Chapter 23: 22

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Vivian’s POV

The words that I uttered as an excuse were interrupted by a single sentence of Edmund’s that was laced with fury. 

My heart sank with a thud. I looked at him anxiously, thinking that it was fortunate that Yuriel had already left, before turning my gaze out of the window. Edmund took a step closer to me.

It was only a single step, but the pressure it brought was greater than I expected.

Though I could only be considered a half, I’m still a mage, and Edmund was an ordinary man that couldn’t use magic.

However, what’s with this pressure that I’m under? I took a step back in order to escape from the pressure, but Edmund laughed as if he found it ridiculous. 

Laughter…?

I looked up blankly. 

The deep anger that flashed past his silver gray eyes was as if someone had pounded on my heart. That sound went into my ear gruesomely.  

“You’re not going to tell me who it is?”

“……there wasn’t anything, so who am I supposed to say?”

Edmund’s lips curled up gently.

He gave a picturesque smile.

The sweetest smile in the world was on Edmund’s statuesque face, as he reached out to rub my chin. His fingers became stained with dried blood. He looked down at the blood quietly, before turning his eyes to stare at me. 

At the sight of the faint smile that formed on his face slowly, I stiffened, as if I was facing a wild beast. 

“You can’t be this, Vivi. I don’t want to be even more angered.”

“But…you’re already infuriated.”

My voice quivered.

Edmund only blinked once. As his eyes closed gently before opening, his long lashes were as graceful as a butterfly flapping its wings. Contrary to the current situation, the breathtaking beautiful sight made me hold my breath. 

“I’m holding it in, but what should I do if I lose my temper here, Vivian.”

He didn’t shout, and only whispered quietly while gritting his teeth, but why was it so scary? Goosebumps rose from my back, while a shiver travelled from my neck down to my spine. It was as if I was standing in front of my sister. 

I felt like I was being scolded by my sister again in front of Edmund. Sorrow welled up along with that feeling. 

Why did I have to be afraid of Edmund, and not anyone else? Did I have to feel this way for someone that wasn’t even my sister?

Bitterness and sorrow began to surge from within, as I burst into tears along with the rise of heat. 

“……I don’t know.”

The sound of my voice was tear-filled, and it trembled pitifully. 

It was at that moment when Edmund’s expression crumbled. 

“Vivi.”

“Why, why are you treating me like that?”

“……”

Warmth permeated his frigid face, as if he had lost his reason for a moment.

“I shouldn’t have been like that. I’m sorry.”

He panicked and was at a loss of what to do, taking out his handkerchief.

He tried to dab the corners of my eyes several times, but he couldn’t bear to touch it and kept going back and forth. Eventually, he placed the handkerchief in my hand and took a few steps back.

Just like that, Edmund and I returned back to the mansion on that day after some time. Edmund didn’t ask me anything, throughout the entire carriage journey, until I entered my room. 

He had only checked my mood constantly while being on tenterhooks. 

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<3. An atelier>

I woke up very late today.

It was already past lunch when I woke up. 

My eyes were very dry, perhaps because I cried my eyes out during the bath yesterday. When I got out of bed while rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand, the ladies-in-waiting dissuaded me, and placed  ice on my eyelids instead.

With their help, I finished my simple preparations and dressed in an indoor dress.

The dress made of luxurious green cloth was very light, and the fabric rustled pleasantly against my ankles with every step taken. 

“Many things happened yesterday…”

When I returned to the mansion, the ladies-in-waiting caused an uproar at the sight of my messy state.

Edmund escorted me to my room, but he wasn’t allowed any closer. The ladies-in-waiting, who found me still sniffling, practically kicked Edmund out, saying that I needed stability.

Still, just like how tears are water soluble, I felt better after washing up and sleeping like that. 

I could only sigh after thinking about yesterday’s events for a moment.

Well, he could have been angry because I was hurt. Although it was odd that he’d get mad at me. He can get angry. Even so, I don’t think that I should have cried though.

“……How am I supposed to face Eddie?”

Just because I called out for my sister when I saw her portrait, Edmund paid a hefty sum to purchase that painting, and I met Yuriel in that situation. 

The fact that I realised once again this world was too unfamiliar, and the fact that a foreign matter like me was trapped here, as well as the fact that I could feel the dislike that I’ve always felt from my sister coming from Edmund. The culmination of all these became entangled and caused me to burst into tears. 

After taking off my indoor slippers, I placed my feet in low-heeled shoes and left the room. WIth my eyes half-closed, I walked through the spacious mansion resolutely towards a certain location while relying on my body’s memory. 

“You came just in time.”

I entered the drawing room that I would usually go to, and inhaled sharply at the sight of Edmund, who was right before my eyes. He blinked a few times and smiled softly.

“Did you just come?”

“……Yes.”

“The painting has arrived. Come in and sit down.”

In a momentary daze, I sat next to Edmund on the sofa and tried to grasp the situation blankly. Edmund was acting as if nothing had happened yesterday.

At a glance, he was dressed comfortably.

And there were people dressed in suits taking out a canvas from its packagings beside the sofa.

“What are you doing presently?”

“I’m ascertaining that the painting is in order, before signing.”

“Aha.”

Under the meticulous hands of the experts, the careful packaging was peeled off, and my sister’s portrait was revealed.

The framed picture was carefully placed on a thick cloth that was laid on the floor by two men in suits, and was leaned against the wall delicately.

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My heart started to pound again for no reason. Just then, Edmund’s cold fingertips touched the corners of my eyes.

“Hm?”

As I looked back at him questioningly, he was staring at me with a sombre look on his face. But the painting that he purchased using an astronomical amount of money was over there though.

He whispered.

“I’m sorry about yesterday.”

“……”

“I, really……”

He gave a bitter smile and smoothened the hair that’s out of place. He then rose from his seat and reached a hand out towards me. When I looked at him blankly, he bowed politely.

“Hm?”

“Let’s take a closer look?”

“…….”

“I didn’t look at it properly yesterday. I bought it for you.”

I hesitated for a moment before grabbing his hand, and he linked our fingers together firmly. As I stood in front of the painting with him, a strange feeling overtook me at the sight of my sister’s steadfast appearance. 

I slowly lowered myself in order to look at the painting that was placed on the floor due to the risk of breakage. I was practically sitting on the floor. I could only keep eye contact with my sister like that. 

I stared at my sister, who was right in front of me, blankly without being disturbed by others.

My sister was posing in the painting, at the period of time when the sun was at its most intense before setting. 

My sister was very young. She’s about my age? Regardless of her age, there was the charisma of a leader that flowed in my older sister’s appearance. 

I remember that my sister’s hair was the colour of a faded wheat field. It wasn’t pink like my hair, and neither was it an eye-catching gold like Edmund’s. However, just as it wasn’t eye-catching, it was a colour that’s well-known in fairy tales.

It was as if the evening glow was being poured over my sister’s head. Every spot that the light touched was dyed by the sunset and turned a flaming red.

I remember the place where my sister was at. 

The backgrounds of the portraits were painted in a cursory manner, so it was hard to recognize it properly, but my memories were still vivid, as if I had been there a few days ago. As I was fiddling with the props one day, I found a painting hidden behind them, and it was as if I became enchanted. 

Oh, seriously, Sister. I don’t know what are the feelings that I possess for my sister.

“……”

Do I love her? 

Who knows. Though I say that I love her, the number of nails that she has stuck in my heart were too many. 

“I…”

‘You know, Sister, I…’

“If only I had been a little stronger.”

If only I was someone that wouldn’t be hurt by words that didn’t matter. 

It was currently in the middle of the day, but I seemed to have been enchanted by this painting. It was precisely because of that that the odd atmosphere of the sunset seemed to be sweeping me away. I felt nauseous. My vision flickered.

It felt as though the sunset that was flowing over my sister’s head was moving in waves.

I barely managed to surface from the painting when I heard the sound of a thud beside me.

I found Edmund when I slowly turned my head. Edmund sat next to me with his chin propped up, with his gaze on me instead of the painting.

When my gaze met with his silver-gray eyes, he reached out with a gentle smile.

As I blinked, a fat drop soon fell onto my cheek. Just as though that was the last drop of sloshing dam, tears started to fall without stopping. 

Tears cascaded down my eyes. There wasn’t any sound of sobbing from my lips. 

I’m really fine, but it was too saddening. I also didn’t know why I’m crying.

Edmund reached a hand out with an affectionate face that was completely different from yesterday. A cold hand wrapped around my cheek, and was stained with tears.

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When I managed to stop the tears with difficulty and while I was struggling with the lingering emotions, Edmund left me on the sofa and called for someone. The ladies-in-waiting tidied up my face skillfully and started to press a cold pack on my eyes. 

In the meantime, Edmund returned after signing off on the payment. 

“Even so, isn’t 500 million zulang too much?”

“No one would believe you if you cry like that.”

“My tears are only worth 100 million zulang.”

“Alright. I’ll buy a painting that’s worth 100 million zulang next time.”

Edmund rebutted with a laughter filled voice, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. This was a joke that could only be made because it’s Deer, right… That was a joke, right? I suddenly felt uneasy.

I lowered the cold pack from my eyes and looked at Edmund.

He was standing in front of the painting and looking down at my sister. He was staring blankly at the painting with a large mug in his hand, and he seemed to have been entranced by it instantly, just like me.

“……Sasha is a genius.”

“Where are you going to put the painting?”

“Where should I put it? That’s a consumption I didn’t consider. There isn’t a particular place to put it.”

“I know the location of my sister’s atelier.”

I stood next to Edmund, and looked down at my sister’s painting again. I took a deep breath to expel this strange feeling, and continued to inhale and exhale.

“Where is it?”

“On the fifth floor. To be precise, it’s hidden on the sixth floor.”

Edmund tilted his head slightly at my words, and nodded while in deep thought. He then looked back at me and gave an amicable smile. Instead of saying that there’s no sixth floor, he asked to head there. 

“Then, shall we go? If that room wasn’t demolished and is still remaining, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to recreate Sasha’s atelier.”

He spoke with a smile and reached out his elbow, approaching slowly. He then tucked my arm into his carefully.

He’s a kind person.

There are times when I become uneasy that the things he presented to me weren’t actually mine. Can he really distinguish between me and the ‘Vivian’ from the portrait? 

I wanted to ask him a few times, but I didn’t, perhaps because I was afraid of the transparent answer that would be returned. I just wanted to bury it just like this.

Nevertheless, Edmund. Whenever moments where his kindness was like water occurs, I would be swayed inadvertently. How can I not be swayed?

I wanted to pretend that I didn’t know anything, and live in peace with him, but there’s a whisper that I have to return. I wanted to be drawn into his endless kindness like this without any doubts. 

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“Be careful of Edmund.”

Yuriel, who grabbed me desperately and asked me to find him, who had waited for too long, and warned me to be careful of Edmund, came to mind.

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