“Your Grace. This is the painting requested by the Viscount.”

As the banquet was coming to an end, the painter approached the Duke with 3 completed paintings.

The first painting to show the Duke was a solo portrait of Lucy.

Duke Genova nodded with a satisfied expression as he looked at the painting.

He immediately handed the first painting to the maid waiting beside him. The confident painter showed the next painting as well.

“I painted a scene of the Duchess and Lady Lucy together.”

In the painting, the Duchess and Lady were smiling brightly at each other.

Duke Genova, who received this painting from the painter as well, looked at it and smiled.

“Lastly, I painted the Lady and Duchess together just before Your Grace arrived.”

Having confirmed that the Duke liked both paintings, the painter showed his masterpiece with even more confidence.

Originally he had planned to paint only 2 pieces, but this was a painting specially requested by Viscount Borghese.

However, the Duke frowned upon seeing the painting.

“Burn that one.”

“…Pardon? B-but this is… Viscount Borghese specifically requested a painting of the Lady smiling among the crowd…”

“Burn it.”

“Ah, but the Viscount…”

“Burn it.”

Startled by the Duke’s forceful tone, the painter nodded and quickly lowered that painting.

“Yes… I understand.”

The painter left the banquet hall, sadly clutching the painting to his chest.

“This was my best work…”

The painter stood in the hallway for a moment, looking at the painting the Duke had ordered burned, pouting his lips.

“Well then, may I take that painting?”

The painter jerked his head up at the voice that suddenly sounded right next to him. Behind him, Count Shannon was looking down at the painter’s work.

“C-Count Shannon? But this is a painting of Lady Genova… The Duke ordered it burned, so I’m afraid I can’t… I’m sorry.”

“But Helen and I are in that painting, are we not?”

Count Shannon pointed at the painting.

Helen and Shannon were indeed clearly depicted among the crowd in the painting. But the painter shook his head.

“I still don’t think I can. Next time at a banquet, if you request a painting of you and Count Shannon…”

Shannon jingled a money pouch in response to the painter’s refusal.

“Would this be enough? It’s not a big deal if I buy a painting from you, is it?”

“Ah… I shouldn’t do this…”

Even as he protested, the painter’s hand was already reaching for Count Shannon’s money pouch.

*

“Who is he?”

Damian, who had been silent the entire way back from the imperial palace, asked Eriel as they stood in the hallway of the mansion.

Though he didn’t specify who he was asking about, Eriel standing there knew the question was directed at Shannon.

“Dad…”

Lucy, who was about to go to her room, turned her head back.

“Damian, there’s nothing between Count Shannon and me.”

“If there’s nothing, then why…”

“Dad!”

Lucy ran back down the hallway and tugged on Damian’s pant leg.

“I introduced Helen to Mom. Mom just went to see the friend I introduced her to.”

Silence fell. Damian turned his head at Lucy’s words.

His eyes closed without looking at either Lucy or Eriel.

His Adam’s apple bobbed beneath his clenched jaw muscles.

“Lucy, let’s go to your room.”

Eriel took care of Lucy first. Damian just stood there like a statue, staring into space, as Eriel took Lucy’s hand.

“But, Mom.”

“It’s okay. I’ll… talk to Dad.”

Lucy frowned at Eriel’s words. Her small lips quivered as if to say something, but in the end what came out was a sigh.

With a short sigh, Lucy nodded to Eriel and turned to go to her room.

Just before entering her room, Lucy looked at Eriel and said:

“Mom, are you okay?”

“Of course. I’m fine.”

Eriel nodded with a strained smile at Lucy’s words.

Soon there was a thud as the door closed, followed by the sound of the child’s trudging footsteps. Eriel approached Damian, who was still standing motionless.

“Damian.”

At Eriel’s call, Damian’s gaze returned to her from staring into space.

His agitated blue eyes moved over Eriel’s face. His gaze, searching for something, moved from Eriel’s eyes to her nose and down to her lips.

“Damian…?”

When Eriel called out again, Damian’s gaze returned to her eyes.

“Mmph.”

Damian pulled Eriel close in one motion and pressed his lips against hers. The urgency of his gesture and the slight force in his fingertips were conveyed.

But this time Eriel pushed him away.

“…Damian!”

Eriel stepped back about one pace and called out to him.

“There’s nothing between Count Shannon and me. This is… Don’t do this.”

Eriel bit her lower lip.

She glared at Damian as she roughly wiped away his traces with the back of her hand.

“Don’t try to deflect by turning this on me, and don’t just gloss over the fact that you entered the palace without an entry record. What were you doing in the palace? And why did you come back to the banquet hall? Don’t you have a lot to tell me?”

“If there’s nothing between you, why would Count Shannon say such things? And ask to be invited to the Duke’s mansion in return?”

Eriel frowned and opened her lips.

“He was just a childhood friend. As he said, he may have needed someone to ask about child-rearing in place of his deceased wife. And how should I know why Gerald said that?”

“Gerald…?”

Damian’s eyebrow twitched.

Eriel furrowed her brow, realizing she had inadvertently used Gerald’s name.

“That was a mistake just now. We were childhood friends, and I’m not used to calling him by his title. But we’re both married now, and we haven’t associated since. We just have memories of being close when we were very young.”

Eriel wondered why she had to explain her relationship with Gerald to Damian here. She didn’t feel good about it.

Really. She had never given attention to any man other than Damian.

She had only waited for Damian in this small ducal mansion. Waiting for 7 years for letters he never wrote.

And now he was doubting her relationship with Count Shannon.

Eriel squeezed her eyes shut.

She had clearly tried to calm herself, but faced with Damian’s seemingly absurd questions probing her, she couldn’t hold back.

Just calling Gerald by name seemed to confirm Damian’s suspicions.

“Damian.”

Looking up at Damian, who was once again ignoring her with silence, Eriel felt miserable.

The thought that nothing had changed dominated her mind.

What was she to him?

“Maintain your dignity as the Duchess.”

Eriel blinked once. She wondered if her ears had deceived her.

*

“M-my Lady…”

The maid who had entered the room with Lucy called out softly. The miserable young lady’s face hardened.

Lucy, who had been expected to trudge straight to the bed, slowly turned her head towards the door.

The maid hoped the Duke and Madam outside wouldn’t raise their voices in the hallway, but unfortunately her wish was not granted.

Though she couldn’t make out the words clearly, a commotion began outside. It was clearly the sound of the Duke and Madam arguing. Sadness passed through Lucy’s large eyes.

Her slow footsteps moved towards the door.

The maid hurriedly grabbed Lucy’s wrist.

“M-my Lady… It’s nothing, okay?”

The maid said as she held onto Lucy, but Lucy did not seem to think so at all.

There was no response. She didn’t shake off the wrist the maid was holding. Lucy just slowly lowered her limp hand and turned back to the door.

Just then, a loud noise suddenly came from the hallway, making Lucy flinch.

The maid squeezed her eyes shut and let go of the young lady’s limp wrist.

“I think… it’s my fault.”

Lucy’s voice sounded very softly. Startled by the sound, the maid quickly waved her hands.

“What are you saying? How could it be your fault, my Lady? It’s not like that at all.”

“But… that Count did say something bad to Dad about Mom. I made them fight over Mom. I really didn’t mean to, I didn’t know Helen was that Count’s daughter.”

Lucy’s voice sounded pitiful.

Even hearing those words, the maid could do nothing. She could only look at the young lady.

The young lady slowly approached the doorknob and placed her hand on it.

The maid couldn’t do anything. She couldn’t stop her, nor could she bear to watch the small hand trembling.

She could only bury her face in her hands and hope this scene would pass.

Just as tears were welling up in the maid’s eyes, there was a harsh scraping sound from outside.

Bang-!