Chapter 38 – What Happened at the Salon
“Are you taking your medicine properly these days?”
Ada asked Mellie during tea time.
“Yes, Mother… … .”
Mellie tried to speak calmly, but she couldn’t help the guilt that naturally seeped into her voice.
‘I’m not going to try to get pregnant for the time being.’
She had been planning to say that today, but Ada’s attitude of checking whether she was taking her medicine in a kind voice discouraged her.
“Yes. Don’t skip it and take it. That way, you can have a baby soon.”
“Yes… … .”
Fortunately, Ada wasn’t alert enough to notice Mellie’s crawling voice.
The woman continued with a kind expression.
“Have you had any side effects from the medicine?”
Side effects!
Mellie’s mind suddenly started spinning. She thought that it might be a natural excuse to stop taking the medicine.
“What happened… … .”
The only side effect was that her once clear eyes began to turn a hazy gray, but that was a kind of manifestation that occurred when the body was rid of toxins, so it shouldn’t matter. Since she couldn’t think of anything, Mellie decided to talk about her general symptoms.
“Actually, I feel a little sick because I’ve been taking it for so long. That’s why I’m telling you, I’m going to take a break and… …”
“Oh, I’ll have to ask the doctor to prepare some stomach medicine for you tomorrow.”
“… …”
“You’ll be fine if you take the stomach medicine together, so don’t worry and keep taking the medicine.”
Mellie lowered her head and thought.
“You really want children.”
Even after saying that, she insisted on taking it, so it was clear. After all, all the noble ladies her age had grandchildren.
When she talked to her friends, the topic of grandchildren would naturally come up, and when that happened, she would feel just as alienated as herself.
“I’m sorry, Mother. I’ll start taking the medicine again when the situation stabilizes.”
Mellie apologized deeply inwardly.
When she returned to her quarters, she put aside her guilt about Ada for a moment. And she took the time to think about how she could help Edric.
‘You’re so selfish.’
She didn’t want to be seen as a selfish woman by him anymore. She wanted to take care of him more than the child that hadn’t even been born.
What should she do to do that?
Making tea and taking care of his clothes wasn’t the thing that he wanted her to do. He wanted her to perform her role as a duchess. The role of lighting up the family softly like moonlight…
“… …!”
Suddenly, Mellie remembered what Edric had once said.
‘I wish we had an artist in our family.’
At that moment, a bitter smile appeared on Edric’s face. True to his words, not a single person in the Felton family was born with artistic talent.
It was unusual compared to other families who produced descendants with musical or artistic talent and often held concerts and exhibitions. Not even one person led a salon or an exhibition.
Mellie wanted to give Edric what he wanted. In order to do that, she had to learn from someone with artistic talent.
She knew someone like that.
‘Jaina Andert.’
She was the wife of the Marquis Andert, who was also Edric’s friend. No, to be precise, she was the Marquis’s widow.
Mellie had met with Jaina several times at social gatherings.
She had a dignified appearance, and whenever Mellie spoke, she would twitch her lips as if it was trivial.
It was not a pleasant meeting, but Mellie decided to put aside her personal feelings for the greater good.
The Andert family had long been a family with a high level of expertise in art, and had sponsored promising painters and raised them into prestigious masters.
Furthermore, their daughter-in-law, Jeina Andert, was the organizer of the most famous art fair in society.
There was no reason to hesitate.
Mellie immediately sent a letter through her butler asking to attend her fair.
The reply arrived that afternoon.
[We are at a loss as to what to do if the Duke of Felton wishes to attend this extremely inadequate gathering. We will do our best to prepare and wait so that you will not make a wasted trip.]
There was a certain cynicism in the polite and humble reply.
‘A merchant disguised as a noble family.’
That was the term used to describe the Felton family in a certain extra edition.
The Felton family’s business methods, which sought practicality and efficiency in everything, were not particularly well-received in the world of nobles.
Even in the short reply of the Marquis Andert, Mellie felt a similar sense of rejection.
But she allowed the visit.
That was all that mattered to Mellie.
According to the reply, they would hold a simple tea party and a mock evaluation with the ladies before the regular meeting, and that was tomorrow.
‘It’s not a formal meeting anyway, so what?’
Mellie attended the tea party the next day with as light a mind as possible. However… … .
“This is a work that appropriately depicts pure innocence. It’s really wonderful and admirable.”
“It’s especially interesting that the subject part is expressed with different compositions and materials. Should I say that it’s an appropriate harmony of the traditional techniques of classical painters and the modern avant-garde concept?”
A light tea party… … and so on.
***
Mellie was so embarrassed that she didn’t even know if the tea was going into her nose or mouth.
After introducing herself plainly, the ladies continued to appreciate the paintings and evaluate their professional techniques and styles under the leadership of Madame Andert.
The conversation they had was consistently high-level, and the words they used were difficult.
‘If I had known this would happen, I should have studied a little.’
Regret came rushing back, but it was too late.
“What do you think that this painting represents, Duchess Felton?”
Jaina asked her with a smile.
Mellie looked down at the painting on the easel next to her.
A picture of blue droplets scattered in a vague fog.
It must have represented some kind of concept this time, too. Just like the difficult painting she had shown before.
“Purity? Awe? Mystery? Transcendental existence?”
Mellie thought of plausible themes one by one. If she said one of them, it wouldn’t be the answer, but she wouldn’t be embarrassed.
“I think… …”
But the moment she opened her mouth, her thoughts changed. She realized that in order to progress, she had to start by knowing exactly where she was. She couldn’t wrap herself up with empty boasts.
“The sky beyond the clouds… It seems like that.”
She spoke honestly, just as she saw it. As expected, laughter erupted here and there.
The theme of the painting was “self.”
The self hidden in a vague identity, the self that disappears if you don’t keep your eyes wide open and watch.
After a while, Mrs. Hazel stopped laughing and looked at the painting in admiration.
“It’s really a beautiful painting. How can you express such a profound subject so simply and clearly?”
“That’s right. Mrs. Andert you have such a keen eye. Where did you find such a hidden treasure?”
In response to the ladies’ questions, Jaina Andert simply smiled.
She didn’t seem to want to reveal the identity of the talented new artist.
However, Jaina didn’t shy away from the fun piquing of the ladies’ curiosity.
“Now, this painting. This is a bit different, so it’ll be hard to understand.”
She said this before revealing the last painting, teasing them. The ladies’ eyes sparkled as if they were even more motivated by the word “difficult.”
“Then we look forward to it.”
“Wait a minute.”
Someone raised a hand to cut Jaina off.
“It wouldn’t be fun if we just matched them, so how about we hang something?”
Everyone’s eyes seemed to agree.
Mrs. Andert looked around at everyone and asked,
“It seems like a good idea. What do you think? If you don’t mind, what should I bet?”
While everyone was pondering, Madame Andert looked at Mellie.
“What would you like to bet, Duchess Felton?”
She seemed certain that Mellie would not be the one to take whatever she bet.
Mellie had no intention of showing off her pride.
“Well, I can’t think of anything. If possible, I’ll back out of this bet.”
“That wouldn’t be fair. Bet something small, like… …”
Jaina looked at Mellie with her elegant eyes and said,
“A lock of your beautiful brown hair.”
My hair. The smallest thing. Mellie felt offended by the obvious mockery. But before she could argue, the conversation drifted to the other ladies’ bets.
“I’ll bet a season’s stay at my summer home.”
“I’ll bet my new brown Andalusia.”
“I’ll bet my emerald necklace.”
Mellie’s face turned astonished as she listened to them.
Because the treasures they offered were all of enormous value.
However, unlike Mellie, who could not help but be astonished, Jaina Andert finished listening calmly as if this was a daily occurrence and then spoke.
“Then I will bet on this painting. As you all know, it is an ambitious work by an up-and-coming artist, so it will have enough value, whether as a collection or commercially.”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Jaina nodded to the maid.
The maid lifted the veil covering the painting.
“What on earth does this painting mean?”
It was a painting made up of only lines. White, lavender, and yellow lines were aligned or intersected in a grid pattern along the sea-blue background and the border.
Despite being such noble ladies with such a high level of knowledge of art, no one answered.
The ladies, who had been lost in thought for a while, broke the silence one by one.
“Um… … Fabric?”
“No.”
“Road?”
“That’s not it either.”
“Love? Parting? Emotion? Repeated daily life?”
Each of them mentioned at least one idea that came to mind, but Jaina’s answer was always the same.
“You’re all wrong.”
Jaina’s smile grew deeper as she looked around.
She seemed certain that she had won.
“If you have no more answers, I will… … .”
“Secret.”
Just as the lady was about to speak, Mellie opened her mouth.
With everyone’s eyes focused on her, Mellie slowly and clearly spoke again.
“A secret… is that right?”
Jaina’s smile, which had been so confident, slowly faded. Her eyes twitched slightly.
“How did you… know that?”
“Just, with my intuition.”
That was all Mellie could say. After all, it was impossible to say that it was the cover of her diary that had long since evaporated.
Mellie somehow felt like she knew who the artist was.
