I nodded with an understanding expression.
“I think I know what it means to have a precious painting too.”
I clasped my hands tightly and blinked innocently.
“What kind of painting could be precious to such a discerning young lady?”
Despite the kind words, her eyes didn’t seem particularly curious.
But I acted like I knew nothing and nodded enthusiastically.
“Yes! I’m glad you asked.”
And really, you’ll be the one happiest of all.
Blushing, I vividly described the painting.
“It’s a picture of a little girl hanging by a sunset window. When I look at it, it feels wistful and somehow warm, so it makes me feel good.”
“...!”
The Empress Dowager’s face stiffened.
Feigning ignorance, I explained how I got the painting.
“It was a bit expensive for me to buy, but it was the first time I fell in love with a painting at first sight. So I saved my allowance hard and bought it! It’s my treasure.”
“I wonder what kind of painting it is. It might be by an artist I know... Could you describe it in more detail?”
Unlike before, when she wasn’t too curious, the Empress Dowager now looked anxious.
Excited to boast about my treasure, I nodded emphatically.
“The sunset outside the window is a beautiful seaside. The girl looking out has brown hair, braided into one. Even from the back, you can tell she looks happy.”
I smiled brightly.
“It seems the painter loved the girl very much. When I look at the painting, I feel that love, and my heart becomes all warm and fuzzy.”
I raised my gaze to meet the Empress Dowager’s eyes.
“I don’t have a mother. Is this what it feels like to be loved by a mother?”
Suddenly.
The Empress Dowager stopped in place at my last words.
Her smile was gone.
She didn’t even have the composure to pretend to smile.
Her dry lips parted as her voice trembled.
“Could you... show me the painting?”
‘Of course, Your Majesty.’
This will be a bribe, after all.
“Yes!”
I hid my true feelings and smiled sweetly like an innocent child.
Slowly, the smile returned to the Empress Dowager’s face.
Only then did she remember and ask my name.
“What is our young lady’s name?”
Of course. Though she treated me kindly, until now she hadn’t even been curious about my name.
I smiled brightly.
“Erilot Astra.”
“Astra?”
The Empress Dowager looked at me in surprise.
The next day.
After wrapping the painting carefully, I climbed into the carriage with my grandfather.
He frowned, clearly displeased.
“You met the Empress Dowager at the gallery?”
“Yes!”
I nodded vigorously, but his frown deepened.
Since hearing what happened at the gallery yesterday, he hadn’t stopped.
Apparently, he didn’t like the idea of me meeting the Empress Dowager alone.
“Why she called you...”
Tsk, my grandfather clicked his tongue openly.
Meanwhile, the carriage arrived at the royal palace.
Excited because the destination was near, I jumped out of the carriage.
My grandfather caught me and warned,
“If that old lioness makes any unreasonable demands, tell me right away.”
“Yes!”
I answered cheerfully but had no intention to tell him anything.
‘The Empress Dowager will be my client.’
Hiding my thoughts, I answered energetically.
My grandfather looked at me displeased several times before leaving for the great hall.
I went straight to the Empress Dowager’s palace.
The palace was decorated with pure white beautiful marble that shimmered with a mysterious light depending on the angle.
A palace luxurious enough to reflect the Empress Dowager’s towering status.
But to me, it was nothing short of a treasure mine.
“Welcome, young lady. We have been waiting for you.”
A close attendant maiden of the Empress Dowager who came to greet me in front of the palace.
‘Usually, one waits for hours in the waiting room without any greeting.’
Apparently, the Empress Dowager cared a lot.
Without stopping at the waiting room, I was immediately led to the audience chamber.
The Empress Dowager, who was already waiting there, stood up sharply as I entered.
“Welcome.”
“I pay my respects to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager.”
She welcomed me with a gentle face.
“You really resemble your grandfather. To think you are the famous granddaughter of Duke Astra.”
“I often hear I resemble my grandfather a lot at home too.”
Some trivial talk passed between us.
It’s a rule of high society not to jump into the main topic immediately.
But even while chatting, the Empress Dowager’s gaze never left the painting.
‘She’s staring at it intently.’
I pretended not to notice and said,
“My grandfather didn’t believe I met Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, so he even escorted me to the palace just now.”
“Oh my. How could he not believe such a smart granddaughter?”
Ha ha ho ho.
Though they were nice words, the Empress Dowager’s anxiety reached its peak as the conversation dragged on.
She no longer hid the worn-out look.
‘She must be dying to confirm it quickly.’
But for the sake of dignity, she couldn’t show impatience.
‘That’s enough suspense.’
Judging the timing perfect, I spoke first.
“Then, may I show you the painting I mentioned yesterday?”
The Empress Dowager seemed about to leap up in her seat.
“Of course! I want to see it right away.”
Rustle, rustle.
Even while I carefully unwrapped the tightly bound packaging, her eyes never left it.
Swoosh.
As the last wrapping fell to the floor, the painting was revealed.
“......”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes trembled slightly.
I looked at the painting with rapture.
“The child is really pretty, isn’t she?”
“Is she...?”
“Yes. She looks pure. Surely she was a good child.”
“It seems she must have been, at least once.”
The Empress Dowager’s gaze remained fixed on the painting.
But what she was seeing was beyond the painting.
“It seems the painter loved her very much. The love is deeply felt in the painting. Your Majesty thinks so too, doesn’t she?”
“Yes... that’s right.”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes trembled minutely. Her lips pressed tightly.
She no longer spoke to me but looked endlessly at the painting.
Endlessly.
After a while.
The Empress Dowager cautiously spoke.
“My dear, might you sell this painting to me?”
“What?”
I feigned surprise, widening my eyes and glancing away awkwardly.
“Ah... but it’s my favorite painting...”
“I will pay whatever price you want.”
“I—”
The Empress Dowager stared intently at my lips, unable to hide her anxiety.
Her gaze seemed to say she would give anything no matter what price I asked.
“—I don’t need money.”
It was an unexpected answer; the Empress Dowager inhaled sharply.
“You don’t need money?”
I nodded.
Though I always need more money, this painting is not what I want to buy with money.
‘What I want is different. It’s...’
Your love!
Suppressing the urge to shout this, I kept a gloomy face.
The Empress Dowager showed a complicated expression, unable to take the painting from a child for the sake of pride.
It was obvious she wanted it badly.
But she couldn’t simply say it was painted by her late mother.
‘Who would believe such a coincidence?’
No one would.
And it actually wasn’t a coincidence.
‘Because I made it all up.’
“I see...”
The Empress Dowager fell silent, as if struggling to find words. Her expression was naturally unpleasant.
Seeing her face, I pretended to bite my nails worriedly.
Then I sighed deeply, as if making up my mind.
“Your Majesty... do you like this painting?”
“Yes.”
“Then... I’ll give it to you. No need for money.”
The Empress Dowager’s eyes grew wide.
Her expression said: I was ready to give it for any price, but no money?
“Why?”
“My grandfather said the royal palace has many hardships.”
I shook off the gloom and continued.
“When I had a hard time, this painting comforted me greatly. Your Majesty probably has even more hardships than me.”
Meeting her eyes, I smiled brightly.
“I hope Your Majesty feels as happy as I do whenever you see this painting.”
Ah...
The Empress Dowager’s maids nearby let out small sighs.
Each of them wore moved expressions.
“......”
The Empress Dowager gazed at me vacantly. Unlike before, her eyes were very deep.
“Thank you. But I can’t accept a precious painting without giving you something in return.”
After some thought, she asked.
“My dear, are you still in the capital?”
“No. I’m going down to Astra Manor today.”
“You’re going too fast.”
“My father has a lot of work. He’s too busy to spend more time.”
The Empress Dowager looked at me with a face full of regret.
I laughed awkwardly.
“I see. If you’re at the manor, I’ll send you gifts.”
“Gifts? You don’t have to do that...”
“It’s my heart. Please don’t refuse.”
Actually, I never intended to refuse.
I chuckled inside.
After that, a warm atmosphere continued.
The attendants who were already polite became even kinder, offering me various things.
“Please try this. The patissier specially made this dessert for the Empress Dowager.”
“Try this too. The Emperor also likes this ice cream.”
“Hehe, the baby is eating so well. Looks nice.”
No, they’re giving me too much.
I can’t eat all this—
‘It’s delicious.’
The Empress Dowager’s patissier was truly skilled.
Before I knew it, I had enthusiastically devoured the desserts.
After that happy tea time,
“Today was really fun!”
I said my goodbyes and was about to leave the audience chamber when the Empress Dowager stood up and saw me out.
She smiled warmly and said,
“Tell your grandfather. I’ve never envied Duke Astra in my life, but today I have just one thing.”
I clenched my fist inside.
‘Yes! Success!’
I smiled so hard my eyes almost closed.
“Yes!”
Returning from the palace, my father was coming out of the mansion.
Since my luggage was already packed, I didn’t need to bring anything else.
I hurried toward my father.
“Are we leaving now?”
“Yes.”
He smiled and tousled my hair.
Behind him, Uncle Grimy came to see us off.
With a grateful expression, Uncle said to my father,
“Thanks to you, we overcame a great crisis. Thank you, Daymond.”
My father only nodded without modest words.
‘So cool.’
When we got into the carriage together, my father looked carefully at my hands.
He seemed curious about all the things I was holding.
“What’s that?”
“The Empress Dowager gave them to me. She told me to be happy with these until the real gift arrives.”
What I held were cakes and sweets the maids had made me eat diligently.
They didn’t want me to leave empty-handed.
Of course, the sweets were delicious, but I was more interested in the real gift.
‘What on earth will she send?’
My heart fluttered.
The anticipation before opening a gift is always the best.
“What do you mean by the real gift?”
Because things had happened so quickly, I hadn’t had time to explain to my father.
‘I didn’t want my grandfather to be disappointed if he didn’t know.’
I quickly told him what had happened between me and the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° Empress Dowager.
I left out only that I had deliberately acquired the painting to approach her.
My father nodded.
“Maybe you really are lucky, as people say. Well done. Father will be pleased.”
Watching my innocent father, I thought inside,
‘Dad, there’s no such thing as luck. Everything is fate.’
The next day, at the factory.
Unfortunately, the day after returning from the capital was the day of the exam.
I shared the desserts I got from the Empress Dowager’s palace with the children around me rather than eating them alone.
The children admired and savored every bite.
“Wow, it’s so delicious...!”
“I thought our castle’s patissier was the best. But this is a whole new world!”
Seeing the children happy made me feel proud too.
While the kids ate desserts, I slipped away quietly.
‘I’ve set the bait, so they probably won’t look for me for a while.’
I avoided people’s eyes and went to the back garden.
There was something I had to check.
‘Good.’
After nodding, I returned to the children.
No one noticed I had slipped away.
On the contrary, they were so engrossed in the desserts, exclaiming with every bite in ecstasy.
‘That much, huh?’
Maybe I shouldn’t have refused the extra.
Everyone gathered in the training ground for the exam.
It was advanced training practical exercises.
Liangtin wore a grim face and sighed.
His gaho was weak, so he always got beaten by other direct relatives in practical fights.
Meanwhile, Dionera flew around.
Dionera’s gaho was .
In close combat, anyone could have their head smashed by Dionera.
But Dionera... was bad at studying. Really bad.
Beep!
The whistle blew, and the match started.
It was Balzac versus Joffrey.
Bang!
Crash!
Balzac, who had physical gaho, attacked Joffrey with a bored face.
‘Hmm. Nothing to see here.’
In a blink, Balzac crushed Joffrey.
“Ah! I’m bleeding, bleeding!”
Joffrey screamed and pointed to his injury.
‘Pfft.’
He was barely scratched but made a huge fuss.
‘Such a drama queen.’
If that’s how he acted with Balzac, how much did Balzac hold back?
He’d probably get more hurt just from falling down.
Because Joffrey was making such a fuss, Joffrey’s servant came and carried him off.
‘Who’s next after Balzac?’
Not Joshua.
Joshua doesn’t participate in practical training at the training ground.
His gaho is .
compresses the surrounding space, so using gaho would inevitably destroy the training ground.
He can’t do practical training, so he was passed over.
Then my name was called.
“Next, Loreina and Erilot!”
Loreina on the opposite side sneered.
Her smile was funny but not at all positive.
Understandable.
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 ‘She’s Joffrey’s older sister.’