Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Friedelric Antier
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"Do you have any idea what's going on inside?"
The lady holding the opera glasses peered desperately into the lenses.
"Server, come here for a second!"
The young noble beside her summoned a cafeteria server and stuffed a generous tip into their hand. The server began circling the dome like a racetrack, pulling their trolley along.
However, the upper-class privacy protection wasn't just pretty—it was functionally impeccable.
The lady with the opera glasses could only get bloodshot eyes from staring, with nothing to see, and all the server could relay was a humming vibration.
In the end, the only message they could send inside was from ten minutes ago.
[The futures have used the Crystal Dome for the first time!]
Bamper's claim that they would avoid using the dome whenever possible had been true.
From the moment Ileneias's futures began to shine in their respective fields, they had grown accustomed to lives under scrutiny.
They were quite aware that their words and actions could reassure people or sow unease.
Thus, unless it was something deeply personal or political, they generally didn't hide their whereabouts or daily lives.
It had been the same since enrolling at Repitelips.
They had never once used the cafeteria's Crystal Dome for upper-class privacy protection.
Naturally, the students sensed this incident was anything but ordinary.
"Instead of this, let's deduce based on what we heard earlier."
"Yes. Someone definitely mentioned the Seasonal Encouragement Speech."
"You're talking about the Four Seasons Blessing Parade, right? One of the futures must be taking that prestigious role again."
"Of course. They've truly become the new generation to shoulder the continent—who else could possibly suit that position?"
"And the thing on the table was a puppy doll!"
"......"
The students couldn't reach the answer.
They had no choice. No matter how they pieced together the possibilities, they couldn't deduce that Ileneias's futures—friends of Count Rudelriz—were closing the dome for the first time to scam or study him.
"And the Lady Rudelriz who brought the puppy... she's in there together......"
They couldn't even conclude that his sister Aiel was involved.
The cafeteria fell into a puzzled silence.
"...But here's the thing."
Amid it all, someone voiced the crucial question everyone was thinking but hadn't dared say aloud.
"Using the dome is one thing... but they're letting Lady Rudelriz join them in there...?"
Before anyone could react, a low vibration hummed from the window-side table.
Woooong—
"It's opening!"
"Everyone, shh!"
The high-performance Crystal Dome rotated smoothly and slowly vanished.
In the spot where the dome lifted... the futures sat with strangely satisfied expressions.
'What are those looks? What happened in there?'
The students' eyes, seeking answers, naturally drifted to Lady Rudelriz sitting quietly among them.
Yet for some reason, Lady Rudelriz looked just like they had ten minutes ago.
Endlessly glancing around, timing her moment.
Lady Rudelriz, who had been rolling her eyes as if searching, finally spoke.
"Um...!"
"Oh, right. Mayches's little sister."
But Yan beat her to it, as if remembering something.
"I have something for you too."
The next moment.
The lady with bloodshot eyes dropped her opera glasses with a clang.
"Um...!"
"Oh, right. Mayches's little sister. I have something for you too."
Yan rummaged in his inner pocket.
Aiel took a deep, ambitious breath in... then let it out.
Yan's hand, clutching something, thrust toward Aiel.
Aiel unwittingly took it and froze like ice without even checking.
...A return gift!
Her plan to leverage give-and-take for a referral had hit a major snag.
But soon, Aiel thought that might not even be the issue.
She had overheard a young noble muttering with bulging eyes.
"Friedelric... Antier...?!"
Aiel's eyes blinked in confusion, failing to grasp the situation, as Yan spoke awkwardly.
"It's a bit shabby... I didn't like it much, so I reworked it. But I did it in a rush, so it's crude. If you don't like it, I'll redo it."
Aiel's mouth fell open wide.
She had realized what she held in her hand: none other than "Friedelric Antier (Trace of the Gods—a title bestowed on masterpieces out of reverence)," appearing before the public for the first time in seven years.
Baltan Catric, where Yan served as vice-guildmaster, was now the continent's top and largest guild, but in the past, it had been a small elite mercenary band.
Back then, Baltan Catric was only somewhat known for its members' skills and the eccentric leader, taking on bizarre commissions that paid poorly but were grueling.
Then one day, the leader of Baltan Catric did something odd yet again.
He adopted a poor rural child who had been carving and selling bowls alone.
That was when the leader's surname "Friedelric" was given to the nameless Yan.
And from then on, Yan Friedelric unexpectedly became the pillar sustaining the mercenary band.
Seven or eight years ago.
Yan had a period where he churned out masterpieces every other day to make money.
Yan dismissed that time as his dark history of producing rags instead of masterpieces just to survive, but the Ileneias continent viewed it as the revival era when a god-sent genius elevated the art world to new heights.
The sculptures, paintings, and crafts born from Yan's fearsome senses and handiwork shattered auction records every time they emerged.
Even as an unknown artist, he earned acclaim from discerning collectors and critics. After analyses suggested the works shaking the art world might be by one person, his "unknown" status itself became a brand.
People scrambled to collect the anonymous artist's pieces.
Thanks to that, many new artists were unearthed besides Yan, leaving the art world dizzy from the relentless waves of fresh talent.
The sofa cover Yan embroidered with Prussian blue thread on ivory cloth, depicting flowers, hung in Empress Onzamerie of the Orelot Family's chambers.
The tapestry "Race of Horses," woven with silver threads, became famous as the emperor of the Roxidran Empire's glorious gift to the Jedkaizer Duke.
The thirty-three deities Yan carved into a tiny walnut shell sold for the price of Ileneias's second-largest mansion, laden with every historical meaning and interpretation imaginable.
Nobles, royals, and the wealthy competed to own one of Yan's works to flaunt their refinement.
Then, one day, when interest in the "anonymous" artist had skyrocketed to the heavens.
The mystique shattered, and unknown artist Yan Friedelric was revealed.
Not by his own choice.
Experts and Yan enthusiasts had dug into the similarities between his early bowls and recent works.
"The anonymous artist... is eight years old?"
People initially refused to believe Yan existed.
Over time, they began suspecting his works were flukes, and some raged at being duped.
It was a historic plunge in Yan's artwork values, past and future unparalleled.
"I should have bought all of Sir Yan's works back then, even if it meant uprooting my family's foundation......"
It was the era most regretted by Yan's followers, critics, and art investors.
Yet even amid the art world's condemnation overnight, Yan's creative output didn't stop. He couldn't afford to, for some reason (money).
And the heavenly masterpieces from his fingertips remained breathtaking.
People had no choice but to surrender their hearts again.
Those who loved art couldn't resist forever......
Gradually, they adapted to the child genius, ultimately embracing their love and awe for the young artist.
Afterward, Yan's nameless works bore the masterwork title "Friedelric Antier."
That was the birth of the proper noun "Friedelric Antier"—even at sky-high prices, impossible to obtain.
It still was. Because Yan simply wasn't making any anymore; they truly didn't exist......
Now, with Baltan Catric commanding vast merchant fleets as a colossal guild, Yan had no need to sell; money was never an issue.
Yan created only what he wanted, in peace.
He never released those to the world.
It was the genius's abrupt halt to his mad masterpiece production.
Not a brief pause, but over seven years.
According to Baltan Catric's founding members—who were like family—Yan's "artisan habit" of smashing pieces on completion because "this isn't it" was driving those thirsting for his work to near madness.
The infamous anecdote of Roxidran Empire's marquess's second son, over thirty, enrolling at Repitelips at age past thirty just to persuade Yan.
And at this very moment.
The "Friedelric Antier - Hair Tie Remake," revealed after seven years, rested in Aiel's hand.