🌷 Chapter Nineteen –
The prosperity of Laidre City, the capital of the Odentia Empire, was made possible by the Cobble River.
Thanks to the blessing of the river that runs through the city, the water never dried up even during the severe drought that befell the empire.
The saving Cobble River ensured the entertainment of the common people and the luxury of the nobility.
Lieder nobles used to try to gain fame by placing works of art inscribed with their family's name somewhere where everyone could see it.
The fountain was one of the most valuable pieces of art.
There were many nobles in Laider, and everyone hurried to install fountains in the gaps in the city.
It was like a kind of regional marker.
Thanks to this, in the Summer Lieder, the sound of water flowing from more than a hundred fountains filled the city with sounds similar to the roar of rain, and everyone could hear it even if they were not next to it.
Water sprayed from the fountains that were now present in almost every alley, so the residents of Lider forgot the summer heat and lived in coolness.
Among the many fountains, the most famous was the boat-shaped fountain in the central square.
This fountain was called Mermaid Island, a name that includes a ship carved in marble and various other sculptures scattered around it.
The beautiful mermaid statue on the bow of the ship is considered a symbol of good luck, so travelers visiting Lyder used to make their wish in front of the fountain and take a sip of its water to make it come true.
The water flowing from all around the boat quenched the thirst of the people and horses passing through the square, and also distributed blessings all around.
However, about a year ago, the mermaid statue, which was considered a symbol of the city, was damaged during an attack by a gang member.
The vandals painted the sign of the cross over the mermaid's head, which was cut off and placed on the ground, and painted her crying tears.
The city quickly formed a committee to rebuild the statue, followed by support from artists confident in their skills.
Naturally, a bet ensued on which artist would sculpt the new mermaid statue.
The money naturally follows the bet.
The sacred mermaid statue has become a new bet.
Since such a rare encounter occurred, the people of Odentia who love to bet have been abuzz with excitement.
The fountain now smelled like money instead of water, so the atmosphere should have been full of excitement and enthusiasm among everyone.
But the betting board was quiet.
Since there was an obvious famous sculptor, people bet on just one person, and the bet wasn't as hot as expected.
“Of course, won’t the restoration of the statue be undertaken by Mr.
Gerold under the auspices of His Highness the Crown Prince?”
“How will he beat that talented man responsible for the statue of the Holy Father?”
"You mean Holger?
Wasn't he the one who was fired for vandalizing the cathedral's murals in the past?
That guy's career was over as soon as he entered this competition."
Dozens of sculptors submitted requests to make the statue.
The participation itself was very valuable because this was a prestigious competition, and it did not matter much who would win or lose.
Now, the finalists were being revealed in the arena, and the piece most admired by the audience would adorn the front of the ship, while the piece that would take second place would adorn one of the corners.
Ostensibly, two contestants would win, but it was expected that the only winner would definitely be Gerold.
They were nervous about what the new statue would look like, but no one was worried about the outcome of the bet, so those who took the plunge and raised the money they bet thought they had already won.
Only Theodore revived the dying embers of betting.
He offered Hugo a surprise bet.
“What was the Grand Duke thinking when he bet the Crown Prince?
He had never won against him before.”
“He still can't give up his ambition of beating the Crown Prince, so he's desperate like this.”
“We call this greed, not ambition.”
Everyone clicked their tongues in unison, equally tired of Theodore's repeated defeat by the Crown Prince.
The result was clear, but it took the Grand Duke a day or two to overcome his failure each time, while everyone laughed at the way he expressed his anger and mocked him.
“He really came.”
Those who were mocking Theodore stopped when they heard someone point to the corner of the square.
Hugo was talking to Theodore.
“Ah, it seems that you came, uncle, to check the jury’s result for yourself as well.”
“I made you a bet, so I have to check the outcome.”
“Ah...that bet.
You took it because you wanted to, but why don't we end this meaningless competition today?”
Hugo kindly offered to stop the bet because it was a losing battle anyway.
Normally, Theodore would have answered with annoyance or sarcasm, but not today.
“I have something I really want to check, so please accept my request kindly.”
“You shouldn't bet on Holger if you really want to win.”
“If I had bet on the same person you bet on, Your Highness the Crown Prince, that bet would not have been a bet.”
Theodore always lost to Hugo, so he had a sharp attitude right before the competition, but today he was acting strangely calm.
This situation got on Hugo's nerves.
“No matter what you want to achieve, you can't get it if you lose.”
“I'm betting on the winning side.”
“Did you change your bet to the same person I bet on without my knowledge?”
“I'm betting on Holger from the beginning until now.
It's time for the Goddess of Victory to be on my side at least once.”
“Did you just say goddess of victory?”
Theodore, who uttered the word god, was not at all familiar.
The word that did not suit Theodore as much as love was faith, so Hugo never thought that the day would come when Theodore would talk about God.
Hugo felt an extraordinary sense of ambivalence, it was a feeling he had never felt before in the confrontation with Theodor.
“Did you bribe the jury?”
“What if I bribed the Goddess of Victory instead of the jury?”
Of course, Hugo accepted the boring confrontation because he was confident of his victory.
Each time Theodore was defeated, his position as crown prince was consolidated, making this a good way to show his presence.
Therefore, today's victory had to be his victory.
But Theodore was confident of victory as if someone had proven it to him.
The anger and nervousness that he should have seen inside the eyes of someone who was always being defeated was not visible in Theodore's eyes today.
Theodore was more confident today than he had ever been in Hugo's entire life.
At this point, Hugo also wondered where his confidence came from.
“I will check them all one by one.”
In due course, it was revealed to the jury that made the final decision.
The veil over the works of the promising artist Gerold has been lifted.
As soon as the statue was unveiled, exclamations flowed throughout the square.
It was so beautiful.
It was a statue of a pitiful woman praying to the god with both hands together.
Not only has the broken mermaid statue been perfectly reproduced, but its beauty has been more accurately embodied.
The perfect balance of graceful curves was the best that humans could do.
It was as if the perfect mermaid was praying for the lost city to return from under the seas.
The masterpiece that unapologetically demonstrated his skills was certain to become his representative work.
“As expected, he is the best sculptor in this empire.
I don’t even need to see the next statue.”
With everyone nodding their heads, Holger's mermaid was revealed.
The host removed the cloth from the statue.
This time, there were questions here and there, not admiration.
“Huh?
Why was a net placed on the statue?
The guard will be reprimanded for this.”
The fabric had obviously been removed, but there was a net covering the mermaid.
Everyone was confused, wondering if something had gone wrong during storage, as it was not rare to see such a mistake at a major event.
“Ah… No.
This is not a net, it is part of the statue.”
The people were stunned by someone's words and looked at the statue again.
When they rubbed their eyes and looked again, there was already a net artfully carved over the mermaid statue.
Even the shape of the rope and the rough mesh structure were all exquisite pieces of sculpture.
It was a naturally curved and knotted marble web like a real rope.
No one could believe his eyes even when he saw the statue in front of him with his own eyes, and everyone wondered if it was possible to carve a marble rope over a stone statue.
This was awesome workmanship.
“This must have been so surprising that people were speechless.”
The sound of wind blowing, not exclamation, flowed through the place and the field became quiet.
Holger's mermaid was trying to break out of the net that bound her and was strong and struggling.
The scene was so realistic that people were more confused than shocked.
She was more like a goddess of victory than a mermaid.
There could not have been a more fitting form than this work of art to re-erect a statue of a nymph after overcoming an onslaught of attackers.
Even without an announcement from the judges, victory was certain.
This was a statue made for victory.
When the result became clear, Theodore smiled warmly.
Everyone was surprised to see him smiling for the first time.
This was the first time Theodore had defeated Hugo, so this was also the first time he had smiled triumphantly in front of them.
“…Why did you bet on Holger?”
Hugo tried to regain the good prince's smile and asked Theodore.
Holger was a worse sculptor than even beginners.
No one expected him to win because he left Lider as if he was running away after losing a confrontation many years ago.
But now the profits distributed in front of Holger will go to Theodor.
“Does this look like a mermaid in your eyes, nephew?
I see the goddess of victory in my eyes.”
“The worst sculptor will win the competition!”
That day, Annette screamed behind his back as he walked away.
It was his choice whether to listen to her whispers and bet on Holger or not, but if it wasn't for her, he never would have bet on Holger.
So, this was a bet with Hugo and a gamble with Annette.
Theodore then won the bet with Hugo for the first time.
He beats Hugo and earns a very sweet good luck charm on his side.
“Don't pretend you don't know why you made that bet on him.”
Theodore looked Hugo straight in the eyes and then left the square without a word.
Where a smile appeared on Theodore's face, people remained dumbfounded as if they had been hit by an aerial bombardment.
***
After Theodore left the villa, Annette tried hard not to think about him.
Fortunately, she's been very busy lately.
She spent a lot of time reading the books stacked in the library and comparing the situation in Odentia between the past and the present, so she didn't have time to think about it slowly.
On a day when the sky was exceptionally blue, she wondered if Theodore's eyes looked like this, but she frowned and immediately pushed those thoughts out of her head, and her thoughts about him ended at that moment.
Moreover, since she was going for a walk with Silver now, she never had time to think about him.
Above all else, he was the one who made Annette's life this way and summoned her to this place.
If she thought about him, she would probably become angry because of the grudge she held in her heart and her soul would burn with the burning fire of hatred.
“But why did he look hurt that day?”
Annette muttered these words without realizing it.