Was there any particular reason for picking that part to read?

Jane was curious. But before she could ask Cain, she fell asleep.

Suddenly, Jane wondered where Cain was and what he was doing. And she wanted to ask him.

What was his intention behind the part he read yesterday? If he had anything wrong too.

‘What if it’s related to me?’

Jane wanted to meet Cain.

Jane opened the bedside table, laid a handkerchief, and placed Vierstat’s book on it. Before closing the drawer, she kept her gaze on the book for quite a while.

‘I should buy Joseph’s book separately.’

Jane pulled the bell rope after pushing the drawer in.

“Where’s Cain?”

“He already left for work.”

Jane was disappointed by those words. But that disappointment soon disappeared.

“The master said he’ll send a carriage in the afternoon.”

“A carriage? Why?”

“I don’t know. Seeing as he told me to help you prepare to go out, could it be a date? Have you heard anything?”

Jane shook her head as she looked at Hailey, whose eyes were shining brightly.

“Anyway, you need to go out in the afternoon, so it’d be good for you to get up now.”

At Hailey’s urging, Jane slowly got out of bed.

Hailey pretended not to see the dense marks Cain left on Jane’s neck, visible between the lapels of her clothes.

It was a familiar sight now.

* * *

Cain appeared at the largest art museum in the Emblen Kingdom. Hugo, the museum director, personally greeted him.

“I was waiting for your call. You said you wanted to see the donated works.”

Even Hugo, who controlled the art world of the Emblen Kingdom, felt incredibly small in front of the Duke of Hastings.

It was because the advanced culture of the Emblen Kingdom was made possible by the Hastings’ capital.

“My purpose is the same as the letter I sent yesterday.”

After a formal greeting, Cain got straight to the point.

“Yes, you want to repurchase some of the works you donated. May I ask which works they are?”

When Hugo received the call from the Heys Company yesterday, he clicked his tongue.

A significant number of Cain’s donated works were very rare and had a profound impact on art history.

Many people endured months of travel to see the works he donated.

As the director and as an art enthusiast, he felt regretful that these excellent works would return to private collections.

However, Cain said he would pay a sufficient price, and he was the original owner after all, so Hugo couldn’t object.

“The donated works are kept in a separate room. Please follow me.”

Cain moved his steps, following Hugo’s guidance.

Cain casually surveyed the interior of the museum. The marble museum was splendid from the exterior, and the interior was no less impressive.

The delicately sculpted pillars and doors caught the eye. A large chandelier hung from the hall ceiling, adorning the marble floor with light. The intricately crafted doors exuded the dedication of artisans and the passage of time.

As befitting the best art museum in the Emblen Kingdom, the scale was also considerable. The three-story museum consisted of five exhibition halls, one of which was filled solely with Cain’s donations.

“This is the place.”

The second exhibition hall, located at the innermost part of the second floor, was today’s destination.

Unlike the corridors and halls, the exhibition room was a bit darker. It was an effort to minimize damage to the artworks.

“Which works do you have in mind?”

Please, not Osguir’s paintings.

Hugo thought inwardly.

“It’s not for me to decide.”

“Pardon?”

“Someone else will choose the works. I want them moved to the mansion today, regardless of what is chosen.”

“Ah…”

Hugo, who had intended to negotiate if Osguir’s paintings were chosen, broke out in a cold sweat.

“As soon as possible.”

“I understand, Your Grace. Then please take your time and enjoy. But who will be selecting the works? When will they arrive?”

Cain checked his watch. The moment his lips seemed to form a pleasing arc.

“Director.”

As if an important guest had arrived, a museum employee came running to find Hugo.

“It seems they’ve arrived.”

Cain gestured for Hugo to go out. Hugo went downstairs to the first floor, wondering about the identity of the visiting guest.

Cain closed his eyes for a moment in the quieted exhibition room.

The unique scent from old artworks evoked his long-standing memories.

The first thing that came to mind was laughter. Light as a spring breeze and refreshing as a downpour.

“What is this…?”

In other words, the laughter of the owner of that voice.

Cain opened his eyes and turned around. Jane was entering the exhibition room.

“This exhibition hall is composed of works donated by His Grace, the Duke of Hastings…”

Cain raised his hand as if to stop Hugo’s words. Then he signaled with his eyes for Hugo to leave.

Hugo realized that the person who would choose the paintings was the Duchess. He bowed briefly and left.

Even after Hugo left, Jane couldn’t continue speaking for a long time.

The paintings and sculptures that Cain said he had sold were filling the exhibition room. And donated.

The fact that he didn’t exchange his memories with her for money held great meaning to Jane.

The accumulated disappointment she had built up collapsed.

“Why are you standing there?”

Jane stood still at the entrance of the exhibition room without moving.

“Come here.”

Cain called Jane to where he was standing.

“It’s…Osguir’s painting.”

Cain was standing in front of Osguir’s painting.

It depicted a happy moment of a woman riding a swing in a blue forest and a man gazing at her lovingly.

Jane moved as if enchanted, her eyes fixed on the painting. She looked at the painting that was much taller than her.

Jane’s eyes gradually became dreamy. Memories of the past invaded her consciousness and appeared.

* * *

“I’m scared, Cain.”

“You said you wanted to ride it.”

Cain lowered the swing from the tree.

“I was just saying that.”

When Jane spoke with puffed cheeks, Cain, who had finished setting up the swing, came down from the tree.

“I’ll push you well so you don’t get hurt. Do you trust me?”

Cain took Jane’s hand and led her to the swing.

Even in the past, his hands were much larger and sturdier than Jane’s. When she held his hand, all fears and worries would disappear.

“We said we’d try everything in Osguir’s paintings.”

Cain whispered as he placed the swing’s rope in Jane’s hand.

Imitating the scenes from Osguir’s paintings was a pastime only for Cain and Jane.

There were still paintings they couldn’t follow because they weren’t married yet, but they promised to try those someday too.

“Shall we get on the swing, young lady?”

Cain bowed and held out his hand. Jane looked at him with disbelief and laughed.

Jane stepped back and looked at the lush forest and Cain holding the swing.

If Osguir, who had obsessively pursued beauty, were to come to life and see Cain, he might tear up his own painting.

Because the scene she saw now was far more wonderful than Osguir’s painting. Because Cain was more handsome than the figure Osguir had painted with all his heart.

“Jane?”

And his voice, too.

Jane was so devastated that she couldn’t capture this moment forever.

“You have to hold me well, Cain.”

Jane got on the swing.

“Do I have a choice?”

He pushed the swing. Contrary to her initial fear, the higher the swing flew, the more excited Jane became.

Cain laughed, so Jane laughed too.

That was all there was to it.

* * *

The woman riding the swing, Jane stared at the woman in the painting for a long time.

“It’s a bird and her beloved.”

Cain, who had stood close behind Jane at some point, muttered. Jane was pulled out of her thoughts.

“It’s a splendid painting.”

Jane looked up at Cain. Had he forgotten everything?

“Is that all?”

When Jane asked, Cain tilted his head. No matter how much she peered into his eyes, as calm as a lake, she couldn’t understand his true feelings.

Jane sighed and let her shoulders droop.

“You don’t remember anything?”

If only she could know whether he had forgotten or was pretending to forget.

After a moment of silence, he smiled. His silent smile was like a painting.

“There was a young lady who was afraid of swings.”

Jane flared up.

“I’m not afraid of swings.”

Cain shrugged and pulled Jane’s hand.

“Then that’s fortunate. What about this painting?”

“What?”

The painting Cain showed was Osguir’s ‘Song of the Night’.

The image of the man painting filled the canvas, but what was important here was not his back, but the canvas in the painting.

A painting within a painting.

On that canvas was a half-naked woman.

The woman, half-leaning on the bed, seemed to be looking straight at the painter, and her pose and gaze were very mischievous for the era when Osguir’s paintings were created, causing controversy.

Cain and Jane found it amusing that old people turned love into obscenity, so they promised to recreate the scene in that painting someday.

Remembering the promise, Jane’s cheeks turned red.

“Aren’t you curious about my painting skills?”

Cain spoke as if tempting her.

Today, wouldn’t she like to find out?