I Became My Son's First Love

Chapter 41

"The painting arrived earlier than I expected, so I looked at it first. It's pretty nice. We can successfully hold the exhibition. Dane?"

Ashers noticed Dane late, and her eyes widened with amazement. Dane greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Ashers. It has been a while."

"Thank you for coming. You have a prior engagement, correct? Sorry for butting in so suddenly."

"No, I can't readily get to your villa. It is an honor for me."

"Now that you mention it, that's your first visit here. Take your time exploring the villa later. Besides, it appears that you are also interested in this field."

"That's right."

"Eve financed the painter, and the painting presented today is stunning. Come this way."

The two talked like old friends who had only met yesterday.

Dane naturally accepted Ashers' selection of artworks.

Azazel stood right next to the abandoned Eve.

"You really came with the Count?"

"You said it was alright to come together, didn't you?"

"That's right."

Eve looked up at Azazel before returning her attention straight.

Meanwhile, Ashers and Dane paused in front of an artwork to discuss.

Eve knew Dane was interested in art but didn't expect him to leave her alone for this long.

This would not serve as a deterrent against him.

Azazel began communicating with her again.

"They are looking over there, why don't you introduce me?"

Eve pointed at Rose with a piercing tone.

"Isn't it better to listen together? It would be better if the painter who painted it could explain."

Being alone was something to be avoided.

Azazel simply curved the corners of his mouth.

"I'm not sure what mistake I'd make if I were with the Count. It's best for us to be apart."

His lips twisted, expressing blatant scorn for Dane.

Azazel, like Dane, evidently loathed his counterpart.

"Don't you get along with Dane?"

"We dislike each other."

"Why?"

Azazel gazed at Eve, questioning her sincerity.

"I'm not sure what he thinks, but it's pathetic that a human who looks like me can only act in such a manner. I hate it when people compare me to that person."

Azazel and Dane were quite different types of individuals.

With his friendly grin and affable personality, Dane was well-known for his promiscuity.

Azazel, on the other hand, although being dubbed the most beautiful person in the empire, always stayed to himself; his statue-like attractive face and lack of life turned people off.

People approached him because of his status, but his scorn and icy attitude immediately turned them off.

Moreover, despite his appearance, unlike Dane, Azazel had never been involved in a scandal.

Eve had assumed her stepson was a puritanical and ascetic individual.

However, the actual Azazel was an entirely different person, proudly admitting that he would masturbate with a handkerchief coated with his stepmother's vaginal fluids, constantly courting Eve and even obsessively probing into her past.

As a result, Eve had a fleeting notion that they weren't all that different, but she didn't say it aloud in front of Azazel's contemptuous glare.

When he caught her stare, his steely blue eyes softened, revealing a trace of tenderness as they slowly curved.

The tremendous change in front of her took Eve aback.

Her face shone with vigor.

"Shall we go this way first?"

Eve was captivated by Azazel's cool giggle and followed him absentmindedly.

When she regained consciousness and glanced around, Ashers, Rose, and Dane were nowhere to be seen.

Eve looked back as Azazel stopped in front of a painting.

"There are a number of extremely dark paintings. Do you like these types of paintings?"

Eve's focus shifted to the paintings as Azazel spoke.

Rose's paintings remained recognizable even when put on bright walls.

Rose primarily painted landscapes, which typically had a red and pitch-black sky.

The paintings inside the passageway were darker than those at the previous exhibition, and the one Azazel was looking at was no exception.

It was the type of painting that may polarize opinions, but Eve appreciated Rose's work in this style.

"I like how the bold, solid primary colors blend daringly."

Indeed, Azazel nodded in response to Eve's reply.

Eve became engrossed in the paintings, temporarily forgetting her anxieties of being alone.

Eve was also unfamiliar with the majority of the paintings they saw.

They appeared to be newly developed works.

Azazel described the paintings as dark, with numerous layers added.

When Eve stared at Rose's paintings, she felt warm and cozy.

It was more about the colors organically mingling together rather than one overpowering the other, which others may not comprehend.

She appreciated seeing Asher's happy expression when he looked at Rose's artwork.

While Eve was meditating, Azazel paused in front of another artwork.

"This one has a person painted into it. I overheard the painter briefly; this is the only painting that depicts a human. It has a really sinister aura; could it represent a demon?"

Eve clenched her mouth as she gazed at the painting Azazel had pointed out.

In the artwork, a man with black hair stood beneath a crimson sky.

Although it was a simple painting by Rose's standards, Eve was taken aback when she first saw it.

It felt as if a deeply concealed secret of hers, unknown to anybody else, had been revealed.

And appropriately so, as the motif of the man in the picture had appeared in her dreams.

Rose remained up all night the next day to create this image after learning that a man had been in her nightmares.

Of course, Eve didn't tell Rose anything about her dream.

It appeared too hazardous.

Eve turned back; Asher and the others had moved closer, but they were still far enough apart to have a serious debate among themselves.

While Eve hesitated, Azazel bravely opened the curtain to stare back at her.

"Rose was really amazed by it. It's also a piece that Mother values highly."

Driven by curiosity and trusting that Azazel would not act foolishly while Asher was present, Eve approached him.

Azazel smiled gently and raised the curtain a little more for her.

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