Portrait of An Arrogant Master - Chapter 206

“…?”

She unfolded it and found a simple white nightgown—something light to wear. Meanwhile, they began to light the fireplace on one side of the room.

The warmth from the fire quickly filled the room. Macy silently watched them, knowing they wouldn’t answer if she asked what they were doing.

After a brief moment outside, they started bringing in one familiar item after another.

Pencils, brushes, knives, paints, a chair, an easel, and more…

“What on earth is this…?”

A pure white canvas.

She was so stunned that her mouth fell open naturally.

“Duke Krygen sent these.”

The maid spoke up, even though Macy expected no reply this time either.

“…I don’t need them.”

“Please rest now.”

But that was all they said before leaving again.

The canvas was deliberately placed where Macy could see it clearly. Taking in the sight made her stomach churn.

Her insides twisted and felt as though acid was rising in her throat.

“Ugh!”

Macy gagged, but since she had nothing in her stomach, only saliva came up.

There was a time when seeing that empty canvas made her heart race. Or rather, it still does now.

Not with the fluttering excitement of anticipation, but with a pounding like a heavy metal striking her heart.

Eren wouldn’t have given her art supplies out of kindness. So why on earth had those things been brought here?

It wasn’t as if he was teasing anyone—so why bring those things here now?

The most plausible guess was that Macy was being tested.

If she sat down on that chair and started painting, it would be proof she still hadn’t come to her senses, and punishment would follow.

‘If only I hadn’t been greedy for those things… I wouldn’t be in this state now.’

The paintings she had loved her whole life suddenly felt horrifying. It seemed like art had ruined her life.

Because of her talent, the so-called “God’s Brush”, her already difficult fate had been twisted even more.

A warped hatred hung heavy in layers over the easel.

Crash!

The loud sound of the easel tipping over echoed. She threw the art supplies across the floor and far away.

Yet, by the next day, like a nightmare, everything was back as before—the knives without a single drop of paint, the freshly sharpened pencils, conte sticks, erasers, and even the oil paints that had contributed to burning down the cabin…

She felt trapped in an inescapable maze.

She remembered how she had cherished the cabin as a sanctuary where she could paint freely, her heart fluttering with anticipation.

She smiled bitterly as she looked at the name written over her left chest. Thanks to that, she had been able to meet him.

What she had thought was a curse, a misfortune, was actually the greatest blessing of her life.

Even if Eren had forced her to become his mistress, it was better than not meeting him because her Name never manifested.

Anyway, Eren loved Macy. He liked her. Even if it was a twisted desire, he didn’t know it.

Countless moments of delusion wrapped around Macy’s heart like a thorny vine, tightening and constricting it. Sharp thorns scratched her Name mercilessly.

“Ahhh—!!”

After throwing everything in a frenzy and briefly losing consciousness, she opened her eyes to see a bespectacled woman tending to her wounds.

The left side of her chest, where her Name resided, stung sharply. In Macy’s hand was a knife stained with blood.

“If you leave scars like this with unsterilized objects, there’s a risk of tetanus. No matter how frustrated or angry you feel, please try to restrain yourself from doing things like this.”

It was the first time the woman spoke. Judging by the situation, it sounded like Macy had self-harmed.

Feeling like she’d go mad if she didn’t break something immediately, she had flailed wildly, so it wasn’t surprising she had hurt herself in the process.

“I didn’t mean to do it on purpose.”

But if she were sane, she wouldn’t have done such a thing.

“I mustn’t die. If I die, the people around me will get hurt…”

If she ended her life, her close friends would be in danger.

She had wanted to give up countless times, but even in the toughest times, she thought of Anna, Hils, and Kieran who stubbornly kept living despite difficult conditions—and so she couldn’t.