Nigel took a deep breath with a complicated expression, āIām not the āyoung genius painterā they preach. Iām a humble, inferior, and hypocritical person who lives by selling his dreams and passions.
āFrom then on, I made up my mind that I would never rely on the Paper Princess to sell and dispose of my scraps, just like how I made up my mind to not rely on the support of my parents for a living. This made my life, which was still affluent, immediately changed. It was pretty challenging. When I was earning my living expenses, I finally realizedā¦ If I only rely on my own capability, I will never grow to this level.
āEven if my family is willing to provide me with money for food and lodging, even after I settle down into a stable life, and even after I can practice as hard as I do when I live outsideā¦ It already costs a large amount of money just to buy canvases and paints necessary for practice.
āWhen I really couldnāt draw anymore, I was forced to start selling scraps. At that time, people would say that my talents were exhausted, and the masters would publicly criticize my painting attitude for being too perfunctory.
āCountless people would reprimand me. People who had bought my paintings had also written to express their disappointment. However, only I know that these scraps were my true level. Even the masterpieces that touched peopleās hearts were regarded as perfunctory works by them.
āBut every one of my paintings is painted with all my strengthā¦ I really didnātā¦ I didnāt treat it perfunctorilyā¦ā
After he finished speaking, he sighed deeply, āItās just that Iām too incompetentā¦ thatās it.ā
This was not a story worth hearing.
The story was covered with tears and dust.
Just thinking about it made him tired.
āAnd then?ā After a brief silence, Annan asked softly, āHow did you break free from it and become a famous painter?ā
āItās a long story,ā Nigel said slowly. āWhen I was at my worst, I found an old book. Itās written on the ritual of how to summon the Venerated Skeletonā¦ā
Hearing this, Annan and Lin Yiyi raised their heads and looked at each other.
They had keenly captured something.
Jiu Er immediately interjected, āAnd then? Did you use the ritual?ā
āNo, because my mother warned me that the ritual was fake.ā
Nigel shook his head, āWhen everyone scolded me, I finally returned home in embarrassment. But beyond my expectationsā¦ My parents did not laugh at me, nor did they force me to be a wizard.
āI also hesitated for a long time and finally gave up this opportunity. I chose to trust my mother and admitted my lack of talent. So I found a job doing accounting and went out to work.
āI donāt want to take the Paper Princess for granted. She is my deity and my idol. But I also donāt want to live off my parents. Since I ran away from home back then, I didnāt have that face of continuing painting at home as if nothing happened.ā
He took a deep breath and said solemnly, āI finallyā¦ chose the Elegant Elder.ā
āThe Elegant Elder?ā
āYes. Since my mother said these false deitiesā rituals have hidden scams, I sought an upright deity for help. I put the worst and best paintings in my two years of career, together with my painting habits and many doubts, into a letter and sent them to the Elegant Elder through ritual.
āI didnāt plan to get a responseā¦ but in the end, I didnāt expect that the Elegant Elder actually wrote me a reply.ā
The middle-aged painter sighed, āI doubt that I am someone who is pitied by the deities.
āAlthough the letter was full of contemptuous insults and criticisms, everything in it was an accurate comment. He circled every questionable part of my painting with a mean comment. But to be honest, his evaluations were straight to the point. In addition, there was also a painting repainted by the Elegant Elder himself, which was about my most dissatisfied painting. Honestly, that was the most beautiful painting I had ever seen.
āI will cry every time I read this letter. I question if I have the talent for painting and whether I want to go down this journeyā¦ But I gritted my teeth and practiced along with the criticism of the Elegant Elder. At that time, I really made significant progress.
āI just endured the humiliation, read the Elegant Elderās revisions over and over, and practiced over and over again. I even memorized every sentence of the letter at the end. It took me 8 years to digest the Elegant Elderās criticism. And at the time, I was 30 years old and took over my fatherās job.
āI was still painting as an amateur, and no one knewā¦ People had even forgotten the viscountās treasure āNigelā, who was famous ten years ago. Some people suspected I had committed suicide, so the poor artworks I sold were instead regarded as a painting that made a genius painter commit suicide. Their value increased ridiculously. The appreciation value was much more expensive than my proud works.
āI tried my best and spent a year painting an artwork that I was most satisfied with. Then, I sent it again to the Elegant Elder, but he soon painted me a better painting with a new criticism. But my faith could no longer be destroyed by him ā I just wanted to be a famous painter. To be famous again when everyone had forgotten me, to become rich by painting, and to return the favor from the past to the Paper Princess.
āSo I did another four years of penance under the advice of the Elegant Elder. I again sought approval from the Elegant Elder and was reprimanded. This was repeated twice. In the year I was 44, the Elegant Elder finally wrote me back.
āāHe said, āIt looks like a pass. Letās try and see if you can sell the paintingā.
āI burst into tears.ā
Nigel Elliott said in a hoarse voice with deep emotion, āSo after 20 years of absence from the art world, I made my debut again.
āMy goal this time is simple. I want to become the painter with the most money first and return to him the money the Paper Princess once gave me with interest. Then I want to imitate the Paper Princess to travel worldwide and use my paintings to record everything I see. Ultimately, I will give up all my wealth and go to Denizoya to serve art for the rest of my life.
āNow, I have completed the first goal. After I met the Paper Princess, I gave the Paper Princess my house in the capital, all my deposits, and cash as gratitude. After all, I am now not short of money because I can at least make a living by painting.
āNext, Iām going to travel around the world. The first stop is the Coldwind Fortress in the province of St. Felix. First, I want to see the legendary cold wind rumored to cut the flesh directly. Second, is it really possible to pour water into ice in Coldwind Fortress?
āIām going to see what the Frost Beasts are like, and Iām going to see if I see if the world changes after Iāve been drained of all positive emotions.ā
Annan felt Nigelās eyes shining brightly.
It was a brilliance similar to the light in his eyes.
Today, Nigel could be called a real painter.
āAustere-Winter Dukedom is dangerous,ā Annan warned in a low voice.
Nigel smiled, āIām not going to die. My life is still precious. When Iām about to die of old age, I will sponsor a few poor students who love painting and pass on what I have learned in my life to themā
āāI will pass on the kindness that the Paper Princess gave me in the past, the hopes and dreams that she gave me.ā
The eyes he looked at Annanā¦ There was no trace of love between men and women in the eyes that looked at the Paper Princess through Annan.