Chapter 14

The spectacle Duke Valentin caused at Marquis Rembart’s garden party turned the ducal residence upside down.

To be exact, it was the butler Oliver whose insides were in turmoil.

“Oliver, what are you scribbling and erasing so much?”

“A resignation letter, Susan. I think it’s finally time for me to go.”

Head Maid Susan looked down at Oliver’s resignation letter, which hadn’t progressed past ‘Dear Duke’, and shook her head. Ever since Lionel inherited the title, Oliver had been writing resignation letters at the drop of a hat.

“Sorry, Oliver. You can finish that later, but for now, you need to go upstairs. The Master has a guest.”

“A guest? There wasn’t anyone scheduled to visit today…”

“Just like that young lady last time, it’s another woman.”

Another sudden female guest? Oliver quickly jumped up and hurried to the first floor.

Sure enough, when he reached the entrance of the ducal residence, a woman was lingering there. She looked to be in her late thirties, with short, light brown hair and gentle sky-blue eyes.

Oliver, though suspicious, greeted her politely without showing it.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. You said you’re the Master’s guest—may I ask what brings you here?”

“Oh, hello! I’m Melanie Bouvier. I run the finest gallery in Moerven. The Duke asked me to stop by this morning—could I see him?”

A gallery owner? A merchant, perhaps? When did he arrange this meeting? Despite his confusion, Oliver did his job.

“Excuse me, but may I ask the exact nature of your business?”

“The Duke said he had some paintings he wanted to sell. For a huge price, apparently!”

This was news to the butler. Meanwhile, Melanie cheerfully pulled out a small notebook to check her notes.

“Oh, the meeting place was the gallery. I heard the gallery is in the annex—could you show me the way?”

* * *

The Valentin Duchy’s gallery occupied half of both the first and second floors of the ducal residence’s annex. The first floor mainly displayed statues and large mythological paintings, while the second floor exhibited portraits and still lifes—smaller works.

Feeling as if she had entered a real art museum, Clarette admired the Valentin collection, utterly captivated.

‘Amazing. Every piece is a masterpiece. The preservation is incredible.’

Just imagining her father’s paintings being displayed here was an honor. Clarette thought of the humble paintings tucked away in her atelier.

Just giving those paintings a chance to be seen made her glad she accepted the Duke’s offer.

“You came straight here, I see. I told you to find me when you arrived.”

At the sound of his voice, she turned toward the gallery’s entrance. The Duke approached, dressed far more comfortably than at the party.

“Oh… I forgot, Your Grace. I’m sorry.”

“It can’t be helped. You probably love art more than you love me.”

The Duke laughed softly, standing beside her in front of a marble statue of a man throwing a spear.

“So, you’ve been painting things like this? The male body.”

“That’s right. Though none of my models were as magnificent as this sculpture.”

“Well, this one really does feel like living flesh. It’s amazing how they carved it.”

At his words, Clarette almost sighed. Such a simple comment couldn’t capture the greatness of the sculpture before them—it was far too famous and remarkable.

‘The Duke really knows nothing about art. I wish he’d take more interest.’

But when she turned her gaze to him, Clarette was startled.

“So, is the arm supposed to extend like this? The pose is unusual. The model must have had a hard time.”

The Duke tried to mimic the statue’s posture. The moment Clarette saw his arm stretched out into empty air, she couldn’t look away.

Even fully clothed, his pose felt more dynamic than the statue’s. In fact, the Duke’s limbs looked longer and stronger than most of the statues in the gallery. His tall stature, broad chest, sturdy legs, muscular build, and perfect proportions made him look flawless.

His body was more beautiful than any sculpture she had ever studied or drawn.

“Hmm, a gun is definitely easier than a spear. But the pose for shooting a gun probably isn’t as interesting to look at… Ah, someone’s here.”

As someone entered the gallery, the Duke dropped his pose. Clarette was disappointed, but she turned her head to follow his gaze without showing it.

“Hello, Your Grace… Oh my, goodness!”

As the gallery door opened, Melanie, the gallery owner, felt as if she had stepped into heaven.

Huge mythological and historical paintings hung high on the walls, great masters’ statues lined up in order, and small collectibles placed here and there.

Before Oliver could even guide her, Melanie rushed into the gallery and spun around in awe.

“This is incredible! As expected of the Valentin collection! I’d only heard rumors, but to see it in person… Oh my, there’s a Castion sculpture!”

Melanie stopped in front of the beautiful statue of lovers, delighted like a child. After losing herself in the gallery for a while, she finally collected herself and turned to the Duke.

“Oh, I should have introduced myself first, but I was so overwhelmed. I’m Melanie Bouvier, owner of the finest gallery in Moerven.”

“Nice to meet you. Clarette recommended you as the best art dealer—do you two know each other well?”

Surprised, Melanie looked at Clarette. She had heard about the incident at Marquis Rembart’s mansion and thought she’d have no face to see Clarette.

But Clarette gave her a shy, reassuring smile, as if to say it wasn’t Melanie’s fault. Deeply moved, Melanie answered the Duke,

“Of course! I met Arno Sollier ten years ago. I owed him so much, and now his daughter introduces me to someone like you, Your Grace… Oh, how time flies…”

“So, I’ll count you as trustworthy. What do you think of this gallery?”

“What do I think? If I were the Emperor, I’d empty the treasury and buy everything! Every piece here is worth a fortune…”

“That value,”

Lionel interrupted smoothly, smiling at Melanie.

“If I sold everything here, how much do you think it would fetch?”

“All… all of it? Not just a few pieces, but everything?”

“Master, what are you saying!”

Oliver was even more shocked than Melanie, exclaiming loudly at the Duke.

“This gallery is the treasure vault of the Valentin family! It’s not just what the previous Duke collected—some of these pieces go back ten generations…”

“Really? Then, with all that history, we could sell them for even more. Ms. Bouvier, what do you think?”

Lionel’s tone was gentle but cold. Oliver lamented that he couldn’t bring up the issue of debts in front of everyone.

Was this what the Duke meant by making money to pay off his debts? Starting by selling the family’s treasures!

Meanwhile, Melanie, the merchant, smelled a fortune and quickly composed herself, mentally calculating the value of every artwork she could see.

“Well, if you sold everything here… You’d want the highest price, of course. If we ran auctions for three years…”

“No, half a year. I need the payment within six months at the latest.”

“Not even a year—just six months? That’s too short, Your Grace. You might not get the full value.”

“That doesn’t matter. Time is more important to me. Just tell me how to sell for the highest price in six months. Your commission will be ten percent of the sale. How does that sound?”

The commission he offered was twice the average.

“…I’ll do my best. Let me start by estimating the total value!”

Excited, Melanie dashed around the gallery, jotting notes in her notebook. Clarette, watching the Duke’s pleased expression, cautiously asked,

“Your Grace, were you never planning to keep the gallery? Selling everything so suddenly…”

“Oh, don’t worry. Once I sell all these works, I’ll move the Sollier family’s paintings in here.”

“What? Are you selling all this for our paintings? In that case, maybe…”

“No, I always intended to sell everything. With the money, I’ll try… yes, some kind of business.”

Lionel almost mentioned his debts, but quickly changed the subject. Regardless of outsiders, he absolutely didn’t want Clarette to know about the debts.

If she found out, knowing her personality, she’d probably leave the ducal residence immediately.