The True Lady Strikes Back by Susanna Lucius - Season 2 Episode 26

Sophia was uninterested in Enigma and didn’t want to go to some shady auction, so she stayed in the store.

The shop assistant took Gordon to the auction.

Anyone could go into the auction, but both sellers and buyers had to pay 400 dollars for admission.

If an auction item were sold, the auction would help with the taxes and charge a one percent commission.

The commission charged was lower than the average auction house, and many people came to sell their things here.

The shop assistant brought Gordon to the entrance and briefly explained the rules before returning to the shop.

It was Gordon’s first time coming to a place like this. After a long search, he found the hall specializing in auctioning calligraphy artwork.

An antique painting from the Regency era was being auctioned on the auction stand.

Gordon could tell from a glance that it was a counterfeit, but the imitation was done well and worth several thousand dollars.

Only a few buyers were in the auction hall, and Gordon soon arrived at Herman’s side.

When Herman saw Gordon, he did not look surprised at all and greeted Gordon warmly.

“Mr. Yancey, I see that you have come as well. My apologies for this. Today was an extenuating circumstance, and I couldn’t wait for you in the store,” explained Herman.

Gordon smiled and said, “It’s all right. It’s not every day you get to meet Enigma. Can’t you see I’m here to see the acclaimed

painter, too?” After saying that, he asked, “Mr. Hughes, is

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Enigma really here? Is it possible for a big–shot painter like that to come here and paint in person?”

He mused, “With the status and prestige of Enigma, going to Elite Auction would have made more sense. Actually, that’s not true. An art gallery would have been a better option, more fitting of the prestige behind the name Enigma.”

Herman did not know much about it, but he let Gordon in on all the information he had managed to inquire about Enigma’s event. “It seems that Enigma had come to the antique market to look around and had wanted to paint on impulse. So it seems like the acclaimed painter had come to this auction place for that. I can’t guarantee you whether the news is true or

not.”

He came here with the mindset of trying his luck and had no expectation of really meeting Enigma.

Gordon thought the news was unreliable and asked, “When will it start?”

“Once this auction is over, it will be Enigma’s event next,” said Herman.

After saying that, he rubbed his hands excitedly and looked expectant.

“If it turns out to be Enigma, I will definitely empty my banks to buy the artwork. According to my sources, Enigma is already 70 or 80 years old and has only a few years to live. The paintings done by Enigma are not that many. Presently, only seven or eight of them are available in the market. If Enigma passes away, then the value of those paintings will increase by tenfold or even a hundredfold,” thought Herman.

Gordon, stirred up by Herman’s excitement, was expectant as well.

After a while, the imitation paintings from the Regency era failed to be sold.

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The auction host stood on the stage and smiled so widely that it almost reached his ears. “I know most of the people offstage are here for Enigma. You have definitely made the right decision coming here today. The opportunity to watch Enigma do a live painting is something that we can only encounter by chance. So, congratulations to those who are lucky enough to be here!”

The host was passionately riling up the crowd, and the buyers were so excited that they shouted, “Hurry up and start. We can’t wait any longer.”

The host glanced backstage and said, “Well, even if you are feeling impatient, you will still need to wait because we need to prepare a lot of painting tools and materials for Enigma, and the preparations are still underway.”

When the crowd heard this, someone who was already impatient sneered, “I hope you don’t waste our time by asking to wait and end up letting an imposter come up the stage!” The host was still smiling, but his words and tone were unexceptionally firm. “People who don’t think it’s worth waiting can leave now. You know the rules of the auction. We do not try to fool people here. It is only a test of how discerning one’s eyes are.”

When the crowd heard this, silence ensued.

Gordon whispered to Herman, “Judging from how the host is acting, I would say Enigma is here in person.”

“Well, whether there is any truth in that, we’ll know soon enough, right?” said Herman.

“Mr. Hughes, if it turns out to be Enigma, I might be bidding against you for the painting,” said Gordon.

“Well, we shall let our financial power have the final say. The one who can make the highest bid will get it,” said Herman.

As soon as he finished his words, the host said again, “Enigma

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The auction host stood on the stage and smiled so widely that it almost reached his ears. “I know most of the people offstage are here for Enigma. You have definitely made the right decision coming here today. The opportunity to watch Enigma do a live painting is something that we can only encounter by chance. So, congratulations to those who are lucky enough to be here!”

The host was passionately riling up the crowd, and the buyers were so excited that they shouted, “Hurry up and start. We can’t wait any longer.”

The host glanced backstage and said, “Well, even if you are feeling impatient, you will still need to wait because we need to prepare a lot of painting tools and materials for Enigma, and the preparations are still underway.”

When the crowd heard this, someone who was already impatient sneered. “I hope you don’t waste our time by asking to wait and end up letting an imposter come up the stage!” The host was still smiling, but his words and tone were unexceptionally firm. “People who don’t think it’s worth waiting can leave now. You know the rules of the auction. We do not try to fool people here. It is only a test of how discerning one’s eyes are.”

When the crowd heard this, silence ensued.

Gordon whispered to Herman, “Judging from how the host is acting. I would say Enigma is here in person.”

“Well, whether there is any truth in that, we’ll know soon enough, right?” said Herman.

“Mr. Hughes, if it turns out to be Enigma, I might be bidding against you for the painting,” said Gordon.

“Well, we shall let our financial power have the final say. The one who can make the highest bid will get it,” said Herman.

As soon as he finished his words, the host said again, “Enigma

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is ready. Crew members, please set up the painting materials and tools on the stage!”

Soon, the painting materials and tools were placed on the

stage.

There were oil paintings, acrylic paintings, watercolors, sketch pens, and so on. It was simply a hodgepodge of materials and tools.

However, this was how Enigma’s style was. The painter

combined all kinds of paints in a subtle way harmoniously. After the drawing board had been moved onto the stage, the host respectfully said, “I would like to now welcome Enigma onto the stage!”

Cecilia wore a champagne–colored gown with simple patterns embroidered in silver threads that showed off her brilliance as she walked up the stage.

The skirt slit reached her thigh, giving her a conservative yet S**y look. The inclined buckle was lined with red agate stones, which made her look even more eye–catching.

Everyone gasped when she appeared on the stage.

Although Cecilia’s face was covered by a fox mask, her graceful figure made her a sight to behold.

After a short silence, the buyers sitting in front of the stage

burst into an uproar.

“Isn’t Enigma an old man of 70 or 80 years old? Why is a young woman up on the stage?”

“This has been a total waste of time. I wouldn’t have come if I knew something like this would happen. Even if you wanted to fool people, shouldn’t you at least get the gender right!”

“Why is she wearing a mask? It must be because you have a shameless face, right? Hahaha…”

“I don’t think so. After all, her figure is so… Ah!”

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Just as the buyer was about to comment vulgarly, his throat was almost stabbed by the paintbrush Cecilia had thrown at him. She sat in front of the drawing board and stepped on the railing of the stool with one foot while playing with another brush. She looked at the people below the stage with hostility. When she saw Gordon, she was slightly surprised but didn’t really overthink it.

The buyers sitting in front of the stage were frightened by Cecilia’s ferocity and didn’t dare to talk nonsense.

No one left the auction hall. They all behaved themselves and sat in their seats. They wanted to see how skilled this woman was that she even dared to impersonate Enigma!

The auction hall was quiet again. Everyone stared at Cecilia, waiting for her to paint.

The host respectfully asked, “Enigma, can we start now?” Cecilia nodded and said, “All right.”

After saying that, she began on her artwork. She started sketching the base and used oil painting for the lines. Then, she used acrylic paints to add some colors to the artwork before using watercolor to refine it further.

At first, everyone expectantly waited for her to screw up and give herself away.

However, the longer they saw her painting, the more surprised they were. Everyone had their eyes glued to the artwork she was creating.

No one had ever seen Enigma paint, but many people had read about the painter in magazines or online and knew the style Enigma used.

Herman was lucky to have seen a real painting of Enigma, so his eyes were wide open, taking in everything happening on stage.

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He unwittingly admitted, “It’s Enigma. She really is Enigma!”

Gordon had researched a lot about artwork. Even if he had only seen the artwork of Enigma online, he could see the order in which Enigma painted various types of paintings.

The woman on the stage drew in the exact same order as Enigma.

“If she isn’t Enigma, then she must be his mentee!” thought Gordon.

However, in addition to that, he also felt that the figure on the stage was familiar, which made him want to lift her mask and see her face.

Cecilia had deliberately changed her voice just now, so Gordon hadn’t recognized it.

However, he had started getting suspicious.

Half an hour later, Cecilia put the last touches to her painting with a weasel hair brush and then showed it to the audience.

“If you are a true connoisseur of Enigma’s paintings, you can tell at a glance whether I’m an imposter. After all, no one can imitate my painting style,” said Cecilia.

Once she finished speaking, Herman asked, “Are you Enigma herself or the acclaimed painter’s mentee?

Despite this question, he was certain that the answer was the former.

He was only in disbelief that even though the rumors had it that Enigma was a 70 or 80–year–old man, she had turned out to be a young lady!

Before Cecilia could answer his question, Gordon suddenly asked, “Ceci, is that you?”