3. A Series of Changes 

 “Are you really okay, Nelie?” 

 “Huh?” 

 “You seem out of it.” 

 When Jerome expressed his concern, Nelie forced a smile. An unfinished illustration still lay before her. 

 “Sorry, Jerome. You even lent me your studio, but… I can’t concentrate.” 

 “No, about the studio… I’ve always wanted this.” 

 Jerome said that and smiled gently. 

 “I just think… if you had a better studio, you could do so much better.” 

 “Thank you for thinking so highly of my lacking abilities.” 

 “No. I mean it, Annelie.” 

 Jerome looked so reliable as his eyes curved behind his glasses. Then he held out a few more materials. 

 “Want to try these too? They’re trendy pigments nowadays.” 

 “But that color is so expensive?” 

 What Jerome held out was a pigment showing a bright, vivid ultramarine blue. At a glance, it looked like ultramarine. A color that exactly matched the hue of the lapis lazuli it was ground from when mixed with water, always too expensive to consider using casually. 

 Jerome shook his head lightly and answered. 

 “It used to be, but recently some inventor succeeded in making a similar color with cheaper materials… so the price has come down a lot now.” 

 “Really? That’s great!” 

 “That’s actually thanks to the Duke too.” 

 When the main cause of her distraction was brought up, Nelie smiled with an involuntary twitch. Not noticing this, Jerome continued speaking while nodding admiringly. 

 “The Duke was the one who supported that inventor’s pigment research.” 

 “Ah.” 

 “Thanks to that, pigments that used to be expensive are now available much more cheaply. Isn’t that fortunate?” 

 “Yeah……” 

 “He truly is a patron of the arts, you could say.” 

 Those words reminded her of the publisher’s praise for the Duke. Nelie answered with a hollow laugh. 

 “Jerome. You just sounded exactly like the publisher.” 

 “Good heavens, Nelie. How could you say that.” 

 “I didn’t mean it as an insult. Just……” 

 When she had returned to the newspaper office in a daze after leaving the Duke’s townhouse, the storage room where she had been staying was already completely emptied. 

 Before she could even clean up the traces left inside, the room itself had been demolished as if it had never existed. Seeing that, her face went pale with worry that she had been fired, but the publisher just answered with a grin. 

 “The Duke, you see? He’s such an excellent person.” 

 “……” 

 “Not only did he forgive the blasphemy, but he’s even rebuilding the storage for the advancement of the newspaper industry. My, my! Haha! He truly is a patron of the liberal arts!” 

 He seemed to have completely forgotten how he had sold Nelie to the Duke to save himself. Even as surrounding employees whispered that if the Duke really wanted that, he would have replaced the printing press first, the publisher just laughed heartily in satisfaction and handed Nelie a few coins as if showing her generosity. 

 “Just stay out for a while, okay?” 

 “But……” 

 “Hey. I’m even giving you money for room and board! What more do you want?” 

 Though that money wasn’t enough to secure proper lodging, Nelie kept her mouth shut. She had secretly gone to the labor market a few times in the morning wondering if she should look for another job, but still, no one wanted to hire a young woman like her. 

 As for showing her illustrated work to other newspaper companies to get hired, she was bothered by the fact that they weren’t exactly works to be proud of. Even if she did get hired at a similar level newspaper company with those illustrations, the publishers would all be much the same. 

 ‘Sigh.’ 

 Nelie sighed in her heart several times, unable to let it out through her mouth. She felt unpleasant whenever she remembered the Duke’s face looking at her as if asking if she was just a woman who did such work. 

 Jerome, who had been watching Nelie fidget anxiously the whole time, approached and casually suggested after the publisher finished speaking. Asking if she needed a place to work on illustrations, mentioning that his studio partner had recently returned home. He said he had a separate room to stay in and that place was purely used as a studio, so if she wanted, she could stay there. 

 Though she felt sorry and embarrassed, Nelie accepted his offer. After all, it was impossible to find a decent place with the pittance the publisher had given her. She thought she might as well give that money to Jerome and stay there. 

 The studio she ended up going to was small but south-facing with good sunlight. Seeing a few bedding items messily placed in the corner gave her a glimpse of Jerome’s passion for his work, which made her feel good. 

 Jerome adamantly refused the money Nelie offered and even gladly made a bed for her in the corner of the studio. It was a makeshift bed created by lining up low chairs and covering them with several layers of his soft blankets.

Out of gratitude for his kindness, Nelie devoted herself diligently to her work. Working in Jerome’s studio with the materials he lent her made her want to work even harder. She realized that her previous lack of ambition in illustrations and paintings was due to never having been given the opportunity. Using pigments she had never tried before was also a rare experience. 

 But to think all those pigments were the Duke’s doing. 

 “That depends on you.”

“……What?”

“I mean we might see each other again soon.” 

 Her heart pounded again remembering the Duke’s smile as he said those words. Though she felt offended by his insults, it was hard to forget how truly beautiful he was.

‘……At least thanks to him, I got the medicine too.’ 

 She felt ashamed again when she entered the pharmacy trembling, asking for contraceptive medicine despite how expensive it was said to be. However, the experienced-looking old physician handed over the medicine with an impassive face. There was even money left over, allowing her to buy cold medicine and other basic medicines just in case. For Nelie, who had often fallen ill in that moldy room, that had become quite precious money. 

 ‘So it’s fine.’ 

 We might see each other again, he said. But despite saying that, the Duke hadn’t sought out Nelie for almost two weeks. 

 ‘He must have many other important things besides me.’ 

 He had probably completely forgotten about her. Wasn’t she just a common woman after all? Whether that was comforting or not wasn’t clear, but at least it would help maintain a peaceful daily life. As Nelie was accepting this, Jerome held out another pigment. 

 “Ah. Here’s another one, Nelie.”

“What’s this?”

“It’s called shell green. A newly released color.” 

 ……Just as she had accepted reality, a light green pigment that exactly matched the Duke’s eyes caught her attention. 

 “It was supposed to come out earlier, but they found harmful ingredients in the first prototype.”

“Harmful ingredients?”

“Ingredients that build up toxins in the body if left alone. Fortunately they discovered it early and improved it before release.”

“This too……”

“Yes. Thanks to the Duke. He funded the research to remove the toxins and make it viable.” 

 Had he taken poison into his own mouth instead of removing it from the pigment? 

 Recalling the Duke’s cutting words, Nelie mixed the pigment he had funded with oil. The vivid green still looked like the Duke’s eyes. As Jerome watched Nelie mixing the green color, he added, remembering something. 

 “Come to think of it, the trees in the park are beautiful these days.”

“It would be good for using green.”

“……Nelie. How about trying to draw something other than the satirical illustrations and drawings for the newspaper with this opportunity?”

“Other drawings?”

“Yes. Like still life, or landscapes….. Ah! Yes. Let’s go out and draw.”

“Go out?”

Nelie blinked. She had never considered that kind of drawing before. 

 “It’s a good chance to try landscape painting.”

“But I……”

“I’ll teach you.” 

 Jerome nodded, taking quite an active stance. He also said he had always thought she was too talented for this. Nelie shook her head. 

 “Jerome. You don’t need to spend time just for me.” 

 She already felt sorry for imposing on his studio and using materials he needed. It made her think anew that Jerome was truly a kind person. 

 ‘They say artists see each other as rivals.’ 

 Though Jerome must have had such feelings too, he always looked out for Nelie. He even sincerely told her he wanted her to succeed. That she could do it, and he would help if he got the chance. 

 ‘He’s really a good person.’ 

 Even if it was just pity for someone who hadn’t properly learned art, Nelie was simply grateful. While those thoughts were flowing, Jerome shook his head. His face suggested she shouldn’t feel burdened. 

 “No. I have to draw anyway. The professor gave us an assignment.”

“A landscape assignment?”

“Ah. There’s an exhibition next season accepting submissions of Grand Park landscapes for the festival. The professor recommended it as a good opportunity.” 

 Jerome suddenly looked at Nelie as if he had just thought of something. His kind eyes curved gently again behind his glasses. 

 “Want to try too, Nelie?”

“Me too?”

“There are no restrictions on who can apply. Like I said, I’ll help you.”

“Hmm.”

“You never know. It could be a good opportunity.” 

 Jerome’s words were once again filled with sincere concern for Nelie. If there had been any good things for her since coming to the city, it would be meeting a good person like Jerome. Feeling grateful to her bones, Nelie smiled. 

 “Thank you so much, Jerome.” 

 The two began gathering their art supplies. Fortunately, since the weather was clear, it seemed like it would be an enjoyable day. 

 * * *