A bold red carpet of light overlaid the azure sky.
Most painters considered harmony to be the most important aspect of a painting.
Harmony was the reason for subtle coloring and the use of similar colors.
Liarte casually combined opposing blues and reds in a painting.
It was a color choice that could make the viewer nervous, but when it came to the painting, the two colors worked together exquisitely.
Someone’s suspicion spilled over into words.
“This doesn’t look like…”
People had already marveled at the way it worked.
At this moment, everyone was probably thinking the same thing, the red painting.
Hestel involuntarily stumbled back two steps.
‘How can this happen?’
Her breathing became labored.
Didn’t they say the painter of the red painting was already dead?
Michael, who had been sitting next to Liarte and whispering Moorish, looked at Hestel and lifted his lips.
The situation was so bad that even her coveted appearance was not in sight.
“Ah, Hestel, my dear. You’ve come to look at another painting, haven’t you?”
A young nobleman spotted Hestel and beamed.
The sound drew the eyes of the assembled visitors to Hestel for a moment before returning to their apprentice.
“How is the painting coming along?”
Hestel remembered the face of the young nobleman.
He had been there when she had gathered a group of people to boast about being the painter of the red painting.
“Everyone is excited to hear that you’re going to paint something similar to the Red Painting.”
“Everyone?”
Hestel’s voice quavered badly.
The young nobleman knew nothing and smiled broadly.
“Of course. I’m sure there are a few nobles here who don’t know about your paintings.”
Most of Birce’s visitors were high-ranking nobles or men of great wealth.
Individuals of power, like the Empress, were likely to have taken up painting as a hobby.
In their presence, she recalled how, in a fit of vanity, she had repeatedly claimed to be the true owner of the Red Painting.
It was all over if they found out.
Hestel’s face went absolutely white.
“Lady Hestel, are you alright?”
“Oh, nothing.”
She had to get out of this drawing contest now, but the Crown Prince and the Duke of Haron were nowhere to be seen.
Looking around in a panic, Hestel remembered something she had forgotten.
‘Duke of Haron’
The Duke of Haron knew that Hestel was the owner of the Red Painting, so he joined forces with the Crown Prince.
If she ran away from the banquet, the Duke would become suspicious.
She saw no way out.
Cornered, Hestel looked at Liarte’s painting once more.
Luckily, Liarte’s painting was unfinished, so the nobles, though suspicious, didn’t mention the red painting.
A similarity in coloring was no guarantee of the same artist.
‘She is certainly the painter of the red painting.’
This was the real one.
Hestel had seen the red painting many times and immediately recognized it.
It was the same patterns and lines, with almost the same method of coloring and the same fine control of the water mixed into the paint.
‘How on earth?’
Did this mean that the former princess was the real owner of the red painting?
“With the skills of a so-called genius, you will definitely win, so don’t worry too much.”
The young nobleman looked at Hestel with respect and encouraged her.
Things had escalated.
Forgetting that she was supposed to respond in kind, Hestel stalked back in the direction of her painting.
‘My painting.’
A painting that mimicked the red one was visible.
It showed traces of the red painting, with the world and things in red, somehow manipulating them to create an intense color.
It was painted by a painter’s spirit, so it was indeed good.
A stranger might have mistaken it for a painting by the red painter, but it wasn’t.
‘It’s not this’
Hestel had just seen the real thing.
The unique light, color, and emotion that she had seen in the sky and sunset were nowhere to be found in this painting.
Rather, it just looks unnatural, like she has been forced to copy someone else’s coloring.
‘I have to ruin this painting,’ she thought. ‘I have to throw it away before it’s finished.’
It was dangerous to go any further.
‘If the truth comes out, it will be my downfall.’
Those who admired Hestel would throw stones, point fingers, and denounce her.
They would drag the Crown Prince and Empress, who had been involved with Hestel, down into the mud.
While the painter’s spirit was at work completing the picture, Hestel thought nervously.
Or perhaps it would be easier to win their sympathy if she accused them of plagiarism first.
At that moment, the nobles, who had been silent so as not to interrupt the painting conversation, began to stir at once.
The Black Knights of Birce suddenly surrounded the garden where the painting Tournament was being held and stood as stoically as knights guarding the gate.
From among them walked the Duke of Birce, Carmen Birce.
Hestel was mesmerized again, unaware that her radiant beauty would be the poison that killed her.
“I am sorry if I have startled you while you were enjoying the painting competition.”
In Birce, the word of Carmen Birce was the rule.
Carmen informed the visitors and then nonchalantly approached Liarte.
“Lili.”
His voice was sweet, as if addressing his favorite daughter, and the nobles’ ears perked up.
Was this really the Duke of Birce, who had been preemptively eliminating enemies?
Liarte, who had been painting beside Michael, turned to face Carmen.
“I see you’ve been drawing.”
Speculation about the Princess of Elheim and Birce has erupted ever since.
Birce was seeking revenge on Elheim.
Or speculation that the former Elheim Princess was reluctant.
All of that was erased by seeing the current relationship between Carmen and Liarte in front of them.
“I hope I have not interrupted you.”
“It’s okay, I’m almost done.”
The two looked like father and daughter.
“It should be obvious, Father.”
Michael, who was sitting next to Liarte, looked up at Carmen and gave him a mischievous smile.
Apart from the good mood, their gazes exchanged a cold glance for a moment.
Hestel sat brazenly, oblivious to the fact that she was being hunted.
“But I can’t help it, I want to praise Lili, so I have to be able to endure it. Oh, and if you’re here, you’ve probably seen my child’s drawings—she recently made it to the finals of an anonymous drawing competition.”
Carmen smirked.
The nobles, uplifted by the fact that Duke Birce was speaking to them, nodded and chimed in with their own words.
“If it’s a painting of the main ship, most of the nobles who like paintings would have seen it.”
“What kind of painting are you talking about?”
“Can you tell me the title?”
He finally got the question he wanted.
Liarte, who had been listening to their conversation, replied.
“The World.” The title of only one of the paintings that made it to the final round.
The red painting was famous, but the title, The World, was not. But when the nobles recognized the title, they suddenly began to murmur.
Hestel froze.
“Will you give me a chance to see what kind of painting it is?”
“I’m afraid the painting has been stolen, so it can’t be displayed at the moment.”
Carmen sneered.
“I don’t know why, but after it made it to the main round of the competition, we didn’t hear anything about the painting any more and were not contacted by the supervisors.”
With the black knights surrounding the garden, there was nowhere for Hestel to run.
“I’ve drawn a few pictures for practice, though, so that’s all I’ll show you.”
Last night, Carmen told Liarte that someone had stolen her paintings.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I was going to do it again later.”
Liarte seemed surprisingly unconcerned, so Carmen said.
“Well, then, we’ll take care of it.”
Liarte nodded.
That was what happened at the painting competition today.
Dropping the Crown Prince and the Duke of Haron at Hestel’s side was easy.
“Bring me the painting.”
At Carmen’s gesture, the Black Knights brought back several paintings.
Their gazes fell upon the unfinished paintings.
One was painted in a bold red. Splashes of light and gold gave it an intense and unusual color. It looked like the red painting.
Before long, everyone was looking at Hestel.
“Oh, no.”
Shaking her head, Hestel stepped back.
‘Thief.’
She could see the faces of the nobles, mingled with suspicion and contempt, just as she had seen them when she had sent them envious glances for being a genius painter.
“By the way, did I not tell you that you won the first prize in a painting competition held anonymously and that the Crown Prince vouched for your skill?”
Carmen approached Hestel with a grim smile on his face and eerie red eyes.
“That’s my painting, my skills.”
Hestel fumbled with her hands and accidentally knocked the drawing she was working on to the floor.
A crude copy of the red drawing was visible.
Regardless of the artist’s skill, it was only a pathetic trace of her painstakingly copying someone else’s drawing.
They didn’t bother to compare the two paintings. Everyone could tell who was the real deal.
It was also very clear who the fake was—the impersonator, Viscount Lady Hestel.
The talent she boasted of was the result of stealing from others.
Even with so many people gathered here, the chilly silence stung her skin.
Hestel made a desperate excuse.
“It was an accidental overlap, that red painting is completely mine.”
“Really?”
Liarte, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
At the sound of her clear voice, people involuntarily admired her.
“Why do I feel this way?” Liarte thought to herself.
It was because Hestel had claimed Michael’s eyes as his own.
“Let me ask you something. What did you call the red painting?”
Hestel had been answering as best she could up to this point.
To some, she said it represented her anger; to others, it was a red world.
“Nothingness, a mere abstraction”
“That’s too bad.”
Liarte whispered dryly.
There was no ray of sympathy for Hestel.
“It was a picture I drew of Michael’s eyes.”
In the center of the red painting was darkness in the form of a round hole.
The moment they realized it was a pupil, all the questions about the painting were resolved.
The artist’s identity was revealed.
A bold red carpet of light overlaid the azure sky.
Most painters considered harmony to be the most important aspect of a painting.
Harmony was the reason for subtle coloring and the use of similar colors.
Liarte casually combined opposing blues and reds in a painting.
It was a color choice that could make the viewer nervous, but when it came to the painting, the two colors worked together exquisitely.
Someone’s suspicion spilled over into words.
“This doesn’t look like…”
People had already marveled at the way it worked.
At this moment, everyone was probably thinking the same thing, the red painting.
Hestel involuntarily stumbled back two steps.
‘How can this happen?’
Her breathing became labored.
Didn’t they say the painter of the red painting was already dead?
Michael, who had been sitting next to Liarte and whispering Moorish, looked at Hestel and lifted his lips.
The situation was so bad that even her coveted appearance was not in sight.
“Ah, Hestel, my dear. You’ve come to look at another painting, haven’t you?”
A young nobleman spotted Hestel and beamed.
The sound drew the eyes of the assembled visitors to Hestel for a moment before returning to their apprentice.
“How is the painting coming along?”
Hestel remembered the face of the young nobleman.
He had been there when she had gathered a group of people to boast about being the painter of the red painting.
“Everyone is excited to hear that you’re going to paint something similar to the Red Painting.”
“Everyone?”
Hestel’s voice quavered badly.
The young nobleman knew nothing and smiled broadly.
“Of course. I’m sure there are a few nobles here who don’t know about your paintings.”
Most of Birce’s visitors were high-ranking nobles or men of great wealth.
Individuals of power, like the Empress, were likely to have taken up painting as a hobby.
In their presence, she recalled how, in a fit of vanity, she had repeatedly claimed to be the true owner of the Red Painting.
It was all over if they found out.
Hestel’s face went absolutely white.
“Lady Hestel, are you alright?”
“Oh, nothing.”
She had to get out of this drawing contest now, but the Crown Prince and the Duke of Haron were nowhere to be seen.
Looking around in a panic, Hestel remembered something she had forgotten.
‘Duke of Haron’
The Duke of Haron knew that Hestel was the owner of the Red Painting, so he joined forces with the Crown Prince.
If she ran away from the banquet, the Duke would become suspicious.
She saw no way out.
Cornered, Hestel looked at Liarte’s painting once more.
Luckily, Liarte’s painting was unfinished, so the nobles, though suspicious, didn’t mention the red painting.
A similarity in coloring was no guarantee of the same artist.
‘She is certainly the painter of the red painting.’
This was the real one.
Hestel had seen the red painting many times and immediately recognized it.
It was the same patterns and lines, with almost the same method of coloring and the same fine control of the water mixed into the paint.
‘How on earth?’
Did this mean that the former princess was the real owner of the red painting?
“With the skills of a so-called genius, you will definitely win, so don’t worry too much.”
The young nobleman looked at Hestel with respect and encouraged her.
Things had escalated.
Forgetting that she was supposed to respond in kind, Hestel stalked back in the direction of her painting.
‘My painting.’
A painting that mimicked the red one was visible.
It showed traces of the red painting, with the world and things in red, somehow manipulating them to create an intense color.
It was painted by a painter’s spirit, so it was indeed good.
A stranger might have mistaken it for a painting by the red painter, but it wasn’t.
‘It’s not this’
Hestel had just seen the real thing.
The unique light, color, and emotion that she had seen in the sky and sunset were nowhere to be found in this painting.
Rather, it just looks unnatural, like she has been forced to copy someone else’s coloring.
‘I have to ruin this painting,’ she thought. ‘I have to throw it away before it’s finished.’
It was dangerous to go any further.
‘If the truth comes out, it will be my downfall.’
Those who admired Hestel would throw stones, point fingers, and denounce her.
They would drag the Crown Prince and Empress, who had been involved with Hestel, down into the mud.
While the painter’s spirit was at work completing the picture, Hestel thought nervously.
Or perhaps it would be easier to win their sympathy if she accused them of plagiarism first.
At that moment, the nobles, who had been silent so as not to interrupt the painting conversation, began to stir at once.
The Black Knights of Birce suddenly surrounded the garden where the painting Tournament was being held and stood as stoically as knights guarding the gate.
From among them walked the Duke of Birce, Carmen Birce.
Hestel was mesmerized again, unaware that her radiant beauty would be the poison that killed her.
“I am sorry if I have startled you while you were enjoying the painting competition.”
In Birce, the word of Carmen Birce was the rule.
Carmen informed the visitors and then nonchalantly approached Liarte.
“Lili.”
His voice was sweet, as if addressing his favorite daughter, and the nobles’ ears perked up.
Was this really the Duke of Birce, who had been preemptively eliminating enemies?
Liarte, who had been painting beside Michael, turned to face Carmen.
“I see you’ve been drawing.”
Speculation about the Princess of Elheim and Birce has erupted ever since.
Birce was seeking revenge on Elheim.
Or speculation that the former Elheim Princess was reluctant.
All of that was erased by seeing the current relationship between Carmen and Liarte in front of them.
“I hope I have not interrupted you.”
“It’s okay, I’m almost done.”
The two looked like father and daughter.
“It should be obvious, Father.”
Michael, who was sitting next to Liarte, looked up at Carmen and gave him a mischievous smile.
Apart from the good mood, their gazes exchanged a cold glance for a moment.
Hestel sat brazenly, oblivious to the fact that she was being hunted.
“But I can’t help it, I want to praise Lili, so I have to be able to endure it. Oh, and if you’re here, you’ve probably seen my child’s drawings—she recently made it to the finals of an anonymous drawing competition.”
Carmen smirked.
The nobles, uplifted by the fact that Duke Birce was speaking to them, nodded and chimed in with their own words.
“If it’s a painting of the main ship, most of the nobles who like paintings would have seen it.”
“What kind of painting are you talking about?”
“Can you tell me the title?”
He finally got the question he wanted.
Liarte, who had been listening to their conversation, replied.
“The World.” The title of only one of the paintings that made it to the final round.
The red painting was famous, but the title, The World, was not. But when the nobles recognized the title, they suddenly began to murmur.
Hestel froze.
“Will you give me a chance to see what kind of painting it is?”
“I’m afraid the painting has been stolen, so it can’t be displayed at the moment.”
Carmen sneered.
“I don’t know why, but after it made it to the main round of the competition, we didn’t hear anything about the painting any more and were not contacted by the supervisors.”
With the black knights surrounding the garden, there was nowhere for Hestel to run.
“I’ve drawn a few pictures for practice, though, so that’s all I’ll show you.”
Last night, Carmen told Liarte that someone had stolen her paintings.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said. “I was going to do it again later.”
Liarte seemed surprisingly unconcerned, so Carmen said.
“Well, then, we’ll take care of it.”
Liarte nodded.
That was what happened at the painting competition today.
Dropping the Crown Prince and the Duke of Haron at Hestel’s side was easy.
“Bring me the painting.”
At Carmen’s gesture, the Black Knights brought back several paintings.
Their gazes fell upon the unfinished paintings.
One was painted in a bold red. Splashes of light and gold gave it an intense and unusual color. It looked like the red painting.
Before long, everyone was looking at Hestel.
“Oh, no.”
Shaking her head, Hestel stepped back.
‘Thief.’
She could see the faces of the nobles, mingled with suspicion and contempt, just as she had seen them when she had sent them envious glances for being a genius painter.
“By the way, did I not tell you that you won the first prize in a painting competition held anonymously and that the Crown Prince vouched for your skill?”
Carmen approached Hestel with a grim smile on his face and eerie red eyes.
“That’s my painting, my skills.”
Hestel fumbled with her hands and accidentally knocked the drawing she was working on to the floor.
A crude copy of the red drawing was visible.
Regardless of the artist’s skill, it was only a pathetic trace of her painstakingly copying someone else’s drawing.
They didn’t bother to compare the two paintings. Everyone could tell who was the real deal.
It was also very clear who the fake was—the impersonator, Viscount Lady Hestel.
The talent she boasted of was the result of stealing from others.
Even with so many people gathered here, the chilly silence stung her skin.
Hestel made a desperate excuse.
“It was an accidental overlap, that red painting is completely mine.”
“Really?”
Liarte, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
At the sound of her clear voice, people involuntarily admired her.
“Why do I feel this way?” Liarte thought to herself.
It was because Hestel had claimed Michael’s eyes as his own.
“Let me ask you something. What did you call the red painting?”
Hestel had been answering as best she could up to this point.
To some, she said it represented her anger; to others, it was a red world.
“Nothingness, a mere abstraction”
“That’s too bad.”
Liarte whispered dryly.
There was no ray of sympathy for Hestel.
“It was a picture I drew of Michael’s eyes.”
In the center of the red painting was darkness in the form of a round hole.
The moment they realized it was a pupil, all the questions about the painting were resolved.
The artist’s identity was revealed.
