Based on Shade's description alone, Miss Benanis still could not picture what the statue looked like.
Fortunately, Shade still had the toy the statue had turned into on him. He restored it and set it up in the troupe leader's office on the third floor of the Wilde Opera House.
Vanessa Benanis had initially paid it little mind, but the moment she truly saw the statue, she immediately rose to her feet.
She circled the statue, carefully examining every detail before finally offering her most honest assessment:
"Now I understand why no one has obtained the Stone Masons Association's inheritance in over a century, yet you solved the problem in a single night. This is an absolute work of art. Although I do not understand why you chose not to give the statue arms, combined with your weathering work, it instead possesses a harmonious beauty I cannot put into words."
The Blonde Witch was knowledgeable not only about opera and singing, but also literature and sculpture.
Shade did not feel particularly proud of this. He had merely replicated the statue from his memory; it was not his work, or at least not entirely his work.
"I think this should be enough as a princess's birthday gift."
"When I was seventeen years old, no one gave me a gift like this."
The Blonde Witch spoke with half-serious grievance and reached out to touch the statue's face, only to remember that she was not wearing gloves and give up.
She turned to look at Shade.
"You often tell me that you have never received any artistic training and that your understanding of art is quite shallow. It seems you still have not been telling me the truth."
It sounded like a joke rather than a genuine reproach, but Shade still explained himself.