Chapter 91: 91

Chapter 91: Now is the Chance

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Lilia greeted the guest with great nervousness. It was her first time dealing with the royal family alone without her family. She became even more cautious because the purpose of the Empress’s visit was to meet her.

“Let’s sit down and talk first.”

She spoke in a low voice. She behaved like the owner of the house, but considering her status, it was not at all strange. Standing by the door, Lilia walked with a creak and sat across from the Empress.

Lilia looked carefully at the Empress with the utmost courtesy. Looking closely, she felt strangely familiar. It must have been that she saw her a few times at the banquet, but Lilia didn’t know why she was so familiar.

‘……Ah.’

Lilia, who had realized it belatedly, widened her eyes. She had seen her in the exhibition where she had previously hung Vanessa’s work. It was a short moment, but she could feel dignity even in modest attire, that’s why she drew Lilia’s attention without realizing it. She speculated they were an aristocrat, but……she didn’t know it was the Empress.

Her head began to spin. Lilia stopped thinking and raised her hand. An employee waiting behind came out with a tea set. As the tea was poured, a mellow scent spread. The Empress picked up the teacup and opened her mouth first.

“I visited the exhibition hosted by the Bloden’s. I saw a painting that captured my heart.”

Lilia knew what she was going to talk about just by the beginning of her words. She came to request a painting, but the words that followed were different from what she expected.

“To get to the point…… I want to bring the artist you have as the court painter.”

Lilia, who was looking down at the teacup, slowly raised her head. Clink, the sound of the teacup meeting the pedestal resounded, and the Empress met her gaze.

“I’ll pay three times the down payment and then I’ll give you one thing you want as a reward.”

Lilia clenched her fist unknowingly. The Empress’s proposal was very attractive. Apart from the down payment she couldn’t believe that the Empress would give her one thing that she wanted. She was speaking under the name of the Empress, so the problem of her breakup with Richard would be easily resolved.

And it was a great opportunity for Vanessa. It was unprecedented for a commoner to become a court painter. If she became a court painter, she would have all the money and honor.

Apart from that merit, this proposal had to be accepted. The Bloden family was not on good terms with the royal family. It was obvious that all kinds of sanctions would come in if Lilia acted out of sight here.

Lilia, who had not spoken for a while, exhaled slowly. Lilia opened her mouth while being as polite as possible.

“I’m so sorry. I don’t think it’s up to me to decide.”

The eyes of the Empress narrowed.

“I’ll entirely follow Vanessa’s opinion.”

“My goodness.”

At the Empress’s sigh, Lilia closed her eyes unknowingly. She will have regrets, but she didn’t intend to retract her remarks. Lilia slowly opened her eyes. Contrary to expectations, she showed no signs of discomfort.

“I’m sorry to hear that. She’s already turned me down.”

“……What?”

“She asked me to reconsider the offer, saying that she wanted to repay you.”

‘If the Miss had accepted my offer, I was going to take her at any cost’……. she murmured to herself. The Empress soon shook off her expression full of regret as if she had given up on her lingering feelings.

She slowly straightened her back and put her hand on her lap. Elegance emanated from each action. At last she gave a relaxed smile.

“Then will you accept my painting request first?”

Thanks to Vanessa’s mandate, Lilia had the right to choose her first client. Lilia’s head was spinning fast.

Although she has received numerous favors so far, she will never have a better client than the Empress to announce Vanessa’s name. Everyone will be paying attention to Vanessa in the future. Lilia slowly relaxed and smiled widely.

“I’ll gladly accept it.”

The Empress nodded contentedly.

Since then, Lilia and the Empress have talked about various things. Although the two had more than twice an age difference, they had one thing in common: they were very interested in art. As they shared simple views on works of art, they found that they had similar tastes.

Interests then shifted elsewhere, and they have been talking for quite some time. The Empress smiled with satisfaction.

“You know there’s a banquet at the Imperial Palace in the summer, right?”

Banquets were held at the Imperial Palace about twice a year. Unlike the last banquet, where only aristocrats attended, the summer banquet itself was different in size. It was a place where nobles, high ranking aristocrats, and local aristocrats were present.

She brought this up herself to mean that Lilia must attend. As Lilia nodded, the Empress laughed and whispered,

“I’ll see you then.”

***

A few days ago, Karhan went out to the outskirts of the capital and caught a fox. He had a hard time capturing it alive, but he was proud to give Lilia something.

Karhan presented the fox he had caught himself to Lilia, and he was dragged out by Violet and scolded.

—I told you to be a fox but you caught a real fox?

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—I thought Lilia wanted a real fox.….

Upon hearing Karhan’s answer, Violet was bewildered. Violet said, shaking her head,

—There must have been some misunderstanding. Lord, do you know what a fox is?

Karhan blinked as if he did not know. Violet explained the meaning in an easy-to-understand manner.

—It’s not about being straightforward, instead subtly earning her favor. Sometimes you need an exaggeration or a little lie to get your opponent’s attention.

Only then did Karhan realize the meaning of what Violet said. She said not to be dull like a bear, but to be shrewd. Eventually, the fox Karhan caught was released in the forest. Lilia liked it, saying it was her first time seeing a live fox, so that was enough.

There was a rattling sound of carriage wheels rolling from outside. Karhan, leaning by the window and enjoying the sunlight, looked up and glanced at Tession sitting opposite him. He looked down immediately as if he had been looking at Karhan for a while.

Karhan knew that Tession was worried about him a lot these days. He seemed worried because he did something he didn’t usually do. Thinking about what to say to reassure him, Karhan decided to tell the truth.

“Tession.”

“Yes, Lord Karhan.”

“There’s something I couldn’t say…….”

Tession was nervous as Karhan hesitated. Then he asked with a pensive look.

“I wonder if you’re in debt without me knowing…….”

‘How much is there in the safe?’ Tession muttered to himself, and Karhan shook his head. Although it was the only two in the carriage, Karhan spoke very carefully.

“I love Lilia…, I really fell in love with her.”

A confession that couldn’t have been made to Lilia came out like that. The unexpected words hardened Tession. Tession, who couldn’t say anything for a moment, said to himself, ‘Ahhhh… So…,’ he nodded after convincing himself.

“So you two are really starting a relationship now?”

Tession asked with a look of inward anticipation. He was one of the few people to know the relationship between Lilia and Karhan. He felt a bitter taste coming up in his throat. Karhan shook his head quietly.

“Because I’m the only one in love.”

“……I will do my best to help you!”

As Tession burned with enthusiasm, Karhan became uneasy for some reason. He was grateful, but Tession had a history of mistaking palpitations for heart disease.

Eventually, the carriage stopped in front of the main building of the Bloden Mansion. Before going to the annex, he was going to see Lilia for a while. At first, he hesitated because she was busy with work, but after listening to Violet, he decided to be more bold.

After getting out of the carriage, Karhan looked around. The mansion was quieter than usual. There were also no full-time employees. He thought something was wrong, but the front door opened with a click and Lilia came out.

“Good morning, Lilia.”

Karhan greeted Lilia with a bright face. Then Lilia said something else instead of greeting,

“Karhan, didn’t you get a letter?”

“Did you send a letter?”

“Well, I guess it’s too late. It’s because……the flu is going around in the mansion.”

Lilia sighed as if in trouble.

“Some employees are suffering from the flu. It was a letter telling you not to visit just in case you get infected.”

“Is it too serious?”

“Maybe it’s because it’s a summer cold, but it’s pretty strong. Malek, who had never been sick before, was also sick in bed.”

As Lilia muttered in a worried voice, Karhan looked grave. Seeing Karhan like that, Lilia said,

“So don’t come until the flu is completely over.”

It seemed like a thunderbolt hit his head. Karhan looked at Lilia in shock. He didn’t know when the flu would end, but to not come…… Then it meant that he couldn’t meet Lilia. Even if he insisted that it was okay, she would send him back saying no. In that case…

Karhan immediately cast down his eyes in a pitiful manner. His straight eyebrow curled.

“Come to think of it… I haven’t been feeling well since this morning.”

At Karhan’s words, Tession looked at him with a face asking what he was talking about. Wasn’t he pretty good until just now? In addition, Karhan has a strong constitution, so he has never caught a cold in his life. But Lilia, who had not seen Tession, asked in surprise,

“Did you catch the flu too?”

Karhan’s conscience was pierced a lot. However, if he went back like this, it was obvious that he would not be able to see Lilia for a long time. So from now on, he was going to do what Violet said— to be a fox.

“I don’t know. I think I have a slight headache…….”

He had never caught a cold, so he didn’t know anything about the symptoms. Karhan let out a cough that resembled an empty cough. Tession looked at Karhan and had a bizarre expression on his face.

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