Chapter 715: Art Exhibition
Hearing Maria’s question, both Cassius and Lucius stopped their playful scuffle at once.
Lucius blinked, looking genuinely confused for a moment before repeating her words back to her.
"Do I know you...?"
Then his expression brightened enthusiastically.
"Yes, of course you know me, Lady Maria! Who doesn’t?"
He puffed out his chest with dramatic pride and went on to say,
"I am the most loyal, most amazing, and most cute butler to ever exist! My love and devotion for my Young Master is known throughout the entire world!"
He turned to Cassius with a passionately sparkling gaze that made the taller man visibly tremble and take a cautious step back.
Cassius had faced down monsters, assassins, and the combined fury of his wives without flinching.
But Lucius? Lucius was different.
There was something unnerving about that level of devotion. He had caught his butler sneaking into his bed more than once, always with some flimsy excuse about checking for intruders or adjusting the blankets.
It was terrifying.
Maria shook her head gently, smiling. "Of course I know your reputation as Cassius’s most loyal butler and right-hand man."
Lucius immediately stuck his nose in the air, looking haughty and pleased, as if the praise had made his entire day.
"But that’s not what I’m asking." Maria continued, curiosity clear in her eyes. "I’m asking if...we’ve ever met before all of this. Have we had any interaction long ago?"
Lucius’s eyes flickered with a tiny, almost imperceptible glint before it vanished. He smiled smoothly.
"I don’t think so, Lady Maria." His voice was casual, pleasant. "It’s certainly possible that you might have forgotten me if we had met..." He tilted his head, considering "...but I? I would never forget meeting a lady as beautiful as yourself."
Maria blushed despite herself.
"I have no recollection of meeting you." Lucius continued smoothly. "So I don’t believe we’ve ever crossed paths before."
But Maria didn’t give in.
"That’s what I thought too." She admitted. "But there’s something about you. Something that makes me feel like I’ve already met you somewhere."
She studied him closely—the delicate features, the graceful posture, the way he held himself.
Something about him nagged at her, like a word on the tip of her tongue.
"Specifically in the capital." She added. "I feel like I’ve seen you in the capital."
Lucius’s composure flickered. Just a little.
He laughed—a light, easy sound—but there was something forced about it.
"Ah! That must be it!" He nodded sagely. "I did visit the capital a few years ago. Official business for the Young Master."
"And I do have a rather...distinctive appearance." He gestured at himself. "Some might even call it beautiful." He flipped his hair. "It’s possible you caught a glimpse of me during my visit and the memory has lingered."
Maria studied him for a long moment.
It was plausible. His delicate features, his almost feminine beauty—he wasn’t someone you easily forgot.
"Maybe." She said slowly. "Maybe that’s it."
Lucius looked visibly relieved. Clearly eager to end the conversation, he bowed gracefully.
"Then I’ll be going now, Young Master. I don’t want to disturb your date any longer." He turned to Maria and bowed even deeper. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Lady Maria. Everyone here is truly happy to have you join the family."
Maria’s cheeks flushed. "I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lucius! This is simply an outing. I haven’t agreed to join Cassius’s family yet. We’re just...spending time together."
"Oh, please, Lady Maria." Lucius’s smile turned knowing. Smug, even. "When my Young Master sets his sights on someone, especially when he goes all out like this, it’s impossible for anyone to resist. Even a sister of the church."
Maria’s blush deepened at her own slip of the tongue.
"Not to mention—" Lucius’s eyes glittered "—you said ’yet.’ ’I haven’t agreed to join Cassius’s family yet.’ That tells me everything I need to know about where this is heading."
Maria’s blush deepened at her own slip of the tongue.
Before she could protest, Lucius flashed another bright smile, waved cheerfully, and darted away with surprising speed, clearly not wanting to stay for any further discussion.
Maria watched him disappear, then turned to Cassius with a desperate, slightly pleading look in her eyes, as if silently begging him to explain.
Cassius understood the look immediately. He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and spoke in a calm, gentlemanly tone.
"Of course, Maria. It’s simply a misunderstanding. Don’t think too much about it."
Maria let out a small sigh of relief, though deep inside Cassius was mentally praising both Lucius and Diana. They truly were excellent wingmen.
He made a mental note to thank Diana properly later with passionate, stress-relieving lovemaking to reward her hard work.
As for Lucius...he shuddered at the thought of what the butler would demand as a reward and quickly decided a simple head pat would have to suffice.
In Lucius’s eyes, that was worth more than gold anyway.
Cassius gently took Maria’s hand again. "Well then, let’s move on to the next part. There are still a lot of people waiting for us."
Maria tilted her head, confused about who exactly was waiting, but she walked alongside him nonetheless.
They moved to a quieter side of Maria Land, away from the bustling main area.
There stood a single, modest stall that looked more like a large tent. Inside, several easels held paintings covered by white cloths.
A group of young boys and girls still in their teens wore paint-splattered aprons, their faces and hands dotted with colorful smudges. They looked like genuine young artists who had been working hard.
When they saw Cassius, they erupted.
"Young master!"
"My lord!"
"You came!"
Cassius raised a hand to settle them before introducing Maria,
"This is Lady Maria, the Saintess of Compassion. I’m sure you’ve all heard of her."
The kids eyes lit up with pure admiration and excitement.
"Of course we know her! Who doesn’t?"
"Oh my God, she’s even more beautiful than the portraits I’ve seen!"
"To think I’d get to meet the actual Saintess today...I’m so happy!"
Maria smiled warmly but felt a little embarrassed by the enthusiastic compliments. Cassius gestured toward the group.
"These enthusiastic group of young boys and girls are actually students from the art academy I support here in town."
"They are all extremely talented, so talented that it almost doesn’t make sense for them to be so young. It’s as if they are the reincarnations of great painters from the past."
The students stood taller, beaming with pride at the high praise from their benefactor.
Cassius continued. "Today I invited them to create something special for us. Even though it was a very last-minute request and they had no obligation to help—they all dropped everything, didn’t sleep the whole night, and worked tirelessly just for this moment."
"An opportunity like this?" The oldest boy interrupted, her eyes shining. "We would never give it up! Painting for the Young Master? It’s nothing!"
The others nodded vigorously.
"Nothing at all!"
"We’d stay up all week for him!"
Maria realized with quiet surprise that Cassius was the one funding and running the art academy.
Art education was usually extremely expensive and reserved for the nobility. The fact that he had opened it to commoners explained why these kids looked up to him like an idol. He was quite literally handing them the chance to pursue their dreams.
She looked at Cassius with open admiration, which made him blush slightly and wave his hand.
"There’s no need to get so noisy. This is why children like you are quite a handful to deal with."
One of the girls immediately crossed her arms and teased him.
"What are you saying, Young Master? You’re treating us like children, but you’re only three years older than me!"
The others quickly joined in, giggling. "Yeah! You’re still super young yourself!"
"You’re basically a kid too!"
Maria blinked.
She had known, that Cassius was young. Nineteen, she recalled someone mentioning.
But she hadn’t really thought about it, hadn’t let herself think about it because thinking about it meant confronting the gap between them.
The years between her age and his. The fact that she was old enough to be his mother.
Normally, that thought would have filled her with shame. She would have seen herself as an old cow trying to eat new grass, a disgrace, someone to be pitied and mocked.
But right now, watching Cassius laugh and banter with these young artists, she felt only...shyness.
Embarrassment, yes. But not shame.
Because she no longer cared what others thought.
She was happy. Truly, deeply happy. And Cassius made her feel that way.
She realized, in that moment, just how close he had become to her heart. How thoroughly he had embedded himself there.
And she didn’t want to remove him.
Cassius, noticing her expression, stepped closer.
"Maria? Are you alright?"
She looked up at him and smiled.
"I’m fine, Cassius." She squeezed his hand. "I’m more than fine."
He studied her for a moment, then smiled back.
"Good."
He turned to the easels.
"Now. Are you ready to see what they painted for you?"
Maria nodded enthusiastically, her eyes bright with anticipation. Whatever Cassius had planned next, she was ready. After everything she had seen today, she had learned to expect the extraordinary.
Cassius turned to the young artists and nodded.
"Go ahead. Show her."
The students exchanged excited glances. Then, together, they reached for the cloths covering their easels and pulled.
Maria gasped.
Her hand flew to her mouth, covering the sound, but her eyes—wide, shimmering, disbelieving said everything her voice could not.
"These...these are..."
She couldn’t finish the sentence. She could only stare in awe and shock at the paintings before her.