Chapter 71.1

Northern Art (4)

The students attending my art class came from all age groups.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

There were elderly, middle-aged, and young adults all gathered in one place.

About 20 of them were women, taking up a sizable portion of the room.

But despite their different backgrounds, they all had one thing in common — they were the best artists in their respective villages.

“Explaining it a hundred times won’t do you any good. The only way to improve is to actually draw — and draw a lot.”

Even though some of the students still looked a bit lost, I wasn’t discouraged. The first batch of students had been the same.

“Alright, here you go. Brushes, paint, and canvases. Use as much as you want, as always.”

The moment they laid eyes on the free supplies, their previously blank expressions turned bright with excitement.

For people who had only ever drawn with graphite on leather or carved images into wood or stone, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“If you get stuck while drawing, ask me anything. Forget about my status or rank right now.”

At the center of the classroom, I had displayed a few of my paintings for reference.

There were four in total. Two of them were additional portraits of Arina I had drawn after the initial batch. The other two were new character pieces featuring Balzac, Sun, and several senior knights.

For practice, the students picked one of these works and tried to replicate it.

‘It’s a shame the printing press here isn’t advanced enough to mass-produce copies of these paintings.’

Watching the students immerse themselves in their work, I reflected on how far things had come.

What had started as a casual hobby had grown into something far greater.

It had become a tool for public relations, far beyond its artistic or financial value.

‘I never thought I’d live to see the day when we’d be selling Grand Duchess Arina merchandise… or that we’d have a fandom… or that I’d be running a photocard business.’

By the way, the “photocards” in this case were the portraits of Arina and the northern knights that the students were currently drawing.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t just Arina who was popular. Knights like Balzac and Sun were gaining their own fanbases, too.

Even the imperial nobles, who usually looked down on Northerners as barbarians, acknowledged the strength of Northern knights.

‘Their work doesn’t have the same emotional impact as mine, but that’s fine. I can’t spend all my time painting, after all.’

Printing technology in this world was still at a primitive level. They could barely manage movable type for simple text printing.

It was nowhere near the quality of Gutenberg’s press.

And even the Gutenberg press couldn’t replicate paintings in fine detail.

Not to mention, paper was still a precious commodity here.

‘I really need to advance the tech tree for both printing and paper production someday…’

Of course, if I put my mind to it, I could build a Gutenberg press right now.

But I was holding back on purpose.

‘What good is advanced printing technology if paper is still rare? And most of the North’s population is illiterate.’

If technological and economic development moved too fast, it could lead to problems.

That’s why I planned to sync the tech tree’s progress with the cultural awareness of the Northerners.

Once I had trained more literate citizens and established mass production for paper, I would push forward with printing.

“Boss, it’s done.”

At that moment, I heard Mary’s voice from behind me.

“Oh?”

I turned to see her handing me a stack of papers.

“They’re as identical as ever.”

The paper she handed me was made from high-quality stationery. On each sheet, there was a short message and a signature from Arina Rune Renslet, the Grand Duchess of the North.

[I wish prosperity for the honorable scholar Viscount Longos of the Western Empire. – Grand Duchess Arina Rune Renslet]

These letters were to be included as autographed extras with the Northern Grand Duchy merchandise.

Of course, they weren’t actually written by Arina.

They were written by Mary, who had practiced mimicking Arina’s handwriting until it was indistinguishable from the real thing.

The two of them were sisters, after all, so their handwriting was naturally similar.

With a bit of training, she was now able to perfectly replicate Arina’s handwriting.

“Is this really okay, though?” Mary asked with a tinge of worry.

“It’s fine. Her Highness approved it.”

“That’s not what I mean… This is Her Highness’s signature. If this starts circulating everywhere…”

“What’s the problem? The official seals for contracts and payments are all done using her royal seal, not her signature.”

“Well, that’s true, but…”

“Besides, didn’t we ask Her Highness to create a ‘public signature’ specifically for this purpose?”

“……”

Mary still looked uncomfortable with the concept of “merchandising autographs.”

“Where are the others?” I asked.

“…Here.”

With a conflicted expression, Mary handed over another set of papers.

[May the honor of Baron Kindenberg, the shining knight of the Northern Central Empire, grow even brighter. – Balzac Shiohkan]

This time, it featured the signature of Balzac Shiohkan.

“Did Sir Balzac agree to this without any issues?”

“Surprisingly, he seemed happy to do it.”

“Ah, capitalism at its finest.”

Look at this. This is the true power of capitalism.

If it could be sold under the banner of the Northern Grand Duchy, I’d sell it.

At this point, the only thing we hadn’t sold was tourism merchandise.

…Actually, scratch that. We did have tourism packages for the chimera automail clinic.

“Welcome to the world of multi-product, small-batch production. This is what you call a custom luxury business. In fact, it’s even more profitable than mass production.”

Merchandise related to the Northern Grand Duchy was sold primarily to nobles and wealthy commoners.

This made handcrafted, personalized products far more suitable than large-scale manufacturing.

That’s why I hadn’t fully embraced factory-style mass production.

“Her Highness is remarkably astute. To think she’d find a way to profit from her own portraits.”

I spoke with admiration, fully aware that the idea had technically originated from Arina.

All of this had started with Arina’s suggestion to “find a way to profit from my portraits.”

“…That’s true,” Mary replied with a somewhat hollow tone, looking slightly defeated.

Her voice carried a faint hint of regret.

‘She must still feel conflicted about forging Arina’s handwriting.’

What a sincere woman.

Seeing her like that, I couldn’t help but feel a little touched.

***

All around the industrial complex, portraits of Grand Duchess Arina hung on the walls.

In those portraits, Arina was depicted in various outfits and moods.

Sometimes she was a noble lady, sometimes a gallant knight, and sometimes a serene woman gazing at the snowy landscape.

While I had drawn a few of them myself, most of the portraits were done by the academy’s painters.

The quality was quite good.

In fact, in certain ways, they captured the Northern aesthetic better than I could.

‘Hanging portraits of a ruler serves as a subtle loyalty test.’

The more successful my company became, the more envious eyes would be drawn to it.