Chapter 68 – Daphne POV
So I found this empty tower room.
It's tucked away in the highest part of the west wing, the kind of place that doesn't exist on most maps and probably hasn't been dusted since the last monarch was born.
Apparently, no one uses it anymore. It's cold. Out of the way. "Not good for a lady's lungs," someone said.
Perfect.
It has huge windows with warped glass and a broken latch that lets the breeze in. There's a stack of old blank canvases leaning against the wall—slightly yellowed, but still good. The brushes are stiff, but fixable. Someone must have loved to paint here once.
Well.
I'll take over.
I spend hours here.
Sketching.
Blocking out color.
Getting my hands dirty the old-fashioned way.
And today—today I'm working on her again.
Jiang Yuxi.
The face comes to life slowly, layer by layer. Line by line. Like I'm pulling her from memory and setting her into this world with charcoal and paint.
The angle of her jaw.
The shape of her mouth.
