CICN 20

Chapter 20

All Ivi could see was a large frame hanging on the wall—there was no portrait inside it.

Instead, a note beneath it explained that the portrait was currently being finished by the imperial painter and would be unveiled in autumn for the Emperor’s birthday.

‘I was curious about what His Majesty looks like now…’

The Emperor was like a benefactor to Ivi, having selected her for the Imperial Academy. That made her all the more eager to see him—but he wasn’t there.

Swallowing her disappointment, Ivi turned to look at the other portraits.

Aside from the current Emperor, there was one other person without a portrait.

It was the previous Emperor—the one whose death had sparked the succession war.

Perhaps because he had killed his father and siblings, only his name remained, engraved on a plaque. The space where his portrait should have been was left entirely blank—no painting, not even a frame.

Feeling the weight of some complex adult matters she couldn’t fully understand, Ivi moved on to another room deeper inside.

“Looks like this one has portraits of the royal family.”

She gazed in awe at the walls covered with paintings.

What first caught her eye were the portraits of empresses wearing elaborate crowns.

In the past, most monarchs had been male emperors, but over time, female emperors had emerged, and their numbers had grown.

Thus, portraits of emperors and empresses were mixed together.

Of course, all the other portraits were smaller than those of the emperors.

And it wasn’t just the rulers’ spouses who were displayed. Below those portraits were smaller ones.

They were all children.

Among the stern expressions of the adults, the children’s portraits mostly wore bright smiles.

Some clutched their favorite dolls or toys.

Others held piles of books.

Seeing the portraits of children around her own age made Ivi enjoy the viewing more than before.

“No names,” she murmured.

As the staff had said earlier, the exhibit wasn’t fully organized. Many paintings had no labels identifying who was who.

Then, as she reached the last painting on the wall, Ivi stopped in her tracks.

Until now, all portraits had shown either adults or children separately.

But this one was different.

A young woman with red hair and green eyes was smiling brightly as she cradled a baby in her arms.

The baby looked to be a newborn, wrapped in cloth with its face barely visible.

Ivi stared at the painting, transfixed.

She had never seen the woman before. But since the portrait was displayed here, the woman must be a royal consort.

She quickly checked the side of the frame—but again, no name, no explanation.

‘I guess they haven’t labeled it yet…’

Oddly enough, Ivi felt even more regretful than when she’d missed the chance to see the jewels.

The woman’s bright smile as she held the baby lovingly—just looking at it should’ve made her feel warm.

But instead—

“……”

Strangely, Ivi felt her throat tighten.

‘Who is she?’

None of the other portraits had stirred this kind of emotion.

Sure, this one included a child, unlike the others, but that didn’t change the fact that it was someone she didn’t know.

Unconsciously, Ivi stepped closer.

Now the smiling woman in the painting became clearer.

Ivi stared at the painting, captivated.

She didn’t even notice the door to the distant portrait room slowly closing shut behind her.

* * *

While other students chatted happily during the break, Arcel and Ruska sat silently in their seats, staring outside.

At first, a few students approached them without reading the mood, trying to strike up conversation. But when they got little response, they muttered things like “Maybe something happened…” and quietly walked away.

Eventually, Ruska broke the silence.

“I heard Lillian’s portrait is finished and on display. Want to go see it?”

“……”

Arcel paused for a moment, as if considering, then shook his head.

“No. I plan to come back another time, so not today.”

Normally, Ruska would’ve insisted. He’d have pressed Arcel with “When is that even going to be?” and dragged him along.

But today, even Ruska simply nodded once and said no more.

“Alright. Then I’m going to get up.”

“You’re going to see the portrait?”

When Arcel asked, Ruska smiled faintly.

“No. I’ll skip it today too. If I see it now, I feel like I’ll just cry like a baby.”

Ruska stood up, forcing a grin.

With his hands stuffed into his pockets, he trudged out of the exhibition hall.

He hadn’t been joking to Arcel. Maybe it was because of the dream he’d had—his mood had been low since morning.

If he saw Lillian’s portrait in this state, he might actually break down in tears.

‘And Father said Princess Ibbvien was included in the portrait too.’

No one had ever seen her face, so the princess’s likeness hadn’t been painted.

Since he’d decided not to go, it made sense to look around somewhere else—but for some reason, his feet didn’t want to move away from the exhibit.

So instead, Ruska wandered around the halls, already familiar with everything inside.

Maybe because he was no longer with Arcel, students began to drift toward him again.

Sigh. “I guess I’m just too popular.”

Ruska shook his head, muttering.

Without Arcel, who was intimidating to approach, Ruska alone must’ve seemed like an easier target.

‘I need to leave this place fast.’

Pretending not to notice, Ruska turned and headed for the entrance. If he went outside entirely, they probably wouldn’t follow.

Just then, someone came sprinting out of the hallway connected to the portrait gallery.

Thud!

The collision was loud—someone had run straight into Ruska.

“Ow! What the—!”

The girl who’d stumbled back looked annoyed at first, but when she saw Ruska, her expression changed to surprise.

“I-I’m sorry!”

The fact that she only apologized after realizing who he was annoyed Ruska.

But he let it go. He didn’t feel like making a fuss.

“It’s fine.”

He figured she’d move along, but instead, the girl smiled and bowed.

“Um, my name is Rimora Issel. If you’re okay with it, I’d love to make it up to you later at the academy—”

Sigh…

Ruska let out an exasperated sigh at her overly obvious attempt to get close.

He was about to ignore her and turn away when he suddenly remembered—she had come from the direction of the portrait hall.

‘Could she have seen Lillian’s portrait?’

Just in case, he asked her.

“You came from the portrait exhibit, right? Did you happen to—”

At that moment, Rimora’s expression stiffened and she quickly shook her head.

“N-no! I was going to look, but I just left. I’ll be going now—”

She scurried off without so much as a proper goodbye, a far cry from her earlier eagerness.

“…What the heck was that?”

She left like someone running away after doing something wrong.

Ruska looked down the corridor that led to the portrait hall.

The room was a little dim, with no ceiling except for the one far above, designed to protect the artwork.

What could possibly go wrong in there…?

He stared down the quiet hallway, unsettled, and was about to head toward the exhibit when a staff member at the entrance shouted,

“It’s time to move on! All students inside, please come out now!”

At that, Ruska stopped.

He and Arcel had been sitting outside for a while, but he hadn’t realized it was already time to leave.

With a lingering sense of regret, he looked down the hallway once more before turning around.

Something about it all left him with a gnawing sense that he was missing something important.

* * *

Ivi was still quietly staring at the portrait.

Then she suddenly snapped back to her senses and looked around.

‘It’s quiet.’

When she first came in, she could hear distant voices and footsteps from the other students. Now, there was nothing.

Even the lighting inside the exhibit had grown dimmer than before.

‘I should head back.’

She hurried toward the door—but her eyes kept drifting back to the painting.

‘If I ever come back, I’ll make sure to check her name.’

Thinking that, she finally reached the door—only to see it was closed. It had been open when she came in.

‘Maybe that’s why it was so quiet.’

She grabbed the handle and twisted it firmly. It should open right up, and she should see the other students outside.

“…Huh?”

Ivi’s face fell in dismay.

The handle wouldn’t budge. She tried pushing against the door with her whole body, but the thick wood didn’t move an inch.

It had been locked from the outside.