Naturally conversing, I also greeted the husbands who were beside their wives. David Stemun, Noven Pireoa, Eric Warden. Their names all sounded somewhat familiar.

‘But I’ve hardly been active in social circles. I’m seeing all their faces for the first time.’

Unlike me, Yezar seemed to have met them at parties before, as he was chatting with them naturally. Then Catherine looked at her watch and said.

“Shall we move to a different location soon?”

Move to a different location from here? Where could we be going?

“Where are we moving to?”

When I asked out of curiosity, Catherine answered with a bright smile.

“To the garden for a bit, since the weather is nice. Ah, Duke Perhaem won’t be able to join us. It seems my husband has something to discuss with him separately.”

Then, as if he had been waiting for this moment, Count Warden spoke up.

“I was feeling a bit stiff. I’m so glad Duke Perhaem came. Aren’t you curious about how the knights train at the Warden estate, Your Grace?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Wouldn’t you like to spar with me as well?”

“If you’ll oblige me, it would be an honor. The Warden family is famous for their martial arts, after all.”

At that, Count Warden laughed heartily and gestured for Yezar to come along.

Count Pireoa and Marquis Stemun, who were sitting nearby, were shaking their heads.

“Count Warden seems to be in high spirits. I have no talent for swordsmanship, so I’ll just play chess with Marquis Stemun as usual. Ladies, please enjoy your conversation.”

“Sarsina. Talk comfortably and call for me when you’re done.”

The Pireoa and Stemun families weren’t martial houses, so they seemed to have no interest in swordsmanship. Still, they all appeared to be on good terms with their wives, looking at each other as if honey was dripping from their eyes.

Especially Marquis Stemun, who was kissing his wife’s cheek with familiarity. He was gazing at her face longingly, as if even a brief separation was unbearable.

‘Is the warmth that melts people’s hearts in her paintings partly due to receiving such love?’

The thought suddenly occurred to me. After all, the artist’s emotions are infused into their paintings.

“Well then, shall we ladies go off to chat?”

“I’d love to. We have so much to talk about.”

“That’s right. Let’s just chat comfortably among us women.”

The ladies seemed excited as they stood up, eager to continue their unfinished conversations. Of course, I enjoyed talking with them too.

It would be natural to join them, but…

“…I’m sorry, but I’d like to watch the duel between Count Warden and Yezar.”

The sound of swords clashing, the breathing, the heightened emotions. I didn’t want to miss the chance to see it.

“My, the Duchess wants to see her husband’s gallant figure because they’re newlyweds.”

Count Warden chuckled teasingly. My cheeks instantly flushed red.

“Th-that’s not it…”

The ladies watching nearby also laughed and said to me.

“Oh my. Then you must go watch.”

“Really now. Newlyweds are so lovely. It’s so passionate.”

‘That’s not it.’

But I kept my mouth shut, feeling that denying it would only prolong the conversation.

“That’s right. Actually, I was curious to see my husband lose to Duke Perhaem too.”

“Catherine!”

“What? It’s true. No one can match Duke Perhaem in swordsmanship.”

In the middle of it, Count Warden clutched his chest and grumbled about being hurt by his wife’s honest words, but it was just a small incident.

***

I headed to the training ground specially prepared at the villa with the other ladies. The fact that there was a dedicated place for sword training even at a villa showed how serious they were about swordsmanship.

‘I’ve heard that each family has its own swordsmanship style. I wonder what the Warden family’s style is like. I can’t wait to see it.’

Yezar is always impressive anyway. I planned to pay close attention to Count Warden’s swordsmanship while Yezar was sparring.

“Julieta, what are you thinking so hard about?”

“Ah. Stem… I mean, Sarsina. I was imagining Yezar and Count Warden sparring.”

“Imagining your husband’s impressive figure, no less. I thought Duke Perhaem loved Julieta more. I guess I was mistaken.”

Lady Stemun seemed to have misunderstood my imagination, but I didn’t feel the need to correct her and shyly replied.

“We’re newlyweds, after all…”

“It’s the passionate time, isn’t it? I saw what was in the Imperial newspaper too. It was so romantic. You have no idea how much I tried to persuade my husband for us to go out in disguise too.”

I had thought she might know about it since it was on the front page of the Imperial newspaper, but I didn’t expect her to actually want to go on a date like that.

“Did you succeed?”

At my question, Sarsina shook her head regretfully.

“No. My dear doesn’t like crowded places. He’s quite timid too. I don’t know how such a person confessed to me the moment he saw me.”

“He confessed at your first meeting?”

“Yes, isn’t it funny? It was really enjoyable though. Ah, keep this a secret. He gets embarrassed easily.”

She seemed to be saying this because Marquis Stemun had disappeared to play chess with Count Pireoa.

“I’ll keep it a secret.”

“Thank you, Julieta. Because I met him and came to know love, I’ve been able to see the world from a broader perspective than before.”

Even just looking at her paintings, that change was evident. Her previous paintings were much more concise and rough. They seemed to capture only what was visible. But after experiencing love, her paintings began to captivate viewers.

My gaze was naturally drawn to the brilliant colors that warmed a corner of the heart, as if they had melted her emotions directly into them.

“That’s nice. The feeling that meeting someone broadens your world.”

“Yes. I don’t even want to imagine what it would have been like if I hadn’t met him. But even this excitement becomes familiar and forgotten as time passes.”

Was she saying that even passionate love eventually cools? But that wouldn’t be so bad either. Becoming familiar means that being loved every moment has become natural.

“But seeing Duke Perhaem looking at Julieta reminded me of it again. The feelings of that brilliant time. I felt like I wanted to capture somewhere those emotions of excitement, innocence, and naivety from that time.”

Currently, the artist Cortina wasn’t releasing any works. I’d heard it was a break period, but there was a lot of talk that inspiration wasn’t coming to her.

‘Those words mean she’s about to start working on pieces again. I want to see it. A painting that captures the emotion of excitement.’

The income from the Pelanne Guild was invested in collecting expensive alcohol and artworks. The paintings of the faceless artist Cortina were worth whatever price was asked, so I collected them even if I had to pay a premium.

Looking at them gave me a feeling of filling an empty heart, which is why I especially liked them.

“Has Julieta never felt that way? A moment or feeling you wanted to remember forever?”

When she asked that, several scenes came to mind. The clumsy first night with Yezar, sparring with him, or whispering while leaning on his shoulder listening to the rain.

Recalling them, I realized that all the moments and feelings I wanted to remember forever were when I was with him.

“I have. Moments so precious that I don’t want to ruin them.”

Looking ahead, I could see Yezar talking with Count Warden. Yes. Every moment with him was so precious that I wanted to end it well too.

So that even when recalled later, they would still be precious.

“Julieta, you look sad.”

“What? That can’t be. I’m recalling precious moments. There’s no reason to be sad.”

There was no reason to be sad. As Lady Stemun said, if I hadn’t met him, there would have been many emotions I couldn’t have felt. It was a time I couldn’t have experienced.

“Let’s hurry, Sarsina.”

When I urged her with a smile, she nodded and didn’t ask me anything more.

***

As we arrived at the training ground, Count Warden stopped.

“Duke Perhaem, shall we warm up now?”

Count Warden, grinning as he drew his sword, was full of confidence. Seeing Catherine shaking her head beside him as if she couldn’t stop him, it seemed he naturally had a boisterous and confident personality.

With those bulging muscles on display, he was quite intimidating.

“That’s fine with me. I’ve been wanting to spar with Count Warden sometime.”

“Hahaha. Finally I’ve met someone who speaks my language. Catherine’s friends’ husbands all seem to hate using their bodies so much. I thought I was going to die of boredom.”

At that, Lady Warden, who had been shaking her head, pleaded with Yezar.

“Duke Perhaem, if Eric gets excited and charges in, please parry moderately and stop him. Eric is a muscle-head who doesn’t know moderation.”

“No, Catherine! I won’t cause trouble this time.”

Count Warden spoke to Catherine, sounding wronged, but she just snorted.

“Eric, I’d be a fool to trust you one more time.”

The other ladies laughed, covering their mouths with fans as if used to this. But as Yezar drew his sword, the playful atmosphere changed abruptly.

“Please take this seriously, Your Grace.”

“That was my request, Count Warden.”

Their swords clashed without a moment’s pause. My heart started racing involuntarily.