AnnouncementJust informing that I added some character pictures in the glossary, if you are interested in knowing how I see them inside my head. And there are going to be a couple of side characters that I will add there during the story. But I will inform you every time I add something new. It’s Wednesday, and once again, I’m super excited. Today is the day I get to show my painting to that gallery owner I met st week. He actually owns a gallery way up north, but I don’t care. Having even one painting in any gallery would be amazing, even though I couldn't visit the gallery myself. I haven’t told anyone that he is coming today, only because if he doesn’t like my work, I don’t want anyone asking how it went. I prefer to suffer in silence over my failure.

  “Good morning, Rin!” I say brightly when entering the potion department.

  “Morning, Elena.”

  His voice is cold, as always. I won’t let it bother me. My mood is unbeatable.

  I’m still a little bummed about the fact that Myrin doesn’t think of me as his friend. I have honestly thought of him as a friend for over ten years. He is even more stubborn than I thought. But I’m not giving up. I have lived with my one-sided love for so many years, doing absolutely nothing about it. Just watching him in silence. That is now over. I’m determined to crack his stupid ice.

  Not that I’m going to confess or anything. I’m not that delusional. I aim to acquire his friendship first. Baby steps, you know. I won’t get too greedy yet.

  I spot Ayas brewing some potions, clearly focusing on inputting his mana into them.

  “Morning, Ayas.”

  “Morning.”

  “You look like your vein is going to pop soon,” I tease.

  “Shut up, Elena. Not now.”

  I have a huge urge to poke him to make him lose focus, but I suppress the need. You never know when Master is watching. I don’t want to get caught sabotaging someone’s work. So I wait until he lets out a heavy exhale, a sign that he’s done.

  “So how was your date with Joanna?” I probe.

  He faces me, smiling.

  “Actually, pretty good. When I got back to the restaurant, Jerome was gone. Understandably, since he was soaking wet. Joanna was actually just leaving too. I apologized that Jerome had dragged her there only to witness that drama and persuaded her to dine with me.”

  “Oh my god. I can’t handle it if you get a girlfriend before I can have a boyfriend. That really makes me a loser.”

  “Woah, shouldn’t you be happy for me?”

  I sp his shoulder, amused. “Of course I’m happy, I’m just joking. So do you already have date number two coming up?”

  “Yeah, we’re seeing each other again next weekend.”

  “Good for you. I bet you’ll manage to have four dates before she realizes that you are way too loud and clumsy and dumps you.”

  “Rude! You are louder than me.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not clumsy.”

  “I’m not always clumsy.”

  “True, only like 90% of the time.”

  “Haha, very funny. So how was your trip back home?”

  “Good. Although I spent most of the time painting. But it’s always good to visit home.”

  “I heard Myrin went with you. Is it true?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you die of boredom during the carriage ride?”

  “No? Why would I?”

  “I can just imagine that Myrin is the worst company for a long ride. He rarely speaks. I bet you bbbered to yourself the whole way. I feel bad for Myrin.”

  “I did not! I drew almost the whole ride there and slept on the way back.”

  “I don’t understand how you can sleep in a carriage. Either you wake up when your head falls over, or if you lean against the window, it shakes and trembles so much you can’t sleep.”

  Now that he says it, it is a little weird that I slept that well.

  “Well, I didn’t have that problem. I usually do, I rarely sleep in carriages. But I guess I was just too tired. I painted almost the whole night there, so I barely slept.”

  “Don’t you ever get bored with painting?”

  “Never. Especially when having a perfect muse.”

  I smile and turn away. “I need to start working too. See you.”

  The day passes by agonizingly slowly, probably because I’m waiting for this evening so much. I went to my atelier yesterday evening after we got back with Myrin. I wanted to dispy my best paintings more properly. And of course, I wanted to put my new painting of Myrin there as well. I don’t care what he says, the painting really looks like him. It’s perfect. Not to brag or anything.

  When the workday finally ends, I go to freshen up and change my uniform into my normal clothes. I chose a dark blue dress this time, hoping it would make me look a little more mature and convincing. I hop into a carriage. I still have one hour left before he comes, so I basically just walk around the atelier, thinking about pcements and changing the paintings every minute.

  I’m excited, but extremely nervous.

  Knock knock.

  Finally! I practically run to open the door and greet him with a smile.

  “Good evening, Baron Louffer,” I say, bowing gracefully.

  “Good evening, Lady Elena. I’m overjoyed that you allowed me to take a look at your artwork.”

  “I’m even more overjoyed to be able to show it. Please, come in.”

  Baron Louffer is in his mid-forties. He was visiting the exhibition with his wife, and his wife was very nice. I’m a little disappointed that he came alone.

  “Thank you. You have a very lovely little atelier here.”

  “I live at the Mage Tower, but my room there barely provides any space for my hobby. So I decided to rent a pce just for painting. It’s small, but enough for me.”

  “Size doesn’t matter, only what it contains.”

  “I hope you like what it contains. I pced some of my favorite works here.”

  I lead him further into the room, and he follows with a warm smile. I guess that’s a good sign.

  “I mostly paint ndscapes. I feel painting them soothes me. I do some abstract work as well, but that is only a way to pour my feelings out, so they are not that good.”

  “Don’t decry yourself, Lady Elena. I think your way of painting is rather stunning.”

  “Really? Thank you. I appreciate the compliment. There are also a couple of portraits I have done, but I’m still learning to do those.” I pce one of my ndscape paintings on an easel. “This one is my absolute favorite. I love the—”

  I yelp when I suddenly feel him right behind me, touching my back.

  He chuckles. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. I only leaned in to look at the details better.”

  “Oh. Sorry. Sure.”

  I move a little to give him space. His smile toward me now feels rather weird. I don’t understand it. He looks at my painting again, and I breathe more properly. We chat for a while about my paintings, and he tells me a little about his gallery. But somehow his voice and eyes don’t feel right. He seems very interested, but something is off.

  We sit on my couch to continue our talk, and suddenly he moves a little closer to me.

  “I would love to have some of your paintings in my gallery. You really are a talented young dy.”

  “Really?” My excitement rises, pushing aside the weird atmosphere.

  His hand nds on my thigh, and I freeze. He keeps watching me, smiling. I don’t like it.

  “Really. Your talent should be recognized. I’m more than willing to help you get your name known.”

  I shift, trying to get a little farther from him, but his hand stays on my thigh, slowly starting to slide along it.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, a little panicked.

  “You know, getting your paintings into my gallery, of course, comes with a price.”

  “Price? If you’re asking for money, I can definitely pay for that.”

  He grins disgustingly. “Oh no, sweetheart. I don’t need money. There are other ways to pay me.”

  His hand slides to my waist, slowly toward my breast, and my panic skyrockets. But I can’t move. My body and mind are too shocked to do anything.

  “I’m sorry. I’m not interested in any other payment methods. So please, could you take your hand away?”

  “I prefer not to. You really are a beautiful young dy. But you are far too young to be acknowledged in the art world, unless you are willing to pay the price. There is no other way to climb up the dder than this.”

  His hand goes over my breast, and I finally snap from my daze, shoving him away from me, somehow succeeding. I storm toward the door, but he grabs my wrist and pulls me against him.

  “Stop! Stop it! Let me go!”

  He just ughs, his lips far too close to my ear, and I feel his bulge against me. His hands are all over my body, trying to lift the hem of my dress. I feel his disgusting fingers on my skin. I start to thrash and yell. Paint and paintings are knocked over as I try to escape him. I really need to get out. This can’t be happening. It really can’t.

  “Shh… There is nothing to worry about. I can be gentle. The less you resist, the less it will hurt.”

  “Fuck you!”

  I manage to kick him in the stomach, and he responds by hitting my cheek. He hits so hard that I fall to the ground. He kneels before me, still ughing.

  “Do you think a small girl like you could fight back?”

  His hands go back to my legs, sliding to my inner thigh, closing to my panties as I desperately try to get away. What am I going to do? My mind is too shocked to think rationally. Come on, Elena. Think.

  Then my brain starts to work. I don’t know how I forgot the easiest way to fight back.

  “I’m not a small girl!” I burst out in anger.

  I shoot water from my hands. It’s enough to give me some space, and I try to get up, but he grabs my leg before I can. I focus on my mana, channel it into the chair behind him to levitate it and smash it into his head, and then kick him in the face. I make a barrier around myself.

  “Get out! And don’t you dare show your ugly face here ever again!”

  Just to make my message clear, I smash my easel over his head too. Then I force my mana into his body, shoving him out the door. I sm the door shut and breathe heavily.

  My heart races, and my whole body trembles. I drop to the floor. Did that really just happen?

  I hate that it took so long for me to pull my mind out of shock and use magic against him. I know I can fight back if needed. But I have never had a reason to use my magic against anyone. The panic just shoved my reason away. Still, I’m gd I got my shit together and was able to stop him.

  I can’t believe I was about to get raped. How stupid was I? Letting a man in while being all alone? I really am naive, aren’t I?

  I want to teleport back to the Tower, but now that he is gone, my body just won’t move. I can still feel his hands touching me, his lips against my ear and skin.

  I’m disgusted. I’m embarrassed. I don’t even know what I feel. I just want to leave and take a shower. I need to wash him off me. I think I can still smell him on my skin.

  It takes me a while to gather my useless body and get back to the Tower. I take a shower. I dry myself, but I still feel dirty. I go back to the shower. I rub my skin, but I can’t make the feeling of him touching me vanish. I can’t help but think, what if I hadn’t been able to use my magic? Would he really have raped me?

  I haven’t even had sex yet. Stupid me was saving myself for Myrin. It would have been horrible to lose my virginity to some rapist.

  After showering five times, I finally give up. I can’t get my body clean. I put on a nightgown and look at myself in the mirror. My cheek is starting to bruise. Oh no. It can’t bruise. How would I expin how I got it? I can’t go around showing people my mauled face.

  Let’s just forget about it and think about it tomorrow. I need to sleep, I have work tomorrow. After that, I need to make him pay. But how do I do that? If I tell the city guards, would they even believe me? Would anyone believe me? It’s just my word against his. He is a Baron; I’m just a Lady. And if I do tell, will the word get out? What would people think of me if they found out? What would Myrin say? He already yelled at me for falling asleep in the atelier. I don’t even want to imagine his reaction to me almost getting raped because I was so naive.

  I can’t tell anyone. If I just don’t talk about it, maybe it never happened.

  And I still have to clean the atelier. I think I caused quite a mess.