My Husband Lives Inside a Painting Chapter 27

I hurriedly continued before he could get any farther away.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t say that because I don’t trust you.”

“……”

“But put yourself in my shoes. If someone you barely knew suddenly said something like that to you, wouldn’t you be caught off guard? You don’t even know what my plan is.”

In my words, Claude suddenly stopped walking.

When I looked up at him in slight confusion, he hesitated for a moment before abruptly furrowing his brow.

“Didn’t you say that we were family?”

“Pardon?”

“My sister-in-law truly has a way with words.”

“……No, wait.”

“Forget it. I don’t like it either.”

With that, Claude disappeared without even looking back.

Only then did I let out a dry laugh.

‘Wait, wasn’t he the one who said he didn’t want to call me sister-in-law?’

What on earth was I supposed to do with that stubborn man?

I almost wanted to smack him over the head.

Just then, Belladonna, who had been watching Claude as he walked ahead, turned her head.

“You two seem to be getting along.”

“Pardon?”

Then she added,

“I don’t care what you do behind closed doors, but be careful about your words and actions in public. If the Ortega name ends up rolling around in the dirt because of ‘outsiders’ like you two, it would be quite a loss for me.”

“……”

It was the first conversation I’d had with her since the funeral.

But after saying those words, Belladonna disappeared into the banquet hall without another thought.

After being hit in the back of the head twice in a row by the Ortega mother and son, I could only stand there dumbfounded, watching their backs as they disappeared.

“……Crazy people.”

Suddenly, I had a feeling.

There was no way today’s banquet was going to end peacefully.

 

***

 

The Imperial banquet hall, which I had last visited in autumn, had become even more magnificent.

Emperor Polybios had been suffering from an incurable illness for several years, so once again this year, the Crown Prince gave the opening remarks in his place.

“Enjoy yourselves and have a pleasant evening.”

The Crown Prince, whose gentle disposition made him dislike gatherings like this, disappeared after delivering his brief greeting.

And naturally, when the tiger was away, the fox became king.

“Belladonna, it’s a pleasure to see you. Do you know who I am?”

“You came to the funeral. I remember you, Count Leonhart.”

“Oh, Lady Belladonna! D-Do you remember me as well? I introduced myself by letter some time ago—”

Holding a wineglass and leaning against a pillar, I watched the people gathered around Belladonna.

There had been a time when I worried that I might end up like that, too, but not many people approached me.

‘Now that I’m a widow, there’ll be even fewer.’

Which was actually a good thing.

But……

What was this man who had been standing beside me like a guard for some time?

“……Claude, why do you keep standing next to me?”

Keeping a distance of about two steps between us, he casually drank his wine.

He had been so obviously sulking just a few minutes ago that I stared at him in disbelief.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not as though this banquet hall belongs to you.”

He had a point.

But just look at all those young ladies lining up beside you.

“Still, shouldn’t you try talking to some of the young ladies? That way, you can at least establish some standards before marriage proposals start coming in later.”

“There’s no chance of that happening, so don’t worry about it.”

“But if you’re going to become the head of the family—”

“I said that isn’t going to happen.”

With no eldest son left, it was practically a foregone conclusion that Claude, as the second son, would inherit House Ortega.

Then why was he saying he would never become the head of the family?

Just as I was beginning to wonder, he spoke.

“Besides, when that time comes, Mother will probably try to marry the two of us instead. She’s not the sort of person who would tolerate having surplus goods lying around the household.”

“……”

“……Damn it. Forget I said that.”

Ah.

Unfortunately, I could actually imagine Belladonna doing something like that, which made me feel rather unpleasant.

Apparently, he felt the same way.

Claude emptied the drink in his glass into his mouth, then stopped a passing servant and had his glass replaced.

During the brief pause as his glass was being refilled, he stood with his arms crossed, lost in thought, before suddenly frowning.

“But why have those people been glaring over here this whole time?”

Following the direction of his chin, I spotted a group of young ladies whispering while casting hostile looks in my direction from one corner of the banquet hall.

The woman standing at the center of the group was particularly glaring at me as though she might charge at any moment, her face half-hidden behind a fan.

“They’re all women who sent marriage proposals to Camille. Especially the one in the middle. Her name is Prita, and she’s the second daughter of Count Dinapoli.”

I continued casually.

“They were all women who once admired Camille, so I suppose they want to hold me responsible for losing my husband only a year after our marriage. They were terribly jealous when I married him, too.”

“Anyone watching them would think you were their mortal enemy.”

“……Well, that isn’t entirely wrong.”

After Camille’s death, I had wondered whether someone might turn their resentment toward me.

After all, there were sayings about how bringing an unlucky person into your family could ruin the entire household.

‘Just as I thought, Prita resents me.’

My prediction had been correct, and although I remained calm, I couldn’t help feeling a bitter taste in my mouth.

Then Claude casually muttered beside me,

“You’ve had quite a difficult life.”

What followed was a word of consolation.

“Don’t pay attention to what people who don’t know you say. Responding to every little thing like that won’t do you any good in life.”

“……Is that from personal experience?”

“Something like that.”

I looked up at Claude’s profile.

That didn’t seem like something an eighteen-year-old should have learned already.

“You’re right. They don’t know.”

I turned my head again and met the murderous gaze of Prita Dinapoli, who was glaring at me.

Once, those eyes had held nothing but genuine affection for me.

I had cried so bitterly when I saw them trembling with jealousy and hatred instead.

But things are different now.

“……Because this time, I’m risking my life, too.”

“What did you say?”

“……”

I could feel Claude’s puzzled gaze, but I didn’t answer.

Before the silence could stretch any longer, I changed the subject.

“Don’t drink too much. You’re still young.”

“……”

Claude studied my expression for a moment, then seemed to realize that I wasn’t going to say anything more.

So he obediently played along.

“In the west, you’re legally allowed to drink from the age of sixteen.”

“So the west isn’t part of the Empire, then?”

“Laws tend to become less effective the farther you get from the capital.”

Claude answered as smoothly as flowing water, then deliberately downed his wine in one gulp.

The alcohol was beginning to go to my head, and I wasn’t in the best mood either.

So, what the hell.

I followed his example and emptied the wine remaining in my glass into my mouth.

Then, unlike what one would expect from a duchess, I roughly wiped the wine from the corner of my mouth with my sleeve.

“Whew……”

It was the sort of behavior Belladonna would have scolded me for, but apparently, it earned Claude’s approval.

For the first time, his eyes lit up with amusement.

“You can hold your liquor pretty well. You seem to enjoy drinking yourself.”

“Yes. Where I came from, drinking was allowed from the age of twelve.”

“Hah!”

For some reason, his reaction made me feel oddly proud, and I couldn’t help but grin.

Keeping a comfortable distance from each other, we stood silently watching the banquet hall, where pleasant music was playing.

We didn’t particularly talk to each other, but I realized once again that the silence I shared with Claude was strangely comfortable.

Then, in an instant, a familiar head of pink hair entered my field of vision.

‘……Huh?’

Hair colors in this world were diverse by nature.

From ruby-red to vivid green, and even the black hair Claude possessed.

But that pale pink, as though dyed with crushed cherry blossoms, was something I had only ever seen on my husband.

And then, our eyes met.

“……!”

The black hem of clothing disappearing behind a pillar looked almost like a gesture telling me to follow.

As if under a spell, I began walking after the figure that had vanished from sight.

“……By the way, when is this boring banquet going to end?”

“Huh? I-I’m not sure……”

Claude frowned at the unexpected answer from an unfamiliar young lady as he took a sip from the newly filled glass of wine.

“I wasn’t asking you. ……Orb, why aren’t you answer—”

But he couldn’t finish his sentence.

“……”

“Oh, she went that way just now. More importantly, Sir Claude, you’re even more handsome in person!”

The woman who had been standing beside him only moments ago had disappeared without a trace.

Instead, the young ladies who had been waiting for an opportunity began creeping toward him.

Claude’s expression darkened rapidly.

‘Ah, damn this Ortega family.’

Surrounded by the young ladies who were steadily gathering around him, he made another firm resolution.

Someday, he would leave this damned household for good.