CH 75

After a while.

Ines hugged the coat tightly and rushed to her bedroom.

Even though she knew there was no one in the bedroom, she sneaked a peek to see if there were any people around, swallowing dry saliva.

Then she carefully put the coat on her body.

The coat was filled with Enoch’s unique elegant body scent.

The sleeves completely covered her  hands, and the hem long enough to cover her thighs.

The unique heavy weight of men’s clothing enveloped her pleasantly.

‘Wouldn’t it feel like this, if I hugged Enoch?’

‘What should I do…?’

Ines blushed.

Now that this happened, she had no choice but to admit it.

‘I like the Duke.’

She couldn’t ignore this feeling anymore.

* * *

The exchange was simply very popular.

“It was an interesting exchange exhibition!”

“I want to stay a little longer, but it’s too bad I have to go back.”

The Kaldorov delegation lavished praise on the lips.

The Royal Art Association was unhappy with the satisfactory response.

“Did you like this exchange?”

“Since it’s a different way than before, I’m worried that it might have been a little unfamiliar.”

“It was so fun and fresh!”

“I’m thinking about introducing that way to Kaldorov!”

The delegation was so excited that it only resulted in compliments.

In the end, the Royal Art Association had no choice but to take a step back with mysterious expressions.

After the exchange ended like that.

“Duke, I have a package from the Countess of Brierton.”

Enoch received the unexpected packages.

The package contained a clean, washed suit coat.

And the second package…

‘It’s a portrait.’

It was a portrait of Enoch that Ines was working on.

Enoch in the portrait had a soft smile on his lips, not his usual expressionless face.

“…….”

He inadvertently raised his hand and touched his lips.

“I’m in a portrait…and smiling like that.”

Perhaps in the eyes of the Countess of Brierton, he was always smiling like that.

“…….”

Enoch looked at the portrait for a long time.

This painting itself was evidence.

Evidence of his feelings for Ines.

‘She’s… she’s special.’

The one and only existence in the world, incomparable to anything else.

Even the genius of Ines, who initially fascinated Enoch, now felt insignificant.

However, this ambiguous relationship with Ines.

……He couldn’t resist the feeling of thirst.

* * *

After the exchange, Ines’s name became the hottest news in Lancaster.

“Did you all hear that?”

At a tea party for the ladies.

One of them opened her mouth with a wide fan.

“Lately, I heard that the Queen is very close to the Countess of Brierton, right?”

The most frequently talked-about topic of late Lancaster.

Ines Brierton.

It was influenced by Lancaster society, and recently, ladies’ salons and gentlemen’s clubs had been talking about Ines every day.

“That’s understandable, she made this exchange a huge success.”

“Did you hear that? Thanks to this exchange exhibition, sales on Hwabang Street have also increased tremendously.”

The artists who attended the exhibition left behind items such as murals and sculptures painted or produced on Hwabang street.

Ines set a related budget in advance and bought the works with proper compensation.

From the artist’s point of view, art such as murals was ambiguous to move separately.

It was relatively easy to accept Ines’s proposal.

The street became tourist’s attractions, and tourists continued to flow in even after the exchange exhibition was over.

“I heard dating on Hwabang street is popular among young people these days.”

“Yes, I actually went to play when the exchange exhibition was held.”

“Once, I took my children with me, but I want to go there again, and I want to know how much they are fussing about it.”

“Well, there are sculptures of famous artists everywhere and paintings on display. It’s great for education.”

Hwabang street was generally well received by socialists.

“These days, there is a saying that if you want to interact with Her Majesty, you should target the Countess of Brierton first.”

“Well, the Queen says that she has the Countess by her side.”

“Oh my, I should send an invitation to the Countess of Brierton.”

The ladies burst into laughter side by side for a while.

One of them went on again.

“I’m saying this because it’s just between us. Isn’t the Countess amazing?”

“Amazing? Of course, I know this exchange is quite popular, but….”

“No, not that. I mean her divorce.”

The lady shrugged.

“Right? Honestly, when she filed for divorce, I wondered if she could win, but she won.”

At the words, the other ladies who were facing each other nodded respectively.

“That’s true.”

“Of course, there was evidence that she had been painting for a long time as a shadow painter, but…… It’s not easy to win a divorce case.”

“In a way, His Majesty also made an unconventional ruling.”

In fact, the ladies were secretly satisfied with Ines’ move.

A woman who had won a divorce on her own in a conservative Lancaster society.

In a society where domestic and submissive women were considered virtues. Women who had titles and done art and actively engaged in social activities were looked down on.

Seeing Ines did what they thought was impossible so far, they were forced to envy her.  

However, apart from the vicarious satisfaction of the ladies, this situation was not necessarily accepted by everyone.

The other lady spoke in a dubious voice.

“But some people don’t like the Countess of Brierton.”

“Um….”

“I agree.”

The ladies went silent for a moment.

With Ines’ move, not everyone in Lancaster society could make the same assessment.

To be exact, the evaluation of this exchange was divided into extremes.

It was definitely well received in Kaldorov, the mainstay of this exchange.

In addition, commoners, amateur artists, and women who were basically excluded from society were beyond excited.

However, it was criticized by established artists, including the Royal Art Association, which was the mainstream of the Lancaster art world.

“But, well, this isn’t for sure.”

One of the ladies opened her mouth with a humming cough.

“I heard that members of the Royal Art Association also went to see the exchange exhibition…”

“Oh, that’s right. I also saw Lord Kelton this time.”

“What? I heard Lord Kelton is going down to the fief this time?”

The other lady asked back in bewilderment.

Then the young lady, who was sipping tea, carefully opened her mouth.

“Actually, I saw him, too. Didn’t he go around with Lord Wilbur?”

“Yes, Lady Gray. Did you see the lord?”

Lord Kelton and Lord Wilbur.

Both were members of the Royal Art Association.

“No way.…”

The ladies exchanged secret glances, not to mention who was first.

* * *

At that time,

The aristocrats belonging to the Royal Art Association raised their voices.

“I heard it all!”

One of the nobles looked around with a bulging vein

on his neck.

“I heard that people from the Art Association went to see the exchange exhibition!”

Then other aristocrats sneaked away.

“Well, well.”

“But it can’t be helped, can it?”

“Who would have imagined that the exchange would be so successful?”

“If you didn’t see the exchange, you wouldn’t see what happened.”

When he protested so timidly, the aristocrat who first spoke hit the table violently.

Bang!

The nobles stiffened their shoulders.

“Don’t you see how serious the situation is?”

“Well, that’s…”

“Her Majesty wanted to appoint the Countess of Brierton as a member of the Royal Art Association!”

It was true.

Helena appreciated the achievements of the exhibition and wanted to appoint Ines a member of the Royal Art Association.

However, it was temporarily put on hold because the existing members’ opposition was so strong.

“Even Marquis Usher, the president of the Art Association, did not attend the exchange exhibition, how can this be!”

The aristocrat, who first spoke, raised his voice again.

Meanwhile, Marquis Usher, who was watching the mess, intervened in the conversation.