Chapter 58.2

‘Why am I… feeling like this?’

Her mind flashed to something she had heard before.

There’s a saying that in highly cultured empires or kingdoms, there exist works of art so moving that they can bring people to tears at a single glance.

Back then, I had dismissed it as nonsense.

But now, I understand.

This must be why wealthy people on the continent were so obsessed with porcelain.

Shaaah—

The leaves rustled as the wind blew through the window, carrying the cold, sharp air characteristic of the Northern region.

Even in the middle of the day, the wind was fierce.

But to a native Northerner like her, it simply felt refreshing.

“Is that the one, my lady?”

A familiar voice echoed from the bedroom entrance.

“Old hag! Can you at least make some noise before you enter?!”

Startled by Isabelle’s voice, Arina clutched the blue water bottle tightly, nearly dropping it.

She knew, thanks to Arad’s early morning demonstration on “quality management” or whatever he had called it, that this porcelain wouldn’t break easily.

But still, something precious was something precious.

“I’ve been making plenty of noise since earlier, my lady.”

“…Huh? You have?”

“Are you sure you’re not getting too relaxed these days?”

“Look at this and tell me if you wouldn’t be distracted, too.”

“Goodness… it’s beautiful. How could it shine with such a color?”

“By the way, I made it.”

“Ah, so this is what you’ve been up to, living practically at the factory these days!”

“Yep.”

“This should be declared a treasure of the North!”

“A t-treasure? Don’t do that! If it’s declared a treasure, I wouldn’t even be able to use it as a water bottle!”

“Ahaha~, that’s true.”

Both Arina and Isabelle stared blankly at the blue water bottle for a while.

After a moment of quiet admiration, Arina spoke up.

“By the way, there are other porcelain pieces at the factory. They’re still prototypes, though.”

Isabelle’s expression shifted into a knowing smile.

“Actually, Sir Arad just brought them to the inner citadel.”

“W-what?! Arad came to the inner citadel?!”

“Yes, and thanks to him, the news about porcelain is spreading like wildfire throughout the High Tower.”

“What’s he doing here? Why would he come all the way to the inner citadel himself?”

“I heard he wanted to request an audience with Her Highness.”

“H-He wants to see Her Highness?!”

Arina flinched as if she had been struck by lightning and began hurriedly changing her clothes.

She even removed the leather cover that had been wrapped around the “Arad’s Sincerity” bag.

“Calm down, my lady. I told them it might take a little time, so there’s no rush.”

Isabelle tried to reassure her, her voice steady and calming.

“Oh, and by the way, my lady, I heard from Sir Arad that you’re on vacation?”

“Huh? Yeah, I made porcelain for two days straight without any proper sleep. So, I decided to take the day off today.”

“While you were on break, did Sir Arad say anything else to you?”

“Hmm? Nope. He just told me to hurry up and go rest.”

“…I see.”

Isabel gave her master a look full of unspoken thoughts.

Her gaze said, I have so much to say, but I’ll stay quiet for now.

‘Seriously, what’s the problem here?’

Isabelle’s thoughts turned to the frustratingly slow pace of Arad and Mary’s (Arina’s) relationship.

There had been countless opportunities for them to make progress, both in the past and now.

Even if it wasn’t Grand Duchess Arina but Mary instead, it was still obvious.

‘Two grown adults, alone in one space, and nothing happened?’

This time, they were in the factory making porcelain together. Sure, Theo, the company’s employee, had been there too, but before that…

That dinner study session? Anyone could see that was a signal from Arad toward Mary.

Yet, nothing had come of it.

How?

How was that even possible?

“But seriously, why would Arad personally request an audience with Her Highness? Old hag, have you heard anything about it?”

Isabelle’s spiraling thoughts were interrupted by Arina’s innocent question.

Her one and only master had already finished changing into more formal attire.

“Yes, it seems he wanted to showcase the completed porcelain pieces and had something he wanted to discuss with Her Highness directly.”

“Huh? Is there something he wants to tell me that he can’t tell Mary?”

Arina tilted her head, looking curious yet slightly hopeful.

“They say it has something to do with a portrait. Apparently, he passed along a message about it through Mary before, but he still hasn’t received a response.”

“…!!”

Her expression instantly stiffened, all traces of excitement vanishing from her face.

“Is something wrong, my lady? What’s this about a portrait?”

Isabelle looked at Arina with concern, her brow furrowed.

“Well, it’s…”

Arina explained the situation with the portrait to Isabelle.

“My lady… why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?”

Isabelle tilted her head, confused.

“Old hag, I’ve been way too busy these days.”

Arina shot Isabelle a look that practically screamed, Isn’t it obvious?

“Still… I don’t get it. Why does he want to draw Mary and me together in the same portrait?”

“Hm… maybe…”

A knowing glint flashed in Isabelle’s eyes.

“Maybe he thinks Mary is your relative or your half-sister.”

“What? No way.”

“It’s possible. If the spirit manipulation magic embedded in that necklace of yours glitches even slightly, misunderstandings like that could happen.”

Wait a second! Then could that also be why their relationship isn’t progressing?!

A wild new possibility popped into Isabel’s head, but for now, she decided to focus on the task at hand.

“Does that mean all the times Arad has sent messages to me through Mary…?”

“Perhaps it’s because he’s genuinely concerned for Mary. It might seem like he’s being nosy, but it could be coming from a place of affection.”

Hearing this, Arina tilted her head upward as if scanning her memories.

Do you have anything else to add? Something that Her Highness did well, perhaps?

She remembered it clearly.

Her reaction was… undeniable.

“Has it really gotten this complicated…?”

The more she thought about it, the more plausible Isabelle’s theory seemed.

“If your theory is right, then what do we do now?”

“Well, for starters, we should have Sir Arad finish that portrait he mentioned. It’d be odd if we kept stalling any longer.”

“!? Wait, can the illusion spell on the necklace even handle something like this?”

“I’ll see if I can tweak it. It might actually be easier than I thought.”

“Alright, I’m counting on you, old hag!”

“Still, it’s just a theory for now. When you see Sir Arad later, be sure to ask him properly.”

“Of course.”

As they talked, they continued to prepare for the audience chamber.

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