The Versatile Master Artist

”The name Elina is not as important as life in everyone’s eyes.” Ole grinned grimly: ”Some people can’t wait to erase all traces of you.”

Anna’s eyes were icy, her breath unsteady.

Ole stood up: ”Cousin, look at what Sir Brown is doing, do you now believe I genuinely care for you and that my earlier suggestions were for your own good?”

Anna felt a wave of nausea.

The dog August next to her barked more fiercely, as Anna gently stroked its head to soothe it.

She felt this world was truly absurd.

Sir Brown was like this, as were Mr. Krueger and Cousin Ole.

They always spoke with an air of considering your best interests, treating you like an immature girl needing guidance, wanting you to proceed according to their prescriptions and will.

Whether with a carrot or a spur.

Your resistance, your perseverance, your struggles,

to them, seemed merely like the barking of a snarling little dog.

Miss Ilina angrily wanted to shout, wanted to throw the aluminum painting tube at Cousin Ole’s slicked-back head.

But she couldn’t do that.

Anna was reluctant to show any extreme anger in front of them right now.

It’s not that Anna wasn’t angry,

but as she once told Lady Detective Cat during a call.

Anger signifies you’ve lost control of the situation, signifies your weakness.

As the owner of Yilena Manor.

In such times, you should always remain calm and composed.

Anna was truly tired, though.

”Is this your threat?”

Anna forced herself to smile, even if it was a bitter, cold smile.

”Alright, I’ll consider the proposal to give a joint lecture with Sir Brown.”

She couldn’t back down at times like this.

Anna already anticipated that the speech at the annual meeting could turn into a form of public humiliation.

Perhaps she could take the opportunity to publicly criticize the mismanagement by Oil Painting’s leadership, but it wouldn’t mean much.

Sir Brown is a veteran in the field.

He once served as the director of the Eindhoven City Museum in Holland and is still an academician of the French Academy of Arts and an honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Arts in the United Kingdom.

Apart from stance and character, anyone must acknowledge he’s an academic authority.

During Sir Brown’s academic career, he published three art papers of A&HCI class.

He also earned the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for his senior research in Ancient Egypt wall painting studies and the social contributions made by Oil Painting magazine in the art field, uniquely obtaining the title of ”Sir” as a foreigner.

Socially, he enjoys the same prestige as Sir Humphrey from the famous British drama ”Yes, Minister.”

In front of such an honored elder scholar, even the Prime Minister would have to be courteous and polite.

Compared to him, Anna, in the eyes of social opinion, is merely an ignorant young girl with the surname ”Elina.”

When they dare to invite you to speak on stage after Sir Brown, they’re not afraid you can overturn the heavens.

Her extreme remarks, juxtaposed with Sir Brown’s manuscript and the backdrop of Krug Brothers Bank’s funding, would appear as a sort of clumsy performance by a Joker about to be chased out of the circus on stage.

However,

Anna still had to appear with her head held high, as the last heir of the Ilyena family.

If this year’s annual meeting is a farewell ceremony of the Ilyena family to Oil Painting.

She, the leading character, had no choice but to stand on the farewell stage, representing her ancestors, a duty Anna could not shirk from birth.

Ding! Dong!

Anna was silent for a long time, just as she was about to say something more.

The phone beside her rang.

Only a few friends have her contact information. Unless necessary, most daily communications are handled by the butler, and only a few people are set with a notification sound by Anna.

She glanced at the phone screen.

[Miss Kate has sent you a new message!]

Anna commonly used two Apple phones.

One was for daily socializing under the identity of ”Lady Yelena.”

The other, named ”Mr. Tree Sloth,” was used for programs, contacting recording guests, logging into the Apple Podcast backend for verification.

Both phones were linked using the social integration software [Dual Messenger for WhatsApp], allowing her to send and receive corresponding messages from either iPhone.

Anna realized that the notification was for new information on Mr. Tree Sloth’s social account.

Miss Kate?

Anna paused slightly.

The surname Kate and the sound of Cat are very similar, a nickname code she thought of after signing to become the manager for the painter Detective Cat.

The close staff at the manor all had confidentiality agreements, and Anna trusted these elder’s professional ethics.

But to prevent unnecessary people from seeing the phone and making irrelevant connections, avoiding trouble, Anna always hid the content related to her Mr. Tree Sloth’s side very well.

It is Anna’s private little secret.

Contacting her at this time...