My Husband Lives Inside a Painting Chapter 4

“……What did you say?”

Click—

As though a tangled ball of thread had finally come undone, I finally realized the source of that strange familiarity I had felt from the very beginning.

‘I’m inside the painting.’

But it still didn’t feel real.

“There’s no way something so absurd could actually happen……”

As I muttered to myself, Camille’s large hand covered the back of mine.

Drawn back to reality by the sensation, I looked up to find his familiar, gentle eyes fixed entirely on me.

“Your longing created a miracle.”

“A miracle?”

“Do you really need to think about it so much? Whatever the reason, I’m alive and standing right here in front of you.”

Then he told me the words I had wanted to hear most.

“Orb. You’re my savior.”

“……I’m your savior?”

“Yes.”

His voice slowly seeped into my ears.

“So don’t think about anything else. Just stay here and play with me.”

When I came to my senses a little while later, he was already standing behind me, his arms wrapped around my shoulders.

Just as I was about to raise my guard as high as possible, his lips came close to my ear, and his quiet voice flowed out.

“Forget everything about the outside world. All you need to do is focus on the two of us.”

His sweet words made my mind grow hazy once again.

“There are still so many things we haven’t done yet.”

“Ah……”

Camille helped me to my feet, then took my hand and led me outside.

A vast flower field stretched out before us.

A refreshing breeze scattered my hair, while Camille’s back filled my entire field of vision as he walked ahead, holding my hand.

“You like flowers, don’t you?”

He suddenly turned around, the corners of his eyes curving as he continued in a sweet voice.

“We’ll stay together forever in our very own greenhouse.”

“In our very own…… greenhouse.”

For someone who had never once imagined a future with another person, those words tasted like sugar on the tip of my tongue.

No.

In truth, there was no reason to think about it at all.

‘Who could possibly need me in the real world?’

If not Camille, then who?

Yes.

There was no reason to go back.

‘There’s no need to think about anything else. I just need to stay here, just like Camille said.’

I walked through the flower field with him.

The scenery was so beautiful that I could hardly believe I had painted it myself.

“Isn’t it much better than reality?”

“……Yes. It feels like a dream.”

“You can enjoy it as much as you want. Everything here exists for you.”

Camille approached me with a smile as radiant as a flower.

Then he picked a small wildflower and carefully tucked it into my hair.

“You’re beautiful.”

‘But did he originally speak so casually to me……?’

“Orb, come here.”

That momentary doubt was quickly washed away.

As if hypnotized, I willingly followed wherever Camille led me.

 

***

 

The previous Duke of Ortega had two sons.

Camille, the eldest son born to his legal wife, Belladonna.

And Claude, the illegitimate son born through a maid.

There were only two years between the two brothers.

So it was easy to imagine how furious Belladonna must have been when she learned of Claude’s existence.

Naturally, Claude became the target of Belladonna’s hatred and was sent to the western territory when he was eight years old.

Having grown up there ever since, Claude had never expected to return to the main estate.

……At least, not until his older brother, Camille Ortega, died on the day of his coming-of-age ceremony.

“Don’t think you’ll be inheriting the family.”

The mother he had met again after so long had withered like an old tree stripped of its moisture.

Yet there was still a vicious glint in her eyes.

“I called you here simply because I needed insurance to get us through this turbulent period. You have only one thing to do. Don’t cause trouble and keep your head down as though you were dead.”

“Ha……”

“If you don’t, I’ll send you back to the western territory. Do you understand?”

Claude sighed, roughly running a hand through his black hair before dropping heavily into the back of his chair.

“Yes.”

It was an answer tossed out carelessly.

He said nothing more and turned his gaze toward the window as though he were already sick of the conversation.

‘Not that I expected anything, but I never thought she’d be this shameless.’

His eyes were much sharper than Camille’s.

His irises, resembling golden roses just beginning to bloom, had turned cold.

Claude hadn’t had such a bad life in the western territory.

At first, he had been looked down upon simply because he was an illegitimate son, but by now, he had firmly established himself as the young lord and spent his days busily managing the territory.

‘She summoned me at the busiest time of the year…… only to tell me to do nothing but stay here.’

Irritation boiled inside him.

Before spring arrived, the fields had to be plowed.

Once the frozen earth had been tilled after winter, it would soon be time to sow the seeds.

And in the middle of all that work, she had summoned him here just to use him like a watchdog guarding the estate!

‘City people. They’re all the same.’

Claude wanted nothing more than to overturn the entire table and leave, but he couldn’t.

Belladonna had threatened to cut off funding to the western territory if he disobeyed her orders.

‘That woman must have had something to do with my brother’s death, too.’

Claude didn’t even bother hiding his expression as he cast a blatant sideways glance at her.

The chilly standoff between mother and son, reunited after so long, was cut short by a loud commotion from outside.

“What’s going on?”

“I-I’m sorry. One of the maids suddenly caused a disturbance……”

“I have something urgent to tell Lady Belladonna! It’ll only take a moment!”

“T-This really isn’t possible……!”

“Move! Get out of my way! Lady Belladonna! Lady Belladonna!”

A disheveled maid suddenly burst through the maids blocking her.

Looking closely, she was even missing one of her shoes.

“Who are you?”

Belladonna frowned, clearly displeased that the maid had interrupted their conversation.

But the maid paid no attention to her icy gaze and dropped to her knees.

Then she shouted with all her strength.

“M-My lady has disappeared!”

‘My lady?’

Claude’s brows rose as he watched the situation with interest.

‘Come to think of it, didn’t my brother take a wife?’

Despite bearing the Ortega name, Camille had never received so much as an ordinary marriage proposal, so Claude had once assumed his brother would spend his entire life beneath Belladonna’s skirts.

That was why he had found the sudden news of his marriage rather surprising.

“She was always in the studio, but when I went there this morning, she wasn’t there……!”

Seeing the maid looking as though she might burst into tears at any moment, Claude frowned.

His brother was dead, and now his wife had disappeared.

“Well, that’s convenient. I was wondering what to do with her now that she’s of no use.”

As expected, Belladonna didn’t even spare the maid a glance.

The perfect trifecta.

‘This rotten family hasn’t changed a bit.’

Claude swallowed back a curse.

“……Pardon?”

The maid’s eyes widened in confusion at Belladonna’s calm words.

“If she doesn’t return within a week, clear out her room.”

“W-Wait. How can you possibly say something like that……!”

“Evelyn. Take her out.”

At the sound of her name, the woman standing behind Belladonna quietly bowed her head.

“Lady Belladonna!”

The maid was grabbed by the others and dragged away.

Even as she was pulled out, she continued screaming at the top of her lungs.

She might still have been young, but judging by her persistence, she seemed like a rather useful girl.

Meanwhile, Belladonna took a sip of black tea before speaking again.

“I’ve had a room prepared for you in the annex. The place you stayed when you were young should be more comfortable for you, shouldn’t it?”

……Ah, right.

They were still talking about that.

A faint, mocking smile escaped Claude when he found it amusing how she had treated the maid as though she had never existed.

“Ah, that cramped little room.”

Belladonna’s fingertips paused for a moment at his defiant reply.

“……I thought that now that you’re eighteen, you might have matured a little. I see I was mistaken.”

“I grew up without parents. You know that, don’t you?”

“It would be best if we avoided each other as much as possible. Take your meals separately in your room as well.”

“I was planning to do that anyway. I have a weak stomach.”

The distance between the two of them was too great to ever be bridged.

With a bitter smile, Claude rose from his seat and looked down at his mother without even bothering to bow.

“By the way, Mother, you really are impressive. Your talent for throwing people away hasn’t changed one bit.”

“……”

“I’ll be watching to see how long you can keep living like this.”

After leaving those cold words, like a declaration of war, Claude walked away.

Belladonna didn’t spare his retreating back even a single glance.

 

***

 

I began living inside the painting with Camille.

‘How many days has it been already?’

The thought crossed my mind one day, but there was no reason to count.

The real world was no longer important to me.

“Orb! Look at this. There are flowers blooming on the tree, too!”

“They’re beautiful.”

“Why don’t we go all the way to the end today?”

“Okay.”

Camille was by my side.

It was enough simply to have him smile at me, speak to me, and hold out his hand.

As though that alone were the reason for my existence.

‘I’m happy. I wish this moment could last forever.’

I forgot even the fact that my earnest wishes had always betrayed me.

And so, I made that wish.