Chapter 138
“Do you really want to see it?”
“Yeah. I’m curious to see you modeling, and I want to see Mie’s drawings too. I hope she’ll let us.”
Theodore hummed as he held Luna in his arms.
At the moment, Selina and Theodore were heading toward Mie’s private art studio.
Since they hadn’t been able to model for Mie recently, Selina said they had to go today, and Theodore, intrigued, said he wanted to come along too.
‘It’s going to be boring, isn’t it? Just standing in the same pose the whole time.’
‘I know. I just want to watch Mie draw.’
No matter how much Selina told him it would be boring, Theodore kept smiling happily.
[Luna stuck her tongue out in disbelief—he’s so excited.]
Since Mie could refuse, Theodore prepared a little “bribe” for her. Seeing the expensive dessert in his hands, Selina thought,
‘…Mie might fall for that.’
Sure enough, when they arrived at Mie’s studio, Selina’s prediction was correct.
“Perfect! I actually wanted this. How did you get it? Every time I went, it was sold out.”
At first, Mie had been reluctant about Theodore’s visit, but when she saw the bribe, her eyes lit up immediately.
She hummed happily, saying she would savor it.
The once-empty studio, which had seemed bare at the beginning of the semester, was now filled with many artworks. Theodore carefully looked around, admiring her creations.
“Wow… there’s so much. Mie, can I take a look?”
“As long as you don’t drop anything.”
“Of course. I’ll be careful.”
Most of the scattered works were of Selina.
“This hair… are you drawing it in its natural color?”
Realizing that Selina was the subject, Theodore quickly turned around.
At that moment, Selina, no longer wearing her magic headgear, stood with her wavy lavender hair flowing.
“Huh? Oh, right. I feel more inspired in this hair color than red.”
“Theo, don’t you think Selina’s whole vibe changes depending on her hair color?”
Mie poked Theodore in the side, but he was too stunned to speak, just staring blankly at Selina.
“It’s… been a while seeing you like this.”
“You almost never take off your magic headgear in front of you guys. Oh, I remember—Mie, do you remember? One day, my headgear broke, and Theodore didn’t recognize me?”
“When I was little? Even then, he probably fussed until I came along, right?”
“Uh, you’re talking about ages ago.”
Theodore shyly pouted, and Selina and Mie giggled at each other.
“The reaction after that was even funnier.”
“Huh? Was there more than that?”
“Well, before he believed it was you, he acted so strangely. That look… it was just…”
“Mie, aren’t you thirsty? Want some of this?”
Before Mie could finish, Theodore hurriedly offered her juice. Even as she squirmed, he desperately tried to make her drink.
“Phew! Later you said I was the prettiest girl you’d ever seen like Selina… huh!”
“Thirsty, huh?”
Theodore tried to cover her mouth, but it was too late. Selina had overheard everything and widened her eyes.
Theodore avoided Selina’s gaze, blushing. Selina couldn’t help laughing at how cute he looked.
“This is true love, isn’t it? Not even recognizing the face but still liking the same person.”
Mie laughed so hard she nearly fell over, and the louder she laughed, the redder Theodore’s face became.
“So, Theodore, which version of me do you like the most?”
Selina pressed her face toward him. Theodore, blushing, couldn’t meet her gaze and kept looking away.
“Huh?”
Selina’s violet eyes glimmered lovingly, making his heart flutter. He finally muttered in a tiny voice:
“…I like it.”
“What?”
“I like… both. If it’s you, I like everything.”
Selina instinctively hugged him tightly.
“Mie! Did you see that? Theodore is too cute!”
Excited, Selina let out a sparkling little puff of breath.
“…I messed up. Please don’t act like that in front of me,” Mie said, now slightly cold, pleading them not to flaunt their relationship. Luna, free from Theodore’s arms, was beside her.
After the couple’s display of affection, Mie finally started drawing.
Selina posed by the window as usual, while Luna and Theodore sat together beside Mie, observing her work and Selina.
“I saw you have many Selina drawings. Haven’t you drawn the one for the school festival yet?”
“Those were practice. This one is for the festival.”
“Oh, this one?”
“You’re drawing for the festival now?”
Selina had lost her pose in surprise.
“Pose!”
Mie’s shout made her return to her stance.
Only the outline was on the canvas; it was still hard to tell what she was drawing.
“Now that midterms are over, I can focus properly.”
“How long until the festival? I thought you’d start preparing after midterms…”
“It was on the schedule given at the start of the semester. Didn’t you check it?”
Selina and Theodore both seemed to have forgotten.
“It’s from November 18th to 20th, three days total. Today is October 25th—”
“About three to four weeks left, then?”
“Right. One of the academy’s highlights is the school festival. Some clubs are probably already preparing.”
“Clubs? Why clubs?”
Mie stared at the clueless couple, almost in disbelief.
“Never heard of the festival? You need an invitation, so commoners can’t easily attend. Theodore, you’ve probably been once, right?”
“I had a chance a few times, but didn’t go.”
“Why?”
“Too much trouble. Nothing for me to do there anyway.”
True to his nonchalant nature, Theodore didn’t care, making Mie sigh.
“Love makes people alike—they even share useless habits. If I were you, I’d have gone multiple times.”
Mie reluctantly explained the festival:
“It’s a three-day event. Day one is for students only, with games and prizes. The big highlight is the masked ball at night.”
“A ball means dancing?”
“Exactly. Special dance lessons will start next week. We have to memorize everything in three weeks. Nobles learn this from home, but commoners will struggle.”
“Still, a rare experience. Commoners usually just dance at village festivals.”
“Right. Unless you marry a noble, you won’t attend a ball.”
Selina imagined the ball and immediately frowned at Theodore’s comment—thinking of the crowd afterward, it seemed overwhelming.
“From the second day, outsiders come in?”
“Yes. Many distinguished guests, nobles, and royals. Each club must also prepare their own festival events.”
Selina and Theodore didn’t seem to know this either, so Mie continued.
“To make the festival lively, clubs, classes, or skilled individuals like me showcase events. That’s why I’m preparing this drawing.”
“So… our club should prepare something too?”
“Yes, what you do is up to you. Some sell handmade items, some showcase talents. It’s best to discuss with the members.”
“Seems busier than midterms.”
Selina organized what needed to be done in her mind.
“There will probably be more food stalls too.”
Nyaa~! Nya~nya!
[Food! Selina! You must eat lots! It’ll definitely be delicious!]
Luna, usually uninterested, got excited in an instant.
“Our art department is thinking of selling the drawings we’ve made.”
“Are they the ones here?”
Selina looked around—there were dozens of works.
“Yes, everything except the ones for the foundation. No one would recognize them anyway.”
“But most of them have me in them.”
Mie smiled mischievously.
“Don’t worry, the faces aren’t visible. If they sell for a good price, I’ll give you a model fee.”
“Still…”
Selina felt uneasy at her image being sold, even if faces weren’t fully shown.
“Why not sell them all to me?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Suddenly, Theodore dropped a bomb. Both Mie and Selina stared at him in shock.
“How much per piece? I’ll buy all the Selina drawings.”
“Are you serious? There are over ten, and they’re expensive…”
Theodore rummaged through his pockets and handed his entire wallet to Mie.
She opened it, stunned—inside were stacks of gold coins sparkling like Theodore’s eyes.
“So, how much do you want?”
“…Wait a moment.”
Eyes gleaming, Mie began organizing Selina’s drawings like a merchant.
Selina looked at Theodore in disbelief, but he just smiled.
[…He really wasn’t joking last time.]
When he first offered to buy all her drawings, she thought he was joking—but he was serious.
Oblivious to Selina and Luna’s astonishment, only Theodore, with Selina’s drawings, and Mie, selling them at a good price, smiled.
