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chapter 96
“Art education really needs to start early.”
Sophia declared firmly.
“Early education? It’s not that serious. Daniel and I are just drawing together for fun.”
I replied with a laugh, glancing over to where Daniel was drawing with my nephew, Thomas.
It had been the same with Brian before—Daniel had a natural sense of taking care of others. When little Thomas tried to put a colored pencil in his mouth, Daniel stopped him faster than the nanny could. He not only drew all sorts of pictures to show the child but even praised the strange yellow scribbles Thomas made.
As expected, not just anyone could play the role of an older female lead.
“What? You said the kid’s got talent for drawing. Were you bluffing?”
“I wasn’t! He really does have talent!”
I answered sharply at Sophia’s teasing tone.
“Well, it doesn’t look like he’s that talented to me…”
Sophia stretched her neck to get a better look at Daniel’s drawing.
“You have to remember he hasn’t been drawing for long. It’s only been three or four months. For that short a time, he’s doing amazingly well.”
“Well, I can’t argue—I don’t know much about art anyway.”
Sophia tilted her head thoughtfully.
“But then again, you didn’t know anything about art either.”
…Huh?
“So where did you suddenly get an eye for it? And since when have you been drawing, that you’re teaching Daniel?”
Oh no! Looks like the original Neirie didn’t have a single artistic bone in her body.
“Um…”
Under Sophia’s sharp, suspicious gaze, I froze. After all, she was Neirie’s older sister—she knew the person whose body I now inhabited far better than I did.
“What a sneaky girl…”
Just as cold sweat ran down my back, unsure what excuse to make, Sophia muttered under her breath.
“So now that you’re a countess, you’re trying to look cultured and learned all of a sudden?”
Her tone dripped with mock annoyance, her expression downright disdainful.
“Y-Yeah! Since I’m a countess now, I thought I should try to act a little elegant in front of people. I heard that when looking at art, you just need to remember two lines: ‘It’s so genius!’ and ‘What a profound artistic world!’ Apparently, that’s all you need to say.”
“Oh-ho~ really? I should try that at the next ladies’ gathering. ‘It’s so genius!’, ‘What a profound artistic world!’—ooh, it sounds so pretentious! I love it!”
Sophia burst into hearty laughter. I sighed in relief. Thank goodness she wasn’t the overthinking type. That’s why I liked my sister-in-law so much.
“In any case, early education is important in the arts. If a child’s not suited for it, it’s best to stop early. Otherwise, you’ll waste money and ruin the kid’s future. Though I guess the Winchester family’s finances can handle it.”
“I see…”
I tilted my head, glancing again at Daniel. He looked so happy, smiling brightly as he drew.
If it’s for Daniel’s future, nurturing his talents must be the right thing to do…
“So, I was thinking of checking out that famous art academy.”
That was the first thing I said to Lorinus when he came home.
“An academy? Wouldn’t hiring a private tutor be better?”
“Well, yes, but Sophia said that in art, teachers don’t have much to do while students are drawing. So it doesn’t have to be one-on-one. Group classes are cheaper, and they still offer individual consultations anyway.”
“The cost doesn’t matter. If it’s something Daniel needs, don’t worry about money.”
“It’s not just about money. Being around kids his age will help his social skills, too. You’ve seen how he plays well with Aisha, Brian, and Thomas. Daniel likes being with others. But here, he’s the only child in the whole estate.”
“Is that so?”
Lorinus nodded, as though the thought had never occurred to him. Honestly, it hadn’t occurred to me either.
At the orphanage, having lots of kids around had been both a blessing and a curse. My biggest dream back then was to have a room of my own. After I became independent, I loved living alone in my tiny basement apartment.
So, I’d never considered that children need to be around other kids.
Lorinus was probably the same—but for the opposite reason. He had been alone for far too long. And since he’d trained in swordsmanship with adults much older than him, he’d grown up surrounded by discipline, not play.
The sword had always been his sole purpose in life; he’d never had room for anything else. “Play” or “friendship” were words that simply didn’t exist in his childhood.
“We’re both a bit clumsy as parents, aren’t we? There’s so much we have to learn.”
If we’d grown up normally, we could’ve just raised Daniel the way we were raised. But since neither of us had that, there was so much we didn’t know—and so much we needed to learn.
“You’re doing very well,” Lorinus said gently. “It’s me who’s lacking.”
His words reminded me of the time I’d accused him so harshly while trying to take Daniel away.
“Oh! Back then, I only said those things because I wanted to live with Daniel. Please don’t hold it against me.”
“No,” he said quietly. “You were right. I used being busy—and being ignorant about children—as excuses to neglect him. I thought as long as he ate and slept well, he was fine. I figured I could just give him whatever he needed. But I never stopped to think about what he actually needed.”
Lorinus gave a bitter smile, then sank into a chair, as though merely standing while recalling those memories exhausted him.
“To be honest,” he said, “that ball where you first came to Camellia Mansion—it was meant to find a mother for Daniel. Since I couldn’t care for him myself, I wanted someone else to do it. I was going to use my title and wealth to buy him a mother. Disgraceful, isn’t it?”
He shook his head, disgusted at his former self.
“And then,” he continued softly, “I saw you.”
A faint smile bloomed on his face.
“At first, I thought you were bold and upright. Then, when I learned of the small kindness you’d shown Daniel, I thought you were kind.”
My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t known he was aware that I’d met Daniel and given him cookies before the ball.
“I thought—this woman would make a good mother for Daniel.”
“So that’s why you accepted your father’s marriage proposal?”
At last, the mystery seemed to unravel. I could finally glimpse the real reason he’d chosen to marry me.
“That was the first reason, yes. I wanted you to be Daniel’s mother.”
Lorinus lifted his gaze to mine. His eyes were warm—like someone looking at the mother of his child.
“But there was another reason,” he said. “As I told you before… I thought I might be able to love you.”
“You felt that after meeting me just once?”
He nodded without hesitation.
“I thought—someone with such honest eyes must be trustworthy. And if she’s that warm and gentle… even someone like me wouldn’t be able to help but love her.”
He reached out his hand—large, calloused, and scarred from years of swordsmanship.
I stepped closer and placed my hand in his. His face brightened instantly, like a spring flower blooming under sunlight.
“And now… here we are.”
He clasped my hand gently, then lowered his head to kiss the back of it. His soft lips and hair brushed against my skin, tickling it faintly.
“I love you,” he whispered.
The warmth of his confession slowly sank into my skin.
