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It was around twilight when Luciel went out, but when she reached the outdoor garden where the salon was to be held, it was in the middle of the night, with darkness piled up all around her.
Fireflies and colorful butterflies roamed in the beautifully decorated outdoor garden. It was several times more dreamy than what she saw through the video sphere.
Shassh!
The water from the artificial waterfall was pouring a refreshing sound. The Imperial orchestra, who was sitting in advance, was also checking or trimming the instruments.
“Little Madam, don’t be nervous and just do what you’re told. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
Luciel nodded her head. Saying so, Ellington swallowed his saliva with a nervous expression on his face.
In fact, except for the Duke, what craft would be presented was a secret from the family.
Ellington followed Luciel, carefully holding the glass craft.
Each time Luciel, in her delicate apricot-colored dress, took a step, the hem of her dress moved like unfolding petals. Her shiny silver hair was tied up in round buns on both sides to reveal the shape of the back of her head, and her bangs were also raised, revealing a round and pretty forehead.
A ribbon of apricot flowers which was lined with layers of lace, was tied around her neck Today’s eye color, which was changed using the special contact lens, was a light lemon color.
Soliaphe and the Duke, whose mouth was loose at her adorable appearance, followed her from behind.
“You look like a fairy born from flowers, Luciel.” (Soliaphe)
“……Our child cuteness will pierce the sky.” (Duke)
Next to him, Kizef nodded his head as if everything said was the ultimate truth. This time, the family looked neat by matching their outfits with white.
In the outdoor garden, people from other families had already arrived and sat on white chairs. There was a lot of stuff behind them, so anyone could tell everyone had prepared something.
Young Master Ahin, had two very large aides with him, it was fortunate because he had come alone and looked lonely at the banquet.
Soon Empress Isabelle and Princess Claudia appeared in elegant sky-blue dresses, shining from a mage’s summoning circle.
The nobles applauded at the magical performance.
“Wow, my goddess! You two are so beautiful, I think I’m going to cry.”
Luciel like a squirrel, rounded her eyes in pure admiration. Both of them laughed at her innocent reaction.
“Thank you, Princess is cute, like a fairy the size of a thumb.”
“You are so overwhelmingly beautiful!”
Marquis Garsol also hurriedly his belated praises to the Empress to raise her mood. Each of them must have also dressed more carefully than before. When everyone took their seats, the Empress said.
“The first recitation will be made by Princess Claudia. She will read a verse from the original poem of the founding of the Tyra Empire.”
Claudia, unable to hide her nervous expression at the words of the Empress, got up from her seat and opened a golden scroll. To show that she had not used translation magic, Claudia opened the scroll and briefly showed the contents.
It was written in an ancient language mixed with pictures like hieroglyphs.
Claudia read on without hesitation.
“In the beginning, a nameless warrior broke through the darkness and appeared on this earth. He picked a sword, awoke the Sun hidden by shadows, and fought with the enemies in front of him. He did so until at last, he became the sun himself, and all will worship at his feet, and the goddess will dance above his head, waving laurels. At last, glory will befall the vastness of the empire.”
A clear voice rang out, and the melody of the ocarina and the harp added to the sacred atmosphere. When the princess finished reading, the eyes of everyone who watched her widened, and soon the Marquise of Marande praised her.
“When did you learn the ancient language?”
“It’s been a month since I started taking ancient language classes, and it’s very fun to learn.”
Claudia answered.
The ancient language was difficult for even scholars to learn, so everyone usually reads an interpretation using translation spells.
“I can’t believe that you can read the original, not the interpretation, in only a month.”
He was not pleased, but Marquis Garsol had no choice but to acknowledge the princess. The Emperor, who was watching through the video sphere, also had a father’s proud face towards his ministers while touching his beard.
“I was impressed with the recent things the Princess has shown me recently, but it seems like there is a reason for everything.”
“She seems close to a gifted person!”
Other aristocrats within the literary salon also praised Claudia for her cleverness.
Actually, this recitation was not something confirmed beforehand, but when Luciel heard that Claudia was taking an ancient language class, she suggested that it would be good to announce it at the salon.
When Claudia visited Luciel earlier, she said that the interpretation of some words was confusing, so Luciel helped.
And she said this.
“It’s a waste to let go of such talent, it’s a chance to impress everyone and remind them of you!”
It was a time when Luciel was trapped in the glass vault inside the Imperial Palace in the long-gone past. Luciel, whose only job was to make jewel, once asked the Crown Prince for something to read.
At that time, the Crown Prince deliberately threw an ancient language text at her in order to torture Luciel, making her unable to read anything.
But Luciel looked into it. It was tedious to see an unknown text every day, but being able to do it made Luciel hold on to her mind while on the edge of a cliff.
It was the mere fact that she was doing something.
Then she secretly hid one of the obsidians she had made and gave it to a young maid so she could borrow a book about ancient languages. There were several types of ancient languages, but the text she was giving, was the ancient languages of the Tyra Empire.
She was able to learn the ancient language with much difficulty, and there was no time to use it, but she was fortunate to be able to help Princess Claudia now.
Luciel gave Claudia a look of support saying that she did a good job.
Beginning with a reading by Princess Claudia, Marquise Garsol spread out a famous painting she had bought at an auction house and released a statement of appreciation.
It was a painting that expressed a lying woman’s side profile with lines, in a light and playful way.
“This painting is <Portrait of a Laying Woman>, and as soon as I saw it for the first time, I really liked the striking intensity of brushstrokes that the artist intended and painted with the utmost care. The richness of the margins gives a comfortable feeling. That is all. I am so impressed with this painting that I will donate it in memory of Her Majesty the Empress and to this Imperial literary salon.”
However, it was a picture that made Luciel tilt her head. She whispered to Soliaphe.
“Don’t you think you saw that painting somewhere? This is a painting that Grandpa Gillard had in the Duke’s Castle.”
“Oh, I guess so. What happened to that picture?…….”
The Empress’s expression became more subtle as to whether she was suspicious of the questionable painting and of for the shallow appreciation, but she immediately said.
“It’s your first time presenting a review, so I understand it enough. Do you have anything to say about the painting of Marquise Garsol?”
It also meant that the Empress herself had nothing to say. Luciel raised her slightly hand.
“I……Actually, I’ve seen that picture before. Is it a series made by the same artist?”
“What? I don’t know. They were selling this one painting…….”
Kizef, who had been silent and quietly looking at the canvas, said.
“Can I look at the painting up close for a moment?”
“Yes, Young Prince Bellstein.”
Kizef took the canvas, looked at the bottom, and examined the material.
“This painting is a copy.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?”
“There is no signature by the artist, and the quality of the canvas is very low. And you don’t seem to know much about the artist’s intentions, but it was a playful painting he made by closing his eyes and painting it with his left hand.”
“What? That can’t be……. I bought it for 900,000 tillings.”
“The price for one painting by that artist is basically over 5 million Tillings. Where did you buy it?”
“Well, I can’t remember….”
Kizef usually draws, and he seems to have a high interest in this artist’s work.
At his words, the Marquise ground her teeth and when he returned the painting, she shot a glare at him. The Empress looked at her with a pitiful face as her attempts to show off turned into an embarrassment.
Then, Lariet sang a beautiful song that took the Empress by surprise, receiving rave reviews from her Majesty.
“Countess Serian is as talented as she is beautiful.”
The next person to present seemed to be Ahin of the Duke Karhan. Every time he smiled, Luciel had the impression that his eyes went up like a cat.
In the banquet hall, some of the young girls shouted that he was cute. The Young Master might already have a fan club around.
“I like mystery novels. Please read it when I start playing.”
After he shyly finished his words, Ahin handed out the mystery novel he had written to everyone. Then he took out the large red violin hanging from his back, put the sheet music on the stand, and frowned as if to concentrate.
The crowd murmured as he lightly checked the violin’s bow.
Even the Empress admired his thorough preparation and looked forward to it.
Luciel was curious about his novels and performance, and waved her handkerchief with a cheering heart. Maybe he saw her cheer and smiled brightly, but soon stopped laughing when he saw Kizef.
Then, with the violin on his shoulder, Ahin changed his expression as if he was a completely different person, and started to play with the bow as if he had heard God.
It was like a running horse.
[The rain was pouring down, and a gloomy atmosphere enveloped the surroundings. A man walking alone on the street grabbed a sharp object and sneaked into the carriage’s luggage compartment.
Aaaah. It was quick. Blood was splattered on the floor of the carriage along with a scream that made bones shriek. The next day, a body, all of which had been drained of blood, was found on the riverbank….]
“Kyaaaa!”
Is it because of the creepy content?
Luciel didn’t know if the scream she heard somewhere was part of the presentation or a real one, but for an instant, everyone’s backs were chilled frozen.
Soon after the performance was over, there was a chilling silence, and the Empress praised Ahin as she wiped away the cold sweat off her hands.
“Thanks for letting us calm down, Young Master.”
Around the time Ahin returned from nodding his greetings to the Empress.
“At last, the vacancy will be filled. Welcome, are you House Baluk?”
She had invited the Baluk twice, but instead of attending, they would send a statue together with a piece of writing.
Originally, the Empress intended to exclude them this time.
However, the content of the articles were interesting and it made her curious about the next thing they would present, and strangely enough, whenever she tried to remove the family, her mind kept focusing on them, so she decided to spontaneously invite the family again.
Today, it seemed that a member of the Baluk family had finally arrived.
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A lady in a veil and a purple dress and a girl in a green dress, and Prince Reynold was following them.
“We’re very late.”
Said the woman in a slow tone.
Luciel grabbed the item in her pocket for a moment and then released it. The woman’s face behind the veil looked exactly like a person she knew.
‘How…… did it happen?’