Selected as the New Stepmother (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10
Kid.
I gently patted the kid’s shoulder as he sat there, dejected.
“It’s not because the widower is bad; he just sees the other person’s background as having higher value, so he said it that way.”
“I don’t need a mom like that. I don’t like it when you care more about the Duke than me.”
“I understand. I’ll look into it more carefully.”
“…Thank you, Auntie.”
A faint smile appeared on the kid’s gloomy face.
“Kid, did you know?”
“What?”
“Viscount Dely is a widower too.”
“Huh?”
“I only have my father too.”
“That’s right! Auntie, you’re just like me!”
The faint smile blossomed fully.
“Is there anything else we have in common? You and me?”
“I can’t think of anything right away.”
I thought for a moment, then remembered a game I used to play in my past life.
“Instead, let me give you two examples of similar things. You shout out which one you like better at the same time. How about that?”
“I’ll try! It sounds fun!”
The kid’s golden eyes sparkled. For just a fleeting moment, I thought how wonderfully dear he was.
“Alright, choose between cookies and cake. One, two, three!”
“Cake!”
“Cake!”
As we both shouted the same word, the child jumped up and clapped his hands.
“Want to try one more?”
“Yes! Again! Please do another!”
[This is the timeline separator]It was the time I learned a lot about what the kid liked. I had to invent idea after idea, running this shouting game for a full hour.
My head ached so much my body felt heavy. I plopped down opposite the kid and leaned my head against the backrest.
“Auntie, about my homework—could you help me with this?”
“Five million Tiga?”
“Yes. No matter how hard I think, I can’t imagine any way other than buying jewels.”
It’s certainly an unusual teaching method—teaching consumption before saving or earning. Probably only possible for a noble family?
“But if I help you, you won’t have solved the assignment yourself.”
“The Duke said observation is also a form of learning. So just watching how you spend it would count as helping me complete the assignment.”
“Hmm.”
If someone gave me five million Tiga and told me to spend it all in two days, what would I do first?
‘If I did exactly what I truly wanted to do…’
I quietly watched the kid. Then, slowly rising from my seat, I spoke.
“Alright. I’ll help you.”
“Wow! Thank you!”
The kid leapt up and hurried over to my side, then naturally took my hand.
“But where are we going?”
Hiding my excitement behind my voice, I answered.
“The Artenbach Art Museum.”
[This is the timeline separator]The sudden visit of the Artenbach heir caused a stir inside the museum. The curator rushed out and offered to personally guide us, but Rublion waved him off, declining politely.
Myself and the kid stood for a moment admiring the featured piece at the entrance. The walls displayed as many artworks as there were spotlights overhead, and the scent of plaster and subtle paint soothed the mind.
“Auntie, look at this.”
The kid whispered, tugging at her skirt. Her finger pointed to a painting depicting warships and fishing boats floating on a vast sea.
“So this is Murten’s Life and Death.”
“Yes, I heard he’s an artist affiliated with the museum.”
The kid stepped closer to the painting.
“It feels so vivid, like I’m seeing it with my own eyes. Isn’t it?”
I stood beside her, gazing at the painting, then suddenly asked:
“Kid, why is this painting titled Life and Death?”
“Uh… why did they name it that?”
I pointed my finger in turn at the warships and fishing boats.
“Warships are made for war. Fishing boats are made to survive, to eat. Ships for dying, ships for living. That contrast is what they call ‘Life and Death.'”
“Woah.”
“How’s that? Doesn’t the painting look different now that you understand?”
“Yes.”
The kid stared intently at the painting, searching for hidden meanings. Seeing how earnest she looked, I couldn’t help speaking again.
“People see art as deeply as they understand it. Perfectly imitating reality is beautiful, but even a single dot or line, when imbued with the spirit and ideas of its time, can become beautiful.”
“Auntie, did you study aesthetics too?”
I walked over to the nearby spotlight and answered.
“A little. My mother taught me.”
“She must have been wonderful.”
“Yes. She loved art. I didn’t care much about it back then, though.”
A bitter feeling washed over me. My mother, who loved all beauty in the world.
“Look at this, Schmidt. I captured all four seasons on a canvas that was just plain white.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.”
“Isn’t it? I love every art in the world—mysterious, beautiful, and full of meaning.”
That’s why the Black Swan was created. It was my mother’s dream—to support talented artists and help them make the world even more beautiful.
“My mother passed away when I’d only just begun to learn. So even though I wanted to learn more, I couldn’t.”
The kid noticed my mood darken and gently tapped my arm.
“I’ll learn it well, and I’ll teach it all to you.”
“To teach me, you’ll have to study hard, won’t you?”
“I’m extremely smart.”
“Yeah, you do seem that way.”
I smiled and stroked the kid’s head. Her cheerful giggle lifted my spirits.
“Shall we keep looking?”
“Yes!”
[This is the timeline separator]We walked through the museum twice. First, we viewed every piece. Then, we focused only on selected artists.
While enjoying tea in the curator’s office, the kid finally spoke with solemn determination.
“I want to buy Murten’s Life and Death.”
The curator smiled contentedly and asked us to wait a moment before stepping outside.
“You’ve waited long enough.”
After a short wait, the curator returned—with a young man around my age, smelling faintly of paint.
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting; I had to fetch Murten.”
The kid hadn’t expected the artist to come, and her face glowed with emotion.
“This is the heir of the Artenbach family who sponsors you. And beside him is the young lady who runs the Black Swan. You know what the Black Swan is, correct?”
Murten nodded, then bowed deeply toward me and the kid.
“Thank you for your patronage.”
Seeing the paint under his fingernails reminded me of my mother, who used to smile brightly at her easel, as if she owned the whole world.
She had hands just like hers.
“I realized so many things after viewing Life and Death. That’s why I wanted to support you.”
That was the kid’s reflection.
“Thank you for thinking so kindly of me. This painting depicts the last seascape I saw before leaving my hometown. One of those warships carried my friend—someone I’ll never see again.”
Murten’s eyes grew empty. Everyone in the curator’s office fell silent.
“Come now, come now. The attendant will bring the artwork shortly. Why don’t you continue talking while you view it?”
The curator’s attempt to shift the mood succeeded beautifully.
The painting was to be sent directly to the Artenbach residence. As we exited the museum, I stopped, holding the kid’s hand.
“There’s a chance that girl we saw today might be at Luega’s. But it’s alright, right?”
“Yes. Since Auntie is with me, it’s fine. I can’t keep running away forever.”
I worried I’d take her there only to hurt her further.
Then again, Anna might already be chasing after her, having started a fight.
“Or… shall we eat somewhere different today?”
“Somewhere different?”
“Yes. The weather’s nice, and the breeze is calm.”
“Where are we going?”
The kid asked, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“There’s a beautiful spot near the harbor. Let’s go there and relax.”
The kid’s eyes widened enormously. Suppressing her excitement with a voice trembling with eagerness, she said:
“Let’s go quickly, please!”
[This is the timeline separator]After stopping by the office to pick up a mat, we took a rickshaw to the harbor. Throughout the journey, the kid bounced her feet continuously, convinced it would be amazing.
I wondered if it could really be that exciting—and yet, I felt a pang of sadness.
“Here we are.”
The place I brought her was a quiet tree overlooking the harbor. Due to the terrain, it stood at the same height as the rooftops of nearby shops, so sitting beneath it gave us a clear view of the sea and port.
Under the massive tree, we spread out sandwiches and cheese we’d bought from a nearby restaurant.
The food, eaten with the gentle sea breeze, was pure bliss. The kid kept gazing at the ocean, murmuring how glad she was to have come.
Of course, I was glad too. Normally, the kid wouldn’t finish even half her portion—but she ate every last bite, then asked for mine.
Seeing her eat so well was truly beautiful.
“Auntie, this tree’s branches are enormous.”
The kid explored every detail with passionate intensity. Her joy spread to me.
We picked flowers nearby, stems and all, and returned to the mat to make a clumsy bouquet.
“It’s done!”
The kid beamed proudly, holding up her tangled wildflower bouquet. The crushed stems swayed slightly in the breeze.
“You worked hard.”
I placed the wildflower bouquet the kid gave me into the mat’s bag. I feared it would fall apart before we even reached the office.
“Should we head back before it gets dark?”
“Can’t we play a little longer?”
I stroked the kid’s head, seeing she had no intention of leaving.
“Let’s come again another time. So for now, let’s go back…”
“Oh? The Duke!”
The kid, who had been listening attentively, suddenly jumped up. Turning around, we saw the Duke of Artenbach watching us.
Ex-husband Wants Reconciliation
One-line summary: Chasing the wife to the crematorium (making an effort to attract someone who has become indifferent), the female lead doesn’t look back, the second male lead takes the position.
Intro:
To repay the kindness of the older generation, Su Mu crossed into a female-dominated world and became a live-in daughter-in-law of the Yan family, single-handedly saving the Yan family from fire and water.
But her husband, Yan Jiyue, the eldest son of the Yan family, treated her with sarcasm and never showed her a good face.
It wasn’t until after Su Mu’s death that this pampered and arrogant young master shed a few fake tears and pretended to want to die for love.
This life’s kindness was enough. If there was a next life, she would definitely kick Yan Jiyue away.
Who knew that the heavens would be so kind as to allow her to be reborn, returning to the time when she had just married into the Yan family.
Su Mu glanced at the Yan eldest son, who still spoke coldly to her, and threw a divorce letter in front of him.
“Let’s divorce!”
***
Yan Jiyue never imagined that he would be reborn. He happily went to find Su Mu, wanting to make up for the mistakes he had made in his ignorant youth.
Wasn’t the reason the heavens allowed him to be reborn to let him reconcile with Su Mu?
But when he pushed open the door to Su Mu’s room, the person lying on the bed was another man.
Su Mu’s personal attendant, Xie Yi.
Yan Jiyue hated him so much that his teeth itched. In front of Su Mu, Xie Yi was a gentle and considerate whisperer of sweet nothings, but in reality, he was vicious-hearted and deliberately sabotaged their husband and wife relationship.
In the previous life, it was he who secretly hid in Su Mu’s coffin and committed suicide, stealing a step ahead of him to be buried with Su Mu.
Yan Jiyue’s eyes were filled with hatred as he cursed, “What kind of thing are you? Your background is lowly, what right do you have to occupy Su Mu?”
Xie Yi looked at the sleeping Su Mu and no longer pretended to be a whisperer of sweet nothings.
He proudly stuck out his belly, “I have the right because my belly is capable of giving the Wife-master a daughter.”
***
Yan Jiyue was consumed with jealousy. He spread rumors that Xie Yi had once been branded with the mark of a “harlot” on his chest.
But on the night Xie Yi cut off the flesh bearing that mark, Su Mu suddenly realized something was amiss.
“How did you know the exact moment I was poisoned? And why did you show up a month early?”
Xie Yi remained silent, blood from his wound soaking through his robes. His sapphire eyes brimmed with anguish – or was it just a flawless act?
Between a once-arrogant husband now seeking redemption, and a gentle soul willing to die for her – who truly held the darkest secrets? And could it be that Su Mu and Yan Jiyue weren’t the only ones given a second chance at life…?
[Reading Guide]
1. True divorce, chasing the wife to the crematorium, the female lead doesn’t look back, the male lead is Xie Yi.
2. The ex-husband did not cheat, he just realized too late and didn’t realize that he liked the female lead.
_____
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