TPOP 44

Chapter 44

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Arnold had served his master for 15 years, but it had never occurred to him that his master considered him anything more than a loyal stone. At best, he could be compared to one of his master's favorite horses.

His master was a cold, ruthless man, whose interests burned out as quickly as a candle in the wind.

Born of love, but unable to love; born with everyone's blessing, but unable to bless others.

Such a man found a woman he wanted to draw. Judging from the many sketches that were thrown in the trash, he wanted to capture her as she was, not as he had reconstructed or reinterpreted her in his imagination.

So maybe, just maybe…

If his master showed the slightest sign of change.

It was enough to inspire a sudden fear. If someone who didn’t know love fell in love, could his way of loving be right?

"Should I paint something else? But I don't think I'll find anything as beautiful as this."

"...If you want, I'll look for it."

"The Fountain of Ballestega... Didn't it once belong to the Dorte royal family? Find out what happened to it now, and if there's any soul left there."

"Yes, sire."

Arnold hesitated for a moment, then added cautiously. 

"What will you do with the maid if you find another woman, or someone else who might catch your attention?"

"Who knows."

Felix replied indifferently. "Have I ever left anything useless in the palace?"

Before Arnold could react, the woman's slender shoulders stiffened. It was as if she had suddenly awakened.

Running his fingers through her hair, Felix met her gaze gently. "You're awake."

His tone was radically different from the one he'd used with Arnold, but even so, the startled woman curled up even more. Crimson bruises were evident on the pale shoulder that was briefly exposed.

Felix pulled back the blanket that covered her and buried his face in the nape of her neck, where her scent lingered.

"A maid falling asleep in the presence of her master... I'll have to teach her how to serve at night from the beginning.”

It was the gentlest mockery Arnold had ever heard from the Crown Prince, and the maid, unable to understand his ways, sobbed quietly.

Arnold glanced at her face, which was slightly illuminated by the moonlight. She was noticeably changed from when she had first arrived at the secluded Palace.

He remembered her as a smart, sharp, and adaptable maid, despite her blindness. At one point, she was perceptive enough to recognize footsteps upstairs, and could even predict who was coming. Now, however, she seemed to have no energy left to sense Arnold's presence. Her flushed face, no longer alert and cautious, had been replaced by a look of pleasure and sleepiness, leaving her defenseless.

Felix pulled the maid into his arms, completely ignoring Arnold's gaze. The faint moonlight cast faint shadows across her body and onto the floor.

Arnold immediately backed away quietly, minimizing his presence. As he descended the stairs, the silhouettes of a man and a woman, intertwined as one, hovered in his vision.

The loyal knight silently dismissed the speculations he had dared to entertain.

***

The Crown Prince, who had been away hunting for more than ten days, returned to the palace after a long absence.

There were two people when he left, but he was the only one who returned. Duke Christen, who immediately ran to him, first looked among the servants to see if the blind woman was there.

Sure enough, she wasn't there. When Hugo ran up to the third floor, he was greeted by Felix, who was sitting on the sofa in the living room, smoking a cigar.

"Why did you come running up here like an anxious puppy, Duke?"

He wasn't the least bit hesitant to address his uncle directly. Hugo exerted self-control, barely holding back a sharp retort.

"I heard you were away from the palace for ten days, but isn't the hunting ground in the woods a poorly guarded place, and if you didn't bring many knights with you, how could you have been in the middle of the woods for so long?"

"There's a sensitive woman there, keen to observe but not so good at seeing ahead."

"...Didn't you bring her back from there?"

"She was asleep, and besides, I'll be back soon enough, so why bother?"

Hugo almost bit his tongue. "I didn't know you were so generous." The words rose to the top of his throat, but he swallowed with the last ounce of loyalty he had left.

"Have you finished the painting?"

"I've put it on hold for now, but I can do it anytime."

"... you mean, painting?"

"Yes."

Felix's sketches of the maid were all kept by the head maid in the studio. Felix hadn't ordered her to throw them away, and she was obligated to report the Crown Prince's every move to the Duke.

All the sketches were unfinished, and none of them depicted her face, evidence that he wasn’t satisfied with something.

"The conclusion was that I hadn't had enough time to observe."

Felix finished one cigar and picked up another. As if it were natural, Hugo stood up, snipped the end of the cigar from Felix's finger, and lit a match.

As Hugo lit the cigar and stepped back, Felix held the burning cigar to his lips.

Even in this brief gesture, the dignity and poise of royalty, honed by a lifetime of service, was effortless.

"So, why brought you here so early?"

".. Diana Escalif. I've been doing some research myself. It seems that Prince Eisen has been planting more spies than usual."

"If that's the problem, you don't have to tell me, Duke. Just because I don't care doesn’t mean I don’t know.”

"You know the maid came here with ill intentions, yet you’re letting her stay?”

"When have I not?"

Felix blew smoke from his cigar, and it wafted out in a thin stream.

The man who was used to burning poisonous roots as if it were second nature was peculiar. If he liked someone's work ethic, he'd give a spy a chance for days, sometimes years. As long as they didn't try to harm him, of course. But if the spies were caught trying to do something, he would personally take their lives and preserve them on canvas.

It was hard to tell if this habit was out of sheer laziness or if he was having fun with the spies. Just as it was unclear whether he smoked poisoned cigars to build resistance or just because they tasted good.

Felix took a deep drag on his cigar, rolling the smoke around in his mouth. It was a cigar made from a poisonous plant powder that Hugo had imported from abroad some time ago. The flavor was undoubtedly disgusting, but Felix didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable.

"Men put poison in food or lace things with drugs, while women spread their legs. It's nothing new. It's all the same."

Nothing new? Hugo disagreed. The maid was already receiving special treatment.

According to the head maid, Catherine, she didn't clean the palace or attend to the Crown Prince. Whenever Felix called for her, she went into the drawing room, during which time he forbade anyone else to enter. No one knew what was going on inside.

Recently, Felix had taken her to the hunting grounds. Rumor had it that he had maids attending to her at dawn, which was beyond absurd.

The answer seemed obvious, but Hugo asked anyway, with a hint of hope.

"Do you think you might have taken a liking to the maid...?"

"Diana is very special."

"...What?"

"The more I look at her, the more I like her."

Hugo was speechless. This was incredible. Coming from a man who never uttered a praise, this was already more than just a mere liking.

"That's quite unexpected for someone who doesn't even talk to his maids."

"She's not a maid anymore."

"Then what is she?"

"Someone for my canvas."

"So she's a new model."

"That's right."

For the first time in a while, the Crown Prince seemed to be in a good mood. But his tone and expression, referring to the maid as if she were an object, showed nothing of his genuine affection for her.

So Hugo was filled with doubt.

Diana Escalif. A maid whose name might even be fake. Should he leave her with Felix? Would she be able to penetrate the villain's solid walls, or would she not?

For now... she was just an interesting curiosity he hadn’t found in a long time.

Something similar had happened in his youth. Felix was much more into drawing as a child than he was now. Once he decided to paint, he would paint obsessively, sometimes not even eating. But once the work was finished, he would lose interest in the model.

Felix's enthusiasm always burned as brightly as a flame, and then vanished as quickly as lightning.

***

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