Chapter 142

Translator: Yonnee

Violet still didn’t fully grasp the situation and stared blankly at the banquet hall. Cairn, witnessing the momentary crack in her poker face, covered his forehead with his palm and sighed.

“His Highness is bragging about it.

“…What?”

“He even said that it’s his favorite among everything he received this year.”

“……”

Violet’s expression quickly stiffened, and Cairn pursed his lips.

Since Roen had presented Violet’s painting as a gift, the ownership of that painting now belonged to the Crown Prince. Of course, Violet had not willed this painting to be given as a gift, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Facing the nobles gathered around it in the banquet hall, eagerly discussing the painting that was publicly receiving acclaim, Violet couldn’t decide how to react. She discreetly took a step back.

“Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“What? You’re just leaving it there?”

“I’m tired today, so I think I’ll rest now. Whether you stay and enjoy or leave, it’s up to you.”

The nobles who had wanted to get the attention of the imperial family shifted uncomfortably.

Some of them were thinking of urging the artists they themselves were sponsoring to match the crown prince’s apparent tastes, while others admired the painting purely for its artistic merit. On the other hand, there were a number of them undermining the piece, branding it as a diabolical creation.

Violet had no desire to get involved in this situation.

However…

“Oh, Ducal Lady, you’ve come at just the right time.”

“……”

“I received the gift you sent. It’s such an exceptional painting that I wasn’t able to bear to keep it all to myself. I plan to exhibit it in the palace if possible.”

“I’m… glad you appreciate it.”

She got caught.

Violet forced a smile. Cairn, who thought he could sense her anger behind that smile, took a step back. He was mentally sending notes of sympathy towards Roen.

“Compared to the Empire’s progress, the art world is still somewhat conservative. This is such an amazing painting that it shatters the conventional norms. It even makes me feel like my aesthetic standards have been shattered… Roen did hint at it before, but we can look forward to an exhibition of your works later, yes?”

“…I am only grateful for Your Highness’s generous praise.”

Naturally, everyone’s attention turned towards Violet.

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul, and in this case, few looked at her with genuine goodwill.

Violet inwardly cursed the situation Rajaden had orchestrated. Rajaden only responded with a thin, faint smile.

“Indeed, that woman… There’s something about her.”

“Even if a demon painted it, it’s an incredible piece.”

“But that unique expression, couldn’t we learn something from it?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Her attire and everything, Ducal Lady Everett is quite unconventional in many ways.”

They exchanged hushed comments amongst themselves. Violet fortified her expression with a perfunctory smile.

“…I heard that she died and was revived, but after all that, did she actually sign a contract with the devil?”

“Wow, my friend. You’re saying some dangerous things.”

Having good hearing could sometimes be a curse. Violet said goodbye to Rajaden with a polite nod and pretended not to hear the rest of those people’s whispers as she walked away.

Her destination was Roen. Similarly besieged by curious onlookers and bombarded with questions, Roen was taken aback when Violet suddenly approached.

“Could you spare me a moment?”

“Huh?”

“Just a moment.”

“Uhhh, Violet?”

Violet’s actions were swift. She led the baffled Roen away from the crowd and to a secluded area.

“If you have something to say, say it now.”

“Huh?”

“Speak up.”

“…I’m sorry?”

“Anything else?”

“Well, um, but this is too sudden…”

The confrontation between the fuming younger sister and the flustered older brother ensued.

Roen bowed his head first. He quickly ran through his thoughts to figure out what had gone wrong, and soon, he clenched his jaw tightly.

Being aware of what his close friend had done in the banquet hall, Roen promptly realized the issue at hand.

Recognition and comprehension were similar realms, but they weren’t mutually exclusive.

“Gosh…”

Cairn, who had followed his brother and sister unnoticed, clicked his tongue.

“But Violet, this is a golden opportunity. I’m sure Rajaden had good intentions…”

“Good intentions?”

“Well, um…”

Roen’s excuses came to a halt. Violet’s expression was stern.

In essence, Roen wasn’t entirely at fault in this situation. He deserved criticism for handing over the painting without permission.

However, blaming him for the painting’s subsequent introduction and the ensuing critique felt somewhat ambiguous. He might have been the source of the problem, but…

Caught in this dilemma, Violet was in a similar predicament. She couldn’t openly express her anger in front of the crown prince, so even though she had taken Roen aside, her emotions couldn’t subside easily.

Her visible anger made Cairn choose to quietly observe the situation.

Carefully, Roen broke the silence.

“But, Violet…”

“……”

“Why are you trying to hide your art?”

At Roen’s question, Violet’s eyebrows twitched.

 

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5 responses to “Chapter 142”

  1. Grapefruit Bitters Avatar
    Grapefruit Bitters

    Her art isn’t for anyone but herself!!!! She wasn’t trying to hide anything, her art was a catharsis to her it was what she did to sort through and experience her emotions in a safe and controlled environment. Why can’t they understand that she painted to create, to express herself, not to gain recognition. Aaaaahhhhhh(⁠ノ⁠ಠ⁠益⁠ಠ⁠)⁠ノ⁠彡⁠┻⁠━⁠┻ Violet’s brothers piss me off so much. Like damn are they purposely obtuse!?ಠ⁠益⁠ಠ

    1. Eh... Avatar
      Eh…

      Because men naturally assume they have ownership and possession over all things that belong to women, they therefore naturally should treat women as having less agency than beasts…

      1. LadyLark Avatar
        LadyLark

        Whoa! That… that isn’t quite right. It feels more like a time period thing. Than a gender thing. I remember looking into that sort a stuff.
        You see nobility back then didn’t really do art for personal reasons. They did it to show off. The Arts especially for women was both a way to attract marriage partners and out shine other women in the political arena. So Violet doing painting for only herself is a rare thing for someone to do. Especially since she is both a woman and a Duchess. They just simply don’t understand that Violet no longer cares about society or being the best.

  2. Eh... Avatar
    Eh…

    You actually kind of made my point for me, though…if Roen believes as you say, art is only done to show off, he makes the assumption (I would argue it is because Violet is a woman) that she is naturally following the trends, and not once does he even bother to consider that (or even ask whether) she might be doing it for reasons entirely her own…he effectively negates any agency Violet may have to develop her own motivations…consider, Roen never really “makes use of” Cairn in the way he just made use of Violet…for example, he doesn’t offer Cairn’s skills to the Crown Prince, which he essentially just did with Violet, without her permission…and the Crown Prince accepts it just as naturally because Violet is female, without even bothering to think maybe the person he should have been asking the painting from was the actual owner, not her “keeper” (brother)…you might argue it is a sign of the times, but I would argue the times haven’t changed that much…

    1. TristanDEndity Avatar

      Um, I think this scenario doesn’t just apply to “me vs women”. There are too many components to dissect, but some of them include the following concepts
      – introversion
      – extroversion
      – prideful
      – selfishness
      – pessimism
      – optimism
      – obliviousness
      – ignorance
      and others.
      I don’t think it sounds right to just settle with “men vs women”. Since you claim that times didn’t change that much (in 2023?), then I would like you to know that there are a lot of us “men” who make art and are similar to Violet. There are diversity among the people as well, including their purpose of doing art.
      – just wanting to show off.
      – just killing time.
      – just wanting to express their feelings in another manner.
      – just wanting to make art for other people.
      – just wanting to create my imaginations in an artistic sense.

      I would also like to point out that it is indeed common in THAT time period that women have less power than men, emphasis on “time period”. If we are talking about a worldwide subject here, then women have gained a lot of power. Of course it will be a different story if we’re going to point out specific countries, but where I live, women are equally treated just like men, by men AND women. There ARE other countries who still unfairly treat women, or just straight up discriminate against them, but in general terms, modern society is definitely different than medieval times.

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