67

"I'm not going to finish with one stroke. You won't be able to hold your face up for a long time. I'm thinking of leaving a scar."

Avella, who was very determined, waved her hand strongly, as if she didn't need to buy any more time. Elena didn't bat an eye. She had been pushed to the point where she was close to the worst possible situation, but she stared at Avella with her eyes wide open as if she was even more venomous.

'Ha, I didn't even want to use my body.'

Although small, Elena was tough compared to other ladies. Unlike the ladies, who grew up beautifully, Elena, who grew up just like a commoner, had a lot of work to do. It was when Elena was about to shake off her tight arms.

"What the hell are you doing?"

The voice was not loud, but Avella's palm stopped just before it touched Elena's cheek in the face of overwhelming force.

"Who the hell-"

Avella turned her head in the direction of the voice, annoyed that she hadn't been able to get a second handhold. Unable to turn around, Elena lifted her chin to see Avella's expression. She looked like a goldfish with her eyes rolled back in her head and her lips curled up in a pout, as if she had seen something she could not see.

"Y-Your Highness."

"…!"

Elena's expression hardened as the words came out of Avella's mouth. She had just been in a place where she didn't have much time to spare, so she couldn't tell from the voice alone who the intervening man was. And yet.

'Your Highness is here? Here?'

If it were Ren, she would have let it go. Since he's a bit out of control, he might have been following Elena. But Sian was unexpected. It was hard to decide how to accept Sian that appeared at this time.

Avella didn't seem to be the only one who panicked, and the girls bowed their heads as well. The surroundings, which had become quiet in an instant, were a stark contrast to the situation earlier, when they had been frustrated by their inability to torment Elena.

She could hear his footsteps. Was it her imagination that his footsteps sounded particularly loud, despite the fact that he did not have a big physique?

"Greetings to Your Highness."

Avella raised the hem of her skirt lightly and gave an example. Elena couldn't see Sian because she couldn't turn her head. Instead, she could see Avella's white face up close. She could see that the man she adored was troubled by the sight of the part of her body that she never wanted to be exposed.

"Lady Avella, what are you doing?"

"Your Highness, it is…"

"I'll ask you again. Explain to me what you're doing."

'Ah.'

Sian's chilling voice touched Elena's heart. Still, she could guess that he was angry now because they once lived as a husband and wife. Avella couldn't even raise her head in embarrassment and made excuses.

"… I was punishing the freshman for abandoning respect between seniors and juniors and committing the mutiny. I beg Your Highness to step down, for this is a matter of ladies."

Avella turned the tip of her tongue deftly. She cursed Elena for her lack of decorum and juniority, while at the same time driving her into the affairs of the young ladies connected to the social scene from the academy, saying it was not a matter of Sian.

"…"

Sian alternated between Avella and Elena. Unlike Elena, who couldn't see Sian because she was covered by the large girl's forearm, he could see Elena with high visibility.

"Even in a situation like this, you're still a good talker."

"I just told you the truth, so I hope you don't misunderstand."

"Misunderstand."

Sian briefly transferred her words and soon revealed his thoughts.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Y-Your Highness."

Avella's voice rose in a panic. The female students who had oppressed Elena were bewildered and perplexed by such a reaction from Sian.

"The Lady Lucia I know is not that kind of woman. She has a deep understanding of etiquette and is so aristocratic that it sometimes is a role model for the aristocracy. She is also an honest woman who speaks directly and straightforwardly, saying what she believes is right."

'Ah.'

The moment she heard that from Sian, Elena almost got emotional. She had a vague expectation that he might be like that. However, whenever that happened, she forcefully turned away. The scar of her past life was so deep that she pretended not to know. However, Sian treated and respected Elena sincerely.

"Y-Your Highness are you saying you don't believe me?"

"Lady Reinhardt."

Sian called her family name, not her name. The distance came more painful to Avella.

"Are you really thinking that, Your Highness?"

Avella wistfully hoped for Sian denial. In front of the faction that followed her, Sian's words could change face and pride. There was also a faint desire that he would cherish herself more than Elena.

"I thought I already said what I meant. Should I repeat the same thing?"

"Really.."

"Get back. And don't touch Lady Lucia again."

Avella's lips quivered at Sian's warning that gave her no room to interrupt. For the first time in her life, she was unable to manage her emotions or her facial expressions due to the insult and embarrassment she was experiencing.

Avella bowed silently, turned, and walked away. The girls, who were left alone, saw that she was in trouble and left as if to flee.

"Stop."

"M-me?"

Among them, the face of the female student, who was pointed out by Sian, darkened. To her, a low-class aristocrat who wanted to get something from Avella, she was burdened to be spoken to by Crown Prince Sian.

"That thing in your hand. I don't think it's yours?"

The horn-rimmed glasses were held in the hands of a girl who had eyes on Sian.

"H-here it is."

The schoolgirl who had handed the glasses to Sian bent at the waist to greet her, then ran away without turning around. After the whole situation was settled, Sian's gaze finally turned to Elena. When she felt embarrassed by the too-obvious gaze, Sian said.

"Are you all right?"

As usual, Sian was expressionless. But Elena was able to read the worries and concerns contained in it.

"Thanks to Your Highness. Thank you."

"I'm glad. It's yours."

"…!"

Sian put the glasses in his hand on Elena's face. With a kind touch that she'd never felt before. With a gentle touch she had never felt before. The unfamiliar sight moved her in a way she had never felt before. Elena turned away, unsure of how to understand this foreign emotion.

"… Thank you for saving me."

Elena politely bowed her head and thanked him. If Sian hadn't helped, Elena would have been quite embarrassed and troubled.

"I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Did you hear all of the conversation in the studio that day?"

Elena had no time to deal with it, and Sian came in with what had passed.

'What, what should I say?'

Elena, who hesitated, decided to be honest. Elena confessed that she had overheard everything from the beginning. Elena wanted to be frank with the man who had saved her and cared about her so much.

"I see. But why didn't you ask me anything?"

"What do you mean, ask what?"

Elena, who did not understand the point of the conversation, questioned.

"… Nothing."

Whatever the reaction was, Sian quickly softened.

'What's wrong with him?'

It was a very unfamiliar reaction for Elena, who had never seen him in a bad mood before. Sian had a strange look on his face as if something was not going his way, and he was hesitating.

"I wanted to go to the studio, but I couldn't. Because of you."

"Because of me?"

Elena didn't understand what Sian was saying. It was Elena who had been rude enough to eavesdrop on the conversation without permission. Even if be was in a good mood, Elena had to fix it, and if she questioned the pros and cons, Elena was right in her mistake. So now, Elena was very perplexed by these actions and words of Sian.

"You've been on my mind all this time."

"I'm not sure. I don't know what Your Highness is talking about or why this is happening now."

"…"

Instead of answering, he locked eyes with Elena. His eyes, up close, looked complicated.

"I feel sad and relieved that you don't know."

"Your Highness."

"I've been thinking a lot, but now I can't think of anything."

Was it Elena's mistake? What she felt was that the corners of Sian's mouth went up very slightly.

"I like to be able to see your face. Without pace."

"…!"

Elena's heart skipped a beat.

***

There was silence in the studio.

It was often the sound of breathing except for the sound of the paint on the canvas, which was buried in a brush. In principle, it was such a natural scene in the studio.

Elena was careful not to let her posture collapse as a model. Raphael tried to capture every little detail on the canvas. It was so idealistic that there was a wish that time would stop. Until the uninvited Ren visits the studio and makes a quarrel.

"Hey, painter friend. Where are you looking. It doesn't resemble her at all. She's not too beautiful."

'You son of a bitch.'

Elena breathed out with her nose, angering herself. If you really look at Ren, he was so creative that he might be studying how to turn a person's stomach.

"The basis of portrait painting is the reflection of reality, and isn't that why you want to make a living as an artist?"

"…"

"Do you see your own face? You look like you're going to sigh."

Ren stimulated Elena by cutting across the water. He was arguing as if he knew something, and it made Elena's blood boil upside down.

"I think she's pretty as she is."

"My painter friend doesn't have good eyesight?"

"Let's say yes."

What was amazing is Raphael's concentration. As more and more Ren interrupted the studio, he learned how to concentrate on the painting by ignoring him completely. Recently, he was able to maintain high concentration and respond to Ren's quarrel.

"Human potential is so scary. My painter friend, you should thank me. I allowed you to paint pictures while talking. Don't you think so?"