Vladimir Ivan's later years were somewhat legendary.
The reason for this lies in the circumstances before his death.
In his later years, Vladimir Ivan was robbed and thrown unconscious into a lake by the bandits.
It was a close call. He should have been dead, but luckily, a passing hunter rescued Vladimir Ivan, who was on the brink of drowning, after the bandits left.
When Vladimir Ivan regained consciousness, he claimed to have seen a mirror lake.
The lake surface shimmered with countless colors, like all the paints he had used throughout his life, so complete that it was overwhelming, making it impossible to determine exactly how many colors there were.
After being rescued, as if knowing his time was limited, he did not rest much but immediately devoted all his energy to completing this painting.
Thus, the painting "Mirror Lake," which utilized the widest range of colors in the world, was born.
After completing this work, Vladimir Ivan passed away due to irreversible damage caused by prolonged submersion in water.
Some say he saw the reflection of sunlight after falling into the water, combined with hallucinations before death, which is why he saw so many colors.
Others say it was his life flashing before his eyes, and since painting accompanied him throughout his life, the memories he saw were the various colors he had used in his life.
Some even say that he was already dead in the water, but the Grim Reaper wanted him to paint the scenery he saw before his death, so he postponed his death, allowing him to complete his final masterpiece.
Regardless, this painting, which was closest to death, became an irreplaceable treasure.
"Will you host an art exhibition, Uncle?" Ayako asked with a smile after hearing the explanation. "I remember the art museums in Kanto haven't held exhibitions for a long time."
"No, I'll have it placed in the museum. But as for the exhibition, there happens to be an oil painting exhibition in Tokyo soon," Suzuki Jirokichi said with a smile. "At that time, renowned oil paintings from around the world will be transported to Tokyo. I plan to have it make its first appearance since arriving in Japan at this exhibition."
"Really? That sounds great."
Ayako nodded, and just as she was about to say something, Sonoko's curious words suddenly came from the gate. "What's great? What's happening?"
"School's over?" Senichi looked at the gate and smiled. "We were just talking about Uncle Jirokichi's plan to showcase the artwork he brought back at the exhibition."
"Artwork? An art exhibition?" Sonoko's interest was piqued after hearing Senichi's words. "When is it happening? Can you give me some tickets, Uncle? I want to go with Ran to visit and see."
"Hahaha, no problem, there will definitely be plenty of tickets. You can share them with your friends," Suzuki Jirokichi chuckled twice, then took out a stack of tickets from his pocket and handed them over. "If you're interested, you can visit together next Monday."
After thanking him, Senichi thought for a moment and took a ticket for each of his colleagues in the office, and then gave the remaining tickets to Sonoko.
After receiving the tickets, Sonoko asked Suzuki Jirokichi what artworks he had obtained this time, and Suzuki Jirokichi explained again for her.
Seeing Sonoko's interest, Senichi wasn't surprised.
Despite being high school students, both she and Ran had a high level of artistic appreciation.
In places like art exhibitions, there weren't many people who would specifically go to appreciate them. It felt like a waste of time if their artistic level didn't meet the standards.
But the two of them could genuinely appreciate the artworks, without just skimming through them. They would carefully feel each piece.
However, while it wasn't surprising, Senichi's vigilance had quietly risen.
Although his little sister-in-law wasn't someone who would attract death like a magnet, she was a "case trigger."
Whenever Conan couldn't find a case, Sonoko, who often played the role of a rich woman, always seemed to have the "money power" and provided the "scene" for a case to happen.
At the very least, she would act out her fangirl nature and drag Ran to see some handsome guy, then mingle with a small group, and Conan's "ability to attract death" would trigger a case directly.
But such occurrences couldn't be confirmed. After all, if it were a case, Senichi was sure he wouldn't forget.
After all, they were about to confront the Black Organization soon, and if there were any non-mainplot-related cases during this time, he would have some impression of them.
But there was no impression of this, which made Senichi think that this was just the everyday life of the rich lady Sonoko.
In any case, because he is so rich, every event they attended or outing they went on seemed to be a "case trigger."
After a brief conversation and with Sonoko returning home from school, Suzuki Tomoko called everyone to move to the dining room to prepare for dinner.
Clearing his mind of various thoughts, Senichi got up and followed Ayako to the dining room.
"Oh right, sis, do you have anything to do after dinner?" Sonoko asked eagerly, hugging Ayako's arm.
"No, why? Do you have something in mind?" Ayako looked at her sister and smiled. "Is there somewhere you want to go?"
"Not really, I just heard from Uncle Jirokichi that it's going to be transported back this afternoon, so let's go see it together," Ayako said excitedly.
"I'd love to see the painting after hearing all those stories from Uncle," Sonoko said excitedly.
"Where are we going to see it later?" Ayako asked her sister, "Did Uncle mention where it's going to be placed?"
"It seems it's going to be stored in a warehouse near our house specifically for storing artworks," Sonoko chuckled, "It's kind of boring being alone, it would be great if you and your husband could accompany me."
"I don't like the sound of that," Suzuki Jirokichi interjected with a glare. "So, I can't accompany you because I'm old, is that it?"
"Oh no, that's not what I meant," Sonoko quickly waved her hand, "I just want sister and brother-in-law to accompany me. It's more fun with more people, otherwise, it's too boring."
In the midst of laughter, Sonoko ran to Jirokichi's side and began to act coquettishly. As an elder, Jirokichi only teased the younger ones, and after a bit of joking, he didn't pursue it further.
Not long after they settled in the dining room and dishes started to be served on the table. Today's cuisine was French: Marseille fish soup, foie gras, Paris lobster, French flambe pancakes, French escargot...
Each carefully crafted dish brought an exquisite pleasure to the taste buds. After the meal, a cup of black tea was served, making it truly delightful.