Chapter 12
I'm a Homebody, But I Possessed a Dark Captivity Novel
Episode 12
“So, you mean I should draw it like this?”
The scene of elderly men gathered together, putting their heads together, was honestly a bit amusing.
“No…”
Where a professional touch had clearly passed, an apple as beautiful as a jewel was drawn.
The problem was that they had been drawing this single apple for half the day.
Feeling like I would be trapped here forever if I dragged things out any longer, I whispered softly towards Sir Brown, a former court painter who sat as the representative among them.
“Y-you could probably relax your strokes a little more.”
“Oh, indeed. I hear that nowadays, light touches are more in vogue than the heavy brushstrokes of the past. Isn't that right, Sir Rovid?”
Sir Rovid, whose name was suddenly called, scratched his balding crown.
“Hmm, I don’t know. Isn’t this aggressive style of painting merely copying the style of foreigners, rather than our Cletan’s unique technique?”
“It’s not copying, it’s development, development.”
They would often spout things that others couldn’t properly understand, getting lost in their own world.
Before the atmosphere could heat up further, I spoke again.
“What I meant was, you just need to draw the general shape of the object. There’s no need to put so much effort into it. The important thing is conveying the message.”
“Ho ho, in other words, imbue the drawing with a story?”
Sir Brown’s face lit up.
He then turned to Sir Kedric, who was quietly concentrating on his drawing on the other side.
“Isn’t the world of art profound? It develops daily, and new meanings are imbued within it.”
Sir Kedric, who had been silent for a long time, replied in a serious voice.
“…New art, you say. Is this the Grand Duchy of Bleil’s doing, perhaps.”
“Ha, haha, ha…”
‘No!’
I swallowed a silent scream at the betrayal from Sir Kedric, who seemed the most sensible.
And once again, resentment towards Grand Duke Blale surged within me.
The comic book was just something to pass the time. It wasn’t some masterpiece of the century.
However, the elderly grandfather painters seemed to be treating this task as the greatest undertaking of their lives, burning with incredible passion.
It made sense, as Liam explained that they had offered an astronomical annual salary to scout them…
“Several hundred million Trees!?”
“Nothing is impossible with Grand Duke Blale’s wealth.”
As a Princess who had lived as poorly as a beggar on the streets, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by the Grand Duke’s sheer scale.
“In any case, Young Lady. We understand the content you’ve described. And what we need to convey.”
“Yes?”
Sir Brown, who had been introduced to me as a distant noble lady to hide my identity, bowed his head respectfully.
His serious demeanor made me even more anxious.
“…What do you mean, what you need to convey.”
I asked cautiously, but to the painters already lost in their own world, my question was of no concern.
“However, it will take some time.”
“That’s right. There are many things we need to coordinate among ourselves.”
They muttered amongst themselves again and then left in a rush before I could respond.
I stumbled out of the empty workshop, trying my best to regain my composure.
At the same time, an overwhelming sense of injustice washed over me.
‘I just wanted to rest comfortably in my room!’
A foreboding premonition that my life would become even more arduous due to this unexpected comic book creation wouldn’t leave me.
There’s a song, you know. Why do sad premonitions never prove wrong?
I looked back and forth between the large, heavy book in my hands and the three old men gazing at me with expectant eyes.
Then, Sir Rovid, standing at the forefront, spread his arms proudly.
“This is a comic book containing the great achievements of the first Grand Duke Blale.”
“Ah…”
In short… a biography of a great person?
With trembling hands, I slowly turned the cover of the book, which boasted a size significantly larger than average.
And as expected.
“Ha, haha…”
A hollow laugh escaped my lips as I saw the subsequent content.
To briefly summarize the content of this magnificent comic book, it begins with the birth of the first Grand Duke Blale.
The first Grand Duke Blale was born from an egg. And from the age of five, he spewed fire from his mouth to conquer monsters.
That’s not all. From the age of ten, he spread his arms to create wings from his armpits and fly; with a single powerful flap of those wings, he could create gusts of wind to defeat his enemies.
Furthermore, he made bombs from pinecones and crossed the Maze Lake on a single leaf – an incredible epic…
‘At this point, wasn’t the first Grand Duke himself a monster, rather than someone who defeated monsters?’
The problem didn’t end there.
Thump.
I quickly closed the comic book of this unidentified genre. I couldn’t bear to look any further.
‘It’s so boring…’
I couldn’t tell the grandfathers, who were looking at me with shining eyes, directly, but this comic book was truly, damnably boring.
Aside from its immense absurdity and the stark contrast of its insane, high quality, there was nothing to be felt from this comic.
Nor was there any profound lesson. If I had to force one, it would be that defying Grand Duke Blale means death.
Given that Grand Duke Blale himself had commissioned the creation of this comic, it felt like part of his grand scheme.
‘Is he trying to say, ‘Become a obedient slave, or you’ll die from a pinecone grenade’?’
If my guess is correct.
If this is his grand scheme…
‘I absolutely must not provoke him.’
Hahaha.
I let out a wry smile.
“How is it?”
At that moment, Sir Brown, who had led the creation of this biographical comic, asked cautiously.
“I heard that Young Lady would be the one to give the final evaluation of this work to Grand Duke Blale.”
“Uh, well…”
I turned my head, slightly avoiding his burdensome gaze.
Of course, I wanted to say something nice. I wanted to encourage them for their hard work and say it was sufficient.
But… but!
‘I can’t even lie.’
Compared to the masterpieces I had seen in my previous life, this was too much.
There was no heart-wrenching romance, no revenge drama that sent shivers down one’s spine, only the peerless saga of Grand Duke Blale, a monster whose armpits produced wings and gusts of wind.
After observing them for a moment, I raised my head again.
“I think perhaps we could try changing the objective.”
“Objective? This is to honor the greatness of Grand Duke Blale…!”
As if he had taken it as an insult to the work, Sir Rovid’s plump crown turned a bright red.
I reached out as if to calm him and calmly continued my explanation.
“Well, you see.”
If I couldn’t persuade them properly this time, I would be doomed to appreciate paper trash created with an enormous sum of money.
I absolutely had to prevent such a thing.
“The most important thing is fun. Sir Brown, do you find the biography of the first Grand Duke Blale interesting?”
“…We drew it with the heart of praising a great man’s achievements.”
In other words, fun wasn’t a consideration?
As if sensing my glare, he added as an excuse.
“Isn’t simple, entertainment-focused art treated as low-class among scholars?”
“It’s too much of a waste of the labor of the artists gathered here to be used solely for light amusement.”
Even Sir Kedric chimed in.
I shook my head. Even if not now, art was destined to break free from being the exclusive property of nobles someday.
Therefore, art needed to be a little lighter, and fundamentally, fun. That’s how it was in the world I lived in.
“Didn’t people first start drawing, and didn’t the profession of drawing emerge, ultimately to bring joy and happiness to others?”
“……”
“That’s what I mean. Nothing has changed in that regard.”
Thump.*
Sir Brown’s arm, which had been tense, drooped powerlessly.
Sir Rovid and Sir Kedric also looked at me with expressions that were hard to describe.
Drawing attention in the silence, I felt my face grow hotter.
‘Did I ramble on too much nonsense?’
But there was no other way.
Even if someone paid me, I wouldn’t be able to watch this. Sob sob.
“…Young Lady.”
After some time had passed.
Sir Brown, his expression somewhat softened, took a step closer to me.
“We’ve been in this field for too long that we seem to have lost our initial intention at some point.”
“…Yes?”
“You are right, Young Lady. We started painting because it was fun, after all. But at some point, we might have wanted to make ourselves seem like great people by adding all sorts of flowery language, preaching the greatness of art, and through that, make ourselves seem like great people.”
His wrinkled eyes seemed to have tears welling up, though he didn’t want to believe it.
“N-no, that’s not it. You are all truly amazing.”
“Ho ho ho. There’s no need for that. For us to truly become great, we must be able to provide enjoyment to the viewers, as you said, Young Lady. So…”
Sir Brown asked in a serious voice.
“What should we do?”
What should we do?
I fell into deep contemplation.
