MLHRGD 42

MLHRGD | Proof (6)

Posted by Ruby, Released on August 2, 2025

#42. Proof (6)

Light began to emanate from the painting.

It wasn’t a metaphor. Light literally shone from the painting.

The glow started from the face of the woman in the center of the piece and gradually spread outward.

By the time Sasha removed her hand, the entire canvas was radiating light.

Flaash!

The light pouring from the framed painting coalesced in the air, forming another image.

A rectangle the same size as the canvas of Her Night appeared midair, and inside it was a painting made entirely of light.

“Gasp!”

There were gasps from all around as people laid eyes on the luminous image.

Sasha, however, calmly observed the scene without the slightest disturbance.

The glowing painting depicted the same woman as the model from the original painting.

The background was the same as well—

The midnight sky, faintly lit by moonlight, served as the temporal setting of both images.

But unlike the original Her Night, where the woman lay quietly asleep on the bed,

The glowing image showed her working tirelessly, unable to rest, saving others.

The woman grasped the medical tools that had merely been props in Her Night, desperately trying to save the critically ill who had come to her.

It’s been a while… this magic.

This was a magic once called “Hologram,” a specialty of Tabarishi, the painter and magician.

By the way, the name had been Sasha’s idea.

When she first became close to Tabarishi and witnessed the magic for the first time—

Because the magic was so similar to the “holograms” Sasha had seen during one of her countless previous lives on Earth, she had muttered to herself, “It’s just like a hologram.”

“Oh! Is that the name you’ve given my magic? Hologram? I like it!”

…Tabarishi had misunderstood, and the name stuck.

Since then, Tabarishi had used the magic so often that “Hologram Magic” became relatively well-known to those familiar with magic.

But as mana dwindled and magic slowly declined, Hologram Magic had faded into history.

…Until Sasha revived it just now.

“I don’t think later generations truly understood why Tabarishi was called the ‘Magician of Light.’”

Sasha explained as she looked at the glowing painting hovering in the air.

“They probably thought she was simply a painter who expressed light beautifully. But the reason is much simpler: she was literally a magician who mastered light.”

The nickname had been given by her friends when she was still unknown, along with the wish that she would grow into someone worthy of it.

Tabarishi had liked the name so much that she had proudly referred to herself as the “Magician of Light.” And since her painting style matched the title perfectly…

She ended up being called by that nickname for the rest of her life.

Thanks to the magic of light she wielded, Tabarishi had never needed to leave a signature on her works.

Her paintings were already marked with her presence.

Later generations, however, had forgotten that Tabarishi had been a magician, and thus they had also forgotten this vital feature of her paintings.

“Tabarishi created secret mechanisms like this in all of her paintings. She wanted her works to be special.”

She was someone who loved fun and said she wanted those who saw her art to enjoy it.

“So she always placed two paintings within one frame: the one visible to everyone, and…”

Sasha lifted her hand from the physical frame and pointed to the luminous image floating in the air.

“The hidden painting that can only be seen through a special method.”

Tabarishi had used this secret mechanism to more effectively convey the message she wished to express.

This painting was no exception.

Through Her Night, she wanted to show that even those who seemed to rest carefree were often working to save others when no one was looking.

Her Night wasn’t the only one. Its companion piece, Her Day, had a hidden painting as well.

Sasha knew what that hidden image was and how to reveal it.

“These secret mechanisms existed in most of her paintings—especially in a series with a connected theme.”

Sasha raised her hand again and touched the painting the merchant had brought, Her Day.

And then—

“……”

Nothing happened.

Sasha took her hand off the silent painting and slowly turned her gaze to the merchant.

Everyone else also turned their eyes toward him.

The merchant, now visibly terrified, desperately tried to excuse himself.

“M-Maybe that particular painting was just an exception! She must not have added such a strange mechanism to the one I brought!”

Trying to wriggle out of it, was he?

Of course, Sasha had already anticipated this reaction.

“Bring it out.”

At Sasha’s command, a servant bowed politely and left.

A moment later, two servants returned, struggling as they carried a massive framed painting.

The onlookers widened their eyes.

“I-It’s exactly the same!”

Of course it is.

The painting Sasha had ordered to be brought was the authentic Her Day, hidden in a secret location that only she knew.

She had worried that it might have been lost over the years, but thankfully it had remained safe in its hiding place within the duchy.

Through the spirits, Sasha had already confirmed that the secret place and the painting inside were unharmed, and she had asked Andrei to retrieve it.

It had been a sudden request to climb a mountain and enter a cave, but Andrei had followed Sasha’s instructions without hesitation.

Thanks to him, we were able to prepare in time. I’ll have to thank Sir Andrei properly later.

But that was for later. For now, she had to expose the merchant’s fraud.

“How… how can this be?”

“Unless Tabarishi painted two identical works, one of these must be a copy.”

The people murmured.

It was understandable. The two paintings, placed side by side, looked identical as if they had been printed.

But the difference was clear.

“This one is genuine, and this one is a forgery.”

Sasha identified the two paintings without hesitation.

“Hmm, I think you’re right…”

When the paintings were carefully compared side by side, as if playing a game of spot-the-difference, they did seem slightly different.

It was a very subtle difference, but when focusing on the brush strokes and color tones Sasha had pointed out earlier, the distinction was obvious.

Still, some people were unconvinced.

Sasha addressed them.

“Let me show you proof that the two are unmistakably different.”

She activated the hidden mechanism in the authentic Her Day, just as she had done earlier.

This time, unlike the painting the merchant had brought, a reaction occurred.

“Ohhh! It’s appearing again!”

“It really must be the real one!”

Light spread from the painting, creating a new image in the air.

Unlike the woman in the frame who seemed to be resting peacefully, the glowing image showed her working desperately on the battlefield, trying to save the dying.

The spectators, who had been chattering just a moment ago, fell silent, overwhelmed by the image.

They could only stare blankly at the painting for a long time.

“Now try to explain yourself. Prove that the painting you brought is not a forgery.”

“I-I… well…”

The merchant couldn’t answer Sasha’s quiet question.

“Of course you can’t. It’s all lies.”

Sasha clicked her tongue.

At this point, she decided to deal with all the lingering issues that had been bothering her at once.

She had the merchant bring out all the other items he had worked so hard to sell to Maria Goriki and addressed them one by one.

“This isn’t a forgery, but it’s certainly not worthy of hanging in Belikor Castle. It’s not some unknown masterpiece by a great painter, nor does it have a hidden, meaningful message, as you claimed.”

A piece of art he had hyped up.

“This may have been discovered in ancient ruins, but simply being old doesn’t justify such a price.”

An antique he had marked up several times beyond its actual value.

“And this fabric… it’s not even worth half the price you offered it for.”

Cheap fabric fit for a commoner’s home.

“……”

As Sasha pointed out the absurdity of each item, the merchant who had sold them at outrageous prices stood frozen, unable to say a word.

She narrowed her eyes at the speechless merchant.

“To think you tried to profit by selling these at such inflated prices. Do you take House Volkov for a fool?”

“N-No!”

The merchant, now pale as a ghost, flailed his hands in panic.

“Absolutely not!”

Dismissing the young and inexperienced “little mistress” was one thing.

But dismissing the Volkov family was another matter entirely.

The “little mistress” might disappear quickly like a scarecrow, but House Volkov was the ruler of the north!

“N-Never…!”

Fearing he might be branded a traitor who dared to defraud the Grand Duke, the merchant’s voice trembled.

Sasha ignored the man, who looked as though he might collapse at any moment, and continued.

“If that’s the case, you’d better explain yourself properly. Unless you want to be thrown into prison for the crime of defrauding His Grace the Grand Duke.”

As she spoke, Sasha quietly cast a small spell.

With the mana so scarce now, magic was almost impossible, so it wasn’t anything grand.

In the past, during the era when the owner of the paintings, Tabarishi, had lived, this wouldn’t even have been considered magic.

It was a simple trick—showing the target an illusion of their greatest fear.

But this little magic tends to be very effective.

Especially when interrogating a cowardly criminal like this.