Anyway, I had to pretend to be good with babies and good with jaguars.
“Grrr…!”
The plan worked. Ricardo snorted mightily, causing the manager to jump back a foot. Then he muttered in a shaky voice.
“I, I’m sorry.”
Bell and Ricardo’s eyes sparkled repeatedly in response. That look was delighted. They puffed themselves up even more menacingly.
Ricardo’s eyes flashed a fiery yellow, his tongue flicked out, and he bared his sharp fangs. Even I, who knew that they were Ricardo and Bell, was more than a little frightened.
As they silenced the salon, I finally reached my destination. It was the display of the piece of art I had to have today.
A painting titled 《Beach》 with a beautiful jeweled bottom.
It was just a painting of a blue sea.
Nor was it an oil painting using the popular technique of encaustic.
It was just a plain watercolor.
An ordinary painting by an ordinary painter, one that stood out like an ugly duckling in a salon full of splendid paintings by renowned artists.
“I’d like to purchase this piece of art.”
With a graceful inclination of my head, I pointed to the artwork.
Then the manager cautiously spoke up, “Excuse me, lady, but the paintings on display in the salon are not for sale.”
He was right, the paintings in the salon were not for sale.
I knew that of course, but… I lifted my chin higher.
Ricardo let out a well-timed, menacing growl.
Cute little Bell raised his chin, too, and his tail thickened.
“Would you mind fetching the owner?”
“Well…”
The salon’s manager pursed his lips warily.
“I will fetch Lady Hazel, the owner of the salon.”
All right, ‘I’m sure she’s there, so they’ll treat us as she does to anyone.’
My heart pounded in my chest, but I held it in.
I was halfway there.
I stared at the artwork in front of me, smiling inwardly at my newfound confidence.
Inside the enclosed room of the salon.
Lady Hazel, the owner of the salon, stared at the veiled lady, whose face remained hidden.
A huge jaguar sat at her side, and a silver fox sat on her lap.
Even those unfamiliar with the world of the beasts knew how difficult it was to deal with a jaguar beast.
They were difficult to tame, and they were said to seek blood.
But this woman seemed to be quite adapted to dealing with them.
Not only does she have a very husky voice, but her crimson dress looks like it’s been dyed in blood!
Hazel had been through many of these before, but nothing like this.
All sorts of things went through her head.
‘What kind of person is she? I heard she’s sponsored by the Duke of Anais, so that’s not unusual.’
And the closer she approached, the more she smelled a peculiar scent.
It smelled like a subtle herb… Could it be some kind of drug?
‘A drug party…?!’
In front of me, the unidentified lady whispered in a deep bass voice.
“Lady Hazel.”
Hazel was suddenly summoned out of her imagination and into reality.
“Excuse me, Lady, but is that thing…”
“Is there a problem?”
Hazel felt subtly intimidated by the woman whose name she had never heard.
“Well, there’s another reason I’m not selling it.”
“What is it?”
The voice was strangely deep.
Hazel stared at her. The way she nodded and continued to stroke the jaguar was so arrogant and haughty.
Hazel continued to roll the slate around in her head without taking her eyes off him.
‘Why on earth does she want to have that copy, doesn’t she have an eye for art?’
In a salon filled with works by famous artists, that piece of art was a kind of token piece.
It was a painting by a not-so-famous artist, and it was even a forgery.
But it was a painting that my father, who had an eye for art, had left me before he died.
His father had told him, ‘If anyone wants this painting, you must sell it,’ so he kept it on display in his salon.
However, since it was a ghostly presence, it was only displayed for a few hours in the daytime and left unattended.
“We don’t sell paintings in the salon, and besides, it’s the most worthless painting in the salon, my lady.”
“That worthless thing. I said I wanted it, I do.”
Hearing her raspy voice made my temples prickle.
“My jaguar wants to have it too, doesn’t he?”
The jaguar opened its mouth, baring its sharp fangs at Hazel.
At that moment, Hazel lost all resolve.
Hazel didn’t want to fight anymore over a useless issue.
Besides, her father wanted her to sell the painting…
“If you do, you’ll have to write a pledge.”
Hazel didn’t want to do a shady business. The artist was dead anyway, and the man who copied it couldn’t claim to have done it.
“…Even if this painting is a forgery, I won’t take any responsibility for it.”
“I don’t care, I’ll sign it and pay for it.”
The woman seemed to smile beneath her black veil at the mention of selling.
Hazel narrowed her eyes and gave her a price.
“Ten thousand gold.”
“Ten thousand gold, you won’t regret it?”
The nameless woman in front of her smirked.
With the instinct of a salon owner, Hazel felt like she was losing something.
She frowned at herself. But even ten thousand gold was a high price, no matter what she thought.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Please have the artwork delivered directly to the mansion.”
It was a bit dubious, but in retrospect, it was a pretty good deal, selling a cool imitation and getting paid for it.
Besides, she wasn’t under the protection of the Duke of Anais, so it was a chance to build some bridges.
With that, she neatly signed the papers. It was a done deal.
“Lady, the artwork you requested has been shipped to the Duke’s capital mansion in a loaded carriage.”
Emerging from the confines of the salon, I shook my head with nervousness.
At last, I had bought the painting. It’d been an accident.
‘If they’re practicing voodoo, sooner or later they’ll have no choice but to approach me for this painting.’
Chuckling to myself, I turned my back on the salon and headed out the door.
And then, as if on cue, Lord Mayer walked up to me and knelt beside me.
“…Lord Mayer?”
I stared at him, my voice deliberately pointed.
“Oh, my lady. Congratulations on getting the painting you wanted.”
He sounded as bad as I did. The tone of his lines was too consistent.
But we couldn’t stop acting.
I glared at Lord Mayer, held my head high in arrogance, and spoke.
Of course, my pupils fluttered and the corners of my mouth twitched, but fortunately, my black veil hid my awkward facial expressions.
“Please accept these flowers as a token of my congratulations.”
“They’re not beautiful.”
I don’t like them! They’re so pretty!
Hiding my expression, which was about to turn sour, I said calmly and without trembling.
Then I heard him whisper under his breath, ‘Good job.’
I narrowed my eyes and gave a slight nod. At that moment, Lord Mayer dropped the flower he was holding to the floor.
“I apologize, my lady.”
Sighs erupted around us, perhaps because of our remark.
I stomped on the flower he dropped, the heel of my shoe crushing it.
“You should have brought something more precious, considering who I am.”
My words sent a chill through the air.
‘…Heheh.’
I was about to choke on my own words when Lord Mayer spoke to me.
Even Ricardo growled with excitement at my side. He seemed to be complimenting me, but his pointed fangs were on full display, and it was terrifying.
“Hic.”
“How in the world is she alive and unharmed in there?”
I’m scared of jaguars, too…
While everyone was freaking out, my legs were shaking. Luckily, my dress had wide sleeves, so my quivering body was hidden.
“My apologies.”
…That’s so old school, my lord!
But except for me, Mayer, Ricardo, and Belle had already overdosed on the act.
“My lady.”
Lord Mayer’s eyes sparkled. He kissed the flower I’d crushed.
Anyway, I had to pretend to be good with babies and good with jaguars.
“Grrr…!”
The plan worked. Ricardo snorted mightily, causing the manager to jump back a foot. Then he muttered in a shaky voice.
“I, I’m sorry.”
Bell and Ricardo’s eyes sparkled repeatedly in response. That look was delighted. They puffed themselves up even more menacingly.
Ricardo’s eyes flashed a fiery yellow, his tongue flicked out, and he bared his sharp fangs. Even I, who knew that they were Ricardo and Bell, was more than a little frightened.
As they silenced the salon, I finally reached my destination. It was the display of the piece of art I had to have today.
A painting titled 《Beach》 with a beautiful jeweled bottom.
It was just a painting of a blue sea.
Nor was it an oil painting using the popular technique of encaustic.
It was just a plain watercolor.
An ordinary painting by an ordinary painter, one that stood out like an ugly duckling in a salon full of splendid paintings by renowned artists.
“I’d like to purchase this piece of art.”
With a graceful inclination of my head, I pointed to the artwork.
Then the manager cautiously spoke up, “Excuse me, lady, but the paintings on display in the salon are not for sale.”
He was right, the paintings in the salon were not for sale.
I knew that of course, but… I lifted my chin higher.
Ricardo let out a well-timed, menacing growl.
Cute little Bell raised his chin, too, and his tail thickened.
“Would you mind fetching the owner?”
“Well…”
The salon’s manager pursed his lips warily.
“I will fetch Lady Hazel, the owner of the salon.”
All right, ‘I’m sure she’s there, so they’ll treat us as she does to anyone.’
My heart pounded in my chest, but I held it in.
I was halfway there.
I stared at the artwork in front of me, smiling inwardly at my newfound confidence.
Inside the enclosed room of the salon.
Lady Hazel, the owner of the salon, stared at the veiled lady, whose face remained hidden.
A huge jaguar sat at her side, and a silver fox sat on her lap.
Even those unfamiliar with the world of the beasts knew how difficult it was to deal with a jaguar beast.
They were difficult to tame, and they were said to seek blood.
But this woman seemed to be quite adapted to dealing with them.
Not only does she have a very husky voice, but her crimson dress looks like it’s been dyed in blood!
Hazel had been through many of these before, but nothing like this.
All sorts of things went through her head.
‘What kind of person is she? I heard she’s sponsored by the Duke of Anais, so that’s not unusual.’
And the closer she approached, the more she smelled a peculiar scent.
It smelled like a subtle herb… Could it be some kind of drug?
‘A drug party…?!’
In front of me, the unidentified lady whispered in a deep bass voice.
“Lady Hazel.”
Hazel was suddenly summoned out of her imagination and into reality.
“Excuse me, Lady, but is that thing…”
“Is there a problem?”
Hazel felt subtly intimidated by the woman whose name she had never heard.
“Well, there’s another reason I’m not selling it.”
“What is it?”
The voice was strangely deep.
Hazel stared at her. The way she nodded and continued to stroke the jaguar was so arrogant and haughty.
Hazel continued to roll the slate around in her head without taking her eyes off him.
‘Why on earth does she want to have that copy, doesn’t she have an eye for art?’
In a salon filled with works by famous artists, that piece of art was a kind of token piece.
It was a painting by a not-so-famous artist, and it was even a forgery.
But it was a painting that my father, who had an eye for art, had left me before he died.
His father had told him, ‘If anyone wants this painting, you must sell it,’ so he kept it on display in his salon.
However, since it was a ghostly presence, it was only displayed for a few hours in the daytime and left unattended.
“We don’t sell paintings in the salon, and besides, it’s the most worthless painting in the salon, my lady.”
“That worthless thing. I said I wanted it, I do.”
Hearing her raspy voice made my temples prickle.
“My jaguar wants to have it too, doesn’t he?”
The jaguar opened its mouth, baring its sharp fangs at Hazel.
At that moment, Hazel lost all resolve.
Hazel didn’t want to fight anymore over a useless issue.
Besides, her father wanted her to sell the painting…
“If you do, you’ll have to write a pledge.”
Hazel didn’t want to do a shady business. The artist was dead anyway, and the man who copied it couldn’t claim to have done it.
“…Even if this painting is a forgery, I won’t take any responsibility for it.”
“I don’t care, I’ll sign it and pay for it.”
The woman seemed to smile beneath her black veil at the mention of selling.
Hazel narrowed her eyes and gave her a price.
“Ten thousand gold.”
“Ten thousand gold, you won’t regret it?”
The nameless woman in front of her smirked.
With the instinct of a salon owner, Hazel felt like she was losing something.
She frowned at herself. But even ten thousand gold was a high price, no matter what she thought.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Please have the artwork delivered directly to the mansion.”
It was a bit dubious, but in retrospect, it was a pretty good deal, selling a cool imitation and getting paid for it.
Besides, she wasn’t under the protection of the Duke of Anais, so it was a chance to build some bridges.
With that, she neatly signed the papers. It was a done deal.
“Lady, the artwork you requested has been shipped to the Duke’s capital mansion in a loaded carriage.”
Emerging from the confines of the salon, I shook my head with nervousness.
At last, I had bought the painting. It’d been an accident.
‘If they’re practicing voodoo, sooner or later they’ll have no choice but to approach me for this painting.’
Chuckling to myself, I turned my back on the salon and headed out the door.
And then, as if on cue, Lord Mayer walked up to me and knelt beside me.
“…Lord Mayer?”
I stared at him, my voice deliberately pointed.
“Oh, my lady. Congratulations on getting the painting you wanted.”
He sounded as bad as I did. The tone of his lines was too consistent.
But we couldn’t stop acting.
I glared at Lord Mayer, held my head high in arrogance, and spoke.
Of course, my pupils fluttered and the corners of my mouth twitched, but fortunately, my black veil hid my awkward facial expressions.
“Please accept these flowers as a token of my congratulations.”
“They’re not beautiful.”
I don’t like them! They’re so pretty!
Hiding my expression, which was about to turn sour, I said calmly and without trembling.
Then I heard him whisper under his breath, ‘Good job.’
I narrowed my eyes and gave a slight nod. At that moment, Lord Mayer dropped the flower he was holding to the floor.
“I apologize, my lady.”
Sighs erupted around us, perhaps because of our remark.
I stomped on the flower he dropped, the heel of my shoe crushing it.
“You should have brought something more precious, considering who I am.”
My words sent a chill through the air.
‘…Heheh.’
I was about to choke on my own words when Lord Mayer spoke to me.
Even Ricardo growled with excitement at my side. He seemed to be complimenting me, but his pointed fangs were on full display, and it was terrifying.
“Hic.”
“How in the world is she alive and unharmed in there?”
I’m scared of jaguars, too…
While everyone was freaking out, my legs were shaking. Luckily, my dress had wide sleeves, so my quivering body was hidden.
“My apologies.”
…That’s so old school, my lord!
But except for me, Mayer, Ricardo, and Belle had already overdosed on the act.
“My lady.”
Lord Mayer’s eyes sparkled. He kissed the flower I’d crushed.
