Ste had nothing else to do, so she chatted a bit more with L.


    "These aren''t replicas; they''re all originals. I heard the head of the Gardner family put on this exhibition for someone special. I was just lucky enough to benefit from it and see everything."


    L''s chat box showed that she was typing, but a long time passed without a


    message.


    Ste found it odd and assumed the other person had just tapped the keyboard by ident.


    Just as she was about to put her phone down, a message from L finally came through.


    "Did you have fun today?"


    Ste replied, "For the most part, yes."


    L asked, "For the most part? Sounds like something unpleasant happened?"


    Ste typed, "Yeah, I ran into someone I can''t stand at the exhibition. I can''t believe


    I saw him here of all ces."


    Lasked, "Why do you dislike him?"


    Ste replied, "Because of him, I can no longer do what I love."


    This time, it took L a long while to reply.


    "Do you hate him?"


    Ste said, "I used to, but not anymore. Hate is a very strong emotion. Disliking him is enough."


    L replied, "You have a good outlook on things."


    Ste said, "He''s already faced consequences for his actions. I don''t want to waste my time on someone who doesn''t matter. Hating someone is still a form of caring."


    L asked another question, "What about me? Am I an irrelevant person to you?"


    Staring at the unexpected message on her screen, Ste smiled gently.


    Through their conversations, she''d gotten the sense that L was a girl whocked security and affectionat seemed like she desperately wanted Someone to care about her. She probably didn''t have many friends, which was why she was seekingfort online.


    Ste thought for a moment and replied, "Of course not."


    L sent back a smiling emoji.


    In the next room, Joshua was on the phone with Harold.


    "Have the paintings from the exhibition been packed up?"


    Harold replied respectfully, "They''ve all been packed, sir. I''ve double-checked, and none of the paintings have been damaged. Should I have them transported back to the Gardner family now?"


    Joshua''s tone was light. "No need. Ship them all to Solmaris. I''m giving them to Star. Leonard is watching my every move, so can''t give them. to her directly. Find a private storage vault for Star and put them there for now."


    Harold was taken aback. "A-All of them?"


    Joshua didn''t hesitate. "Yes, all of them."


    Harold stammered, "Don''t you want to... keep a few?"


    Joshua wouldn''t be an artist, but that didn''t mean he didn''t appreciate collectibles. Even Harold knew how valuable these paintings were, impossible to measure in money. And Joshua was giving them away without a second thought. It was even more shocking than when he had given Ste the family token.


    Joshua said, "No. For me, these paintings are just collectibles. But for Star, they mean something entirely different."


    Harold grumbled internally. What''s the difference? Ste''s just going to put them in a collection, too, right?


    But Harold was smart enough not to say it out loud. A man determined to give a gift would find a hundred reasons for the other person to ept it.


    Harold said, "Understood, sir. I''ll get it done right away."


    Just as he was about to hang up, Joshua spoke again. "Star and I might go out on the water tomorrow. Make the arrangements. If she likes any of the inds, give them to her as well."