Odalisque - Chapter 116

Liv thought back to the hunting ground she had followed the Marquis to.

Although she had never joined in on an aristocratic hunt before, she had heard of it. It was thanks to her aristocratic classmates at Clemence who were used to riding horses in the hunting grounds from a young age.

Some of them were from families that not only owned private hunting grounds but also organized periodic hunting tournaments. As far as Liv knew, hunting tournaments were one of the main social events in the nobility.

“What happens to the hunted animals?”

“They can be slaughtered, taxidermy, or end up in a meaningless killing.”

The two reached the greenhouse in no time. It had been rearranged, showing a slightly different selection of flowers inside.

She noticed that there was a lot more green grass than flowers. In between, there were new trees with large leaves, so whoever was inside would be completely invisible from the entrance.

As Liv’s eyes darted around, a golden kingfisher came into view. The taxidermy was still in the same place she had seen it before. Looking at it again, it did not look so well maintained.

He would not taxidermize every animal he hunted. The Marquis was a man who wanted to own something of value.

However, he did not seem to have a hobby of hunting rare animals either. Rather, according to Camille, the Marquis had a hobby of collecting nude artwork.

“I guess the only thing you really collect is art. …Things like statues and paintings.”

The Marquis noticed where Liv’s gaze had landed and flashed a cold smile.

“Well, we can’t taxidermize a human being.”

It was a somewhat spooky answer. He collected statues and paintings because he couldn’t taxidermize humans.

She couldn’t figure out the reason, but she could tell that the Marquis was not a fan of living things. Liv tried to imagine the gallery of expensive statues and paintings he had collected.

It might work if there was only one or two, but she didn’t think the view of such collections displayed in one place would look cool.

But for the Marquis…

“I think you’re familiar with death, my Lord.”

The Marquis, who had passed the kingfisher casually, stopped. He looked back at Liv with a surprised look on his face, but then he nodded nonchalantly.

Seeing that the Marquis wasn’t particularly dodging the question, Liv was encouraged and continued her question.

“Have you been to war?”

“Do I look like that?”

“You seem familiar with weapons and killing.”

In the innermost part of the greenhouse, there was a table and an outdoor bench with padded cushions. There were also a few books on the table, looking rather messy as if they had been read, suggesting that this was a place the Marquis often frequented.

Sitting on the bench, he leaned back in familiarity and stared at Liv.

“Looks like you’re not scared by that.”

“There’s no reason for me to be afraid, unless you’re going to aim them at me.”

There were no chairs in sight, except for the long bench. Instead of sitting next to the Marquis, Liv walked over to the table.

She could see a bookmark sticking out of the top of the book, and the title on the cover suggested it was a book about liberal arts.

The title was written in delicate cursive. She could easily imagine the Marquis holding this book. She had the feeling that even a small book could make the Marquis stand out.

Without realizing it, Liv ran her fingertips across the title. The bumpy texture tickled her fingertips.

“So what scares you?”

Liv, who had been tracing the handwriting with her fingertips, paused. Blinking slowly, she raised her gaze.

Something she was scared of. There were so many of them. Even that beautiful man in front of her was a sort of fear for Liv.

Coryda’s health, the handful of money that would occasionally strangle her, the embarrassing situations she sometimes found herself in…

The answer that tied it all together flowed out of Liv’s lips.

“Surviving.”

“You talk like a soldier on the battlefield.”

“A battlefield doesn’t have to be covered in gunpowder and bullets.”

Liv drew a bitter smile. The Marquis rested one arm long on the bench’s backrest, crossed his legs, and tilted his head stiffly.

“If you graduated from Clemence, things wouldn’t be so bad for you that you’d be whining.”

“Clemence is… a good school. Since the admission fee is quite expensive, there are various scholarship programs, so even commoners can dream about attending that school. There are some requirements, but fortunately, I was able to fulfill them.”

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