The Wicked Wife's Dark History Keeps Coming Back To Haunt Her - Chapter 237
He could be cruel, then kind, then indifferent at times, and now he was acting childish and jealous. She wondered if this really was the same man she knew.
But in the end, Ash wasn’t the kind of man who would ever back down.
He forced the carriage to stop in front of a flower shop in the city and returned with a bouquet that was vivid and extravagant, completely unlike the soft and elegant lavender one she held.
“Let’s exchange them.”
Nina blinked as he held out the bouquet toward her.
“Exchange…?”
“It will look much better to present this than lavender.”
His features were sharp and flawless as usual, expressionless as always, but his gaze toward the lavender bouquet she held carried a subtle yet persistent intensity.
‘What in the world is this about…’
Even if lavender had a meaning tied to love, it was still just a bouquet.
His covetous gaze, as if looking at some precious treasure, left Nina speechless, so she simply agreed to switch them.
Lavender was elegant and beautiful, but for a celebratory occasion, a colorful bouquet was more fitting anyway.
“But in that case, wouldn’t it be better to just give both? There’s no need to give only one…”
“Wife, I already explained why I sponsored the young master of House Reginald under the name of our house.”
“Ah…”
“There are people who take flower meanings seriously.”
His tone was earnest with not a hint of humor, and Nina’s expression grew serious as well.
She believed no one would genuinely think Duchess Bayern, wife of Duke Bayern, was harboring improper feelings toward another man.
But if someone ill-intentioned like Rebecca spread rumors, who knew what stories might circulate.
And she had recently experienced firsthand how smoke could rise from a chimney where there was no fire.
‘It’s probably better to be careful…’
Realizing that this was not jealousy but a practical concern, Nina nodded readily.
“Alright, fine. Let’s do that.”
After exchanging bouquets, Ash accepted the lavender one with exaggerated care so the petals would not crumble.
‘…But is that really the reason?’
A faint smile flickered on his lips, making Nina’s eyes narrow briefly.
By then the carriage had already stopped before the Conwell Gallery.
It was far larger than the Delphinium Gallery she had visited before, a splendid building reminiscent of a temple.
In front of it, crowds of people filled the entrance like a marketplace.
Even with Bayern’s sponsorship, for a novice painter’s exhibition to draw such a turnout was astonishing.
“There are so many visitors…?”
When Nina marveled at the crowd, which seemed twice as large as the one at the Delphinium exhibition, Ash spoke in a voice that sounded as though he was suppressing his pride.
“Do you know why I decided to hold Henry’s solo exhibition in the Conwell Gallery?”
Count Conwell did not rent his galleries to just anyone.
He owned more than a dozen galleries not for buying and selling art but to strictly manage and display works he loved.
He only lent his galleries to someone when he saw genuine worth and potential in them.
Every artist who passed through a Conwell Gallery became well known.
Anyone in the aristocracy with even mild interest in the arts knew this.
This was why so many nobles, including those who had no ties to House Bayern, flocked here.
‘Count Conwell…’
She knew he was famous in these parts, but she had not realized his influence was this immense.
Since she had never been interested in the arts, she had no idea the impact he wielded was so extraordinary.
‘Wait…’
Could Henry’s appointment as a court painter have been influenced by Count Conwell?
A man of such refined artistic sense and influence… if he had recommended Henry, then even a painter with little prior fame could have been selected more easily than others.
A new painter who had always been pushed aside and robbed of the spotlight would need the help of someone as influential as Count Conwell if he were to suddenly become a court painter one day.
…Depending on how things unfolded, Henry might shine much earlier than she expected.
