Stone Thrown into the Lake - Chapter 15

He was sponsored by the Dunmel family, but to be more accurate, his patron was the Madam of Dunmel, who recognised and invested heavily into his talent. The artist viewed her as his lifelong savior, and wanted to deliver results that reflected his efforts. As such, he couldn’t complain about the Young Master’s indifference, despite his strong backing.

“Even though the shades differ, both of your blonde hair looks like it was spun from the same gold, and your eyes seem to share the same jewel by God! A happy moment between similar looking siblings, akin to angels! It would make a beautiful picture indeed. It will definitely become my masterpiece.”

“…Do we look alike?”

Duran never thought that they looked alike. Yvor Adela was beautiful. In the eyes of Duran Craig, Yvor Adela was even more beautiful than that. To him, she looked like a sugar craft or a lake in the sun.

He was unable to imagine the princess mentioned in fairy tales, or the fairy in the story that Yvor reads with her feathery voice, being more beautiful than Yvor. The princess in his head always had the same face as her.

On the other hand, Duran thought of himself as ugly, because everyone said so. As no one praised him or loved him.

‘But you thought that we looked alike?’

‘Ugly’ and ‘beautiful’. Such things do not exist, as from the beginning, they were different, much like how jewels and stones are dissimilar, fairies and monsters are inequivalent, princesses and dwarves cannot bear resemblance to each other. Her heart was cold and his heart was frozen. Just as Duran was about to get nervous, Yvor answered.

“My Dew is much more outstanding in character.”

It was a calm voice. Despite the briefness of their encounter, such words seemed ill-fitting with her demeanour, hence rendering the artist speechless for a moment.

Her sweet tone was reserved exclusively for her brother, whom she cherished and loved. He was pretty, from his fingertips to his toes, and to Yvor, he was the embodiment of all the compliments that existed in the world.

“But, yes…”

Yvor glanced at Duran and spoke dreamily. His eyes are the same color as her. She was pleased that Duran shared resemblance with her in the eyes of others, and that Duran was pretty.

“Even though I’m such a clumsy sister, we look alike. It’s because you and I are family.”

She whispered with so much warmth that it could melt ice. That voice reached Duran’s frozen heart, successfully melting it.

‘I see.’

‘She is family.’

Similar to how Yvor was clueless about being a family until she met Duran, he too, did not know the meaning of family.

In the past, he had taken ‘family’ as nothing more than an amusing word. But for the first time, he understood what family meant. He and she, no, they were family. It wasn’t strange that they looked alike. It was alright to be in the same place. There was nothing wrong with being together. At last, the drizzling spring rain resulted in a sprout.

“…It’s okay to draw a family, Dew.”

Uncertain of how to display the sprout, Duran just said so.

“If Sister wants to.”

When he finished speaking, Yvor smiled again. The drizzle turned into the spring sun. At the warm expression on her face, Duran believed that she knew the name of the sprout within his heart.

◇ ◆ ◇

Merley Kleir entered and exited the palace almost daily, and despite such inappropriate behaviour, her effort in reasoning her way out of leaving was admirable. That was Ziark’s opinion.

However, her presence was more tedious than pleasant to Sidis Murka, who had to leave the palace using various excuses to avoid her and the Lady from Hearst. It was laughable in a sense because he was usually detached.

Ziark sneaked a smile at the misfortune of his master. It’s strange that he refuses to be present when a woman approaches, and Sidis’ answer has always been consistent. Even if he can’t choose his love among the three, he can choose someone he doesn’t love.

“You have arrived.”

Ziark looked at Sidis, who was waiting for him in his own house before he even reached home. Sidis, who was drinking tea in Ziark’s unoccupied house, waved his hand as Ziark entered.

“Your Highness, will you let me go?”

“It will be difficult for Father to take back his own words. He told me to make a decision after observing, so I went out to do that. So, you’ll have no choice but to wait and see.”

This was why he didn’t meet the other bride candidates, despite the fact that he could’ve. Since the only potential bride he’d met with was Merley Keir, this situation created more excuses to leave the palace.

The eldest daughter of Thiero had announced her decision to reside in the capital.

She was now in a busy carriage trying to meet him, but the excuse for today’s trip outside was the third candidate. He was unable to escape the task of viewing her portrait.

“Did the portrait arrive?”

Since Sidis was using the portrait viewing as an excuse, it was only polite to ask about it once. In fact, he didn’t even want to see all the faces of the prospective brides.

He wished Ziark could answer that it had not arrived. He really added that. Ziark shrugged his shoulders. It was a matter of deciding on a candidate for marriage, but it was not an easy task even if he was not enthusiastic.

“I don’t know why you’re so uninterested.”

“Well…”

Sidis laughed instead of answering any further. Of course, lack of interest is not incorrect, but it was not the right answer either. Sediments from unexpressed feelings were left in his heart. If he had to try and express them in words, it would be like this.

Rejection.

For Sidis Murka, things like interest, love, and desire never bode well. They were like sand that always accumulated within his heart. Each time the wind blew, it rattled and blew away, making the forest dry.

“So, that’s it.”

Ziark opened his mouth in a slightly shaky tone.

“It’s a portrait. In fact, it is true that we should show it as soon as possible.”

Sidis, who had fled to avoid the ladies’ advances, stayed proudly in Dunmel’s house, not only because Ziark was his best friend and confidant, but also because the last prospective bride was a candidate from Dunmel.

Of course, she was not a member of Dunmel’s family, as there were no maidens of appropriate age from Dunmel.

In the beginning, the Dunmels were contemplating on a side to ally with; the East, which was large but small, or the North, where it would not be easy to intervene in the relationship. But the Dunmels then took a completely different path, joining hands with an unexpected family and supported a third candidate.

Hence, it was not a big deal if Sidis didn’t like the third candidate. With the exception of Ziark, who was the First Knight of Sidis, the Dunmel family’s position was no different from that of Hearst or Thiero.

In other words, Ziark was in a position to push the portrait over to Sidis and convince him to fall in love with her and declare that he would marry this woman, or even pretend to be like her.

“But I can’t. The prince is lucky,” Ziark said. After saying a word, he continued.

“You probably won’t see me for a while.”

“Why?”

Sidis asked unconcernedly. Ziark shrugged his shoulders again. He wasn’t sure what exactly was going on. But he had a vague impression.

“It seemed that the young lady would not send the portrait.”

The wind carrying the sand stopped suddenly. Sidis Murka asked.

“What did you say her name was?”

Ziark Dunmel answered.

“Yvor Adela Gremory-Wundt-Salzmia. She is the eldest daughter of Salzmia.”