Rowena burst into a small laugh while the three people around remained silent. 

“I’m kidding. It’s a joke. Why are you all acting so surprised?”

“Haha… haha! My lady, when did you learn to make such jokes too?”

“I’ve learned a bit from being with Countess Rachel.”

The briefly frozen atmosphere loosened up and they were able to regulate their breath back again. Melissa, who had been anxiously listening to their conversation, slipped a thought that suddenly came to her mind.

“Come to think of it, they mentioned that the countess is coming today, Miss Rowena.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I heard about it in the morning but I was in a hurry, so I guess I didn’t get to inform you. I think they said she’ll be here around noon.”

As soon as she finished her sentence, the lighthouse bell rang announcing noon.

“Rowena!”

As soon as they stepped into the small harbor, Countess Rachel, who had spotted Rowena, who came to pick her up, approached with a happy face. After exchanging a light embrace, they climbed into the carriage together.

“Thank you for coming here first.”

“Of course I would come first! We’re friends.”

The countess, smiling with her eyes narrowed, tilted her head when she saw a person riding next to the coachman.

“By the way, who was that person who rode in the front seat? I’ve never seen him before and he doesn’t look like a servant.”

“Ah.”

He was a man with little to no presence who was following her like a shadow even before she stepped into the island. Rowena, who was unable to answer for some moments as she could not remember who he was, meanwhile, the man opened his mouth quickly to respond.

“I’m the portrait painter the duke hired. You see, the lady’s painting isn’t finished yet.”

“Oh my God, the engagement ceremony is just in a few days, and you haven’t finished it yet? Aren’t you just incompetent?”

“The only part left is the face. I’ve already painted the rest of it to the lady’s satisfaction.” 

“Oh, you haven’t painted this beautiful face yet? if it were me, I would have already painted more than a hundred of them.”

Joanne and Melissa giggled at the Countess’ joke. While Rowena shrugged her shoulders with a shy smile.

“He said he hasn’t seen an expression that satisfies him yet. So now he just keeps observing me all the time.”

“Indeed, they say artists who burn with more artistic spirit than others are facing even more difficulties trying to complete a painting. I would only expect nothing less from someone who was commissioned to paint the engagement portrait by the Duke of Devonshire.”

The countess, wrapping up the topic, turned her head out the window. What her eyes fell upon was a landscape completely different from the big city with its glamorous, large buildings stretched out before her. In fact, she had been to this island five years ago. During none other than the Duke of Devonshire’s wedding.

The wedding was grand and extravagant, but there was something off about it, as it was almost nothing but a puppet show. 

A beautifully dressed bride and a striking groom who stood out so much that it looked as if he was shining before everyone.The couple were so beautiful as if they freshly came out of a painting, but despite the guests watching them from afar, they were able to tell that there was a distance between the two, they looked as if was the end of the world for the both of them.

Throughout the entire time of the main ceremony and the marriage vows, the Duke of Devonshire only repeated the words “I do” with a blank look on his face as if he was an actor in a boring performance, and not at his own wedding.

It was a prestigious and grand wedding, but there was no love nor romance between them. It was a strange wedding to the point that it left a lasting impression, and it remained in her memory even now.

She wondered how the ceremony would look like this time around. For some reason, she thought it would be utterly different from how she remembered the previous one.