The Portrait of Pride — Chapter 13

The Portrait of Pride Chapter 13 opens with Diana reeling after the Crown Prince pours red paint over her, leaving her to parse the thick, sticky texture and sharp smell of oil. She cycles through possible reasons for his cruelty, wondering if it is because she is a slave of the Empire, a lowly maid, or because she is a prince's spy, and questions whether all members of the Imperial family are this self-centered. When he tells her to wipe that insolent look from her eyes if she wants to live, she apologizes and calls him Master, only for him to observe that she looks wronged rather than sorry and order her to keep that expression and stay exactly where she is while he works out the composition. The interruption comes with the arrival of Duke Christen, whose servants announce him and react in shock to the scene, at first mistaking the paint for blood. The Portrait of Pride Chapter 13 then shifts into a tense negotiation of trust as Christen insists the mess be cleaned and vouches for the servants he carefully selected and brought, even offering his own head if any of them betrays the Crown Prince. The prince shows brief interest in that offer before ordering the room cleaned, water drawn in the bathroom, and Diana taken away because the smell of oil is getting in the way. When a servant moves to lead her, he stops them with a command not to touch her and tells Diana to follow him to the bathroom alone. Left alone with her, he dismisses her claim that she can wash it herself, explaining that maid's soap will not remove the paint. Diana reflects that he will not bother explaining himself to a maid like her and that she must accept everything in this place. He then confronts her directly, asking why she is crying when she came to harm him, and demands she forget self-pity and find a way to entertain him if she wants to live a little longer. The Portrait of Pride Chapter 13 closes on his cold curiosity as Diana asks how he will paint her, prompting his reply that what he wanted to see is her true self without a single lie.