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~Chapter – 71~
“What? Vera!”
Vera yanked off her gloves and threw them to the ground.
“I’m sick of this! Painting flowers is fine, but shouldn’t you also think of your family?”
“You… you said you liked the flowers I paint.”
“Those beautiful flowers keep making our children go hungry. Do you still like them then? You can like them all you want—I’ve had enough! I’m going. We’ll move to MacCary County. When can we leave?”
“Anytime.”
“Then we’ll go now. Kids, pack your things!”
Onora stood frozen, mouth wide open in disbelief.
“Stay here and paint flowers for the rest of your life. I’ll grow flowers that actually bring money.”
Riden didn’t forget the other reason she had come.
“And I need peonies. Could I buy some?”
“Of course. I grew them myself.”
“Vera!”
“Then just send them to the Duke’s residence by the date I write down.”
While Vera went inside to tell the children to pack, a frantic Onora hurried after her.
Watching the two disappear into the house, Riden said to Ethan,
“They’ll probably need to fight this out. Should we wait a little?”
“What does leaving the painter behind have to do with our bet?” Ethan asked.
“The garden is so beautiful. Can’t you wait just a bit?”
“I don’t plan to wait long either. It doesn’t have to be today—as long as I win the bet eventually.”
About 30 minutes later, Onora returned, his face a mess as if he had been crying.
“…I’ll go too.”
In his later diary, Onora would confess he regretted leaving his wife and children in poverty because of his stubbornness. Deep inside, he loved his family dearly—but he had realized it too late.
“I knew you’d come.”
Riden gave the words she had prepared to the downhearted Onora.
“You’re coming because of your wife, so I won’t give you sponsorship money. Instead…”
“….”
“Paint freely.”
Onora’s discouraged face slowly brightened.
“When your wife makes the Count’s garden as beautiful as this one, you’ll find plenty of things you love there.”
“Paint as much as you want. We don’t need portraits.”
“Truly?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not even curious about your portraits. Just paint flowers. All I want is exclusive rights to your work.”
Onora’s face fell again.
“Portraits of nobles or religious art sell well. But shamefully, nobody cares for my garden paintings. If you ask for exclusive rights, it means you’ll buy them. But… I doubt anyone else ever would.”
“That’s only because people don’t know yet! In a few years, your paintings will explode in value.”
“That’s why I said I won’t give sponsorship money.”
“….”
Looking at him, Riden thought he was a more honest man than she expected.
She said brightly,
“Don’t worry. That’s my problem to handle.”
“Daddy!”
“Daddy, are we moving? Will we eat lots of yummy food there?”
The children rushed over after hearing from Vera.
“You little ones, I’m still talking with her…”
He turned back to Riden.
“Then I’ll accept for now.”
“Good. We’ll discuss details later.”
He bowed, then walked away holding both children’s hands.
Ethan silently watched as Onora spoke with Vera, who looked deeply moved.
“You said you’d become unexpected luck for the painter.”
Ethan shivered playfully at Riden.
“But taking his paintings exclusively without paying sponsorship—aren’t you more of an unexpected robber than luck?”
A robber? Well, if you thought about how valuable his paintings would become in the future, maybe so.
Riden smiled like a satisfied cat.
“Why? Isn’t this unexpected luck? I helped him realize the value of his family.”
If not for her, he would’ve only realized it at the very end of his life, full of regret.
“In MacCary, Onora can paint whatever he wants, and his wife and kids will grow up happy and well-fed. Isn’t that luck?”
She admitted her method was a bit rough.
“If I hadn’t shown up, he probably wouldn’t realize until they were starving that he should’ve accepted sponsorship.”
“Most people wouldn’t expect a sponsor who uses the family as leverage. Definitely an unexpected twist.”
“Yes—a brilliant twist.”
In her past life, Onora had been Riden’s favorite painter.
That’s why, when she saw his work on Glenn’s list of artists, she recognized him right away, even though the name was different.
This time, she wanted him to avoid the same regret.
To paint freely, and to live happily with his family.
She would bring him to the Count’s land and make sure of it.
“Unexpected luck, huh…”
Maybe without her, he’d have kept refusing sponsorship and lived the same life as before.
“Feels like luck to me.”
Ethan muttered while watching Onora’s family laugh and bicker together.
Riden peeked at his profile by the pond and thought,
‘Ethan will have unexpected luck too. A life I thought was quietly heading toward death will change when he meets the heroine. Just like this.’
She suddenly pushed Ethan’s back hard from behind.
“…Eh? He didn’t budge.”
Startled, she whispered,
“Uh?”
“What are you doing?” Ethan asked, puzzled.
“Well… who could imagine I’d push you here? Or that you’d fall in and get your feet wet? I thought I’d shove you into the pond. Then I was going to say—”
“‘See? The future is full of unknowns. So expect happiness.’”
“…But I didn’t move.”
“Exactly! I thought anyone would fall if pushed from behind. But nope. Full of surprises—just like today.”
Ethan chuckled at her shameless logic.
Riden grinned back.
“So think about the future. Let’s picture a happy one.”
She vowed to live well—filling the Count’s land with everything she loved and living happily there.
But to do that, she first had to dream of a happy future.
“I always think about the future,” he answered calmly.
“Really?”
“Mm.”
“Then tell me—what kind of future?”
“You’re persistent.”
“Go on.”
Ethan spoke of many things:
The issues the ducal family must solve, the knight order, his mother, and even his brother Merrick.
“See?”
Riden gave him a teasing, sly look.
“In all your words, there’s everyone else. But not you. Your future has no place for yourself.”
At that, Ethan fell silent, looking slightly shaken.
‘Am I being too rude, forgetting his status?’
Even so—she had to say it.
Knowing the original story, she couldn’t hold it in.
“Don’t erase yourself from your own future. Don’t give up dreaming of a happy life that includes you.”
“Who knows what unexpected twist could shake your future? If you fail, adjust it. Keep painting that picture of your life.”
She thought eagerly, The heroine will save you. So don’t give up.
“….”
Ethan still said nothing, lips pressed tightly shut.
Riden thought her advice must have struck him deeply.
This is the joy of being reincarnated—getting to meddle with the plot.
She secretly enjoyed how strangely quiet Ethan had become.
