After exhausting all of Duke's stock, Rowan managed to buy proper materials for oil painting. The last ones were okay, but for someone who attended art school, the incorrect combinations were abysmal. Now that he bought the proper ones, he was excited to paint again. His eyes were even glistening as if scanning his brain for something he wanted to use as a basis.
"The gallery is taking down three pieces to be replaced in a month. Sir Wellington is hoping you can give us three paintings again by then." Duke sighed and rubbed his neck. Along with it came a chuckle. "We just completed an order. Do you want to take a break before diving into work again?"
"But we just bought these… I want to use them as soon as possible…" Rowan murmured, barely making the noise audible. Duke even had to be very silent just to hear him properly.
Duke asked him to say things like 'I want to do this, I want to do that' in times he disagreed with Duke's suggestions. It didn't matter if it made sense by then; they would just work it out after. It was far more important for Duke to get Rowan to talk even if he was against the arrangements.
The doctor didn't believe Rowan had been servile his whole life.
"Okay, but don't burn yourself out. Learn to phase yourself. Supplying new artworks for the galleries will be a taxing job on both your body and your mind." Duke laughed as he kneeled next to Rowan to meet his gaze. "Do you have something in mind already? What do you want to paint this time?"
"…I…" Rowan stopped talking. He put the bag down and turned to Duke. "I want to see some places here in Wailing Veil. Is that all right?"
Duke nodded as he got to his feet. He reached out his hand and caressed the painter's head. "I can map a few places that we could visit for tomorrow. Also, Wailing Veil is a small place, so we don't have a lot of places to see. Catch up on some rest now, Rowan. I'll just get someone to deliver food for dinner."
Even if he didn't like the idea of retiring early for the day, Rowan knew he didn't have to stop working for real. He just needed to return to his room and plan for the trip. Duke walked him to his room in the unit, but as soon as the door closed, Rowan hopped to his desk and wrote down everything he needed to prepare for tomorrow.
…
Click! Click! Click! The shutter sound of the camera mixed with Rowan's giggles. He was checking out the lake that overtook the biggest park in the small city of Wailing Veil. Every time it rained, all the rainwater of the city would flow into the park and make a shallow lake. Because of the dark yet clear water, the mirage it created was like looking into the night despite the daytime light.
Yes, they were out in the park on a rainy day. Rowan was taking photos of the place—to be exact, of Duke standing around the place. The black-blue umbrella couldn't even extinguish the style in him. He was not wearing any designers, but his grace and smile made it hard for Rowan to look away.
"Rowan, aren't you supposed to be looking at the lake?" Duke chuckled as he noticed how Rowan took more photos of him instead. "I am not the view."
"You said you'd treat me to some of them, but we're only seeing the lake. I thought others were around it, too!" Rowan laughed loudly, but he suddenly stopped as if wary of doing that.
Duke raised his eyebrows in amusement. Why did Rowan stop?
Before he could chuckle and encourage him, the doctor threw his umbrella into the air. Rowan watched it shoot up to the sky, only for a metal bolt to shoot through the handle. The bolt was so thin that the inch-wide handle was not even wrecked open. However, the bolt was stuck and gave the umbrella a strange push. Due to the design of the thing, it merely swayed as it slowly descended despite the rain.
Rowan watched the umbrella from the sky until it touched the ground. However, the ground was already flooded with an inch of rainwater. The blue underside looked a bit daunting in the eyes, especially when someone could easily think that it was red instead.
"Do you mind sharing your umbrella?" Duke had to circle to not get hit by the other umbrella. He just stood next to Rowan, using a hand to keep the rainwater from falling on his face and glasses.
"S-Sure." Rowan, however, handed the umbrella to the taller guy instead.
Duke laughed at the sudden action and took the umbrella before it became useless. After all, he didn't know how sickly Rowan could get. The rain had fine drops that made things visible, but it didn't mean it wasn't strong. He had finished an order from Gwen, so this painter had to take extra care of himself.
While Duke stared at him intently, Rowan felt like melting. The whole place was cold because of the rain, but he still felt so warm inside just from accepting gazes from the doctor. If this persisted, some special parts of his body might get too much heat in them.
That was why his brain had to think of something else. He shot his gaze at the fallen umbrella and remembered that someone must have tried to shoot Duke with the bolt. "Uhm, Duke, what was that thing that went through the handle? That isn't an arrow, is it?"
"Hmm, that's a metal and shorter version of an arrow." Duke chuckled as if uncaring of the arrow's existence. When Rowan looked at him again, he just smiled apologetically and caressed the other's hood over his head. "We're on a vacation…"
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but we can't really care about that vacation right now…" A female voice echoed from behind Duke. It was even a voice that Rowan recognized from somewhere.
Rowan moved his head and saw how a bodacious short woman stood a few steps behind Duke. She had her golden-blonde hair sticking to her head because of the rain, but she just stood there with her arms akimbo. A long black jacket was on her body, but it was not enough to obscure her black catsuit. Rowan could see how the collar even crawled to her jaw as if fastened way up there instead.
With a sigh, Duke turned to face the short woman. "Arrow, I'm retired. Why do they keep on calling me? I only respond to favors these days…"
"I wish I could say stupid things, but you're the only one who could pull out bullets from brains and let the other person live." Arrow glanced at Rowan. "However, if you say that you won't save that person, I will leave as fast as I came."