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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The Priceless Drawing
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“You can… laugh… but please, try not to laugh *too* loudly.”
At first, she was going to tell him not to laugh.
But even Lumina had to admit that telling him not to laugh at this was something only a truly shameless person could do.
‘Even if I’m already quite thick-skinned, I can’t just flaunt it in front of Father.’
Lumina did her best to act like a person with a conscience.
“What is this?”
Lucius gazed down with an unfamiliar look at the ‘thing’ Lumina presented.
She had been out all day, but she hadn’t brought back anything extravagant. On the contrary, it was light and simple.
Paper.
It was just paper.
The problem was what was drawn on it.
“Is it a code?”
“……”
“Or a map to a legendary treasure of the Lanshuss family?”
“…It’s neither.”
Unable to decipher it, he seemed to be guessing based on what little he could make out.
Of course, she had scribbled it hastily, but a part of her was proud that it wasn’t a *complete* mess.
But his single word—“code”—was the final nail in the coffin, and a slight sense of shame washed over her.
But this was Lumina.
She quickly overcame her shame and spoke confidently.
“It’s a picture I drew!”
“A picture?”
“Yes! I don’t usually draw, so my skills are a bit lacking, but it’s a one-of-a-kind gift for you, Father!”
“I see.”
“Can you guess what I drew?”
Her outing had run long, so she had been short on time.
So, she had simply gotten some high-quality paper and scribbled something down.
After all, with her lack of talent, the result would be similar whether she tried hard or rushed it.
As a result, the drawing was more a blob of color than a discernible shape.
“Hmm, black… did you draw a monster?”
Lumina shook her head.
“Then…”
Olivia, who was on quite good terms with her own son, immediately realized what Lumina had drawn.
Worried Lumina would be upset if she gave an obvious hint, she diligently mouthed signals to him from the side.
Any answer would be better than ‘a monster,’ but if he guessed wrong again, the adorable little girl would surely be disappointed.
‘Du!’
‘ke!’
‘!’
Despite Olivia’s efforts, Lucius was so engrossed in his thoughts that he couldn’t take his eyes off the drawing.
“I’ve got it. A polluted lake. To think you could draw landscapes so well. I had no idea.”
He had missed the mark completely.
Olivia sighed softly beside him.
But, as if he had concluded it was a profound and subtle work depicting the destruction of the ecosystem, Lucius nodded to himself with grave seriousness.
Lumina’s cheerful voice broke him out of his reverie.
“Wrong, wrong, wrong! All incorrect.”
“Incorrect? Then what on earth did you draw? No, let me guess again. Let’s see…”
Lucius pondered as if faced with a puzzle for the ages.
What bizarre answer would he come up with after ‘monster’ and ‘polluted lake’?
Realizing he would never guess correctly, Lumina beat him to the punch.
“It’s you, Father!”
“What?”
“I drew you. But… I suppose my skills weren’t enough to capture your wonderful visage.”
Outwardly, she muttered dejectedly, but inwardly, she was confident.
‘If I were good at drawing, I’d already be a painter.’
A profession was something one pursued when they had talent in the field.
And Lumina knew how to judge herself objectively. She would never become a painter.
‘When I was drawing, I thought it was a relief that Father wears sunglasses.’
Thanks to that, she could produce the maximum result with minimal strokes.
But seeing Lucius’s reaction, it seemed that was all just her own delusion.
“It seems my drawing skills are so terrible that this isn't a gift you can be happy with. In that case, I’ll just…”
Stealthily.
Lumina tried to take the drawing that was on the desk.
*Snatch—*
In that moment, a large, black-gloved hand clamped down over Lumina’s small, dainty one.
“Who said I didn’t like it?”
Only two remained: one trying to take it away, and one determined not to let it go.
Lumina tilted her head and said.
“But you didn’t seem to like it.”
“What? If there’s anyone here who said they didn’t like it, tell them to raise their hand right now.”
It felt like anyone who raised their hand would be swiftly dealt with by Lucius—even though he was the one who had guessed wrong in the first place.
“No one, I see. This drawing is perfectly to my liking. Leave it here.”
*You said it was a monster!*
*You said it was a polluted lake!*
Lumina couldn’t forget his harsh words.
But she couldn’t reveal these disrespectful feelings.
She was just a powerless child who had to obediently kneel before cruel authority.
Having no choice, she couldn’t retrieve the drawing and left it behind.
“Olivia.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“Have it appraised immediately.”
What?
What did I just hear him ask to have appraised?
It seemed Lumina was the only one flustered in the room.
Olivia, like the competent aide she was, answered calmly.
“Yes, I understand.”
“It’s a painting by the daughter-in-law of the House of Heart, so it is indeed priceless, but it would be unjust for me to be the only one who knows of this masterpiece.”
“You are correct. I also believe that everyone on the continent should know how valuable the Young Madame’s portrait of the Duke is.”
With the most serious expressions imaginable, they were putting on quite an act.
“Lumina.”
“Ye-yes?!”
Suddenly called, Lumina stared at Lucius with wide eyes.
“You said you were grateful to me.”
“Yes! Of course.”
“Then I would like you to give me such gifts whenever you have free time from now on.”
For a moment, Lumina understood how Joseph must have felt when she’d swiped his coin purse.
No, more than that, she couldn’t understand what he planned to use this crude drawing for that he would ask for more.
After asking if the drawing was a code, was he planning to pass it off as an important cipher and distribute it to his enemies to sow confusion?
Plausible hypotheses began to form one by one in Lumina’s mind.
But regardless of the distrustful look she was giving Lucius in her mind, Lumina smiled brightly and replied.
“If you wish for it, Father, I can give you one anytime!”
***
Two days passed.
The drawing Lumina made, mistaken for a monster and a polluted lake, passed through the hands of numerous art appraisers.
The experts held serious discussions while examining a drawing—one that could be made in ten seconds—with a magnifying glass.
Wearing gloves was essential, lest the drawing be damaged.
‘My skill is such that I’d be lucky to recoup the cost of the paper, but with Father watching menacingly from behind, everyone was terrified.’
They trembled like prey before a beast, passionately trying to raise the appraisal value.
Then, one appraiser asked Lumina a question.
“By the way, what is the title of the piece?”
“!”
After everyone present heard Lumina’s shout, delivered without a moment’s hesitation.
The appraisal value was quickly decided.
Five hundred million gold.
It was a jaw-dropping amount, enough to make even Lumina’s greedy ego scream.
*I drew a picture worth such an astronomical amount with my own hands?!*
It felt like she had created a monster.
‘There’s no one who would buy it anyway, so the appraisal value is meaningless, but…’
It was supply without demand.
I heard it was scheduled to be ranked as the most expensive painting in the world.
It looked like people all over the continent would find out that Lumina drew a black shape and called it the Duke of Heart.
And also the fact that Lumina gifted it to the Duke.
It became an occasion for her to resolve to choose her future gifts for him more carefully.
***
“Hanna, isn’t the weather lovely today?”
“Hoho. It is, isn’t it?”
*Drip, drop—*
As soon as the words were out, a downpour began.
“The weather seems a little *too* nice. I’ll close the window.”
“Yes. I think you should.”
In Lumina’s room.
Brandon, disguised as Hanna, and Lumina faced each other and smiled.
Ash, who was standing guard at a distance and watching them, became bewildered.
“By the way, you said your family stayed behind in your hometown, right? Have you contacted them recently?”
“As a matter of fact, they contacted me just today. How did you know?”
Oh my.
Hanna (Brandon) rejoiced with exaggerated delight.
“Really? What did your family say?”
“They said they’re coming up from my hometown to see me! I haven’t seen them in so long, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
“When are they coming?”
“Today! They should arrive around evening.”
“Then should I give you paid leave?”
“Not just leave, but paid leave?”
“So you can go meet them right now!”
“Oh my gosh, really? You’re the best, Young Madame!”
Hanna (Brandon), who had unexpectedly received paid leave, jumped up and down with joy like a normal maid.
Had it not been for Lumina’s next remark, he would have continued to be that happy.
“Oh, right. Don’t wash up before you go!”
“…Young Madame. I washed up at dawn today.”
“Of course. I know, I know.”
“I’m telling you, I washed this morning, so I’m clean. Why do you keep telling me not to wash?”
“Yes, yes. I know you’re clean, so don’t wash.”
Ash, who didn’t know Hanna’s true identity was Brandon, was puzzled.
‘Is that how women normally talk to each other?’
Ash’s misunderstanding deepened.
