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Sophie was truly wealthy-this painting must cost at least at thousand gold coins.
Rebecca deeply regretted her decision. In her pursuit to bring. someone like Freya into the Jaffe family, she had effectively driven away her golden opportunity. If this painting had been hers, it would have ensured that the Jaffes wouldn’t need to worry about money for at least the next two or three years.
“That’s not Mr. Spencer’s painting,” said Adelaide, Dakota’s daughter-in-law. She stood up and shook her head. “The craftsmanship is very similar, but this is a fake.”
Adelaide Quinton was the queen, Kylie’s cousin, and a legitimate daughter of the Quinton family’s second branch. At fifteen, she stunned everyone at the Spring Festival with a painting and a poem created in less than half an hour. Dakota hosted that year’s Spring Festival. Shortly after, Adelaide was betrothed to Dakota’s son, Kendrick.
Renowned for her literary and artistic talents, Adelaide’s claim that the painting was a fake was taken seriously by most attendees. The crowd began to murmur.
“Lady Devin brought a fake painting as a gift? To think she would do such a thing!”
“It’s better to send nothing than to present a fake.”
“But this painting is so exquisite! It doesn’t look like a fake.”
“A fake is a fake. Can Lady Adelaide’s judgment be wrong? She is known for her poetry and painting.”
Jesicca was fuming. “A fake? Sophie, you dared to present a fake to my mother?”
She had suspected Sophie wouldn’t have spent a fortune on Kyle’s painting. Besides, Kyle’s works were not easily acquired.
“You truly are despicable! If you can’t afford a proper gift, don’t give one at alll”
“No, it’s not a fake.”
The noble lady who had initially declared the painting to be by Kyle stepped forward. She was Rosalind Young, the granddaughter of the royal chancellor, Trevor Young.
Adelaide smiled faintly at Rosalind. “Lady Young, I have an orchid. painting by Mr. Spencer in my residence, so I can distinguish between genuine and fake. This imitation is indeed remarkable, but it’s still a fake. Look at the seal: Mr. Spencer uses a small, unique monogram to mark his works. However, this one has a larger monogram. They are not the same.
Everyone looked at the monogram on the painting, which was indeed a larger size.
However, few present had seen Kyle’s work in person and didn’t know what seal he used. Since Adelaide had a collection of Kyle’s work and was saying so with authority, most believed her.
Rebecca’s heart was somewhat eased. It was a fake after all!
Helen couldn’t bear to watch. Sophie was going to be thoroughly. condemned now.
Jessica was enraged. She tore the painting in half, and threw it on the ground. “Sophie, what is the meaning of this? How dare your present a fake at my mother’s birthday banquet?”
“No!” Rosalind lamented, rushing to pick up the torn painting. “This is not a fake! It’s genuine! What a shame!”
Adelaide let out a chuckle. “Lady Rosalind, did you not hear clearly? The monogram on the painting is wrong. Shall I send for the orchid painting I have for you to verify?” However, Rosalind remained serious.
“My family also possesses two of Mr. Spencer’s orchid paintings. He painted both personally in our backyard, with my grandfather present. Each painting depicts a different orchid, and the monograms on them -one was small, and the other was large. They were both used by Mr. Spencer. In fact, he has more than just these two styles of monograms.”
She revealed the monogram of the torn orchid painting.
“This monogram is identical to the one in my family’s painting. My grandfather is here today, right outside the main hall. If anyone has any doubts, he can verify it.”
Adelaide was taken aback, but she shook her head. “That’s impossible! It’s well known that all of Mr. Spencer’s sold paintings have a small monogram to mark his works.”
“That’s correct. Hence, one of my family’s paintings was purchased, and the other was a gift from Mr. Spencer. The gifted one is marked with the larger monogram,” Rosalind shot back. Adelaide found herself in an awkward position, unaware of such details.
Jessica sneered. “Doesn’t that make sense? Sophie’s painting could only be bought. How could Kyle have gifted her a painting? Since it wasn’t gifted, the fact that it has a larger monogram to mark the work must mean it’s a fake!”
The audience murmured in agreement.
How could Kyle have gifted Sophie a painting? Even if it was given to her father or family, it would be a treasured heirloom. Why would she give it away so easily to Eleanor?
Helen looked at Sophie with a mixture of disappointment and anger. She had just started to develop a slight fondness for Sophie, which now vanished. Bringing a counterfeit to deceive others-how could she expect her son to marry such a person and not become a laughingstock?
Sophie smiled lightly. “I know my senior’s paintings are hard to come by. Today, I thought it fitting to present one for Grand Princess Eleanor’s birthday. It’s a pity that my senior’s painstaking effort was torn apart like this.”
Everyone gasped.
Senior? Kyle was her senior?!
“Are you saying that Kyle is your senior? That you both apprenticed under the same guild?!” Adelaide exclaimed.
“Yes, I am an apprentice of the Pathfinders Guild, where Kyle is a senior apprentice, therefore my senior. Didn’t you all know?” Sophie responded calmly.
A collective gasp spread through the crowd as they looked at the orchid painting in Rosalind’s hands.
Someone cried, “So this painting is real? It’s such a pity it was destroyed!”
However, Eleanor was still skeptical. How could Sophie present her with such a valuable painting?
She loudly proclaimed, “Guard, call for the royal chancellor!”
Trevor was in the outer courtyard with the male guests. Eleanor’s husband, Henry Kingsley, was entertaining them.
Rafael had also arrived earlier. The ladies were conversing in the inner courtyard, and it was improper for the men to enter. So, he sat idly, hoping the banquet would end smoothly.
If Sophie was harassed, she would likely fight back. Still, he came to keep an eye on things just in case.
When someone from the inner courtyard came out to invite Trevor to authenticate Kyle’s painting, it startled the civil officials present. They admired Kyle greatly, and even the opportunity to just appreciate his work was considered a high honor.
Thus, everyone stood up, eager to join the appraisal, including the renowned physician, Sebastian.
Due to the need to segregate men and women, Eleanor ordered partition screens to be set up. After the space had been divided, she invited Trevor, the princes, and officials inside.
Rafael naturally followed, but with the partition screens in place, he couldn’t see Sophie.
When the torn painting was handed to Trevor by Eleanor’s steward, Trevor gasped.
“It’s torn?”
The officials gathered around to see, all drawing sharp breaths. Some, who had long admired Kyle, felt as if a piece of their hearts had been cut out. Ignoring the presence of Eleanor, they lamented, “If this is a genuine piece, what a pity it is!”
Trevor’s face turned ashen with anger. “What do you mean, ‘If this is a genuine piece’? This is a genuine piece! How could it have been torn? Who did this?!”
Trevor’s voice trembled, a dull pain creeping into his heart. Though his residence housed two of Kyle’s paintings, this was a genuine piece.