Chapter 99

“I-I’m-”

“Ah, and didn’t I hear that there’s not much time left until her due date? That’s fortunate. Once she discovers the truth, she might naturally suffer a miscarriage out of shock.”

Incan continued speaking in a bright tone, “Wouldn’t that be better than her throwing the child away after going through all that trouble to give birth to it? Although, if a mother miscarries from a shock like this, we can’t be sure that she will come out of it okay…”

“…I’ll do it.”

The servant eventually fell to his knees.

With shaking limbs, he opened his mouth and asked.

“…what do you need me to do after entering Lady Rebecca’s room?”

Having got the answer he was looking for, Incan smiled contentedly.

“That’s simple. Didn’t I say it already? It’s nothing much. You just need to bring me a single time from her room. That item being…”

***

“This paint!” Yelena cried out in a serious tone.

In her hand she was carrying a small, round bucket of paint.

“We need to buy some new paint. I don’t like the colors of the paints that we currently have.”

“Is that so?”

“Mm, yep. The blue in particular is just meh.”

After saying this, Yelena put the paint down and held her hand up.

“Ah, but stay right there.”

Yelena and Kaywhin were currently sitting down in a studio that had been built within the duke’s castle.

The reason why the two of them were currently here in the studio was simple. It had all started with a conversation that they had some time ago, after returning from their date to the festival.

‘By the way, husband, not only do you have no preferences, it also seems like you have no hobbies either. Isn’t that right?’

‘I don’t really have the spare time to do anything else.’

‘But it’s not like you’re completely lacking in free time, right?’

‘That might be so, but…’

‘Well then, let me find you a hobby. Just give me a few days. Since I’ll have to consider what might suit you best.’

The hobby that she eventually decided upon was art. Specifically, painting.

‘It’s because I’m not that bad when it comes to painting.’

When doing anything with her hands, Yelena possessed a hellish dexterity that was absolutely jaw-dropping in a bad way. Anything, that is, except for painting. So she actually knew quite a lot about painting. At the very least, she knew enough to teach the total beginner that was Kaywhin.

‘This way, we’ll slowly be able to spend more and more time together.’

Especially since painting needed to be taught in quite close contact. Or at least, that was how Yelena had learned how to paint from her big sister.

Yelena’s hand, which was hovering above the canvas, began to move with increasing fervour. Before they got started on their official painting lesson for today, Yelena was taking the chance to show off her skills.

Concentrating on painting the portrait of the seated Kaywhin, Yelena suddenly said, “Oh, by the way, have you heard the news? Apparently a fire broke out in Baron Anaheim’s wine cellar.”

Recalling the news that Ben had passed on to her this morning, Yelena continued, “The fire grew quite large, and the baron ended up losing most of his treasured wine collection. They say that he is such a boozehound that he passed out on the spot and that he still hasn’t been able to get out of bed…”

What was so surprising about this news wasn’t that a fire had sprung up in his wine cellar, but the fact that Baron Anaheim was such a boozehound.

‘What kind of boozehound puts drugs in his drinks?’

Was there any way to properly appreciate the taste of wine if it had been drugged?

Or could it be that the drug actually improved the wine’s taste?

‘Well, each to their own.’

While Yelena was having these thoughts, Kaywhin replied, “Did something like that happen? That’s the first I’ve heard about it.”

“Is that so?”

‘So Ben didn’t tell him about it?”

She had thought that it was the butler’s habit to report all matters to her husband first before informing her as well. It looks like there were also days when he didn’t follow this routine. Dismissing this peculiarity, Yelena lowered her gaze back to the canvas.

“Hm…”

A puzzled hum subconsciously escaped her pursed lips. Yelena was currently stuck at a crossroads.

‘What should I do?’

The painting that Yelena had created with her own hands was now nearing completion. Everything except for the eyes. All she had to do was paint her husband’s eyes and the portrait would be finished.

However, it was at this point that a minor problem had arisen.

‘This shade of blue really doesn’t suit my tastes.’

The color of the paint wasn’t eye-catching enough. The other colors of paint were fine, but the blue one was an exception.

‘To use this to express the color of my husband’s eyes would be…”

It gave her a feeling of inadequacy. A feeling that it would fall far short of the real thing.

After staring holes into the canvas, Yelena finished contemplating and her brush began to move. Although her actions were half on impulse, the result was better than she had expected. Yelena laid down her brush and took a moment to appreciate the portrait that she had painted, before poking her head out from behind the canvas.

“You know…”

“Yes?”

“The result might be a little surprising? But try not to get too overwhelmed.”

After giving this meaningful warning, Yelena lifted up the easel and turned it around.

As the canvas spun into view, the portrait entered Kaywhin’s line of sight.

“This is…”