Meeting with the guild seemed to be part of his duties as duke, as he frequently passed by the newspaper company where Nelie worked. And each time they met, he unfailingly asked her:

“Are you returning to the town house?”

“Yes. I was just about to go.”

“Let’s go together. I’m heading that way too.”

“Ah.”

“Get in, Miss Heich.”

Every time the carriage door opened, Nelie swallowed with inexplicable tension. At first, boarding the duke’s sophisticated carriage felt burdensome, but after several repetitions, she quickly grew accustomed to it. Not boarding would be more uncomfortable due to the duke’s piercing gaze.

Sometimes she would doze off and rest her head on the duke’s shoulder, but contrary to her expectations, the duke showed no displeasure. Rather, sometimes he would just glance at her from the corner of his eye, as if telling her to keep leaning on him.

‘He speaks so annoyingly.’

Yet his body was warm to the touch.

Additionally, the duke occasionally brought in pigment merchants to let Nelie select new pigments.

“How about this one?”

“But the price of this……”

“Ah. This color isn’t as expensive as before. It’s made by a pigment researcher sponsored by the duke.”

When she stared entranced at the offered pigments, the duke watching from the side would smile like he’s observing a country bumpkin.

Though secretly irritated, Nelie eagerly examined all the colors she had never encountered before. Afterward, she would inevitably find herself with an armful of pigments or inks.

“Ah, such things……”

Her attempts to refuse were always preempted by the duke’s unkind words.

“You need to experience quality things to stop creating low-quality work, Miss Heich.”

“……”

“Those pigments aren’t even considered high quality.”

Saying this, the duke suddenly pulled something from the innermost part of the merchant’s pigment box. A bright blue pigment that looked like it had captured the clear, beautiful summer sky. Just looking at it, one could tell it was expensive—something that couldn’t be made with cheap materials or compounds.

Bringing it right up to Nelie’s eyes for her to see, the duke smiled with satisfaction.

“This is what you’d call expensive.”

With those words, he gently placed the pigment on top of the others already in Nelie’s arms. The duke deliberately set it between her upper chest, giving her no chance to refuse, and then lightly brushed his fingers against her nape.

“……!”

Then he spent a long time smiling at her reddened face. The pigment merchant pretended not to see anything and repacked his unpacked goods.

This scene repeated whenever the merchant came. As a result, Nelie came to possess almost every pigment available in Tevant, no, in the entire kingdom.

That wasn’t all.

“Hello, Miss Heich.”

“I……”

“I’m Professor Mayhew, who taught art at Lambert.”

“Yes! I’m so pleased to meet you. But… what brings you here?”

“I’ve come to help with your studies.”

“My studies?”

“Yes. I heard you want to study illustration and art fundamentals?”

Noticing that Nelie had a passion for illustration, the Duke assigned her a teacher who would teach her every weekend. And not just anyone, but a professor who had formally taught students abroad.

“Um, well. I can’t afford to pay for lessons.”

When Nelie showed signs of discomfort, Professor Mayhew smiled kindly. The smile that lingered on the plump middle-aged woman’s lips had the effect of making one feel more at ease. She soon continued speaking.

“Don’t worry too much about tuition fees. I receive my payment from the Tevant family fund.”

“A fund?”

“Ah. You mentioned you weren’t familiar with the systems here.”

“Yes. Shamefully so.”

“That’s understandable. Well…… This fund is for students who cannot afford to learn art due to financial difficulties.”

“Ah……”

“The Tevant family considers themselves patrons of the arts. They frequently contribute to such art promotion funds.”

Professor Mayhew patiently explained for the bewildered Nelie. She said that numerous master artists had been discovered and born through this fund, which was why Tevant remained firmly established as a city representing art, surpassing other prestigious cities.

“In other words, both the ruling ducal family and the artists benefit from each other.”

Nelie knew that the Duke of Tevant did many things for this city, but it was her first time hearing about such a fund. Now that she heard it, the story made sense. After all, hadn’t he created welfare facilities for vagrants, and weren’t exhibitions and competitions held with the funds he donated?

“The conditions for receiving the fund aren’t strict.”

“…Yes.”

“You certainly qualify, Miss Heich, so don’t worry.”

Professor Mayhew smiled again, seemingly trying to reassure Nelie.

‘Even so.’

It was still burdensome. Even someone as naive as Nelie could understand. Even if she received lessons through such a fund, she couldn’t possibly learn from such a high-level aristocratic painter. Especially with one-on-one lessons.

However, after giving Nelie several tests and looking at her drawings, Professor Mayhew didn’t hold back her praise.

“You really have talent, Miss Heich.”

“That can’t be true.”

“No, I’m serious. It seems the Duke isn’t investing for nothing.”

“……”

“The Duke doesn’t make unprofitable investments. Especially when it comes to art, his eye is quite reliable.”

But such words from Professor Mayhew were also among the factors that increased Nelie’s burden. Nelie had thought about learning illustration techniques, but she implicitly believed her skills weren’t particularly outstanding. More accurately, she lacked confidence.

“I’m not that skilled. I’ve never received formal art education……”

“I don’t make empty compliments, Miss Heich.”

“……”

“You’re learning very well. Though people stand out more than landscapes in your work. Your drawings particularly emphasize people’s impressions and vitality.”

In a situation where she needed to draw landscapes, that wasn’t exactly a positive evaluation. When Nelie shrank back, Professor Mayhew continued in a gentle voice.

“Perhaps the judges might prefer it.”

“The judges……”

“What they want isn’t the park itself, but rather how useful the park is to people.”

Professor Mayhew shrugged her shoulders.

“I think it’s better than drawing the park as if no one is there, like others do.”

“…Is that so.”

“The occasional protruding lines appear more like a style than mistakes.”

“……”

“At this level, I don’t even need to correct your drawings. It would be better to preserve your own style. Art branches into various paths. These days, there are even attempts to break away from traditional techniques.”

Professor Mayhew briefly introduced several art movements, such as Impressionism.

“More commercial movements are emerging compared to the past. It’s a time of great change. So your work also has plenty of potential, Miss Heich.”

“……”

“If you don’t believe me, trust the Duke’s eye.”

The kindly offered words felt more like a burden than pure joy. Above all, they seemed like words meant to reassure the Duke, who occasionally stood beside Nelie and listened to Professor Mayhew’s praise together.

“I’m not sure if I should be receiving such lessons.”

However, whenever Nelie expressed such concerns, the Duke who visited the townhouse brought up that same story.

“I told you, Miss Heich.”

“Yes?”

“At least if you learn proper drawing, you won’t think of drawing such obscene illustrations of me and tarnishing my honor again.”

“…I told you I won’t do that anymore.”

Even when she said that, the Duke pretended not to hear. She felt somewhat defiant about this, but since she had committed the wrong first, there was nothing she could do. Still, when she asked if she hadn’t already received the favor of a studio-slash-lodging, the Duke answered,

“I told you the studio and lodging are for monitoring whether you take your medicine well. Do you need further explanation?”

Whenever she heard those words, Nelie felt a sting in the back of her throat. It didn’t hurt as much as when she first heard it, and the more she heard it, the more she became numb to it, but still.

“…Wh-what about a child.”

“You mean it won’t happen?”

“……”

“We’ve done too many things that could make it happen, the two of us.”

Nelie’s face, which had been innocent all along, began to blush with embarrassment. The problem was that she couldn’t deny it either. The Duke didn’t just bestow favors on her while staying here.

Recalling what sometimes happened in this townhouse, Nelie’s face turned bright red.

Sometimes……

Sometimes the Duke approached and kissed Nelie.

Usually when she was pondering for a long time in front of an easel, basking in sunlight, ruminating on Professor Mayhew’s lessons, or when she came home late after working at the newspaper company, emanating the smell of pigments and ink.

‘…It’s not just kissing.’

Sometimes the Duke didn’t visit her in the studio, but rather opened the door without hesitation when she was changing clothes and wearing only underwear, or when she was in the bathroom to wash. What followed on such occasions was almost predetermined.

Before she knew it, all her remaining clothes were being removed by the Duke’s hands, or the moisture remaining on her body was transferred to the Duke’s uniform, staining his expensive clothes. Sometimes the soapy water she had prepared for washing became filled with a different liquid. The Duke was a man who never stopped an action once he started it.

And Nelie didn’t reject him either. At some point, she even began to wait for the moment when the Duke would embrace her. Just looking into his eyes made her legs wet without her realizing. It was a shockingly dramatic change.