Chapter 77: 77

Exhibition

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Immediately Lilia left the courtyard and headed for the library. She arrived in front of her father’s office and knocked lightly. She opened the door when she heard a voice calling for her to come in.

As she went inside, Cliff, standing by the window and watering the ornamental turnips, welcomed Lilia.

“What’s the matter, Lilia?”

Lilia looked at the turnips planted in the pot for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“I’d like to show you the painting I mentioned before.”

“Oh, it’s finally finished.”

He put down the spray, and asked with a bright face, looking forward to it,

“Are you going to see it now?”

“Yes, do you have time?”

“Of course. Please wait a minute.”

The excited Cliff quickly changed into his outdoor clothes. He shouted as he poked his head out the door.

“Let’s go!”

The road led Lilia and Cliff out of the house. The carriage took them to the Atelier, where Vanessa stayed. It had been a long time since she last visited, but somehow the streets looked more lively than before.

Lilia parked her carriage at the end of the alley and walked along the street. As a result, the conversations of passers-by naturally came to her ears.

“It’s very crowded,”

“It’s a street full of artists, and it’s been popular these days. I heard the rent in this area went up a lot, right?”

“They must have benefited a lot. I don’t know who owns the building, but I envy them.”

Lilia, listening to them, blinked her eyes. She didn’t intend to sell it, so she bought it and forgot, but in the meantime, the market price seemed to have risen a lot.

Lilia entered the Atelier building. As she went up the stairs, a large space appeared where one could run freely. Vanessa immediately approached, as if she had heard their footsteps.

“Miss Lilia!”

“Long time no see, Vanessa.”

They exchanged brief greetings. Lilia introduced Vanessa to her father, who was standing behind her.

“Oh, this is my father.”

“Gasp.”

Her face turned pale. Vanessa was at a loss when she was told that he was the head of the famous Bloden family. Cliff smiled brightly and said hello as if he were accustomed to such a response.

“I’m Cliff Bloden. I’ve heard a lot about you from my daughter.”

At the polite greeting, which did not feel authoritative or arrogant, Vanessa said in a small voice, ‘Me, too…….’. Cliff was very polite to artists, and in terms of appearance, he looked like a typical good-natured man next door. Vanessa, who soon became accustomed to him, smiled shyly.

“I’ve heard that you’ve finished the painting.”

“Oh, that’s right! I haven’t shown my siblings yet, but they’ve been asking to see it.”

“Why are you showing it to me?”

“I wanted you to be the first to see.”

Vanessa smiled broadly and walked towards the easel where she had placed the canvas. They saw the canvas covered with a white cloth. Vanessa removed the cloth and the painting was revealed.

“……!”

Cliff stared at the painting without blinking, as if he became a statue. It felt like he would be sucked into the painting at any moment. After confirming his reaction, Lilia smiled and turned.

Lilia carefully examined the painting on the canvas. She had already seen it once before it was completed, but she was impressed. Cliff, who had been quiet for a long time, jumped with excitement and cried,

“Lilia! Let’s have an exhibition right now!”

***

After that, Lilia had a busy day helping Cliff. Cliff, fascinated by Vanessa’s paintings, became a torchbearer saying that an exhibition should be held as soon as possible. He declared that it was a sin to leave such a picture concealed.

However, Vanessa did not have many paintings done. Except for the finished one, everything else was closer to a sketch. After sharing opinions, Vanessa’s painting was decided to be displayed at an exhibition planned by Cliff. They thought the work itself could get enough light, so they decided to compete with her skills.

In the end, Lilia helped organize a small event. The artists’ names were all anonymous and visitors were asked to put roses in front of their favorite paintings. They advertised that the artist whose painting received the most roses would come out and greet the crowd.

And on the day of the opening of the exhibition, people flocked to it nonstop.  Each visitor placed a rose one at a time on their favorite piece of art. It was still morning, but a rose hill had already been built in front of Vanessa’s painting.

“Really….. It’s a great painting.”

Frances, who looked at Vanessa’s painting as if possessed, admired it.

“I feel nostalgic.”

The lines stretched out roughly and vigorously, but the colors were bright and warm. It was not a dark and gloomy atmosphere, but a view of a life-filled slum. Frances, from the slums, seemed to be very pleased with the painting.

Everyone talked about Vanessa’s work. Her painting was attractive to everyone, regardless of age or gender. Even those who were not interested in or were not familiar with paintings and those who had a particular eye for paintings praised her piece.

“I’ve seen a lot of works so far, but this one is amazing.”

Someone poured out some praise in a fairly loud voice.

“I assure you, the artist who painted that picture must belong to the 3rd generation.”

Lilia turned her head to follow the master of the voice. A middle-aged man looked at Vanessa’s work and expressed his opinion with confidence.

“It’s my first time seeing this technique, but I think it’s a considerable rookie who just graduated from an art academy.”

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The man who had aimed at a point in the painting rubbed his chin and spoke,

“Looking at those bold brush marks, the artist must be a man.”

“You can notice so many things from one painting, Count.”

The Count shrugged his shoulders as they flattered him. People around who overheard the story spread the information, saying, ‘It’s a famous rookie.’

Lilia quietly watched the people’s reactions. Although their guesses were all wrong, she thought it was a good idea to reveal the work anonymously. This was because many people judged the work only by the artist’s name. What school you are from, whether you graduated from an academy, whether your gender is male or female…..

Lilia hoped that Vanessa would see the light brought by her ability, regardless of all that judgment.

“Lilia,”

Lilia turned her head at the voice calling for her. There stood Karhan. He seemed to have come right after his afternoon lesson.

“Congratulations on the exhibition.”

“Thank you,”

Lilia looked at Karhan. They’ve been so busy lately that they haven’t had a chance to see each other properly.

“Let me present the painting to you.”

Lilia put her hand on his arm. Karhan flinched for a moment but was soon taken away in silence by Lilia’s hand. Karhan, who had been appreciating the work for a while, murmured,

“I think the person who painted this picture is a genius.”

“Right? I discovered them.”

Lilia shrugged her proud shoulders. Kahan became sullen for a moment and then shook his head. He put down a rose he was holding.

Lilia, who had been watching for a while, looked around lightly. It was about time the people she invited came. As she looked around, she saw a strangely familiar woman.

‘I think I’ve seen her somewhere…….’

Lilia tilted her head. Unlike her modest appearance, her face was elegant. Lilia was not sure, but she thought she was a noblewoman. The woman soon disappeared into the crowd with a tall woman standing behind her.

Lilia was having a casual conversation with Karhan, and members of the art-loving group came. They looked at Vanessa’s painting and praised it as a rare masterpiece. For the nobles who were thirsty for fresh works, it was like discovering an oasis.

“The Lord is here too.”

The nobles recognized Karhan. They still looked disapprovingly at Karhan. Nevertheless, they were not indiscriminately wary or sharp as before. Karhan also lowered himself without being nervous and spoke politely.

The old nobles, who were relieved, threw questions at him, and Karhan answered them calmly.

“You don’t act like those young people these days, you have a deep knowledge of antique art.”

“I’ve learned a lot from Count Bloden. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to learn from you as well.”

“What… as far as I know….”

Seeing them secretly getting along well, Lilia laughed to herself. Since there was a common topic, Karhan was also having an easy time with the conversation.

She suddenly remembered Karhan when they first met. He couldn’t answer properly because he didn’t know how to have a conversation……  When she thought back on that time, she realized a lot has changed in the past few months.

Lilia, who was looking after the old nobles, made eye contact with an elder from the Duke of Evantheon’s faction*. After a brief glance, he slowly nodded his head. Originally, he spoke very few words, so he had only a handful of conversations with Lilia.

By late afternoon, the exhibition ended in great success. Originally, the staff was going to count the roses in front of the artwork, but it seemed that there was no need for that. It was because there were far too many roses in front of Vanessa’s paintings. It was enough to create a small flower garden with the roses front and center.

Visitors waited to see the artist’s face. It was because the artist who received the most flowers would greet the visitors directly.

“What kind of painter is he?”

“I heard earlier that he was a disciple of a court painter.”

“I heard that he had studied abroad.”

Indiscriminate information about the artist became a fact. At the center of it was the Count, who was full of speculation.

The exhibition hall staff started putting name tags on the bottom of the works. There were those who lamented why they hadn’t recognized them before, and others tilted their heads when they heard the name for the first time. And Cliff, the organizer of the exhibition, stood in front of Vanessa’s work and spoke.

“Thank you very much for coming to the exhibition today. As promised, I will introduce the artist who has received the most roses.”

Applause rang from all sides. People waited with expectations for the artist to appear. Moments later, Vanessa walked out in front of the crowd, nervously. In front of her painting, Vanessa introduced herself.

“…Hello, I’m Vanessa, who painted this piece.”

The people who saw Vanessa made a commotion.

“She’s a woman? Not a man?”

“She doesn’t have a surname. Is she a commoner?”

The Count, who had been eagerly speculating earlier, frowned. Those who were flattering before now looked at the count with a troubled face.

“I have a question,”

The Count raised his hand, and Vanessa looked at him.

“I wonder which school you belong to and when you graduated from the Academy.”

Vanessa looked at Lilia once. Lilia nodded lightly. Vanessa, taking a deep breath, replied,

“I have never entered anyone’s school, nor have I ever officially learned painting.”

The Count’s face crumpled at the words. He raised his hand and pointed at Vanessa and shouted,

“We’re not in some marketplace, and yet this painting belongs to a person who is not a painter!!”

***

(* before readers get confused the House of Evantheon has one head [the duke] and 13 elders in the Duchy who hold power and have a big role to play in the succession issue, right now Lilia has met with only one elder out of 13 elders and yes in the previous volume the elder had made an appearance but I had translated it to the “Duke Evantheon” but now I have corrected it in the previous chapter, so one of the elder is in art Loving group and not the duke.)

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