Shadow Queen

Chapter 49

No student saw Lucia anywhere in the dormitory or undergraduate school. She was definitely attending an academic institute, but when they said they had never seen her, he became curious.

“Is she ghost? That’s why she attracted attention to herself?”

Ren, who blurted out his thoughts, grinned. It was a ridiculous idea even if he thought about it. Anyway, he’d never been as excited as he was today in his boring academic life.

“I wish she would be a ghost. Aren’t scary things going to be creepy?”

Ren left the girl standing still and walked toward the central square. He pondered where to find this interesting junior.

“I like hide-and-seek. Where is she hiding?”

He visited Lucia, almost living in the central square, where students come and go most frequently, but he never met her. That means she was not in this direction.

“After excluding the department of swordsmanship on the north side where I am lectured, the department of humanities and the dormitory… the central library, the western arts department, and the technology department remain?”

Ren predicted roughly the area where Lucia would appear. There was no guarantee that he would be able to find her there, but it didn’t matter. There’s a last resort.

“I’m not going to avoid the damage, am I, Our Highness?”

Ren and Crown Prince Sian belonged to the same swordsmanship department. As such, they had spent their entire time at school seeing each other. Of course, they were not close friends, and they had never talked to each other. The only time they were aware of each other was during their training sessions.

“I still don’t understand. A person who didn’t change a single expression even when he was defeated so badly during battle… Made such a face?”

They were in the same grade and had practiced several times since their freshman year. The result was eleven wins in eleven games. Ren won all of them by an overwhelming margin and never lost a single one. Ren was open about it every time, but Sian never showed any reaction. It was a frightening and amazing normalcy.

But such Sian protected Lucia and threatened him. He couldn’t understand why he reacted aggressively because he didn’t make a single angry noise even after he lost in battle.

“That’s what I need to know.”

Ren’s ideas were rapidly moving in a different direction. He wanted to find a way to annoy and torment Lucia a little more.

“I’m going to expose her, should I try to grow the board more?”

Just looking for Lucia would be fun. Ren wanted to fully enjoy this time as much as there was no such fun and excitement throughout the academic year.

“I’m sick of seeing each other again, so let’s invite a fresh face.”

Ren was already looking forward to it. He wondered what kind of expression Lucia would have when they had a three-way face-to-face talk. He was so excited about what kind of excuses she would make.

***

“Lucia?”

“…”

“Hey.”

Elena, who was thinking of her situation, suddenly came to her senses.

“Did you call me?”

“I’ve called you twice. What the hell are you thinking so hard about? You made me sit down and feel embarrassed.”

At Khalif’s point, Elena immediately apologized.

“Sorry, I have something to think about.”

“Thoughts? Were you thinking about making ways to make money?”

Khalif’s eyes lit up with a change in attitude. He couldn’t help but listen to the brilliant ideas of the business that Elena had whenever she opened her mouth.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it?”

Elena sighed and swallowed low because it was not something she could say.

‘Why are you making such a mess of me?’

Meanwhile, the words Sian said in Elena’s mind did not leave. She admitted to falling down, crying, being bullied, and really behaving ugly in front of him.

‘If you care, you care. Why are you asking me that?’

Elena was confused as to what kind of ulterior motive he had for saying such a thing. He seemed to be berating her for why she had done something that worried him, but she couldn’t tell the difference any more because he sounded like he was berating himself. What was more annoying was Elena herself, who had been shaken by that comment and tried to find meaning in it.

‘Slow down, Elena. Haven’t you already been through the whole meaninglessness thing?’

In her past life, Elena, who craved the affection of Sian, lived her life by assigning meaning to every little glance he threw at her, every single word he said, and magnifying it. In spite of his cruel and scornful words, she rationalized that it was not because he hated her. That’s how she could hold out. She believed so when Sian first held Ian in his arms.

Then she could wake up from the illusion when she saw him who gave a contemptuous look to Ian, who was just born, and said that his momentary mistake drove the empire to the abyss. Elena didn’t want to repeat the same mistake, as she had already suffered one pain and hurt.

“What else are you thinking about?”

“Nothing.”

“Be honest. Something came to your mind, right? Right?

Khalif was persistent in questioning. When he got the job as an art dealer recently, Khalif became dizzyingly busy. It had been a long time since he had seen and talked to Lucia like he had today. To that extent, the only thing in Khalif’s head was business thoughts. Recently, it has added concerns about how to secure a customer base by increasing the size of its business while strengthening its internal stability.

“Yes, there is. There is.”

“I knew this would happen. I saw the look in your eyes, the look that said you had some kind of crazy plan.”

Elena was speechless. She thought about asking him what in the world he had sensed such a thing in her eyes, but it seemed futile. Khalif’s assumption was wrong, but it was true that the reason for today’s meeting was to discuss the next concrete plan.

“Art broker.”

Elena threw a topic.

“Art broker… It sounds good. It’s very catchy. It looks like it’s something. So what are we doing?”

Khalif blinked at the unfamiliar word and showed curiosity.

‘What do you mean, it’s a job you created in time. I did it again.’

It was funny and she felt sorry inside. Talking to Khalif, who was the first art broker, as if it was a job that Elena had devised felt like taking away his achievements.

‘I don’t want to do this, but I’m sorry. Because I can’t be slow. I promise you. I’ll make you a bigger man than you were in the future.’

Making him a bigger man than Khalif, the art broker of his past life. That was the only consideration and promise Elena could make.

“It’s literally the same. Just, the word art in front of it not only includes works of art, but also artists.”

“Not work, but a artists? Is there a reason?”

“Art brokers are professionals who manage artists. It’s a new job that’s never been seen before, and it’s a pioneer that will lead to the revival of culture.”

“…!”

Khalif’s eyes opened wide. He’d got a hunch. At the same time, the thoughts that came to mind based on Elena’s topic filled his mind.

“Wait. I got a feeling. Give me time to sort things out.”

Khalif asked for her understanding and fell into deep thought alone. Elena waited for him to organize his thoughts. Khalif, who had been doing it alone for quite a long time, broke his silence and opened his mouth.

“Are you a genius?”

“Now do you know?”

“Unlucky… Oh, not that. How can you come up with such a brilliant idea? I can’t help but admit it.”

Khalif kept admiring. Likewise, the emergence of art brokers may serve as the basis for opening new horizons, breaking the classical form rooted in the current art world.

“It’s nice. To manage and run an artist out of the limited position of an art dealer who buys and sells on their behalf…. Not only that, but I get a crackling name. Art broker, Art broker.”

Since then, Khalif made a lot of noise about the ideas that came to mind. He talked about what art brokers should do in the future and the path they should take, as well as the fact that they must develop a specialization apart from being art dealers. He also emphasized that it is essential to have an eye for art, insight and knowledge in order to help artists in their work.

“Go ahead. You can do it.”

“What? Who’s doing it? Is it me?”

“There’s no else besides you here. You don’t have time to rest anymore. To accumulate an eye for art, insight, and knowledge, right?”

“…”

The excited Khalif couldn’t speak anymore and jumped like a carp. When he defined the role of art brokers and set standards for what they had to do, he realized that he had more skills than thought.

“Cheer up. I hope you take your first step as a great art broker, and I’ll introduce you to one of them.”

“Who? They’re not unusual for someone you introduce, are they?”

If Elena just opened her mouth, Khalif brightened his eyes and did not hide his anticipation. No matter how much she told him to stop doing that, it was useless,

“Randol Lake. He’s the best architect I know.”

Elena was the first to introduce Randol, a master of the era who she secretly sponsored. It was not an impromptu arrangement, but a thoroughly calculated arrangement.

‘He’s your first client, and the best drinking buddy in the world.’

Khalif, who discovered the natural talent of architect Randol, spared no help by supporting his living expenses so that he could focus on architecture. Yes, Randol was the first work of Khalif, who took his first step as an art broker. Personally, they were well-matched in temperament and tendencies, and they maintained a close relationship. Elena hoped that the two, who were not yet familiar, would work together and grow further.

“If you say you’re here by L’s introduction, he’ll meet you. Next, you take care of it.”

“Wait a minute. You’re really done with introducing me? You need to throw something more. You’re so irresponsible.”

“I don’t know anything.”

“Lies.”

“It’s real. From now on, it’s up to senior. His talent is clear. As an art broker, it’s up to seniors’ ability to make him the architect representing the century.”

Elena intentionally put pressure on Khalif. It was a later arrangement.

‘Don’t let him rely too much on me.’

In the past, Khalif went into the art world naked after his family, whom he had been seated in as his son-in-law, collapsed. After suffering all sorts of humiliation and hardship, he was able to become an art broker representing the era. As the timing was advanced due to Elena, side effects were also great. He might say that he lacked the will and independence to succeed himself, and he was showing signs of relying on Elena. Elena didn’t want that.

‘My role is to set the course.’

Elena was only going to provide the best environment and let him make his own decisions and act on whatever he wants. The responsibility that comes with that is also true. She believed that only by doing so would he grow in enlightenment and be reborn as a leading art expert of his time.