Time flies, and there are only three days left until the wedding.
Moving from the old house to the new one and bringing in new furniture and belongings took quite some time. In modern times, a ladder truck would have done the job quickly, but unfortunately, that's not the case here.
The furniture used in the Chevant mansion was existing, and most of the items for the new house were new, so there wasn't much to move.
As a finishing touch, we painted the wainscot (a wall finish to protect the walls) and the bathroom and dressing room in cream, which makes it look much brighter.
The living room is decorated with a marble table top and ornate furniture made with ivory using the marquetry technique, so it is decorated with cream-colored curtains, carpets, and tapestries with neat paintings to keep it from being excessive.
I gazed at the portrait on the wide wall of the master bedroom of the mansion that had become our perfect new home, lost in thought. It was the finished version of a painting I'd commissioned from a friend of Dr. Rugen's.
The reason I hung portraits instead of wedding photos was that I didn't want to hang dull black and white photos in my bedroom.
A picture framed in gilded engraving depicts me in a neat, pearl-colored tubular dress and Noah in a navy formal suit. I hold a rose garden flower in one hand, and Noah, standing beside me, holds my other hand.
Since it was customary to paint portraits of nobles without expression, both of us have characteristically indifferent faces. Perhaps one day, they will be stuffed in a museum with the title "The Discontent of a Young Couple Married to Someone They Don't Like."
Do I really look that dry? I look so cold. Suddenly, I remembered what the artist said after completing the painting.
“You two look very similar.”
What's the resemblance? Our hair colors are opposite, our eyes are different, and Noah's features are more distinct. He looked at me with that expression and said this.
"After drawing people for so long, I've come to see something. It's something that can't be captured in paintings or photographs, something that can't be seen with the naked eye. They say couples were married in a past life, too. Perhaps it's the traces of that long-standing relationship that remain."
The popular saying comes to mind: your current face is the face of someone you loved in a past life. If I had that face in a past life, I would have been the beauty of the century.
Noah came up to me as I was standing there blankly looking at the painting and took my hand just like in the painting.
“Do you like it?”
“It would have been better if it had been embellished a bit more.”
"The portraits exchanged during the political marriages were said to have been heavily embellished. Many people were disappointed when they actually saw them."
“The artist who painted our picture must be a realist.”
Noah looked down at me, his voice laced with a hint of discontent.
“No, the picture doesn’t capture the real thing.”
"She's prettier in person than in a picture," he thought, trying to say something like that. I could already feel my cheeks flushing, so I rubbed them with one hand.
“It’s actually cooler, isn’t it?”
It turned out to be self-praise. I bit my lip and quickly lowered my hand.
“Yes. I don’t think it can be captured in a picture.”
He held my hand and groaned as I responded without a soul, then let out a faint snort.
“The same goes for you, Princess. I don’t think the image I like is captured in a painting.”
“What kind of look do you like?”
"Entire."
He answers with a sad conciseness.
Even if the Queen had promised the previous Duke and had his own beliefs in trying to get me back, no matter how much I think about it, I still don't know the exact reason or trigger that made him fall in love with me.
Just because I was abandoned by my family and have nothing?
You said you liked my nature when you proposed to me, but no matter how insightful you are, it would be difficult to grasp such a high-level meaning immediately after kidnapping me.
Because I thought that wasn't important at the time, I didn't bother to ask the questions I had in my mind.
If you ask, "What did you like about me?", it's obvious that they'll counter by pressuring you with, "What do you like about me? Just tell me ten things."
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the bedroom door, and Molly came in with a stern expression.
“Are you busy?”
"Yes."
“Still, it would be better for you to hear it now.”
Despite Noah's firm response, Molly, who had fully entered the bedroom, pursed her lips and made a troubled expression. The ominous atmosphere made Noah slowly tilt his head.
“What is it?”
“Your older sister has come to visit. She is with her fiancé.”
“Sister?”
I stared wide-eyed at Molly's mouth as she uttered words that seemed unreal. The only person I could call "sister" was Celine. She'd said she could enter the country for business, so she must have found a way. And how did she know where I was and come to visit?
The first thought that came to my mind was, 'What kind of candy are you going to give me again?' and the second thought was, 'Then how do I return the candy?'
Just as I was wondering why Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal was here again, I realized that Noah's expression was the same as mine.
I don't know why the arch-rivals came to see me. It's certainly not likely they're trying to improve their relationship, fearing they'll be executed if the truth comes out later.
It's more likely that he's joined forces with Erita or conspired with the admiral. I went down to the front door with Noah and encountered a woman with whom I had a bad relationship and a man with whom I had a somewhat difficult relationship to talk to.
Celine, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a frilly apricot dress, smiled at me with a gentle smile. Honestly, she looks like a beautiful angel on the outside, but that's only an external assessment if you don't know her true nature.
The lieutenant colonel stood upright, his expression blank, and looked at me.
“My little sister, how are you?”
A woman with a dark complexion smiles beautifully.
When I locked eyes with Medusa, I felt as if I was turning to stone, both inside and out. I stared at her with a face as hard as stone.
“Why are you here? What are you up to now?”
“Why did you come? What are you trying to disturb me with now?”
Noah's and my voices overlapped, but we spoke the same words as if we were one person. Noah's fierce eyes glared at the lieutenant colonel, who was dressed in a neat suit.
“Attend the wedding.”
“I came to attend your wedding. You’re my sister, aren’t you?”
The man and woman both gave the same answer, as if they had come up with a definitive answer. The absurdity of the situation, incomprehensible, made me wonder if this was a dream.
No matter how much I think about it, that combination feels as bizarre as coffee and noodles. Another proverb comes to mind: that couples may have been enemies in a past life.
Those two must have been entangled by a bad relationship from a past life.
A week ago, Celine visited Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal's mansion with a document in her hand, her voice soft as if delivering good news.
“Medea, I’ve been granted entry. I plan to go early.”
She wore a sky blue dress with a delicate floral pattern and smiled brightly at the lieutenant colonel sitting across from her on the living room sofa.
She took off her wide-brimmed hat of the same pattern and color with a light touch, smoothed her platinum hair, and handed the lieutenant colonel a document.
The lieutenant colonel looked down at the black tea in the wide-mouthed teacup for a moment, then accepted the document she handed him.
“Did Diana reply?”
"No."
“And yet you’re saying you’re going to the wedding? They didn’t even send an invitation.”
Celine's clear green eyes narrowed and curved prettily.
"It was an important escape route, wasn't it? I didn't know about it. Besides, it would be proof that 'my relationship with my younger sister wasn't bad, and I cared enough about her to attend her wedding.' Since it's come to this, I'm trying to make things better."
Celine recalled the look of bewilderment on her father's face when he returned home on the day Diana was kidnapped. It was a look of despair, a look distinctly different from the worry over the kidnapping.
Only after learning all the facts later did she understand the expression. Celine had never properly interacted or spoken with her younger sister in the past.
She just thought of her as one of the common servants in a large mansion, and she had no interest in her.
Diana never complained about her situation or demanded treatment befitting her status as the admiral's daughter.
She barely spoke and worked obediently as he was told, without any presence, like one of those dark industrial machines repeating the same task.
She, who had been like that, suddenly changed overnight, as if she had eaten something wrong. She commanded a maid, suddenly showed up and demanded to be taken to a party, and was captured by the Duke of Frogen and taken to Frogen.
At that time, Celine was just bewildered by the situation unfolding like a violent storm.
When Diana briefly returned to Belford, she was in a state of hell. She was a vicious demon, possessing and shaking her, mercilessly punishing and exterminating any servants she disliked.
In particular, a maid named Vera quit after tripping on her foot and falling down the stairs, injuring her leg.
"And then she whispered, 'Didn't I tell you I'd kill you before?' It was intentional, Miss."
Vera, collapsed on the floor, sobbing, spoke these words. Long ago, servants who left the mansion generally disappeared without a trace. Did Diana know about this?
It is not known whether this is a hidden nature or a kind of awakening.
Given all this, Celine can only assume that Diana realized everything at some point and planned her departure when the time came.
Celine concludes that the Duke of Frogen and Diana have no intention of revealing the truth, seeing as they are currently staying in Medea but taking no action.
Since Diana was the only descendant of the Queen, if the truth were revealed, the royal family would likely annul the marriage or even divorce. However, the possibility of a "what if" couldn't be ruled out.
“Do as you please.”
Celine asked, watching the lieutenant colonel put down the teacup he was drinking from with a bitter smile.
“Didn’t you bring Diana back to survive, too?”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
Celine, seeing his expression darken as if he were lost in his own reminiscence, changed the subject, not wanting to hear any other reason.
"It's a satisfying conclusion for everyone. We live, and Diana is happy. Are my intentions bad?"
Diana's happiness, once a wish for misery, was a means and a means to keep this man, a mere bait. The lieutenant colonel replied with a sigh.
“Your father will not be satisfied.”
“My father is a man who puts my happiness first.”
The lust for power is not easily quenched. This is something a lieutenant colonel, the second son of a military officer and a Duke, knows best.
This is because they have seen the endless thirst for domination, power, and wealth of politicians, high officials, gentry, and nobles.
The admiral is also likely to show ambitions of betraying his country and cooperating with Frogen in order to gain greater power.
Celine also knew this secretly, but as long as her goal of marrying the man she wanted was achieved, that didn't matter.
Because she's the admiral's daughter. While the admiral was obsessed with power, Celine's obsession was affection. Despite receiving an abundance of affection, she yearns for it. She believes everyone should love her, just like the protagonist.
“Everything I do is for you, because I love you.”
She spoke of her love to a man who still didn't love her. His blue eyes were dry, empty of emotion, but she smiled with a dazzling beauty.
Celine's cheeks flushed like a girl in love. The gentle tone from her small, plump lips carried a paradoxical, almost utter, sense of compulsion.
“Please bless my sister’s marriage. It is one of our tasks, bearing the weight of your mother and my father’s past sins.”
So, forget your foolishness, Lieutenant Colonel. I hope you see their happiness with your own eyes. One day, you'll love me too.
Celine's obsessive gaze turned to Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal. This is how Celine and the Lieutenant Colonel came to Medea to attend Diana's wedding.
Moving from the old house to the new one and bringing in new furniture and belongings took quite some time. In modern times, a ladder truck would have done the job quickly, but unfortunately, that's not the case here.
The furniture used in the Chevant mansion was existing, and most of the items for the new house were new, so there wasn't much to move.
As a finishing touch, we painted the wainscot (a wall finish to protect the walls) and the bathroom and dressing room in cream, which makes it look much brighter.
The living room is decorated with a marble table top and ornate furniture made with ivory using the marquetry technique, so it is decorated with cream-colored curtains, carpets, and tapestries with neat paintings to keep it from being excessive.
I gazed at the portrait on the wide wall of the master bedroom of the mansion that had become our perfect new home, lost in thought. It was the finished version of a painting I'd commissioned from a friend of Dr. Rugen's.
The reason I hung portraits instead of wedding photos was that I didn't want to hang dull black and white photos in my bedroom.
A picture framed in gilded engraving depicts me in a neat, pearl-colored tubular dress and Noah in a navy formal suit. I hold a rose garden flower in one hand, and Noah, standing beside me, holds my other hand.
Since it was customary to paint portraits of nobles without expression, both of us have characteristically indifferent faces. Perhaps one day, they will be stuffed in a museum with the title "The Discontent of a Young Couple Married to Someone They Don't Like."
Do I really look that dry? I look so cold. Suddenly, I remembered what the artist said after completing the painting.
“You two look very similar.”
What's the resemblance? Our hair colors are opposite, our eyes are different, and Noah's features are more distinct. He looked at me with that expression and said this.
"After drawing people for so long, I've come to see something. It's something that can't be captured in paintings or photographs, something that can't be seen with the naked eye. They say couples were married in a past life, too. Perhaps it's the traces of that long-standing relationship that remain."
The popular saying comes to mind: your current face is the face of someone you loved in a past life. If I had that face in a past life, I would have been the beauty of the century.
Noah came up to me as I was standing there blankly looking at the painting and took my hand just like in the painting.
“Do you like it?”
“It would have been better if it had been embellished a bit more.”
"The portraits exchanged during the political marriages were said to have been heavily embellished. Many people were disappointed when they actually saw them."
“The artist who painted our picture must be a realist.”
Noah looked down at me, his voice laced with a hint of discontent.
“No, the picture doesn’t capture the real thing.”
"She's prettier in person than in a picture," he thought, trying to say something like that. I could already feel my cheeks flushing, so I rubbed them with one hand.
“It’s actually cooler, isn’t it?”
It turned out to be self-praise. I bit my lip and quickly lowered my hand.
“Yes. I don’t think it can be captured in a picture.”
He held my hand and groaned as I responded without a soul, then let out a faint snort.
“The same goes for you, Princess. I don’t think the image I like is captured in a painting.”
“What kind of look do you like?”
"Entire."
He answers with a sad conciseness.
Even if the Queen had promised the previous Duke and had his own beliefs in trying to get me back, no matter how much I think about it, I still don't know the exact reason or trigger that made him fall in love with me.
Just because I was abandoned by my family and have nothing?
You said you liked my nature when you proposed to me, but no matter how insightful you are, it would be difficult to grasp such a high-level meaning immediately after kidnapping me.
Because I thought that wasn't important at the time, I didn't bother to ask the questions I had in my mind.
If you ask, "What did you like about me?", it's obvious that they'll counter by pressuring you with, "What do you like about me? Just tell me ten things."
Knock knock.
There was a knock on the bedroom door, and Molly came in with a stern expression.
“Are you busy?”
"Yes."
“Still, it would be better for you to hear it now.”
Despite Noah's firm response, Molly, who had fully entered the bedroom, pursed her lips and made a troubled expression. The ominous atmosphere made Noah slowly tilt his head.
“What is it?”
“Your older sister has come to visit. She is with her fiancé.”
“Sister?”
I stared wide-eyed at Molly's mouth as she uttered words that seemed unreal. The only person I could call "sister" was Celine. She'd said she could enter the country for business, so she must have found a way. And how did she know where I was and come to visit?
The first thought that came to my mind was, 'What kind of candy are you going to give me again?' and the second thought was, 'Then how do I return the candy?'
Just as I was wondering why Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal was here again, I realized that Noah's expression was the same as mine.
I don't know why the arch-rivals came to see me. It's certainly not likely they're trying to improve their relationship, fearing they'll be executed if the truth comes out later.
It's more likely that he's joined forces with Erita or conspired with the admiral. I went down to the front door with Noah and encountered a woman with whom I had a bad relationship and a man with whom I had a somewhat difficult relationship to talk to.
Celine, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a frilly apricot dress, smiled at me with a gentle smile. Honestly, she looks like a beautiful angel on the outside, but that's only an external assessment if you don't know her true nature.
The lieutenant colonel stood upright, his expression blank, and looked at me.
“My little sister, how are you?”
A woman with a dark complexion smiles beautifully.
When I locked eyes with Medusa, I felt as if I was turning to stone, both inside and out. I stared at her with a face as hard as stone.
“Why are you here? What are you up to now?”
“Why did you come? What are you trying to disturb me with now?”
Noah's and my voices overlapped, but we spoke the same words as if we were one person. Noah's fierce eyes glared at the lieutenant colonel, who was dressed in a neat suit.
“Attend the wedding.”
“I came to attend your wedding. You’re my sister, aren’t you?”
The man and woman both gave the same answer, as if they had come up with a definitive answer. The absurdity of the situation, incomprehensible, made me wonder if this was a dream.
No matter how much I think about it, that combination feels as bizarre as coffee and noodles. Another proverb comes to mind: that couples may have been enemies in a past life.
Those two must have been entangled by a bad relationship from a past life.
***
A week ago, Celine visited Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal's mansion with a document in her hand, her voice soft as if delivering good news.
“Medea, I’ve been granted entry. I plan to go early.”
She wore a sky blue dress with a delicate floral pattern and smiled brightly at the lieutenant colonel sitting across from her on the living room sofa.
She took off her wide-brimmed hat of the same pattern and color with a light touch, smoothed her platinum hair, and handed the lieutenant colonel a document.
The lieutenant colonel looked down at the black tea in the wide-mouthed teacup for a moment, then accepted the document she handed him.
“Did Diana reply?”
"No."
“And yet you’re saying you’re going to the wedding? They didn’t even send an invitation.”
Celine's clear green eyes narrowed and curved prettily.
"It was an important escape route, wasn't it? I didn't know about it. Besides, it would be proof that 'my relationship with my younger sister wasn't bad, and I cared enough about her to attend her wedding.' Since it's come to this, I'm trying to make things better."
Celine recalled the look of bewilderment on her father's face when he returned home on the day Diana was kidnapped. It was a look of despair, a look distinctly different from the worry over the kidnapping.
Only after learning all the facts later did she understand the expression. Celine had never properly interacted or spoken with her younger sister in the past.
She just thought of her as one of the common servants in a large mansion, and she had no interest in her.
Diana never complained about her situation or demanded treatment befitting her status as the admiral's daughter.
She barely spoke and worked obediently as he was told, without any presence, like one of those dark industrial machines repeating the same task.
She, who had been like that, suddenly changed overnight, as if she had eaten something wrong. She commanded a maid, suddenly showed up and demanded to be taken to a party, and was captured by the Duke of Frogen and taken to Frogen.
At that time, Celine was just bewildered by the situation unfolding like a violent storm.
When Diana briefly returned to Belford, she was in a state of hell. She was a vicious demon, possessing and shaking her, mercilessly punishing and exterminating any servants she disliked.
In particular, a maid named Vera quit after tripping on her foot and falling down the stairs, injuring her leg.
"And then she whispered, 'Didn't I tell you I'd kill you before?' It was intentional, Miss."
Vera, collapsed on the floor, sobbing, spoke these words. Long ago, servants who left the mansion generally disappeared without a trace. Did Diana know about this?
It is not known whether this is a hidden nature or a kind of awakening.
Given all this, Celine can only assume that Diana realized everything at some point and planned her departure when the time came.
Celine concludes that the Duke of Frogen and Diana have no intention of revealing the truth, seeing as they are currently staying in Medea but taking no action.
Since Diana was the only descendant of the Queen, if the truth were revealed, the royal family would likely annul the marriage or even divorce. However, the possibility of a "what if" couldn't be ruled out.
“Do as you please.”
Celine asked, watching the lieutenant colonel put down the teacup he was drinking from with a bitter smile.
“Didn’t you bring Diana back to survive, too?”
“That’s not necessarily true.”
Celine, seeing his expression darken as if he were lost in his own reminiscence, changed the subject, not wanting to hear any other reason.
"It's a satisfying conclusion for everyone. We live, and Diana is happy. Are my intentions bad?"
Diana's happiness, once a wish for misery, was a means and a means to keep this man, a mere bait. The lieutenant colonel replied with a sigh.
“Your father will not be satisfied.”
“My father is a man who puts my happiness first.”
The lust for power is not easily quenched. This is something a lieutenant colonel, the second son of a military officer and a Duke, knows best.
This is because they have seen the endless thirst for domination, power, and wealth of politicians, high officials, gentry, and nobles.
The admiral is also likely to show ambitions of betraying his country and cooperating with Frogen in order to gain greater power.
Celine also knew this secretly, but as long as her goal of marrying the man she wanted was achieved, that didn't matter.
Because she's the admiral's daughter. While the admiral was obsessed with power, Celine's obsession was affection. Despite receiving an abundance of affection, she yearns for it. She believes everyone should love her, just like the protagonist.
“Everything I do is for you, because I love you.”
She spoke of her love to a man who still didn't love her. His blue eyes were dry, empty of emotion, but she smiled with a dazzling beauty.
Celine's cheeks flushed like a girl in love. The gentle tone from her small, plump lips carried a paradoxical, almost utter, sense of compulsion.
“Please bless my sister’s marriage. It is one of our tasks, bearing the weight of your mother and my father’s past sins.”
So, forget your foolishness, Lieutenant Colonel. I hope you see their happiness with your own eyes. One day, you'll love me too.
Celine's obsessive gaze turned to Lieutenant Colonel Groenendaal. This is how Celine and the Lieutenant Colonel came to Medea to attend Diana's wedding.
Comments
Post a Comment