“Hey, have you grown up? Trying to snatch my mop, are you?”

A kid with blood still not dried on his head.

Making a show of putting a honey bun on his bread hat, Lucky frowned.

“Is this because you drank palace water?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Isn’t it? Okay then. If you keep going, I’ll just help you from the side.”

Lucky pulled out the mop he was holding.

No matter how frail I am, there should be enough strength to beat a 10-year-old kid.

“Then let’s finish what we were doing.”

As I tried to kneel again or grab the hem of my dress, Lucky put down his mop.

“Is this okay?”

“Yeah, now we can communicate.”

I also put down my mop following him.

Lucky brought a clean cloth and wiped my hands. His small hands moved diligently.

“It will take a long time to remove the oil.”

“Washing is not difficult.”

“But it got on your dress too, right?”

Lucky looked at the stained dress here and there.

“If the Duchess finds out that there’s oil on the dress, she’ll nag at you.”

What Lucky was worried about was the nagging of our mother, the Countess.

“I’m the Grand Duchess, though.”

“Still, you’ll hear the nagging, right?”

“Well, probably.”

The dress I wore in the palace will be sent back to the Count’s mansion.

If Mom finds out, she will definitely send a letter full of nagging.

“Definitely.”

Lucky nodded his small head.

Only then did I burst into laughter at the usual conversation with Lucky.

“Now I feel like I’ve met the real Lucky.”

“Did you think I was a fake Lucky?”

“No? I felt sorry that adolescence came too soon.”

“But hey, you…”

Lucky swallowed nervously with a tense face.

“Did you become a court painter? Congratulations. I knew that someday you, who are young and talented, would shine.”

The highest position as a painter.

I bit my lower lip.

“But why does your face look worse? Did you starve and not get three meals a day in the palace?”

“No, they take good care of everything.”

“But why is your face like this?”

I started to have some doubts.

Why did he bring me to a place like this?

There should be a separate place for court painters to rest.

‘Entering at a young age might be difficult to adapt to.’

Court painters are usually highly acclaimed artists in art, so it’s understandable that it’s difficult to adapt.

“Lucky, even if it’s hard, if you endure a little, good days will surely come.”

“…Yes.”

“Straighten your shoulders! I’m going to hang the picture you gave me as a wedding gift in the bedroom and look at it every day. Now, I have to brag that the youngest court painter drew it.”

“People will swear at me.”

Lucky drooped his shoulders and fidgeted his hands.

“You really changed. In the past, you said you could easily draw such a picture in a few days, but your shoulders were raised this much.”

“When did I!”

“During the wedding. Don’t say you don’t remember.”

I tickled Lucky’s belly a lot.

“Stop it!”

“If you keep standing like that, I’ll tease you all night.”

“Please, hahaha. Please!”

“Will you laugh like this or not?”

“I-I will, hahaha, laugh!”

Lucky’s face widened with a smile.

“Really?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

I decided to believe in Lucky. I patted away the hand that was tickling his small belly. Only then did Lucky exhale the breath he had been holding.

“Too much!”

“If you don’t laugh at least ten times a day, I’ll come to tease you.”

“Okay, I’ll laugh.”

The utility room was full of expensive dyes, from hard-to-find dyes to the violet dye made from grinding a shell that Mother missed in an auction.

As I looked around, I became curious.

“Who recognized your work? Mother will be very happy if she knows.”

Lucky hesitated.

“Is it perhaps His Majesty the Emperor?”

He nodded hesitantly.

“It’s His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The Crown Prince means Serdis, right?
“His Highness Serdis brought you here?”

“…Yes.”

He closed his eyes tightly.

It seemed as if he was afraid that I would bring up the matter of his soul.

“His Highness has a discerning eye.”

However, I didn’t show much reaction.

“You were born in the palace, and given His Highness’s elevated status, if he took notice, it must be because your paintings are truly outstanding.”

“It’s not like that.”

“No, just by looking at the murals you painted, our mother decided to bring you here and support you.”

I gently patted his slouched shoulders.

Lucky raised his head with a deeply bowed head.

Tears trickled down beneath his small feet.

I quietly patted his back, then put two chocolates into his pocket. It was the chocolate I had prepared in the guest room because my head felt like it was going to split.

“I’ll come to tease you again, so don’t forget to smile.”

First, I met the palace’s housekeepers and asked for help with cleaning the supplies room.

The housekeeper readily agreed.

“But aren’t there housekeepers assigned to court painters?”

“No, there aren’t. As the best paintings come out in the best environment, even in the palace, they pay a lot of attention. Everything is prepared for the court painters.”