Vili raised an eyebrow, but casually let the other party go.

He knew that asking any further questions would be pointless.

These days' experience has proven that if he doesn't want to say something, Leisen will never open his mouth.

He threw the cushion back onto the sofa and then stood up.

"...Are you leaving?"

Leisen couldn't distinguish whether the tangled emotions in his heart were a sense of relief or something else.

Willy hummed in agreement, but before walking out the door, he suddenly remembered something and turned back, saying:

"By the way, is this pen name being used by someone else?"

“I look at those paintings, and some of them don’t look like your work.”

Vili is skilled in gem appraisal and has a broad knowledge of other subjects. He is also familiar with art forms such as sculptures and paintings, not to mention the many years of aristocratic education he received in this world.

However, intuition played a more significant role in this matter.

Although they were all oil paintings in a similar style, with bizarre and magnificent styles, and even the same habit of using dark tones and strong contrasts, Willy always felt that they were not the work of Leisen.

To put it in a more fantastical way, perhaps the emotions it contains are... somewhat different?

Thinking about this, Willy himself felt that his reason was untenable. He took Leisen's stunned expression as a silent rejection, and didn't mind, leaving on his own.

After an unknown amount of time, the paint palette next to Leisen was knocked over. In an instant, it flipped and fell to the ground with a dull thud, staining the ground with a colorful mess.

However, all of this failed to attract the painter's attention in the slightest.

—He recognized me.

He recognized me!

The moment the secret was revealed, Lyson trembled all over. He even ignored his dirty hands, instinctively pressing his violently pounding heart and clutching the small piece of cloth tightly.

He recognized me...

It's just me.