But she didn’t question Jerome about it. In any case, both of them were far more interested in the museum that would open with the Duke’s arrival than in the Duke himself.

“In the Emerald Gallery there……”

“I want to see the Ruby Gallery!”

And they forgot about the Duke. All that floated in her mind were the precious books sleeping in the museum.

Though she knew monastery book art had long become outdated, she didn’t want to miss the beauty of those books and their illustrations.

Just thinking about the letters written like paintings with all sorts of inks and the illustrations that monks had carefully engraved made Nelie’s heart flutter. Lying in her tiny storage room that was barely a few spaces wide, she waited and waited for that day.

* * *

“Wow!”

The glass dome of the Central Art Museum sparkled, scattering light in all directions. Nelie kept exclaiming in admiration while holding Jerome’s hand.

‘I almost couldn’t come.’

The newspaper office had been busy since the very day the free admission started. The printing press had been running non-stop with extra editions about all sorts of gossip regarding the Duke returning to Tevant, his scandalous love affairs, and his future business ventures here.

Amidst the overwhelming smell of metal and ink filling the newspaper office, Nelie and Jerome had to beg and plead with the president to get some time off. Even then, they only got permission after working overnight on the illustrations and agreeing to a pay cut for their absence. Jerome kept fidgeting with his hand that Nelie held.

“Nelie. There’s really no need to hold hands like this……”

“But there are so many people.”

The museum was packed even before entering. People gathered like waves toward the entrance, making it easy to lose track of companions.

“What if you get lost?”

“Nelie. I appreciate the concern, but……”

Just as Jerome, his ear tips slightly reddened, mumbled and gently pulled his hand from Nelie’s grip.

“Oh? Over there……”

A strange stirring wrapped around the entrance. It was a moment when an odd heat lingered in the air.

“The Duke! The Duke is here!”

“What? Where!”

“Ack! Don’t push!”

A series of commotions overwhelmed the people. The stirring crowd surged to one side like a massive wave.

“Ah… ah!”

“Nelie!”

Before she knew it, petite Nelie was swept up in the gaps between people. Jerome’s figure grew distant. The noise filling her ears, the various scents from each person, the feeling of rough and soft clothing, and the sensation of being pushed by strong forces struck Nelie in succession. The excited screams of people shook Nelie’s mind, nearly knocking her senseless.

“Just… just a moment!”

Nelie called out softly as she barely managed to escape that chaos. She was completely disheveled.

“Phew!”

A breath burst out involuntarily. The city was, once again, a busy and dangerous place. Nelie leaned against the wall to catch her breath, then smoothed out her clothes that had been crushed and disheveled by the crowd.

‘Now I need to go find Jerome.’

It was just as she raised her head while fixing her tousled hair one last time that she flinched for a moment. It was because she had made eye contact with the sculpture right in front of her.

“This is……”

“The Duke is really here! Let’s go!”

Whoosh. In the middle of the exhibition hall where people were rushing out with footsteps, Nelie slowly examined the sculpture before her. The sculpture, carved from soft marble with a chisel so delicately that even the arm muscles and veins were detailed, wore a tunic that ancient gods might have worn. Even the folds of that tunic were beautifully spread out like real fabric.

“Wow.”

Nelie genuinely admired the amazing technique. Though she didn’t know much about sculpture, she felt the same admiration as when she saw books with carefully engraved decorative letters and the techniques written in them.

However, she didn’t feel much else beyond that.

“It feels a bit artificial.”

The face of the sculpture was meticulously beautiful, but that very quality made it seem unlike a sculpture of a living human. Because it formed perfect symmetry without any flaws, it rather gave off a fake impression.

“……This isn’t the time.”

Jerome must still be looking for her somewhere. Just as Nelie belatedly came to her senses and turned her gaze, that’s when it happened.

“Duke! Please look this way!”

“Is the scandal with the Princess of Lambert Kingdom true?”

“I love you no matter who you had scandals with, Duke!”

He was there among the frenzied people.

A face more inhuman than the sculpture she had just faced.

“Duke Tevant!”

The famous Elroy Tevant. The Duke of Tevant, the city of arts.

Nelie stood blankly, staring at the radiant man. His features were more balanced than the perfectly calculated sculpture, and his emerald eyes, partially illuminated by sunlight, coldly scanned the surroundings. His hair, seemingly planted strand by strand with golden thread, sparkled as it melted into the afternoon air.

Indeed, it wasn’t for nothing that he was called the artists’ muse and sparked passionate rumors. Nelie could only understand now, upon seeing that face, the embarrassing and extravagant nickname of being called a baby angel in his youth. Her gaze was drawn to the Duke as if she was unconsciously pulled in.

‘Certainly.’

He was certainly a man beautiful to the point of being alien. He was even more sculpture-like than the actual sculpture. It was amazing how his solid body, which looked closer to a knight or fighter than the angel nickname suggested, moved as gracefully as flowing water. 

 Soon, a ceremonial smile appeared on the Duke’s face. His impassive eyes once again swept across the crowd. While sounds of breathless sighs could be heard here and there, Nelie felt a strange sense of déjà vu. Strange. Why did those eyes seem familiar?

‘Where could it have been?’

Just as she was racking her brain over this, the Duke suddenly turned his head toward where Nelie was.

“Ah.”

A clear emerald color, so vivid it created the illusion of eye contact. The moment that light met Nelie’s wavering brunette hair…

The Duke’s lips curled up slowly, as if to show off. The excitement distorting the surrounding air was palpable.

“Duke!”

“Waaah!”

People burst into cheers and caused an uproar. While Nelie found herself admiring involuntarily, she was startled to sense that the edge of that smile wasn’t entirely benevolent. She shouldn’t think this way about someone she’d never met before, especially someone of such high status.

Yet what was certain was…….

That even such an unsettling man’s smile remained beautiful. Beautiful enough to give fresh inspiration to Nelie, who had been too busy living a harsh life. She could feel her heart pounding.

‘He really is a beautiful person.’

She could understand why artists praised him so much. Such an otherworldly face, and a body and posture so precisely defined that anyone would want to use it as reference material for muscles and poses. Even she, who hadn’t properly studied art, was filled with admiration – no wonder properly trained art students would go crazy.

‘Though ‘baby angel’ still feels a bit embarrassing.’

While Nelie was lost in these thoughts, someone suddenly grabbed her forearm. She felt a palm damp with sweat.

“Nelie!”

“Jerome! Where were you!”

Jerome, who had finally found Nelie, was panting from exhaustion. For a moment, it felt like someone’s gaze toward them intensified, but there were too many people to pay attention to it. Nelie clicked her tongue and held onto Jerome.

“See? I told you we needed to hold hands tightly.”

“But……”

“Come here. If we lose each other again, I’ll have to file a missing person report for a grown adult.”

At Nelie’s bright, teasing words, Jerome reluctantly extended his hand. Nelie quickly grabbed it and began walking ahead through the crowd, holding Jerome’s hand tightly. With so many people surging like waves, she felt she might lose Jerome again if she didn’t hold on like this.

In the end, Nelie couldn’t see the library that day. This was due to the crowds of people blocking their view and path everywhere, and because the library was in the area temporarily closed due to the Duke’s visit. Nelie turned away helplessly from the firmly closed library doors.

“That’s too bad, Nelie.”

“It’s okay. We can come again next time.”

Even as she said this, Nelie knew the next time would be difficult. Such an opportunity wouldn’t come again.

‘Well, at least I saw the Duke.’

That was a sight to see, if anything.

Trying to console her disappointment, Nelie trudged back to her storage room disguised as a boarding room. Only after collapsing onto the straw mattress, completely exhausted, did she suddenly realize that this month’s salary would be reduced because she took the day off.

“Oh no.”

Remembering this fact made missing the library even more regrettable. Not only had she failed to see what she most wanted to see at the art museum despite sacrificing her pay, but she couldn’t even properly view the other artworks because she was jostled by the crowd.

Thinking that this was all because of that Duke made her feel somewhat unfair.

“Coming up here really……”

Nothing goes as planned.

Sigh. As she sighed deeply, what came to mind again were those eyes that seemed to have emeralds embedded in them.

Eyes that shone as cold as lifeless metal despite possessing such a vibrant color. Eyes that seemed otherworldly beautiful when they scattered light in pale green hues under the sunlight. Eyes that seemed like they could drown you in their verdant depths.

Long-forgotten inspiration suddenly began to dance. Nelie got up, lit a candle, and searched for paper to sketch while trying to recall the memory.

Unfortunately, no new paper was found. All that remained were papers she had used to practice drawing the vulgar illustrations her boss had demanded.

Nelie picked out the most decent-looking one among them. Taking a paper where she had practiced drawing a male torso, she tried drawing the Duke’s face in the space where the head should be.