The Versatile Master Artist

Knowing full well that checking her phone while having company was somewhat impolite, Anna still didn’t hesitate much before picking up her phone and lighting up the screen.

Whenever she chatted with Lady Detective Cat, the girl always felt extremely relaxed.

In the virtual world of conversations,

Anna only needed to play her role as ”Mr. Tree Sloth,” without much presence of money and benefits - everything was just about art.

Even if it’s only a moment of rest.

Anna also hoped to temporarily step away from the chaos and entanglement in front of her, like a quagmire, and gain a moment of respite.

”Hi! I suddenly have some inspiration in my heart, and I have redone a cover illustration for ’The Little Prince.’ I feel this painting’s impact is much stronger than my previous work. Can you check with the Scholastic Group’s Little Prince project team to see if it’s convenient to change the submission?”

Another cover illustration?

Anna tilted her head slightly and was a bit taken aback, breaking into silent laughter at Detective Cat’s request.

”No need to dwell on the past, ’The Little Prince’ project is already completed, and you did a great job before. You can relax for a bit now, and I’ll keep an eye out for your next suitable contract. As for the cover illustration, let’s forget about it; it’s never been customary to change submissions of this nature voluntarily...”

Anna didn’t bother with Osborne beside her and continued typing on her phone.

From a professional agent’s perspective, Detective Cat’s suggestion was actually quite unprofessional.

The illustration industry is always about client satisfaction; that’s the ultimate measure of success.

It’s never been reasonable for illustrators to create trouble for themselves voluntarily.

Even though Anna has high artistic standards, she wouldn’t suggest changing a submission after a contract has been completed.

The daily operations of a large publishing house resemble countless star-shaped gears meshing together.

They have their own workflow.

Just like an industrial assembly line.

After the Painter completes the commission, the pages go through fine typesetting, followed by the final proofread by an editor, then begins the printing process and channel partner coordination...

Once submitted, once the publisher verifies the illustrations, they move into the next project schedule.

At this point, wanting to change submissions isn’t something that could be decided by ’The Little Prince’ project team alone.

Many matters require a start-over, adding much unnecessary workload.

Even the publisher won’t thank you for being rigorous but will see you as a Painter who exaggerates and is overly fussy.

”This sister is quite a rookie.”

Anna could sense that Lady Detective Cat didn’t understand the many business processes in the industry at all.

These requests are genuinely unprofessional. If she had once struggled in this related field, she would never have mentioned changing a submission.

It’s simply naive and silly,

Silly...

”How adorable!”

Anna would never blame the other party for such matters.

She quite liked this aspect.

Because Elina isn’t a professional intermediary who lives off earning commission from agency contracts either.

Perhaps nine and a half out of ten illustration agents would criticize the Painter for wasting time on meaningless things.

Yet Anna admires the other’s pure and persistent attitude toward art.

She chuckled lightly.

After hesitating for a moment, Anna typed: ”Changing the submission might not be appropriate, but since you have created a new work, I would always be delighted to appreciate your art as an ordinary audience. Even if purely from an artistic perspective to witness a beautiful painting, I would be very eager.”

”Me too.”

Detective Cat replied: ”When completing this painting, I thought that if not for Mr. Tree Sloth’s contribution, I wouldn’t be able to finish this work anyway. So even if this picture has only you as the audience, I am still completely satisfied. Then, let’s simply toast to art.”

Anna’s lips curled into a genuinely sweet smile.

[Even if you are the only audience, I am still very happy. Then, let’s simply toast to art.]

This was the most comforting sentence Anna had heard on this frustrating afternoon. It was like a stream of cool ice water flowing into her heart.

The girl even felt,

She didn’t need to look at the picture at all.

Simply hearing Detective Cat utter such words that resonated with her was enough to make Miss Elina happy and gratified.

A few seconds later,

The other party sent the scanned image of the artwork.

Anna’s phone notified her of a large image received.

Yilena Manor’s internet speed was fast, and within a few seconds, the cellphone had loaded this cover illustration.

”The new cover illustration is not much different from the previous one... hmm?”

Anna slowly became dazed.

Initially, when she saw the artwork at first glance, she subconsciously thought this painting had no fundamental changes from the previous work.

It’s exactly the same composition, the same painting style, and even the boy’s posture of sitting on the sand dunes with knees hugged is identical.

However,

In almost an instant, Anna had already sensed that the two paintings were utterly different.

Even...

These weren’t works of the same caliber!

That vivid sensation,

That deep emotion and loneliness flowing forth from the canvas,

Only very few works that Miss Elina had wandered among in her manor’s sea of Name Family collections since childhood could evoke such a feeling in Anna——

An electric tingle straight to the heart!

No matter whether these artwork creators were famous or their techniques outstanding, all that directly impacted Anna’s soul was her most treasured collection, priceless.

These works encapsulated the painstaking effort of Painters throughout history.

The canvas surface wasn’t just covered with paint but condensed with their joys, sorrows, their life’s passion and desolation.

This was the ultimate crystallization of a Painter’s heart and soul.

Even if the author just labeled on the scroll was a minor artist from the Milan School, or even its creator couldn’t leave their name in history.

Miss Elina still regarded these collections as treasures.

Such bodily emotional resonance, even faster than brain thought, made Anna realize——

At this moment,

She was holding such a masterpiece in her hands! A masterpiece with the subject matter of her favorite ’The Little Prince’! A masterpiece that Lady Detective Cat painted with her help!

”Unbelievable, dreamlike. In terms of technique, this work isn’t any better than the last one, or rather, Detective Cat Sister’s original painting knife painting technique level was already astonishingly excellent. But how did this lifelike and expressive gaze, this deeply laid emotion on the painting surface... how was it drawn?”

Miss Elina even felt like everything before her was like a dream.

Not long ago,

She even prayed beneath the walnut tree, hoping one day Detective Cat Sister could, through the emotional resonance between them, paint a piece that represents the intense emotions hidden within her heart.

Hours later,

This painting was held in her hands in the form of a photo... No, it was even better than she had prayed for.

Anna’s greatest luxury, in fact, was only hoping Detective Cat could pick up a few fine scattered pearls from her heart’s sea.

Incorporate them into her strokes, occasionally stirring a few strings deep within her heart.

In that way, Anna thought it would be incredibly joyful and fortunate already.

But now,

A magnificent symphony played with big and small pearls falling onto a jade plate.

What Detective Cat painted was far from simply picking up a couple of pearls, or a breeze brushing past Anna’s heartstrings could describe.

Miss Elina felt like the floodgates of her heart’s sea were opened by the other party, with tides pouring down, and she felt as if she had become a swimming fish, seamlessly merging into the screen before her.

The starlight in Detective Cat’s every stroke,

Is all of her thoughts and sentiments.

Miss Elina’s heart’s sea rippled with waves, her back muscles tensed, and she couldn’t help but blink.

At this moment,

Anna’s emotional fluctuation exceeded even when she was pressured by cousin Ole just now. The girl couldn’t maintain her composure any longer, her eyes began to brim with tears.

In the manor’s drawing-room, the first to notice Anna’s unusual emotion was her beloved dog, August.

The Springer Spaniel originally baring its teeth to scare Ole turned its big dog head back.

It found its owner’s eyes were slightly wet, yet the dog vaguely sensed Anna didn’t seem sad, and instead emitted a peculiar... sense of comfort and joy?

August was a smart dog, but Anna’s odd emotional change left it puzzled.

It extended its long, pink tongue and licked its black nose tip, rotating its head in confusion, trying to figure out what had transpired.