leman-style culottes – but already washed white and wrinkled, with the elbow joints worn through, looking somewhat comical.

He no longer drank, but the long-term insomnia and depression had taken a toll on his body, making his steps seem a little unsteady.

When only the two intimate friends were left in the room, Edith began to introduce to Charlene an article written by Andre Quenet.

"I''m sorry, my dear friend, you have to come closer. You know I''m very nearsighted. It''s too hard for me to see clearly from this distance," Charlene said a little embarrassedly.

It was then that Edith remembered the sad incident and handed her the pamphlet apologetically.

"Alas, why did they have to take my glasses away? What use are they to them? Only people like me with poor eyesight need them! "

Charlene took the booklet and raced through it, speaking in a light tone without a hint of resentment nor using the word "rob".

As she finished reading the entire article, Edith could not help but tell her friend about Quenet''s true identity and her past experiences with the painter during her childhood.

"He wasn''t just a lovely young man I encountered as a little girl. For me, he was, so to speak, the incarnation of knowledge and wisdom. Charlene, can you understand that?

"It was he who led me into the wonderful halls of knowledge, but in a flash, he took it all away. After that, I had to struggle to find books to read, yet some of them I could never see again. Perhaps I should have become a more educated person now.