Chapter 436 - 350: Money Power? I Have It Too!

Chapter 436: Chapter 350: Money Power? I Have It Too!

Mr. Greuze watched silently until Alexandra’s painting was complete, and he finally let out a sigh with a surprised smile, “Your Highness the Grand Duchess, you are truly the most talented student I have ever seen. You have portrayed Joanna with such vitality…”

Joanna was the maid currently posing at the front of the art studio.

As Greuze spoke, he caught a glimpse of the other students’ work and shook his head with a sigh, “Kalalis, Marisa, perhaps you should take a look at the Grand Duchess Alexandra’s painting.

“You have been studying with me for four or five years and in some ways… it seems you still haven’t touched the essence of painting. I hope you can learn something from this piece.”

The three noble girls beside him exchanged glances, their faces full of dissatisfaction. After all, the youngest among them was already 11 years old, and Kalalis was 14.

And yet their teacher was suggesting they learn from a Russian peasant girl of only seven years!

The girls congregated around, reluctantly, but their meager artistic cells prevented them from seeing the “soul” of the painting that Mr. Greuze referred to.

Greuze then commented on Alexandra’s painting some more, mostly with words of praise and encouragement. After a glance at his watch, he announced that class would continue next Tuesday before bidding farewell to the young noblewomen and leaving the studio.

Marisa mockingly kidnapped Alexandra’s easel, exaggeratingly inspecting the latter’s painting and muttered to herself, “Has the teacher been drinking today?”

Her father was the second assistant to the French Minister of Agriculture, and their family had an hereditary earldom, so she harbored no fear toward the Russian Grand Duchess.

Another noble girl beside her sneered in response, “That must be the case, otherwise why would he comment for over ten minutes on such a mundane painting.”

“And he even expects us to ‘perceive’ something from this work. Hmm, the paint is quite nice,” Kalalis followed with a sardonic tone.

No wonder they were upset. Mr. Greuze had actually said they couldn’t paint as well as a “wild Tartar” girl, which was a humiliation to their skills!

They were all born and raised in the Palace of Versailles, having been immersed in art from a young age, with many masters praising their great talent. How could they possibly be surpassed by a Russian peasant girl?

Since they couldn’t challenge the master artist Greuze, they turned their frustrations on Alexandra instead.

The young Russian girl took back her painting, gestured to the maid to pack it carefully, and then turned to the noble girls with a sweet smile, speaking in perfect French, “If you spent the time and effort you use to say these discordant words on practicing painting instead, perhaps your teacher wouldn’t need to praise a ‘transfer student’.”

Having said her piece, she ignored their expressions and headed out of the studio.

“You!” Marisa stamped her foot in shamed anger, pointing at Alexandra’s retreating back as she shrieked, “Don’t think your painting is really that good! The teacher was just humoring you as a child with some casual encouragement.”

She signaled to the two noble girls beside her, “Any one of us here paints far better than you do.

“Let me tell you, Kalalis and Miss Stella’s paintings have been selected for the ‘Lorraine-Charlibourg Exhibition’!

“Oh, you probably never heard of the Charlibourg Exhibition. If your painting from earlier gets selected for the exhibition, we’ll admit that your painting is not so bad. But if you don’t make it, you must apologize to us!”

In reality, it was only because their families had some connections with the people running the exhibition that their paintings were displayed in a nondescript little cottage in Charlibourg, merely hitching a ride on the event’s hype, which hardly counted as “participating in the exhibition.”

“Not interested,” Alexandra glanced briefly at the three and then headed towards the carriage in the courtyard with long strides.

The noble girls felt they had regained some ground and immediately became smug, “Hmph! It’s good that she knows her limits.”

“Of course, that’s a top-tier exhibition attended by the Royal Family—her clumsy work wouldn’t even make it through the door.”

“She really should have a look at the Charlibourg Art Exhibition; it’s truly a spectacle of being submerged in an ocean of art…”

As Alexandra boarded the carriage, she didn’t catch what they said afterwards, only feeling that the name “Lorrain-Charlibourg Art Exhibition” seemed vaguely familiar.

“Where have I heard it before?”

She gazed toward the majestic Louvre in the distance and soon forgot about the matter.

Three days later.

In the northern outskirts of Paris. A series of carriages arrived at the luxurious estate of Charlibourg. About six or seven hundred aristocrats gathered here to attend the renowned Lorrain-Charlibourg Art Exhibition.

This place used to be a monastery, bought and converted into a castle-style manor, and later gradually developed into a center of painting arts.

There was still some time left before the exhibition was due to start. Mr. Philip Beto, the overall organizer of the exhibition, was checking the guest list one last time—since the Royal Family would visit Charlibourg each year during the exhibition, no detail could be overlooked.

Just then, the office door was pushed open. His assistant almost ran to his desk and whispered a few words into his ear.

Philip Beto immediately frowned and turned to look at his assistant, “Are you sure?”

The latter nodded: “Quite a few young noblewomen from the Palace of Versailles have heard about it, likely from Miss Marisa boasting to them.

“I went to Mr. Greuze’s house this morning to confirm, and his maid witnessed the whole event.”

“This could be troublesome…”

After a moment of thought, Philip Beto instructed his assistant, “Announce to the public that termites have been found in the room on the second floor.”

“Yes, Manager.”

Once the assistant left, Philip Beto rubbed his brow in annoyance. The conflicts between these noble ladies were the most troublesome; the second daughter of the Lemaire Count’s House just had to clash with the Russian Grand Duchess at this time…

Although he was somewhat acquainted with Count Lemaire, it was Count Poplinsky from Russia who was the main sponsor of this year’s exhibition, providing as much as 75% of the funds required.

He couldn’t afford to offend him!

Therefore, the only option was to let the paintings of the two young ladies, who boasted that their works would be exhibited whereas the Russian Grand Duchess’s would not, “disappear”…

Soon, the grand art exhibition officially opened.

Several hundred aristocrats were led ordersly into the exhibition hall by the servants of Charlibourg.

Kalalis and Marisa, looking proud, led a group of young nobles directly to the room in the southwest corner of the second floor, boasting along the way, “That is the painting even Mr. Greuze praised, so it naturally took part in the exhibition.”

They entered the room designated for their works, only to find it completely empty.

Thinking she had made a mistake, Kalalis repeatedly checked the room number and even looked in the adjacent rooms, but never found her own paintings.