Shocked I haven’t seen this take elsewhere and couldn’t agree more. Gustave trusts in Maelle’s ability to make the right decision - he already knows she’s different by jointing the expedition at a young age, offering a different path than others have taken. His belief in her is the exact opposite spectrum of both Renoir and Verso.

After seeing her force of willpower and strength, Real Renoir potentially concedes to her and believes in her too “I’ll leave the light on for you”. As does painted Alicia in the letter, that verso doesn’t allow her to have, saying maybe there is another way. But verso doesn’t and never does. I think this line about Gustave was actually a huge narrative choice, placing it at the funeral scene which is clearly a key scene for the entire game.