She didn't bother to pay attention to this man who approached her for some unknown reason. He was also the one who had once spent forty thousand gold to bid for her.
Young Master Zhou got angry too. "Fine, I'm not someone who can't take a hint."
"I don't care if you die." He pulled out a medicine bottle from his waist and smashed it on the ground.
Crash, the sound of porcelain shattering. The bottle had medicine inside, and a strong medicinal scent spread in the air. Young Master Zhou flung his sleeve and left.
Aenwyn looked at the broken bottle on the ground, and a teardrop fell. She tried to hold back, but she couldn't, and buried her head into Indigo's arms.
"Indigo…" she called in a hoarse voice.
"It's okay," Indigo held her. "Don't be afraid."
The third round of the competition was based on drawing lots to decide the topic. At that moment, someone quietly swapped one of the topic slips.
Someone who had been watching Ragnar closely quickly came back to report. "Young master?"
"Don't bother!"
He wasn't that shameless. Thinking about how that person had just looked at him with disgust, Young Master Zhou was burning with frustration.
"How is it?" Ragnar asked.
"It's done."
"But young master, drawing a naked man, what kind of insult is that? He's also a man." The person below didn't understand.
"What if the man being drawn is the gentleman on stage?" Ragnar smiled and asked back. He had only switched one of the slips. Each person's topic came in two identical copies. Publicly humiliating the gentleman, let's see how he gets out of this.
Aenwyn's eyes were red and swollen as she received the third-round topic.
By now, her emotions had mostly settled.
Life had to go on, and this time, she was determined to win first place.
But…
Aenwyn stared at the topic slip in her hand, lost in thought.
"Is something wrong?" the supervising examiner walked over and asked.
"Can the topic slips be mixed up?" Aenwyn asked in a quiet voice.
It was just too absurd. She knew this world had no bottom line in certain areas, but this went too far, didn't it?
Though the old man rarely smiled, he was always kind to talented people. He did not mind her questioning it.
He checked the slip in his hand. Hart had drawn the topic—Lifelike.
"Lifelike" meant a portrait. He stroked his beard, "Portraits are hard to draw, but you get what you draw. No changes allowed."
He thought she was unhappy with the difficulty. This round had five themes: animals, birds, fish and insects, and portraits. Four contestants for each theme.
Only the best work from each theme would be picked as first place.
So it's a portrait… "Then…" Aenwyn wanted to ask more but was interrupted by the bell.
Ragnar sneered as he looked at Aenwyn on stage.
Aenwyn frowned at the blank paper in front of her. How was she supposed to start? She had drawn many nudes before, male and female.
But in this kind of setting, drawing a man under everyone's eyes felt insulting no matter how she looked at it.
She scanned the crowd. Could it be that guy playing tricks again? But she looked around and didn't see him.
Time was running out. Aenwyn raised her hand again, but the examiner ignored her.
Forget it… since she was already here, she'd go along with it.
She would follow the topic and make the piece beautiful. It wasn't impossible.
Since she had decided to draw, Aenwyn first looked around at the gentlemen below the stage. Hmm, all old men. Not acceptable, not her aesthetic.
Her gaze finally settled on Ludovic and Mister Curtis. In terms of appearance, Ludovic stood out more. But drawing him?
Aenwyn shook her head. No way.
"Mister Curtis, I've long admired you. For this round's topic, may I draw you?" Aenwyn asked aloud.
Mister Curtis was known for his free spirit. She didn't know if he'd agree to being drawn nude.
Mister Curtis suddenly recalled that night, a soft female voice saying, "This young lady deeply admires you." The tone and words were the same, only the voice different.
His face darkened. So it really was that same person in disguise that night.
Aenwyn saw his expression and thought he was unwilling.
Well, that was to be expected.
She smiled to block his rejection, "Ahem, I was being too forward."
Embarrassed, she looked away and prepared to pick an old man instead. Not ideal, but doable.
She sighed, her face gloomy.
"Draw me," a gentle voice said.
He wore a light blue robe, his eyes clear and deep like jade, and he looked at her calmly.
Aenwyn widened her eyes.
Who would have thought? A gentleman as graceful as the moon actually didn't mind being drawn nude, even in public.
This painting would be judged!
"You're sure?" she asked.
Ludovic paused, then nodded softly. "Yes."
Oh, so you volunteered. You're the one offering yourself for the sake of art. Don't blame me.
But this place wasn't suitable. She needed somewhere more private.
"Could we have a separate room?" Aenwyn asked the host of the Huashu Society.
The host was the mysterious head of the Huashu Study.
Shopkeeper Ye went behind a luxurious curtain to ask someone, and returned with approval.
A private room was available to the left of the stage. To keep things fair, only the two of them were allowed to enter.
The other contestants had no objections. They figured a famous man like Ludovic wouldn't cheat for her.
Not only did no one complain, those who drew the same topic were secretly pleased. Drawing a known person in public made the task harder.
They could draw imaginary beauties or unnoticed elders from the audience. As long as the work felt lifelike, accuracy didn't matter.
But drawing a famous person was a different story.
Some thought Hart was too ambitious, clearly aiming for first place, and looked down on her for it.
No matter what, everything proceeded as arranged.
Once they were alone, Aenwyn prepared her tools and decided on a sketch.
Such a rare model shouldn't be wasted on ink painting, it was too abstract.
"Take off your clothes," Aenwyn said.
Ludovic froze, silently staring at her.
"Take off your clothes?" he asked hoarsely.
Aenwyn looked up. "Yes. How else can I draw?"
The room fell silent. Once she sat down and began sketching, he took off his outer robe, revealing a white undergarment. His black hair hung loosely to one side, giving him a slightly messy look.
"No." Aenwyn glanced at him and shook her head.
Her eyes were still red from crying earlier, and her makeup was smudged. When she looked at him, her gaze shimmered like water, making Ludovic feel like he was dreaming.
Why was this man so hesitant?
"You have to take off the undergarment too." Aenwyn sounded annoyed. She got serious when it came to her art.
She had stripped models before and helped them pose. All for the best results.
When he didn't move, Aenwyn walked over to undress him herself. He agreed, so why was he just standing there?
Ludovic looked at her differently now. His jade-like face turned slightly red from warmth. His voice was low and gentle.
"Why?"
He held her hand. His skin was smooth and soft, not rough as it appeared. He had suspected she might be a woman, but her forehead had no cinnabar mark.
Why? To draw, obviously.
"Are you taking it off or not?" If not, she'd pick someone else.