Erf flinched as he belatedly noticed his ‘free-spirited’ appearance.

His violet eyes flickered like candlelight as he scurried away like a startled cat, ducking around the corner of the wall to hide.

Pandora lowered her hand to shield her eyes at the sound of distant footsteps. She turned to look at Erf, his face peeking out from behind the wall.

“Pup.”

His face was as red as a ripe tomato.

Pandora had a lot of questions about where he’d left his clothes and where he’d suddenly appeared from, but she was determined to find him something to wear.

Pandora’s hesitant steps led her to the fallen Frederick.

“I’m sorry. Let me borrow this.”

Pandora removed Frederick’s cloak and wrapped it in her hands before turning to Erf.

Erf’s face grew even hotter as he watched Pandora smile and pace toward him.

“Put this on.”

Erf took the cloak and pulled it on, then stepped in front of Pandora, but he kept his head down and his mouth tightly closed, unable to meet her eyes.

Even his bare calves and bare feet beneath the cloak seemed embarrassed.

Pandora was deeply embarrassed that the first thing she saw of Erf with her clear eyes was his nakedness, but she decided to save her embarrassment for another time.

If only she hadn’t been so distracted. Erf’s hair was a stellar white.

Either he didn’t bother to hide it anymore, or he forgot to.

The wind blew his hair around like cotton candy.

Without his usual pair of glasses and his dark hair pomaded, his appearance was very raw, without the pretense of a doctor.

Pandora was glad of it.

She bounced up and down on her heels and whispered to herself with a pleased expression.

“I don’t know why I’m so happy to see you here.”

The thought of being thrown into the painting alone had been daunting, but Erf’s presence had instantly reassured her.

She felt like she could accomplish anything with ease.

“…… Sorry I’m late.”

The deeply bowed Erf barely managed to speak in a crawling voice.

“What?”

“I’m sorry I’m late…….”

Pandora took a couple of steps closer to him to talk to him, looking at his handsome face.

As the tall, tree-like Erf leaned forward, Pandora’s small body fit like a jigsaw puzzle.

Pandora’s chin lifted, her face close to Erf’s as he bowed his head.

Pandora’s toes touched Erf’s bare feet.

At the same time, their lips brushed, leaving a tickling sensation.

“!”

Erf stopped breathing, froze like ice, and jerked back. His beautiful eyes wandered, lost.

“Why are you so surprised?”

Pandora shook her head, genuinely unsure.

“We’ve done a lot more than this.”

A wry smile followed.

‘Of course, I’m the only one who’s done a lot, and Erf probably doesn’t even remember it, except for yesterday and today.’

Pandora swallowed the bitterness and smiled broadly, then glared at Erf.

Erf hesitated, embarrassed by the intensity of her gaze, and then covered her face.

“I can see myself in your eyes…….”

“!”

“It feels strange to see so clearly…….”

Pandora wasn’t the only one to notice the new clarity of her eyes. Even Erf recognized and felt her newfound clarity at once.

Pandora pursed her lips and touched her cheek with the back of her hand.

As if Erf’s mood were contagious, her own cheeks were flushed.

???????? ?? ???

Pandora had noticed that the cat had disappeared a little while ago.

And then she realized that Erf had appeared just as the cat had disappeared.

Erfra’s soft white hair and violet eyes resembled the cat’s.

She thought he was just sculpturally handsome, but now she realize that he has a feline quality to him.

The day Erf first appeared after her suicide attempt in the workshop, the cat painting disappeared.

Could it all be a coincidence?

Could her quack actually be her cat?

Pandora’s eyes lit up with curiosity as she came to a new conclusion.

How did the cat jump out of the painting?

How it always appeared in human form, not cat form.

Where did he stole his glasses and clothes?

“Erf Darling.”

Pandora never gave the cat painting a name, so where did he pick up this pretty name, and so on.

Erf turned around at Pandora’s call.

He had been watching Pandora as she drew in the dirt.

At Pandora’s feet was a complete recreation of her workshop.

Pandora held out her hand to him.

“Don’t be late this time, and don’t miss it. Got it?”

Erf nodded and grasped Pandora’s hand tightly, pulling her into a one-handed embrace.

Their hearts thudded against each other. It was impossible to tell whose heart was pounding.

Their bodies tipped sideways and crashed into the painting.

Splash!

The dirt kicked up and swallowed them whole. Behind their disappearing bodies, Pandora was sucked in, along with Frederick, who she was holding by the collar.

???????? ?? ???

“Open your eyes.”

Pandora’s eyes snapped open at the sound of Erf’s voice in her ear.

They were indeed back in Pandora’s workshop. They had picked up the sprawled Frederick safely.

“That’s it! Erf, this must have worked!”

Pandora exclaimed excitedly, looking around. The workshop was just as chaotic as the last time she’d seen it.

Sunlight poured in from the window. She flung the window open and let the crisp air rush in.

The blue sky was high and the world was a beautiful shade of green.

Pandora loved the lushness of summer.

The season when everything seemed to pulse with life.

“We must tell the people that Grand Duke Frederick is back! It’s hard to prove scientifically, but he was in the painting and we brought him out. No, we must wake him up and make him tell them himself! They may not believe us, but they will believe him!”

Pandora bustled around the room, trying to wake Frederic.

“Come here, I don’t want him jumping on me like that again.”

Erf pulled her back and nudged the Grand Duke’s shoulder with his foot.

?Condition: Stunned (wakes up in 3 seconds)

Frederick, who was going to wake up anyway, opened his eyes to find a foot on his shoulder.

Still groggy, he pushed himself to his feet and glared at Erf.

“Who are you?”

It was a question that asked for the other person’s identity, but also expressed displeasure: “Who the hell are you and why are you kicking me?”

Erf thought for a moment before answering.

“I’m the one seeing Miss Pandora.”

‘That’s Grand Duke Frederick, the madman who was so angry with himself that he tried to force himself to kiss Pandora.’

Erf needed a reason to keep Pandora away from him.

If he answered that he was just a hired “doctor,” he’d be told to keep his mouth shut.

And he can’t say he’s the ‘cat painting’ she drew.

He’d probably be considered mentally ill.

And he do see her face to face every day anyway, so he’s not lying.

The subtle nuances in his voice were pretty blatant.

Behind his back, he felt Pandora’s small hand clutch at the hem of his cloak.

Erf was afraid she would dislike the remark, or that she would immediately retort.

But Pandora remained silent.

“Lover……?”

Frederick’s eyes darted wildly from side to side. Pandora peeked out from behind Erf.

Frederick frowned as he spotted her hiding behind Erf’s back like a gumdrop.

Pandora peeking her head out from her hiding place. The gentle, handsome man standing over her, protecting her.

They really did look like lovers.

“Pandora. You tell me.”

Frederick growled through clenched teeth.

“No. You haven’t dated anyone since that asshole.”

“Who’s that asshole?”

“That’s……!”

Just as he was about to shout, Frederick remembered that Pandora had said she had lost all her memories.

It was a memory better left forgotten.

He didn’t want to say it out loud and remind Pandora of an old flame.

Frederick changed the subject.

“Anyway. Is he really your lover?”

The question made Pandora glance up at the Erf. He looked a little uneasy as he met her eyes.

“Yes.”

Erf’s complexion brightened at Pandora’s answer.

Frederick, on the other hand, looked as if he were dead.

His eyes quickly narrowed and he asked.

“But why is your lover wearing my clothes?”

Oops!

Pandora covered her mouth in dismay at the sight of Erf’s cloak. Erf staggered as well.

“Well, there’s a situation……!”

“What situation?”

“Something like that!”

Pandora pushed past Erf and opened the door to the workshop, stepping outside.

She wondered where to go, and then headed for the butler’s room.

It would be a mistake to dress him as a servant when they were lovers, and the butler was the only man in the manor who wore fine clothes, so she had to borrow his clothes in a pinch.

Pandora and Erf pounded on the door to the butler’s room.

But there was no answer. When they opened the door, the butler was not inside.

‘I wonder if he’s gone out for a while?’

Pandora thought lightly as she rummaged through the butler’s closet.

“Mr. Butler, I’m sorry for rummaging around, I’ll buy you some new clothes later.”

Muttering an inaudible apology, she pulled out a clean, navy blue suit.

He handed it to Erf.

“Put this on!”

Handing him the clothes, Pandora turned and stood facing the wall.

???????? ?? ???

Erf stared at her rounded back in bewilderment.

‘I thought she’d say she’d go out and wait.’

Trying to change clothes in the same space as her made him confused and in trouble.