Gabriele lifted her chin with his hand. When their eyes met, Rita immediately recognized she had been thoroughly mistaken about him.

He wasn’t a Crown Prince who only possessed gentleness and softness. 

His eyes, deeply tinged with violet, were utterly merciless. Like amethysts that would shine cold and hard forever without emitting warmth.

The pupil in the center of those beautiful eyes was like a cold hole that sucked in light. While she was caught blankly in that gaze, he moved his hand again and removed Rita’s hood.

Her hastily tied hair tumbled down in golden waves like a waterfall. It was clearly different from Bianca’s short brown hair. Once more, Gabriele snorted.

“What a sight. Your effort is admirable, and your courage is commendable.”

“…Your Highness.”

“Let me ask directly. Why are you following me around trying to see my n*ked body?”

“Cough. Cough, cough! Kheh.”

Gabriele had pierced through her purpose so accurately that Rita burst into dry coughs while trying to cobble together some excuse.

“I was already surprised enough that you followed me to the night ball. But I truly never imagined you’d follow me even into the bathroom.”

“…”

“Are you trying to aim for my bed now that the Princess has decided to leave?”

“…Ugh.”

He raised his hand that had been submerged in the water and swept it from bottom to top along the feminine curves of Rita’s body. As he slowly traced over the cloth clinging to her skin from the water, goosebumps rose on Rita’s back.

She squeezed her eyes shut. Though s*xual tension hung thick between them for some reason, she had no room to be distracted by it.

“Depending on your answer, I might grant your wish.”

This was like a serpent’s whisper from a trap where death lurked. Sweet, but if she fell for it, her life would be over from that moment.

“N-no!”

But even as she vigorously shook her head in denial, Gabriele didn’t seem inclined to show mercy. He pulled Rita’s waist closer to his n*de body and whispered.

“Then what is it?”

“Well…”

Rita’s mind raced.

She absolutely could not mention Princess Medina. Doing so would undoubtedly provoke the Crown Prince’s anger and violate her professional ethics of keeping client information confidential. But…

If she explained it properly, couldn’t he somehow agree to let her paint a n*de portrait of him?

Everyone at court was aware of her exceptional passion for painting. 

The fact that she had gone to such lengths to study his physique was already known. Besides, royalty often enjoyed being praised—it was in their nature.

“Actually.”

Rita’s eyes sparkled like a river receiving dawn sunlight as she raised her head and began speaking.

Since she’d come this far anyway, she would either live or lose her head. The extreme situation with no middle ground led her to bold words.

“I want to paint a n*de portrait of Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

“A n*de portrait?”

As expected, he raised one eyebrow like he’d never imagined it. With this reaction, she was halfway to success.

“I happened to see Your Highness sparring with the Captain of the Guard. Your balanced physique stimulated creative desire to a degree no painter could resist.”

“…Creative desire?”

“Yes.”

Rita gathered courage and touched his neckline. She traced the fantastic shoulder line from the trapezius to the collarbone, seemingly intoxicated. In that moment, she was truly like an artist addicted to all beautiful things in the world, her latent madness awakened.

“Not just as a painter but as a citizen of the Torre Kingdom as well. That Your Highness the Crown Prince, the future and pride of the kingdom, possesses a body that wouldn’t be shameful anywhere in the world.”

“…”

“I want future generations to recognize and remember this. Therefore, I earnestly request this.”

“Ha.”

Her sparkling blue eyes gazed at Gabriele desperately. This time, rather, he was the one overwhelmed by her gaze.

Gabriele stared at her like he was fed up, then opened his mouth.

“If I don’t permit it, you’ll continue following me recklessly, won’t you?”

“That’s correct.”

“So insolent that I’ll have no choice but to execute you.”

“…”

A chill ran down Rita’s back. She realized in this moment with her skin that she was risking her life.

‘Princess Medina!’

No matter how much she resented her inwardly, it was useless. Rita swallowed tears and continued listening to Gabriele’s words.

Her future would be decided by what words came from his mouth now. Knowing this, Gabriele paused while looking at her eyes with a cold smile.

“…But that would be troublesome. If I executed an artist with no concrete criminal acts, I’d be branded a tyrant before my reign even begins.”

“…!”

“I’ll permit you to paint my n*de. However, there’s a condition.”

“A condition—what is it?”

Rita asked with wide eyes. A permission—whatever the condition, she was willing to accept it.

“You’re an excellent court painter. Since I want to elevate my cultivation as royalty, you will teach me painting as well.”

“…!”

If that was all—how could there be such merciful treatment? Rita felt like immediately jumping out of the bathtub and bowing to him repeatedly.

But Gabriele’s real condition came in his next words.

“On one condition—you’ll be my model too. Fair is fair, isn’t it, teacher?”

Rita pondered briefly, but there was really no need to ponder. As Gabriele’s tone indicated, he already knew Rita’s answer in advance.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all.”

Rita stood up from the bathtub and repeatedly expressed her gratitude. Even as she returned to her quarters dripping water, having resolved one major task made her very happy.

* * *

Several days later, in a small room next to the Crown Prince’s quarters.

Rita, who had arrived first, sat tensely with painting tools spread on the easel. If Gabriele kept his promise, she would soon capture his n*ked body on canvas when he entered.

She was both happy and dazed that she could finally see the Crown Prince’s n*de body she’d so wanted to see. 

Just as she was about to pinch her cheek wondering if she was dreaming, Gabriele entered the room. Rita unconsciously tensed and straightened her back from her seated position.

“Shall we begin?”

Since deciding to take her as his painting teacher after the bathroom incident, Gabriele had used respectful language with her. Rita nodded with an extremely awkward feeling.

“Yes, Your Highness.”

When she agreed, Gabriele came to the center of the room in front of Rita’s easel and unbuttoned his jacket with slow hand movements. Rita unconsciously gulped and swallowed dry saliva.

Following the jacket, the cravat wrapped around his strong neck came undone and fell to the floor. When he removed the white shirt that had been slightly tightened at the neck with strings, his upper body with large, voluminous muscles was revealed.

“Let’s continue.”

A strange tension circulated between Gabriele, who looked at Rita with deepened violet eyes, and her.

“…Yes.”

When Rita answered, he undid his belt. The buckle clinked and slid off, and the pants made of luxurious fabric came down. Finally, when the white undergarment covering his knees dropped to the floor with a thud, Gabriele was completely n*ked.

Just then, a ray of light entered between the curtains drawn at the window and illuminated his fine body. The thick chest muscles and torso completely compensated for the slender physique that might otherwise look delicate.

It was truly the most beautiful body a human could imagine. When Rita surveyed his body with admiring eyes, Gabriele swept his dark hair with his large hand and sent a languid gaze.

“What should I do now?”

“Uh, uh, so…”

Rita’s eyes moved busily. After scanning various parts of the room elegantly decorated according to Torre royal tradition, she pointed to the bed draped with a teal satin canopy.

“Please lie down there!”

“Very well.”

Gabriele turned his body. Then Rita’s face, startled, turned red like a beet.

It wasn’t just because of his b*ttocks that formed a slight angle while rising taut, or the thigh muscles that responded fantastically to them. 

That too, but also because as Gabriele headed toward the bed, the structure at the center of his body began to half-rise. When she first saw it, she’d only had the light thought that it resembled what appeared in anatomical materials.

But now it was completely different. It twitched intermittently according to Gabriele’s movements, or seemingly with a separate behavioral center. Simultaneously, it swelled in size at an unbelievable speed even to the eye.

When Gabriele finally slowly lay down, it had grown to a size that left viewers dazed in shock. Rita nearly dropped the charcoal she was holding.

“Draw.”

“…Um.”

“Draw, I said. What’s the problem?”

Even Rita thought there was no problem with the situation. Or rather, was the situation itself the problem?

Crown Prince Gabriele’s physique was truly fantastic. An appearance that would make even the most cold-hearted person uninterested in s*x stare blankly. 

If she drew exactly what she saw now, Princess Medina would surely be greatly satisfied. The problem was that thing towering in the middle of his body, flaunting its presence.

For Rita, this was her first experience seeing a man’s n*ked body without reservation. 

She already had no immunity to this part, and it was so large as to be burdensome—she couldn’t muster the courage to face it head-on, so her gaze kept sliding diagonally away.

Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and muttered.

“Please, have mercy. Your Highness, the Crown Prince.”

“If what I’m showing isn’t mercy, what do you think it is, Margarita?”

“…”

“I forgave you for brazenly sneaking in to peek at the Crown Prince’s body, and since you said you absolutely had to draw my body for some reason, I allowed it.”

Since he was only stating facts, she had nothing to say. Compared to the wrongs Rita had committed, the Crown Prince was truly showing absurdly great mercy. 

Thinking that normally she could be dragged out immediately and beheaded without complaint, Rita barely gripped the charcoal and began drawing his form on the canvas.

This was an unparalleled opportunity. She had to draw his form as quickly and with as high quality as possible to present to Princess Medina. 

And once she sent her off, everything would end. The Queen’s request, her duty to this country, the disrespect she was committing toward the Crown Prince.

Her charcoal copied Gabriele’s form with mysterious similarity, then stopped at a certain moment.

“What’s wrong?”

Gabriele deliberately stared directly at Rita, who blushed pitifully and averted her eyes. At his question seemingly knowing nothing, Rita’s voice shrank even more.

“Um… well.”

Rita’s drawing was depicting everything splendidly. Not only Gabriele’s handsome features but also his broad shoulders and firm chest, properly defined abs and legs with appetizing muscles. 

But the object in the middle was impossible to depict casually.

“You’re a court painter. Is this your first time seeing one?”

“W-well…”

Of course, she had studied what male g*nitalia looked like through anatomy books and her seniors’ works.

The Torre Kingdom had a conservative attitude toward s*x, and even though it was professional education, it was deemed inappropriate for Margarita, a female painter, to study a male model’s n*ked body.

It was the result of concerns that unseemly incidents could occur under the pretext of art observation, combined with ascetic solemnism.

“W-well, in real life…!”

Then Gabriele smiled softly and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Rita, you should be able to realistically depict the human body, shouldn’t you? Whether the subject is female or male.”