Hearing that the national committee had a task for her, Holly suddenly sat up straight and turned serious. "Please go on, Charles.""Well, there was a fire at a museum in Erendale a while ago, and a lot of the paintings were destroyed. Most of them were from our country, and the people there didn't know how to restore them. So, they've asked for our help. You should go."She became upset after hearing it was in Erendale. "They stole those paintings from us. Restoring them will only infuriate me. I'm not going. You should ask someone else."Charles chuckled. "You're being close-minded, aren't you, Holly? It's true that they've stolen those paintings. However, they are precious arts left by our ancestors. If we don't restore them, a piece of our history will be gone."Holly was still unwilling to do it. "My patience gets tested whenever I think about how they've greedily stolen from us.""We've negotiated with the museum. If we get someone to restore the paintings for them, they'll
"It's a proposal ring." Bryce grabbed the ring and wiped the frosting and saliva off it with a napkin. "I had this custom-made, and I just received it."When Holly heard that it was for a proposal, she fell silent. It wasn't that she didn't want to remarry him. It just wasn't time yet. Arthur despised her and didn't think highly of her at all. They would return to square one if they got married again at that moment.Bryce got down on one knee, ring in hand, and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Holly, will you marry me?" Holly frowned slightly, studying his handsome face. It wasn't that she wasn't moved. Instead, she simply thought too much.After thinking for a while, she said, "Let's talk about it next time. It's not the right time for that yet." Worried that he might lose her, Bryce just wanted to tie her to his side. "When's the right time?""When we have the blessings of your whole family."His heart sank a little, and he smiled coldly. Then, he got up from the ground. "My d
The origins of most of these paintings could be tracked easily.There was "Cottage of the West", painted by Daryn Talbott, one of the four greatest artists of the Monclair era. Then, there were Zenith Howard's creations, including "The Ten Bamboos", "Great Compendium of Life", and "Scroll of Injustice".Zenith was also a painter and a seal carver from the end of the Monclair Era, and "Scroll of Injustice" was one of the earliest scrolls recorded in history. King Gandall once treated it as his most cherished treasure, and there were his stamps of approval on it as well.During a war, these priceless treasures were violently snatched away by foreigners. They would burn those they couldn't take away, and it took them three days to destroy them all. It was an unbearable scene.They even managed to scam the locals and buy the fresco and linen painting used to hide the hidden passage at the Mongrux Cave of Duntall for a low price. Even though there was consent, the people couldn't hide
After a month of restoration, the scroll was finally restored. While Holly was restoring it, she asked the museum staff to build a special cabinet for it. The temperature and humidity inside the cabinet had to be controlled, and the lighting inside it couldn't be too bright.When "Scroll of Injustice" wasn't being displayed, it had to be kept in the cabinet.The damaged ancient scroll became as good as new after she had restored it. It would have no issue lasting for another century.After spending three months at the museum, the team finally completed their tasks. Holly managed to complete a third of the restoration by herself. As for the elderly experts, they restored two-thirds of the paintings together, despite having more than ten of them.Although Holly was the youngest on the team, her efficiency and restoration work were the best. She performed better than the rest of the team and was able to do more than the other team members combined.Looking at how the once-damaged pai
Holly returned to the hotel with the team of veteran experts.The next day, they received an invitation from the museum staff in the early morning. The queen of Erendale wanted to meet them. It wasn't that surprising. After all, they made a great contribution to Erendale Museum.If it weren't for them, the priceless treasures would've been destroyed forever, and the cost of the damage would've been unfathomable.Holly researched online to see what she had to watch out for when meeting the queen. After all, she would be representing her country. So, she couldn't humiliate herself with her words and actions. If she did, she would drag her country's reputation through the mud along with her own reputation.However, she couldn't find much information after researching for a long time. There wasn't a lot of detailed information on the topic. Instead, people were mostly joking more about it. Those who could meet the queen were probably too busy to reply to online discussions.Holly
Soon, it was time to meet the queen, and Holly arrived at the castle with the team of veteran experts.The castle was ancient and majestic. The grounds were spacious and elegant. The tall, pointed building appeared vintage, and the interior had been beautifully renovated. It was Holly's first time seeing a real castle, and it was similar to what she had envisioned.From what she had heard, the queen usually worked there, and the castle was often open to the public, garnering some money by selling tickets. It seemed to her that the royals in Erendale were adept at business.After passing the strict security check, Holly and the veteran experts finally met the queen.The queen wore a blue dress and a hat of a similar color. She might've been old, but she was extremely graceful. The queen was an elegant, elderly woman. Holly followed Bryce's instructions as she shook the queen's hand and had a brief conversation.She formally thanked Holly's team for restoring the painting for their
Bryce lowered his head and brought his lips near her ears. Then, he softly asked, "Are you trying to murder your husband?" Holly gently shot a glance at him. "Ex-husband." She accidentally stepped on him again as she spoke. He didn't dare speak to her again after that.It was torture to dance with a beginner. Both his feet and shoes were destroyed. Fortunately, the royal dance didn't last for a long time. After it ended, Holly and Bryce left the castle and returned to the hotel in a car.Upon getting in the car, she couldn't help saying, "The atmosphere in the castle was too stifling. I didn't dare to speak loudly or sip my coffee quickly. I thought I could just be myself, but I felt choked up when I was there."He patted her head. "I thought you did great tonight.""Did I? I don't even know how to dance. If it weren't for you leading me, I would've suffocated in awkwardness.""You stepped on me 21 times. Was it enough to vent your frustration?"Holly felt extremely guilty.
Someone followed them closely with a camera pointed straight at Holly's face. Bryce pulled her into his embrace and protected her. Their bodyguards shoved the crowd away and cleared a path for them to cross.Meanwhile, the veteran experts were left alone. No one was taking pictures of them at all. Tossed to the side, Barry shook his head and said to the people next to him, "Look at the society we're in now. They're only focusing on women and not us!"His colleagues corrected him, "They're probably focusing on her looks. If you look like Holly's ex-husband, those young ladies will be taking pictures of you, too." Barry clicked his tongue. "That's true. Look at how those young ladies are slowly taking pictures of her man after they're done taking pictures of her."…Holly received an invitation to attend an interview on television the next day. They asked her how it felt to restore antiques in Erendale. Everyone wanted to strike the iron while it was hot. So, Holly and the