My Husband Lives in a Painting - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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My Husband Lives in a Picture – Episode 14
“…….”
“But truly, how tight-fisted. Belladonna won’t say a word either way, and that’s the end of it. Tsk, if I’d known it would come to this, I should have married you off somewhere else entirely.”
Father looked exactly like a man who had suffered a financial loss.
“And another thing — what on earth were you doing all year without producing even a single child? If you’d at least given birth to a son, you could have solidified Ortega’s position as heir.”
“…….”
“Enough. It seems your husband was the real problem after all.”
It was a strange thing.
When he blamed me, I felt nothing — but the moment Kamil’s name left his lips, displeasure flooded through me, unbearable and overwhelming.
“……He has done nothing wrong.”
Even I didn’t understand how excessive that response was.
“It was I who suggested we sleep separately. I was the one who turned him away every day — all of it.”
“What?”
Father’s face went blank for a moment, as though he couldn’t grasp the meaning of my words.
Then his voice rose sharply.
“Then you should have done your duty properly!”
Bang!
His fist came down on the table with a loud crash, and the teacup shuddered. The black tea sloshed to the rim, threatening to spill.
“Do you know what people are saying about our house now? Those vultures who once crouched, hoping for scraps, are now devouring us whole — do you understand that?”
“…….”
“Of all things, suicide! With that label hanging over us, we can’t even show our faces at the Temple!”
A heavy silence fell, broken only by Father’s ragged breathing.
He pressed his temples, trying to calm his agitation, then let out a long, exhausted sigh as if surrendering.
“Sigh……. Fine. It’s all finished now anyway — what can be done?”
Watching him rage alone and then soothe himself alone struck me as nothing but pathetic.
I held my silence, suppressing the cold, creeping death of my heart, when he threw another stone.
“The schedule for the Agnus charity event has been set. I’ll have you fetched next week — prepare yourself.”
Father continued without even looking at me directly.
“Noble women will gather in great numbers. Your appearance there will serve well to quell the rumors.”
My brow furrowed without thinking.
I didn’t understand what conclusion this was meant to reach.
“If that’s the purpose, wouldn’t it be better not to appear in public for a while?”
“Enough! Do you think you’re in a position to talk back to me?!”
I pressed my lips shut, a reflex to his harsh command. Father, as though cutting off my words, shouted once more before collecting himself again.
Then, lowering his body as if fearful someone might hear, he continued quietly.
“I’ve heard there will be many widows with unmarried sons in attendance. You should seek your own path forward, yes?”
“Surely……you’re not suggesting I remarry?”
“Shh, keep your voice down. There are ears listening.”
“Father!”
My breath caught in my throat.
Had I heard correctly? He was telling me to remarry while Kamil still lived?
“How could you……!”
Words failed me; my mouth opened and closed uselessly.
How could someone wear a human face and speak such words?
Even as I recoiled in shock, Father didn’t bat an eye, clicking his tongue sharply.
“A full year. What have we gained in all that time, hmm? Nothing but a Count title and a single letter of recommendation from the Louis Holy Knight Order.”
Behind his sneer at how meager these achievements were came cold mockery.
“Belladonna will deny it, but you can see it plainly — they’ve already summoned the second son. The moment that man takes a wife, you’ll be cast aside without hesitation.”
Father rose from his seat and stood before me.
His coarse hand settled on my shoulder without ceremony.
“Prepare yourself to leave this house quietly.”
“…….”
“You need only listen to what your father says.”
Father knew that I feared such contact.
That was always how he ended these conversations.
But this time was different.
“Do you know what faith is, Father?”
“……What?”
A voice so cold it startled even me flowed past my lips.
“It’s been barely a week. How can you already speak such words?”
Her father’s eyes, bright with surprise, shifted swiftly into a look tinged with derision.
“Fidelity? What fidelity is there in a political marriage, hmm?”
The words struck like a blade. In that instant, the force drained from her gaze.
“Don’t tell me you actually believed you’d spend your whole life here, in this house? Ob?”
……
“Ridiculous. Though I suppose it’s more pathetic than anything—you’re too naive for your own good.”
He looked at her as one might regard a child who had failed to grow up, his frown deepening between his brows.
After a long, weary sigh, his words took on a tone of gentle rebuke.
“Ob. Come to your senses.”
I lowered my gaze in silence.
“Clinging to the dead only leaves you drowning in regret.”
……
My clenched fists and pressed lips betrayed clear defiance, yet I could not bring myself to speak against him.
His hand, settling on my shoulder once more, this time squeezed gently.
“…I’ll take my leave now. I’ll see you next week.”
Click.
After my father departed, silence fell heavy in the empty room.
His footsteps faded, then vanished altogether, but I remained frozen in place.
“My lady…… Are you all right?”
Romaine, who had stepped away briefly, approached with caution and placed a hand upon my brow.
“Heavens! Your body—you’re burning up!”
“……Ah, Romaine.”
I barely managed to push the words past my lips.
“Could you help me to bed?”
“Of course, of course! Let me help you, ma’am.”
Even those few steps made my vision swim and my stomach twist.
As I lay back on the bed, I gazed out the window and saw my father’s carriage receding into the distance.
“Clinging to the dead only leaves you drowning in regret.”
The words echoed relentlessly in my ears, tightening around my throat.
At last, admitting defeat, I squeezed my eyes shut.
‘……I miss Kamil.’
* * *
The carriage came to a halt at an orphanage nestled in the Slums of the Capital, after a relentless ride.
Known as the Agnus Orphanage, it was modest in size yet the destination of the greatest charitable donations in the city.
Claude, having arrived early as always, now moved among the noble ladies, offering his greetings.
“Leonhardt! You’ve come early today.”
“Oh my, good morning, Claude. How pleasant to see you.”
“Yes indeed, the weather has turned quite mild. Soon we shan’t need our coats at all.”
“How true. Hehe……”
The ladies exchanged glances when they thought him unaware, calculating what stance to take toward his altered position.
‘This man has no shame, does he.’
Her scrutiny swept across him with a subtle shift in her eyes.
‘Granted a Count title and suddenly he thinks he’s somebody?’
From Baron to Count—yes, his rank had plainly risen on paper.
Yet people invariably weighed others against their practical expectations.
And so, when the Duke’s son died and his married daughter’s position grew murky, the man’s value had naturally plummeted.
“By the way, how is Kaileb faring? I hear he’s just graduated from the Academy?”
“Well, yes……”
Linda nodded curtly, her expression unmoved.
‘Why does he go around calling other people’s children by name like that? The man’s new money and has no manners whatsoever.’
The sharp thought of one day giving him a proper rebuke scattered in an instant at the sound of an exclamation.
“That carriage—isn’t it the Ortega family’s?”
“I thought Belladonna wasn’t coming today?”
All eyes fixed upon an exceptionally gleaming carriage that stood with commanding presence.
As the carriage door opened, people murmured, trying to guess who the figure inside would be.
Belladonna? Or perhaps Claude Ortega, her second son?
‘Whoever it is, I need to make a good impression.’
But the figure who emerged from the carriage defied all expectations.
“That’s……”
Kamil Ortega.
A widow draped in pale light, bereft and alone—her husband lost to her.
Ob Ortega had appeared before them unaccompanied.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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