It's not stealing if I credit them, and I can remove it if they ask me to do it.
The way you word it is problematic itself.
It's one thing if they write under their art 'free to use for personal/commercial use'
BUT if there is no written permission and you take their art (even with credit) to advertise your story, then it's copyright infringement. Sure a lot of artists are lax about it, but some are not.
Frankly, no matter how much you credit them, your readers will give a fart about it. The artist gets nothing out of it.
And please, that 'remove on request' is the same as saying 'I use your stuff, but you don't know it. But I'm nice enough to remove it if you're not okay with it. Given you will ever find out.'
Bruh, how the heck are artists supposed to know where their art ends up? It's not them who want their art to be used, but the other way around.
And since when is the silent cold shoulder a yes?
My story's cover came from DeviantArt, and I have already asked the artist if I can use their art or not. But since they didn't reply at all, I figured that I can just use it and then credit them for it. If they ask me to remove it, then I will remove it.
DeviantArt is as good as dead.
My favorite artists already moved away from it. And I only go there once in a bluemoon to look up beginner guides I can link to others.