Portrait of An Arrogant Master - Chapter 170

She also added that if there were any replies, they should be sent to the Krygen brokerage office, so it wouldn’t seem like a notice without an address.

“Right. And you said it was a men’s gathering, didn’t you? Even though you were going to paint their portraits, it could have been dangerous for a woman to go alone. Good call.”

“Yes…”

“But even though you wrote that you were canceling the commission, I hear there hasn’t been a reply from Marquisate Lingston.”

Of course. It’s all been discovered now.

How could Macy expect a reply after everything that happened? And now, there was no need for anyone to be kind to her, so they probably ignored her. After everything, Macy had politely rejected the commission, maintaining courtesy, which might have made them look down on her…

The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“But there are plenty of other letters.”

“What’s this?”

Morgan’s bag was full of letters addressed to Macy Horton. He smiled widely as he handed the stack of letters to Macy.

“Apparently, if they send them to the Krygen brokerage office, they can contact you. There are even portrait commissions from the nobility, and many from galleries.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Go ahead, open them.”

Macy eagerly gathered the letters and, with a quick step, returned to the studio. She spread them out on her desk, carefully going through each one.

There were plenty of portrait commissions, but more than half of the letters came from galleries. The letters were full of praise for Macy’s art and proposals to display her work in their galleries.

The terms for displaying her work were ridiculous—far better than the conditions she had almost accepted when she first tried to sign a contract. The letters even said that simply displaying her artwork would be a great honor.

Macy, who had never experienced such treatment, couldn’t quite believe it was real.

Not only that, but there were people offering to sponsor her, and even investors who wanted to host her solo exhibition.

“My goodness…”

It felt like she had regained Yannick Horton’s fame overnight. No, it might even be more impressive than that.

“It’s strange…”

However, Macy couldn’t feel pure joy and excitement. There were too many uncertainties to simply attribute this success to her painting skills alone.

‘Was Eren’s statement true?’

Could these offers be coming because of Macy, as Duke Krygen’s mistress? It seemed too coincidental.

Recently, Eren had been spending lavishly, flaunting his wealth enough to buy properties and dressing Macy up, taking her around like a prized possession.

Not only that, but on the Romanci Bridge, the most famous spot in Leden, they had shared a deep kiss. Just thinking about it still made her dizzy.

Macy fanned her flushed cheeks and began sorting through the letters. She carefully folded the portrait commissions and tucked them into a drawer, then took a closer look at the gallery proposals.

‘With this, I won’t need to meet people after all.’

Now that she had some recognition, she didn’t need to paint according to others’ tastes. Just like when she had painted in place of Yannick, Macy could now paint what she wanted.

And the idea of a solo exhibition—it was thrilling just to imagine.

But the exhibition itself was risky in Obelit. No matter how much word of mouth spread, the number of nobles interested in art was small. It wasn’t common for them to spend large sums on paintings in Obelit.

Besides, an exhibition meant that the artist would have to stay in the venue and interact with people. For Macy, who had grown increasingly wary of people, that felt like too much of a strain.

‘Right. An exhibition? Let’s find a proper gallery instead.’

Although the proposal kept catching her eye, Macy deliberately turned her attention away from it.

“What’s this?”

Then she found a letter she hadn’t checked yet. It had the seal of two crowned swans.

Macy quickly checked the name written on the envelope.

“Benedict Josh von Stein…”

It was indeed a letter from the Third Prince of Ciseina. Macy hesitated for a long time, wondering whether she should open it.

Unable to resist her curiosity, she used a paper knife to cut the seal and slowly began reading the neat handwriting.

In short, the letter said he wanted to meet and apologize for what had happened that day. To be honest, Macy wasn’t particularly keen on meeting the prince.

Every time they met, something like an accident seemed to happen. By the time she had read halfway through, she had already decided she would send a refusal. But then, her eyes caught the postscript.

<ps. I hope I am not being rude by finding out where Macy lives.>

What is this? Does he know where she lives…?