MLHRGD 41

MLHRGD | Proof (5)

Posted by Ruby, Released on August 2, 2025

#41. Proof (5)

For a moment, silence filled the reception room.

The heated stares of the merchant, whose eyes were wide with shock, and Maria Goriki, whose face was frozen in disbelief, could have been burdensome.

But Sasha stood there calmly, arms crossed.

A moment later—

“F-Forgery?”

The merchant finally regained his senses and shouted.

“What are you talking about! That’s ridiculous—!”

He was so flustered he couldn’t even finish his sentences, panting as he spoke.

Then Maria Goriki followed up by rebuking Sasha.

“How could you slander an innocent man with such a sharp tongue? The lady of the Grand Duke’s household must always be cautious with her words.”

“S-She’s right! If you say such things, someone lowly like me could lose his head!”

Sasha let out a short, incredulous laugh.

So he knows…

Defrauding the Grand Duke was a capital crime punishable by beheading.

And yet he went ahead with it anyway.

That only made it more infuriating.

Maria, perhaps mistaking Sasha’s silence as fear as she fought to contain her rising anger, raised her voice, brimming with confidence.

“You cannot accuse someone without evidence. Apologize at once.”

She was even issuing commands now.

Sasha tilted her head slightly as she stared straight at the shameless Maria.

“Evidence…”

When Sasha murmured the word, the merchant—buoyed by Maria’s support—puffed himself up and snapped back.

“Yes, evidence! Show us evidence! Show us proof that the item I brought is a forgery!”

But he kept glancing nervously at Sasha as he spoke.

To dare say such words to the young mistress of House Volkov…

No one in their right mind would do it.

Yet the merchant did not retract his words or throw himself at her feet to apologize. It was as if he had some powerful backer he trusted to protect him.

Sasha, having sharply read the atmosphere, finally spoke.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll show you proof.”

The merchant’s eyes trembled with unease at her unwavering composure.

She can’t possibly have real evidence… right?

He gulped hard, clinging to that hope.

But then he quickly shook his head to drive away the anxiety.

It wasn’t possible.

This painting was so skillfully crafted that even experienced appraisers had confirmed it as genuine.

There was no way such a young, inexperienced girl could have seen through it.

Even if by some miracle she had guessed correctly…

There’s no way she can actually prove it’s a forgery!

Tabarishi had hated leaving any trace of himself, to the point of not even signing his paintings.

Of course, his unique style made it easy to identify his work at a glance.

But style could be imitated. That’s why experts used two methods to authenticate his work:

First, they would cross-reference the painting’s existence against Tabarishi’s diaries, transaction records, and letters from clients.

Then, multiple experts would analyze the painting and compare their findings before declaring it genuine or fake.

The painting the merchant brought had gone through such procedures and had been certified authentic.

So…

She’s bluffing. There’s no need to worry.

But when the merchant met Sasha’s sharp, unwavering gaze, he was startled again.

It felt as though all the lies he thought were hidden had been laid bare.

As he trembled, Sasha raised her hand.

Flinch!

The merchant recoiled instinctively, and Sasha gave him a crooked smile as she spoke.

“I’ll show you why it’s a forgery—by comparing it to the real painting Tabarishi created.”

“What do you—”

Maria, who had been grumbling, suddenly turned pale as she understood Sasha’s words.

“The Grand Duke is a busy man! We shouldn’t bother him with—wait!”

Maria tried to stop her, but Sasha walked out without hesitation and headed straight for Grand Duke Volkov’s office.

The Grand Duke looked up in surprise as Sasha suddenly appeared.

“What is it?”

“I came to ask for a favor.”

“A favor? From me?”

“Yes.”

Sasha calmly but confidently made her request.

“I’d like to see the late Grand Duke’s collection.”

Grand Duke Volkov did not ask why she suddenly made such a request.

He simply gazed at her for a moment before summoning the butler and ordering him to comply.

At the butler’s command, the storage where the late Grand Duke’s collection was kept was opened.

As the servants carried out Tabarishi’s painting, Her Night, Sasha smiled softly.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“That’s fine. But… may I watch as well?”

“Of course.”

Thus, even the Grand Duke ended up present.

And soon, word spread. Knights, aides, and all manner of people began gathering behind the Grand Duke to watch.

“What’s going on here?”

“I’m not sure. The young mistress is going to show us something?”

Hearing the murmurs, the merchant barely managed to remain standing.

What kind of disaster is this!

He felt like he could lose his mind.

Now he was openly staring at Maria Goriki, silently begging her to do something—anything—to save him.

But Maria didn’t reassure him.

She was just as anxious that things had escalated this far.

Yet the situation had already grown too large to control.

Perhaps if she had sharper instincts, she might have salvaged the situation.

But Maria had grown up her entire life as a noblewoman who never needed quick thinking or survival skills.

There was no way she could contain the sudden chaos caused by the girl she had always belittled.

She could only bite her lip nervously and glare at Sasha as though she wanted to kill her.

Unlike those two, Sasha—the one who had set everything into motion—was perfectly calm.

It wasn’t that she was pretending.

She truly felt no anxiety whatsoever.

Had she not been certain, she could not have been so composed.

But she knew it was not genuine.

She knew the painting was not truly Tabarishi’s work.

Knowing the true whereabouts of the real Her Day—a fact no one else knew—was only one reason for her confidence.

There was another reason.

“Since it’s a gift for you, I’ve added a mechanism only you can activate.”

Sasha recalled what her friend Tabarishi had told her in her previous life and spoke.

“Tabarishi is known as a painter who left no trace of himself, but that isn’t true.”

Her words drew curious glances from everyone around her.

Sasha stepped closer to the painting Her Night.

The painting was dark overall, as its background was a nighttime scene where everyone was asleep.

On the large window to the right, the black-purple night sky was depicted.

The faint light of a full moon at the edge of the sky shone through the window, illuminating the room.

The moonlight bathed the sleeping woman lying in the center of the painting on a bed.

Her brown hair was splayed out as she slept, her face showing the exhaustion of hard work.

Around her were numerous medicinal herbs and tools, but they seemed like mere decorative details to fill the scene.

Sasha gazed at the painting quietly.

It was as beautiful as she remembered.

She had looked at it every day for decades, ever since Tabarishi had gifted it to her in her previous life and she had hung it in her laboratory until the day she died.

Tabarishi…

Seeing it again stirred her heart.

It was hard to believe that the model for this beautiful painting had been her in her previous life.

The Sasha she remembered from then was neither as beautiful, noble, nor divine as the woman in the painting.

But that must have been how Tabarishi had seen her. That was why he had painted her so beautifully and radiantly.

“How can someone like you exist? You’re amazing.”

“You always inspire me.”

A small smile curved Sasha’s lips at the memory.

You were always precious to me. I can’t stand by and let a swindler profit from your painting.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Sasha continued.

“First, the brushwork. If you look closely, Tabarishi built up light quickly and without hesitation, his strokes light but rough. But this painting is different. There’s hesitation in the strokes—it doesn’t have the bold, confident energy of Tabarishi’s brushwork.”

She added that the forger’s anxiety about copying such a masterpiece could be felt in the work.