Ganael cautiously grabbed Vice Captain Élisabeth’s arm.

The divine beasts in my arms tensed up with their tails in the air after seeing the rapier.

I quickly started speaking.

“Esteemed Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard, please calm down.”
“This woman has mocked my fiance.”

The young Countess sharply responded to my comment. Her gaze was as sharp as when she was hunting demonic beasts.

It was understandable that she was angry, as a commoner had drawn a noble’s face without even asking for permission before doing so.

I was debating on how to resolve this issue when David, who had been quiet this whole time, said something.

“Show respect. You are in the presence of a member of the Empire’s Imperial family.”
“……O, okay. I’ll bow.”

Joanne, who had been smirking toward Vice Captain Élisabeth, quickly bowed on the ground after seeing crown prince Cédric.

The male lead’s charisma truly seemed to be different as she had not acted like this toward me.

She said, ‘I greet his Royal Highness,’ but the young man showed no reaction.

A commoner would probably think that his silence was even scarier. I calmly asked.

“Why did you draw Ganael?”
“I just wanted to draw him. There wasn’t any intent behind it. I swear, your highness!”

Joanne shouted.

The crown prince’s presence must have been uncomfortable for her as she went back and forth, speaking informally then formally.

She continued to ramble as if making an excuse.

“I need to immediately draw whatever comes to my mind. It has been like this since I was young, your highness. It is not that I have any feelings for that young master-nim, I just got the desire to draw early this morning and drew. I swear.”

She then switched her last statement to, ‘I swear to the Almighty God.’

I looked toward Ganael and Vice Captain Élisabeth. The young boy was warmly whispering to his fiancee.

“I’m fine, Georges. I’m just a bit shocked.”
“……Wash the wall with water by the end of the day. I will be back at midnight to check.”

‘Clang!’

The young Countess put her weapon back in the scabbard. The air instantly calmed down.

Ganael smiled and looked at her.

I didn’t say anything because I thought it might be uncomfortable for the two of them, but, honestly speaking, it seemed like a waste.

‘This is such a great picture. It would be great if we could remove the wall and give it to him as a gift.’

Joanne must have thought the same as she pursed her lips.

“Young master-nim, this is expensive. You might regret it later.”
“Of course.”

We all turned around. Benjamin was gently smiling.

He looked as if he realized something.

“Marquis-nim, do you remember the artist from Venetiaan? Haade O. Jansen?”
“Excuse me? Yes.”

I immediately responded to Benjamin’s question.

His name was one of the answers to a quiz I took in the carriage on my way to Sérénité.

Jansen, who was said to have become naturalized in the Empire around a decade ago, was the greatest star born in the Haas Auction House.

His newest paintings always topped the highest recorded price for art, attracting the attention of the Empire’s Pair de Riester to the Haas Auction house.

The only information about him other than his name was that he was born as a noble in the Holy Kingdom, leading to people calling him the faceless artist.

He received a lot of praise for his brush strokes that looked as if they were moving……

“No way.”

I quietly mumbled. I got chills on both arms. Benjamin’s blue eyes curled up.

“Really?”
“I just figured it out just now as well, your highness. Haade. O. Jansen. If you change the letters around, you get Joanne de Haas.”
“My goodness!”
“Oh Almighty God.”

Ganael and David were completely shocked.

The young Countess’s eyes became the size of plates while the crown prince tilted his head. He seemed amused.

Joanne’s identity was one thing but I was gasping with astonishment at the fact that Benjamin was able to figure that out all in his mind without writing it down.

‘The author of ReSeHo is amazing!’

“What the hell, hey mister…… You figured it out that easily?”

Joanne was naturally the most stunned.

Her jaw was dropped and she blinked with her head up as if she was forgetting that she was in front of the crown prince.

The scarf on her head slipped down as if to react to her shock.

“That makes no sense. Until now, nobody…… Nobody knew! Are you sure you didn’t know about it already?!”
“I was just lucky. You were the one who said it was a precious painting. I have also seen your other works before.”
“Lies!”
“Quiet down. Do you know who you are around right now?”
“Haaa…………..”

Joanne curled her body again.

However, she kept shaking her head as if her shock and resentment were slamming against her.

I calmed myself and asked the most important question.

“Have you been scamming people this whole time?”
“I didn’t do it!”

Joanne jerked her head up before seeing the crown prince standing next to me and quickly lowered her posture again.

She grinded her teeth as she continued to speak.

“Fuck! Jansen is a stage name I came up with. I made it up when I was fifteen! It was because I thought nobody would give it a proper look if they heard that a troublemaking trash likes to draw. But then.”

She stopped for a moment. I finished the sentence for her.

“Emille decided to use that fact.”
“……Yes.”

Joanne responded in a shaking voice. She truly seemed scared this time.

Her tightly clenched fists were turning white.

“He’s always been good at things like that. Coming up with things that were never said, putting a story behind it, and then making everybody believe it. That is why mom had no hesitation handing the merchant guild over to him. She said that sales is only for the shameless.”
“……”
“I hated my family being like that so much. We were bound to hear people talk shit about us for the rest of our lives because of how we were framed as spies even if we lived completely innocent lives, but they lived shrewdly out in the open…… It would be better to live proudly like my great grandfather before being cut down!”

Her eyes turned red and her voice sounded teary. However, she did not shed a single tear.

The crown prince, who had been silent this whole time, broke the silence.

“So, are you saying that you are innocent?”
“……No, your Royal Highness.”

Joanne immediately said no. She picked up the fallen scarf before continuing to speak.

“Emille knew that my stage name was in the Holy Kingdom’s style and created a fake artist. He made up a believable story and put a stamp on it as something only sold through the Haas Auction house. I told him to do whatever he wanted because I didn’t think anybody would buy them, but……”

They ended up hitting the jackpot.

In order to get his sister’s continuous cooperation, Emille paid her for the painting and requested her to make another one.

Joanne continued in a dejected voice.

“I was already a co-conspirator and had no money after giving up my inheritance and leaving home. After that……”
“Didn’t you say that you lived well despite not having much money?”

Vice Captain Élisabeth cynically commented. Joanne looked angry as she bit on her lip.

“Yes, I’m trash as well! I enjoyed painting and I couldn’t stop after seeing how I could make money and be praised by people for it. I continued to paint out of my own volition!”

She was huffing at this point.

“There are so many things that need money. Am I the only thug in the neighborhood? The punks going around with me come crying about how her husband is sick or her child is starving. After giving them some money for medicine and food, there wasn’t much left for me!”
“There isn’t much left for you?”

I asked in shock.

It was surprising that she took care of the thugs that were in the other prison upstairs, but Joanne’s paintings made record sales every time they popped up in the auction house.

So why would someone who should have numerous lake houses ……

“I only receive 50,000 to 100,000 franc per painting.”
“……”

Joanne grumbled. The atmosphere in the cell became ice cold.

I did the math in my mind.

10,000 franc is about one million won in this world, so 50,000 was about five million won.

And Haade O. Jansen’s latest piece……

If I remember correctly, it was sold at 7,500,000 franc. 750 million won.

The crown prince asked in a gloomy voice.

“The merchant guild leader is taking most of the money. Why do you just let him do that?”
“……I have no choice, your Royal Highness. If it was not for my younger brother, nobody would treat my work so highly.”
“Can’t you sell them yourself? If you go to another auction house or a market,”
“There is no way that bastard would let that slide.”

Joanne shook her head at my question. I immediately figured out what she meant.

Emille, who took a talented new artist and posed her as a veteran with a sad backstory, would be able to easily bring her down if she tried to leave.

He could call them counterfeits or come up with lies to banish her from the field.

My mouth tensed up.

Using his own family, not treating them properly, and then tricking others with it for his own benefit…

“Has he done things like this in other businesses as well?”
“I don’t know. He did receive a lot of things from my mother and grandmother, so…… There should be a lot of things that are done properly. Based on Emille’s personality, there is no way he doesn’t have a hole to escape through. The auctions are just a means to raise the name value of the merchant guild anyway.”

Joanne explained. I looked toward the crown prince out of reflex.

His orange eyes were sinking low.

Although Haas was in Sérénité, it was a free city directly under the Empress.

It was hard for me to investigate Emille since he wasn’t one of my residents and I wasn’t familiar with the formalities and procedures either.

However, the Imperial family could investigate them for scamming or tax evasion……

“Marquis-nim. Dame Sarnez has arrived.”

Chantal called out to me at that moment. An attendant at the end of the hallway grabbed the hem of her dress and bowed.

“The meal is all prepared as well. Shall I inform the Duke’s family to wait longer?”
“No, we will head up.”

I commented. It didn’t sound like a short story anyway. I looked toward the crown prince and motioned with my eyes.

He nodded his chin as if he agreed.

I took one last look at Joanne, who had a look of despair as she scratched against the stone floor. I had a bitter taste in my mouth.

*

“That was a wonderful meal.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it, Duke Sarnez.”
“The pork tenderloin dish was truly amazing. The riesling sauce was magnificent as well. Thank you very much, Marquis-nim.”
“Looks like I will have to send my compliments to Laurence. Thank you very much, Lady Sarnez.”

Duke Simon de Sarnez and Lady Isabelle thanked me outside the dining room.

Our first meal in the Lord’s Castle concluded safely.

Laurence, the chef of Juliette Palace, showed his amazing abilities even in an unfamiliar kitchen. Everybody was quite satisfied with the dishes.

The only difference from usual was that it was quite silent during the meal.

This was especially true for Christelle, who was so quiet that it was weird.

To be more accurate, it looked as if there was something she wanted to say to the crown prince, me, and all of her friends, but was holding back because her parents were there.

It seems……

“Christelle, let’s chat before you go back to your room.”
“……Yes, father.”

As if she was wary about her father being there.

I didn’t know exactly what was going on, but the father-daughter duo were currently in an argument about her marriage.

I thought it was probably about that.

– Click, click……

Only the sound of several footsteps could be heard echoing through the hallways of the Lord’s Castle for a while.

The Duke and his wife, Vice Captain Élisabeth, and the attendants were walking in front.

Originally, the crown prince and I were in the front but Christelle slowly pulled my sleeve and slowed me down, making everybody fall back.

The Duke and his wife were busy chatting and did not seem to realize we had fallen back.

I whispered to the Imperial Prince.

“What are you planning on doing with the Haas siblings, your Royal Highness?”
“Informing her Majesty seems like the top priority.”

I nodded my head.

He could probably investigate it himself as the crown prince, but the merchant guild was quite large and the city belonged to the Empress, so it’s only right that she learns of it first.

I watched the Duke and his wife turn a corner. It was at that moment.

– Click!

Christelle opened a closet door. She then pushed us in there!

“I’m sorry!”
“Huh?”

– Tap!

The crown prince was not someone who would have been overpowered by her, but seeing me fall in made him come into the closet as well.

The MC quickly closed the door and looked at us.

Light was coming in through the gap in the door, making our six eyes clearly visible.

It was quite small in here for all three of us and my shoulders were hurting.

‘She seemed to be plotting something since earlier. This was it?’

“Honey, Christelle is not here.”

I heard Isabelle’s voice from around the corner.

I could sense the anxious Chantal, Ganael, and Vice Captain Élisabeth outside the door.

Benjamin and David let out quiet sighs.

This hide and seek started unexpectedly, but I felt as if we could definitely not get caught now that we were hiding.

Christelle and I were silent as if we had planned this together. Even the crown prince played along.

“Don’t worry, Marquis-nim!”

Ganael whispered through the door.

‘What are you going to do?’

“What do you mean, Isabelle? She was right behind us…… Oh my!”

Duke Sarnez’s voice got closer before he sounded shocked.

Lady Sarnez’s reaction was similar.

“Oh my! Simon, don’t bother them. I’m sorry, young Countess-nim.”

Comments like ‘But Christelle,’ ‘Christelle must have gone ahead,’ continued.

I blinked while stuck in a crown prince and Christelle sandwich.

‘Did they do something outside?’

“……”
“……”

Christelle and the crown prince squinted.

It was hot and suffocating in here as we could feel each other’s breaths, but I couldn’t help but be curious.

‘What is it? The two of you know what is going on?’

—
Translator’s Comments

Not as hot and stuffy as what is going on outside… between last chapter’s painting and this chapter’s make out session… Ganael getting the love.

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