Ko-fi shop has been renewed, you can find the link at the end of the chapter.
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Isn’t that just how humans are? While one can easily recall the feelings and thoughts of a day, it’s impossible to remember every detail like the angle of an eyebrow, the curve of a smile, the direction of hand gestures, or the state of one’s attire.
No, I shouldn’t complain.
Diana steadied herself once again. Although the Crown Prince had asked her to be honest, it didn’t mean she could react impulsively or rebel against him. She followed his lead submissively.
“Stand facing me. Can’t you relax that ridiculously tense expression of yours? Your facial muscles are all working separately.”
At this rate, it felt like no matter how many days passed, she wouldn’t be able to satisfy him.
“Haah…”
With just one sigh from him, Diana felt utterly condemned.
“It seems it’s better for you to do nothing at all. Don’t try anything—just act as you usually do.”
Eventually, Felix positioned her by the window. The sunlight streamed in, creating a glow around her silhouette, as if her outline shimmered like a sunlit lake.
His slightly parted lips closed slowly. He had unexpectedly found the answer.
Light. I need to use the light.
Her oatmeal-blonde hair, caught in the sunlight, turned golden. If she stood here on a moonlit night, her hair would softly glow with the moonlight. Come to think of it, his studio’s curtains were always drawn to protect his paints and canvases. Perhaps that had been his mistake all along.
Diana clutched her apron tightly and murmured softly.
“Please tell me exactly what kind of expression I should make. I’ll try my best to mimic it.”
“If I teach you, can you mimic it? How will you even see it?”
“I see the world with my hands, not my eyes.”
Felix’s gaze traveled down her upper body to her hands. Her tightly clenched fingers twitched as if they could feel his scrutiny.
“With your hands? How so?”
“If you let me touch… I can feel your expression.”
Diana hesitated as she spoke. Her eyes were fixed on his chest.
“…May I… look at you, master?”
Felix pushed the curtains fully aside, echoing her audacious words in his mind.
Look at me. Look at me…
“Go ahead.”
The brief permission slipped out, not of his own volition.
Perhaps it was beyond his control. He didn’t know the reason and wasn’t particularly curious to find out. Speaking on impulse often turned out to be the right choice. Considering her gaze often misaligned, it wouldn’t hurt to indulge her.
As soon as she received his permission, Diana cautiously raised her hands.
Her delicate fingers hesitated before touching his neck.
When they brushed against his Adam’s apple, Diana flinched but didn’t pull away. Slowly, she began to trace his jawline and gently explore his face.
Her touch was extraordinarily careful, gliding over his smooth skin—unusual for a man.
For a maid accustomed to chores, Diana’s fingertips were surprisingly soft. Her touch was slightly cool, and the serious concentration on her face as she tried not to poke him in the eye made her look almost solemn.
Her hands moved over his chin, lips, nose, eyes, eyebrows, forehead, and along both temples until they reached his ears. Then they traced back down to his jawline. Diana’s fingertips explored every corner of his face.
Felix realized why she had described it as “seeing with her hands.” Without a doubt, Diana was reading him.
In other words, she was perceiving him as if she were truly seeing him with her eyes.
A strange sensation arose. It was deeply peculiar. Felix had never before allowed anyone to scrutinize him this intimately. And no one had ever dared reach out to him with the intent of deciphering his features.
Diana exhaled softly and resumed her movements, this time more deliberately and delicately.
Her fingers, still cool to the touch, brushed along the curve of his lips. A slight shiver followed in their wake.
Meanwhile, Diana couldn’t help but marvel.
She didn’t need to see with her eyes. The contours she felt under her fingertips were the most striking she had ever encountered.
The deep-set eyelids, the sharply upturned nose, the perfectly straight bridge, the sculpted lips that fell into a gentle curve—all of it. His high cheekbones weren’t overly prominent, and his jawline extended cleanly to the angled edge near his ears.
She was certain of one thing: this man’s extraordinary beauty wasn’t confined to his voice.
If she still had her sight, she would have been left speechless the moment she saw him. He was the type of person who seemed born to command worship. Now, she finally understood why Prince Aizen had once muttered in passing, “It’s a good thing you can’t see my brother’s face.”
However, the Crown Prince Felix’s appearance wasn’t quite what the rumors had led her to expect.
He was undoubtedly a rare beauty. Yet, contrary to his reputation for being delicate and fragile, there was nothing weak about him. His tall stature and commanding presence radiated strength, and even his refined features exuded a strong masculinity.
Her fingers lingered on his cheek. She was both relieved and regretful that she couldn’t see him. Perhaps it was better this way for someone like her, powerless and insignificant. To leave him as an unseen mystery might protect her in the long run.
Out of the blue, he asked, “When did you say you lost your sight?”
“…Seven years ago.”
“Do you touch everyone like this?”
Somehow, the irritation had faded from his voice. Her heart raced as she noticed the subtle shift in his tone.
Realizing she had been touching his face for far too long, Diana quickly withdrew her hands. Only then did it occur to her that while she had been reading him, he must have been observing her.
“No, not everyone. Only those who allow me…”
“And are there people who refuse?”
“…The young lady I serve doesn’t particularly like being touched.”
At that moment, Diana faltered. Felix was under the impression she had been serving the Duchess of Osfil. She should have referred to her as “Madam,” not “young lady.”
But since her role as a spy had already been exposed, it couldn’t get any worse. She murmured something to gloss over her slip.
“Now that I’ve roughly memorized the positions of your features, I won’t make any mistakes. Thank you for your consideration, master.”
“Then, can you guess what expression I’m making now?”
“Pardon?”
“You just examined me, didn’t you? Surely, you must know.”
She had been too engrossed in admiring his features to pay attention to his expression. Reluctantly, Diana raised her hand again to feel his lips. They were closed in a straight line—neither too thin nor too thick, and smooth to the touch.
She felt his breath against her fingernail as her index finger rested on his lips. He didn’t seem to be making any particular expression.
Moreover, he didn’t appear genuinely interested in her response. As she hesitated, Felix’s next command veered sharply from its previous course.
“Kiss me, Diana.”
“What?”
Diana involuntarily questioned back. Instead of repeating himself, he pulled her waist toward him.
Diana, as if entranced, took a step closer to him. The distance between them was so close that the tips of their shoes nearly collided.
Felix was a head taller than Diana. She had to lift her heels to their fullest extent for her lips to reach his. Even if her words had been impulsive, an obsessive sense of duty pushed her forward.
Yet, resistance… yes, she didn’t have time to feel that. Diana tilted her head, her lips brushing his as if drawn by a magnet.
Ah.
Their lips hadn’t yet touched. The corners of his mouth, caught on Diana’s index finger, slowly curved into an arc. It was faint, but this expression was unmistakable. A certain premonition crossed Diana’s mind as she listened closely to the sound of his breathing and whispered:
“Are you satisfied?”
Her question, asking him to guess her expression, was met with a delayed response. From the man, there were no returning words.
The gaze with which he stared at Diana, now closer than ever as if he would devour her, held emotions that indeed mixed in part—but not entirely.
“Go ahead.”
Diana confirmed the position of his lips and delicately rose onto her tiptoes. Their breaths mingled, and the distance between their lips was so close they could nearly graze each other. Yet, he remained still, merely watching. Suddenly, he lowered his head. At the same time, something he had been holding fell to the floor with a rolling sound, and their lips met.
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The portrait of Pride has opened a ko-fi shop with 5 advanced chapters. Ko-fi shop will be updated with each update in website. Here is the: LINK
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