You Think I Won't Talk?-Chapter 85

I felt how our heart tightened.

I knew it was because Anne was stunned by my words. After all, little by little I felt a shy joy spread its warmth strongly in my cheeks.

As if they were burning, my cheeks felt hotter than ever. I never thought she would react so cutely to my words and, so strongly, that our flushed cheeks stayed that way for a long time after.

I’m sure I’ve made it clear that I like her... But..... Have I not told her how much I do?...

I guess I haven’t.

Well, it’s never too late. I love my cute baby panda, so I’ve got to put my all into this drawing for her to be able to even feel it when she sees it!

Excited to show Marianne my honest feelings, I took the quill in my hand and dipped it into the ink, enough to not over soak it. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

It was right at that moment that I realised I had forgotten to bring an important tool with me.

’Darn it... I forgot to bring a cloth to clean the quill... The ink will dry and stiffen the tip if I don’t clean it often..... How come I forgot this.....Sigh.... Let’s just use this instead...’

Rip!

Taking a piece of the last paper on the canvas, I decided to use it as a replacement for the forgotten cloth. Trying the quill on it to make sure my first lines wouldn’t smudge the paper irreversibly, I gave it my approval to start its important job.

Before giving the first official stroke, I stared at the first paper on the canvas, ultimately finding the little note I had written in the corner when I received it from the Duke

—Thank you, Father. Once I have used it, I will make sure to show it to you first.—

Is what it said as I read it.

I inwardly chuckled at how polite it sounded in my head, and somehow, I didn’t want to lose that huge page only because of that tiny message.

’Hmm... I suppose... I’ll leave it there and add something to it later... Heheh I already have an idea of what to write~ Fufufu’

Feeling playful about it, I began to draw in a light mood.

As time passed I became absorbed in the details.

The shadows, the thickness of the lines, the volume of the vines, the shape of the flowers, how the light fell on all of it... I wanted to engrave it all in my drawing.

Surprisingly, although my hand was stiff at the beginning, it quickly relaxed and my wrist also followed the flow of the lines after a few more strokes.

I felt so calm by how the canvas began to take in the lines and slowly take the form of what I was trying to portray.

Although it takes a long time to learn how to draw, when you become able to, you also learn that you’ll never finish learning about it. It’s something that keeps evolving endlessly with practice, and so, you will always find new things to learn and improve.

I was surprised that Marianne’s body was acting so compliant to what my soul remembered of all the practice Granny Martha made me do in my past life. It was like the movement of my original hands was engraved in my soul, which transmitted it to my current body..... And for a short moment, I saw and felt as if my true body’s hands were the ones doing the drawing.

’Heh... How strange...’

Recalling how they looked like felt so weird... It was almost saddening to think they even looked strange at this point...

I continued my drawing with a bit of nostalgia and soon forgot about it. That was the magic of drawing for me. I could express myself and forget it all as I progressed in it, to lastly feel completely invested in developing the desired picture I was looking for.

The same happened today. And as I continued to draw and draw and draw more and more lines... I eventually finished my drawing without noticing.

When I drew the last peak of the mountains in the background, I scanned the drawing, searching for what was left to be drawn without finding anything missing as I also compared to the original scene.

’Oh... I... I finished..... I guess...’

The thought slowly brought me out of the trance I was in, and as soon as I came out... Marianne’s sensations came in.

I could clearly feel three main things filling our chest. Excitement, joy and awe. My girl must have been impressed, after all, I could feel how our body was reluctant to look away from my drawing, and, furthermore, scared to even touch it.

’Hahahah! I see you like it~ Doesn’t it look nice? I think it turned out quite pretty! The bird looks so cute peeking at the flower below its nest too~’

"..."

’... Anne?’

She had no reaction to my sayings, so I was a bit lost about what to do. Maybe she was too focused on looking at it, but when I was about to let her be and finish the drawing by adding the last bit to the note I had previously written on the page... the hand didn’t follow my will, but Anne’s.

Our fingers went straight to touch two words in that old message. The ones that said: Thank you.

"..."

’.... Well... You’re welcome... But... Why would you cry over this, dummy... It’s nothing much...’

From our right eye, tear after tear kept coming out of it. I didn’t know what was it that made her so emotional but, I could feel her appreciation for my gift.

’... Sigh... I didn’t expect this reaction... Oh! Is it because you can feel my love~~???Heheh~ It’s quite big you know? I think this one doesn’t get to show it all~ I’ll have to make a lot more to show you all of it, Fufufu~’

Trying to be funny to make her feel better and stop her tears, I began to joke with the truth. And, determined to change her mood, I tried to change the subject next.

’Alright! Now I need to write the rest of the note for your Father, Anne!’

Writing what I already had in mind, I lifted the canvas as high as I could and gave it an approving nod of satisfaction.

’There! That’s it. Do you think he will like it too? It might be troublesome to keep safe since the paper is of a long size... But... Whatever, it looks pretty so it’s worth its size.’

Making a carefree comment, I ended the matter to turn my eyes upwards. I watched the sky finding that it was still early to go back, and looking at my left side, I found the untouched delicate cloth containing the snacks in the spot I had left it before.

’... Oops... I guess I was so fixated on the drawing, I forgot about the snacks.... Sorry, Anne..... How about we go over there and eat them more comfortably?’

Pointing out the place with my eyes, I suggested to Marianne, who was already feeling excited by the idea of finally eating the so-awaited snacks.

There wasn’t much needed for me to get her agreement. As two souls sharing one body, both felt the same hunger, and so, we were in total synchrony if it was about food.

Taking the canvas and the wrapped snack in my hands I walked to the place I had suggested after organizing the slipping shawl over my arms.

It was simply a corner next to the bushy wall, where I could see plenty of grass to lay on by the shade.

I wanted to relax on the grass while we are. It was a nice day and I wanted us to feel the grass under us.

We came out to enjoy the outside after all the time we spent inside the Castle, so it is a must for Anne to get a closer feel of nature.

There also were a few flowers growing there, so I’m sure the air would be quite pleasantly fragrant on that side.

When I arrived I placed the canvas right next to where I was seated and started unwrapping the cloth to eat the snacks.

Inside, there were apples, cut into pretty slices, grapes, and a few pairs of canapés. The smell of the apple was strong enough to even transmit the sweetness of the fruit with it. I knew those apples would taste delicious as soon as I saw how they still looked freshly cut although more than an hour has passed since I got them.

’Let’s try those apples~’

Anne was obviously impatient now, so without further ado, I went right for the snack she so desired.

’.....!....UuUuuhmm!!! Oh my God! What kind of apples are these?? They are so good!!!!!!’

The magnificent taste and consistency of the fruit I was eating right now even made me doubt that I had ever eaten an apple before. This one was so sweet and crunchy, so nice to chew on and the most awesome part was that it was so... SO... JUICY!

’Anne! We’ll have this more often! Dayumm~ this is so good! I understand why you liked this so much when you were little!!! Ouf!... Wait!!!..... Should we eat everything else and eat the apples at the end??? It’s kind of a waste to eat them first....’

Giggling to my excitement, Anne sent a fluttery tickle to our tummy, and so, like this, we ate the snacks in a cheerful mood.