"Your Highness, too."
"I will."
At Elena's suggestion, Sian reluctantly approached and bit into the sandwich she was handing.
"Pray to the Goddess of Gaia as you enjoy your meal."
All eyes were on Elena. Elena told them what was on her mind.
"Please try not to run into each other. Please."
There was no way to unravel the tangled threads of the relationship. Elena's current feeling was that she wanted to cut it out cleanly.
***
Elena left the studio and was walking across the central square of the academy. Normally, she would have used the old road that was deserted to go to the library, but she couldn't today. It was because of two unwanted men.
"The seeing off is done now, so how about taking care of your business?"
Elena, who stopped near the central square, spoke with a nuance that they should go while being polite but secretly.
"I haven't had anything to do since I entered the academy."
Ren absentmindedly answered, Sian also said a sentence.
"I don't feel comfortable sending you alone."
She knew he was worried because Ren was attached, but it was a burdensome favor for Elena.
'It's like trying to pull a lump off.'
Elena's head throbbed as she watched the two men who followed her from the studio under the pretext of seeing her off. The academy was attended by the sons and daughters of the best of times, and with their keen sense of sight and gossip, rumors spread quickly. Whenever something cracked, they'd slip up. Look at them now. Look at all the students whispering to each other while watching Elena. A trivial story could travel a thousand miles, but it was not enough that the news of her meeting with Avella had spread, she had to be the talk of the town because she was accompanied by the best maniac of the academy, Ren and Crown Prince Sian.
'Ha. I really can't spend any more time in silence.'
Unlike the wind, Lucia's face had now been sold to the point where no one didn't know her in the academy. To this extent, students would recognize her no matter where she went.
It was the worst for Elena. She tried to disguise herself as Lucia and secretly prepare her revenge with a minimal identity. However, once she had attracted this kind of attention, she had no choice but to put a stop to her future plans. The role of Ren and Sian was absolutely crucial for this to happen.
"Our Highness is very kind. Even seeing the freshman off. "
"Don't you think it's because of you?"
Ren's sarcasm struck back at Sian. Elena sighed lightly while looking at the two growling men.
"Please, I beg you. I'm in a lot of trouble because of you two. Can I go alone?"
"You bear with it even if it's uncomfortable."
"This is why I can't let you go alone."
Elena had no place to be in such difficulty because persuasion didn't work. Moreover, it was even more frustrating because there was no way to separate the two from the position of having to stop by the recording room and take off her disguise.
"Why is Our Highness so protective of her?"
"…"
"Are you crazy about her?"
Ren smiled and looked up at Sian. Elena's steps, which she was walking with the intention of separating the two, stopped for a moment. She tried to ignore it as a useless question, but she was constantly worried about Sian's answer, so she couldn't concentrate.
"You continue to be concerned with extraneous matters."
"Oh, you're neither positive nor negative."
"…"
"If Your Highness says that, won't she misunderstand?"
Ren blatantly bet over Elena. When Elena pretended not to hear him and moved on, he smirked and made eye contact with Sian.
"I know her secret."
"There is no trust in what you say."
Sian drew a line and made it clear that he had no intention of listening.
"Your Grace, don't like her."
"…"
"Your Highness, you can't protect her. No, you can't handle her."
Elena was the one who responded to Ren's meaningful remarks with shuddering her shoulders. It was judged by the nuance of words to the extent, but Ren had a bone in his words. Come to think of it, Ren's words, which he threw meaninglessly since he came to the studio, were mixed with words that seemed to be sarcastic after knowing Elena's identity. At that time, she thought it was insignificant, but when she looked back now, there were many words that would make her suspicious.
'You didn't mean it because you knew I was Veronica, did you?'
Anxiety arose unexpectedly, but Elena immediately denied it.
'If you knew I was Veronica, you wouldn't ignore it.'
She made her own conclusion, but she couldn't stop chewing. The frustration doubled because she couldn't check with Ren outright.
"…"
Somehow Sian couldn't refute what Ren said. Ren grinned at Sian's response.
"Oh, you can't answer. I won. I have to go now."
Feeling that he had won by interrupting Sian, Ren put his hands in his pants pockets and staggered to his feet on the other side.
"Our Highness's expression is scary. You should comfort him. Then I'll go."
After irritating Sian to no end and putting him in a bad mood, Ren waved his hand and walked away. Ren had fallen, just as Elena had hoped, but it had made a mess of the atmosphere. Especially when she looked back, Elena was unknowingly nervous at the face of Sian. Sian was making a scary face that she had not seen even during their life as a married couple.
"Y-Your Highness."
Elena looked at her face. Then Sian said in a voice that suppressed his anger.
"I'm angry. I can't deny what he says."
With those words, the Sian turned away. Left alone, Elena couldn't leave the scene for a long time as she saw the back of Sian, who was moving away.
Sect 11. Belladonna
"I like the meaning behind the painting. The coloring is a little inferior, but the artist's interpretation is good and gives us room to appreciate it. It's good. I'll buy it."
Elena savored black tea and evaluated the paintings that Khalif had brought. As she had to pretend to be Veronica, not Lucia, she didn't forget to use words to match her vocabulary.
Khalif, who succeeded in selling six paintings and a statue that he brought today, said cheerfully.
"You have a great eye for the work, Your Highness."
"Every noble person has this kind of insight and eye."
Elena lowered herself and smiled openly. Khalif, who had been distracted by the smile, quickly coughed and turned his head.
'Wow, I'm choking and can't stare properly.'
The Lady Veronica in front of him was a beauty that needed no other qualifier. Even in the academy where most of the aristocratic ladies attend, he had never seen a lady with such neat and deadly good looks as hers. But apart from that, there was a grace that flowed from Veronica that could not be hidden.
'Why do I become so reverent when I stand in front of Her Highness.'
Khalif happened to be lucky enough to be invited to dinner with Crown Prince Sian. An unscheduled debate ensued, which was serious, but for the first time that day he was able to experience the dignity of royalty. This was the case with Princess Veronica. Her refinement was purified to the point of disrespect. He thought she was someone he could only admire and adore.
"Oh, did you know that there's been a lot of talk about Your Highness in the art world lately?"
"Me? I'm curious. I don't know what you're talking about."
Elena showed interest by putting the teacup on the pedestal. She was curious because she didn't hear this story when she was dressed up as Lucia.
"Regrettably, a few months ago, there were many people who were not happy with the artwork that Your Highness purchased. It was that you bought it at a price that was too ridiculous for the work."
"That's stupid. I can't believe they're trying to judge art for nothing."
"But what's interesting is that recently, the works of the author you bought have begun to be re-evaluated."
"Reevaluation?"
"Exactly, the appraisers judged that you discovered the value of the undervalued works and purchased them."
Elena reached out and brought the teacup back to her mouth.
'It's going the way I wanted it to be.'
From the start of the art purchase, she expected this kind of evaluation. However, seeing that the period was later than Elena thought, she could guess how conservative the art world was.
"So, there has been a lot of talk lately about the eyes of Her Highness. I'm being asked to tell them what Your Highness bought and who the painter was."
"So you let them know?"
"No, even if I didn't let them know, they knew how to figure it out."
Elena covered her mouth with her hands and smiled openly.
"It's a shame, really. If you understand and accept a work of art as a work of art itself and not as an investment, it should naturally cost you money."
"Since they can't do that, don't they all put the eyes of Her Highness first?
"I don't even have a good eye. I just respect the artist's soulful work."
Khalif was amazed at Elena, who never lost her dignity and kept her faith. He thought that she was a mature person who truly knows how to treat and enjoy art.
"In that sense, why don't you go to the Academy's art festival and discover some promising artists?"
"Yes. I can't wait to see what kind of works will be displayed at the festival, which is considered a treasure trove of artists."
The Art Festival is one of the three major festivals organized by the Academy. The three major festivals are the Academic Festival, which ended last week, the Art Festival, which will be held later this week, and the Swordsmanship Festival, which will be held in anticipation of graduation. Among them, the Art Festival was the last chance for the unknown graduates of the Academy to make a spectacular appearance in the spotlight of the art world.
Since the current art world often determines the position of an apprentice based on the fame and connections of the master, graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts did not receive much attention and were often weeded out. In the end, it was the art dealers and appraisers who determined the value of the works of art, but they were tightly knit and kept the fame of artists outside their influence in check.
'It's rotten to the core.'
That was the reality of the current art world.