Chapter 75
I Want to Paint a Picture for You
Eiv mentioned “two people” because Lily was also present.
His request completely surprised his classmates.
— Had Eiv’s familiarity with Princess Isabel reached the point where he could directly invite her to join a new club?
Little Aidenn couldn’t help but clap his hands, feeling invigorated and refreshed, as if he had finally resolved a long-standing question.
— I knew it! There must be something between them!
However, they clearly didn’t realize that both Eiv and Isabel were already aware of the White Dance Shoe Club.
The classmates were also enthusiastic. They readily agreed without hesitation and even almost started arguing over “who would be the inviter.”
While the inviter also served as a guarantor, responsible if the invited person caused trouble; conversely, if a prominent figure could be brought in, the inviter would gain a lot of face.
After all, she was Avalon’s only princess!
Despite never having interacted with her, everyone was already filled with curiosity. They just lacked the opportunity and the courage to approach her.
But now, everyone present knew that it was Eiv who would actually bring Princess Isabel to the club. This meant that Eiv was responsible for the matter. He was just borrowing a spot from them in advance.
Even if they couldn’t converse with the princess, they could at least get a little closer to Eiv—and they could invite the reclusive princess into the club themselves… even if they were only the nominal inviters, it would be absolutely brag-worthy.
No responsibility, just benefits.
This was a stroke of pure luck!
Eiv simply sat in his wheelchair, smiling quietly and watching the scene with satisfaction.
He was pleased with what he had done. It aligned with his aesthetic sense and his way of handling matters.
Previously, he had helped Lily apply for a student spot from the princess. This was good for the princess because she was finally starting to use her power; it was also good for him and for Lily.
Just now, he had asked Professor Bard to be his mentor and made an appointment for an expedition to the ruins together—this was beneficial for both parties.
Now, he was helping the princess secure an invitation spot for a club, and both sides were delighted.
— It was a win-win situation.
The world wasn’t as full of zero-sum games as people thought. Many conflicts and disputes merely stemmed from a lack of efficient exchange and communication or from unnecessary greed.
With proper management, many situations could result in mutual benefit. Eiv was skilled at facilitating connections.
After agreeing on the matter, Eiv left with Princess Isabel. Haina asked for Eiv’s dormitory location and then left as well—she still had to take Eiv to find a new classroom in the afternoon.
It was midday in winter, and the sunlight was not intense.
On the way, Eiv clearly noticed that Isabel was very happy. She walked beside him with her hands behind her back, even humming a soft tune.
Now, Eiv finally saw a hint of a young girl’s trace in Isabel—a carefree lightness that belonged to someone her age.
This was something she should have possessed all along.
Even a mere glimpse of it filled him with satisfaction.
Isabel suddenly remembered something and turned to him, “Oh, that painting might take a few more days to deliver. It’s too precious. If kept at home, it wouldn’t have the same preservation environment as a museum… so Teacher sent a letter to the Church today. They plan to invite an old friend to Avalon to help treat the painting with the Preservation Technique to prevent accidental damage.
“If it goes well, it might be ready next month… Is that alright? If you don’t want to wait, Teacher can tell the old friend not to come. In that case, the painting would need to be sent to the Moriarty Museum, with a noted inscription: ‘Donated to Eivass Moriarty’—this painting belongs solely to you, not to the Moriarty Family.”
This was what Teacher had asked her to convey—this was the “real business” of Isabel’s visit today. At least, that’s how she saw it.
“Then I’ll wait a little longer,” Eiv replied with a smile.
At times like this, if he were to say something like “no need to trouble yourself” or “anything is fine,” it would actually be inappropriate.
“But since Master Janis’s letter has already been sent, I’ll wait for that peerless masterpiece to arrive at my home with peace of mind.”
Eiv replied cheerfully.
Afterward, they chatted about campus life.
As they talked, Eiv suddenly realized… they were heading toward the cafeteria?
He had thought Isabel might invite him to a fancy hotel outside the school, or perhaps back to the Silver and Tin Hall for a meal.
But it made sense; after all, she had come to find him on impulse. It was normal not to have a reservation.
“Your Highness Princess Isabel… do you usually eat at the school cafeteria?” Eiv asked with great interest.
“I’ve been before,” Isabel said. After leaving the others, she seemed much more relaxed. Her voice even became smoother and lighter.
She walked with Eiv under the shade of the trees and said softly, “But I’ve only been once. Because they all sit together, eating and chatting. There were ordinary friends, and also couples.
” I didn’t even know where I should sit. I didn’t want to sit next to others, but I was afraid strangers might sit beside me.”
… Didn’t you consider taking a table for yourself?
Eiv was momentarily stunned.
While he had known for a long time that this princess didn’t possess the arrogant and pampered habits of a typical “princess”… this was a bit too polite, wasn’t it?
But soon, Eiv guessed something, “Could it be that someone approached you? Or did Your Highness hear some gossip?”
“… Huh?”
Isabel paused.
Her steps faltered, and she looked at Eiv with disbelief.
Lily also stopped the wheelchair in the shade, clasping her hands quietly behind Eiv.
“I guessed,” Eiv explained with a smile.
“… It’s indeed like that,” Isabel nodded in admiration and sighed softly, “Am I being too sensitive? I just told you yesterday that I want friends… but someone did approach me before. It’s just that at the time, I felt a bit uncomfortable… so I fled.”
“Wanting friends doesn’t mean you have to accept people you don’t like as your friends,” Eiv’s voice rang out clearly under the midday shade. “Even if you don’t have friends for the time being, it doesn’t mean you have to lower your standards for friendship. ‘Friends’ are ultimately a matter of quality over quantity. Friends who require you to distort your personality to gain are not truly your friends, and you won’t find happiness with them.
“Master Janis might not give you a definitive answer on this, but I can—you did nothing wrong, Your Highness. That’s my answer.
“If you really don’t want to go to a crowded place like the cafeteria, you don’t have to. Let’s go back to the villa you gave me… Lily’s cooking is quite good too.
“Or we could go out, find a nearby restaurant, and I’ll treat you. Consider it a return favor for your hospitality last night. Anyway, class doesn’t start until three in the afternoon, and if you’re not taking a nap, there’s plenty of time.”
“… Ah, there’s no need for that,” Isabel was silent for a moment, then suddenly broke into a radiant smile. “Because I already have friends I can eat and talk with. So please don’t call me ‘Your Highness,’ Eiv.”
“Then may I call you Isabel directly?” Eiv asked straightforwardly, without any pretense of refusal.
“… You could also call me Senior Isabel,” she said softly.
Hearing Eiv call Haina “Senior Haina,” she felt as if something had been taken from her. After all, she was also a second-year student and could be considered a senior to Eiv…
“That seems no different from ‘Your Highness,'” Eiv said with a smile, refusing Isabel’s suggestion. “I’ll just call you Isabel directly.”
“… Then, may I call you ‘Teacher Eiv’?” she asked with a playful smile, seeming a bit more cheerful. “I just heard your classmates call you that. Is it a nickname?”
As she spoke, Isabel continued walking toward the cafeteria, and Lily followed suit.
“Probably. But it’s not really a ‘teacher,’ they’re just teasing me,” Eiv explained helplessly. “I’m quite interested in history, so I’ve taught myself some. But I don’t actually know much, it’s just a bit obscure. They’re just joking around because Professor Bard wants to hire me as an assistant.”
He naturally told a partial lie, slightly reversing the cause and effect of the latter statement, but this made him seem more natural and his aura less pronounced.
“Assistant? Amazing!” Isabel exclaimed sincerely. “Many seniors in their third and fourth years don’t get the chance to be assistants.”
“It’s just because Professor Bard isn’t good at lecturing; he’s a respected scholar,” Eiv said.
“What a shame…” The blonde, blue-eyed girl sighed softly, a hint of regret in her voice. “I was thinking, since you haven’t been to school for months, you might be behind on the course. In that case, I could help you catch up on some cross-disciplinary public courses.
“You’re already this capable. As expected of Eiv…”
In Isabel’s eyes, Eiv vaguely overlapped with that “Mr. Fox,” strengthening the premonition that “these two might be the same person.”
A thought suddenly occurred to her.
Isabel rarely had such willful thoughts. But since she met Eiv, these “rule-breaking” ideas had gradually increased.
It was like a statue coming to life, or a painting smiling. Things that were thought to be unchangeable suddenly broke convention. As if the meticulously ticking daily routine suddenly had its gears reversed one day, changing the entire daily life and introducing novel, inspiring variables.
Isabel suddenly gained a vague understanding of “Magic Painting.”
It was a feeling that Master Janis had taught her many times, but she had never grasped—a strong confidence to “break tradition,” a wild creative desire to “override the world with personal will”…
A feeling of “ordinary paper cannot contain me,” “a static image cannot confine my imagination”; to project the “flowing beauty” captured in a fleeting moment of her mind onto paper.
Without Eiv, Isabel didn’t know when she would have such inspiration…
At this moment, she had a clear premonition.
— If she could witness Eiv giving a lecture, she might be able to paint her first Magic Painting.
With that thought, following her instincts and intuition, she tentatively asked, “Eiv, when will you be lecturing next?”
“Around this time next week, why?”
“I want to audit, can I?” Isabel requested.
… Is Isabel this aggressive when she’s with acquaintances?
Eiv took an uncharacteristic sharp breath, his index, middle, and ring fingers tapping rapidly on the wheelchair’s armrest to calm his slightly jumbled thoughts. “It’s… fine. But ‘Modern History’… you shouldn’t need to study that, right?”
“Actually, it’s for the final exam of the sketching class,” Isabel replied affirmatively, as it wasn’t a lie and she wasn’t good at lying. “The teacher wants us to draw a portrait. May I ask you to be my model? I’ll pay.”
“No need to pay,” Eiv said gently. “But if it’s alright, after the teacher gives the grade, could you give that painting to me? No one has ever drawn a portrait of me before; this would be the first one.”
“You haven’t?” Isabel exclaimed.
In her understanding, portraits were a normal thing. Before her teacher arrived, she would leave several paintings every year. And after her teacher arrived, she had a painting almost every month.
From the age of seven to nineteen. There were four entire rooms in the Silver and Tin Hall dedicated to collecting her half-body portraits, full-body portraits, and even group portraits with her family.
But even if not royalty… shouldn’t the Moriarty Family be wealthy?
“Didn’t Professor Moriarty commission an artist to paint you?” Isabel asked, somewhat puzzled.
“No, never,” Eiv replied definitively. “Not only me. Yulia, my brother Edward, and my father himself have never had portraits painted. I haven’t even seen portraits of our ancestors at home. I suppose this might be a tradition of the Moriarty Family.”
“I see…”
But soon, Isabel suddenly noticed the word “first.”
Her expression instantly turned serious, and a glint of emerald-like radiance flashed in her pupils for a moment.
This was the first time Eiv had seen Isabel with such a solemn expression.
He was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
“My first portrait…” Isabel nodded, and the emerald-colored brilliance in her eyes pulsed again like a heartbeat.
“Understood. I will prepare well, Eiv.”
This time, Eiv saw it clearly—Isabel herself hadn’t noticed that she had momentarily resonated with The Path of Beauty.
… With the princess’s pure “obsession with beauty” in her heart, is she going to start leveling up rapidly now?
If she could paint a Magic Painting with just the second energy level of a “polymath,” she might advance by the middle of next month at the latest!
Although Eiv advanced through two paths simultaneously, in his impression… his “Path of Devotion” would be faster than theirs, and he would have to wait for them.
… Now, am I the one who might fall behind her?
Eiv also became a little serious.
Then I need to start grinding some levels. Mr. “Fox” can’t be looked down upon.
He had only made a tiny change to the plot he was familiar with. It had almost no impact on the entire world, era, or political landscape… but this small change, projected onto Isabel, had almost completely changed her life.
Realizing this, Eiv fell silent for a moment.
He also gained a new understanding of the “Path of Devotion” in his heart, and a golden-red radiance flashed in his pupils.
Similarly, Eiv didn’t notice this. But Isabel noticed the familiar flash of light in the depths of his pupils.
It was only for an instant, and she couldn’t see it clearly. Thus, she merely paused for a moment, but said nothing.
… In conclusion, let’s wait until next week.
When she officially prepares to paint for Eiv and opens her magic eyes, she’ll be able to see clearly.
Whether Eiv’s “color” would be that slightly reddish-golden radiance. Closer to fire than light, but not scorching or painful. Like the setting sun, or the rising sun.
If Eiv really was Mr. Fox…
Her heart felt complicated as various emotions surged and receded in an instant. But soon, those mixed thoughts turned pure again.
— If that’s the case, it would be wonderful.
She thought.
First ten thousand, long live! Cat’s first subscription exceeded ten thousand! (Running around)
Thank you all for your support!
Thanks to Beichuan Nanhai and Bapu’s Theorem for the alliance leader donations!
And! Special thanks to Tian Ze Lu for the golden cute donation—
Thank you, beautiful girl Tian Ze, for your patronage. I sincerely kowtow, bang bang bang, kuang kuang kuang, qiang qiang qiang!
The completely depleted cat food has visibly replenished! Woo woo woo, the cat has survived!
Today’s update is over 8,000 words, which is an extra chapter!
When it was listed yesterday, I only had about 2,000 words of drafts. I started writing as soon as I woke up. I fell asleep at midnight because I was too tired, took a nap, and then continued writing. I didn’t finish until 11:30 AM, writing for 14 hours straight, my hands were numb, and I only managed to complete the 14,000-word update for the listing…
Today’s 8,000 words also took until 11 AM. I looked up and saw that it had reached 10,000 subscriptions!
Woo, I’m so tired I could faint! But I’m still very happy!
Years of hard work have finally paid off! Thank you all! I will continue to update diligently, trying to keep the updates stable and cram in as many words as possible!!
Time to sleep—(peacefully)
