Chapter 229

Third Person’s POV
Mrs. Voss glanced at Wanda and Sabrina, her brow furrowing in confusion. “What does this have to do with Miss Davidson? Craig’s visited the Frostfang Pack, announced a showcase of his paintings from the Bloodscar Border. Everyone’s scrambling to attend–even Lycan Erasmus was there when I left.”
“What? Craig’s at the Frostfang Pack? Hosting an art exhibition?”
Several art–savvy ladies stood up, cager to rush over.
Madison and Wanda’s faces fell.
Madison had always pretended to be a lover of art. She once nearly acquired one of Mr. Neil’s paintings, but she dramatically tore it up in public, leading to widespread ridicule.
This embarrassing incident left her with a deep–seated resentment toward Craig.
Her pretense of artistic love was just that–a pretense. She neither understood nor truly appreciated art.
Sabrina retreated to a corner, abashed and silent, simmering with envy, “Why did Adelaide have such a prestigious friend?”
Madison and Wanda were left speechless. Their earlier jeers at Adelaide now rang hollow.
Even Lycan Erasmus and President Cyrus had graced the Frostfang Pack’s event–what a spectacle they’d missed by gossiping here!
They were hiding here and mocking Adelaide, which was really petty.
Luna Skye’s expression shifted from embarrassment to forced smiles to palpable anxiety.
Especially since she’d just echoed Madison and Wanda’s derogatory remarks, many guests now felt like hypocrites.
Priscilla, too, was in a sour mood. She’d been annoyed by the gossip and now by being upstaged.
Her planned outfit changes for the event no longer tempted her.
The ladies could hardly sit still, itching to witness the Frostfang Pack’s gathering.
With their mates there, crashing the party seemed harmless enough.
Then Mrs. Voss gasped, slapping her forehead.
“My memory! Almost forgot Adelaide’s errand. She asked me to bring a painting to the New Priestess Priscilla for appraisal.”
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“This oil painting,” she explained, “is one of Mr. Neil’s masterpieces, crafted with multi– layer glazing . The snowy peaks are built with thick titanium white, textured with palette–knife strokes. The sunlight piercing through clouds is painted with transparent golden yellow, creating an amber glow on the canvas . ”
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Signaling an omega, she mock–scolded, “You should’ve reminded me! What if Adelaide blames me ?
The crowd gathered as the painting passed from Susan to Priscilla.
She handed the oil painting to Omega Susic, who then passed it on to Priscilla.
Holding it, Priscilla preened. The snow–capped mountains, painted with bold strokes and layered pigments, shimmered under warm light.
The painting displayed layered textures–carthy rocks painted with thick coats of burnt umber and ivory black, their rugged strokes outlining the steep mountain ridges.
Above the snowline, zinc white mixed with cobalt blue created a heavy–snow effect through short, vertical lines.
A sunlight beam in the upper–right corner, painted with gold powder and varnish, shimmered like liquid light under the gaze.
“Behold Mr. Neil’s palette–knife technique,” urged a voice.
Priscilla puffed out her chin, as proud as a peacock in full display.
As the oil painting was spread out on the carved display rack, everyone held their breath.
On the canvas, snow–capped mountains, occupying two–thirds of the frame diagonally, were painted in Prussian blue and titanium white. The layered pigments, at least five millimeters thick , seemed to replicate the rough texture of ice crystals.
The rock crevices, glazed with burnt umber and ivory black, contrasted starkly with the snow–capped areas painted in zinc white and cobalt blue. The sunlight piercing through clouds, rendered with cadmium yellow in radiating strokes and edged with gold, mesmerized viewers.
“Look at the impasto snow!”
Rowena pointed to the reflective pigment. “Mr. Neil mixed quartz sand into the paint–no wonder the snow looks icy.”
“And the sunlight treatment-” someone peered through a magnifying glass.
“It’s the classic ‘optical gray‘ technique: a transparent ochre base, ultra–thin cadmium yellow glaze, and gold powder on top. No wonder the light seems to shine through the canvas . ”
Amidst the murmurs of admiration for the oil painting techniques, Priscilla’s fingers traced the gilded frame.
The painting displayed a magical visual effect under exhibition lighting–Mr. Neil’s signature “light- shadow trap” technique, where layered transparent and opaque pigments created dynamic light–shadow shifts on a static canvas,
“Adelaide has such an eye,” someone finally whispered. “This–level oil painting can’t be found in Priscilla’s collection.”
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