A Crusader with System in the Middle Ages

"Yes. Shadow creates just as prominent an effect as light. Dark against light, light against dark—the contrast. In nature, there are no true lines, but that’s not what the eye sees. The meeting of dark and light becomes a solid line in our perception.

If you want to draw the truth, you must draw the transition from light to dark.

And how do you represent that on paper?

Through different strokes. Use gentle lines to depict the bright surfaces and deeper lines and shading for the dark surfaces. This way, a person’s face will appear very three-dimensional and lifelike."

Eric caught Matilda’s fingers and kissed them lightly. He then got out of bed, feigned rummaging through a drawer, and took out a sheet of parchment and a pencil.

He then sat down beside Matilda, facing the candlelight.

"By crossing lines in different directions, we can control the depth of the shadows, revealing the facial details and muscle definition of a subject.

For example, when drawing an old man’s face, I would use dense lines to show the wrinkles and the texture of the skin."

"Ordinary painters do that with lines too," Matilda said.

"Yes, but their work is too crude. It’s merely symbolic and all the same. I am different.

When drawing an old man, I use short, dense lines to express the texture of his skin.

When drawing a young person, especially a young woman, I use stippling to create soft shadows on the face, making the skin look delicate and full of life.

When drawing a woman with long hair, I use long, flowing lines to depict its silkiness, making the hair look soft and natural.

When drawing muscles, I use curved lines that follow their natural contours, making them appear more three-dimensional and powerful.

This requires an understanding of anatomy." Eric effortlessly sketched the image of an old man on the paper.

"Anatomy? I’ve read about it. It was mentioned in the works of Galen, but it’s blasphemy. The human body is the temple of the Holy Spirit." Matilda stared at Eric.

"It’s a discipline for understanding the structure of the human body. If you want to draw reality, you must understand reality itself. The study of anatomy can reveal God’s wondrous design in creating the human body, thereby increasing one’s knowledge of and reverence for Him."

"Sophistry."

"So you believe God’s creation and design are forbidden? That God created this world but forbids us from knowing it?

Ever since the creation of the world, God’s eternal power and divine nature have been perfectly clear. Though they are invisible, they are understood through what He has made, leaving people without excuse." So as not to seem too aggressive, Eric didn’t continue on that topic. "How about I draw a portrait of you right now?"

"Now?" Matilda was taken aback, but she reacted quickly, preparing to get out of bed.

"Where are you going?" Eric stopped her.

"I’ll have someone bring a few more candles. With only one, you can’t see clearly, can you?"

She seemed genuinely tempted.

"No, this is enough. Like I just said, shadows create layers and depth," Eric said with a smile.

He then got out of bed and handed the candle to Matilda. "You can hold this. The light will be more than enough. Most women look more beautiful by candlelight or starlight."

"Do they?" Matilda asked suddenly.

"They do. But my wife is different. Sunlight suits her better."

"Then shouldn’t you draw me tomorrow?"

"No. Using light and shadow in daylight is much more difficult than by candlelight. In natural daylight, the light source is diffuse, making the shadows softer and the layers more complex.

But that day will come."

Matilda didn’t speak. She took the candle, swung her legs over the side, and sat on the edge of the bed, placing the silver base on her lap. "Would a profile be easier to draw?"

"A little easier, yes."

He dragged a chair in front of the bed and pulled out a wooden board to place under the parchment.

After that, the only sound in the room was the scratching of pencil on parchment.

Time passed, bit by bit. The pencil sketched the background of the room, the contour of her face, then her body, her posture...

As the night deepened, so did her fatigue. Matilda couldn’t help but yawn.

"Perhaps it would be better if you smiled." Then Eric added, "Expressions can be recorded, too."

"Expressions?"

"Yes. And it’s much more than just a curve," Eric said with a smile. "When a person smiles, usually, the zygomaticus major muscle contracts, pulling the corners of the mouth up. The orbicularis oculi muscle also contracts slightly, causing the eyes to narrow a little, forming a more sincere smile."

"Zygomaticus major? Orbicularis oculi?" Matilda couldn’t quite process the words.

Eric put down his drawing and sat down beside Matilda, his finger gently pressing the corresponding spot on her cheek.

Her warm breath brushed against his skin. The scent of a garden after rain grew stronger.

"When a person is surprised, the frontalis muscle contracts, raising the eyebrows and creating horizontal wrinkles on the forehead. The orbicularis oculi muscle relaxes, widening the eyes.

When a person is angry, the corrugator supercilii muscles contract, pulling the eyebrows down and together. The nasal muscles are also involved." As he spoke, Eric’s finger moved to different positions on Matilda’s face.

"What about sadness?" Matilda lifted her gaze, her silver-gray eyes looking directly at Eric.

"Sadness is much more complex, relatively speaking. The frontalis muscle usually relaxes, causing the eyebrows to droop and the eyelids to feel heavy. The orbicularis oculi might contract slightly, especially the lower part, making the eyes look moist and heavy, as if filled with tears.

The corrugator supercilii muscles contract, pulling the eyebrows inward and downward, creating wrinkles between them. This movement makes the facial expression more sorrowful and melancholic.

Then there’s the depressor anguli oris, located at the corners of the mouth. When it contracts, it pulls the corners of the mouth down, creating a downturned shape.

Finally, the depressor labii inferioris, on either side of the lower lip. Its contraction pulls the lower lip down and out, making the chin seem to protrude and further intensifying the expression of sadness."

Eric’s finger moved down, tracing the edge of her soft, warm lips, before touching the spot just below them, and finally, cupping her chin.

He could feel her breath growing a little ragged.

In many ways, they were still intimate strangers.

Finally, he kissed the corner of her mouth, coaxing her lips apart. The taste of wine and citrus.

Eric quickly undid her bun and pressed her down onto the bed. Her red-gold hair fanned out over her shoulders. He felt as if he was sinking into a rose bush after a rainstorm, serene and beautiful.

He tore open her nightgown, and as he pulled it over her head, it ripped even more.

The material of the nightgown was rather plain, not befitting of her.

"About leaving the Monastery... it wasn’t because I resented them. I was just tired of people telling me how to live. I was fed up with people looking down on me, patronizingly telling me what to do.

If I can’t make everyone shut up, then I can at least make some of them shut up."

"A terrible truth, but better than a lie."

Matilda caressed Eric’s cheek. His skin was still cooler than her hand.

「Afterward.」

Her breathing was still a little ragged, her red-gold hair scattered across the pillow, her stomach rising and falling.

He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth, then took a towel and dried her body.

He took her hand and kissed her palm.

"What is England like?" she asked him suddenly. "I’ve always imagined it as a cold land shrouded in mist."

"Sometimes it is," he answered. "When you encounter the mist they call ’sea-frets,’ it feels like you’re at the end of the world. But all that dampness and rain makes it incredibly green.

It is also the land of King Arthur. Legend says that Christ walked there as a young man. The air in England smells fresh and briny. The people are resilient, but the winters are no colder than here.

The only downside is that it rains often. It’s not always filled with sunlight like Tuscan."

"And what about Normandy?"

"The sun shines much more there than in England. Normandy has a long coastline, with white chalk cliffs and silver beaches. The land is also much more fertile than England’s, with bountiful apples and fine cheeses.

Half the villages in Normandy think their homemade cider is the strongest. Of course, its most important export is Knights. Compared to Tuscan, the common citizens there don’t have as much of a presence.

And of course, you have the same rights to my lands there as I do. So, do you plan on going?"

"Maybe," Matilda said softly, closing her eyes.

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