Ⅹ
What caught Arthur off guard and astonished him was a painting.
More precisely, it was a half-person-height portrait in a damaged oak frame.
The painting depicted Count Bette.
He looked exactly like the Count Bette Arthur was seeing now.
Of course, that was not the point.
The point was-
``` [Name: Holward’s Masterpiece (damaged)]
[Type: Other item]
[Quality: Ⅴ]
[Attributes: 1. Imprint, 2. Undying]
[Notes: Holward was an obscure painter, but his dedication surpassed ordinary imagination. It was a dedication to beauty: he believed he should capture the most beautiful things in the world.
His friend, Lord Henry, wholeheartedly agreed.
And so Lord Henry found Holward a youth of astonishing beauty.
The instant Holward saw the youth, he decided to begin painting.
Taking the paints his friend Lord Henry had prepared, the painter entered the Country Studio his friend had specially arranged for him and began what would be both the greatest and the final work of his life.
The painter did not know that his friend had added a vial of Time Dragon blood to the paints.
Nor did the painter know that the Country Studio was filled with rituals and distortion.
The painter believed he was painting the beautiful youth, but the completed portrait depicted Lord Henry instead.
The lord intended to achieve immortality through the painter's brush.
The lord succeeded, yet also failed.
The plan was a success.
But the lord had underestimated the painter's dedication to his own work. At the final moment, the painter realized something was wrong.
The painter could not destroy the ritual, but he could destroy his own painting, even at the cost of his life!
Both the painter and the lord died.
The youth took the painting and traveled far away, burying the secret forever, until a grave robber named