“This painting is my last work. I tore up all the others, but I couldn’t bring myself to destroy this one.”
“…”
What am I supposed to do now? I came here to buy that painting!
As Roselia struggled with her inner turmoil, Abelard, gazing at the painting with a distant look, suddenly spoke with resolution.
“You said you wanted to buy this painting?”
“Yes, but…”
“I’ll sell it.”
“What??”
Roselia was taken aback by Abelard’s sudden change of heart.
“That… Even though that painting is so important to you and Erlin…”
“I’ve been selfish. Obsessed with my wife’s shadow, I neglected Erlin.”
Abelard’s gaze shifted back to Erlin.
Erlin, wearing her mother’s straw hat, admired her reflection in a broken mirror, unaware of its imperfection. Abelard’s heart seemed to ache at the sight as he spoke decisively.
“For Erlin’s sake, I’ll sell the painting. It’s what her mother would have wanted.”
“Are you sure about this?”
“I need to snap out of it… If I continue to wallow in this house, I’ll never escape the painting. I should thank you.”
Roselia nodded calmly, despite feeling melancholic at his bittersweet smile.
“Would 15 Verang be acceptable?”
“That’s more than enough. My skills could barely fetch 50 Grang.”
“No, Abelard. Your work is excellent, it just hasn’t been recognized yet.”
This was the truth.
In the original story, once discovered by the Princess, Abelard’s career flourished. Starting with his first work, he sold several paintings to the Princess and received patronage from the royal family, invigorating his artistic endeavors.
Of course, she had now initiated that first start herself, but she had no intention of changing what followed.
Roselia planned to sell this painting to the royal family at a high price and mention the artist’s name. Then, naturally, the princess, captivated by Abelard’s work, would contact him and offer her patronage.
Roselia smiled and pulled out 15 Verang from her pocket, handing it to Abelard.
Puzzled by her meaningful smile, Abelard simply took the 15 Verang, holding it preciously.
Thus, Roselia left the house, cradling the painting carefully wrapped by Abelard.
“Come play again, sister!”
With Erlin’s bright smile etched in her memory, Roselia walked away, feeling like she had completed a task.
Fortunately, after paying for the painting, she had exactly 1 Verang left – 100 Grang, just enough to catch a carriage back to the Duke’s territory.
Though carriages were not as frequent as in the city, there were a few going to and from the Duke’s territory and the capital. She planned to change her clothes inside the carriage.
However, in her haste, she didn’t see a man walking out from the side and collided with him.
“Ah! I’m so sorry! I was in a hurry and…”
Breathless, Roselia looked up at the man she had bumped into and froze.
The tall man in a dark grey suit, adjusting his lapel with a displeased expression, was all too familiar to Roselia.
“Are you okay?”
His brusque manner was too familiar.
And then, confirming her thoughts, a familiar voice called from a distance.
“Duke! The site for the school is this way!”
It was Alejandro’s voice.
And the man in front of her was…
Duke Claus de Balthazar… Why here of all places!
Especially in this attire!
Realizing the man was Duke Claus, her heart began to race. The thought that he might recognize her dried her mouth and tensed her fingers.
“My lady?”
As the person she bumped into stood silently, Duke Claus finally looked down to examine her face.
Almost reflexively, Roselia covered her face with the painting she was holding.
This sudden movement almost caused Claus to bump his face into the frame, making him step back with a frown.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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