The showdown between Chloe and Emil.

Fejio saw this duel as a golden opportunity sent from the heavens.

“At long last, the moment I’ve been waiting for! The chance to tear down Cl— Cynthia’s overblown reputation!”

The sudden opening of Yaltarian’s exhibition.

Chloe’s painting was displayed there.

When Fejio first heard the news, he had fallen into despair.

An influential figure in the Fleurden Empire: the Archmage Yaltarian.

Fejio thought the old man had snatched away the slave he had been eyeing.

‘But that wasn’t it.’

Yaltarian had deliberately set up a competition.

Why?

“Because even His Excellency Yaltarian wasn’t fully convinced of Cynthia’s talent.”

Was it that he had his eye on Chloe’s abilities instead?

If that were true, why bother setting up a competition at all?

Chloe — under the stage name Cynthia — already enjoyed immense fame.

“Besides, the opponent is way too strong.”

“Yes. If His Excellency intended to boost Cynthia’s fame, he wouldn’t have had her compete against someone this good.”

Chloe’s mysterious opponent —

No matter how you looked at it, they were a first-class artist.

Win, and it’s expected.

Lose, and it’s a huge blow.

Why pit Cynthia against such a formidable rival, if not to test her?

Maybe because the competition itself was the real goal?

Or because Chloe (Emil) had threatened that she would never see her grandfather again unless he mediated a proper duel?

All of it was true.

If Emil were listening, she would have looked away awkwardly.

But Fejio couldn’t see it that way.

“His Excellency wants to test Cynthia’s talent. That’s why he arranged for her to face a top-tier artist.”

He grinned smugly, full of absolute confidence in his “answer.”

“Which means, if Cynthia suffers a crushing defeat—”

“She’ll lose His Excellency’s interest and fall into despair.”

“Exactly! And that’s when I make my move.”

Fejio rubbed his hands together eagerly.

“I’ll ‘guide’ Cynthia onto the ‘right’ path, making sure she doesn’t give up painting.”

From a celebrated genius to a failed loser —

Once her pride was shattered, he would sweet-talk her skillfully.

Originally, he had planned this scam to unfold at the Concours competition.

But look!

Patience had paid off — the same perfect opportunity had fallen into his lap without any effort.

Fejio, snickering under his breath, clicked his tongue.

“You idiots. What are you standing around for? Move now! The exhibition ends today!”

“Yes, sir!”

Though a hint of irritation slipped out, he was still composed.

In other words even though the situation was manageable, irritation still boiled inside him.

Because things had changed recently.

“M-Master? What’s going on?”

“What do you mean what’s going on?! The lords have shown interest! If we lose Chloe now, even my spot as guild leader could be at risk!”

Fejio recalled the conversation from a few days ago and clicked his tongue again.

The lords nobles and merchants, rulers of city-states, practically kings in their own right.

And they had taken an interest in Cynthia’s paintings?

It was a bolt from the blue.

If he lost Chloe now, it wouldn’t just be unfortunate — the lords might remember him as “the fool who knew but let her slip away.”

He couldn’t afford to lose her anymore.

Fejio had no choice but to go all in.

The reason he hadn’t noticed the painting competition until now was because he had been too distracted dealing with this crisis.

‘But why did the lords suddenly get interested…?’

It felt… almost as if some higher power was pulling the strings.

‘No, no way. I’m overthinking it.’

After all, he had lived a righteous life, hadn’t he?

The powers that be wouldn’t treat such a virtuous citizen like a disposable pawn. Right?

Fejio frantically tried to deny his instincts.

There couldn’t possibly be some sinister conspiracy at work.

However—

“Ugh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My ear’s itching. I guess someone’s bad-mouthing me. Maybe because of all the shady stuff I’ve been doing lately.”

At the same time—

If Fejio had overheard the conversation between the Spirit King and the Second Imperial Princess happening in the neighboring country, he would have fainted on the spot.

“Shady stuff, huh? What have you done this time?”

“Well, you know Yaltessence is a city-state, right? So I sent a letter to a prince of the Holy Kingdom that oversees it.”

“…What kind of letter?”

“I pretended to like paintings because he seems to like me. I bet he’s scrambling right now to win my favor!”

The Second Princess rested her cheek on her hand.

Her demeanor was as innocent as ever — almost suspiciously so.

Indeed, Fejio should have remembered—

This was Roontravale.

A world where a 9-year-old girl blackmailed an archmage, and an 11-year-old ruled a nation with the threat of a hydrogen bomb.

Here, common sense is a death sentence.

Just like how the Spirit King El Mo had conveniently misplaced his conscience.

“…So the prince will order his men to flip the entire art guild upside down just to impress you?”

“Probably? It’s a pure, heartwarming love story, right?”

“You should be grateful if all you get is an itchy ear….”

Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate—

At least Fejio didn’t suffer the same ear-itching fate as the 2nd Princess, from all the badmouthing and plots happening abroad.

Such was the difference between royal blood and a commoner’s lineage.

Rustle!

Still, even a commoner’s ears had their uses.

Fejio paled when he heard the sound from behind him.

“Who’s there?!”

Spying?

Had someone overheard their conversation just now?

‘Damn it, if they caught the part about vote-rigging, that could be dangerous.’

But he couldn’t blame himself for talking aloud.

He needed to convince his subordinates so they would report to the Master and rally more people.

However, when the hidden figure finally revealed themselves, Fejio immediately dropped all suspicion.

“…Gasp!”

For three reasons:

1. The other party was just a child, too young to understand the ways of the world.
2. Despite her young age, she was breathtakingly beautiful.
3. And—

“Hello! You’re from the Artist Guild, right?”

From the child’s sparkling eyes, honey seemed to drip.

***

‘You saw that, Clicker? There’s still sanity left in this world!’

[Clicker is the name of Chloe’s talking instrument.]

[Clicker: (grumbling) “…If you say so…?”]

Perhaps because she’d been spying on Fejio’s schemes for a while, Chloe didn’t panic even after getting caught.

And understandably so.

What?

This man was planning to sully his own reputation just to correct the art world’s mistake of overpraising Clicker’s paintings?

And then he would personally teach art to Cynthia?

So she wouldn’t despair and give up painting?

‘Ah, this is straight out of a martial arts novel.’

A righteous martial hero guiding a wayward young girl back onto the path of virtue and justice!

This was classic wuxia!

Chloe decided then and there: this man was a true orthodox hero of Luntraval!

She even felt a little guilty for having made fun of this continent for being too romantic.

‘The only problem is… I’m the “wayward demonic girl” in this scenario.’

But wait—

Was that really a problem?

‘If I just don’t reveal my true identity, it’s fine!’

Problem solved!

Chloe cheerfully strutted forward without a care in the world.

Seeing the adoring gaze in Chloe’s eyes, Fejio relaxed too.

‘Looks like she didn’t overhear anything.’

If she had heard about his plan to trick and enslave Cynthia, could she really be making such a pure, emotional face?

Not even a devil could fake that.

And so, both sides let their guard down.

“Hem-hem. Yes, you’re right. I am Fejio Borsina, personal apprentice to the Artist Guild Master of Yaltessance.”

“An apprentice?!” Chloe exclaimed, eyes shining.

So, he was the direct disciple of the Guild Master?

A pure-blood orthodox hero!

‘Hmph.’

Her spontaneous, innocent reaction couldn’t possibly be faked.

Fejio, reassured, let his ulterior motives show a little more clearly.

“Why? Are you interested in art?”

A beautiful girl showing such enthusiasm the moment she heard about his profession?

Of course his ego would swell.

It was almost tempting to try a little harmless flirting— if he could just ignore her age, that is.

But Fejio did not ignore it.

Instead, he fixed a kind, almost “church oppa”-like smile on his face, took a lively step forward, and smoothly offered:

“If you’re an art apprentice, would you like to visit my atelier sometime? If there’s anything you’d like to see, I’ll give you a tour.”

“No thanks, I’m doing music.”

Ah.

Fejio smacked his lips quietly, trying to hide his disappointment politely.

‘An apprentice musician, huh. Well, it suits her.’

Artists weren’t judged by their looks.

Musicians, though?

Musicians performed in front of people.

With looks like hers, it made sense that she’d have a better shot at success there.

As the silence grew awkward, Chloe hurriedly asked:

“Um, Mr. Fejio, who did you vote for?”

“Me? Not Cynthia’s side.”

“I knew it!”

You knew it?

Ah, so she disliked Cynthia’s paintings too.

‘Makes sense. If she’s an apprentice favored by the higher-ups, she’d naturally support the rival.’

Probably she had some personal connection to Chloe’s opponent.

Or maybe she simply disliked Cynthia’s art.

Driven by personal desire.

A Smooth Relationship with Yaltarion.

For two reasons, Fejio patted his chest.

It was a gesture meant to win Chloe’s favor.

“If that’s the case, just wait and see. Our chosen side will definitely win this time.”

“Really?”

“Of course, really.”

That’s exactly what he planned.

“If you don’t believe me, how about we make a bet?”

“A bet? Oh no, I don’t think that would work. I’d want to bet on the same thing as you, hehe.”

Goodness, how well they were on the same wavelength.

How could she be so beautiful?

Her smile seemed to brighten up everything around her.

Fejio was certain of one thing:

The goddess of luck was surely on his side.

‘Thank you, Groomrok! And thank you, Chloe!’

This encounter was all thanks to Chloe, that foolish and ugly little brat.

If they hadn’t rebelled, things wouldn’t have turned out this well.

Maybe that’s why…

“Huh? Groomrok?”

“I’ve been looking for you. What are you doing here… Fejio?”

When the ugly orc appeared, Fejio couldn’t help but feel superior.

“Ah! If it isn’t Mr. Groomrok.”

“…What are you doing with this child?”

“Do you know her? She’s an apprentice musician, one of His Excellency’s protégés. I was just talking to her.”

The pathetic green-skinned fool.

Look at that vacant expression on his face.

Oh well.

Soon, I’ll steal both the useful art slave and the connection with the great mage from you.

‘And this relationship with the girl, too.’An apprentice to the Guild Master versus a mere individual artist.

A human handsome man versus an orc.