My Husband Lives in a Painting - Chapter 40

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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My Husband Lives Inside the Painting — Episode 40
Even after we’d watched the Puppet Theater and the Magic Show, the children’s energy showed no sign of waning.
But I’d caught a glimpse of Claude’s expression, and it wasn’t bright, so I opened my mouth carefully.
“Claude, are you managing all right?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re tired at all, go inside first. Hope and I can handle things here—don’t worry.”
……
When Claude stopped walking, I stopped too and turned to face him.
What was that look? Why was he staring at me like that?
He gazed down at me with those quiet golden eyes, lost in thought for a moment, before shaking his head.
“On second thought, it doesn’t seem to have been tedious at all. The Puppet Theater and Magic Show were enjoyable in their own way.”
“Really? Well, that’s a relief then.”
I shrugged, thinking perhaps I’d been a bit oversensitive.
As I stood watching the children clustered noisily around a food vendor, Claude suddenly spoke.
“But you haven’t touched any food. Is your appetite still not back?”
“…Oh.”
I thought I’d hidden it well. When did he notice?
His expressionless gaze withdrew, and he promptly made his way to a nearby vendor, returning with something he thrust suddenly into my hands.
“Tomato Soup. Apparently it contains special sausage.”
……
“Drink it. It’s smooth, so it should be easy to swallow.”
Among all the foods available, the fact that he’d chosen soup felt like a deliberate kindness on his part.
But when I simply stared at the bowl without taking it, his brow creased.
“…Must I feed you?”
Claude actually dipped the spoon into the soup and looked ready to put it directly into my mouth.
I panicked and hastily reached out to stop him.
“Give it here, give it here. I can eat it myself.”
“Very well, then.”
White steam rose from the soup I reluctantly accepted.
After finding a nearby bench and sitting down, Claude followed and naturally settled beside me.
‘I’m not even that hungry….’
But when I glanced sideways, Claude was watching me like a guard.
With no choice, I lifted a spoonful of soup to my lips, and a sweet-tart flavor bloomed across my mouth.
……It’s delicious.
‘It’s a familiar taste. Like that tomato spaghetti I ate as a child.’
My eyes widened at the unexpected delicacy, and without thinking, I pushed another spoonful into my mouth.
“Eating well enough on your own.”
At what sounded like a murmur, I looked up to find Claude with his arms crossed, one corner of his mouth raised in an amused smile.
I stared at him for a moment, at a loss.
“…What, do you think I’m a child?”
“I’ve never treated you as one.”
That was clearly a lie. He was obviously treating me like a child. Shameless.
“This won’t do. From now on, you should use formal speech with me.”
Despite my feigned anger and narrowed eyes, Claude snorted and responded with unbothered ease.
“The knight and lady game ended long ago. Besides, what’s formal speech when there’s only three years between us?”
“Only three years?”
Not one or two—this was the first time I’d heard someone brush off a whole three years so casually.
This world had its own age hierarchy, after all. Moreover, he was the same age as my brother Louis.
But faced with what he said next, I couldn’t offer a proper rebuttal.
“If you truly felt I seemed older, then we could consider formal speech. For now, at least learn to eat your meals on time.”
“…Why does the conversation keep turning that way—”
“An adult knows how to take care of themselves. So others don’t have to worry needlessly.”
……
In the end, I nodded as though I’d conceded.
“You really are impossible.”
I spooned the last of the soup into my mouth without leaving a drop.
With my cheeks puffed out as I swallowed, I looked up at him as if to say, “Are you satisfied now?” and Claude let out a low laugh.
“Foolish, really.”
“What was that?”
“Swallow first, then speak. Your pronunciation suffers when your mouth is full—it makes you look even more foolish.”
The plaza brimmed with the glow of a crimson sunset and the murmur of passersby.
That chaotic bustle had diluted the air just enough that the awkwardness, too, had become part of the landscape.
My clumsy confession tumbling out so abruptly was entirely due to the atmosphere.
“Still, I’m grateful. For your help.”
…….
I didn’t bother rushing to check his expression. Only after setting down the empty soup bowl beside me did I slowly turn my gaze toward him.
“You’re a good person…… probably.”
Claude, who had worn a slightly vacant expression a moment before, now sensed something amiss and furrowed his brow.
“What do you mean by ‘probably’?”
“Sometimes I want to grab your head and shake it. So for now, it’s pending.”
……Ha!
His laugh—disbelieving, almost startled—struck me as so absurd that I couldn’t help but laugh along.
We had been laughing for some time when Claude suddenly lowered his voice, as though the words had slipped from him almost against his will.
“You, on the other hand, are far better when you’re smiling.”
“What?”
…….
At those words, I lifted my head without thinking—only to find Claude had turned away, his hand covering his face.
The faint blush creeping up the lobe of his ear visible between his fingers was surely just my imagination.
After that, we spent the rest of the evening in quiet conversation.
As the sun set, I returned to the Manor with the children, and retired to bed still lingering with the strange warmth of the day.
The Spring Flower Festival continued for four days in this manner.
The night before the final day, Romaine, brushing my hair, asked with bright anticipation.
“My lady, you will be going tomorrow, won’t you? They say there’s a Fireworks Display tomorrow night!”
“A Fireworks Display?”
“Yes! The other servants were saying that on that night alone, everyone forgets their duties and watches it—it’s said to be so beautiful. The children have never seen it before, and Hope said he’d make sure to take them both.”
The Spring Flower Festival was the largest event in the Empire.
Especially the Fireworks Display that crowned the festival’s finale drew visitors from distant lands, its reputation preceding it far and wide.
“They say it’s particularly famous as a place where lovers confess their hearts…… Ah, it must be so beautiful. I do hope we can arrive early and claim a good spot.”
Through the mirror, I watched Romaine’s eyes sparkle with eager anticipation, and I smiled softly.
But soon my expression hardened.
“I…….”
I fidgeted with my hands clasped between my knees, worrying, until at last I nodded with quiet resolve.
* * *
The next day, I did not go to the Spring Flower Festival.
When I said I would stay behind at the Manor, Romaine was deeply disappointed but insisted on staying with me.
But I shook my head firmly.
“Truly, my lady, it’s all right if I leave the Manor? What if something comes up that you need—”
“Nothing will. It’s fine. Go and enjoy yourself.”
I couldn’t bring myself to forbid Romaine from witnessing the Fireworks Display she’d been anticipating so keenly.
Besides, if I was being honest with myself, today was a day when I needed to be alone.
I sat on the hard wooden chair in the Studio, opened my box of Solid Pigment, and after much deliberation, selected my colors.
Then, instead of the Canvas, I picked up paper and set brush to it.
Alone in the quiet Manor from early morning, absorbed in my work, I only rose from my seat well into the afternoon.
As I stepped Inside the Painting, I found myself face-to-face with Camille—perfectly timed.
“Camille!”
“……Camille!”
I’d raised my voice without thinking, and then immediately startled at my own outburst, hurrying to close my mouth.
But Camille was not one to let such an opportunity slip through his fingers.
He approached me in a single swift motion, then offered a smile that was both radiant and mischievous.
“What, did you miss me that much?”
“No, I—”
“So dishonest. How adorable.”
Behind him, as he parted the Flower Field, a lingering fragrance of blossoms drifted in his wake.
“I missed you too, darling.”
…….
‘Ah.’
Jewel-like blue eyes glimmering between locks of cherry-blossom pink hair.
Warm eyes that contrasted with his mischievous smile, and even a teardrop mole beneath—as though painted with a single brushstroke.
In the moment I faced all of this anew, the hesitation and guilt that had weighed upon my heart vanished without trace.
And in that same instant, I understood.
‘I simply cannot let this person go.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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