Even in the carriage, Ellen continued to struggle for a while. But the maids eventually succeeded in calming her down.

“Have you calmed down now?”

“……Hmph.”

“What’s with that expression?”

Ellen made a sulky, displeased face at Larisa’s question.

“She was my muse.”

“Muse? What’s that?”

Larisa frowned at the unfamiliar word.

“Someone who embodies my ideal beauty.”

“Ideal beauty?”

“Yes. The moment I saw that young lady, it was as if light shone down from heaven and divine revelation struck my mind……. Wow, you know that feeling when your vision suddenly clears as if you’ve reached enlightenment! It felt like landscapes I’d never even imagined were pouring in from the far reaches of the universe, and I thought, ‘Ah, the beauty I’ve seen until now doesn’t even qualify as beauty! This is the true pinnacle of aesthetics!'”

Ellen sighed once before continuing.

“I thought you would understand, but how could you not even tell me her name? That’s too cruel.”

At Ellen’s reproachful tone, the maid Marie, unable to hold back, reprimanded her.

“Ellen. Such disrespectful language before the mistress……”

“It’s alright, Marie. Ellen’s rudeness is nothing new.”

But Larisa didn’t seem bothered by Ellen’s impertinence and instead stopped Marie. She asked Ellen again.

“So, you’re saying that looking at that young lady inspires you?”

“Yes. Uncontrollably so.”

It was a confident answer. Even Larisa was momentarily tempted by this response. To think that Ellen, hailed as a genius of the century, would show such conviction.

Perhaps bringing Natasha Bruno to Ellen might contribute to the kingdom’s artistic development.

‘No. I can’t get caught up in Ellen’s claims.’

But Larisa quickly rejected the temptation and returned to a stern expression. If she gave in, there would be no one left to restrain Ellen. After thinking for a moment, she identified the core issue.

“Even so. It’s not polite to approach a stranger without greeting them and then get excited and ramble on. That young girl must have been so startled.”

It was a valid point. Ellen seemed to feel guilty too, as she mumbled without answering. Larisa added with a sigh:

“She’s probably not even old enough to attend tea parties yet.”

“That’s… true.”

Ellen seemed to agree with that statement. A faint guilt lingered in her lowered green eyes.

“You were in the wrong. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. That’s settled then.”

Larisa sighed and leaned back against the chair. She figured that after this much discussion, even Ellen wouldn’t try to approach Natasha Bruno again. To erase Natasha’s existence from Ellen’s mind as quickly as possible, she changed the subject.

“Spring is almost over. The social season will start next week. Ellen, do you remember the ball I mentioned before? The one we agreed to attend together.”

Ellen asked with an expression that clearly showed she had forgotten:

“Yes……. What? A ball?”

Larisa narrowed her eyes at Ellen. Her look said, “How could you forget after I mentioned it so many times?” Ellen wiped away cold sweat and rolled her eyes before answering as if she had just remembered:

“Oh, that, that one. The one at some marquis’s house.”

“So you did remember it was at a marquis’s house. Impressive.”

“……So, um, Marquis Marino?”

“Marquis Romano.”

At Larisa’s correction, Ellen’s eyes rolled even faster. Larisa frowned her elegant brow and said:

“You really……. Even if you’re not interested, how could you forget after I mentioned it so many times?”

“No, I did remember. I just momentarily forgot……. No, I’m sorry.”

Ellen started to make excuses but quickly switched to an apology after seeing Larisa’s expression. Larisa clicked her tongue briefly. Ellen watched Larisa’s reaction and cautiously added:

“Um, by the way, Larisa.”

“Yes?”

“About that ball. Do I really have to go?”

Larisa looked at Ellen as if to say, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I understand that you’re concerned about me and want to make sure I don’t become too detached from high society.”

Ellen was technically a noble—the Lady of Baron Glanche. Though her family had long since fallen into ruin, and at one point, they lived more impoverished than many commoners. But now that her circumstances had improved, it was natural in a way for her to return to high society.

That was why Larisa wanted to take Ellen to this ball. But Ellen had different thoughts. She carefully continued her argument:

“But it’s not like I urgently need connections right now. Is there really a need to attend such a grand ball? Wouldn’t it be better to spend that time painting instead……”

Normally, nobles attend social events to build connections. But Ellen already had a powerful backer in Young Duke Larisa Folkenbach. She didn’t necessarily need to build connections by frequenting balls.

‘Usually, if I say I don’t want to go, she doesn’t force me to attend……. Is there something important going on?’

Ellen looked at Larisa with a puzzled expression. Meanwhile, Larisa seemed to be contemplating her response. It was only after some time that she spoke.

“You must go. There’s someone who wants to meet you.”

“Me?”

Ellen opened her eyes wide at the unexpected answer. Larisa added an explanation.

“Yes. They’re interested in commissioning artwork, but they’d like to meet you in person first.”

“But it’s not even confirmed that they’ll commission anything?”

“They’re just very cautious by nature.”

Larisa answered curtly. With her patron speaking so definitively, Ellen couldn’t refuse any further. She resigned herself and nodded.

“Alright……. I’ll prepare for it.”

“And don’t forget again.”

“Yes.”

Larisa silently looked at Ellen for a moment, then sighed.

“You’ll need to start preparing early in the morning, so don’t stay up too late the night before. Understood?”

Ellen let out a slight groan. Larisa glanced at her disapprovingly and emphasized again.

“If you stay up all night painting and can’t function even when the sun is high in the sky, I’ll be angry.”

“Mmm.”

“Your answer?”

When no satisfactory response came, Larisa narrowed her eyes and pressed for an answer.

“Well, you see……. I am a painter, Larisa. Even if I clear my schedule, isn’t it my duty to consistently paint when I have nothing else to do?”

Ellen finally responded, watching Larisa’s reaction cautiously.

“Of course I’ll try my best to go to bed early, but if, unexpectedly, inspiration suddenly strikes the night before, then, well, stopping my brush in that state is something that even I can’t—”

“Ellen.”

“Yes.”

Larisa interrupted Ellen and spoke in a cool voice.

“Did I ask for an excuse or an answer?”

“……”

The painter eventually nodded obediently, complying with her patron’s demand.

“I’ll wake up early.”

“That’s better.”

Larisa sighed. Ellen also turned her head and secretly sighed. Marie, the maid sitting beside them, gave Ellen a peculiar look.

‘Tsk.’

Though Marie sat with perfect composure, somehow Ellen thought she could hear her clicking her tongue.

⁕⁕⁕

One week later. The day of Marquis Romano’s ball. Ellen woke up to Larisa’s thundering voice.

“You said you’d wake up early!”

With eyes half-closed from lingering sleep, Ellen looked around and gasped when she saw Larisa’s furious expression. She scrambled to get up from the floor and answered.

“Oh, you’re here, Larisa! No, no. That’s not it. I did wake up this morning! But the sunlight was so warm! After breakfast I got so sleepy that just for a moment!”

“I don’t have time for excuses. Merry, Marie! Hurry and get her ready. At this rate, even I’ll be late.”

“Yes, mistress.”

The maids who received the instructions quickly dragged Ellen to the bathroom. Soaking in the bathtub, Ellen yawned while Marie washed her hair.

“Yaaawn.”

“Don’t open your mouth. Water will get in.”

“Pft! You should’ve warned me first, pft! You should’ve told me first!”

Ellen whined while spitting out water. Merry, who was scrubbing Ellen’s arms, burst into laughter. Marie responded with feigned coldness.

“You brought this on yourself.”

“That’s right. You should have woken up early like the mistress told you.”

“Are you going to be like that too, Merry? You know I can’t wake up early.”

“That’s not true. You’ve been doing well these past few days.”

Ellen looked at Merry with round eyes at her comment.

“How do you know I’ve been waking up early lately?”

“I heard from Laura at ‘Velvet and Ribbon.’ She said you’ve been painting at the cafeteria terrace seats recently. Coming for early lunch and leaving around dinner time.”

“Hmm. Now that I think about it, you were friends with that boutique employee, Merry.”

Just as Laura had testified, Ellen had recently been sitting at the cafeteria opposite Velvet and Ribbon, painting.

Her goal was obviously to meet her nameless muse again. For that alone, she had been exercising remarkable patience by going to bed early and waking up early. She thought she could do the same today.

“So why did you oversleep today?”

“I saw her again yesterday. That young lady.”

At Ellen’s answer, Marie’s hands momentarily paused. She knew that her mistress, Larisa, didn’t want to introduce Natasha to Ellen.

“Really?”

“Yes. But I only caught a glimpse from a distance……. By the time I left the cafeteria to follow her, she was already gone. I was so disappointed that I started sketching her afterimage for a moment, and well…”

I ended up staying up all night. As Ellen added this, Merry and Marie sighed as if exasperated and quickened their movements.

“Do either of you know? That young lady’s name. Larisa seems to know.”

“Even if we knew, do you think we’d tell you? The mistress doesn’t want that.”

“Tch. You Larisa’s minions.”

“You’re saying something obvious as if it’s an insult. Now, Ellen. Bend over a bit. I need to wash your back.”

Ellen muttered about their lack of loyalty while bending forward as Merry requested.

Though Ellen was accustomed to bathing alone, when she was very young, she used to bathe with the help of her nanny and several maids. Therefore, she had become surprisingly quickly accustomed to receiving bathing assistance from Merry and Marie whenever she had social events to attend.