Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 61

[Translation By Divinity]

Meanwhile, Lilliana mumbled with a listless expression,

“I guess I’m not good at teaching…”

“Th-that’s not true, Lilliana.”

Damian tried to comfort her, but she didn’t seem to be recovering her energy.

While Lilliana was looking down, Damian saw the ordered chocolate cake being served and quickly pushed it towards her. Lilliana instinctively picked up a fork, cut a small piece, and put it in her mouth. After a few chews, Lilliana looked up with a happy expression.

“This chocolate cake is so good! I can’t believe I haven’t tried it until now, even though I’ve been living in this building for a month!”

Lilliana took a few more bites of the cake and then spoke to the counter in a friendly tone.

“Sir! Did you bake this yourself?”

“Ah, my wife made it. All the desserts here are my wife’s creations.”

“Wow, can I buy a whole cake?”

“Of course. But you need to order in advance.”

“I’ll come pick it up tomorrow, so one whole chocolate cake, please.”

Damian wiped the sweat off his brow, watching Lilliana regain her energy so quickly. She finished the last strawberry decoration on the cake and then declared to Damian with a satisfied expression,

“Alright. I understand you’re confused, Damian. If you’re going to be like that, I guess I’ll have to do it.”

“Do what?”

“Want to go to the art museum?”

It was phrased as a suggestion, but her tone was almost like an order. Damian had no reason to refuse, so he readily nodded.

“Can we skip the other places and just go to the art museum?”

“What are you talking about? This isn’t for fun. I need to take care of my own business too. And this will help you accept my existence.”

Damian couldn’t quite understand what Lilliana meant, but he just nodded.

“We don’t have to spend the whole day there, but it might take a while, so let’s go together after you finish your rehabilitation therapy in the morning.”

Damian’s response was unexpected.

“Are you saying it’s okay for me to go to rehabilitation therapy?”

“Of course! You need to be able to use that right arm quickly, for both your sake and mine. It’s not like we got it for decoration.”

“But you just stopped me from going out.”

“Of course! You were sick last night! What kind of idiot goes to exercise right after being sick?! It’s only natural to rest for a day. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do any rehab at all. I just meant to tone down your enthusiasm a bit.”

Damian looked visibly relieved at Lilliana’s words.

“Then I’ll try my best within reasonable limits.”

Damian said enthusiastically, and Lilliana waved her hand again.

“So, use only half of that enthusiasm.”

She wasn’t sure if he was really listening, but seeing the usually indifferent Damian looking lively made her happy.

***

The next day, Damian returned around lunchtime after his morning rehabilitation session. He and Lilliana had sandwiches she had made for lunch. Surprisingly, they were delicious. As Damian widened his eyes and devoured the sandwich, Lilliana poured him some apple juice with a pleased look.

“I’m Lilliana Carnell, the one who’s also good at cooking. Well, sandwiches are basically just assembling ingredients, but still…”

Lilliana bragged, and Damian clapped his hands. Her smugness grew at his reaction, but then she noticed something odd and looked at him.

“Your arm!”

Damian was clapping with his right arm. The movement was still a bit awkward, but he had enough range of motion to clap without any problems. Lilliana noticed, and Damian grinned.

“That’s today’s achievement.”

“Wow!”

“I still can’t move my fingers, but I can bend my arm now.”

“That’s amazing!”

At Lilliana’s exaggerated admiration, Damian flexed and extended his arm a few more times. Lilliana watched with sparkling eyes, then suddenly looked at him sharply.

“You didn’t overdo it again, did you…?”

“I came back early, didn’t I?”

Damian quickly made an excuse, and Lilliana checked the time again and nodded. Damian said with a somewhat encouraged expression,

“At this rate, I think I might be able to move my fingers tomorrow.”

“Please don’t push yourself. Let’s put expectations aside and take it slow, okay?”

Lilliana wondered how old the person she was talking to was. She couldn’t understand how Damian often treated his body like it was disposable.

Meanwhile, Damian finished his sandwich, and Lilliana invited him to her room. In her room, canvases, an easel, and art supplies were neatly organized for easy transport. Lilliana carried the canvas and easel, which required both hands, and Damian carried the bag of art supplies with his left hand.

“Bear with it even if it’s heavy. We’re not going far.”

Lilliana said as she left the house, and Damian fidgeted.

“No, aren’t you carrying more than me? I should carry the canvas and easel. I can move my right arm to some extent now, so I can manage…”

“No. No way. The canvas isn’t that heavy considering its size, and the easel is portable, so it’s light. The paints are the heaviest.”

Lilliana shrugged and walked towards the tram stop.

“Um… where are we going?”

“Where else would we be going with all this stuff? To paint, of course.”

“But didn’t you say we were going to an art museum?”

As far as Damian knew, art museums were for appreciating art, not creating it. Lilliana clicked her tongue and said,

“We’re going to copy the paintings at the museum. Famous and large museums prohibit painting inside because of the crowds, but smaller museums allow you to set up an easel and paint if you get permission beforehand. I want to start with copying other works to see if my hand has gotten stiff while I was in the hospital.”

Recalling yesterday, Damian said,

“But you drew my face perfectly yesterday. I don’t think you need to worry about your hand being stiff.”

“Is that you admitting you’re handsome?”

“Uh…”

Lilliana teased him, and Damian looked embarrassed. Seeing his reaction, she giggled. Watching Damian, who had been told he was handsome, get flustered because he couldn’t deny or accept the compliment had become one of Lilliana’s recent joys in life.

Damian knew that others considered him handsome, even if he didn’t say it himself. But he wasn’t the type to boast, so he always got flustered. Lilliana found it amusing to watch.

***

The art museum Lilliana took Damian to was less crowded than expected. As she had said, there didn’t seem to be anyone who would be bothered by someone painting there, as it wouldn’t disturb their appreciation of the art.

It was a small and quiet museum, and since Damian’s knowledge of art was limited to the world-renowned masters taught in school, all the paintings here were by artists he had never heard of.

Besides Lilliana, there were several other people in the museum who had come to copy paintings. Damian watched them curiously as they sat with their easels set up, painting without disturbing other visitors. Lilliana looked at each painting, then finally opened her easel in front of one.

Damian stared at the painting Lilliana had chosen. Even to his untrained eye, it was a painting with incredibly delicate brushstrokes.

In the painting, there was a girl with her hands cupped around her cheeks, her face flushed red. A radiant light shone down from above, illuminating her. The artist was Yugo Song, and the title of the painting was “The Moment of Falling in Love.”

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