The hideout of the naughty Nobility Faction lurked in the emperor’s capital, blending into the deep shadows like a sinister and gloomy inn cellar.
Just on the outskirts of a mansion complex where the nobles of central politics resided, there was a villa complex for nobles with territorial domains far from the capital.
The self-styled hideout of the Nobility Faction was one of those expansive villas.
What the heck.
Pastel squinted at the address on the note.
A villa equipped with an art workshop, located to the right of the third largest mansion.
A completely unfamiliar address system.
“Did I… come to the wrong place?”
Could it be that I was bad with directions?
No, more than that, the address seems too subjective. It’s quite a load for smart Pastel.
Still, it might be intuitive for the inhabitants of the capital, as I managed to find my way by asking passersby, yet it still doesn’t make sense to me.
Why can people readily answer, “Oh, that one!” when asking about where the third largest mansion is? How can the third largest mansion be used like a proper noun?
Sky Island, unlike this backward capital, had a relatively decent address system. But is it because it’s a planned city? Even if Sky Island is way too big to be called a city.
Pastel hesitated in front of the villa gate. She wrapped her arms around herself and grunted, looking at the neatly organized ground, which was, oddly, devoid of any rubbish, unlike the nasty Nobility Faction.
Thinking about it, can I just waltz in without an appointment? I received the hideout’s address like an invitation, but I had no idea it would be a proper, respectable place.
If I were to stumble into a dark and gloomy bar, getting the attention of suspiciously dressed people, sitting in front of the bartender, and—
“Matador, no tequila.”
When I place such a sophisticated order, the bartender’s gaze shifts from cleaning a glass to me.
“I’ll take you inside.”
Following, a hidden secret space reveals itself with a gloomy noble waiting inside.
Then, the capable Governor Pastel would casually smirk and bombard the noble with words, dripping cold sweat from them as they yield.
“Oh, it was a misunderstanding! We in the Nobility Faction will recognize the great Governor Pastel as the leader of the royal faction!”
Then this will go like this.
“Now that I’ve realized, the low level of air here doesn’t suit a schemer like me, Pastel.”
Flipping her pink side hair, she would toss the wrongly received note and think she’d walk out of that grim bar without a hitch!
It was such a realistically possible future!
“But this can’t be!”
Pastel stumbled and flopped onto the clean ground. Gloomy? No, it was just a clean floor where only dust collected when she sat.
“I had such a bright future ahead of me, and I can’t experience it!”
My capable future!
I’ve lost nothing, yet I feel like I’ve already lost!
“Uaaah!”
Today, I just want to eat marshmallows!
Unfortunately, Pastel was far too capable. She knew if she went back, she’d get scolded by the Demon Lord, whom she was supposed to spend time with, and instead, she came wandering to dawdle.
Talking about the Nobility Faction hideout and asking for marshmallows, she thought she could eat chewy marshmallows without getting scolded!
But if it’s neither a proper hideout nor something you’d just drop in on without etiquette, it’s the right procedure to notify them of your visit beforehand.
Things were getting more complicated than planned, and the marshmallow situation was even trickier.
“My marshmallow!”
I wanted to eat it today!
Suddenly, a clattering sound came from beside her.
“Lost your way?”
Turning around, she found a brown-haired girl a bit older than herself.
A wheeled box filled with art supplies stood out. Her work clothes were splattered with paints of various colors. Leaves clung to her brown hair, as if she had just come back from painting in the woods.
Upon seeing her comforting presence, Pastel’s expression shifted immediately to despair.
“I’ve lost the path of my life.”
So serious.
“Isn’t that a more serious issue?!”
The girl gasped, covering her mouth. She scrutinized Pastel with her brown eyes, and seeing the dirt on her dress, she became resolute.
“I can’t let an adult remain like this!”
The girl quickly supported Pastel.
“Wha…?”
Then she flung open the villa gate and boldly strode inside.
“Come in! Though it feels odd saying it, you’ll find that appreciating high-quality paintings will lift your spirits.”
Somehow led inside, Pastel walked along the side of a refined garden, where a wide lake unfolded. Canvases with painted works were scattered about.
Oh dear.
After experiencing a dull silence in social interactions, meeting someone like this left her somewhat bewildered.
“Watch your step for the rocks! I need to tell the gardener, but I keep forgetting.”
The girl mumbled, going straight over the grass instead of the marble path beside her. Pastel leaped to avoid a decorative stone called a ‘rock.’
But wait, isn’t this how it should be?
While it’s not right to divide people into normal and abnormal, it is true that her friends are way too calm!
So calm that it even made Pastel feel a sense of obligation.
But this girl made her feel at ease.
“I suddenly feel like I’m back in my hometown!”
Should I call it Pastel-Pastel Hill!
“That one?”
The girl pointed at a nearby canvas. The painting of coral reefs in the sea had the word ‘hometown’ as its title.
Hmm, I have no idea what that means out of the blue.
But actually, the logic in conversation doesn’t matter, so she just nodded.
“Yeah! And the lake is super pretty!”
The shimmering emerald lake sparkled brightly.
A privilege reserved for the rich!
Creating a lake in the backyard!
“I love this lake too!”
The girl smiled in satisfaction. The wheeled art supply box jangled. She took out a long brush and pointed from one end to the other of the lake.
“It was supposed to be much bigger; I aimed to buy up all the land over there to create a small sea, but everyone warned me I’d go bankrupt, so I couldn’t. How can they not see my grand dream? I should have done it back then with the rising land prices! People really lack vision!”
The brush moved vertically, directing right at Pastel. The girl inspected her like measuring human proportions and then smiled brightly.
“Shall I draw your portrait?”
“Wah! Really?! I’d love that!”
Pastel bounced eagerly, following the girl into one of the villa’s annexes. It was a messy yet bright room like an art workshop. The art supply box was carelessly tossed in a corner.
“Housekeeper! A drink! Not a drink, a cup of black tea!”
The girl shouted while biting onto a hair tie, fixing her hair. Then she noticed the leaves stuck in her hair and flicked them away.
“You know my name’s value, right? The portrait is a gift, so you can just take it.”
Huh?
Do I suddenly know you?
Will the artist girl succeed where the Demon Lord failed?
Pastel boldly stated, “I don’t know! Who are you?”
The girl giggled as if she heard a funny joke and pointed to a chair.
“Sit over there. Although it’s been a while since I drew a portrait, I can finish it quickly.”
But honestly, since she’s nice, Pastel didn’t care who she was and sat down in the chair. Jiggling her legs, she hummed.
“Please draw me beautifully!”
Oh, wait!
“If it’s a gift, is it okay to give it to someone else?”
The girl began sorting out various paints.
“Isn’t it to be cash converted? Do you have someone you want to gift it to?”
As the colors mixed bit by bit with other materials, they turned pastel-toned.
“There’s a demon lord to whom I’m fully indebted! Shouldn’t I at least give him a portrait?”
“That bro? Isn’t it a bit early to gift a portrait? Am I too old-fashioned in my thinking?”
The pink eyes went wide.
“Is it wrong to gift?”
The girl smiled sweetly.
“It’s perfectly fine! Because it’s a gift. I thought it felt like cashing in on it, but since that’s not the case, I just said it. This is more romantic than I thought?”
Cashing in on a gift.
That’s totally wrong.
“I never thought of that, not even once! Cashing in on a gift is a really, really bad thing! It’s greedy behavior that doesn’t consider the feelings of the person who gave it!”
Despite being given hints by Melissa to drop the aristocratic greed, Pastel remained quite conscientious.
She thought Melissa had strict standards.
“Really?”
The girl’s expression turned awkward, and she began using the brush. It seemed she was struggling to understand the riddle embedded in Pastel’s words.
“But if the person who gifted the painting wants it to be cashed in, wouldn’t that be okay too? The Empire’s tax system is too oppressive, so converting assets into paintings is a free resistance against oppression.”
Oh!
That sounded like something a tax evader might say.
Pastel, a conscientious taxpayer, had no idea about that context.
As the pastel brush strokes filled up the canvas, their conversation dulled, and time passed, until the pastel-toned portrait was completed.
The brush was set down. The pen wrote a title underneath the portrait.
“Pastel loves Marquis Craft.”
Oh dear.
How did she…?
“Done! It didn’t take long, did it?”
The girl set down the pen and turned back, her brown eyes smiling. Within them was the behind-the-scenes of central politics.
“I’ll formally introduce myself. I’m Nastasha, leading the Duke of Redgrave.”
Her strategic eyes pierced sharply.
“As the leader of the Republican Party, I’ll verify whether you truly resonate with the spirit of the noble republicanism.”
Whoa?!
It feels like I’ve stepped into a dangerous place…!
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