Chapter 66
Unlike the other floors with multiple rooms, the top floor had only a single door. Seeing it tightly locked, it seemed to be a place with strictly controlled access.
Tenus pulled a key from his pocket and easily unlocked the door.
“…….”
“What are you doing? Aren’t you coming in?”
Could she really dare to step inside? Selakia hesitated for a moment, but her intense curiosity pushed her forward, and she followed closely behind Tenus.
The moment she entered, the spectacular sight before her made her forget even to question her audacity.
The rectangular room stretched endlessly. It was such a vast space that it felt as though she had entered a new building entirely.
Portraits were hung along the walls at even intervals. While the Lenshi family mansion also had a long gallery, it was neither as lavish nor as grand as this.
“…….”
By now, she should have been accustomed to it.
Every time Selakia witnessed the sheer wealth of the Seidon family firsthand, her jaw dropped. She tightened her jaw and moved forward.
Soft footsteps followed quietly behind her.
The first painting at the entrance was a portrait of the founding Seidon duke and his wife. Though somewhat faded by the passage of time, it was still perfectly viewable.
Selakia, intently staring at the elegant and refined faces of the first Seidon duke and duchess, suddenly glanced back at Tenus.
“They look a little alike, maybe…”
Tenus’s expression showed no particular reaction. Leaving him standing indifferently behind her, Selakia continued forward, taking in each portrait one by one.
Along the long wall hung portraits of successive dukes and their families in order.
“…….”
By the time she reached the portraits of the eighth-generation Seidon duke and duchess, Selakia noticed something unusual about this long gallery.
There were no individual portraits of the dukes themselves—only joint portraits of couples and family portraits.
Even the couple portraits were unusual in composition. Rather than facing forward, they were depicted in profile, as if ignoring the world outside the frame, their eyes only tenderly meeting each other.
From that alone, Selakia began to understand the emotions that the family servants had once described feeling through the portraits.
One could feel love through a painting.
Whether it was the painter’s skill or the transcendent love of the couple that made it so vivid, it was a uniquely beautiful and stirring experience.
“Ah.”
Selakia then realized another detail.
“They all really have two children each…”
“What?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Looking at the series of family portraits, each depicting a couple with four members, Selakia hurried along. She had only stated the truth she saw but couldn’t explain why her cheeks felt warm.
She sensed Tenus’s puzzled gaze behind her but deliberately ignored it, passing by dozens of portraits quickly.
After walking for a while, she finally reached the end of the line of portraits.
The most recent Seidon duke and duchess.
Technically, Tenus had not yet inherited the dukedom, so these were likely his parents’ portraits.
Selakia stopped and studied the portrait more carefully than any other. There was a face strikingly similar to Tenus.
Even from the profile alone, she could see that Tenus’s sleek silver hair and strong, firm facial features resembled his father, while his graceful eyes and deep gaze resembled his mother.
Tenus seemed to be a perfect blend of his parents’ features, yet somehow, he also appeared not to resemble them at all.
“Hmm.”
After comparing the portrait and Tenus for a long moment, Selakia realized why.
The parents wore gentle, warm smiles, while Tenus stood beside her with a firm, closed mouth and a blunt expression—a stark contrast.
As Selakia observed the parents’ portraits with affection, Tenus showed no discernible expression.
No longing, no resentment for having been left behind, no love that could not be hidden—none of the vivid emotions she usually felt when looking at her own parents’ portraits were present in him.
Was he deliberately hiding them? Selakia, aware of his seemingly subdued mood, teased lightly.
“You don’t look like your parents.”
It wasn’t entirely true. She was simply trying to provoke a reaction, but Tenus nodded calmly, agreeing.
“I tried not to.”
Selakia blinked in surprise at the unexpected answer.
“Why? I thought they were good people.”
Tenus turned from the portrait to gaze at her.
“Do you want to resemble all of your parents?”
“Hmm……”
Selakia pretended to think, avoiding his gaze. In truth, she didn’t need time to answer; she had already considered this long ago.
Apart from love and longing, she didn’t want to inherit everything from her parents. Remembering the loneliness and hurt her half-brother might have suffered because of their marriage, she couldn’t wish to replicate it.
It wasn’t necessarily her parents’ fault, but it had given her a perspective: that one should not harm others through personal choices, like marriage.
Though she had generally been happy as a child, she never fully enjoyed her happiness. The lonely half-brother had always lingered like a fishbone in her heart.
Before marrying Tenus, she had refused Chester’s marriage proposal for this very reason—fearing he would be hurt by marrying her.
Had she maintained a good relationship with her half-brother, she might not have worried so much, and might even have accepted Chester’s proposal.
Of course, if she had been close to her half-brother, Seidon would not have sent her a marriage proposal at all.
“I don’t know. But why do you…? Ah, never mind.”
Selakia hesitated, about to question Tenus in return, but stopped. She doubted he would reveal his private thoughts easily.
He would probably keep his lips pressed tightly as usual. By now, she understood his temperament fairly well.
Instead, she asked another question.
“Why aren’t there any family portraits of your parents?”
Beside the portraits of the former dukes and duchesses, there were family portraits with their children as kids. Yet, beside Tenus’s parents’ portraits, the wall was empty.
“They never painted a family portrait.”
“That’s a lie. There are traces that something was hung here.”
Selakia pointed to faint scratches on the wall and the empty nails. Tenus pressed his lips together, unmoving.
“…….”
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“…….”
What was so difficult about answering?
Tenus seemed uninterested in lying or even making up an excuse. Whether he simply couldn’t lie or didn’t want to, Selakia didn’t know.
She felt an urge to smack his stubbornly shut lips.
“Sigh.”
She had planned to examine Tenus’s childhood thoroughly and tease him, but her main purpose for coming to the long gallery had disappeared, leaving her feeling empty.
As she sighed, her eyes fell on an object lying on the floor. A dark-colored velvet pouch blended into the floor and wall, barely noticeable.
Hypnotized, Selakia bent down and picked up the pouch.
“……A bracelet?”
Inside was a bracelet strung with round beads. After staring at it for a while, Selakia realized what it was.
The beads were made from luminous seashells, often used decoratively for their beautiful coloration.
“Why is this here……?”
Seeing the item in Selakia’s hands, Tenus was unusually flustered, as if someone had found his belongings in an unexpected place.
Yet there was no way this bracelet belonged to him. Though not as crude as the ones Selakia had made as a child at the beach, it was far too simple for a Seidon minor duke.
“Do you know whose it is? It looks like it was made with great care.”
The luminous shells were polished so meticulously they gleamed like they had been oiled—ready to glow in the dark.
Selakia traced the shiny bracelet, and suddenly, a childhood memory made her smile softly.
“Did you know luminous shells aren’t really luminous? I thought they were and collected them when I was little.”
Tenus, with a vague expression, touched his neck and muttered:
“They really are luminous.”
“Huh?”
“They’re coated with phosphorescent paint.”
“Wow, really?”
Selakia cupped the bracelet in her hands, and in the dim light, it shimmered faintly. As Tenus had said, it really glowed.
Her face lit up like a child discovering a magical toy.
“Who made this?”
“…….”
“Who made it!”
This time, she didn’t back down. Curious to know who had brought to life something that had been only her childhood fantasy, she pressed him.
Tenus sighed softly, lowering his eyes, and finally answered, as if resigned.
“……Naia.”
“Naia?”
Selakia pondered the name, vaguely familiar.
“Do you mean Princess Naia of Seidon?”
“Yes.”
“She made this herself? That must have been difficult. Incredible.”
Tenus’s expression remained displeased and somewhat suspicious, but Selakia swallowed her disappointment and didn’t notice.
Since it clearly had an owner, she should return it. She touched the bracelet one last time, her reluctance clear in her eyes.
“Do you want it?”
“No. I’m just… curious.”
“Take it.”
“No, it belongs to someone else.”
“It’s yours anyway……”
Tenus didn’t finish the sentence, instead brushing his hair back in frustration before continuing.
“It’s an item the owner discarded. So it doesn’t matter if someone takes it.”
“Still……”
“If you don’t take it, then it’s thrown away.”
Selakia’s eyes widened at his extreme statement.
