outer coat. His snowy-white cravat was tied into a large, dramatic bow tightly fastened at his throat, seeming to make it difficult for him to relax his posture. The rosy coat was paired with a matching vest, cinched tightly at the waist, while the fabric may have been too shiny, which detracted from its solemnity. Combined with his meticulously styled shoulder-length hair, his entire ensemble gave off a playboy impression, conflicting yet cleverly resonating with his upright and serious demeanor.

As the duo stood opposite each other on the porch of the Tuileries Palace, one looking up and the other looking down, talking and laughing, they formed an interesting contrast - perhaps something rare to see in both the past and future eras. If a conformist were to witness this, they would probably shake their head at the inversion of gender hues. Nevertheless, if one were to look at the pair of birds on a nearby tree branch, it would be difficult to deny that these two youngsters were exactly following the ingenious design of nature.①

"Virtually, it was inspired by you."Andre smiled in response to her praise.

"Me?"

"Don''t you remember the words you said to me by the Seine in Rouen, about the boundary between true compassion and hypocrisy?" The young man reminded her.

"I''m afraid my memory is not clear, but it''s surprising that a passing remark from my childhood would leave such a deep impression on you!" Edith was sort of amazed. Fortunately, she didn''t recall that beautiful head of the miracle angel.

"You''ve possessed a gift f