My Husband Lives in a Painting - Chapter 15

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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 Painting | Episode 15
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‘Has it really been a year? This is the first time I’ve come here since the wedding.’
I descended from the carriage and took in the grounds of Agnes Orphanage with deliberate slowness.
But the moment I spotted the small side path branching away from the building, I found myself biting my lip.
‘The place where I first met him.’
My encounter with Camille had begun right here.
In that season when magnolia petals scattered across the earth, I remembered watching him with such curiosity—wondering what sort of woman he would marry.
‘Why were you standing in that spot, back then?’
I shook off the fleeting thought and lifted my head, only to find myself beneath a deluge of stares from all directions.
And then I met my father’s eyes—his face frozen in shock, his lips unable to seal themselves shut.
“You… you…!”
This was my first appearance in High Society since the funeral.
I had brushed aside my father’s letter suggesting we travel together in the same carriage and replied that I would go separately—a calculated move to arrive at the most dramatic moment.
‘Remarriage? Not a chance. He’d sooner give that old dog next door a wife.’
No one would think of remarriage upon seeing a woman dressed in black.
At best, they might offer pity.
I turned and made my way toward my father.
“Good evening. It has been quite some time.”
“Oh my…”
“I hope everyone has been well?”
The exclamation escaped before any greeting could follow—it seemed they hadn’t expected me to come at all.
I exchanged pleasantries with the others, ignoring my father, who looked as though he might collapse at any moment.
“I do hope I haven’t arrived too late? I trust I haven’t drawn undue attention?”
“Not at all, not in the slightest. We had simply thought you might not be able to attend today.”
“Madam, if I may be so bold—did you arrive in House Ortega’s carriage?”
One of the ladies, unable to contain her curiosity, interjected with the bluntness of a casual question.
I responded naturally, nodding my head.
“Yes. I’ve come today as House Ortega’s representative.”
“Ah… I see. Though I believe the Second Young Master has also returned…”
“Is this something Belladonna herself is aware of? Given her exacting nature, I must confess I feel some concern.”
How little they must have thought of me, to show so little hesitation in their questions.
But I hadn’t expected much to begin with, so my heart suffered no wound.
“Of course. Lord Claude is currently in self-reflection, so he is unable to attend outside engagements. For the time being, I shall have to keep myself quite busy managing affairs.”
“Self-reflection?”
“Madam, I believe he’s referring to the incident at the exhibition.”
“Ah.”
I turned my gaze toward my father, leaving the ladies to whisper among themselves.
………
My father seemed to sense the shift in the air between us.
‘You see?’
I offered him a knowing smile.
I was not ignorant of it—the precarious position of a widow, especially one who had lost her husband a mere year into marriage without bearing an heir.
Yet by name and title, I remained unmistakably a member of House Ortega’s household.
Outside the line of succession though I might be, I was a position that could never be treated carelessly.
‘Guarding this meager station is, for now, my best course. Father.’
Without a word, my sharp-witted father would surely have understood my meaning.
Now, then—it was time to gauge when to make my exit.
“I must express my deepest gratitude for coming to the funeral with such haste, despite your many pressing duties. I fear I have been too overwhelmed to offer my thanks until now.”
In a single sweep, I captured the attention of all the scattered ladies, arranging my expression as though struggling to conceal my sorrow.
“Everything that has occurred is the result of my own inadequacy… I cannot help but wonder if it is presumptuous of me to appear before you all at all.”
“Oh, that’s not true at all. How could any of this be your fault?”
“That’s right. I haven’t felt well ever since. To think of such a young woman left alone like this…”
The noble ladies who had drawn near to pat my shoulder soon found themselves dabbing at their eyes with handkerchiefs, their soft weeping echoing through the gathering.
Excellent work in false modesty.
There was still much ground to cover before one could master such shamelessness so completely.
Yet it was undeniably convenient. The atmosphere, at least, was now firmly in hand.
“Might I be permitted to simply fulfill my duties quietly and take my leave? I’m afraid I don’t yet have the courage to stand before people.”
“Oh, of course.”
“Yes, you must rest today. Leave all the difficult work to us.”
“I am genuinely grateful for your kindness.”
There was no need to feel guilty about deceiving them.
After all, they too would need time to pick me apart and savor the entertainment, wouldn’t they?
‘Well then. You all can talk things over among yourselves. I’ll take my leave.’
“Ob, you…….”
“…….”
I finished my curtsy with a graceful flourish, still holding the hem of my dress, then turned away with a light step—deliberately ignoring my father’s reaching hand.
Agnes Orphanage, despite its humble name, gleamed with all the splendor of any aristocrat’s mansion.
And the moment I set foot in the hall’s center, I noticed things I would never have seen on an ordinary day.
‘There’s a Sunflower Painting here too?’
Why in a place like this?
Ah, well—of course. Come to think of it, where else is in such desperate need of funds as an orphanage?
Just then, I caught sight of voices and movement at the far end of the opposite corridor.
“……Are they people who came to make separate donations?”
But the moment I spotted the gleaming Brooch on the chest of the figure standing across from the Orphanage Director, my thoughts shifted.
“That is…….”
……House Pistachio’s crest?
As I was carefully examining the large wooden boxes, snatches of conversation between the Director and the visitor drifted to my ear.
“This delivery…….”
“Given what happened last time…… be especially…….”
‘What are they talking about?’
Hiding myself behind a large pillar had been an unconscious move.
Then I felt something tug at my dress and turned my attention downward.
I started in alarm. A child was staring up at me intently!
“Big sister.”
“Oh—you startled me.”
Flustered, I reflexively asked:
“Who are you?”
I quickly scanned the child’s appearance. He wore the clothes of Agnes Orphanage, marked with a symbol of a young lamb.
Despite his scrawny frame, the grey-haired boy had a freckled face and a steady, direct gaze.
“Are you on the same side as those men, big sister?”
“Me?”
His gaze was directed toward the workers from House Pistachio’s operation.
“Well…… I wouldn’t say so.”
Strictly speaking, as a member of the nobility, I could be considered on the same side, but I had no wish to be lumped in with them.
“Then will you help us find my big sister? I’m Johen, and my sister’s name is Anmarie.”
It was the kind of contextless request only a child could make.
But instead of brushing away his hand, I knelt down to meet him at eye level.
“All right, Johen.”
“Thank you.”
“But where did your sister go?”
I didn’t feel particularly bothered by the interruption. I myself was here under the guise of being a volunteer, after all.
‘Is she playing hide-and-seek?’
But the scale of this hiding seemed far larger than I’d expected.
“My sister hasn’t been seen for days.”
“Days……?”
Johen’s complexion visibly darkened as he nodded.
“But the Director keeps telling us to stop worrying and not breathe a word to anyone—just gets angry…….”
“…….”
The smile faded slowly from my face as I sensed something amiss.
I lightly gripped Johen’s shoulder and, keeping his gaze fixed on mine, opened my mouth slowly.
“……Johen. Where did you last see Anmarie?”
The child’s small, thin fingers pointed without hesitation to one spot.
As I slowly traced the direction of his pointing, I felt my thinking grind to a halt.
“Inside that box.”
“……What?”
It was the Wooden Box bearing House Pistachio’s crest in clear relief.

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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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