After hesitating for a moment, Ansi raised her hand and gently pointed at the tart.

“……What is this?”

“Blueberry Earl Grey.”

“And this?”

“Apricot cream cheese.”

“I’ll have this one.”

“Haven’t you tried the apricot tart before?”

“Yes.”

“Then choose something else.”

“Do you want me to eat something unique?”

“I want to add to the variety of flavors you know.”

Damion smiled softly. His eyes crinkled prettily.

Ansi thought his words seemed to have a hidden meaning, but she obediently looked for another flavor. She also quite enjoyed accumulating new experiences.

Whether it was knowledge, scenery, or taste.

“Then what about this?”

“Almond and plum. That’s perfect.”

“So you do want me to eat something unique.”

“I told you, I want to broaden your flavor horizons.”

Damion lowered his eyebrows as if feeling hurt, but his eyes were full of mischievous playfulness.

Ansi picked up the tart and took a bite. Come to think of it, when she was young, she had wanted to try all the tarts in the world. Today, it seemed that wish was coming true.

The plum juice burst in her mouth. The harmony between the refreshing yet tangy flavor and the nutty almond cream was quite good. It was unexpectedly satisfying.

Her mouth moved as she chewed, and Damion watched her contentedly.

Only after quickly finishing the tart did Ansi feel somewhat embarrassed and glance at him.

“……What about Damion?”

“You’ll feed me, right? I don’t have hands right now.”

Damion lightly lifted the boxes he was holding in both hands.

It was an unavoidable situation. Ansi nodded.

“Then, can you take out the apricot cream cheese one?”

Ansi looked at him with disbelief and frowned. After all that talk about broadening horizons, he chooses apricot for himself?

“Haven’t you tried it?”

“I have.”

“Then why?”

“If I make Ansi experience new things, someone has to take responsibility for the familiar flavors……”

Suddenly, Damion’s mouth was blocked by a tart.

It was cucumber and pumpkin tart.

Ansi’s eyes widened in surprise at her own hand that had impulsively fed Damion the tart. She had given him the strangest-looking one – would it be okay?

The man was rather relaxed. Damion, with the tart half in his mouth, placed the tart box on the side table.

Holding half the tart in his hand, he raised his eyebrows as if surprised.

“It’s quite tasty.”

“If you were going to do this, couldn’t you have put the box down and picked it up yourself from the beginning?”

“Then you wouldn’t have been able to feed me.”

Damion’s red lips drew a long arc. Faced with his bright smile, Ansi pursed her lips and looked away, pretending not to see.

Looking to the side along with her, Damion noticed something. He moved his steps towards the inside of the room. On her desk was the painting brought from the Rubella mansion, spread out.

“What kind of painting is this?”

“……Just something I bought from Lady Roma.”

Unable to say she had brought it from the Rubella mansion, she stood beside Damion, saying that.

“……In Damion’s view, what kind of relationship do those two seem to have?”

Ansi gestured towards the painting with her chin. Since this painting was now in front of him, she wanted to hear his opinion. This man was quite good at interpreting paintings, after all.

Damion stood with his arms crossed, quietly gazing at the painting. As Ansi watched the wrinkle forming between his narrowed brows, she shifted her gaze to the painting.

An old woman sitting on the roadside and a young man.

Some might think they were a grandmother and grandson, while others might see a beggar and a young man performing an act of charity.

The variable factors were the light illuminating them, and that strange shape around their necks……

“They look like old lovers to me.”

Damion answered calmly.

Lovers? Surprised by the unexpected answer, Ansi looked at him with wide eyes.

“Why do you say that?”

“The thing choking the man’s neck is Amor, the god of love.”

At his words, Ansi looked again at the man’s neck. Upon closer inspection, she could see that what was wrapped around his neck was not a simple muffler or string.

As he said ‘choking the neck’, the end of the shape was strangely separated into five strands. Like someone’s hand.

“So it was Amor’s hand and arm.”

Amor, the god of love.

It is said that he bears the color of love.

The color of love is highly subjective. As a result, Amor was depicted in mainly two colors. Either multicolored skin, or black that mixed all colors.

In this painting, they chose the multicolored option.

“You have a good eye for detail.”

Ansi expressed pure admiration. To notice such things after looking at the painting for such a short time, indeed, the saying that he was good at interpreting paintings wasn’t wrong.

“It’s not that impressive.”

As she stared at Damion while praising him, Damion, somehow embarrassed, cleared his throat. The tips of his ears turned slightly red.

“Seeing Amor choking the man’s neck…… I think it might be the moment of reunion between a man who died young and a woman who maintained her life for a long time. What do you think, Ansi?”

“That’s an appropriate interpretation.”

A faint smile appeared on Damion’s lips. For a moment, the two silently gazed at the painting.

The silence in the room was more comfortable and sweet than heavy. It felt like they were back at that moment when they viewed paintings together at the exhibition.

“It’s quite an impressive work. Both the style and the meanings embedded in the painting.”

Damion liked this painting. Whether it was because of the aura emanating from the old painting, or because it was a painting she had brought, he couldn’t tell.

However, Ansi’s brows were furrowed.

“I…… honestly don’t like it very much.”

“Why not?”

“Whose intention was it for the two to reunite? Was it because the woman longed for that man for so many years? Or was it because the man followed the woman like a ghost? Either way…… it’s creepy.”

“But Ansi, look at the eyes of the two people.”

Damion’s gaze moved to the eyes of the old woman in the painting, and then to the man’s eyes. It was a gentle flow, as if moving a brush.

“They don’t seem to be dealing with anything creepy at all. At least for them, it doesn’t seem to be a creepy thing.”

Ansi followed Damion’s lead and examined the eyes of the old woman and the man in the painting.

Indeed, neither of them frowned at each other, nor showed any sign of discomfort. Their joined hands conveyed longing, regret, and a certain affection.

“Are you saying they reunited because they love each other?”

Around and around, back to love again.

It was a romantic interpretation befitting a romanticist.

It was also a magical interpretation that could turn any situation into a happy ending.

However, the man lowered his eyes in contemplation, then shrugged his eyebrows.

“Well, I’m not sure. It seems too simple a conclusion, as there are other emotions plastered all over it.”

“For example?”

“For the woman, the existence of that man must have been a support throughout the long years. Not an intense emotion towards the other person, but the memories with him or the gentle gaze she received remained in her memory, helping her endure through numerous trials. And now she’s meeting that person again. At the end of her life.”

As she listened to those words, the face of Sofia appeared in Ansi’s mind.

The eyes of her mother, which had always shone brightly beside her father, were empty after her father’s death. Nevertheless, her eyes occasionally sparkled. It was when she was reminiscing about memories.

“Then for the man too…… is he able to smile even with his neck being choked because he’s in front of the woman?”

“Probably.”

Ansi quietly gazed at the man in the painting. It wasn’t a forced smile, but a naturally arising one.

Would her father have such an expression if he met her mother later?

Suddenly, she became curious about that.

And for the first time…… she felt like she understood why Damion had married solely for love.

“I agree with Damion’s interpretation.”

“I’m glad we share the same opinion.”

The atmosphere was soft. Ansi suddenly exclaimed as if she had just remembered something.

“I heard it’s your birthday soon, Damion.”

“Ah…… So it is.”

Damion’s reaction was more indifferent than expected.

He didn’t seem to be the type to celebrate birthdays much. But that wasn’t very important. What mattered more was how he would spend this birthday.

“How about inviting the Duke and Duchess for a meal together on that day?”

“No, there’s no need for that.”

The man’s answer was firm. His low voice even carried a chilly air. It wasn’t the reaction she had expected.

“I’m not trying to prepare anything elaborate. It’s just your birthday, so I thought it would be nice to have a meal with your family……”

“It’s not necessary.”

Once again, a sharp rejection followed.

Ansi’s expression showed her perplexity. She was about to say something more but closed her mouth.

A moment of silence passed between them. Damion spoke with a conscious smile.

“From your perspective, just adapting here is already a lot to think about. And we barely have enough time for just the two of us. So……”

“I’ve already finished adapting.”

“Ansi.”

“I want to meet your family, Damion.”

“……”

Ansi looked straight into Damion’s eyes.

He seemed to hesitate slightly, then embraced Ansi.

“Ansi.”

His gentle and affectionate voice resonated through her body.

“Interaction with family members isn’t essential.”

“It’s not normal to have no interaction either.”

“My parents are somewhat different from me. There’s nothing good that would come from you meeting them.”

“……”

“So I hope we can be happy as we are now. Peaceful and at ease.”

The man’s voice was warm enough to melt her heart. However, hearing those words, Ansi felt as if a knife made of cold ice was piercing her heart.