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Elena was quite embarrassed by Sian's abnormal behavior because he had no reason to do so. Sian, who had been standing for a long time, turned around and went away. Sian's expression, unable to take his eyes off Elena until the last minute, looked very confused. As if he hadn't met her before.

'You didn't recognize me, did you?'

For a moment it seemed that way, but Elena quickly ignored it. The difference between the beauty of Lucia, disguised in a wig and glasses, and Elena, dressed to the nines, was so great that she could only be seen as a completely different person. Also, the voice had been disguised in a certain way, so the possibility of investigating it was remarkably low. In any case, her first encounter with Sian, whom she had in Veronica's identity, left her with only a strange feeling. Elena returned to the main topic and looked at the name of the work written under Raphael's portrait.

''Belladonna'… senior thinks I'm very pretty.'

Belladonna meant beauty in the Imperial language. Raphael was concerned that putting the model Lucia's name on the title would go up and down people's mouths. Considering that, it seems that he named his work Belladonna with the meaning of the title.

"… Raphael? Why was this painter so obscure now?"

Elena, who could not take her eyes off the portrait for a while, expressed her overwhelming feelings. It was funny to give praise to his portrait, but it was necessary.

"Sir, this portrait is a mystery in itself. They've left behind what a lady should have – chastity and maturity – and blended in her inner beauty."

Elena gave a rousing voice of praise.

"The painting itself is impeccable, but he used a technique that is unique in art history. Oh, how is this possible? It broke the framework of painting that existed until now. The technique of perspective and contrast is really…"

The heads of art workers, who listened to Elena's reviews, nodded. They could not deny that it was an innovative masterpiece that would leave a mark in the history of art. Elena left a praise to give the luxury of giving wings to such a Belladonna.

"I'll take it easy. If I were a painter, I wouldn't be able to draw anymore after seeing this painting. Interpretation of works? It's pointless. The existence of this portrait itself is healing."

***

Standing in the distance, Raphael was let in by Lady Veronica, who stood in front of Belladonna and continued her praise. Drunk on her deadly beauty? No, because he was closer to something more essential than it appeared.

"… Miss Lucia?"

The name Lucia popped out of Raphael's mouth looking at Veronica. It was more difficult to find common ground because the two women looked completely different from each other in appearance and atmosphere, but in Raphael's eyes, they seemed to be the same person.

"W-why did Miss Lucia pretend to be Princess Veronica…"

Raphael stammered incredulously when he saw her. No one else knows, but Raphael's eyes could not be deceived. He looked only at Lucia for several hours a day to paint her portrait. If you look closely enough, you get used to seeing even the most trivial external features that others have to overlook.

It doesn't matter whether she thickened her makeup, wore glasses, or had a different hair color. The wrinkles around her eyes, her jawline, her eyes, the shape of her ears, the thickness of her lips, etc… were afterimages of her unique features that only Raphael knew through long observation.

"S-She can't be? It can't be true. There's no way. W-why…"

Raphael denied it, saying he saw it wrong. But the more he did, the more Lucia and Veronica appeared in his eyes.

Veronica was continuing her favorable comments on Belladonna. She had a high-pitched voice that sounded like she was admiring a painting. On the other hand, she never lost her elegance and kept her tone quiet and neat. It was a very different way of speaking from Lucia's, who spoke in a friendly manner, but she had acquired the essential tone of voice and the habit of producing pronunciation. Any further injustice seemed pointless.

Lucia is Veronica. Veronica is Lucia.

It didn't matter which one was the real one. The two were the same people. Shocked, Raphael was unable to accept it and went into a panic.

He turned around and left the library. Raphael, who returned to the studio as if running away, flopped down in front of the easel. The present reality was still unbelievable and dazed.

"Just barely…"

He was going to take courage.

Raphael even lost his determination to do so. Lady Veronica was a woman far away. She was a woman in such a place that even if he became the master of his time, he would never reach out and never hold her hand. Suddenly, the words he had said to Sian came to mind.

"With emotion comes responsibility."

Those words came back as a boomerang and stabbed Raphael's heart. It wasn't simply the words that fell under Sian. Emotional responsibility also required a readiness to reflect on oneself. If he was someone who dared to even stare, he would have to consider how the other person might feel about his emotional force.

"I…"

Raphael bowed his head in a bitter voice. He did not even move until the sunlight leaking through the window of the underground corridor disappeared and the studio was filled with pitch-black darkness, making it difficult for his face to be discerned.

And how much more time has passed.

Raphael got up and lit all the lanterns in the studio. Then he firmly wore the work apron he had hung on the wall. Raphael, who sat in front of the easel with a palette in one hand, stared at the white canvas.

"…"

Soon after, Raphael, who had a brush in one hand, began painting by wetting oil paints on canvas. It was all about how he felt now.

***

The wave of the art world brought about by the Academy Art Festival was really close to a revolution. The shock received by collectors, art-loving nobles and painters was more than that. The perspective and contrast methods that had not been seen so far were so great that it could be said that it has surpassed the level of paintings that have been handled in the art world by several steps.

On the contrary, several art workers said that such works should not be presented. In an art world dominated by paintings based on realism, in which things are painted as they are seen, Belladonna's appearance raised concerns that it would diminish the value of earlier works and cause them to plummet. The art world had become corrupt, and those who worked in it were willing to do anything to protect their vested interests.

The problem is that Belladonna is a masterpiece that would destroy and escape the ecosystem of the art world that has been supported so far. As a result, several art dealers, appraisers, and collectors who have influence in the art world agreed that the work should be purchased as soon as possible to prevent the publication.

It was because if Belladonna's appearance reduced the value of existing works and collectors were reluctant to sell them, a big blow in itself was inevitable.

However, their plans did not come true. It was because of Princess Veronica.

She visited the library four days in a row and continued to praise Raphael's work, Belladonna. It's a mystical work that heals wounds even when you stare at it," she said, grandly stating that it would be a masterpiece that would remain in history forever.

The influence and status of the name Veronica in the art world was enough to make even the aristocrats who had no interest in painting question it. Unable to bear the question of what kind of work it was that Princess Veronica was praising so highly, they rushed to the Academy.

The plans of the art world tycoons who had secretly contacted the Academy to hastily purchase "Belladonna" and postpone its official presentation to the art world came to naught. More people came on the second day than on the first, and on the fourth day, more noblemen came to see "Belladonna" than had visited the Academy on the previous three days. Anyone who lived in the capital, regardless of their status, was at the center of the conversation.

"As planned."

Elena was very happy with the way things were flowing. From a mere student at an obscure art school, Raphael's presence had changed overnight. It was not hard to see why countless art dealers and patrons had tried to reach out to the up-and-coming master who had led the revolution in the art world.

"You can't sign with someone else."

Though slightly concerned, she believed that Raphael would definitely discuss with her and make a decision.

"Ha, it's been five days since the art festival, and it hasn't abated."

Elena's expression sitting by the dorm window was suffocating. It was said that Lucia, the model of Belladonna, had become a famous figure in the art world over the walls of the academy overnight.

There was the experience with Avella, Sian, and Ren intertwined and became a topic, but Belladonna's fame caused more and more people to want to see the mysterious schoolgirl Lucia in person, which bothered Elena. Even Anne, the only maid of honor, was exposed to the rumors.

"Miss, have you heard the rumor?"

"Rumor?"

"The model of Belladonna. They say she's a ghost in the academy."

When Elena looked at her as if she was dumbfounded, Anne quickly followed.

"She's in the academy, but she's never taken a lecture. And she's never slept in the dormitory. The mysteriousness in the painting is the energy of ghosts. Isn't it scary?"

Elena thought it was so absurd that she laughed in vain. It may be suspicious, but she didn't think she would be rumored to be misleading in this way.

'I don't think I can pretend to be Lucia for a while.'

At a time when interest in her was at an all-time high, operating as Lucia would have risked her true identity being discovered. Elena was half forced to go into hiding and waited for the rumors to die down.

At Elena's request, Emilio visited the school building in a four-wheeled carriage painted with the patterns of the Castol Trading Company. He explained why Lucia had been unable to take lessons and stay in the dormitory due to health reasons. This fact became known and the rumors about Lucia being a ghost died down. As the mystique died down, so did the interest. Still, Elena spared herself. The fact that more people would recognize her was a burden in itself.