“Our training seemed to be better than the military. The imperial army couldn’t withdraw so quickly.”
“Did we really have to go this far?”
“In the royal city, there are many eyes watching, and there’s no time to leisurely embrace the princess. But we can’t detain the royal city people again either.”
“Is it okay to hand over the portrait rights without her permission?”
Delia twisted her body to get out of Aaron.
The more she tried to escape, the stronger Aaron’s grip became.
Like being dragged into a swamp, the more she struggled, the more deeply Aaron pulled Delia.
In the small struggle unfolding on the narrow sofa, the touching flesh met, and their breaths tangled.
The old sofa creaked and groaned, and the crying sound echoed in the quiet workshop.
The rising body heat of each other became vividly apparent.
Delia’s cheek blushed like a pomegranate.
“I hate painting portraits so much. Do you know how much I avoided Perugino not to do it?”
“Why?”
“Just because I hate it.”
“It’s good to have at least one. For precaution’s sake. It’s unreasonable for a royal not to have a single portrait.”
To soothe Delia’s firm tone, Aaron gently caressed her.
His large and warm hands flowed over the colorful painted Delia.
“Why on earth do you hate it so much?”
“I don’t like having my face where I’m not.”
“Really. What’s wrong with that? Like a child.”
“I don’t like it when people who don’t know me judge me based on a painting.”
“Hmm. That’s a somewhat rational sentiment, isn’t it?”
As Aaron acknowledged Delia’s words and took a step back, Delia also relaxed her body.
Leaning on Aaron, who was running his hands through every corner, Delia began to unfold a past story.
“Actually, a few years ago, the portrait of Princess Iounic came into our possession.”
“Why?”
“She was a candidate for my brother’s bride.”
“Hmm.”
“Floating with light around her, her eyes sparkling like jewels. Anyway, among the portraits of the three candidates, she was the most beautiful. So my brother made a big decision and officially requested a visit to Princess Iounic.”
“But?”
Although Aaron asked with curiosity, Delia turned her head as if avoiding the answer.
The faded ivy pattern engraved on the old sofa was tangled like complicated emotions.
“Hmm. There’s something like that.”
“No, telling more of the story is making you curious, right?”
“I won’t tell the end. I’ll just tell you that my brother refused to talk.”
That alone was enough.
How did Alberto’s infatuation with the portrait and love end?
Aaron struggled to suppress laughter that involuntarily emerged, making a groaning sound.
“She seemed kind to me. She looked deep and had good conversation skills. She was such a wonderful princess that even the beauty of the portrait was understandable.”
While Delia’s breath tickled her skin, she continued the story with a gentle touch.
“But my brother refused to talk just because she was different from the portrait. If they had met without seeing the portrait, could he have understood Princess Iounic’s heart more deeply?”
“So, there was such a story.”
“Now, do you understand my feelings?”
Delia moved the hand resting on his shoulder to his broad back.
Like a boat floating along the river, Delia’s hand floated gently above Aaron’s back.
A gentle ripple followed the touching hand.
“So, I don’t want to draw portraits. What if people who saw the portrait are disappointed when they see me in person? Like Princess Iounic.”
At Delia’s cautiously spoken words, a strange stillness filled the workshop.
Aaron stopped the hand that was stroking and removed his face, which had been leaning against Delia’s chest.
Slowly raising his eyelids, Aaron looked at Delia.
Her whimsical words seemed absurd, and there was a disappointed smile in her eyes.
“Do you now understand my wish for people to see me as I am, without prejudice, rather than through a portrait?”
Delia’s red lips, worried about the possibility of disappointment when seeing her in person, were intensely tempting.
Responding with a wry smile to Aaron’s laughter erupting from acute hunger, she continued.
“Yeah. You thought well. If people saw the portrait first and then saw the real me, they would be disappointed.”
At Aaron’s response, accompanied by chuckles, Delia tilted her head with a sly smile.
“Right? I’m right, aren’t I? But why does it feel so unpleasant like this?”
Aaron, who was looking at Delia with blinking eyes and a soft whining sound, chuckled and subtly shifted his body.
“Huh?”
As Aaron covered Delia, the airflow in the room instantly changed.
“No way…”
The sensation of their foreheads touching froze Aaron’s blue eyes as they gazed at him.
“Again?”
Anxiously questioning, Delia’s breath brushed against Aaron’s nose and lips.
A sweet fragrance, impossible to capture in a portrait, permeated the inhaled breath.
“No, I can’t. I really need to go now. Quickly, let me go.”
“If you promise.”
“What?”
“To draw a portrait.”
“I said no. How did you hear my story until now?”
“I’ve already promised with Perugino. In exchange for giving us the opportunity to paint the princess’s portrait, he agreed to clear the workshop.”
“But that’s an agreement the commander made unilaterally.”
Delia’s reluctance, manifested in the wrinkling of her forehead, was transmitted through their touching foreheads.
Aaron whispered discreetly as if trying to soothe her.
“Don’t worry. No one will see it.”
Their noses almost touched.
Hot breaths intertwined as if melting everything.
“No one will be able to see it.”
Aaron whispered to Delia’s red lips.
His low and deep voice seeped through her slightly parted lips.
“I’ll hide it deeply, and only I will see it.”
The blue light reflected in the ashen irises shone in Delia’s eyes.
The infinite reflections reached deep into each other’s souls.
“I promise. So, let me draw it for you.”
His promise was filled with a thick desire.
The lingering sensation of his lips and hands drawing invisible paintings reawakened.
What exactly did he want to be drawn?
Did he want a portrait to be drawn, or did he want invisible paintings drawn in hidden places?
Now, she was left in confusion, unable to understand what he truly desired.
Engulfed in an unknown turmoil, Delia’s breath became shallow.
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
