Chapter 91

Clarette flinched and looked toward the door. Beyond it, Diane’s familiar voice could be heard.

“Clarette, are you still asleep? I need to clean, may I come in?”

Fortunately, the door was locked.

Clarette hurriedly drew the bed curtains to hide Lionel. Seeing her rush to get dressed, Lionel quietly laughed.

“Just a moment, Diane! I’ll be out soon!”

Clarette threw on the dress that was draped over the chair beside the bed and quickly tidied her hair with her hands. She slipped on the shoes scattered near the bed and hurried to the door.

“Good morning, Diane.”

Clarette opened the door just a crack and greeted her, but Diane’s expression was odd. Diane studied her carefully, then glanced inside the room.

“Oh, the easel is over there. I couldn’t find it in the studio.”

Clarette’s heart sank as she looked toward the dressing room. Thankfully, the easel was facing away from the door, so Lionel’s n*de painting wasn’t visible.

“Yes, I’m working on something important in here right now… Actually, I did an all-nighter. I focus better in a small space like this. For the next few days, I’ll only be painting here, so please clean after I finish.”

Clarette kept her face as calm as possible and made up any excuse she could. Diane looked back at her and spoke cautiously.

“Actually, Clarette, it’s not just the cleaning… The master stayed out last night. He didn’t notify the butler.”

“Really? Everyone must be worried.”

“Exactly. If the master returns to the annex, please let me know.”

“Yes, of course. I will.”

Clarette breathed a sigh of relief inside. Diane didn’t seem to suspect the duke was here.

“Um, Clarette.”

“Yes?”

But Diane stopped and caught Clarette again before turning away. Clarette, about to close the door, felt her heart pounding as she waited for what Diane would say.

Diane hesitated a lot, then finally asked,

“By any chance… do you have a lover?”

“What? Uh… do I look like I do?”

Why is she asking that? Did I give something away? Did she find a clue?

Clarette was so flustered her lips trembled, but she managed to act as if nothing was wrong. Diane nodded with a look of certainty.

“Yes, you really do look like it.”

She definitely seemed to have found some evidence. Rather than awkwardly lie, Clarette decided to just admit it.

“Actually, I have been seeing someone recently. I came home with him yesterday. Please keep it a secret from everyone else—it’s my private life…”

“Oh, yes, of course.”

Diane nodded and smiled as if she’d heard a friend’s secret. With that, Clarette could finally close the door.

Once footsteps faded in the corridor, Lionel’s amused voice came from behind the bed curtains.

“Lock the door, Clarette.”

Clarette sighed and obeyed his words. Then she went straight to the bed, drew the curtains wide open, and looked down at Lionel.

Clothes belonging to both of them were scattered messily at the foot of the bed. He was certainly n*ked, half-covered by the blanket.

Seeing Lionel lying leisurely with a smile, Clarette frowned softly.

“You’re not someone who usually sleeps in late. How did this happen? You should have left at dawn.”

“I tried, but I just couldn’t leave. Your body felt so good, what could I do?”

“That’s why we should have stopped after just one time…”

“Come here, Clarette.”

Lionel gently took Clarette’s scolding hand and smiled.

“You must still be in pain—don’t stand like that. Change into something comfortable and come back to bed.”

When his hand touched her, the tension in her heart eased a bit. Clarette fell silent for a moment, then went to the dressing room to change into her nightgown.

She took off her dress and looked at herself in the mirror. No wonder Diane asked if she had a lover.

Her nape, chest, near her navel, and the inside of her thighs—marks from kisses were blushing all over her body.

‘…I’m glad I didn’t lie to Diane. Anyone can see these are kiss marks.’

Clarette recalled Lionel kissing her countless times last night and blushed. She touched her damp thighs and belly and tilted her head.

‘But strangely, my skin doesn’t feel sticky. There was definitely a lot on me…’

As she returned to bed in her thin nightgown, Clarette discovered the reason.

The washbasin she usually kept under the bed had been pulled out. All the spare washcloths were used and hung to dry at the edge.

Clarette realized what must have happened while she slept, and felt very embarrassed. She felt sorry for scolding Lionel, who had cleaned up everything by himself.

But when Clarette returned to bed with an embarrassed face, Lionel opened his arms as if he’d been waiting. Seeing him never make a fuss, she quietly nestled into his embrace.

Even without a single thread on, Lionel’s body felt warm, as if heated under the blanket. He held her gently and whispered,

“Don’t worry and sleep well. I’ll clean up the mess in the room.”

“Lionel, you cleaned up alone at dawn, didn’t you? Don’t worry about me—go back to the main residence quickly.”

“Why? I’m pretty good at cleaning. Isn’t that a basic skill for a soldier?”

“But still…”

“You won’t be able to move much today anyway. Sorry, I pushed you too hard.”

Clarette was too tired and exhausted to protest. Her waist ached and her whole body felt numb from being worked so hard all night.

“Then, I’ll sleep more, so you need to go quickly. Don’t get caught…”

Lionel gazed lovingly at Clarette as she closed her eyes. He kissed her cheek, then, as promised, cleaned the bedroom and quietly left the annex.

* * *

The pigment workshops sponsored by the Valentin Duchy launched new paints in July. Regular customers coming for materials all showed interest in the unfamiliar silver tubes.

“So, this keeps the paint from drying?”

“Well, how often do you paint outdoors that you’d need…”

“It’s light to carry, and there are quite a few colors.”

People reacted differently to the new invention.

Conservative types emphasized the feel of mixing pigments by hand and ignored the tin tubes. Some worried the paint would change color inside the tube.

But everyone was drawn to two perfectly refined colors.

“Wait, is this price real? It says there’s lapis lazuli in it! How can it be so cheap?”

‘Marina Blue’, which perfectly reproduced the vivid blue of lapis lazuli, was already a famous color and received immediate positive feedback.

Meanwhile, the deep green ‘Clarette’, mixed with a small amount of lapis lazuli, was also highly praised.

“It’s so clear and rich. This is a perfect summer green.”

“I want to use it outside right away. But why is it called ‘Clarette’?”

“It’s a woman’s name—did a woman make the paint…?”

“Look, it says ‘Valentin’ on the tube. It’s the name of the painter in the ducal residence, Clarette.”

“Oh, I see. So she made this color!”

There were some misunderstandings, but ‘Clarette’ became incredibly popular.

Lionel, together with the duchy’s lawyer Fabian, reviewed the account statements sent by workshops across the Empire.

“So, how much is it? If this pace continues for July…”

Lionel waited for the capable Fabian to neatly calculate all the expenses, taxes, and so on. After poring over the paperwork, Fabian’s eyes widened.

“Your Grace, this is… amazing! It’s only the first month, but if it keeps up…”

Fabian handed the meticulously calculated profit statement to Duke Valentin.

It was the first launch, so Lionel expected to be in the red after deducting initial costs. But he paused at the unexpected numbers.