"Thank you for your compliment, but why did you come back so early?" Hearing this familiar voice, Liang En put down the paintbrush in his hand and turned around to look at Marie, who had just arrived, dust-covered from her journey.
"I thought you would come with Joan and the others later on, since it's only 5 o'clock now, and normally, things over there should end at 6 in the evening, right?"
"Yes, theoretically, that is correct, but I left early," Marie replied with a graceful smile. "I've recently trained a good group of people who can complete the work at this time."
"Of course, the more important reason is that I pay them a salary in the top 10% of their peers, so they should show their value, such as taking over my duties when I want to rest."
To be honest, Marie isn't a particularly diligent person. At least from historical records, her teachers considered her a bright student, but she seldom had the perseverance to stick with her studies.
So, managing this gallery now is no different. For most people, such a famous establishment naturally requires careful management, even dedicating a lifetime of effort without hesitation.
But for Marie, this place is just a small enterprise, something she might manage when interested and ignore when not, not wanting her hands and feet tied by mundane affairs.
After all, as the Queen of France, she once had access to countless important items, and compared to those, even the most prestigious gallery seemed like a mere toy in her eyes.
The only reasons she currently pays attention to this little toy of hers are that Liang En needs her help in the art world and that she genuinely has an interest in art, allowing her to engage with the artworks she finds fascinating.
"Finding people to help is absolutely the right thing to do. In a world like this, no matter how powerful a person is, they are still just one person. So, making full use of everyone's strengths is clearly not a bad thing."
After hearing Marie's arrangements, Liang En nodded in agreement. Although in a world with some extraordinary powers, having more people might not necessarily be an advantage, in this ordinary world, strength in numbers is indeed a golden rule.
Especially for Marie, running this gallery purely out of interest rather than for livelihood, naturally, she wouldn't want to waste more time on daily operations to maintain that interest.
Since Marie happened to arrive just in time, Liang En invited her to check out the perfume bottle he had designed and offer her opinions.
"Let me take a look—this perfume bottle design of yours is quite interesting. Overall, it leans towards luxury, but because you've adopted a Rococo style, it somewhat dilutes that sense of luxury—"
After taking the palm-sized wax model of the perfume bottle, Marie began to examine it carefully. As a former Queen of France, especially one who had received specialized education in art appreciation, she quickly discerned the characteristics of the perfume bottle.
However, after studying it for a few moments, she quickly frowned, clearly noticing something she found difficult to accept or comprehend.
"This design is a bit strange, yes, strange indeed." Marie looked up at Liang En and said seriously. "Although you're trying to make it appear dignified overall, I find this perfume bottle to be somewhat... somewhat frivolous."
As a former queen, Marie had seen countless valuable artworks, even everyday items that today would be considered full of artistic charm. Immersed in such an environment, her artistic cultivation was akin to that of a master.
So, in just a few minutes of observing this wax model, she discovered the hidden nuance Liang En had embedded in the perfume bottle.
"Yes, that's my intention because, after all, this is a perfume bottle, and the essence of a perfume bottle is that it needs to achieve perfect harmony with its contents." Liang En smiled and explained the reasoning behind his design.
In the following minutes, Liang En shared the inspiration behind the perfume design with Marie, noticing that her expression became somewhat displeased.
"The women of the Versailles court? That is indeed an interesting topic." Marie spoke in an elegant yet slightly peculiar tone. "If that's the case, then these frivolous designs do indeed suit it."
For Marie, this was already the most critical remark she could make. It was evident that she wasn't fond of those royal mistresses of Versailles.
This wasn't due to moral disgust, as Queen Marie herself had a famous lover, Count Fersen, in history, so she wasn't morally sensitive to the idea of married people taking lovers.
Especially in those European monarchies, where until the early 20th century, it was still common for kings to officially "appoint" mistresses.
These mistresses were not mere figureheads; the king would select one from his many lovers, publicly acknowledge her, and grant her titles and honors, essentially publicly legitimizing her.
The mistress of the French king not only had a more spacious room than the queen's but was also bestowed with noble titles, lands, salaries, and pensions. The queen's primary duties were to bear children and maintain appearances.
For instance, the renowned Petit Trianon Palace, often touted as evidence of Queen Marie's extravagance, was actually ordered by Louis XV to be built from 1762 to 1768 for his longtime mistress, Madame de Pompadour.
However, Madame de Pompadour passed away four years before its completion, and it was later inherited by her successor, Madame du Barry, until 1774.
In that year, 20-year-old Louis XVI ascended the throne and gave the castle and its surrounding gardens to his 19-year-old queen, Marie Antoinette, which became the source of the subsequent rumors. This also reflects the high status enjoyed by the king's mistresses in France.
It was also because of this castle that Marie earned a reputation for lavishness. Although she did spend money extravagantly and at inappropriate times, this particular accusation was somewhat unfair.
Moreover, another mistress of Louis XV, Madame du Barry, also left a lasting impression on Marie. Their first meeting at a family dinner in Château de la Muette was quite awkward.
Marie Antoinette loathed Madame du Barry's behavior, and their confrontation lasted for quite some time. Marie Antoinette openly defied court etiquette by refusing to speak to Madame du Barry.
At another ball, Marie was forced to say to Madame du Barry, "There are a lot of people at Versailles."
This conversation broke the royal protocol and clearly expressed Marie's dissatisfaction, as Madame du Barry was not allowed to converse with Marie Antoinette in that setting.
So when Marie heard about the origin of the perfume, she was reminded of her unpleasant past with Madame du Barry. Even after several centuries had passed, Marie remained somewhat sensitive to certain women at Versailles.
Fortunately, the process of death and rebirth had allowed her to let go of many things, including her prejudices about the story behind this perfume. So, after a few seconds of agitation, she quickly regained her composure and began evaluating the perfume bottle.
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