Chapter 113

Enria didn’t miss the look on Belona’s face and watched her closely.

After the conversation the night before, Belona seemed slightly annoyed with Rahar, yet at the same time, she also felt closer to him.

In any case, since they would be working together to deal with black mages going forward, it seemed like a good thing for some kind of rapport to form, one way or another.

Thinking that, Enria took a sip of her coffee when Roseanne suddenly called out to her.

“Enri, you know, yesterday—”

Sensing that she was about to talk about Tearen, Enria quickly set down her teacup and looked straight at Roseanne.

“I confessed to Sir Tearen.”

“Oh, really?”

“Gasp.”

As Enria’s eyes sparkled and her face lit up, Belona—who had had no idea that Roseanne liked Tearen—let out a startled exclamation without realizing it herself.

Roseanne gave Belona an awkward smile and spoke.

“Actually, I’ve had a crush on Sir Tearen for a long time.”

“Ah…”

“He’s my brother’s friend, and someone I’ve known since we were very young, so I thought he’d never see me as a woman. I spent all that time just worrying to myself….”

At some point, she began to feel that Tearen was paying special attention to her, and that was when she decided to confess.

By chance, a drinking session had naturally started the night before, and with a little help from the alcohol, Roseanne ended up confessing her feelings to him.

From the moment she mentioned the confession, Enria’s expression clearly said So what happened next? Her eyes were practically shining, so Roseanne continued explaining without pause.

“I think it went well, for now.”

“Really?”

“Oh, congratulations.”

Enria beamed as if it were her own good news, and Belona also congratulated her with a pleased expression, if slightly more reserved. Thanks to them, a happy smile spread across Roseanne’s face.

“Ah, but we’re not officially dating yet, so it’s not really something to celebrate that much…”

“You’re not dating?”

“You confessed but you’re not in a relationship? And you’re saying it went well?”

Belona blinked, clearly puzzled.

“Well, Sir Tearen said that since I’m his friend’s younger sister, he wants to be cautious about starting a relationship right away. Enri, you know this too, right? My brother doesn’t exactly like Sir Tearen’s views on romance.”

“Well… no one really likes a philosophy of ‘not stopping women who come and not holding on to women who leave.’”

Enria shrugged as she said that she wasn’t particularly fond of that part either, then looked back at Roseanne.

“But you like him a lot, and even with that kind of dating history, his relationships always end cleanly without any mess, so I figured it wasn’t all bad. Plus, once he’s in a relationship, he only looks at his partner and never strays until they break up—that was a big plus.”

She had learned all of this from Caldeon and Rahar, so there was no falsehood in it.

Whatever his past had been, all that mattered now was that he showed sincerity in his relationship with Roseanne.

At Enria’s words, Roseanne nodded as if she had been thinking the same thing.

“Well, I didn’t expect to start dating Sir Tearen right away either. Knowing his personality, I understand that dating his friend’s sister—especially someone whose entire romantic history that friend knows—wouldn’t be easy.”

“Then when you say it went well…”

Belona, still confused, asked again. Roseanne’s face immediately flushed red.

“He said that at some point, I started staying on his mind too. That he thinks he might… like me….”

As the memory resurfaced, Roseanne’s face grew even redder. She cupped her burning cheeks with her hands and smiled softly.

“For now, he suggested that we put our heads together and figure out how to talk to my brother.”

“Oh, so once Rahar’s issue is resolved, you’ll start dating?”

“Looks like it. Rahar really is the problem.”

As Enria’s eyes sparkled and she shared in Roseanne’s happiness, Belona clicked her tongue lightly and rested her chin on the armrest of the sofa.

“You’ve gotten pretty close with my brother, haven’t you?”

Roseanne asked after noticing that Belona referred to Rahar casually, without any honorific. Belona looked briefly flustered, then let out a wry, almost self-mocking smile.

“We’ve become drinking buddies, at least.”

“Oh, drinking buddies.”

Roseanne nodded, saying that was good.

Watching her, Belona hesitated for a moment, then carefully asked,

“Um… would you like me to help? If Rahar is the only obstacle, I think I could act as an ally.”

Both Roseanne’s and Enria’s eyes widened at the same time.

“He seems kind of weak when it comes to me.”

Belona added that perhaps because he saw her as a pitiful, incomplete human with only half a soul, he tended to accommodate her in everything. She thought she could talk to him and try persuading him to support Roseanne and Tearen’s relationship.

“Of course, tell me if this is overstepping. I just thought it would be nice if I could help even a little, but I know some people don’t like this sort of thing.”

Roseanne shook her head, saying she didn’t dislike the idea, then paused to think for a moment. After some consideration, she spoke to Belona.

“If my brother hears it from Belona first, before we say anything ourselves, it might just confuse him.”

“Ah, you’re right. I didn’t think that far.”

When Belona agreed, Roseanne smiled gently at her.

“Instead, after we talk to him, if he strongly opposes it, I’d like you to stand on our side and help us.”

“Of course. I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you so much. Thanks to you, I feel a lot more at ease.”

Enria also smiled happily, pleased that Belona had become Roseanne’s ally.

Their feelings already aligned; it felt like only a matter of time before the two became a couple.

Rahar would probably foam at the mouth at first, but given his personality, he wouldn’t oppose it to the bitter end. He didn’t hate Tearen enough to keep opposing him forever when his own sister loved the man.

Of course, knowing Tearen’s past, Rahar would initially object without hesitation, but with Belona stepping in to help, Enria felt reassured.

Lifting the coffee cup from the table, Enria quietly imagined a future double date: Roseanne and Tearen, Caldeon and herself.

***

Enria’s personal portrait and her family portrait were completed.

Young Tichirrano was truly skilled.

Fyoren had always been someone she could trust, so she’d expected that any painter he brought would be immensely talented—but this went beyond talent.

‘Isn’t this more than just talent…?’

Though it was clearly a painting, the level of detail was indistinguishable from a photograph.

It was as if a single fleeting moment had been captured and developed on canvas, lacking nothing.

The fact that he could reproduce Caldeon’s breathtaking beauty—and Hayden, who looked exactly like him—with such accuracy was astonishing in itself.

And to achieve that level of precision and delicacy with oil paint no less.

Caldeon, who had been smiling as he admired Enria’s portrait, suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke to Tichirrano.

“Paint another one, small enough to place on a desk.”

“It’s already in progress. Smaller sizes actually require more meticulous work, so it will take some time.”

“I see… Fyoren. Pay him double the amount we originally agreed upon and send him off.”

At Caldeon’s words, Tichirrano looked startled and waved his hands, saying he hadn’t painted it for more money.

“I don’t assume the son of Master Tichirrano would be short on funds. I’m simply paying extra for depicting my future wife exactly as she is, without embellishment.”

Caldeon said that if the painter had altered Enria’s appearance to make her prettier—when she was already beautiful as she was—he wouldn’t have been able to tolerate it. Capturing Enria exactly as she was, down to the finest detail, was something he found deeply satisfying.

Tichirrano’s eyes widened slightly, but he soon bowed his head and replied that he had always pursued realism in his art.

“I’ll continue to commission you in the future.”

Pleased by how lifelike the portrait was, Caldeon declared that he would entrust future portraits to young Tichirrano as well. Overjoyed to an almost excessive degree, Tichirrano repeatedly bowed to Caldeon.

It was understandable. Although he possessed the ability to paint people more realistically than anyone else, most nobles did not want portraits that depicted them exactly as they were.

Because of that, Master Tichirrano had built his reputation by using softened, hazy oil techniques to portray his subjects as far more refined and beautiful than in reality.

That was why countless nobles—and even the imperial family—favored his work.

For young Tichirrano, painting the ducal family—whose beauty required no retouching—was the one unique achievement in his life as a painter, constantly compared to his famous father.

Enria could understand why he bowed so deeply in gratitude.

She hoped that in the future, young Tichirrano would learn a style that even those who disliked overly realistic portraits could appreciate.

No matter how genius one’s talent was, if the people of the empire didn’t like it, it would amount to little.

She sincerely hoped he would learn how to compromise, preserve his current talent, and transform it into a style of his own.

That way, the ducal family portraits—his first properly paid commission—could become heirlooms passed down through generations.

Thinking that far ahead, Enria found herself slightly amused, and without realizing it, the corner of her lips lifted in a faint, almost imperceptible smile.