“You may not think highly of me because I have not been able to pay my dues, but I am a person who leads the top alone.”
“Huh? Oh, no. I never thought less of you! I trust Olga, so I wanted to do something together.”
Baroness Saratov continued to say hello in appreciation of Asha’s faith.
“Your Highness, there are plenty of people who can draw within this land alone. Among them, there is at least one person who draws quite well on every street, and there are only five painters I know who can sell out a product if they advertise it.”
“Wow. Olga is amazing! I only have one friend who is a painter.”
For a moment Baroness Saratov paused.
“Ah… We were having a good conversation, why did you suddenly kill the mood…”
“Oh, no, I mean, there are five people Olga knows and I only know one…”
“That one is Mura Aylau, right?”
“I was trying to hide that fact for a moment. Hehe.”
“…”
Asha quickly decided to return to the original topic of conversation.
“Ah! Our Olga, you’re really amazing! Incredible!”
“Yes, when I say something, those people are immediately like, ‘Oh, my lord, if it’s work for our baroness, I must help!’ I tend to get a bit carried away and make some mistakes, but I’m not a gullible merchant who falls for anything.”
“Of course, of course. You have great vision and determination, and you’re persistent enough to visit Pavel in the palace. You don’t ignore me because I’m young and listen to me step by step. It’s amazing.”
“No… no, why are you suddenly… why… why are you like this…”
Suddenly, Baroness Saratov’s ears turned bright red as if they had malfunctioned. Asha, who had been looking at Olga with a teasing expression, clapped her hands and laughed.
“Olga! How can the person who will be the talk of the town as a great merchant hear this and have their ears turn red? You look like an apple now.”
“…You don’t know my feelings either… Are you really not the Spirit of Contracts?”
“I’m a real person. Why does Olga keep calling me the Spirit of Contracts?”
“Well, in the eyes of a merchant, nothing is as good as a contract… Oh, no. That’s not it.”
Baroness Saratov turned her words in surprise.
“What I meant to say! So, you entrusted me with the goods, so I was going to assign the paintings to those I trust.”
“Oh… Was that so?”
“Yes. I’m a woman of that caliber. But when you saw Mariya’s painting, you were greatly impressed and suggested using her again. After hearing those words, I finally started to see her paintings with my own eyes.”
If not for Asha’s words, Baroness Saratov would not have come forward and signed Mariya.
“Although it may seem like that when you break it down, it’s still Olga…”
Baroness Saratov bent over and made eye contact with Asha.
“Your Highness, those who draw beautiful things never forget who their angels truly are.”
“Oh… no… But still, Olga! I’m so embarrassed!”
“Ahahaha! I’ll proceed as it is, Your Highness!”
Baroness Saratov laughed loudly and left Asha’s kitchen as if she were running away with prototypes and documents.
“Olga! Hold on!”
“Next time, I’ll bring the finished product, Your Highness!”
“No, come on! Hold on, Olga! Let’s talk about the payment for the exhibition… Come on!”
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
[Beauty belongs to all human beings.
There is a great exhibition held in a beautiful mansion located in the southern part of the city. And this exhibition asks for qualifying beautiful things in the world.
… (omitted).
Regardless of social status and occupation, this exhibition is held with a mere admission fee of 5,000 karousas. The paintings exhibited in this exhibition are only six pieces. However, if you hear the name of the painter who created these paintings, you will realize that gathering these six pieces together is a miracle.
The artist was selected by the Aylau family at the age of six and gained everyone’s attention by showing off her outstanding talent in front of His Majesty at the age of ten. Well, by this point, everyone knows who I’m talking about.
It’s filled with the paintings of the greatest painter of our time, Mura Aylau…
…The host of the exhibition is known to be Princess Anastasia, the granddaughter of His Majesty the Emperor. This fact is supported by one of the six paintings, which is also Mura Aylau’s latest work, “The Girl Smiling in the Light.”
The portrait of a girl looking back at us in the light with her pink hair hanging down is as brilliant and beautiful as if she had moved an angel on a canvas. The painting encompasses the artistic talent of Mura that we are familiar with in various colors, and it truly shines as if looking through a kaleidoscope…
…Although the exhibition is said to be very short, it is clear that it will be the first step in bringing about a major upset within the empire in terms of art and its enjoyment.
In addition, chocolate confetti is given out to everyone who watches the exhibition. Make sure to take care of it. It’s a taste that opens up a new lineage of melt-in-your-mouth sugar snacks that we knew! I can’t forget the taste, so I will cry myself to sleep tonight.]
Asha looked pleased as she reread an article about the exhibition, which was recently brought by Baroness Saratov, as a feature article in “Monthly Vichegda.” Although the settlement of the exhibition has already been completed.
“Your Highness, which of these clothes should you take with you?”
Lise approached from the closet with three sets of clothes in her arms. Asha closed the magazine and tilted her head.
“Ah… What should I take?”
“You also need to decide on a coat. Just a moment.”
Lise placed the dresses on the carpet and chairs and this time brought the coats, pajamas, and the earmuffs that Lilmari had given her.
“I’ve got everything I need to take, and I think it’s better to choose what Your Highness wants to take as an extra.”
“What if I want to take everything?”
“You can take them all.”
“But I can’t. I’ll take these earplugs with me. Out of the coats…”
“—You seem very excited.”
“Oh? Grandfather!”
Asha, who was looking around for clothes and sat down on the floor and was struggling, looked back while sitting down. The emperor, who had come to Asha’s room, was standing behind with a dissatisfied expression, not even bothering to give any formal greetings. Lise quickly bowed and stepped back a few steps.
“I’m picking clothes to take when I go down.”
The emperor shot a desperate gaze that seemed to beg Asha to at least stand up and forgo Asha having to make any polite greetings. But the emperor quickly lowered his head to cover that gaze and spoke with a grumbling tone.
“That, that, that, that should be the clothes to take.”
“Hmm.”
The emperor picked three clothes out of various clothes, but Asha did not readily accept it and only looked carefully at the clothes the emperor had chosen.
“Well, Your Highness. His Majesty chose it for you…”
The chamberlain spoke restlessly, but Asha only glanced briefly at him.
“That one doesn’t seem right. And this one doesn’t seem suitable for the season, so I’ll take it out. But I’ll still take this one.”
“What?”
The emperor raised his eyebrows in a state of bewilderment.
“But, Your Highness, it’s late autumn when you leave the palace. You’ll have to sleep outdoors along the way, and these thin clothes won’t do.”
“What… What did you say? Why would I sleep outdoors?”
“Because your house is far away.”
“Even if it’s far away, is it reasonable for an imperial princess to sleep outdoors while traveling?”
“You didn’t say that when you came up, did you?”
“Well…”
The emperor lowered his raised hand. The chamberlain had an expression that almost looked like he was about to cry, but he couldn’t say anything. The emperor was in the same situation where he couldn’t say anything either. The emperor, who groaned as if in pain, tried to turn his body around, saying that he wouldn’t disturb her anymore in choosing the clothes.
“Oh, Grandfather!”
And only then, Asha, who had been sitting on the floor looking at her clothes, stood up and called the emperor. The emperor seemed to be conflicted whether to go out or stop, but eventually looked back at Asha.
“…What is it?”
Asha smiled and extended her hand.
“You should give me the letter and leave.”
Seeing Asha proudly reaching out her hand to the emperor, the chamberlain’s expression showed both resignation and acceptance at the same time.
“…What letter?”
“The letter you brought today. You promised to write one for me since you lost in the Kerum game last time.”
“You took my vacation home without blinking and now you want me to give you a letter as well?”
“Well, you’ve already written it anyway. Did you bring other people’s letters too?”
“I don’t understand how you can be so sure. By any chance, did you dare to lay your eyes on this body?”
Asha looked at the chamberlain with a slightly ambiguous expression.
It was a move made to indicate that it was the emperor who had provoked her to say such words.
The servant bowed his head in resignation. Seeing that expression, Asha looked at the emperor and said with a big smile.
“Even without all this, well… I know everything about your daily life and thoughts, don’t I?”
“You audacious girl.”
“If I’m audacious, does that make you a letter thief, Grandfather?”
The chamberlain seemed to accept that Asha’s attitude toward the emperor would not change now, and that the emperor would not scold or discipline Asha in any way.
Asha looked at the chamberlain with a sympathetic gaze that seemed to extend beyond the human realm and then pursed her lips towards the emperor.
“It seems like you’re a tyrant after all, coveting after your granddaughter’s letter.”
