Chapter 202

"Hm."

Yelena didn't contemplate for long. Marquess Marco was indeed a peculiar person, but he didn't have a bad reputation.

'I can just send him back after he states the purpose of his visit.'

If he was visiting on amicable terms, then there was no reason not to welcome him.

"Bring him to the parlor."

***

"It is an honor to meet you, Duchess Mayhard. I go by Marquess Boccodo Marco."

Marquess Marco was a bachelor who appeared to be in his late twenties. His dark gray hair was combed back neatly and his eyes were a warm brown. He gave off a favorable impression from his appearance alone.

But of course, people who looked perfectly normal had stabbed Yelena in the back in the past, so she didn't let her guard down just yet.

'Incan had a favorable impression and appearance too.'

"Pleasure to meet you, Marquess Marco. What brings you to the ducal castle?"

Yelena had heard plenty of things about Marquess Marco, but this was her first time meeting him in person. She gazed at the man, as if observing.

The vagabond who's crazy about art.

As one could guess from the word "vagabond," Marquess Marco was not settled down in a single place. He moved around various parts of the kingdom, purchasing paintings he fancied and even selling from his own collection.

'And his younger sister governs the march in his stead.'

He had more than enough reason to be known as a "peculiar person."

As Yelena was recalling what she knew about the marquess, the latter opened his mouth.

"I came here for no other reason, but because I want to know who painted the original of this painting."

"Original?"

Marquess Marco made a beckoning gesture with his hand. Then, the maid who was standing behind him stepped forward, holding a frame.

"I purchased this painting recently, but apparently, it's an imitation."

"...!"

Yelena's eyes widened when she saw the painting inside the frame.

'That person is...'

"...Merry."

Yelena urgently beckoned Merry over. Merry approached Yelena.

"Could you go into the atelier and check if a certain painting is there?"

"Understood."

Merry exited the parlor after hearing a brief explanation from Yelena. She returned soon after.

"It's there."

"...All right."

Yelena hugged her chest, her heart beating rapidly in shock. She looked at the painting Marquess Marco had presented.

The painting that filled the white frame was none other than the portrait of Yelena's husband that she had painted. She had erased the patches on his face and had colored his eyes pink, so the portrait was rather different from his real appearance.

"It seems you were unaware that an imitation existed," the marquess commented carefully, seeing Yelena's reaction.

Yelena nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from the painting. He had stated the obvious.

"...I've never released this painting publically. Um, I'm quite flustered at the moment."

Merry had confirmed that the painting was being properly stored in the atelier, which meant that it hadn't been stolen.

'How in the world did someone create an imitation...'

To think that it was sold to Marquess Marco, on top of that.

"Did the person who sold you this painting tell you that the original was at the Mayhard Dukedom?"

"Yes, they did. They were reluctant to tell, but I was quite persistent..."

Yelena furrowed her brow in confusion, puzzled. It was at that moment that one of the maids who was standing along one side of the parlor with the other maids gasped softly.

"Oh my. Isn't that Vanna's painting?" She asked herself in surprise.

She had mumbled the question softly, but Yelena's ears did not miss it. Yelena immediately turned to the maid.

"Vanna?"

"Ah, Madam. That's..."

"Isn't Vanna the maid who quit recently?"

She had quit while Yelena had been staying in the capital, to be precise. The maid who had been mumbling to herself nodded.

"Yes, that's right."

"What do you mean, that's Vanna's painting?"

"Well, truthfully... Vanna would often tell me that her dream was to become a painter."

The maid carefully gauged Yelena's reaction before continuing.

"Sometimes, when there were discarded canvases or paints, she would paint things and show me them..."

The maid's gaze shifted towards Marquess Marco's painting.

"The paintings she showed me had similar brushstrokes to that painting, especially the way the hair is painted."

'Come to think of it.'

Yelena suddenly remembered that during Vanna's time at the castle,she had always volunteered to clean the atelier.

'...So she studied the painting as she cleaned, and then after quitting, created and sold an imitation of it?'