My Husband Lives Inside a Painting Chapter 28

***

 

In stark contrast to the noisy banquet hall, the corridor was so quiet that not a single person could be seen.

It was only after I found myself alone in the middle of the cold, drafty corridor that I came to my senses.

What was I thinking?

Just because he had hair that looked like my husband’s, I had followed him without a second thought?

The realization that I still hadn’t escaped the shadow of my dead husband made a flush of heat rush to my cheeks.

I immediately turned around and started walking back the way I had come.

“…Let’s go back quickly.”

My steps toward the banquet hall began hurriedly, but the farther I went, the slower they became.

The corridor was filled with things I had never seen before, from paintings hanging on the walls to various decorations, and they kept drawing my attention.

Then, without realizing it, I stopped in front of a small staircase leading underground.

There’s a staircase like this right beside the banquet hall?

In the Imperial Palace, where everything was bright and splendid, this was the only place that was dark and damp.

What was strange was that a breeze was coming from below. In other words, there was another passage leading outside somewhere down there.

Could it have been prepared as an escape route?

Wanting to take a closer look, I leaned my upper body diagonally over the stairs.

As I narrowed my field of vision and peered into the darkness, I thought I could faintly make out something purple shimmering beyond it.

“What is that…?”

Then, without thinking, I stepped forward, and my foot slipped.

“Ah!”

The moment I lost my balance and my shoe heel twisted, I instinctively stretched out my hand, searching for something to steady myself.

My hand grasped nothing but air.

“Ah.”

As my field of vision tilted as though I were being sucked into the darkness beneath the stairs, I squeezed my eyes shut.

Why is there no handrail here of all places…!

In that split second, I could almost see the sensational headline that would appear in the newspaper after my death.

—[EXCLUSIVE] Twenty-One-Year-Old Young Widow Takes Her Own Life Following Her Husband?!

Ah, this can’t be happening.

If I died like this, what would happen to the contract?

If I died, what would happen to Camille, who was trapped inside my painting?

It was the very moment my consciousness plunged toward the ground along with my falling body.

“Oh my.”

A hand lightly pulled me back by the waist from behind.

A faint floral scent reached me a beat later.

And when I heard the voice that followed, it felt as though my breath stopped.

“You must be careful, Mrs. Ortega.”

The hand that had effortlessly caught me turned my body around and lifted me back onto the stairs.

“……”

Before I could even stiffen at the fact that I had come into contact with a man, his arm had already pulled away from me.

Beneath the black robe pulled low over his head, the man’s slender jawline was visible.

“Are you all right?”

The voice asking me was so eerily familiar that it felt strange instead.

The man standing in silence barely a step away from me was dressed in black from head to toe.

“You…”

“……”

“Who are you?”

My voice trembled slightly. Whether it was because I had just come into contact with a man, or because this man…

The faintly visible lower half of his face caught my eye.

“Hmm… I wonder.”

The thought that I had to see the face beneath his robe filled my mind.

It felt as though my thoughts were being bleached completely white.

Why.

Why does this man…

have exactly the same voice as my husband?

“You came from House Ortega, didn’t you, Mrs. Ortega?”

“…Pardon?”

“I had heard so many rumors about you that I wanted to see your face for myself. I’m glad I came today.”

“Do you know me?”

The man nodded.

“Yes. I happen to be very interested in you.”

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Don’t worry. When the time comes, you’ll naturally find out.”

The hand that had been reaching toward the back of mine in a gesture of farewell stopped in midair.

Instead of pressing his lips to my hand, he merely bowed politely before turning away.

“Then, I hope to see you again someday.”

I watched his retreating back for a long time, and then, without realizing it, I felt an intense sense of déjà vu.

“……”

And soon, I regretted it.

My dead husband could never come back to life. So what on earth had I been hoping for?

“Orb, you’re truly hopeless.”

 

***

 

By the time I returned to the banquet hall after smacking myself on the head a couple of times, the place was still as noisy as ever, as though no one cared that I had disappeared for a while.

Meanwhile, I spotted Claude, who had moved from his spot by the pillar to a secluded table.

With his arms firmly crossed and such a fierce expression that none of the young ladies around him dared approach, he raised his eyes the moment he noticed me.

I pretended not to notice and approached the seat beside him.

“Ahem. I just went out to get some fresh air. Were you all right?”

“……”

“…Were you looking for me?”

I asked twice, but he gave me no answer either time. His thoroughly displeased expression, however, remained unchanged.

It wasn’t long before I found out why he was so irritated.

“Thanks to you giving up your seat, sister-in-law, I was able to spend some pleasant time with many young ladies, just as you wished.”

“Ah.”

“Thank you very much. I certainly won’t forget this favor, and I’ll be sure to repay you for it.”

“H-ha, haha.”

…I’m screwed.

The look in his eyes made it clear that he was determined to get his revenge somehow.

Meanwhile, as the banquet entered its second half, the hall began filling with men and women dancing.

As I watched the couples, thoroughly caught up in the excitement, circle around the center of the banquet hall while laughing and chatting, I suddenly realized that Belladonna was nowhere to be seen.

Claude, having read my thoughts, casually supplied the answer.

“Mother left quite some time ago. When you disappeared.”

“That quickly?”

“She’s always a very busy person, after all.”

With both the tiger and the fox gone, there was no king left in the feast hall.

It was only after the atmosphere had become strangely unsettled that I noticed the people who stood out.

First, Noah Pistachio.

“Isn’t that the second son of House Pistachio?”

“I heard the embezzlement allegations have practically been confirmed. What on earth was he thinking, coming here?”

It seemed Noah Pistachio had attended as the representative of his family in place of the Count, who was suffering from pulmonary disease.

However, he seemed not to have expected such blatant ridicule, and his face had gone pale.

“The rumors were already widespread among my acquaintances. I always said he was bound to cause trouble someday.”

“Phew, imagine if I’d actually exchanged marriage proposals with him. It makes me shudder just thinking about it.”

“He still has the nerve to show his face in public. I suppose you really can’t hide that blood!”

“…Urgh.”

Unable to settle anywhere and fidgeting anxiously, Noah Pistachio finally stormed out of the banquet hall.

Cold, mocking laughter flew after him and lodged in his back like arrows as he left the hall.

I had no particular grudge against him, so for some reason, I felt uncomfortable.

Will I have to endure this feeling the entire time I continue this contract?

If that’s the case, I’d rather my feelings just grow cold too.

But I pressed my lips tightly together and gathered my emotions because Pagoda Buthier and Densum Kalanchoe had come into view.

If anyone were to step forward for Gail, it had to be those two.

And yet, the two of them were tilting their wine glasses and laughing merrily, without even sparing a glance at Noah’s retreating back.

How can they do that?

They looked as though they had never even met Gail before.

The emotions that had been boiling inside me instantly settled, leaving me calm.

One of them is still the culprit.

…Right. I mustn’t forget why I came here today.

And just then, Claude, who had been sitting beside me, pushed his chair back and stood.

“I’m going to step away for a moment too. Staying inside is suffocating.”

Since the banquet continued outdoors as well, he was probably going to look for a quiet terrace away from the crowded masses.

“Go ahead. I’ll have a few more drinks here.”

I gave him a light nod, grateful that he was leaving at such a perfect time.

But after only a few steps, Claude suddenly stopped.

As though he had remembered something, he turned back toward me.

“…Oh, right. If some strange guy shows up, just scream as loudly as you can. I won’t be far away.”