He didn't know why he had such a feeling, but it was best to let go of the painting before it caused any harm to him or his people.
"Kid, you know that keeping it in the gallery is more suitable for long-term money-making," Edward said, completely ignoring everything he had said.
"Please, just do as I say. I'll pay you ten percent of the income from the auction… just do as I said," Leon begged.
"Now you're talking. It's nice doing business with a smart person… oh, and by the way, someone bought my painting for $1 million. I thought I should give you some of it since you painted it," Edward said as he dropped the painting and walked up to his table to get something.
Hearing him, Leon frowned a bit… he was happy for extra money, but then again, he had only drawn a painting that was commissioned to him… no part of the painting belonged to him anymore.
"Here, there is about $200,000 in there... I know what you're thinking. Just think of it as an investment in you… I feel like a boy as smart as you are will eventually do very big things in this nation," Edward said as he handed over a black card.
Leon stared at the card for a while before collecting it from the man. He didn't even know where to start to thank him or how to react to the generous gift, but then he felt that something was wrong.
"Thank you, but I can't accept that. I already sold it to you, so I can't take any income from it. But if you wish to help me, you can donate it to the orphanage. That should be more rewarding. Besides, I can't do it myself," Leon said as he gestured to his body.
"With how you look, it would be a miracle if anyone recognized you as a minor," Edward replied as he slapped Leon's back.
"Thank you, sir," Leon said with a smile before he left the room.
Edward stood, continuing to stare at the door, his mind in shambles. He didn't know if he was dealing with an adult or a 17-year-old.
"At least I don't have to hide you," Edward said as he quickly brought out the supposedly sold painting from under the covers it was hidden behind.
He had never sold the painting. He had prepared the money as a way to outright buy whatever painting the boy brought next. After all, he had seen its effect.
If Leon had taken the money, then any fake contract he drew up would be legally binding, as the camera in his office recorded video without audio.
Meanwhile, Leon left the gallery, not understanding why he had just turned down the money that was given to him but still deciding to stick to his decision.
He had lost the money, but besides, if things went as he envisioned, he wouldn't care about a simple $200,000. He would be worth millions in liquid assets.
As Leon returned, he quickly branched off to the Frost Household, all in the name of an art lesson. Guess the mouth could lie as much as it wanted, but the mind would remain true.
…
Months passed as the surprisingly advanced internet quickly descended into madness over a set of paintings.
In order to maximize the value of the paintings, Mr. Webar, under the advice of the many advisors Leon had hired, had created a 24-hour VTube stream of each of the paintings.
It turned out the Fourfold paintings were much more than he had anticipated. Each one of the paintings had a different effect, which he already knew, but seeing them all together had an effect that lasted days.
Just this fact alone meant that each day, the number of gallery visitors doubled, and online debates and discussions formed as people discussed why and how the paintings had such an effect.
Several religious figures came forward, stating that they were symbols of divine intervention and such. To Mr. Webar, it didn't matter what was said—he knew that the more discussion there was about it, the more the value skyrocketed.
There had been multiple attempts to steal it over the past few weeks. However, to Leon, that wasn't what gave him the most headache.
In fact, it brought him joy, as he saw its value skyrocket. Online appraisers valued it at several millions, then billions, as they quickly became a global sensation.
However, the Cosmic Map he had created made his heart beat faster each time he saw news about it.
He went to the gallery once a month together with Mr. Webar to get his earnings from the gallery, and each time, there was a long line of people there to see it.
Among them were a bunch of suspicious-looking people that he was sure were there for reasons other than just viewing the artwork.
Some even outright came with various equipment in hand in the name of scanning the painting. Edward said he couldn't stop them since they weren't exactly touching the painting or doing any damage to it.
However, Leon remained uneasy.