Chapter 12
“What?”
Betty was startled. She understood better than anyone what this meant to Iela.
‘Betty. When the time comes for you to marry, I’ll ask Mother to find you a good man.’
‘I don’t want that. I’ll serve you for the rest of my life, My Lady.’
‘You might feel differently when the time comes.’
‘No. Please believe me. I know why you take on these painting commissions.’
‘You do?’
‘Yes… Whether you marry or not, I want to stay by your side. As long as I can be of help.’
‘Help? More than help. I couldn’t manage alone without you. Thank you, Betty. Still, if you meet someone good, don’t push him away on purpose. There’s no need for you to remain single just because I do. Understood?’
‘Yes, My Lady.’
She remembered that warm smile as her lady clasped her rough hands and thanked her.
“Why? Why, My Lady? You loved this work.”
Iela gave a faint smile. Even her smile seemed unusually weak today.
“There are no secrets in this world. When a secret can no longer remain a secret, it’s time to stop.”
“Did someone find out?”
“No. It’s not that…”
Iela gave Betty a rough explanation of the situation. After hearing it, Betty stared in shock.
“That’s awful! How could someone use that to threaten you…?”
Looking at Betty’s tearful face, Iela found herself at a loss for words.
After that, Betty didn’t openly curse, but her words perfectly expressed Iela’s feelings—angry enough to feel cathartic. Having someone vent on her behalf felt oddly comforting, like she finally had someone on her side.
“So that’s why you haven’t been sleeping properly these past few days?”
“Not exactly… It’s just, you know… a lot going on.”
“Your face looks rough. I’ll give you a facial mask after dinner.”
“Thank you, Betty.”
Iela smiled faintly.
“Were you sketching?”
“Yes.”
“May I see?”
Betty hesitated as she asked. Iela nodded lightly.
“Of course. Take a look and tell me which pose looks better.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
Betty carefully turned the pages of the sketchbook, examining the drawings. Iela also glanced at her own work.
She hadn’t fully captured the prince’s stunning looks, but for rough sketches, they weren’t bad. She was fairly satisfied.
“What do you think, as one of the prince’s admirers?”
Betty hesitated for a moment, then pointed to one sketch.
“This one.”
It was the very first drawing—Franz sitting deep in a chair, legs crossed.
“The other poses are nice too, but… this one feels the most like the prince. Elegant and beautiful, yet arrogant…”
“Oh, Betty, you’ve got an eye for this. I was wondering what looked most princely and just drew whatever came naturally. But… I doubt I can use this for the commissioned piece.”
Even to her own eyes, the first sketch looked the most like “Prince Franz.” But it wasn’t suitable as an official portrait of “His Highness Prince Franz Princeton.”
Reconsidering, she looked carefully at the other sketches and pointed to the third.
“What about this one?”
The prince stood with his weight on one leg, left hand on his hip, right hand resting on a ceremonial sword.
The pose was just as cocky as the first, but his sharp figure in a splendid uniform was irresistibly striking.
“It’s amazing, of course. But… why don’t any of them have eyes?”
“That’s the problem. I can’t draw them.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve never seen them. The eyes… that’s something I can’t imagine.”
“What?”
Betty’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at Iela.
“Don’t you ever see the prince at the Academy? My friend Nancy—remember? The maid of Lady Noilly?”
“Yes, I remember.”
“She says her lady meets him often at social parties. I get that you don’t attend those, but the prince is at the Academy every day! Nancy says the ladies can’t stop talking about him—his eyes, his smile, his poise, blah blah blah. Honestly, I’m sick of hearing it.”
“The Academy and the University are separate buildings. If they see him every day, it’s because they deliberately follow him there. That’s hardly proper for a lady, don’t you think? And you know me—I don’t like Prince Franz. I don’t want to loiter around just to catch a glimpse of him, and I definitely don’t want to bump into him and pretend it was an accident.”
“Well, that’s how they all try to get attention.”
Betty spoke casually.
“I’m not trying to attract attention.”
“That’s true, but… you just need to see him once, right? He probably wouldn’t even notice. You’re not the only one.”
“It’s not as easy as you think.”
Iela sighed heavily, her voice tinged with fatigue.
“That’s a problem. You can’t paint him if you’ve never seen him…”
Betty looked worried, then suddenly clapped her hands.
“Manches Street! There must be a portrait of the prince there!”
Iela’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. She clapped her hands together in delight.
“You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that? I could paint from that. I’ll go to Manches Street tomorrow.”
The exhaustion that had weighed on her body seemed to lift a little.
“Now, you should go down for dinner.”
“Yes. I think I’ll really enjoy tonight’s meal.”
Iela left the room with a light step.
In the carriage bound for the palace, Franz, dressed in a new suit Hans had prepared, leaned back comfortably with his eyes closed.
Light glinted off the blue brooch fastening his ascot tie, the same color as the prince’s eyes. Hans spoke as he noticed it.
“These are the documents you asked me to check, Your Highness.”
Franz slowly opened his eyes and accepted the papers, skimming through them.
They contained detailed information about Lady Clarence and her family’s wealth.
“Viscount Clarence has no political leanings, and the lady herself seems to have no suspicious traits. Nothing worth investigating. She’s the eldest daughter, raised without incident, and lived an ordinary life. She occasionally attends social gatherings but rarely appears at parties or balls. The servants say she almost never goes out except to the estate and the Academy. She’s loved painting since childhood and is said to be quite skilled, which is why she frequents the Academy art studio. She also gives paintings as gifts to acquaintances.”
Franz raised an eyebrow, as if learning something new, but quickly returned to his indifferent expression and kept reading.
“The next page shows a trust account in her name at the bank. It’s a considerable sum—enough to buy a building. It doesn’t seem like a gift, though. She’s been steadily depositing money for several years.”
“So instead of spending on luxuries, she saves everything?”
Franz briefly pictured her appearance and smirked.
As expected, there was nothing worrisome or harmful. Boringly ordinary.
“Hmm…”
The only remotely interesting thing was her name—Iela Clarence—the woman at the center of a notorious social club bet.
“She’s quite pretty by face alone, but because she dresses plainly and avoids parties, people tend to underestimate her looks or call her plain.”
‘Pretty by face alone…?’
Franz didn’t necessarily agree, but beauty was subjective, so he made no comment.
“She dressed like a nun. Honestly, calling that thing a ‘dress’ was generous.”
Hans coughed awkwardly at the blunt remark.
“Ahem. Strangely enough, she seems to be attracting attention from young lords recently, but she rejects them all. She’s of marriageable age, yet she’s never had a private meeting with any gentleman. There was talk of marriage last fall, but it fell through because the lady suddenly fell ill.”
“Really?”
“Yes. A nurse from the clinic said she broke out in rashes all over her body.”
Franz finished scanning the unremarkable report and placed the papers on the seat beside him.
“That’s all?”
“As you see, Your Highness.”
“Her life sounds dull.”
Like someone else’s.
He swallowed the last words and lazily stared out the window at the passing scenery.
“Why would such a woman be watching me? When she clearly doesn’t like me? Suspicious.”
Iela Clarence seemed to go out of her way to avoid attracting any attention from men.
“Shall I keep watching her, then?”
Franz didn’t answer until the carriage arrived at the palace. His capable aide waited silently for his command.
Digging further probably wouldn’t reveal anything but more boredom. Yet Franz hesitated to dismiss the matter entirely.
He had lived a busy life, too busy to feel bored. But at some point, the monotony of his daily routine became suffocating. He was satisfied with his life—couldn’t ask for more—yet it was dull.
Boredom. That was why he now felt a meaningless curiosity about a plain, tedious woman he’d never seen before.
Expecting a woman who had gone unnoticed even at her social debut to become a source of excitement was absurd, of course.
Finally, Franz spoke after a long silence.
“Find more. There must be something.”
Even if there was almost nothing more to find, that was fine. It was wise to eliminate any risk beforehand.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have spared such a woman a glance. But now, driven mad by boredom, he had no better option.
I look forward to this, Iela Clarence. Amuse me.
His eyes glimmered faintly as he stared out the window.
Hans stayed quiet until the carriage stopped. Then he spoke.
“Your Highness, we’ve arrived.”
Moments ago, Franz had been lounging against the window frame, legs crossed in a slouch. Now, as he stepped out, he had transformed into the perfect gentleman.
The traces of boredom and irritation vanished, leaving only a flawless, elegant man.
