Those words would later change history.
At the age of five, Lady Maris became conscious of beauty and determinedly worked to lose weight. Under the guidance of a doctor, she switched to having only vegetable salads for breakfast, reduced her snacks, and engaged in activities like tag with the other servants’ children (which doubled as running practice), yoga exercises I came up with, and social dance lessons. She safely reached the standard weight for a five-year-old.
But a princess isn’t defined by her appearance alone. Her tutors seized the opportunity to instill proper manners and etiquette, constantly reinforcing, “A princess must also have beautiful comportment. Don’t worry, my lady—you’re still young and have plenty of time to perfect yourself. You can do it with determination!” Her academic teachers, too, pushed her, saying, “A princess must also rule alongside her prince, which means she must be intelligent!” These efforts kept Lady Maris focused, and to everyone’s surprise, she stopped throwing tantrums and dedicated herself to her studies.
By the time she reached her ideal weight, Lady Maris had transformed into a stunningly beautiful young girl. However, with only ten days left until the young lord’s birthday, I had to complete her portrait. Through sheer determination, I finished two paintings: one of her sitting gracefully in a dress and another of her laughing like an angel, adorned with a flower crown in a meadow.
Why two paintings? Something told me the young lord would prefer that one.
As expected, Lord Mikhail was enchanted by the meadow painting and displayed it in his bedroom.
In the years that followed, Lord Mikhail and Lady Maris had a harmonious marriage, becoming one of the kingdom’s most beloved couples and raising two sons and two daughters.
As for me, I married Lord Mikhail’s handsome attendant, Lloyd, and served as the nursemaid for Lady Maris’s eldest daughter (the future queen) and second daughter (who would marry a neighboring duke). Naturally, I was roped into painting their portraits as well.
Later, the ducal family’s motto, “Achieve anything with determination,” became a famous saying passed down by each head of the household.
I became known as the official nursemaid, maid, and portrait artist of the ducal family. My portraits gained a reputation for bringing happiness to brides when gifted to their future in-laws. This led to a flood of commissions from nobles, but I only accepted requests from Lady Maris’s family and close acquaintances.
Let’s be real—I couldn’t paint and care for children at the same time.
After my death, my paintings sold for astronomical sums, and my name went down in history as the kingdom’s first renowned female artist.
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