My Husband Lives Inside a Painting Chapter 40

Even after watching the puppet show and magic performance, the children showed no signs of running out of energy.

However, when I caught a glimpse of Claude’s expression, I noticed that he didn’t look particularly cheerful, so I cautiously spoke up.

“Claude, are you holding up all right?”

“Yes.”

“If you’re tired, you can head back first. Hope and I are here, so don’t worry about us.”

“……”

When Claude stopped walking, I stopped as well and turned to face him.

……What? Why is he looking at me like that?

He gazed down at me with his calm golden eyes, lost in thought for a moment. Then he shook his head.

“Now that I think about it, it wasn’t all that boring. The puppet show and magic performance were enjoyable in their own way.”

“Really? Well, that’s a relief.”

Thinking I must have been too sensitive, I shrugged.

As I quietly watched the children gathered in front of a street stall, chattering excitedly, Claude suddenly spoke.

“But you haven’t touched a single thing to eat. Have you still lost your appetite?”

“……Ah.”

I thought I’d managed not to show it. When had he noticed?

His gaze, which had been quietly observing me, soon moved away. He headed straight for a nearby food stall, bought something, and promptly held it out to me.

“Tomato soup. Apparently, it comes with their special sausage.”

“……”

“Eat. It’s smooth, so it should be easy to swallow.”

Of all the food available, he had chosen soup. It seemed like a thoughtful gesture on his part.

But when I simply stared at it without taking it, his brows drew together.

“……Do I have to feed you?”

Claude actually scooped up a spoonful of soup, looking as though he intended to put it straight into my mouth.

Startled, I hurriedly reached out to stop him.

“G-give it to me. I’ll eat it myself.”

“Very well, then.”

I reluctantly accepted the soup, white steam rising from its surface.

When I settled onto a nearby bench, Claude followed and naturally took the seat beside me.

I’m not that hungry, though……

But when I glanced sideways at him, I found him watching me like a prison guard.

With no other choice, I scooped up a spoonful and put it in my mouth. A sweet-and-sour aroma spread across my palate.

……It’s delicious.

It tastes familiar. Like the tomato spaghetti I used to eat when I was little.

My eyes widened at the unexpectedly delightful taste, and I instinctively took another spoonful.

“You can eat just fine on your own.”

At his almost absentminded murmur, I looked up. Claude had his arms crossed, one corner of his mouth curling into a smirk.

I stared at him for a moment, dumbfounded.

“……Do you think I’m a child or something?”

“I don’t recall treating you like one.”

As if he hadn’t been treating me like a child. The nerve.

“That won’t do. From now on, you’re going to address me politely.”

I narrowed my eyes, pretending to be angry, but Claude merely scoffed and replied nonchalantly.

“Our knight-and-lady act ended ages ago. Besides, why should I use honorifics? We’re only three years apart.”

“Only three years?”

I’d never met anyone who could dismiss three whole years as if they were nothing. It wasn’t as though we were just one or two years apart.

Age distinctions certainly existed in this world, too. Besides, wasn’t he the same age as my younger brother, Louis?

But his next words left me unable to come up with a proper rebuttal.

“If you ever start acting like the older one, I’ll consider it. For now, start by learning to eat your meals on time.”

“……How did we end up talking about that—”

“Adults should know how to take care of themselves. So other people don’t have to worry unnecessarily.”

“……”

In the end, I nodded as though admitting defeat.

“You really are so self-willed.”

I finished every last drop of soup.

With my cheeks bulging from the mouthful I’d stuffed inside, I looked at him as if to ask whether he was satisfied now. Claude let out a low laugh.

“What an idiot.”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“Swallow before you speak. Your words are slurred, so you sound even more like an idiot.”

The square was bustling with the red glow of the setting sun and the murmurs of passersby.

The disorderly commotion softened the atmosphere just enough that, before long, even the awkwardness became part of the scenery.

The embarrassingly heartfelt words that slipped out of my mouth were entirely the atmosphere’s fault.

“Still, thank you for helping me.”

“……”

I didn’t bother trying to check his expression right away. Only after setting my empty soup bowl beside me did I slowly turn to look at him.

“You’re a good person…… probably.”

Claude wore a briefly bewildered expression before narrowing his eyes, finally sensing something was amiss.

“What’s with that ‘probably’?”

“Sometimes I feel like smacking you upside the head. So I’m still undecided.”

“……Ha!”

His incredulous snort was so funny that I couldn’t help laughing, too.

We’d been laughing for quite some time when Claude suddenly spoke in a low voice, almost as if the words had slipped out by accident.

“You’re much prettier when you smile.”

“Hm?”

“……”

At his words, I instinctively looked up. Claude had turned his head away and was covering his face with one hand.

The tips of his ears, visible between his fingers, seemed to have turned red.

It must have been my imagination.

After that, we spent the rest of our time chatting quietly.

As evening fell, I took the children back to the mansion and went to bed, still carrying the lingering warmth of the day with me.

And so, the Spring Flower Festival continued for three days.

On the night before its final day, Romaine was brushing my hair when she asked me in an excited voice,

“My lady, you’re going again tomorrow, aren’t you? They’re having a fireworks show tomorrow night!”

“Fireworks?”

“Yes! The other maids said it’s so beautiful that everyone forgets about work just to watch it that night. The children have probably never seen anything like it, so Sir Hope insisted on taking them both.”

The Spring Flower Festival was the largest event in the Empire.

The fireworks that marked the grand finale were apparently so famous that crowds flocked to the festival from other regions just to see them.

“I heard it’s especially famous as a place for lovers to confess their feelings…… Ah, it must be so beautiful! We should go early and secure a good spot.”

Watching Romaine’s eyes sparkle with anticipation in the mirror, I smiled faintly.

But soon, my expression grew serious.

“I……”

I fidgeted with my hands, clasped together in my lap. After a moment of hesitation, I nodded as though I’d made up my mind.

 

***

 

The next day, I didn’t go to the Spring Flower Festival.

When I told Romaine that I would stay behind at the mansion, she looked deeply disappointed but said she would stay with me.

However, I firmly shook my head.

“Are you really sure it’s all right for me to leave the mansion, my lady? What if something comes up while I’m gone—”

“That won’t happen. It’s fine, so go and have fun.”

I couldn’t bring myself to tell Romaine not to go when she had been looking forward to the fireworks so much.

Besides, the truth was that, just for today, it was better if I had no one by my side.

Sitting on the hard wooden chair in the studio, I opened my box of solid paints and carefully chose the colors I needed.

Then, instead of a canvas, I picked up a sheet of paper and set my brush to it.

I spent the early morning alone in the quiet mansion, absorbed in my painting. It was well into the afternoon before I finally stood up.

When I stepped into the painting, I found myself face-to-face with Camille at just the right moment.

“Orb!”

“……Camille!”

My voice rose before I could stop it, and I startled myself. I hurriedly clamped my mouth shut.

But Camille was hardly the sort of man to let an opportunity like this slip by.

He approached me in an instant, wearing a radiant yet mischievous smile.

“What’s this? Did you miss me that much?”

“N-no, I didn’t.”

“You’re so bad at being honest. How cute.”

As he walked through the flower field toward me, a faint floral fragrance trailed behind him, following a beat later.

“I missed you, too, darling.”

“……”

Ah.

His blue eyes sparkled like jewels beneath his cherry-blossom-colored hair.

His warm features contrasted with his sly smile, and there was even that tiny beauty mark beneath his eye, as though someone had dotted it there with a brush.

The moment I saw all those familiar details again, the hesitation and guilt that had been weighing on a corner of my heart vanished without a trace.

At the same time, I realized—

I simply can’t bring myself to let this man go.