♡ TL: Khadija SK
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The prosperity of Laider, the capital of the Odintia Empire, was made possible by the Koble River.
Thanks to the blessing of the river that ran through the city, the water never dried up, even during the severe drought that struck the empire.
The lifesaving Koble River ensured both public entertainment and the well-being of the nobles.
The nobles of Laider often sought to gain fame by placing artistic works engraved with their family names in places visible to everyone.
One of the most precious of these works was the fountain.
There were many nobles in Laider, and everyone hurried to install fountains in the city’s vacant spaces.
It was like a kind of territorial marker.
Thanks to this, in Laider’s summers, the sound of flowing water from more than a hundred fountains filled the city with sounds reminiscent of rain, and everyone could hear it even if they weren’t nearby.
The spray from the fountains, which were found in almost every alley, allowed the residents of Laider to forget the summer heat and live in refreshing coolness.
Among the many fountains, the most famous was a boat-shaped fountain in the central square.
This fountain was called the Island of the Mermaids, a name that referred to a marble-carved ship and various other sculptures spread around it.
The beautiful mermaid statue at the bow of the ship was considered a symbol of good fortune, so travelers visiting Laider would often make a wish in front of the fountain and take a sip of its water to fulfill it.
The water flowing from all around the boat quenched the thirst of people and horses passing through the square, and it also spread blessings everywhere.
However, about a year ago, the mermaid statue, which was a symbol of the city, was damaged during an attack by a gang member.
The vandals drew a cross over the mermaid’s head, which had been severed and placed on the ground, and painted her with crying tears.
A committee was soon formed to restore the statue, followed by support from confident artists.
Naturally, a bet followed over which artist would sculpt the new mermaid statue.
Money naturally followed the bet.
The sacred mermaid statue became the subject of a new wager.
Since such a rare confrontation occurred, the people of Odintia, who loved gambling, were ignited with excitement.
The fountain now smelled of money instead of water, so it should have been filled with excitement and enthusiasm among everyone.
But the betting board was quiet.
Since there was an obvious famous sculptor, people only bet on one person, and the wager was not as heated as expected.
“Of course, wouldn’t the statue’s restoration be entrusted to Master Gerold under the patronage of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?”
“How could anyone overcome that talented artist who’s responsible for the statue of the Holy Father?”
“Do you mean Holger? Wasn’t he the one who was expelled for vandalizing the cathedral murals in the past? That man’s career ended as soon as he entered this competition.”
Dozens of sculptors submitted applications to craft the statue.
Just participating held great value, as it was a prestigious competition, and it didn’t matter much who won or lost.
Now, the final contestants were being revealed in the square, and the most admired piece would decorate the ship’s bow, while the second-place piece would adorn one of the corners.
On the surface, two contestants would win, but it was expected that Gerold would undoubtedly be the sole winner.
They were nervous about the statue’s new form, but no one was worried about the betting outcome, so those who had taken the lead and raised the amount of money they had bet already believed they had won.
Only Theodore reignited the dying flame of the wager.
He made Hugo an unexpected bet.
“What was the Grand Duke thinking when he wagered with the Crown Prince? He has never won against him before.”
“He still can’t let go of his ambition to defeat the Crown Prince, so he’s desperate like this.”
“We call this greed, not ambition.”
Everyone clicked their tongues in unison, equally tired of Theodore’s repeated defeats at the hands of the Crown Prince.
The outcome was clear, but it took the Grand Duke a day or two to get over his failure each time, while everyone laughed at how he expressed his anger and mocked him.
“He really came.”
Those who were mocking Theodore stopped when they heard someone point to the corner of the square.
It was Hugo, speaking to Theodore.
“Ah, it seems you’ve come, Uncle, to confirm the jury’s decision yourself as well.”
“I made a bet with you, so I must check its result.”
“Ah… that bet. I accepted it because you wanted to, but why don’t we end this meaningless competition today?”
Hugo kindly suggested stopping the wager, as it was a losing battle anyway.
Usually, Theodore would respond with irritation or sarcasm, but not today.
“There’s something I truly want to confirm, so please kindly accept my request.”
“You shouldn’t bet on Holger if you really want to win.”
“If I had bet on the same person as you, Your Highness, it wouldn’t have been a bet.”
Theodore always lost to Hugo, which caused him to have a sharp attitude right before the competition. However, today, he was acting with an unusual calmness.
This attitude unsettled Hugo.
“No matter what it is you want to confirm, you can’t achieve it if you lose.”
“I’m betting on the winning side.”
“Did you secretly change your bet to the same person I bet on?”
“I’ve been betting on Holger from the start until now. It’s time for the Goddess of Victory to be on my side, at least once.”
“Did you just say the Goddess of Victory?”
The word “God,” spoken by Theodore, was completely unfamiliar.
Faith, much like love, was a word that didn’t suit Theodore at all. So, Hugo had never imagined the day would come when Theodore would speak of a deity.
Hugo felt an unusual sense of contradiction, a feeling he had never experienced before in his confrontations with Theodore.
“Did you bribe the judges?”
“What if I bribed the Goddess of Victory instead of the judges?”
Naturally, Hugo accepted the boring challenge because he was confident of his victory. Every time Theodore was defeated, Hugo’s position as Crown Prince became more solid, making it a useful way to assert his presence.
So today’s victory was supposed to be his.
Yet, Theodore seemed just as confident in victory, as though someone had already proven it to him.
The frustration and anxiety Hugo expected to see in someone who had always faced defeat were absent in Theodore’s eyes today.
Theodore was more confident now than Hugo had ever seen in his entire life.
At this point, Hugo also began to wonder where Theodore’s confidence came from.
“I’ll check them all, one by one.”
At the right time, the jury that made the final decision was revealed.
The veil over the work of the promising artist Gerold was removed.
As soon as the statue was unveiled, gasps of admiration spread throughout the square.
It was incredibly beautiful.
It was a statue of a sorrowful woman, praying to God with her hands together.
Not only had the broken mermaid statue been perfectly recreated, but its beauty had been captured with even greater precision.
The perfect balance of the graceful curves was the best that human hands could achieve.
It was as though the ideal mermaid was calling for the lost city to rise from beneath the seas.
It was certain that this masterpiece, showcasing Gerold’s undeniable skill, would become a representative work for him.
“As expected, he’s the best sculptor in the empire. I don’t even need to see the next statue.”
With everyone nodding in agreement, Holger’s mermaid statue was revealed.
The host removed the cloth from the statue.
This time, there were questions, not admiration.
“Huh? Why is there a net on the statue? The guard will be reprimanded for this.”
Clearly, the cloth had been removed, but there was a net covering the mermaid.
Everyone was confused, wondering if there had been an issue during storage, as it wasn’t uncommon to see such mistakes at a large event.
“Ah… no. That’s not a net; it’s part of the statue.”
People were shocked by someone’s words and looked at the statue again.
When they rubbed their eyes and looked again, there was indeed a meticulously carved net over the mermaid statue.
Even the texture of the rope and the structure of the rough net were all intricately sculpted pieces.
The marble net curved naturally, as if it were real rope.
No one could believe their eyes, even though they were seeing the statue right before them, and everyone wondered how it was possible to carve a rope out of marble over a stone statue.
It was an astonishing feat of craftsmanship.
“It must be so overwhelming that people are left speechless.”
Instead of admiration, the sound of the wind blowing through the square filled the air, and the place grew quiet.
Holger’s mermaid was struggling to escape the net that bound her, and the sense of strength and struggle was palpable.
The scene was so realistic that people were more confused than they were shocked.
It resembled the Goddess of Victory more than it did a mermaid.
There was no more fitting piece of art to reinstall the mermaid statue after overcoming the attackers’ assault.
Even without the judges’ announcement, the victory was certain.
This statue had been made for victory.
When the result became clear, Theodore smiled warmly.
Everyone was surprised to see him smile for the first time.
This was the first time Theodore had ever defeated Hugo, and it was also the first time he had smiled in front of them, victorious.
“…Why did you bet on Holger?”
Hugo tried to recover the smile of the kind prince and asked Theodore.
Holger had been a sculptor worse than beginners.
No one expected him to win because he had left Laider as if fleeing after losing a competition many years ago.
But now, the distributed profits in front of Holger would go to Theodore.
“Does this look like a mermaid to you, my nephew? In my eyes, I see the Goddess of Victory.”
“The worst sculptor in the competition will win!”
That day, Annette shouted behind his back as he walked away.
It had been his choice whether to listen to her whispers and bet on Holger or not, but if it weren’t for her, he would never have bet on Holger.
Thus, this was both a bet with Hugo and a gamble with Annette.
Then, for the first time, Theodore won the bet with Hugo.
He defeated Hugo and gained a very sweet lucky charm by his side.
“Don’t pretend you don’t know why you placed that bet.”
Theodore looked Hugo directly in the eyes, then left the square without saying another word.
In the place where Theodore had smiled, the people remained stunned as if they had been hit by an airstrike.
***
After Theodore left the villa, Annette tried hard not to think about him.
Fortunately, she had been very busy lately.
She spent her time buried in reading books piled up in the library and comparing the situation in Odentia between the past and the present, so she didn’t have the time to think about him at length.
On a day when the sky was exceptionally blue, she wondered if Theodore’s eyes looked like that, but she frowned and immediately dismissed the thoughts from her mind, ending her reflection on him then and there.
Moreover, since she was going for a walk with Silver now, she didn’t have time to think about him at all.
Above all, he was the one who had made Annette’s life this way and had summoned her to this place.
If she thought of him, it was likely that she would grow angry because of the grudge she carried in her heart, and her soul would burn with the fire of smoldering hatred.
“But why did he seem hurt that day?”
Annette muttered these words without realizing it.
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