The Duchess of Kistern was the youngest sister of the current Emperor, and had been the queen ruling over social circles since her days as an imperial princess.

Even after her marriage and move to the grand duchy, her influence remained unchanged.

While the Emperor’s fondness for his sister led to frequent invitations, her own inability to adapt to life in the grand duchy and conflicts with her husband played a large role in her frequent returns.

The Duke of Kistern, who married the youngest daughter of the previous Emperor, was a handsome and charming man capable of stealing the hearts of many women.

The problem was that he lived up to his looks all too well.

Even after marriage, he continuously had affairs and neglected the Duchess, leaving her lonely. The Duchess, her heart blackened by such a husband, longed for her family and homeland.

Though the imperial family pressured the Duke multiple times to prevent illegitimate children, they could not fully suppress his philandering ways.

Eventually, when their only son came of age, the couple entered a separate living arrangement, with the Duchess currently residing in the capital rather than the grand duchy.

With her deep appreciation for the arts, she created her own artistic circle in high society, gathering numerous followers.

Her influence was so great as to oversee the empire’s entire cultural and artistic sphere, making many eager to catch her eye.

“To build a connection with Her Highness the Duchess, it’s best to show interest in the arts.”

Listening intently to Iris’s explanation, Arasila’s expression turned serious.

She was visiting her family home to talk with her elder sister while her parents were out.

“But I’m not very interested in art. What should I do?”

“You can start being interested from now on. Don’t worry, Ari. I’ve prepared everything for you.”

Iris clapped twice, and a maid went outside.

Shortly after, she returned with other maids, their arms full of books. Even at a glance, there were over dozens of volumes.

“I bought related books to help you build artistic knowledge. Take them and read.”

“…You want me to read all of this?”

Arasila, who rarely read books other than magic texts, asked in shock. Iris smiled brightly.

“Yes. By the way, you need to finish them all within a week.”

“Why within a week?”

“Because Her Highness the Duchess is holding a private exhibition next week. I managed to get an invitation with great difficulty.”

The Duchess of Kistern often held private exhibitions of her own paintings. Naturally, with so many people wanting to attend, getting an invitation was like plucking stars from the sky.

Having obtained an invitation through fierce competition for her sister’s sake, Iris handed it to Arasila with a word of advice.

“I could only get one invitation, so I can’t go with you, Ari. Since you’ll have to capture Her Highness the Duchess’s heart on your own, you need to prepare thoroughly.”

“Ah…”

Arasila, who had been secretly relying on her sister’s presence, became dejected. She already looked at the tower of books with a pained expression.

“Elder sister, I can’t just challenge Lady White to a fair duel, can I?”

“No, you can’t. That wouldn’t be fair at all.”

It was unthinkable for a candidate for the next Archmage to duel an ordinary person.

Resigned, Arasila returned home with the books loaded up, feeling overwhelmed at the prospect of reading them all.

‘No, I can do this. I must do this.’

Steeling herself, Arasila began to study various art books like a woman possessed, staying up all night from that day on.

She etched the history of art that developed alongside the empire’s history into her mind, and memorized art pieces she had only vaguely heard of before.

It had been a long time since she had studied this hard since graduating from the Academy.

In fact, even during her Academy days, Arasila had reluctantly studied subjects other than magic. She mostly crammed for exams at the last minute.

To think she would experience those feelings again as an adult with her own career, well.

‘I really hate this. I truly hate this so much.’

But just like then, she had to force herself to do it even if she hated it, so Arasila even brought books to the magic tower and pored over them relentlessly.

And on the day before the exhibition.

“My lady, which of these two is Mendel’s sculpture of the Anguished Man?”

“The one on the right with the left hand placed on the collarbone and chest is Proud’s Thinking Man sculpture, while the left one with the hand between the chest and ribs is Mendel’s sculpture.”

Arasila answered with sunken eyes, pushing up her slipping glasses. Audrey praised her with surprised eyes.

“That’s correct, my lady! You’re amazing! Then, can you tell me the title and artist of this painting?”

“The Women in Karane’s Rose Garden. Speaking of this work, it was painted by the noble-born artist Karane, who had a disgustingly young maid he was secretly in love with, creepily spying on her with other maids in the garden.”

Arasila recited the words fluently, as if someone was whispering the answers in her ear.

After correctly answering all of Audrey’s subsequent questions, she took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and muttered quietly.

“…I’ve done it.”

All preparations were perfectly complete.

Having acquired impressive artistic knowledge in such a short time, she basked in euphoria for a moment.

I’m still good at cramming. My skills from Academy days haven’t gotten rusty.

The next day, Arasila left home dressed more neatly than ever before.

She wore a cream-colored high-neck dress that came up to her throat and donned a wide-brimmed hat. Her hair was neatly styled down.

Wearing lace gloves and carrying a handbag, she headed towards the art gallery where the Duchess of Kistern’s private exhibition was to be held.

The venue was filled with noble ladies of various ages. There were young noblewomen like Arasila, as well as young ladies in their early teens who seemed to have come with their mothers.

In addition, there were famous sculptors considered living history, up-and-coming young painters, and influential retired writers, among other artists in attendance.

In the past, she might not have known who they were, but having been immersed in all sorts of artistic information for the past few days, Arasila easily recognized them.

‘No wonder elder sister could only get one ticket.’

Arasila thought as she looked around at the approximately thirty or so visitors.

The number of attendees was smaller than expected, giving the impression that they had been carefully selected even among those interested in culture and the arts.

‘Has Her Highness the Duchess of Kistern not arrived yet?’

Seeing people scattered about chatting, it seemed the Duchess had not yet made her appearance. Arasila quietly waited for her to show up.

There were quite a few glances directed at her standing alone quietly.

People were puzzled to see Arasila, who normally showed no interest in social circles, suddenly appear at the Duchess’s art exhibition.

“I’m curious, should we go talk to her?”

Some looked at Arasila with curiosity,

“What on earth is Lady Vandermir’s intention in coming here?”

While others surveyed her warily.

However, both sides found it difficult to approach Arasila directly due to her unapproachable aura.

This was especially so because Arasila appeared to be staring blankly with a serious expression to others.

And then. After quite a long wait, today’s main character, the Duchess of Kistern, finally appeared.

The Duchess was a woman who exuded a charismatic aura with her sharp features and upright posture.

With her brilliant golden hair and green eyes, she resembled Lucas.

“Thank you all for coming to my private exhibition. Though I’m embarrassed, I hope you’ll view the paintings I worked hard on with generous eyes.”

The Duchess greeted everyone in a low, dignified tone befitting her royal origins. People applauded and cheered.

“Well then, let me introduce my paintings one by one. Those who wish to hear my explanations, please follow me.”

People flocked towards the Duchess. Everyone tried their best to secure a spot in front, hoping to catch her eye even once.

“Hey, don’t push!”

“Oh my, madam! You shouldn’t hit people with your shoulder!”

Seeing the near-physical struggle for positions, a dazed Arasila took a spot somewhere in the back.

While she needed to catch the Duchess’s eye, she didn’t think fighting like that for a front spot would leave a good impression.

The commotion finally settled, and the time to view the paintings while listening to the Duchess’s commentary began.

“I painted this when I visited the southern coastal region. Unable to sleep, I went to the beach at dawn and found the scenery so beautiful that I captured it on canvas.”

“My goodness, it’s as if the beach is right before my eyes!”

“How can the color combination be so exquisite? I simply can’t take my eyes off it.”

With each word from the Duchess, hundreds of flattering comments flew from all directions.

Those knowledgeable about art compared her work to other painters or artworks, while others wracked their brains for vocabulary to praise the Duchess’s paintings.

Arasila first quietly followed the crowd, observing the Duchess’s paintings and listening attentively to her explanations.

‘The reasons for painting each one are peculiar.’

Unable to sleep, feeling emotional, feeling it had to be now or never—all the reasons given for painting seemed gloomy.

Then the Duchess’s steps halted in front of one painting. It depicted a woman with blue skin shedding brilliant jewels from her eyes while smiling brightly.

“I’d like to hear how this painting appears to you all.”

As soon as the Duchess said this, a flood of interpretations poured out competitively.

“She looks mysterious, like a mermaid. Your Highness’s unique sensual style is well-expressed.”

“Her bright smile looks so happy. Her smiling face shines even brighter than those jewels, doesn’t it?”

“You must have painted this when you were in a good mood. It seems to say that a person’s smile is as beautiful as jewels.”

Amidst the similar positive interpretations, the Duchess of Kistern merely wore a faint smile without speaking.

“May I share my thoughts as well?”

Just then, a snow-white hand stretched up from among the crowd, followed by a clear voice ringing out.

The Duchess turned to look at Arasila.

In truth, she had caught the eye from the beginning. With such striking beauty, she couldn’t help but stand out even among the crowd.

Moreover, unlike others who were making a fuss trying to speak to her, her focused expression as she quietly appreciated the paintings alone drew attention.

It felt different from being shy and quiet. She seemed to be deliberately refraining from the competition, waiting leisurely.

The Duchess looked at Arasila with quite interested eyes and nodded. Given permission to speak, Arasila calmly began.

In fact, she had received one important piece of advice from Iris in preparation for today’s exhibition.

‘They say Her Highness the Duchess likes sincerity without pretense. Try not to tell obvious lies in front of Her Highness. But you know to act wisely, right?’

Following her elder sister’s advice, she honestly shared her impressions of the Duchess’s paintings.

“To me, it looks like a face that actually wants to cry, but is forcing a smile while conscious of others’ gazes. It seems very depressing.”

The people around were shocked by her frank and unrestrained answer.

Some of them had also felt a somewhat melancholic feeling from the painting, but because the artist was the Duchess, they didn’t dare speak honestly and only offered flattering words.

So when Arasila openly called it a depressing painting, they couldn’t help but be surprised.

“What is Lady Vandermir doing? How can she say such things about Her Highness the Duchess’s painting…”

“Talking like that makes Her Highness the Duchess seem like a depressed person. She must be too young to distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said.”

“Tsk tsk, with such short-sightedness, what can we do? It would be terrible if Her Highness were offended.”

Contrary to their concerns, the Duchess showed no signs of displeasure. Rather, her faint smile deepened and became more distinct.