42.
[I can’t possibly check every single detail on my own. I’m just planning to plug the most glaring holes.]
[I’ll find someone to help once I’m in Hixen. It isn’t that urgent.]
[No, in my experience, this transition period is the most critical. Before the ledgers are fully signed over, they’ll siphon off as many assets as they please. It’s nearly impossible to recover money once it’s gone.]
[There’s plenty of money. Just do it roughly.]
[That money is all yours, isn’t it? You have to manage it with care! I won’t let this slide—until we find someone, get my approval whenever a large sum is withdrawn. Understand?]
Lancelot looked at Anita with a strange expression before giving a small nod.
‘Honestly, these nobles have no sense of asset management.’
From the next day, Anita was provided with a small study. Furthermore, items she had never seen before began to pile up inside. They were medicinal herbs said to have come from the East.
[Lancelot, what is all this?]
[Your medicine. Your body is weak, yet I’m forcing you to work, so I can’t help but be concerned. Eat them well so you don’t waste away.]
[B-but this is too much…]
[Eat it even if it tastes bad. Food that is good for the body is supposed to taste bitter.]
[It’s not just that it tastes bad, it’s—]
[Endure it. Medicine wouldn’t be medicine if it were sweet.]
Ugh. Anita forced herself to swallow the concoction, enduring the agony. Somehow, she felt as if she were actually regaining her strength, just as he had promised.
The assets of Edenbahir, which she had roughly verified through the ledgers, were beyond anything she had imagined.
‘If it’s this much… I can see why Lancelot’s economic sense was so indifferent.’
Even to her, having helped her father’s business, the ledger of a billionaire like Edenbahir was staggering enough to make her jaw drop.
And as expected, the holes were enormous. Everywhere, large sums were leaking like water through a dozen different methods.
‘As expected, most of it is on the side of the Grand Duchess. Let’s see… 300 Leads for a single candlestick? You wouldn’t pay a price like that even if it were crafted from pure gold.’
This was truly outrageous. The reason she had been so desperate to keep the ledger was crystal clear.
From then on, Anita set her eyes aflame and began to isolate items related to the Grand Duchess. Just as the former Duke had passed away, a massive sum had been withdrawn in a single stroke.
The ledger listed it as an art purchase. And the place of purchase was…
Milena House?
When she asked Jill to look into it, he explained that Milena House was a social venue where young painters gathered to debate.
[Milena House has produced many outstanding painters. It is very famous and wields considerable influence on the cultural scene.]
[A long time ago, one of my father’s guests ran ‘Clark House,’ which sponsored artists in Hixen. It went bankrupt in two years, though.]
[As the reputation of Milena House spread, copycat houses sprang up everywhere. Most operated like amateur clubs and disappeared without ever seeing the light of day.]
It seemed the Grand Duchess had established ‘Eden’s Patronage’ as a competitor to Milena House. She likely hadn’t attached the name ‘House’ to it out of pride.
Furthermore, it appeared this Eden’s Patronage was operating reasonably well, which only made Anita more suspicious.
‘Why would she go out of her way to purchase works from a rival like Milena House while also sponsoring young painters directly? Looking through the history, there’s no record of it.’
She sent someone to Milena House to check each artist whose work the Grand Duchess had purchased. Surprisingly, they were all paintings by one person.
She contacted Lady Milena to find out who he was, but perhaps due to a busy schedule, there was no reply.
So, Anita went to visit Milena House herself.
She entered the paradise of young artists, a place thick with the scent of oil paint and the frantic energy of those obsessed with their craft.
[Mr. Gray Holmes.]
None of the painters showed the slightest interest in Anita, and Gray Holmes was no different.
Anita, having recognized him by his description, called his name again, but he did not turn his head. He was entirely consumed by the colors on his canvas.
‘Just as Jill said.’
They claimed that since high-ranking nobles flocked there, he wouldn’t even turn his head unless someone made a scene.
Anita rummaged through her bag and took out a clipped newspaper article. She held it out to Holmes.
[I am this person.]
The headline was simple:
Holmes’s head, previously stiff and frozen, finally turned toward her. His expression was one of genuine surprise.
[You are…?]
[Are you interested now? Then, could you spare me a moment?]
So, even an artist of great pride could not resist a visit from a lowly-born Duchess.
Holmes guided her to a space that functioned as a reception room—an area that felt remarkably free-spirited.
[I came to ask about Lady Veronica Edenbahir. She recently bought six of your works, didn’t she?]
[…That is correct.]
[Is the painting you are working on now also intended for her?]
[It is. What is your business?]
Anita bluffed with a practiced excuse.
[It’s the first time Lady Veronica has purchased works from only one artist in succession. She asked me to manage them and told me to store these precious items well. It was so rare that I found it strange. I came because I wondered if she had left you any special instructions.]
Perhaps it was the way she emphasized that he was special. Holmes, while unable to hide his suspicion, eventually spilled the beans about his conversations with the Grand Duchess.
[I don’t know about the works I’ve already sold. However, I heard that the work I am currently painting is to be presented to the Royal Family. That is all.]
A Royal gift.
‘So she intends to send it as a birthday present for the Queen.’
But why Gray Holmes, of all people?
She scrutinized the canvas carefully but couldn’t feel anything special about it. Perhaps it was because she lacked an eye for art.
‘A painting gift, a painting gift, huh.’
…Ah.
A sharp idea struck her.
[Mr. Gray Holmes. I have one favor to ask.]
[I’m afraid I am busy painting and don’t have the time to listen to the Duchess’s requests…]
[Please sell me an exact copy of the painting you are currently working on. Within ten days.]
Holmes’s eyes turned icy. The emotion reflected in his gray gaze was pure contempt.
[…I cannot understand. I’ll ask because I’m suspicious—are you asking me to paint a forgery of my own work?]
[It would be fine if it looked like a forgery. But it must not be one. If there is a minute difference that only a master could spot upon close inspection… then it’s not a forgery, is it?]
A work that looks like a forgery, but in reality, is an original.
Intrigued by her explanation, Holmes didn’t leave his seat.
[I’ve never heard such a request in all my life. What on earth is the Duchess’s purpose?]
[Mr. Holmes. You know me well, don’t you? I heard there is no celebrity more famous than me lately…]
Anita knew she had to hook him securely while he was showing interest.
‘This method is one of the few ways to definitively call out George Pager.’
To achieve that, Anita was willing to weaponize her own family history.
[I want to find my father.]
[…Your father, you say?]
[I don’t know how much the newspapers have revealed about my personal life. But my father has gone missing.]
Holmes replied in a noticeably calmer voice.
[I know that. The Duchess’s story is quite famous even in this House.]
[I suspect Lady Veronica is the culprit. To uncover the truth, I need your help, Gray Holmes.]
If she wasn’t mistaken, Holmes’s eyes seemed to flash.
[Duchess, if it’s not an intrusion, could you tell me more in detail?]
Anita explained her plan vaguely.
She explained without rushing—how there was a lawyer she absolutely had to find, how she needed the King’s authority as a final resort to summon him, and how she would utilize Holmes’s painting to wield that royal power.
Whether she should call it fortunate or not, Holmes showed significant interest.
[Very well, I will accept your proposal. Instead, I have a condition.]
[A condition?]
[Allow me to write your story into a play.]
[…What did you say?]
A play, not money or connections.
Anita, who had maintained her composure to the very end, saw her expression crumble for the first time in front of him.
[A play? Weren’t you a painter?]
[I am a painter as well as a playwright. I felt it even from the articles, but the Duchess’s story possesses excellent elements to make the public’s emotions churn. The limitations of status, a tragic family history, a forbidden romance… doesn’t it even have a definitive villain?]
A vitality he hadn’t shown before rose to his face. Was that what they called the soul of an artist?
Holmes was trying his best to persuade Anita, even using hand and foot gestures.
[The power of a story is great, and a brilliant narrative can even dominate the rationality of the public. If this play succeeds, not just in the Kingdom of Montebio, but people all over the world will support you…]
[Fine. Do as you wish.]