Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 66

[Translation By Divinity]

Lilliana put the churro bag on the bench and opened her sketchbook. Damian, who had been standing blankly, let out a belated “Ah” and quickly took off his cardigan, spreading it on the bench for her. Lilliana looked at it for a moment, then said,

“Where did you learn to do things like this, Damian?”

“Things like what?”

“Like this, being gentlemanly. You said you do it unconsciously, but you haven’t exactly been around women a lot, have you?”

At her question, Damian tilted his head slightly, recalling his subordinate, Sergeant Nicole.

“I think I’ve been around women quite a bit.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he had been practically attached to his immediate subordinate all day long. They had become quite close because of it. Come to think of it, she had visited him at the military hospital before he was discharged, but he hadn’t been able to say a proper goodbye because she couldn’t stay long. He should probably send her a letter.

As he was lost in these random thoughts, Lilliana narrowed her eyes.

“Hmm… You never said that before. So you have been around women a lot. I see. You said you weren’t popular with women, but I guess you were just being modest.”

Lilliana teased Damian with a giggle. But he just scratched his head and said nonchalantly,

“I did learn how to be a gentleman by being around women often, but I don’t know about being popular. I don’t know how many times I have to say this, Lilliana, but I really wasn’t popular.”

Damian recalled Nicole.

“Listen carefully, Second Lieutenant Damian. This older sister will give you some special lessons.”

One day, Nicole had said to Damian, who was reading Lady Lintray’s letter.

“You have a handsome face, so you’re popular with women!”

“I’ve told you I’m not, Sergeant Nicole.”

“That’s because our lieutenant is clueless! If you could just do something about that stoic personality, you’d definitely be popular!”

Damian had shaken his head, unable to refute Nicole’s opinion.

“But you don’t know the first thing about treating women! I’m not saying you should treat me or the other female soldiers like women… But you’re definitely kind to women, just not in a man-to-woman kind of way.”

“Do I need to know that?”

“Of course! When you meet Lady Lintray in person, how will you act? Will you treat her the same way you treat me?”

“No, I won’t. But I have no intention of meeting her in the first place.”

“Oh, plans about not meeting can always change, so let’s put that aside for now. So, how will you treat the Lady?”

“I won’t nag or boss her around. Well, other than that, I just need to be polite, right? And I’ll say it again, I have no intention of meeting her.”

“That should apply to any civilian, not just women, you fool!”

“That’s insubordination.”

Damian turned away, trying to ignore Nicole, but she persistently followed him, continuing her lecture.

“Listen carefully! This older sister will give you some detailed advice!”

Damian sighed deeply. No one could stop Nicole once she got like this.

“Hey, what’s this? Is Second Lieutenant Damian going on a date?”

A few passing soldiers, overhearing Nicole’s chatter, approached out of curiosity. There were several women among them. They were also two or three years older than Damian and, like Nicole, treated him like a younger brother.

Of course, they were respectful when he was on duty, but that was only when he wore his rank insignia. They often joked around with Damian off duty, and this was one of those times.

“Listen carefully. This is advice that will be valuable to you! Even if it’s not this Lady, you’ll definitely go on dates in the future. Do you think women will just let that face pass by?”

The men booed at Nicole’s words, and the women nodded vigorously.

“But our lieutenant doesn’t know anything about dating etiquette, so he needs to learn.”

“That’s right. How frustrated would the other person be if he acts clueless?”

“This is common sense for life, common sense.”

“Whether you like the person or not, this is how it usually is with women!”

That day, Damian had to endure three long hours of detailed explanations from Nicole and other female soldiers about how to treat women with manners. The men occasionally chimed in, but their opinions were dismissed, being told they didn’t understand the delicate hearts of women.

But that wasn’t the end of it. They would come over and instill dating manners in him whenever he read Lady Lintray’s letters. Thanks to that, although the manners didn’t become second nature to him, he could at least act appropriately if he made a conscious effort.

Lilliana giggled mischievously, nudging Damian’s side with her elbow.

“That’s what I thought. With a face like that, there’s no way you weren’t popular. Even if it wasn’t a date, you must have had some encounters, those pre-date stages. You’re so dense, you probably didn’t even realize it.”

“I told you, it was a misunderstanding.”

“What did you say when you first saw me? You apologized and asked if you could buy me a drink. See, I fell for it too.”

Damian’s face flushed red, and he turned away, covering his ears as if he couldn’t bear to listen anymore. But Lilliana just laughed at his reaction.

“Anyway, I appreciate the gesture.”

Lilliana sat on Damian’s cardigan on the bench, crossing her legs. Damian awkwardly sat beside her and took out the catalog.

Lilliana, as if she had never teased Damian, started observing the people passing by with a serious expression. Then she began sketching an elderly gentleman reading a newspaper on the opposite bench.

Damian watched Lilliana draw with fascination. Her hands moved swiftly, like conducting an orchestra. It was amazing how the old man’s form was gradually taking shape at the tip of her pencil.

Drawing seemed like simple hand movements at first glance. But Damian couldn’t do it himself, and he was amazed by Lilliana’s skill.

Feeling his gaze, Lilliana looked back and forth between the elderly man and her sketchbook, then pouted at Damian.

“It’s hard to concentrate when you stare at me like that…”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I was just fascinated. You draw so quickly, and it’s so good…”

Lilliana narrowed her eyes, looked at her drawing, and then sighed.

“No, it’s not good enough. I’m not satisfied.”

“Really?”

Damian thought it was a great drawing, but he couldn’t understand what she was dissatisfied with. Meanwhile, Lilliana searched for a new model and settled on a street performer playing the violin.

“Don’t look.”

Lilliana said in a grumpy voice, and Damian naturally opened the catalog he had bought at the museum. He had thought it would only contain pictures, but there were detailed and helpful explanations next to each painting. He started reading from the first page.

He skimmed through the paintings he wasn’t interested in and savored the detailed explanations of the ones that piqued his curiosity. Then he felt a bit disappointed. The paintings he had seen in large frames at the museum were now reduced to palm-sized photos in the catalog.

He understood why Lilliana had insisted on bringing him to the museum.

After reading for a while, Damian flipped through the pages, feeling a bit bored. He noticed that there were many paintings by Yugo Song. And most of them, besides the one he had seen at the museum, seemed to be related to mythical creatures.

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