlotte! Did Wulfric tell you to enter my room without my permission? To go through my things?!”[/color] Lorenzo could not contain the fire in his tone.

[color=BBC7E1]“The rooster knocked some of the furniture over so I was trying to put things back the way they were before you came home-”[/color] Charlotte had tried to explain softly, her tone unconfident, but she ended up breaking off with a crack in her voice. She felt small at that moment as if she were a child again.

Her lip quivered as she realized with more thought that it had been Count Fritz that put those items on the side table for her to find; she truly had no idea where they had originally come from. The opium and gin could have been very well way out of the rooster’s reach.  

[color=BBC7E1]“Wulfric didn’t tell me to do anything…”[/color] She began and met his eyes with a frown, [color=BBC7E1]“I’m sorry Lorenzo. I won’t do it again I promise, but [i]please[/i] you shouldn’t be using such things…”[/color]

[Color=salmon]“Stop that, this instant!”[/color] The last thing Lorenzo wanted to see at this moment was Charlotte crying. He wouldn't allow it. Not now. [Color=salmon]“And don't you dare try to switch this around on my use of my [b]prescribed[/b] medicine! No rooster, not even one ordained by King Danrose himself could have opened the chest behind a closed room door! Why. Did. You. Enter. My. Room, Charlotte?”[/color] He was still seething but then the man simply… popped!

[Color=salmon]“You know what? Forget it. Forget it! I don't wish to hear any more of this! I just don't understand how you could act so… so… so inconsiderate to me? After everything I do and sacrifice for you. I commit to you and you… you go off to listen to the tales of other men?! And then you repeat them as truth! You let stray animals into our home with no regard for anyone else! Do you think Kier is safe with that rooster going wherever it pleases?! Do you think our servants appreciate having to take care of all these sudden and uninvited guests as well as that touched feline of yours?!”[/color] Lorenzo let the words fly with no disregard for the damage they dealt. [Color=salmon]“And then the strangers… two being fugitives… Complete strangers were allowed into our home without my permission… as if you are the true lady of the house! Charlotte, that you are not! You defiled our home, Charlotte. You- You… My room has always been off-limits, especially to guests, and you defiled that as well!”[/color] 

Charlotte did not meet his eyes. As Lorenzo had gone on, she had felt sicker by the minute. Her heart pounded in her ears as she remained stiff. She felt completely overwhelmed. As silence filled the carriage, with the exception of the sound of galloping hooves, she did finally raise her gaze and manage to stammer quietly, [color=BBC7E1]“…I-I…I just didn’t want to lose you.”[/color] Tears brimmed in her eyes,  [color=BBC7E1]“I love you.”[/color]

Lorenzo's anger burned fiercely as he confronted Charlotte leaning forward with his hands set on his thighs. [color=#cf402d]“You are going to lose me if you continue to invade my privacy like this! Can't you see the consequences if I'm mistakenly sent to the sanatorium?! Deemed insane because of what you say?!”[/color] His frustration and fury added a deeper and more intense tone to his voice.

A glare of enmity pierced into Charlotte's eyes. [color=#cf402d]“If you truly don't want to lose me, then stop disrespecting me like this, Charlotte!”[/color] His voice thundered through the carriage. [color=#cf402d]“Just because I'm not your blood relative doesn't mean I don't deserve the same respect you gave them. I am the master of this house now, and from this moment forward, what I say goes.”[/color]

[color=#cf402d]“Never, under any circumstances, enter my room again. And I forbid you from uttering a word about the things you discovered today otherwise you'll find yourself truly alone, with no one to love.”[/color]

Charlotte stared at him with disbelief and even some fear. She averted her gaze and anxiously tapped her foot. [color=BBC7E1]“I understand… I’m sorry.”[/color] Her words hadn't triggered any response from Lorenzo. He just continued to stare intensely at her until he breathed a heavy sigh. His expression relaxed as did his posture as he leaned back into his seat again.

[color=BBC7E1]“It’s been a long day… I think I’ll just walk the rest of the way home and enjoy the fresh air.”[/color] She called to Benjamin to stop the carriage and quite suddenly opened the door and stepped out. They were just around the block by the Sorian Library. 

Still, she could not wait. 

[Color=salmon]“Hm?”[/color] Lorenzo was slow to react. [Color=salmon]“Oh, Charlotte…”[/color] He simply shook his head and shut the carriage door defeatedly. Perhaps it was regret for shouting at her that was weighing him down, or maybe he was just tired from such a long day. Either way, Lorenzo was drained both physically and mentally.[/color]