Lady Felice’s Secret Class - Chapter 94

At that, Duchess Vanessa, who was seated nearby, stifled a laugh.

“I wonder what Her Majesty would think if she saw all this…”

“You knew about this too, didn’t you?”

Marchioness Depende shot a sharp look at the Duchess.

“Oh, I had nothing to do with it, I assure you. In fact, I did my best to keep those two apart.”

“Really? I always thought you were a romantic, always in search of true love.”

Duchess Vanessa replied with a playful smile at the Marchioness’ words.

“With whom I ended up marrying? You know the answer.”

“Exactly. Even though you knew the Duke’s wandering ways, you loved him for real, didn’t you?”

The Marchioness’s words were as sharp as her gaze.

Just then, Lady Elise Robert made her entrance into the Royal Academy’s gallery. Both Marchioness Depende and Duchess Vanessa immediately turned to look at the door.

“Lady Elise Robert has joined us as well.”

Upon entering, Elise approached Marchioness Depende, the most distinguished lady present and offered a graceful greeting.

“Good day, Marchioness Depende. It is truly an honor and a delight to greet you in person today. Your smile alone brings so much radiance to this gathering.”

“Thank you, Lady Elise. I hope you find an artist here today who truly inspires you.”

The Marchioness replied lightly. Elise gave a quick curtsy and greeted the other ladies nearby before stepping back.

And so, the entrance of the other nobles proceeded in turn.

Once the last of the guests had arrived, the headmaster, Mr. Edmund stepped to the side of the gallery and cleared his throat.

“I want to thank you all for joining us at the Aurelia Gallery of the Royal Academy of Art for today’s sponsor gathering.”

As his nervous voice rang out, the gallery doors slowly opened. The waiting artists entered one by one, taking their places by their works along the walls.

“All ten artists present today are highly accomplished. In particular, Julian Vale, winner of the Empire’s most prestigious Summer Competition, is among them. Let me begin by introducing each artist in turn.”

The Marchioness’s gaze drifted to Julian Vale standing at the center.

“Since he was just mentioned, let’s start with Julian Vale.”

The headmaster nodded to Julian and he stepped forward from his painting. His jet-black hair curled slightly past his ears, and his thick eyebrows and tightly set mouth spoke of his stubbornness.

Beneath a white shirt, he wore a crimson scarf tied snugly, and his vest was left half-buttoned, sleeves haphazardly rolled to his elbows.

The Marchioness let out a silent sigh.

Both of her protégés had a talent for making trouble, though thankfully never with their art—only with everything else.

She’d heard he’d won last year’s painting competition and had secured Count Legrand’s sponsorship, but given how quickly he’d shown up at this gathering, it seemed there’d been another clash between patron and artist.

Across the room, Count Legrand glared at Julian as if he could kill him on the spot.

“My name is Julian Vale. I painted this work earlier this year. Thank you.”

Julian said shortly, before stepping back.

The flustered headmaster made a hurried gesture for him to elaborate, but Julian simply looked indifferent.

At that moment, Claude spoke up.

“I’m particularly struck by the painting at the very top. It seems a little different from your usual style—may I ask about it?”

The Marchioness followed Claude’s gaze to the highest-hung painting, which was in the Chireco style: a beautiful woman in profile with her eyes closed. The mood and the feeling of it… Could it be…?

Her brow furrowed with suspicion.

Julian’s eyes briefly flicked from the Marchioness to Claude—and then, noticing Felice seated beside Claude, he looked genuinely startled. Yet Julian was not one to show emotion easily, and only his teacher, the Marchioness, noticed the change.

“…It’s a portrait of someone I care about.”