Ko-fi shop has been renewed, you can find the link at the end of the chapter.
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Felix’s hand, instinctively searching for something to sketch, halted. He weighed the importance of finding a blank sheet to draw the woman against the value of imprinting her image in his mind for even a moment longer.
There was no need to forgo one for the other. All he needed was to guide her into maintaining this expression. He had disrupted it once before, and he wouldn’t repeat the same mistake. Clutching his pencil, Felix kept his gaze on her and asked,
“What kind of place is the spring of Ballestega? Just asking out of curiosity, so drop the unnecessary wariness.”
“…It’s a beautiful… place. A place where humans can return to their true selves and become one with nature…. There, nothing created by humans is needed.”
It made sense why she had kicked off her shoes.
“What form do the spirits take?”
“Spirits don’t have fixed forms. They freely change their appearance according to the surrounding scenery or transform into whatever form a favored human desires. They are kind and benevolent.”
Unlike certain people. Diana swallowed her impertinent thought quietly.
The scratch of graphite sounded softly. The moment she stiffened her lips, wondering if he was drawing, another question came.
“Is the water spirit the one you’re closest to?”
“…Yes. Because I was born by the waterside….”
“By the waterside?”
“I don’t know exactly how I was born. There wasn’t anyone to tell me, and even the spirits didn’t reveal that to me.”
She didn’t know why she had to grow up at an isolated spring, separated from her parents. Her mother and father had whispered that she would learn everything when she turned ten, but Diana had never celebrated her tenth birthday in Dorthes.
“If you grew up at the spring, then the only beings you would know in Dorthes are the spirits.”
“Yes….”
After that, she had been captured by the imperial army, and after that….
Thinking of Hilde made Diana’s complexion pale. Felix, as if sensing the shift, changed the subject.
“Shall I let you out into the forest occasionally?”
“……!”
Diana’s head shot up. Though Felix was leaning against the window frame, slightly off her line of sight, it wasn’t too bothersome. Excitement and anticipation grew in her jewel-like light green eyes.
“Can you really do that?”
“Yes.”
Felix glanced at the sketch he had completed in an instant. Though it fell far short of reality, it was the piece he was most satisfied with recently. Reproducing it onto canvas wouldn’t be difficult.
However, the woman lying on the paper had no body below her neck. Now it was time to draw the rest of her.
“Take it off. Everything, top to bottom.”
The blood drained from Diana’s cheeks in an instant. Felix wasn’t particularly surprised, as he had expected this reaction. It was also the reason he had described her face first.
Hesitant, Diana asked in a barely audible voice,
“If I do, you’ll let me go outside?”
“If you need me to confirm it twice, yes.”
It was not a proposal but an order. Even so, Felix extended a rare kindness, something that might happen once in a decade, to clarify.
“Once the outline is fully complete, I’ll let you out. Whether it’s for two hours, three hours, or half a day—however long you want.”
Diana, gasping for breath, held it in and stopped breathing altogether. Felix watched with patience as the hesitation in her green eyes slowly disappeared.
Diana slowly untied the still-damp waist ribbon.
Half a day. If it’s even half a day….
One by one, she undid the buttons fastening her blouse to her chest. The thirst for forest air grew stronger the longer she went without it.
After all, she didn’t have the right to refuse. Her inner self whispered slyly. Just endure it once, and you can keep going to the forest. Maybe you’ll even meet a spirit living there?
If she found even one, she might be able to escape beyond the hunting grounds into the mountains. The thought alone sent a shiver through her.
Still, undressing in front of a man was not easy. Thankfully, he continued to talk.
“Are you the only woman raised by the spring of spirits?”
“I haven’t seen any other humans.”
“To what extent can you communicate with the spirits?”
“It’s not a direct conversation. But when I’m in trouble or need help, they come to my aid….”
As she tried to answer diligently, she suddenly realized it was time to remove the coarse slip.
This time, Felix moved his hand himself. The thin strap he touched slid down her skin. From her fingertips to her wrists, arms, and shoulders, tension gripped every part of Diana’s body as she removed the slip.
Her exposed chest broke out in goosebumps. She even forgot that she had stopped answering his question, rubbing her hands absentmindedly instead.
Now the only thing covering her body was the girdle that wrapped around her hips. As the scratch of the pencil continued, Diana lowered her head further. The man’s silence made her uneasy. She blushed harder as her bare skin felt more exposed.
Please, anything would be fine—just say something again….
Scratch, scratch. The pace of the pencil slowed gradually. Instead of broader strokes, the lead made short, precise movements, as if depicting finer details. Diana had almost bent her head at a right angle when Felix spoke again.
“Why didn’t the spirits heal your eyes?”
“I’m not sure about that, either. It seems they don’t consider my body itself as a subject of purification, and, uh—”
The question that called her attention was rather welcome. Diana quickly started to answer, but let out a small moan. The hand of the man, not holding a pencil, briefly touched her left hip and then fell away. It was a silent command to continue undressing.
“I’ve never tested how far the power of purification can go with humans….”
It was almost the same as saying she had recklessly used a power she couldn’t even handle on the Crown Prince, but neither of them seemed to notice anything odd. Diana stuttered while touching the last piece of cloth remaining on her body. Felix didn’t even have time to enjoy her reaction, as he was focused on moving the pencil.
The corset, which generously covered her hips, caught around her thighs and wouldn’t come off easily. Diana braced herself with one hand on the window frame and removed the last piece of her underwear. The thin fabric brushed her ankle before falling away. Now, nothing was left covering her body.
In the silence where not even a single breath could be heard, Diana’s mouth went dry.
There were no further questions now. Even if the man asked something, she wouldn’t have the leisure to answer. Even without any words or actions, her skin trembled.
The slowly heating atmosphere suddenly reached its peak. The moment someone started moving, this noisy stillness would shatter.
“…The sketch….”
Thud. Felix let the pencil drop, rolling it across the paper. His gaze, which had completely left the sketch, was now cloudy with a heated intensity.
“A bust should be enough.”
He grabbed Diana’s waist as if to lift her. The pencil and scraps of paper loudly scattered across the floor.
Felix pushed her onto the sofa. Her silvery hair was disheveled, flowing wildly across the velvet sofa. When he squeezed her chest, her white flesh spilled between his fingers.
Felix grasped her chest, as though squeezing a ripe fruit, and sucked on her nipple. Diana twisted her shoulder, crying out.
“Master, slowly. Slowly… ah!”
Perhaps from having just returned from a walk by the water, her skin glistened with a moist sheen. Her tear-filled eyes, as well as her unusually bright red lips, all seemed to tempt him.
A shiver ran down his spine, from his crown to his back. Today, it was today.
Today, he had to take this.
***
“Ugh, ahng! Haa!”
From a moment ago, an unfamiliar sound was pounding against Diana’s ears. It was truly strange.
The sound was coming from her own mouth.
“Ah, Master! Not there, uhn…”
When her left nipple was followed by her right one being drawn into the man’s lips, her thighs spread wide open, as if startled. Her body splayed like a frog’s, but there wasn’t even time to feel shame.
As he bit at her areola, then rubbed the tip with his hot tongue, followed by a loud, sucking sound, it felt as if her spirit would leave her body. A tight pressure coiled deep inside her navel, and an unfamiliar sensation spread between her legs.
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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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