“It’s overwhelming…”

It was a work depicting a scene of war. The blood-stained sky and the corpses of countless soldiers strewn with blood represented the tragedy of war, but the eyes of the god-of-war man standing above it were full of will to end all such tragedies. The liveliness of a horse roaring long with its front paws raised, the will to victory and great sense of responsibility cast on the face of the male god leading the soldiers, the various expressions of each soldier who believes in him and follows him, and the willingness to help them even with farming tools. The gritted faces of the people…

Looking at such a magnificent piece of art, she was simply speechless. But someone spoke for her.

“The attitude of appreciating a work of art is really… That is unconventional.”

“Uh?”

Unexpectedly, Killian was approaching.

“Here… What are you doing?”

“What’s strange about me coming to see the family’s art?”

“Ah… It’s like that again. Well, the Rigelhoffs aren’t very interested in art, so it must be surprising to you that a place like this even exists.”

Again… He was behaving harshly. It’s not like a point-and-shoot saying, ‘Isn’t there something like this at your house?’

She would have snapped at Killian for being smug if she hadn’t been in a position where her life had to be spared. In other words, she was not in a position to do that right now.

“It is as you say. They even change the artwork once a month, right? These are really great collections.”

Even though she smiled as if she was surprised, Killian’s expression didn’t improve that much.

“How do you feel after viewing the work?”

Instead, Killian asked while looking up at the large piece together.

“I feel overwhelmed. There are so many emotions of so many people in this work, and it’s so vivid that it’s hard to believe that it was imagined by one artist.”

She gained a little more courage when Killian silently nodded his head even though his brow was furrowed.

“War is a tragedy, but the male God, the main character of the painting, shows a noble will to end this tragedy. Everyone looks up to him and follows him, but he… He doesn’t seem to be happy with the praise of others. Even if he wins, he feels like he won’t be happy. War is something that can’t be happy even if you win. War is a tragedy no matter how it is packaged. The hero who led the war to victory is the one who knows that fact best.”

She nodded at his words. Killian glanced in her direction, and he added one more word belatedly.

“This work was drawn to commemorate my grandfather’s victory in the war against the kingdom of Yanok. The model of a male God who leads the soldiers is my grandfather.”

“Ah…!”

“I didn’t think so, but it seems you didn’t know at all.”

“Yes. I did not know.”

Killian’s eyebrows furrowed even more at the refreshing recognition.

“I’ve never heard of you enjoying art, so why are you here?”

“As you get older, your tastes change. I wasn’t very interested in it before, but I got more and more interested in it even before we got married. So if there is a place like this in the Duke’s residence, can I just skip it?”

She groaned and got up from her seat. Then he moved on to the next work.

“So, do you have a favorite painter?”

Killian unexpectedly asked her about her taste. It seemed like a good opportunity to get close to him, but unfortunately she didn’t know any of the painters in this world. Even if they were the original painters, they wouldn’t have even set the names of the artists. How could she know them?

“It’s embarrassing, but as I said earlier, I just started getting interested in it, so I don’t know any painter.”

“…Not at all?”

“Yes.”

He sighed low and turned his gaze to the paint. He was shaking his head all the way. He knew how to give comfort to people (sarcasm). Rather than bothering him, she decided to look at the painting calmly and focused on the appreciation again. Then she forgot that Killian was by her side.

“Oh!”

Because of that, she unknowingly made a noise in front of a painting that looked like a scene from a myth. It was also because the shepherd boy in the painting, who looked about 15 years old, looked just like Killian. Killian seemed to be curious about her reaction as well, and sneaked up to her and was taken aback.

“When I was young, I was forced to become a model at the request of my father and a close painter!”

Killian made similar excuses, but when she found something to tease, she tilted her head and put on a serious face, pretending not to hear what he was saying.

“Huh…”

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

“I asked what.”

“It’s nothing. Just…”

“Just…?”

“It must have been difficult if you were of that size.”

Then she moved on to the next picture. The shepherd boy was almost completely naked in a mana-like robe, and, of course, his little “precious child” was also drawn. Looking at the painting again, Killian protested as his face reddened at once.

“The body in the painting is not my model!”

“Oh, I see.”

“Isn’t that obvious? There’s no way a son of an aristocrat would reveal his entire body in front of a painter!”

“Huh… I guess.”

Consistently in a voice that seemed to disbelieve at all, she could feel Killian clenching his teeth even without seeing it. To be honest, she wanted to laugh in front of him, but she also hid her lips and held it back. It might have made him even more angry.

“What the hell, you’re someone who has a hard time discussing art.”

Killian lashed out at her, then turned around and left. She laughed to herself as she watched him leave. Actually, it’s not that bad when she thought about saving her life, but wasn’t it too dreary to live without jokes like this?

“But it must be much bigger than that now, right?”

She glanced at the shepherd boy’s groin and burst into laughter again.

* * *

It had already been two months since she possessed Edith. Whether it’s because people’s ability to adapt was amazing, or because of Edith’s memories, she had adapted to this world much better than she thought. As she stayed quiet, the gazes that looked at her seemed to gradually fade, and each day was peaceful.

‘I wish I could live like this all the time.’

She often leaned against the banister and looked out at the garden spread downstairs. Of course, she had to check beforehand that Lize’s tea time would not be held on the balcony of the Great Hall. She also visited the garden outside the mansion. With spring coming, it felt so good to feel the energy of life rising just by walking in the garden. The smell of grass everywhere and the small flowers blooming slowly seemed to soothe her tired soul. But the most enjoyable thing was walking on the promenade near the gymnasium in the morning.

Today, she took a walk on that road by herself. She could tell from the sound of blades clashing that someone was using the gymnasium. She pretended not to know anything and went for a walk, but when she made sure that no one was around, she hurriedly ran to hide among the garden trees that the gardener had cut with his artistic spirit.

‘I’ll take a walk in the garden for this taste.’

Crouching down on the ground on the less leafy side of the garden tree, she began peeping at the gymnasium through the gap.

‘Today, too, my husband is in good health.’

Peeping at Killian training with his shirt off was a hobby of hers that had just started. She came across this road by accident, and when she saw him undressing for the first time, she thought she would have a real nosebleed.

‘I can’t believe I’m the only one watching this gracious scene… What if I feel sorry for the other readers of the book?’

No matter how many times she watched it, it thrilled her every time she saw it! Always new! Handsome men were the best! She really wanted to wave a luminous stick. A man with a big chest and full of muscles was so cool. Look at those clearly split muscles. With a bumpy, angry back, Apollon dimples dented like arrows… The groin of the shepherd boy she saw last time in Sistine Hall must have been much more dignified than then.

‘Ha… He’s not lucky, but he’s really handsome. As expected, I prefer Killian over Cliff.’

Cliff, who trained with him across from her, was also taking off his top, but it felt slightly more angular than Killian. She was sure there were people who like that kind of body, but she liked round and strong muscles like Killian’s.

After admiring Killian’s muscles for a long time following his violent movements, she thought she should go back when her squatting legs started to go numb.

‘I’m going to have a good look today.’

She said goodbye in her heart and was about to get up, but Killian looked somewhere and smiled and waved his hand slightly.

‘Uh…?’

Her heart almost fell out. Even though she was looking at him from a distance, she could vaguely see the finely folded eyes and the coolly stretched corners of the mouth. And that his smile was so beautiful… It wasn’t until he turned around that she could see where he was looking.

‘Ah, it’s Lize.’

From the side he was looking at, Lize was waving her hand at the two men.

‘Well, there’s no other person other than Lize that Killian can laugh at like that.’

Even after recognizing that fact, she sat there blankly for a long time. She knew in her head that she had to get up and go into the mansion, but she couldn’t do anything because she kept thinking of Killian laughing.

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