“Let’s draw it from the front.”
In the end, reflecting Jieselgrante’s opinion, it was decided to paint the portrait from the front.
Neither the young lady of Count Greykin nor the young lady of Marquis Howard objected to her opinion.
However, the young lady of Marquis Howard’s cheeks were puffed out in displeasure, and the young lady of Count Greykin’s lips were slightly protruding.
Only the young painter nodded immediately.
But he began the portrait work with a somewhat regretful face.
A front-facing portrait. It was clearly a method that couldn’t satisfy everyone, but it was unavoidable.
Not only Jieselgrante, but the young painter was also busy.
It seemed he had given up his rest time to paint her portrait while having many other commissions piled up.
After all, he couldn’t paint two portraits to satisfy both young ladies.
[This is the timeline separator]“It seems to be almost finished, would you like to take a look?”
Fortunately, the result was very satisfactory.
The faces of the young lady of Count Greykin and the young lady of Marquis Howard, who had disagreed over whether Jieselgrante’s face should be drawn from the left or right, were also bright.
Turning her slightly stiff neck from sitting still for so long, Jieselgrante spoke.
“Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve heard your name yet.”
“Please call me Gautier, Your Majesty the Empress.”
It was a bit burdensome to be called ‘Your Majesty the Empress’ at the end of every sentence, but it was something to get used to.
“Thank you. I… recently changed my name.”
There were often artists who changed their names after gaining recognition. It meant that the young painter was also aware that his position had improved.
Jieselgrante smiled faintly and said.
“It’s a good name.”
The young painter asked with a shy smile.
“But do you like the painting?”
Seeing him constantly fidgeting with his paint-stained fingers, he seemed anxious about her evaluation. Jieselgrante deliberately smiled brightly and answered.
“I like it very much. Both last time and this time.”
“R-really? I’m so glad…”
Gautier trailed off, lowering his gaze.
His pale cheeks, which hadn’t seen sunlight, quickly turned red, seemingly pleased by the praise.
“I-I’ll rush over, putting aside all other work, if you ever call for me!”
Knowing well why he was so eager, Jieselgrante nodded only inwardly.
For artists, entering the palace meant reaching the pinnacle of their field.
Once the rumor spread that he had painted the portrait of the future empress, his reputation would rise even further.
She was also glad to be able to help someone she had been indebted to.
“…A-actually. My heart raced at the thought of capturing Your Majesty the Empress’s beauty from various angles in paintings! Of course, my humble skills can’t express even half, no, a quarter of Your Majesty’s elegance. But still, whether it’s the left side, right side, or back view…”
Gautier rambled on.
‘Was this person always this talkative?’
It was when she was a bit surprised by this unexpected side of him.
“He’s quite enthusiastic. Almost excessively so.”
Jieselgrante turned her head towards the direction of the voice.
Cabelased was standing there. With his arms firmly crossed.
It seemed someone had informed him that the portrait was completed.
‘But why does he have such a displeased expression…’
Although she felt puzzled, Jieselgrante quickly pointed to the portrait.
“The portrait is finished, would you like to take a look?”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Cabelased strode towards her.
“I-I greet Your Majesty the Emperor…”
The young painter, who had been frozen for a while, overwhelmed by the aura Cabelased exuded, soon came to his senses and bowed deeply.
Passing by the young painter, Cabelased stood in front of the portrait and quietly examined the Jieselgrante in the painting.
The young painter’s Adam’s apple kept bobbing up and down as he watched Cabelased’s reaction while half-bowing.
He seemed worried despite already receiving a good evaluation from Jieselgrante.
When the young painter’s Adam’s apple had bobbed about three times, Cabelased muttered softly.
“Hmm… Indeed, his skills are not bad as I’ve heard.”
Anyone who knew Cabelased’s usual temperament would have immediately realized that this was his highest praise.
But sadly, the young painter seemed to be seeing Cabelased for the first time today.
Even before becoming emperor, Duke Cardia’s picky and cold personality was well-known to the public, but it was uncertain whether the young painter had heard rumors about him.
“Is that so? If you point out any areas that are not to your liking, I’ll revise them right away!”
His reaction made it clear.
It was highly likely that the young painter had not heard rumors about Duke Cardia.
“Well. I don’t think changing just one part would make much difference…”
Cabelased’s cold evaluation continued.
The young painter’s pupils began to shake violently.
At this rate, all the experience he had built up could become useless in an instant.
An artist recognized for his skills through the word of mouth of nobles. Their ultimate goal was to enter the palace.
The bitterness of having that dream shattered the moment it was achieved need not be put into words.
Just as Jieselgrante, who had been glancing back and forth between the two, was about to offer words of comfort to the young painter, Cabelased wrapped his arm around her shoulder. And pulling her close to him, he said.
“…You seem to be the only one who has captured even a fraction of the Empress’s beauty in a painting.”
“Pardon…? Is that true?”
The young painter asked with surprised eyes.
“If the schedule allows, it wouldn’t be bad to paint a few more portraits of the Empress.”
After saying that, Cabelased spun Jieselgrante’s body around.
And he gave a nod to the attendant waiting at the entrance.
As she moved along with Cabelased’s lead, she felt a silent joy from behind her back.
Jieselgrante glanced back.
Just then, the attendant was approaching the young painter and saying something.
“I’d like to discuss the future schedule briefly, if that’s alright? As His Majesty just mentioned, a few more portraits of Her Majesty the Empress in the future…”
Jieselgrante’s head tilted involuntarily.
‘Surely not… could it be?’
It was a point that made her suspect whether the young lady of Count Greykin and the young lady of Marquis Howard had insisted to Cabelased that a few more portraits should be painted.
[This is the timeline separator]After the coronation, Cabelased became noticeably busier.
Even living in the same palace, it became difficult to see each other’s faces unless they made separate time.
The responsibility of being the empire’s monarch was that heavy, and she was not unaware of how busy he was. No, perhaps if there was anyone in the empire who understood his hardships better than anyone else, it might be her.
After all, she too had been preparing to become the next emperor since childhood.
Nevertheless, Cabelased made sure to make time to spend with her at least once a day without fail.
Just like now.
Walking down the wide palace corridor, Jieselgrante blurted out a sudden question.
“Um, Your Majesty?”
“What is it?”
“Where are we going right now?”
After leaving his office, Cabelased had been walking silently towards somewhere for a while.
Jieselgrante also walked with him without saying much, as she roughly knew where he might be heading.
But when he passed by the corridor leading to the dining room without stopping, she couldn’t help but ask.
“I heard you had lunch a bit late today?”
It was as he said.
Today, lunch had been later than usual.
And he prioritized her health above all else. He acted as if something terrible would happen if she didn’t get at least eight hours of quality sleep or eat a balanced diet on time.
Hence, she had been living a life of sleeping well and eating well more than ever before.
Also, everything as trivial as what and how much she ate, whether the quality of her sleep was good, all of that was reported to Cabelased.
Of course, the same reports came to her as well.
Where Cabelased had been and what he had done, how his mood was throughout the day, all of those things.
She also learned through noblewomen who had been married for quite some time that his way was considered the ideal husband model.
‘Was he worried because the meal was delayed?’
While Jieselgrante was pondering for a moment, Cabelased continued.
“There’s a place I’d like to stop by briefly before dinner.”
Jieselgrante was not unaware of where Cabelased’s gaze had been constantly focused.
Since leaving the office after finishing the portrait work, his gaze had been fixed solely around her lips.
Therefore, Jieselgrante also knew what he wanted now. And she wanted what he wanted too.
But there was something that bothered her.
‘The sun hasn’t set yet…’
The image of the Emperor frequenting the bedroom from early hours wouldn’t be seen favorably.
So she was about to refuse when Cabelased pushed her into a nearby guest room.
“…?”
And as soon as he closed the door, he kissed her.
Although Cabelased’s sudden advance was a bit puzzling, she had no confidence to refuse at all.
In fact, she too had wanted to be with Cabelased, to touch him.
Jieselgrante wrapped her arms around Cabelased’s neck as if responding to him.
Seemingly encouraged by her not refusing, Cabelased pressed forward more strongly.
As the kiss deepened, both of their breaths became rougher.
After Being Cheated On, She Picked Up a Treasure (Female-dominant)
One-line summary: The husband I married on a whim had been secretly in love with me for a long time.
On the day when Jun Shao finally obtained the imperial decree for her marriage, Lan Qu, the person she had admired for six years, defied the decree and ran away.
Her gentleness and devotion, her promise of a lifetime together, were all disregarded by him. Instead, he dreamed of entering the palace to serve the Emperor’s sister as a sixth-rank attendant.
News of this incident spread throughout the capital, and the alleys in front of and behind the Lan mansion were crowded with people who came to watch the commotion.
Jun Shao should have been embarrassed and angry.
But someone stepped in to protect her dignity.
The figure was in a miserable state, yet still possessed an undeniable elegance and handsomeness.
The young lord struggled to climb the wall of the Lan mansion and shouted to her, “If he won’t marry you, I will!”
So, Jun Shao took advantage of the situation and married the person.
She thought the young lord did it to save the Lan family from the crime of defying the imperial decree, but never imagined that from beginning to end, what he coveted was her.
*
After the wedding, Jun Shao felt like she was living in a dream.
Her Wife-master was as beautiful as a fairy in a painting, skilled in the six arts, well-versed in poetry and literature, capable of being gentle and attentive, and also grand and dignified. Most importantly, she was the only one in his heart and eyes.
Jun Shao didn’t know how Lan Shiwu, as a illegitimate son without a father and blessed with beauty, had managed to preserve his purity, recklessly escape, and use his last ounce of strength to ruin his own reputation, all because of his love for her, just to stand before her.
She could only see him gazing at her with eyes full of love, and when she bestowed a name upon him, his eyes shone like stars.
“You have come to me like a weary bird perching on a branch. I shall call you A Qi.”
