Daughter of the Emperor

Chapter 431: The Emperor’s Daughter 431

I wanted to visit many places during the first part of our travels, but I wanted to go to Bruges more than others. I did want to see the night sky and the stars, but above all, Bruges was known to be the city of the northern continent’s culture and art.

“There’s a lot of inns.”

Usually, the center of culture and arts would be in the country’s capital, but in Schertogenbosch, the center was Bruges. Painters, sculptors, and architects raised in the city played a crucial role in spreading their culture throughout the continent.

Therefore, it was inevitable for Bruges to have a higher level of culture than any other city. One could tell this just by looking at the streets.

There were numerous masters and famous art shops.

Known for their food, once I was done eating, I could finally visit everything. The things I was interested in were the paintings and the status in the corridors of the inn.

Perhaps due to the premium nature of the inn, it had many paintings and cool-looking rooms.

Was it all the work of the painters?

“I don’t know if I am looking at art or not.”

My sensitivity was dry, probably because I lacked the qualities of an artist.

When I saw something, I usually felt like it was made well or drawn well, but I didn’t know when asked to assess its value. Everything I knew about art was from books I learned while attending school in my past life.

Even after being reborn, I was never interested in art. What would I know about it?

“Are you looking at those things again?”

“Huh, there’s a lot of painting here.”

Valer went and brought in snacks from downstairs. Once we had our meal, I thought of visiting the city, but it looked extraordinary when I saw the Inn’s paintings.

“I am going to a bookstore later. Should I go to a trendy poetry store?”

“That might be good.”

It was written in Sherto dialect, so it was tough for me to read, but it got easier the more I delved into it.

When I turned around and moved for another painting, Valer followed me. Of course, he didn’t forget to grumble.

“What is so fun about this? I don’t understand it.”

“It’s all a hustle in here; this is like seeing a quiet rural village. Sunset.”

“Ahh.”

Even after saying the origin of the painting, it didn’t seem like he understood it. I knew he wasn’t the kind to find an inkling for art.

As I looked closely at the painting, Valer, looking at my side, clicked his tongue.

“There are quite a few nobles like this, but you are the most unusual one among them.”

“If you are here to argue, just leave.”

This was the time for me to enjoy.

Kicking him, I walked over to another hallway.

Although Valer wasn’t a fan of the arts, I still liked paintings and music; many nobles would spend good cash on this. Some hated spending money on such things, but some would pay extreme amounts for their entertainment.

Decorating a house with paintings or sculptures was elegant and luxurious to look at, but some people could think of it as a useless investment. For them, artists weren’t people who needed money to eat and sleep.

Hmm, if I weren’t in this situation, I wouldn’t have been interested in art either. It was like that in my previous life.

I smiled slightly and once again moved to find other paintings.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Honestly, I used to be interested in politics. Since I grew up without worries amidst loving people, it was natural for me to give love back to them; thus, I turned to politics to change the country for the better. Besides that, I wasn’t sure why, but I thought that my knowledge would be advantageous since I had experience from my previous life. It was because I knew world history.

Unfortunately, it was a failure.

I tried suggesting the systems I wanted with Ferdel; he praised the greatness of such ideas, but his reaction told me that he wouldn’t implement them. They were good ideas, but they didn’t fit well with the reality of our situation.

Fardel would immediately grab the weaknesses and strengths of every system I proposed.

Although it was similar to earth, this world wasn’t the world I knew, and the history of both worlds differed.

Even the environment was different. Above all, the nature of every country and the Royal families had myths and legends supporting their existence.

Even if the change was continually taking place, democracy seemed like an impossibility. However, I didn’t know the political system of this age.

I borrowed some books about the ideas and concepts in this world from Ferdel, and when we talked, he would take a few points from our discussion. However, I would give up after that. The current system maintained by Ferdel seemed like the best for our country.

I was born and raised on earth, and I was born into this world with my previous life memories. With a strong sense of values already in me, I couldn’t just understand and accept the current world, and the situation was violent, with constant wars.

I couldn’t blame reality.

I wasn’t Ferdel; he’s the real genius here. There was no way other humans could outsmart Ferdel. I was nothing compared to him.

I could say something about an idea or a plan, but I didn’t have the dedication to sit for years together to implement such idealisms as he did.

Thus, I looked elsewhere. That was when I found this world’s culture.

“Poetry is one thing, but paintings and sculptures look fine as well. The buildings are good, too; I think it would be nice to turn our country into a cultural hub like this.”

To put it bluntly, the level of culture in this world exceeded that of my past.

These places had war coming for them, probably why there didn’t seem to be many artists around. Thus, people had fewer things to enjoy. We had cultures, but it was of folk songs, and they weren’t that great.

Even the nobles didn’t differ much. They were all about parties and knights and plays, but there were no novels or essays, and poetries were just fashion. And every performance was just an adaptation of an old story.

Art seemed like myths or legends to me, but every once in a while, there would be one painting that would open up my heart.

Music was the best, but only if it was classical orchestral symphonies. It was probably because I saw gypsies dance or sing, but I felt like one side was persecuting another.

I was curious why scholars didn’t exist in these situations. However, they were well-treated before, but scholars’ existence ceased with frequent news about wars.

If I had any artistic talent, I would have taken it to a higher level, but I didn’t have any. Damn.

Must I have the talent to do it, though?

‘But who am I? A woman with blood ties and connections who could get things done.’

Moreover, I am Ji-eun, who had excellent academic relations. If I failed to develop a culture here, I could just gather people’s support and build a better culture.

I had money and time!

“Ah, I want to see a movie!”