NOVPUBIn one corner of the bedroom lay an exquisite ancient zither, while rows of bookshelves along the wall were filled with ancient books and Magic Devices.
Finally, Princess Hyperion’s gaze wandered to the corners of the room, not wishing to meet eyes with Lisandra.
The only thing that might be considered troublesome for Lisandra by the princess was that she would ask her every day if any new members of the Great Demon Clan had arrived at the Royal Capital.
Details of which members of the Great Demon Clan were attending, their identities, status, and other conditions, were all things that Fallen Lord Calila had forbidden to disclose to the princess.
It was necessary to ensure the fairness of the competition a few days later.
Otherwise, any hint of corruption would put Lord Calila’s image of justice, currently holding great power, into question by the members of the Great Demon Clan.
There was also one more matter Lisandra was uncertain whether to tell the princess about or not.
Besides the Great Demon Clan, there was also a member of the Blood Clan attending this time.
The Tenth Ancestor himself, renowned as the most unique painter among the Blood Clan, with powers related to painting, had expressed his desire to participate humbly upon hearing the princess’s request.
The Demon Race originally wanted to negotiate peace with the Blood Clan and at the same time use it as an excuse to reject the Blood Clan’s marriage proposal; they never expected that the Tenth Ancestor would agree to follow the rules of the Demon Race, so naturally they could not refuse him.
"However, the rules that Lord Calila and the Great Demon Clan have set this time may not necessarily please Your Highness,"
Lisandra could only say so in the end.
She had to reply with something to the princess.
Although the princess had expressed a wish for "the Demon with the highest level of artistic skill," many members of the Great Demon Clan were dissatisfied after Lord Calila conveyed it.
The Demon aristocrats still believed that the princess’s criteria were too specific, and since only members of the Great Demon Clan could participate, it meant that most of them practically had no real competition, with some laying down defeated and others able to win effortlessly.
Adding to that, in some dueling rules among the aristocrats of the Demon World, it was permissible to have a knight act as one’s champion; so why couldn’t the most talented artisan of a family represent them in painting?
After repeated negotiations by Lord Calila, both the Great Demon Clan and Calila gave ground, and the final rule was established that members of the Great Demon Clan could bring one assistant while painting.
As for whether the Great Demon Clan would personally paint with the assistant offering minor help or if the "assistant" would handle most of the work with the Great Demon Clan acting as the real support, that was uncertain.
But all this was within the range Fallen Lord Calila could accept.
Identifying and appreciating the most talented painters in a limited time was also a testament to one’s foundation in and strength of the arts.
From Fallen Lord Calila’s perspective, she did not wish for the Great Demon Clan to come to blows at this critical juncture; a battle of wits was naturally best, and the more the fairness of such a battle was acknowledged by the majority of the Great Demon Clan, the more acceptable it would be.
Another reason was that the Great Demon Clan had grasped Fallen Lord Calila’s intention not to let the Blood Clan win, and they had used this to successfully persuade her.
In recent days, the major families of the Demon World had expended much effort to seek the assistance of the ancient artisans of the Demon World.
"Your Highness, what style of painting do you like the most?"
Lisandra swallowed and ventured to ask.
By now, many families from the Demon World had started to approach her, hoping to leverage her relationship with the princess to gain some early intelligence.
To ensure fairness, the day’s paintings would be selected blindly by the princess, meaning without knowing the artists’ identities, she would choose her favorite painting, and its creator would become the victor.
If there was a possibility of making contact with the princess beforehand, even coordinating secret signals to swing the decision, that could be considered skulduggery.
The premise was that it couldn’t be blatantly fraudulent; for example, if the princess were to pass over a Sacred-tier painting and select a Precious-tier one, it wouldn’t be justifiable.
"I haven’t specified any particular style…"
Hyperion responded hesitantly.
She seemed somewhat unsure of how to answer the question Lisandra had posed.
She actually didn’t know what kind of paintings she liked.
She had seen plenty of impressive paintings, such as every painting by Duke Migaya, which people extolled to the skies, but having watched Duke Migaya paint since she was young, she didn’t think much of them and couldn’t see what made them so special.
"It was too sudden of me to ask!"
Lisandra quickly changed the subject.
Despite the great allure of the Demon World’s nobility, she still needed to carefully consider.
She didn’t know if Fallen Lord Calila was aware of all this.
Sometimes the thoughts of the Fallen Lord were hard to fathom. She might have noticed but turned a blind eye, yet should anything not align with her plans, she would ruthlessly eliminate it.
In reality, Lisandra still hoped the princess would have a good life.
Being able to cling to the princess’s coattails was one thing; on the other hand, she didn’t have many friends in the Royal Capital, and the princess was indeed very kind to her.
What a pity.
Those foolishly powerful nobles.
Attempting to approach her and get information from her was simply to secure victory, not because they truly cared about what the princess liked.
In terms of real strength, they were not even comparable to the scraps of the tenth Ancestor of the Blood Clan.
She had once appraised the paintings of the tenth Ancestor during her schooldays and personally thought these members of the Great Demon Clan were too confident.
No matter who won, Lisandra was sure that from the moment the princess expressed her fondness for art, a happy ending became impossible.
Poor princess, in this political climate, wasn’t she herself an artifact being traded by the members of the Demon Race?
None of the Great Demon Clan truly loved her.
"Then, could you tell me some interesting stories about outside the castle?"
The voice of Hyperion came through, interrupting Lisandra’s thoughts.
"...I haven’t been paying much attention, but you know, I live just across the bay, and even though the commute to and from the royal palace every day is a bit far, from across the bay, my place has a perfect view of the royal palace on the other side of the sea."
Lisandra pondered for a bit and then murmured.
"And then?"
Hyperion nodded, looking at Lisandra.
"Recently, a wealthy neighbor moved in next door, but I don’t really understand what kind of Demon Race they are,"
Lisandra said, perplexed. 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝒄𝙤𝙢
The building next to her tiny cottage was actually quite magnificent.
A week ago, a Demon Race tycoon easily bought a palace restaurant on Lisi Island, and of course, he might have just rented it to save face.
Who knows where this nouveau riche came from, but many rumors about him began to spread on Lisi Island lately.
However, many of the rumors soon fell apart since the restaurant’s owner renovated it entirely, turning it into a brand-new piece of art, which multiplied its value several times over. How could it possibly be that he just rented it?
No one knew where this tycoon came from, nor what he did, or why he would buy this luxurious mansion facing the royal palace across the bay.
Some said he was a spy, others said he was an assassin.
But these were all superficial speculations.
