Chapter 100

There were two reasons why Yelena had warned him that he might be surprised.

On the one hand.

“First of all, the shade of the blue paint didn’t really suit my taste… so after some consideration I decided to try and use a different color instead.”

Within the portrait, Kaywhin’s eyes had been painted pink.

Instead of using a color that would pale in comparison with the real thing, Yelena had the idea to paint with a completely different color altogether, and before she knew it her hand began to move.

Surprisingly, the result wasn’t too bad for something that she had done without much consideration.

In fact, it had actually turned out quite fine. As the painter, Yelena couldn’t find any reason to be dissatisfied.

And on the other hand.

“On a whim, I decided not to paint your birthmarks. After all it’s just a painting and there’s such a thing as artistic license…”

Inside the portrait, Kaywhin’s face was unmarked.

Yelena stared silently at the portrait that had painted with her own two hands.

‘How handsome.’

During these past few days, Yelena had slowly come to realize something.

Her husband was handsome.

If she had to quantify it, he was so handsome that she sometimes felt a little flustered just from looking at him. Even gazing at a portrait of her husband, like she was doing now, was enough to make her feel this way.

As Yelena wasn’t a renowned painter, it was obvious that her paintings would be inferior to those of a real professional’s, but Kaywhin’s beauty that had been revealed through this portrait was so dazzling that anyone who saw it wouldn’t be able to help admiring it.

‘To think that no one was aware of this…’ thought Yelena with a complicated feeling.

Although there were all sorts of rumors surrounding her husband, none of them discussed his appearance.

Well, no, there was one.

The rumor that the Monstrous Duke’s face was hideous.

‘They actually dared to call this face hideous?’

Even if everyone’s eyes had somehow turned into stones, it was difficult to comprehend how they had come to such a conclusion.

Of course she could guess the reasons for why those sorts of whispers were spreading. Everyone must have focused on the marks covering her husband’s face, and hadn’t even considered looking beneath to see what he actually looked like.

“Even though he’s incredibly handsome, once you look beneath these stains.”

In fact, even when taken together with the marks, she believed that her husband’s beauty was without compare. The black blotches only spread across his skin, and didn’t affect his other facial features at all.

Yelena could honestly swear that she had never seen a man with more handsome features than her husband’s. Even those young noblemen who had made names for themselves in aristocratic society due to their good looks would have to hide their faces out of shame when standing next to her husband.

‘Hmph.’

The more she thought about her husband’s handsomeness, the more puffed up Yelena’s chest became. Even her chin started to rise haughtily.

Just as Yelena was feeling inordinately pleased with herself, Kaywhin, who had been silently gazing at the picture, asked, “…do I really look like this.”

“Well, in truth, you do give off a slightly different feeling,” Yelena replied honestly.

Although only the color of the eyes had been changed, this led the Kaywhin in the portrait to give off a completely different feeling to the Kaywhin in real life. The fact was that, if her husband didn’t happen to be smiling, he gave off a slightly chilly impression.

Although he did look handsome, he also looked difficult to approach; an icy beauty, so to speak.

On the other hand, the portrait of her husband looked much warmer than the real thing. For some reason, it gave off a kinder feeling?

‘Though now that I think about it, since he actually is a kind person, doesn’t the portrait seem more accurate than the real thing? In any case, it seems that the color of the eyes is more important that I had thought.’

To think that pink eyes would give him this sort of impression. If that’s the case, could it be that her own eyes also gave other people this sort of feeling?

She had discovered something unexpected.

Whilst thinking that she might need to take a look in a mirror later, Yelena said, “However, apart from this different atmosphere, the facial features are almost identical to yours. It looks good, doesn’t it?”

As she was looking between her portrait and the model, a thought suddenly popped up in Yelena’s head.

‘If my husband and I were to have a child in the future…’

If she gave birth to a son whose appearance looked just like her husband’s, except for inheriting the color of her eyes, wouldn’t he give off this sort of feeling?

After imagining it, it seemed to make sense.

As Yelena’s eyes remained fixed on the painting, her expectations began to run wild. Her lips itched to say something, but Yelena swallowed back the words.

Her husband currently held no interest in creating an heir. So it was still a bit too early for that sort of talk.

‘Let’s just wait a bit longer, and when the time comes, I can fetch this portrait and subtly draw attention to this topic while showing him the painting.’

Whilst thinking that she should take good care of the painting until that day finally came, Yelena said, “Ahem. In any case, with this I’ve shown you my technique. From tomorrow onwards, we’ll begin the lessons right away. Classes are twice a week.”

“…”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing.”