The Duke's Unwanted Second Wife

After Roman was led toward the mansion for his morning lessons and Titan was taken to the Stables, a quiet anticipation settled over the courtyard.

Both Eilika and Damian turned their attention to Sylvian, who stood before a large, draped frame.

”I wish to gift you both this piece. It is a work I created myself, picturing the two of you,” Sylvian announced, gesturing to the servants who stepped forward to hold the heavy canvas.

Eilika felt a flicker of doubt. Sylvian had only recently arrived; she couldn’t understand how he could have captured her likeness so accurately in a painting of this scale.

”I forgot to mention that he is quite the artist,” Damian said, his voice holding a trace of rare pride as he looked at his cousin. ”Now, I am surrounded by three of them–you, Louis, and Sylvian.”

Eilika offered a small, distracted nod just as the servants pulled away the velvet cloth.

”Oh my god!” she breathed, her hand flying to her lips in shock.

The portrait was breathtaking. It depicted her and Damian standing together in a moment of quiet intimacy they had never actually shared in person. The brushwork was so fine, the light so masterfully captured, that it looked as though they had posed for hours.

”How did you do this?” Eilika asked, her eyes tracing the details of her own painted expression. ”To create something this grand in such a short time...”

”I have been working on this from my imagination ever since I first saw you,” Sylvian explained with a gentle smile. ”It was before the wedding, when Aunt Georgia first chose you to be Damian’s wife. I was there that day, though you were likely too overwhelmed to notice me.”

Damian stepped closer to the canvas, his eyes fixed on the way Sylvian had painted him looking at Eilika, with a softness he was only just beginning to show her in real life.

”You used all your imagination to create this,” Damian chuckled, his eyes still tracing the painted lines of his own expression.

”Well, yes. I imagined the two of you in love,” Sylvian replied with a playful shrug. ”So, where should we place it? In the gallery or—”

”In my bedchamber,” Damian interrupted.

Sylvian’s grin widened at the statement. ”Lovely. The servants will handle the heavy lifting, then.” He turned toward the staff, gesturing for them to carefully transport the massive canvas into the mansion.

Eilika was clearly surprised by Damian’s choice. She didn’t imagine he would ask it to be placed in his personal space.

”That was truly remarkable of you, Sylvian. You are talented in music and art. I am starting to think you are good at everything,” Eilika said, her appreciation genuine as she looked at him.

”Not in warfare, I’m afraid. Not like the Crown Prince or Damian. There are a few other things I lack as well,” Sylvian replied, a hint of humility in his tone.

”It is alright. Art is the most expensive skill in this world,” Eilika countered warmly. ”Not everyone can possess it. People are born with that kind of soul. That is what I believe, at least.”

Sylvian bowed his head slightly at her words. ”Then I am honored that my ’expensive skill’ found such a worthy subject in you, Duchess.”

Eilika smiled as Maurice’s formal greeting broke the morning air.

”I must head to work,” Damian said, his gaze lingering on Eilika for a brief moment. He then turned and walked away with Maurice, the two already deep in whispered conversation.

”Shall we take a walk, Eilika? If you don’t mind, of course,” Sylvian asked politely.

”Not at all,” Eilika answered quickly, and the two began to stroll toward the vast, manicured expanse of the garden.

”I see changes in my cousin that I haven’t seen in five years,” Sylvian remarked, his voice softening. ”I can see he is finally trying to live. I don’t know how you managed it, but thank you.”

”It turns out you are quite close to Damian. You worry for him a great deal, Prince,” she asserted, her gaze thoughtful as she watched a distant fountain.

”Damian and I grew up together. In truth, I spent more of my childhood here than in the royal palace,” Sylvian stated. ”But I was away during the time Damian’s father fell ill. I was away for my education and military training.”

Eilika realized then that Damian had never truly opened up about the specifics of that period.

”I am sure he would have told you,” Sylvian murmured, walking with one hand tucked behind his back.

”He mentioned that after his father passed away, Varos became vulnerable. That everyone wanted a piece of it,” Eilika replied.

”The King knew that if Varos did not stay in loyal hands, it would be disastrous for the entire kingdom,” Sylvian added, his expression turning serious.

”It is the gateway to our southern and eastern borders. If the duchy had collapsed into infighting or fallen to a greedy lord, the Crown would have lost its strongest shield. Damian didn’t just inherit a title; he inherited a fortress that everyone was trying to burn down from the inside.”

He stopped by a rosebush, looking at her intently.

”Do you know about Liliana? I mean... Damian has told me bits about her, but I’m curious how their love flourished so much that she became his nightmare.” Eilika expected some truth that could help her find the reason for Damian’s nightmares and imagination of seeing his late first wife.

”Liliana was the woman whom he met while finding the solution for the farmers for better irrigation. She was a woman of noble cause, not from a humble background, but her knowledge was exceptional. That’s what drew Damian to her first.”

Sylvian turned his head to look completely at Eilika.

”She was his comfort. She knew everything about him. That’s why he’s unable to move on. But I must say I’ve seen the very change in him for moving forward in his life. The spark in his eyes have turned,” Sylvian pronounced.