Chapter 46: Situation in Class Two
Nair was so excited, like a child.
It wasn’t just because she could see such a perfect pair together. Nair herself was also one of the most famous painters in the Avalon region.
She was confident that she could capture this adorable moment of the two girls perfectly.
“Miss Nair, are you really okay?”
Seeing Nair so excited, Peiya couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
“I’m fine. But you two are really…” Nair raised both hands. “Really too cute! Hurry, girls—time waits for no one. Let’s go to the lighting room!”
“The lighting room? What’s that?” Peiya asked.
“It’s a room specially used for lighting. The light here isn’t very good, so we’ll go somewhere better to pose. You’ll understand when you get there. With your looks, only that place can show your best side.”
Peiya nodded, half understanding, half confused.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Elise was still holding her hand.
“Can you let go of my hand? The dress is a bit long. If you keep pulling me, I can’t walk properly.”
“Okay.” Elise let go.
Peiya lifted the edge of her skirt with both hands and let out a long breath.
As she walked, she couldn’t help but complain about how long the skirt was.
She really didn’t understand why people in the palace designed dresses this long.
If something sudden happened, you probably couldn’t even run.
At that moment, Nair pushed open a door and said to them.
“We’re here, girls. Let me introduce you to my masterpiece, ‘Love Nest.’ Feel free to look around~”
Peiya raised her head and looked around the room.
The inside wasn’t complicated. In the four corners, there were some cute dolls, each holding colorful ribbons.
Some had balloons tied to them, while others held candy. Looking closely, the atmosphere actually felt quite nice.
Elise also looked around. Overall, this style wasn’t bad, it suited her taste.
Usually, she preferred clean and simple rooms.
But now, with Peiya beside her, things were a bit different.
“Watch your step. Please be careful when walking,” Nair reminded them.
Behind her stood a large wooden easel.
“Is that an easel behind you?” Peiya asked, pointing at the wooden stand with paints.
“That’s right. Once you two pose, I’ll paint you. And of course, I’ll give the finished piece to you.”
“Paint… us?” Peiya pointed at herself, surprised.
“Will it take long?”
“No.” Nair patted her chest confidently. “I won’t use traditional painting methods, I’ll use magic painting. It only takes five minutes to finish one painting. To be honest, when I applied to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, I was disqualified because I painted too fast.”
Peiya was surprised and realized she might have touched on something sensitive. She quickly waved her hands.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up something painful.”
Nair let out a long breath, then looked up again and waved it off.
“It’s okay. I’ve already moved on. Sometimes, what matters isn’t what you should do in life, but whether you can accept your own choices. I’m quite happy being a tailor here now. Alright, enough talking. Girls, come over here. The stage is ready for you.”
“Okay~”
The two of them answered together and walked to the edge of the stage.
On the stage, a large round platform stood out.
It looked like a plain cake base without cream, and around it were several magical lighting stands.
“Ta-da! This is the place. Step up.”
Peiya looked a bit unsure, but Elise stepped onto it first. After confirming it was safe, she reached out to help Peiya.
“No need, I can get up myself.”
The step was a bit high, but not so high that she couldn’t manage.
Peiya lifted her foot and stepped onto the platform.
However, maybe she stepped too far, or maybe she was just too confident and careless.
She did step up onto the platform, but the space under her feet was very small, and her body began to shake.
Just as she was about to fall, Elise quickly caught her and held her steady, softly saying:
“Be careful, the surface is slippery.”
“Ah… you…”
The words reached her lips, but she swallowed them back.
No matter what, Elise had helped her again.
“…Thank you.”
Peiya said honestly, then lifted her head and looked toward Nair, who was busy adjusting various precise devices below the stage.
Before Peiya could figure out what those were, a magic lamp above suddenly lit up.
“The setup is working perfectly, Miss Peiya. Don’t be nervous, this is a magic-powered light.”
Peiya slowly raised her head. After getting used to the light, she didn’t feel too uncomfortable.
Magic lamps weren’t unusual, but the ones in Nair’s room were different from the ones commonly seen outside.
“What are you thinking about?”
Elise’s voice sounded beside her ear.
“I’ve rarely seen examples of how these lamps work in books, so I’m curious.”
“If you like them, I can get a few for you to study later. But right now, you need to…”
Elise paused for a moment. “…fix your messy strap. Look, it’s slipped again. If it’s not adjusted properly, your top will look uneven too.”
“Ah, I’m fine, you don’t need to—”
Before Peiya could finish, Elise’s cool fingers had already touched the strap.
The cold feeling spread across her skin.
Peiya shivered and quickly snapped back to her senses.
“I’ll do it myself. Don’t touch me.”
“How can you fix it yourself? It’s on your back.”
“Who says I can’t?”
Peiya reached her arm behind her back and tried several times, waving her hand around like a dog chasing its own tail. She tried hard, but just couldn’t reach the strap.
She could feel it pressing uncomfortably against her back, but when she tried to touch it, she either went too far or couldn’t reach it at all.
It was like adjusting a water tap, you just couldn’t find the perfect position.
Elise sighed helplessly. “Let me do it.”
She straightened the strap and also smoothed out the back of the dress.
Nair, watching from below, had her mind filled with the scene in front of her.
“So nice… now it’s my turn to act, hehe~”
Nair opened her sketchbook and stepped forward, like a serious teacher studying their current poses.
The most noticeable problem was Peiya.
Even though the scene was supposed to feel warm, Peiya kept trying to avoid Elise, as if Elise had spikes all over her.
This wouldn’t do!
Nair gently reminded her, “Miss Peiya, you seem a bit nervous?”
“A-am I?”
Peiya looked at Nair in confusion. Maybe because of the atmosphere, her heart also started to feel uneasy.
It felt just like being suddenly called on in class.
“Look at you, you won’t even look at Miss Elise properly. You keep looking around. That’s not good.”
“Why?”
Peiya immediately felt unhappy. Yes, she had been looking around, but that was just curiosity!
“Because you two are a pair right now. Look, Miss Elise has been looking at you the whole time. If you keep looking elsewhere, isn’t that a bit inappropriate?”
“What? She’s looking at me?”
Peiya quickly turned her head, her expression freezing.
Wait! She really is!
Elise was actually looking at her very seriously.
“You mean… I also have to look at her?”
Peiya took a sharp breath. This was a terrifying request.
It wasn’t that she was afraid of making eye contact with Elise, but how long would she have to do it?
A few seconds would be fine.
But too long… she really couldn’t handle it.
However, Nair’s next words completely shattered all her hopes.
“That’s right. Both of you need to look at each other properly!”