[Serialized Novel] "Honeybee Caprice" Episode 35

VI

After finishing the performance of "The Wizard of Oz" at the school drama festival, Miyu, who had become the new student council president, decided to visit Paris, France, alone during the spring break before starting her second year of high school.
Waiting to pick me up at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris were my father, his French partner Louise, and their baby, Lea. It had been exactly four years since I last saw my father.
During my two-week stay, I was taken care of at their home in the suburbs of Paris, and while I did some sightseeing, I decided to spend as much time as possible with my father at the Louvre Museum.
Although the Louvre is crowded with tourists, once you step inside, a world of history, romance, and complex spirituality unfolds, detached from the modern day.
From paintings like Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa," Jacques-Louis David's "The Coronation of Napoleon," and Eugène Delacroix's "Liberty Leading the People," to famous sculptures like the "Winged Victory of Samothrace" and the "Venus de Milo," works I had pored over in art books at the academy library were lined up in such abundance that I could never see them all, no matter how much I walked.
There is a vast difference in the emotional impact between looking at them in an art book and seeing them with your own eyes, feeling the air on your skin. The beautiful curves created by the sculptures and the brushstrokes of layered paint evoke the lives and thoughts of the ancients, conveying the artist's emotions and state of mind like a story.
When I stopped in front of the same painting as yesterday, my father laughed with a "huh," looking a bit amused.
"You really like that painting, don't you, Miyu?"
"I've wanted to see La Tour's 'The Cheat' for a long time. The card the cheat is holding really is the 'Ace of Diamonds,' isn't it?"
"You know your stuff. The other version is at the Kimbell Art Museum in America. That one has the 'Ace of Clubs.'"
My father used his right hand to lift the frame of his black-rimmed glasses and adjust their position. That habit of adjusting his glasses when something piqued his interest hadn't changed since those days.
"You know, someone once said something like this: 'Is the young nobleman really being deceived?' Since he's a child, it doesn't necessarily mean he's naive; maybe he's 'letting himself be deceived.' What do you think, Papa?"
"Hmm, let's see. What do you think, Miyu?"
"I... I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's possible he's 'letting himself be deceived.' This boy is a nobleman, right? If he pretends to be fooled by the cheats, maybe their pockets get a little fuller and their wicked desires are satisfied. If the evil inside someone can be removed, the world can be peaceful, at least for that moment. I think there might be a form of self-sacrifice for that purpose."
"Is that so? You've really broadened your thinking in the four years we've been apart. But Miyu, please live for your own sake. You don't need to think that 'sacrificing yourself is for someone else's sake' while you're still a child."
"It's okay, Papa. The Claire Academy I attend now values student autonomy above all else. I'll do my best to make sure I can accomplish what I want to do."
When I said that, my father smiled, his gentle eyes crinkling. Just being able to see this face made me feel from the bottom of my heart that coming here was the right choice. I felt a little regret for the time we were apart, and a sharp ache deep in my chest.
"Miyu, are you seeing your mother?"
"...No. I haven't seen her once since I entered high school. We just exchange short letters once a month. But don't worry, Mom seems to be doing well. It looks like she's started living with a new partner."
"I see. If Mom is happy, then that's good."
"...Hey, Papa."
"Yes?"
"If... If I stop being a 'good girl,' will you be disillusioned with me?"
"There's no way that could ever happen. No matter what kind of Miyu you are, Papa loves you. The little girl I used to take to the art museum on Sundays has grown up so much before I knew it. That alone makes me happy."
"Thank you, Papa. Thanks to learning to love art, I've been able to see worlds I didn't know existed. Because of that, I've been blessed with important encounters. It's truly all thanks to you. When the baby gets a little bigger, please bring them here too."
"I will. Thank you so much, Miyu."
Father and daughter shared a long hug in front of the painting.
Watching the two of them, the cheats in the painting looked as if they wanted to say something. However, only the boy in the painting kept a straight face, staring intently at the card in his hand with a solemn expression.

(To be continued)

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