Chapter 29
“Um… I… I’m not sure about that.”
“……”
“It’s… small, but it’s pretty.”
“Well, if it makes you feel good when you look at it, then that’s not a bad thing.”
Grace didn’t fully understand what Frederick meant, but she figured it wasn’t a bad thing either.
“What about you, Frederick…? What do you think?”
“About what?”
“This fox…”
Frederick silently looked down at the fox.
He hadn’t really thought much about the animal. He’d only seen it as an injured fox, never forming any special feelings about it. So he needed a moment.
“Well… I guess I feel the same way as you.”
“Huh?”
“Yeah, I think it’s… pretty.”
Frederick cleared his throat and looked off into the distance.
‘Why did I say that?’
He wasn’t the kind of person to say embarrassing things like that. It didn’t feel like him.
“Right. I… I think so too.”
When Grace smiled brightly, he thought maybe that was the reason. For some strange reason, seeing her smile made everything feel okay. He wasn’t sure when that started.
“Um… Frederick.”
“?”
“Your face… it’s red…”
Grace looked at him with a worried expression.
“Are you… sick?”
“N-No. It’s not that.”
Flustered, Frederick turned his gaze away.
“We should get some sleep. The fox too—just lay it down somewhere.”
“Okay. Got it.”
Did something just happen? Grace was curious about Frederick’s reaction, but didn’t ask any more.
Time flew like an arrow, and soon Grace’s lessons with Alice and Letius had come to an end.
What she would miss most was parting with Letius.
They said their goodbyes at the annex where the lessons had been held. By the windows, the paintings Grace had colored under Letius’s guidance were neatly displayed.
“I’ll miss this.”
Letius smiled, looking a bit regretful.
“If you weren’t a duchess—if you were just an ordinary girl—I would have taken you to Master Marcellan and asked him to raise you into a great artist.”
“Master Marcellan…?”
“He’s the greatest painter in the Empire. He’s also an exceptional teacher. He’s trained many outstanding artists, and he currently has dozens of students learning under him.”
“Is he… better than you?”
“It’s not even a matter of being better. He’s a legend.”
“A legend…”
Grace repeated the word under her breath. She was curious about how great someone must be to surpass Letius, but she couldn’t even imagine it.
“If he ever saw your talent, I can’t imagine how impressed he’d be—or how much he’d want to have you as his student.”
“Thank you… for the compliment.”
“If you start showing your work to more people, you’ll realize what I said isn’t just flattery—it’s the truth.”
Letius added that if Grace ever came to the capital, he hoped they might meet again.
“I’ve really enjoyed this time with you, my lady.”
“No, thank you. Even though you were busy…”
“I stayed as long as I could. I’d like to give you one of these as a gift.”
Grace took the painting he handed her. She was sad to part with both Alice and Letius, but receiving a gift from each helped ease the feeling.
The painting Letius gave her was a frontal view of Winstaine Castle. The black castle, covered in snow, gave off a calm and quiet mood.
“I’m glad I was able to capture the beauty of Winstaine at the end of winter. Of course, it’s still beautiful now.”
Grace lifted her head at his words and looked out the window. The snow that had covered the castle and land throughout the winter had melted away, and green sprouts were beginning to appear here and there.
Spring was coming.
Grace smiled as she hugged the painting to her chest.
“I… I want to be as good as you someday.”
“If you keep painting steadily, you’ll surpass me easily. I’m good at copying things that look nice, but I’m not someone who’s reached any great level.”
Letius kissed Grace’s hand.
“I hope that next time we meet, I’ll get to see even more of your paintings.”
After saying goodbye, Grace called for Dorota to ask what they should do with her paintings and the one Letius had gifted her.
“I’ll move all these paintings to the gallery and display them, my lady.”
“The gallery?”
“Yes. It’s where the Winstaine family stores its collection of paintings. Have you never been there before?”
“No…”
So the castle had a place like that too. Grace hadn’t seen much of the castle yet, so this was the first she’d heard of it.
“Um… Can I… see the other paintings?”
“Of course. The portrait you painted recently is already hanging there. Shall we go now?”
“Yes…! I want to see!”
Grace followed Dorota toward the gallery. A collection of paintings owned by the Winstaine family—it made her very curious.
“The paintings are hung along the corridor. Just start from the beginning.”
Grace walked in the direction Dorota pointed and listened as she explained.
“This one shows what the castle looked like when it was first built.”
“Ah…”
“And this one is the garden in springtime, full of flowers.”
Grace kept walking and listening until she stopped in front of a painting she hadn’t seen before.
It showed a vast golden field. People were bent over the earth with tools like sickles in their hands. A red sun hung above the land, and the entire sky was painted in sunset hues.
“This one shows the harvest. It’s the farmland of the Winstaine estate.”
“It’s so big…”
“Right? Even after living here so long, I’m still amazed when I see the fields. It feels like they go on forever.”
Dorota let out a short exclamation.
“Oh! Come to think of it, planting season is coming soon.”
“Planting?”
“Yes, that’s when we sow seeds into the ground. If we plant well in the spring, we can harvest in the fall—just like in the painting.”
She pointed to the land in the picture.
“It must’ve been a great year. The fields are painted so richly.”
“I want to see it.”
Staring at the painted land, Grace found herself wanting to see it in real life.
“Why not? It’d be good to go out and take a look. You’re the lady of this land now—you’ll be managing it, after all.”
‘I’ll have to talk to Frederick.’
Grace nodded.
“What’s… this one?”
“This shows the world as it looked a hundred years ago. This part is the continent, and over here is the sea.”
“The sea…?”
She had heard that word before. After thinking for a moment, Grace remembered.
“People… said they ride boats. Boats.”
“Yes. Our Empire is here, and other countries are beside us. If they’re close, you can walk or ride a horse. But if it’s another continent or an island, then you travel by boat.”
“Continent…”
“This big mass here on the map—that’s a continent.”
Grace was amazed as she listened. Dorota sounded just like a teacher—like Alice.
“Dorota, you’re so smart. Really.”
“No, no. I’ve just lived long enough to hear and learn a few things.”
“Have you… ridden a boat?”
“No, I haven’t. I’ve never even left Winstaine since I was born.”
For some reason, that made Grace feel sad. Why couldn’t Dorota leave if she wanted to?
“Don’t you… want to go?”
“Just thinking about it feels like a luxury. Almost no one on this continent has ever been on a boat.”
“……”
“My mother was also the head maid who served the former Duke and Duchess of Winstaine. I grew up watching her work, so I never even considered leaving.”
“Ah…”
It was a bit hard for Grace to fully understand. From her point of view, there was no reason to live anywhere but Winstaine.
“From here on, these are the portraits of the past members of the Winstaine family.”
