“Unroll the painting.”
“Copy, Ms. Bonnie.”
Floyd gave the order for the bodyguards to do so immediately.
Kobe knew that he’d be the joke the moment he saw Floyd greet Bonnie.
‘This explains why she could tell my painting is a fake. It turns out she’s extremely close to the head of the Knight family. Of course she could see Kieran’s painting whenever she wanted to. Otherwise, she couldn’t have been so sure that my painting was fake.’
After the painting Floyd brought was unrolled, everyone compared both of the paintings in the area that Bonnie pointed out. As expected, there was a subtle difference between them.
Similar thoughts ran through everyone’s heads. ‘Truth be told, no one would’ve been able too catch the difference unless they inspected it closely with a magnifying glass. How did Bonnie see it exactly?’
The art exhibition came to a close and Orson saw her out with a smile on his face.
“I’m very curious about something, Ms. Bonnie. I’d appreciate it greatly if you could clarify it for me.”
“There’s no need to speak so formally, Orson. Go ahead.”
“Alright, then. I’ll get straight to the point. I don’t think you could’ve told that Kobe’s painting was a fake, even if you stared at Master Kieran’s painting every day.
“If I’m correct, this isn’t about you gluing your eyeballs to Master Kieran’s painting in the Knight Villa every single day. There’s more to it.”
Orson didn’t form his theory out of thin air, either. After all, Kobe spent a hundred and eighty million dollars on it. His rival must’ve spent a long time studying it and only bought once he was sure the painting was authentic.
Moreover, she was able to see that Kobe’s painting was a fake in less than a minute.
“That’s why I deduced that you’re very intimate with Master Kieran’s works. D-Do you know her in person, Ms. Bonnie?”
She raised her delicate brows and looked at him.
‘I didn’t think Orson is still this logical and calm. It took him a short time to analyze the situation in this meticulous manner.’ “Yeah. I guess you can say that.”
Orson’s eyes sparkled when he heard her response. “I have a rather crude request, Ms. Bonnie. I’ve admired Master Kieran for my entire life. Can you please put in a good word for me and tell her that I want to be her apprentice?”
That stunned her a little. “U-Um… This might be too…”
He was worried that she might turn him down. So, he added hastily, “The truth is that I have had the honor of seeing her once.”
“You’ve seen me… Ahem… Her. You’ve seen her before?” She almost let the truth slip.
He was still gripped with excitement, and didn’t notice the loophole in her words. He kept going. “Master Kieran has just shown her face once. I saw her at an auction seventeen years ago. She was merely three years old then.
“I just so happened to be sitting next to her. However, I didn’t know who she was back then. I simply thought she was one of the bidder’s daughters. Then, I saw her walking out of the venue all by herself. “She was just a three-year-old child, and no adults were accompanying her. She was about as old as Kay. I got worried that she might run into some problems if she went out alone. So, I tailed her. “As expected, there were two malicious thugs who followed her. They were going to kidnap her, but I ordered my bodyguards to subdue them.
“I still couldn’t stop worrying about her after that. So, I continued to tail her to a candy store. The store owner wouldn’t sell her candy because she was just a child. So, I stepped forward and bought the candy for her.”
At that moment, she was staring at him, surprised.
‘I seem to recall that someone bought me candies in the past. However, I didn’t know that he subdued the thugs and kept me safe.
‘I did learn some shadowboxing skills from Master Arturo back then, but I was still so young. It was nearly impossible for me to defend myself if the bad guys snuck up on me. Things might have gotten more complicated if he had not taken care of them.
Orson continued. “Once the auction started, I returned to the auction with Master Kieran. That was when I got to know that the insanely expensive painting was drawn by the same three-year-old girl. “Imagine my surprise when I finally found out about it! I wanted to be her apprentice back then, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. I can’t find her after the auction ended.”
Then he sighed heavily. Evidently, he was feeling sorry for himself.
“With that said…” He added and looked at her with hope in his eyes. “I found out that you knew Master Kieran in person today. This must be the universe’s way of letting me see her again. Perhaps it is my destiny to become her apprentice after all!”
