CHAPTER 333: CHAPTER 329: CULTURE AND ART

"I don’t really care, I’d rather stay away from Langton’s petty political games." Eldest Princess Annie looked indifferent, embracing Perfikot before continuing, "Being able to rest here for a few days can be considered a holiday, but some people are already getting anxious waiting."

Perfikot merely curled her lips at what Eldest Princess Annie said, dismissively replying, "Is that so? Let them hurry then. In the entire Empire, aside from Aunt Annie, is there anyone else worth my special attention?"

Though it sounded arrogant, it was the truth.

For the current Victor Empire, even Eldest Princess Annie had to show deference to Perfikot.

If not, she wouldn’t have made a special trip from Langton to Chernobyl, and waited for several days.

Although she said it was like a "holiday", the fact that an imperial princess waited for several days was a sign and an attitude in itself.

So, for Perfikot, making others wait was her prerogative.

As for whether there were people in the Empire who she should wait for, there were, but unfortunately, those people were not on this list.

"Though there might not be anyone particularly worth your attention, you should still be careful. I know you don’t care about your reputation or public opinion, but don’t end up offending everyone, or it’ll be troublesome to do things." Eldest Princess Annie helped Perfikot straighten her clothes, advising her earnestly.

Perfikot wasn’t very concerned, but she nodded to show she understood.

The two then left the Flying Airship’s berth and headed towards the main building complex of the Lord’s mansion.

Indeed, the Lord’s mansion was not a single house or building, but a cluster of structures similar to a palace-like manor.

For a Count, owning a manor was very normal, and Brandelis Manor was of the same nature, just much smaller in scale compared to Perfikot’s current Lord’s mansion.

Of course, a typical Count wouldn’t have such a large Lord’s mansion; this was a privilege of being the Lord of the North.

By the way, Perfikot’s Lord’s mansion wasn’t funded by her, it was covered by the Imperial Center’s public budget, counted as city construction expenses.

As for the various materials and labor needed to build the Lord’s mansion, they were extracted from the three nations of the old world.

In a sense, this was also the "blood and sweat of the working people."

"This place is luxuriously decorated." Perfikot, entering her Lord’s mansion for the first time, gazed around with a hint of curiosity on her face.

"Had it decorated to the standard of the royal palace, using architects from France to design it, it’s all the latest trendy styles." Eldest Princess Annie, seeing Perfikot finally showing curiosity, broke into a loving smile. Perfikot’s expression made her feel she was still a child.

Perfikot was indeed very satisfied with the design styles from the architects of France, noticing that all the windows were heavy double-glazed to achieve the best possible thermal insulation and heating effects for this era.

Moreover, there were hidden vents set up in all the windows, walls, and corners of the buildings.

"Brass radiators with special additives to increase thermal conductivity, blended seamlessly with the surrounding architectural decor; it shows the high level of the designer." Perfikot highly praised the architect, joking, "Where is this person? If still in France, bring them over. I can offer them the status of my courtier and make them my exclusive designer."

While Perfikot was joking, it was half-serious because she genuinely appreciated the skill of this designer, and the artistic style was something she could accept.

Such a person naturally doesn’t assist her research, but Perfikot didn’t mind having her works refined by them to enhance artistic value.

Does it sound absurd? Seeking artistry in the apocalypse? The answer is certainly not.

In an apocalypse survival situation, practicality should come first, and artistic processing should come after survival needs are met.

But Perfikot had another consideration—to preserve culture and art.

Apocalypse is coming, survival is the top priority; everything geared towards practicality is her principle, but it doesn’t mean humanity should abandon culture and art.

With the industrial revolution, affluent lives provided the soil for the development of culture, art, and science.

If not for this apocalypse, humanity would have entered a golden age of development during the industrial revolution, advancing faster in a hundred years than in the previous thousand years.

And the cultural and artistic sectors would have thrived, birthing many brilliant treasures.

At this moment, although survival is paramount, industries like art and culture naturally face abandonment, but it’s not complete abandonment.

Nobles like Perfikot raising a small group of cultural people or artists is no big problem.

These individuals might not produce or labor much; they’re the least useful in an apocalypse but, from another perspective, they are a valuable part of human society, carrying the heirloom of the most precious parts of human civilization.

So, although Perfikot’s idea was spontaneous, it wasn’t entirely a joke. She planned to cultivate some people in the arts in Chernobyl, to avoid a future where humanity can’t preserve any artistic heritage come the apocalypse, which would be too much regret.

Eldest Princess Annie didn’t mind hearing Perfikot’s thoughts, merely nodding and saying, "Small matter, that architect is in your Chernobyl. You can arrange things later; if you need more, I can get you more of these talented individuals with authentic skills."

"Alright, I plan to take in a group of such talents. Although they can’t create much value in the apocalypse, and art isn’t edible, they are the splendid crystals of human civilization; we should let our descendants see the glorious culture we once had." Perfikot nodded, explaining her intention to Eldest Princess Annie.

As they talked, Perfikot suddenly noticed the green wallpaper on the walls and furrowed her brow as if recalling something.

She frowned, walked to the wall, and reached out to peel a small piece of wallpaper amid puzzled glances, then her expression changed: "Remove all this colored wallpaper for me!"