Chapter 5.1

“Actually, Baroness Vendons asked me to do additional small tasks. I was thinking of telling you when the work date is decided, but I’m telling you now because you seem to be worried.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, so we don’t have to sell this.”

Drawing a bright smile, Liv patted Coryda’s head. Coryda looked at Liv with suspicious eyes, but she had no way of finding out the truth.

Liv, who made a nonchalant expression, turned around while deliberately looking busy.

“Well, let’s eat something delicious to refresh ourselves! I’ll show you my skills today!”

Coryda fiddled with the music box for a long time, and then carefully put it down again. Liv, who was looking sideways at her, breathed a sigh of relief only after confirming that Coryda’s expression was more relaxed.

I should calculate the cost of living for this month after Coryda falls asleep.

***

The modeling work was usually carried out at Brad’s request and then Liv accepted. However, Liv, who was in a hurry right away, had no choice but to visit Brad first.

Liv, who buttoned up her hood as much as she could, busily climbed the stairs. After checking her back several times, she knocked on the door of the studio carefully, and there was a loud bang from the inside.

“Yes, come in!”

She was wondering what to do if he wasn’t available, but fortunately, he seemed to have been inside. Liv opened the door with pleasure.

The inside was filled with the smell of paint as though the fresh scent of the other day was all illusion. The floor and around was a mess because it was not cleaned properly, and some empty paint cans rolled around the floor randomly.

“Liv?”

Brad, who was standing in front of a canvas covered with white cloth, looked at Liv with wide eyes. He looked flustered as if he had never expected the visitor to be Liv.

“What’s going on?”

“Brad, I have a favor to ask…”

Liv, who was fiddling with her hands nervously, stopped. It was because she realized that Brad’s attitude was strange. He was standing restlessly in front of the canvas.

“I guess that’s a painting behind you.”

“Huh? Uh-huh.”

“It’s a finished nude painting, isn’t it?”

“Well, it is.”

Sometimes, he showed the finished painting as if boasting of. It was an act of showing off his work and also revealing that he kept his promise.

Today, however, he seemed to want to cover up the painting. So much that it was suspicious.

“… I can see it, can’t I?”

When she asked insinuatingly, Brad tried to avoid her eyes and cleared his throat.

“What do I do, this one is already sold. It’s, it’s a bit hard to just show it to…”

Looking elsewhere, he ended up responding belatedly to Liv’s quick movement.

“Liv, wait…!”

The seized white cloth was easily pulled down, and a painting that filled the canvas finally showed itself. Brad quickly blocked the wooden easel, but Liv had already seen the finished nude painting.

“Brad!”

A sharp scream broke out of Liv’s mouth. Brad hurriedly waved his hand, streaming with sweat.

“Wait, this is. Let me explain.”

“You promised that you wouldn’t draw my face!”

A woman sitting with her back in view but with her head turned halfway. The stark-naked woman who looked back with her face on her shoulder was definitely Liv.

“Tha-that’s why I drew it a little differently. Besides, no one will know because the silhouette of the side face is only slightly revealed.”

Brad, who realized that it was impossible to hide it, hurriedly pointed to the side face in the picture and explained. Poor excuses followed, such as having slightly different features and changing the color of the eyes.

Liv, who was staring at Brad with greatly appalled eyes, cut his words firmly.

“I hate it though!”

“Liv, you’ve already received the money.”

“I heard it’s Coryda’s birthday soon.”

“Don’t tell me it’s the extra money you gave to buy the birthday present…!”

I thought it was unusual, but it turns out he shared the pay? Liv bit her lips. It was her fault for not properly checking the source of the money because she was distracted by Coryda’s birthday present.

“Tha-that’s not all. They said they’ll give me an extra fee if I hand over the finished work. Of course you’ll have your share. You can earn double what you normally earn just by showing a little bit of your side profile!”

“This is a breach of contract. I’ve never agreed to this kind of work.”

“Then we have to return all the money we received. Can you do that?”

“I can just…!”

The start of her words sprang out in force, but the power didn’t last until the end.

If she accused Brad of violating the contract before returning the model fee, she would not be held responsible for the price of the painting. However, to do so, she must confess to the magistrate that the model of the painting was her. And there was a possibility that she had to talk in front of other officers.

Is there a parent in this city who will entrust the education of their child to a woman who was a nude model?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know or tag admin in comments so we can fix it as soon as possible.