"This is rather bad." Hector Norman sat in the storehouse surrounded by his people as he heard the news from Madam Mikaela.
"This is rather unfortunate. Leo here pulled one hell of an act on those Aristocrats, I almost thought you are one of them if not for the fact that you work for Ruth." Zal said as he drank from a flask.
"As I said, we can still get it." Leon said, "Why aren't you taking this one into consideration?"
"You serious?" Hector retorted, "The auction hall is a whole different animal. You won't be able to make it out."
Leon shook his head as Hector was backing off from the operation now that it was almost in his hands.
Yesterday, they forged themselves pretty solid identities and a backstory, they invaded an abandoned manor of a Nobleman who was away, and Leon put all his efforts into copying the actions of those nobles. He even had to use "Read" on a book that elaborated on mannerisms and practiced it the whole night. Mikaela also scouted the De Sade Manor from the outside and helped Leon and Zal formulate a perfect plan to infiltrate that place.
But the unexpected was that the painting is being sold.
"Alright, you people go rest for now. I will find out who will buy it and will formulate a new plan accordingly." Hector the Bull dismissed the scene as he was no longer in the mood for any more action today.
Leon and Zal couldn't help but nod and with the rest of the Syndicate members, they walked out of the storehouse each on his way.
It was almost sunset, the sky was almost violet with a golden hue lining the horizon and the wave clouds were carried by a fast cold wind. Leon turned the collar of his coat upward as he was still wearing the clothes he used as Alfonse Vanderbilt. Behind him, Zal ve Lanus, the so-called Artist, walked out with a heavy and dejected face.
"It seems… my presence caused even more jinx." Zal said.
"Hm?"
"Jinx… you know. Everything I get involved in gets… kaboosh!" Zal said as he laughed regretfully.
"Ah! That." Leon realized that Zal was speaking about his curse-like title and didn't really care much.
"Such a shame! Your performance was superb. I never realized you are such a good conman." Zal said.
"A Con Artist and a Conman. Hmmm… sounds like the start of a good partnership to me." Leon said.
"Right… a Con Artist… it seems I will be stuck with that for more than I want." Zal said as he watched the sky.
The two men stood side by side facing the street, each of them to his thoughts. Leon was agonizing over the fact that he couldn't buy off the Bull, turn him against Madam Ruth and eventually wipe his trace by using the Syndicate's connections. On the other hand, Zal was promised that if he was recognized as a genius mastermind, his {Fool} curse shall be lifted.
"Sigh!" Leon eventually sighed as he found no leeway but to wait.
"Anyway… the good thing is your act made a very good impression about you. It is truly a shame I won't see you do this more." Zal, however, took his mind off things and focused on Leon's performance.
At this moment and by that comment, Leon had a mad inspiration.
"I tell you what Zal… you just masterminded a very brilliant crime." Leon said with his eyes turning brighter.
"Sorry?"
"I'm saying you're a genius, Zal. You just solved it." Leon explained.
"What do you mean?" Zal questioned.
"You said it yourself, my act was pretty good. It is almost flawless that none of the aristocrats can suspect me." Leon said, "And as I remember it, Alfonse Vanderbilt was invited to the auction."
Seeing the mad grin on Leon's face and realizing what he meant, Zal shook his head almost instantly.
"No way! Even you can't steal that."
"Calm down. I have this one last trick I need to perform and everything will go smoothly." Leon said.
"If something goes wrong, the Bull will skin us." Zal said as a last warning to Leon.
"I know." Leon replied, "Now why don't you go fetch my carriage, Dear Butler. Lord Alfonse Vanderbilt has to answer the invitation to the auction."
***
The De Sade family wasn't one of the oldest nor the most powerful but they had some influence in the art scene.
Each family head of the De Sade was an influencer in art one way or another. The first head was the one who commissioned the Pride of Del Mar and was said to have helped finishing it then each family head afterward tried to leave a mark on the art history.
That was until Karmina and Christophe De Sade.
Naturally being both the male heir and the elder sibling, Christophe De Sade received most of the inheritance after the death of his parents. Sadly, he wasn't the one to appreciate art or scenery as his interests were aimed at reckless business maneuvers and gambling.
Seeing the Pride of Del Mar being the hot topic of today's auction, Karmina was beyond the definition and all the synonyms of Dejected as she was feeling an inside rage that can only be described as bitterness. It wasn't directed against her brother but she felt it deep from within and had a lot of self-blame as well.
Karmina knew about her brother's bad habits and to keep the family afloat, she decided to have her share of the inheritance to be in the Family Business rather than the Art Collection. She thought that by gaining a share in the business, she would be able to keep her brother in check regarding reckless business decisions and at the same time, her brother would be forced to honor the family tradition by maintaining the Art Collection.
The reality, however, had another say in the matter. Not only did Christophe De Sade decide to sell items of the collections but he even came and decided to sell the most important piece.
The problem with Christophe is that he didn't realize that the importance of his family comes from their cultural contributions rather than their business and when those contributions no longer exist with his family's hands, the decline of house De Sade will be inevitable.
All this and that just kept piling on Karmina's heart as she stood far at the end almost outside the auction room just watching with pain and anger as other minor parts of her family's collection were being sold out.
"My Lady."
Yet a voice directed to her came from the side as a young man stood right next to her.
"My Lord." She replied in acknowledgment to the new face in this small society, Lord Alfonse Vanderbilt.
He seemed to be focusing his eyes on the auction stage before he snorts lightly and faces her.
"It seems you have a handful on your mind, my Lady." He said sympathetically.
"Yes. It is nothing too easy to watch someone with no regard or appreciation to art buy and sell these valuables in a heartbeat." She said, "Even an art thief will have more appreciation for these pieces than those…"
Karmina stopped talking as she noticed it is out of her way to use curses especially when she is talking to a male young lord yet he seemed more than just sympathetic.
"… those bastards." He continued for her.
Karmina wasn't someone who uses slurs or curses yet she smiled as Alfonse did the cursing for her.
"To be honest, I was quite keen to see that breathtaking painting one last time." Alfonse said with a faint smile revealing his intentions, "I still can't get the image out of my mind."
"Hm?" Karmina tilted her head, "It seems you are one of those people too, my Lord."
"Those people?" He asked.
"Those who see art and be mesmerized by it. You are not too shy about the fact either. May I call it… an eye for beauty." She said.
"Ah!" Alfonse smiled a little bit, "I do have a deep interest in art, artifacts, and ancient pieces."
She nodded and looked away.
"Sadly, not all people have such an eye. Take my brother, for example, the first thing he sees in art is money. His impression about the Pride of Del Mar was and I quote 'Just another painting'."
"Such a thing…" Alfonse was baffled there for a second.
The Pride of Del Mar is a painting that leaves too much impression on whoever sees it even if their senses in the art are not that good. The amount of vividness and realism conveyed by the paint was nothing less than magnificent.
"Such a shame!" He said.
"Indeed." Karmina nodded but as she was about to look away, she just had this little idea coming to her.
"You said you wanted to see the painting one last time?" She asked.
"Pretty much yes." He replied.
"Follow me then."
Leon was impressed seeing how bold this young lady is as she seemed to be very reckless in times of distress.
As she walked through the hallways of the auction house, Leon immediately followed along as they passed by a series of servants and guards down a stairway to a chamber guarded by two knights.
On the sight of Karmina, the knights found it difficult to let her pass through but knowing her status, she and Leon were allowed in with just their names.
"Oh, sister… and looks like our new neighbor is here as well." Christophe was just behind that door in a long hallway standing with two noblemen.
"My Lords." Leon greeted.
"I am glad you accepted my invitation, Lord Alfonse." Christophe said.
"What shall I say? I find myself with a lot of free time and in serious need to socialize." Leon replied.
"True." Christophe nodded.
A small talk occurred as Christophe introduced Alfonse to the two noblemen nearby. Karmina then interfered to finish things up.
"I am sorry, my Lords, but Lord Alfonse and I were on our way to see the painting before it goes on the stage." She said.
"What an excellent idea!" Christophe reacted, "I am sure you are interested in the painting as well, my Lords."
"Indeed." One of them replied while stroking his thick mustache.
"Yes, it is about time we witness the grand prize." The one said in an air of status.
Christophe put on a smile as he led the group ahead with Karmina and Leon being the last. Karmina was rather annoyed by the appearance of those two men in particular who seemed to be one of the two potential new owners of the painting. She remembers how many times her parents turned down their offers for this and now it is just being handed to them.
Eventually, they were at the chamber behind the stage once again and between the presence of many servants and guards busy running around and moving items to the stage and back. The group arrived at a secluded corner where the painting was being taken out of the metal chest and put on a stand.
"Gentlemen. I present to you, the Pride of Del Mar." Christophe said in a rather anticlimactic fashion broken soon after by the depressed look on Karmina's face.
While the two noblemen complemented the painting, Leon looked at Karmina and asked.
"Lady De Sade, I never got to hear the story behind such a marvelous piece of art."
"Right." She nodded while standing beside the painting, "The Pride of Del Mar is a story painting in oil rather than just a painting. The De Sade family ancestor was the man who witnessed this battle between a majestic Sea Serpent and a ship of peculiar design when he was on an expedition to the east as a small-time Mercenary."
"Which is rather odd, haha!" Christophe interrupted with a silly smile, "No seas in the east other than the Endless Ocean which no merchant ship will aimlessly wander into."
Everyone gazed at Christophe with awkward disinterest as the story was a hundred times worth his opinion. There are still a million reasons why a ship would sail into distant waters other than a trade route.
"Either way, the records do not mention the purpose of this ship but from what we gathered, our ancestor was on a ship that encountered this monster you see and he survived by drifting on a boat while this powerful Wizard fought the monster. The result of the Battle didn't go down in history but we know that he commissioned this painting just as he got home. It took him a year with the artist Gianluca Zambrotta to finish it and Zambrotta said that it was a thrilling experience." Karmina said.
"Amazing!"
"Marvelous indeed!"
"But…" Leon had a question running in his mind and he decided to shoot, "Excuse my ignorance but how did an artist figure out how to paint a painting of this detail and wonder if he didn't witness it first hand?"
Leon's question was rather logical which made the noblemen and Christophe instantly wonder about the same thing. It was then when Karmina smiled.
"Magic." She said, "Our ancestor mentioned that he and the artist used magic in order to share the memory of what he saw. After all, he possessed the rarest Sorcery, the Knowledge Magic."
Her words were nothing big to Leon but the other men in the room were deeply taken.
"Incredible!"
"Such a rare Sorcery can make it possible indeed."
It was such a sad thing in the end. Karmina made a good point as she explained the history of the painting making the three men present eye her brother Christophe in not a fun way. Still, two of them were very willing to buy it as the third was scheming something big as well.
But time ran out.
"Lord De Sade, it is time."
A few guards and the host of the evening came from the stage and joined the group.
"Yes, at long last. Gentlemen, if you may, you can go catch your seats now." Christophe said as he attempted to lead the three men away.
"I will be accompanying Lady Karmina." Leon found himself a leeway to stay.
"Alright. This way."
The rest of the noblemen went with Christophe as the guards started to cover the portrait with an expensive sheet of crimson silk that was akin to wine in luster.
Leon took a step back and accident-ish-ally bumped into a guard before almost losing balance.
"Oh! Sorry!"
"Excuse me. Apologies, my Lord."
"No no, totally my bad."
As he was almost on the ground, he accepted the guards' help to stand up and hurled them.
"They are calling."
"Oh, yes. Let's move."
And then…
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
They walked on the stage.
No one noticed.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the Pride of Del Mar."
Silence!
And Chaos!
Storage magic?
I believe so.
wow i never imagine that , sounds really logic and boring i thinked than the mc gonna use a more intrincated metod
well funny at least and magic the description of the art
Blob Neutral
Thanks for the chapter
Well, I expected Zal to quickly sketch the painting and for "Alfonce" to replace it. The way it went is less desirable, I think, but only a fool won't make use of his stealthy space-time magic in an event like this!