Daryl’s eyes twisted in pain. As if Eleanor’s words had hurt him, as if her words had that much influence on Daryl.
“Please return my painting.”
“…Painting?”
“I’m talking about the portrait of the Duke that I painted.”
At those words, Daryl noticeably showed signs of confusion.
“It was a painting I drew on a whim, and I had no intention of showing it to anyone. I don’t know why the painting I asked Herbert to burn ended up in the Duke’s hands, but please return it.”
“……”
Daryl’s eyes wandered aimlessly. He lowered his head as if to avoid Eleanor’s gaze, and muttered in a small voice.
“…It’s gone now.”
“Gone?”
“Yes. It got wet in the rain when I left it in the warehouse…it got all smudged and damaged, so I threw it away.”
“……”
Eleanor looked at Daryl with suspicious eyes. Daryl hurriedly continued his words.
“I’m sorry. It’s my responsibility. I’ll compensate you. Money or whatever….I’ll do whatever I can. Just tell me what you want, Miss Townsend. I’ll do as you wish.”
“I don’t need anything from the Duke.”
“……”
“Ah. I just thought of something.”
A look of surprise and expectation crossed Daryl’s face for a moment. But Eleanor immediately crushed that expectation with her words.
“As I said before, please don’t come looking for me like this again. I don’t want to run into the Duke, even by accident.”
“…….”
“So I hope you don’t come to the exhibition either. I think I’ll really feel sick if I see the Duke there. If you’re really concerned about my health, it’s not a difficult request, is it?”
“…….”
The look in Daryl’s eyes as he looked at Eleanor was dark and gloomy. It was as if winter was only around him, even though the sunlight was so bright and warm.
“I’ll go.”
Eleanor pulled the reins and turned the horse’s head again. This time, Daryl didn’t stop her. Eleanor didn’t look back once until she left the forest path.
***
In the end, she didn’t feel good until she met Marianne that day. She tried not to show it, but Marianne asked if something had happened.
When Eleanor confessed that she was Marcus Miller, Marianne was surprised and made a fuss.
“That person, isn’t he a very famous painter? That was Eleanor?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for keeping it a secret.”
“I heard that his paintings sell for an enormous price, is that true? Then how much does Eleanor get for one painting?”
“Well, that’s…”
As Eleanor hesitated, Marianne came close to her and leaned in.
“I won’t tell anyone, just tell me. How much was the most recent painting sold for?”
“……”
Eleanor hesitated with a troubled look, but eventually whispered a few words into Marianne’s ear at her persistent urging. Marianne’s eyes widened at the price.
“Oh my god, really? Was it really sold at that price? Not all the paintings Eleanor has painted so far, but just one?”
“…Yes.”
“Wow, Eleanor…..you were really an amazing person.”
The look in Marianne’s eyes as she looked at Eleanor was full of admiration and envy. Eleanor blinked and didn’t know what to do.
“It’s not like that. I just got lucky and started selling one or two…I don’t know why the price went up that much.”
“What luck. That’s all Eleanor’s ability. Wow, really. I’m so surprised that my heart is racing. It wasn’t even this much when my husband proposed.”
“You’ll keep it a secret, right?”
“Oh, of course. I’m not a person who talks twice.”
Marianne winked at her.
“Now that I think about it, I understand. That’s why Eleanor was so frugal with money. That’s why she didn’t want to spend the Duke’s money, and that’s why she wasn’t bothered when she got divorced. Because she had her own ability. Really cool.”
“Cool…you say?”
“Yes, of course. In the empire, no, in the whole world, who else but Eleanor makes that much money with a woman’s body. How cool and stylish is that? There’s no need to reach out to men, no need to regret. Indeed. That’s why you didn’t want to learn night skills? Because you didn’t need to look good to your husband in the first place.”
“…”
Eleanor smiled awkwardly with a slightly reddened face.
“I can’t even ask you to draw a picture because you’re such a great painter. Otherwise, I would have asked you to draw my portrait as a birthday present…”
“What are you talking about? I can draw as much as you want if you want.”
“…Really?”
A moment of conflict passed over Marianne’s expression.
“No, no. It’s okay. If I accept it, I’ll end up thinking about selling it. I don’t want to test my character in that way.”
“It’s okay to sell it…”
“It’s okay. Don’t tempt me anymore.”
After saying that with a stern expression, Marianne made the sign of the cross on her chest. Eleanor couldn’t help but chuckle.
“By the way, it’s really amazing that His Highness the Crown Prince is hosting the exhibition, isn’t it? It’s like a debut party for Eleanor, no, it’s even more meaningful.”
“…Yes, it’s an honor.”
“Wait a minute. Then we shouldn’t be doing this. We need to start preparing right away. Don’t say that one dress is enough, or that you don’t need jewelry. Now that I know Eleanor is a tremendously rich person, I’ll set a budget as much as necessary. You understand, right?”
At Marianne’s words, Eleanor smiled faintly.
“Yes, I understand. I’ll leave it to Marianne.”
After Marianne left, Eleanor realized that she felt much better thanks to her. In fact, it was always like that when she met Marianne. She always made people happy with her lively and positive energy.
She was grateful for Marianne’s decision to draw a line first, saying, ‘I won’t ask for a painting,’ even after knowing that Eleanor was Marcus Miller. She said it in a playful way, but there was no way she didn’t know that it was a consideration that came from valuing her relationship with Eleanor.
In fact, she had a lot of worries about the upcoming exhibition. Especially after hearing various things from Daryl this morning. She only thought of it as a necessary evil and a rite of passage that she couldn’t avoid as a painter.
But after hearing Marianne’s words, her thoughts changed a bit. As she said, that day would be the first time Eleanor would be recognized by the world. There was no reason to shrink from premature worries.
She had to be confident. Eleanor did nothing wrong. On the contrary, it was the opposite. If there was no hesitation in her heart, there would surely be no seizures like before.
****
A few days later. She went out for a walk as usual and came back, but the mansion was somehow chaotic.
“A guest has arrived, Madam.”
Herald, who had come out to meet her, said.
“A guest? Who is it?”
It was an unexpected visitor. She felt uneasy. She thought of someone she never wanted to see again.
“She’s a lady I’ve never met before. She introduced herself as Jin Miles.”
At those words, Eleanor couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.
“Jin Miles? Is that true? Did she really say she was Jin Miles, herself?”
“Yes, that’s right…”
At Eleanor’s reaction, Herald looked puzzled.
“Where is she now? In the reception room?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry, but could you ask her to wait a little longer? I’ll change my clothes and be right there. Please call Peggy to my room right away.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
Eleanor quickened her steps, clutching the hem of her dress. Her cheeks were slightly flushed with excitement as she climbed the stairs.
Jin Miles was the most famous female painter in the empire. Like Eleanor, she was not allowed to enter the academy because she was a woman, and she studied painting on her own from a young age. Jin mainly painted animals such as horses and cows, and it was said that she showed passion by observing animals directly by going to horse markets and slaughterhouses in men’s clothing.
Jin and Eleanor had a lot in common. They both earned money with their own abilities and lived a life of self-reliance without getting married. She was a person Eleanor had admired for a long time, both as a painter and as a woman.
‘Jin Miles came to see me, is this a dream? Did she hear my story from His Highness the Crown Prince?’
Eleanor quickly changed her clothes and went down to the reception room.
Jin Miles was a robust woman of middle age. Her hair, which was starting to turn gray, was boldly cut short to just touch her shoulders, and her broad shoulders and robust physique, even at her age, indicated that she was an action-oriented painter.
