Almighty painter

Chapter 204 Proposal
in the living room,

Ole and his female companion are sitting under the tree-shaped crystal chandelier. The wall on the left is recessed inward, revealing a peach-brown five-tier bookshelf and a collection of ancient hardcover books with gilt covers above.

Austrian-style old-school houses will regard books as part of the architectural furnishings. For example, there are more than 240 million various ancient books and parchments in the famous New Hofburg Palace.

"My God, there must be millions of pages here, I don't understand, will anyone really read these books?"

Before entering the house, the unsmoked lady's cigarettes and the lighter were confiscated politely but firmly by the housekeeper.

The sexy girl who came to Europe from Hollywood to develop was slightly unhappy.

But the other party's attention soon fell on the set of "Encyclopedia Britannica" published in 1875 in dark blue leather on the upper shelf.

She was half amazed, half puzzled and casually asked: "Is it just a bluff?"

"It's just a decoration. It's been there for a century. I guess unless I have some special interest in certain entries in the Victorian International Exhibition of Industry, I probably can't think of any reason to look through them."

Anna didn't care about the girl's carefree tone, and made a slight joke.

"I guess that's it. When I was a guest at so-and-so's house in Beverly Hills, that whore's big bookshelf was almost never turned over. It was just used to pretend to be an intellectual lady in front of reporters."

The girl casually mentioned the name of another star who was also famous for her sexiness and had snatched her the chance to be the leading actress in an A-level big-budget movie, she nodded with a look like that.

"Uh...don't mind, I'm not talking about you, nothing else."

The girl also realized that her words were a bit impolite.

She turned her head and smiled at Anna, "Miss Irina, I'm really envious of your skin care."

"Ego American."

Ole silently mouthed "This is the Yankee" to his cousin, and shrugged quietly, as if you still expect Uncle Sam to know what education is.

His gaze also swept across the four-meter-high bookshelf for a moment.

Ole knows that her cousin is a very literary person, and she has maintained a very self-disciplined reading habit since she was a child.

This vintage bookshelf is tall and more aesthetic than functional.

To get the books on the upper two shelves requires a special small ladder, and because Cousin Anna's legs are inconvenient, it is almost purely for decoration.

But the collection of books on the bottom shelf, almost every time he came to the manor to give lectures, many of them would be replaced.

Obviously read carefully.

On the table in the center of the bookshelf, Ole saw a copy of "The Core of Destiny" by Graham Greene and "The Little Prince" with slightly curled and yellowed pages.

These two books seem to have been read by the owner of the manor just yesterday or this morning, and have not been put back.

This "The Little Prince" is an old face,

Ole frowned quietly.

From childhood to adulthood, the books on the bookshelf have been changed several times, but he can almost see the existence of this fairy tale book in the center of the bookshelf.
He remembered that when he entered,

The name "The little prince" was also written on the cover of the brand new white paper that Cousin Anna was holding.

It seems that

My cousin still has a fascinated attachment to this fairy tale just like when she was a child.

When Ole just wanted to brag about his Hollywood past and gossip secrets with Anna, Ole interrupted her at the right time and got to the point.

"Happy birthday, Cousin Anna. It's a pity that my father was in Philadelphia recently to discuss an important bank acquisition and couldn't attend your 22nd birthday party."

"He asked me to say hello to our beautiful Countess, and wish you good health."

Ole did not hand over the gift to the housekeeper for filing, but directly handed it to Anna, "Take a look, my dad specially selected the birthday present for you."

"August, when will I take you to my house to play? I also recently raised a golden retriever named Rachel, she is a gentle beauty."

At the same time, Ole greeted the big dog on one side, and reached out to touch the other's ear.

August rolled his eyes in a very humane way.

It proudly scratched its chin with its hind legs, and moved a little over a dozen centimeters to one side, before precisely avoiding the palm of this slut.

"Cousin, your August is still as cool as before, just like you, it's just so cold."

Ole shook his head helplessly.

People say that pets are like owners.

In the eyes of outsiders, this big hound is simply aloof and graceful.

He wanted to seize the opportunity to touch each other since he was a child, but he almost got bitten by it twice.

Anna ignored the other party's ridicule and accepted the other party's gift.

Not long after she turned 20, she completed her credits in college and graduated with honors.

He worked for about a year until he was suspended by Sir Brown, the head of "Oil Painting" magazine.

Today is her 22nd birthday.

The large tea party in the manor was a social banquet held to celebrate Anna's birthday.

She pulled out a ten-inch small oil painting on canvas from the small oil painting tube Ole handed her.

It was a portrait of a dignified little girl in a palace dress with her bare back, and beside it was a document that was also rolled up.

This is an insurance deposit certificate, according to the contents of the document,

This painting was exhibited at the special exhibition of the Rococo court at the Kunsthalle Berlin in 2007. At that time, the insured price of the insurance company was [-] euros.

"The portrait of Princess Teresa, the daughter of Louis XVI, is from Mrs. Le Brun, with traces of restoration. My father met it in a pawn shop some time ago. It cost about 27 euros. It's not expensive, but I guess you should like."

Madame Le Brun was a court painter at the end of the Bourbon dynasty and a close friend in the boudoir of Queen Mary of the Severed Head.

Her painting skills are not as famous as those great Rococo painters like Boucher and Walter.

But she was one of the few famous female artists in European classical history before the modern Impressionist master Miss Mary.

Don't have a special commemorative significance.

"Very valuable gift, thank you."

Anna nodded slightly in gratitude, "Say hello to Mr. Kruger for me. If it's convenient, I would like to invite him to my home during the Christmas holiday this year..."

A birthday gift worth 30 euros is quite generous in a family like theirs.

"Of course, this refers to if your father wasn't busy at that time... or if he wasn't angry with me." Anna said lightly.

"Uh……"

Ole's mouth opened.

"It's not hard to guess, right? Regarding the cover of Mr. Hyperion's video, it should be quite polite to say it angrily. You know, Mr. Kruger is not the only one who didn't come to the birthday party this year."

Anna didn't seem to care much.

She smiled, and straightened the small gauze crown on her head with her hands: "My place is much quieter."

The Thomas video fell like a boulder into Anna's life.

Van Doorn's social media bashing and the suspension from Oil Painting were just a small ripple in the mix.The biggest undercurrent is the part under the lake that ordinary people can't see.

The dissatisfaction of those old European Chinese.

This has nothing to do with Detective Cat or Van Dorn, it's because of Miss Irina's self-introduction——

"Just call me Anna. I'm not a countess. I'm not one of those British people who like to associate with the royal family. I'm just an ordinary citizen of Austria. If there's anything special, it's because I'm born lame."

After obtaining Anna's consent, Thomas specially made this sentence into the cover of Mr. Hyperion's channel video to attract network traffic.

in fact,

Anna's speech is quite dangerous.

The social atmosphere of North America, Canada, and France where Thomas is located, which is not too cold for monarchy and aristocracy, may be fine.

But in more conservative European regions, it is quite taboo for public figures in the upper class to spray the royal family.

Foreign countries still have bans, which is the so-called Cancel culture.

In addition to making racial discrimination and animal cruelty speeches, attacking the monarch is also a taboo.

Unless the audience of your program is such a group, it is easy to be banned for spraying the royal family.

The most typical example is Clarkson, the famous BBC host nicknamed Gorilla, one of the highest-paid TV hosts in the world, and the godfather of car culture.

Not long ago, Amazon officially announced that he had canceled the cooperation with the next season of the new show because he sprayed Prince Harry and his wife in the newspaper.

Amazon is still an American company.

Considering Anna's status, her words made the relatives and old friends of the Irina family sound a bit rebellious.

It's so harsh!
This is not what it was 20 years ago.

From Spain to the Netherlands, and even the British royal family, which has been as stable as Mount Tai for 300 years, the royal families of this generation in these remaining monarchy countries are somewhat precarious, and the popularity of the people continues to decline.

At this point in time,
It is understandable that some people were offended by Anna's opening remarks in a Youtube video with more than [-] million views.

"Cousin, it's really hard for people to accept talking like that."

Ole shook his head: "Especially this year is so special. I heard that there is a reason why your name did not appear on the list of guests invited to attend the coronation of the new British monarch in Westminster. "

He crossed his hands on his knees and said, "The last time the Elena family was not invited was a century ago in 1910. That time was because of the war, but this time..."

"This time it's because I told the truth that no one wants to hear. Everyone would rather live in the old dream, but I have the courage to wake up alone."

Anna asked calmly.

There was a moment of silence in the air. Cousin Ole stopped talking and played with the nails on his palm with his head down.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
The sexy actress on one side applauded softly.

There were stars in her eyes: "Wow, Sister Anna, you are so cool, are you interested in developing in the film industry? You can become the next Princess of Monaco."

The Princess of Monaco she refers to refers to Grace Kelly, the most famous actress in Hollywood in the 50s and Hitchcock's queen heroine. She is famous for her grace and elegance, and thus married into the royal family.

Ole's female companion belongs to the kind of very simple self, with some naivety and stupidity, a typical American character.

Just before she entered the door, she casually called Anna a traitor, and even had the jealousy of a beautiful woman seeing an even more beautiful woman.

In an instant, he was conquered by the other party's independent and powerful aura, and began to call the other party sister Anna.

Miss Irene's beauty is not only in appearance,

She is like an exquisite white oriental ivory ball sculpture, the surface is beautiful and moist, and the inner soul is also engraved with gorgeous patterns, powerful and profound.

Anna smiled casually at the other party, not wanting to answer such meaningless questions.

She turned her head to look at Cousin Ole and changed the subject on her own initiative.

"Since Mr. Kruger is so dissatisfied with me, but still willing to send such an expensive birthday present, is there anything I can do?"

Anna asked casually.

"Cousin thinks too much. Even if my father is slightly dissatisfied, he still cares about you." Ole smiled mischievously.

"As for Uncle Kara, I may need to mention it to my cousin. Anna, have you met him before?"

"Uncle Kara? The housekeeper conveyed his invitation to invite me to watch the horse race, but I declined. I met him briefly at the birthday party, and I left in the name of feeling unwell."

Anna frowned slightly and thought about it.

A birthday party is held, or there are so many balls and so many salons in Europe in the old days.

The main purpose is to invite people in the upper circles to strengthen their contacts, connect with each other, and then talk about business with each other.

part of traditional social etiquette,

It is very similar to the modern rich who like to play golf. They are all public activities with potential social attributes greater than actual celebration and fitness attributes.

Anna was one of those rent-collecting landladies,
It's just that compared with ordinary landlords, she has more land.

In terms of property, the main assets are all kinds of real estate. On the contrary, there are not many involved in modern finance, and they are also managed by professional financial managers such as Schönbrunn Palace.

She had never been interested in such social gatherings.

Today I casually showed my face and said a few words, then slipped away to hide in the walnut grove to paint quietly.

"Now that you mention it...he really seemed hesitant to speak at that time." Anna pondered for a moment, "He didn't mean to ask Mr. Kruger to borrow money, did he?"

Uncle Carla is Aunt Anna's younger brother,

Her personality is completely different from Anna's elegant and elegant aunt. She likes racing cars, horse racing, beautiful yachts, and playing Texas Hold'em.

Then again,
It's actually pretty old-school European swinger style.

This kind of aristocratic children was almost everywhere from St. Petersburg to Berlin in the [-]th century, whether it was Tsarist Russia or Prussia.

Even the favorite hobbies are not fundamentally different from those of their predecessors two centuries ago, and the prodigals can't lose anything new.

At most, the tool of gambling has changed from playing classical whist bridge to playing Texas Hold'em.

It's just that the endings of the prodigal sons are similar.

Especially after the collapse of the empire and the decline of the aristocracy.

Basically, whoever comes out with one, the grandson will tie his grandpa's headshot to a wooden board as a dart target, throw darts with gritted teeth at night, and deliver food on a bicycle during the day.

It is not very common to be defeated today.

My aunt hadn't had much contact with this dishonest younger brother before she was alive, and only occasionally helped her a few times.

Anna didn't even want to meet Ole's cousin privately like she did with Ole's cousin. She just greeted her in a hurry at noon.

"Almost. He approached the bank in which our family has a stake a while ago, and wanted to get an interest-free loan of 450 million euros."

"It is said that……"

Cousin Ole checked Anna's face, and said cautiously: "I heard that I want to build something [Irina NFT digital art blockchain exchange], the venture capital department read his proposal and said, um, uh , is not very feasible.”

"Not too feasible?" Anna asked slowly.

"The original words of the risk control manager are rubbish that can be used to wipe your ass. For a person who wants to obtain an interest-free loan of several million euros, even a liar should not be so unprofessional. Not calling the police is already watching For your sake."

Of course, Ole knew that the other party just wanted to knock out a sum of money from the reputation of the name Elena in hundreds of years of art.

"Okay. Thanks for telling me about this, I'll take care of it."

Anna slightly turned her eyes away, stared at the sky outside the window, and said slowly.

"Of course, we definitely didn't grant him the money, but Uncle Carla doesn't seem to be in a good financial situation recently. I personally gave him one hundred thousand euros."

"well done."

Anna nodded and told the butler, "Help me get my checkbook."

The steward bowed to his command.

"I'll help him return the money to you. I'll write you a check for [-] euros, and remember to take it when you leave."

"That's not necessary. Uncle Kara is also my uncle!" Ole smiled.

He is not closely related to Anna.

The reason why they are called brother and sister is because Ole's mother and Aunt Anna are close friends in the boudoir.

The other party is not only Anna's guardian, but also his godmother.

Plus Ole's mother died earlier.

He often came to live in Elena's family when he was a child, so he was always called Cousin Anna.

"No, I insist."

Anna said, "Please keep me informed of this kind of thing in the future, and if I don't answer the phone, please contact my housekeeper."

Ole quietly observed his cousin's expression.

He knew Anna very well,
Know what is the forbidden area in the heart of the other party.

Anna is an idealist with a near-sacred attitude towards art and a very clean freak.

Ole is not at all surprised that the other party would choose that internet artist as the champion because of his persistence in offending Van Dorn in an internet celebrity video.

From small to large.

Cousin Anna was the kind of person who would do such a thing.

She may not care about the status of the countess at all, but it is very important to the reputation of the Irina family in the field of art for hundreds of years.

Someone has violated this territory in her heart.

Ole could imagine the anger in Anna's heart at this moment. He thought that the other party would lose his composure in a rage, and saw the burning flames of fury in her eyes.

But the other party just lowered his head and quietly signed his name on a checkbook worth [-] euros.

Looking at Miss Irina who was forced to be shocked.

A pity suddenly surged in Ole's heart, he ignored the female star next to him, switched to French, and said suddenly.

"Anna, why don't you marry me?"

　The climactic episode starts tomorrow.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)