Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 321

When Henry walked in, he found Halley hunched over a table, peering intently through a magnifying glass at a piece of calligraphy that Noreen had gifted him—an original by Master Linden.

Halley was practically beaming, unable to contain his delight as he shared his joy with the housekeeper standing nearby.

“Look at this, will you? Now that is real artistry! Good handwriting, finally! That girl’s got some sense, at least—she still remembers what I like.”

All of Halley’s usual aloofness had melted away, replaced by rare enthusiasm.

“What kind of painting has you in such high spirits?” Henry asked, drifting over to join them.

But as soon as he caught a clear look at the artwork laid out on the table, Henry froze.

Wasn’t this the same piece that Seth had snapped up at the auction for a fortune? He’d wanted to bid on it himself, but decided against it out of respect for Bianca.

So how on earth did it end up here?

Halley was too absorbed in admiring the calligraphy to bother with Henry’s question.

It was the housekeeper who filled him in. “Oh, that? It’s a gift from Professor Joyner’s favorite protégé. He treasures it, you know.”

Henry’s heart skipped a beat.

Favorite protégé…

He himself had only managed to become Professor Joyner’s student last year, thanks to his father’s connections.

He’d heard vague rumors that Professor Joyner once had a protégé he was especially fond of, but for some mysterious reason, that student had vanished without a trace. No one was allowed to mention that student in Professor Joyner’s presence; he refused to acknowledge their existence to anyone.

Over time, people simply stopped talking about it.

It only came up again last year, when Henry was accepted as a student, and someone had joked, “Didn’t you already take on a final disciple seven years ago? How come you’re taking on another now?”

Professor Joyner had flown into a rage, outright denying that he’d ever done such a thing.

Henry’s curiosity had been piqued, so he’d quietly asked Dylan, his senior in the program.

It had to be Bianca’s gift.

Extraordinary women were rare, and he’d only ever met one—Bianca.

That’s why he was so certain she was the prodigy Halley had once been ready to take on as his final protégé.

Trying to steady his excitement, Henry asked, “Sir, since you’ve accepted her gift, does that mean you’re ready to acknowledge her?”

Halley snorted. “I never said that.”

Yet he handled the calligraphy with the utmost care, carefully rolling it up and handing it to the housekeeper with strict instructions to store it somewhere safe.

“Will she be attending your birthday dinner tomorrow?” Henry pressed, unable to hide his curiosity.

“She won’t,” Halley replied firmly. “Since she chose to visit a day early, it’s clear she never intended to show up at the party.”