Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 124: Painting?

As soon as Livia finished speaking, she was immediately embraced by the golden-haired girl.

"Good evening... sister..." Amalia tightened her arms around Livia, her head gently resting on Livia's chest.

Livia couldn't tell if it was her imagination, but Amalia's voice tonight didn't seem as cheerful as yesterday, and there was a faint trace of melancholy in her tone.

Reaching out to gently stroke the girl's hair, Livia spoke softly.

"How was your day today? Did you eat on time?"

Hearing the affection in Livia's voice, Amalia lowered her eyes and answered softly.

"It was fine, I ate." Before Livia could say anything, Amalia continued.

"...I missed you, sister."

She had been missing her since she woke up in the afternoon, while reading, while painting, and even during dinner.

Hearing this, Livia's lips curved into a smile, her fingers gently smoothing Amalia's slightly messy hair.

"I missed you too, Amalia."

Used to Amalia's straightforward expressions, Livia's response was natural, her tone gentle yet sincere. Along with her small gestures, it gave Amalia a sense of being carefully cared for.

But did you miss me... as much as I missed you...

As Amalia inhaled Livia's sweet minty scent, a complex emotion flickered in her eyes. Soon, she heard Livia speak again.

"Why are you waiting here? Aren't you cold?"

Of course, it was cold, but the desire to see Livia quickly had kept her heart from cooling down.

Ever since she found the silver hair on her bed this morning, Amalia had been somewhat distracted all day.

Whenever she had a moment to herself, her thoughts would wander, filled with anxiety and uncertainty.

Only now, with Livia truly holding her in her arms, did that sense of unease begin to dissipate.

No matter what the relationship between Astrid and Livia was, at least for now, Livia belonged to her, and no one could take her away.

"It's cold, but I wanted to see you," Amalia whispered in response.

Hearing this, Livia's expression softened, and after a moment, she slowly reached out and took Amalia's delicate hand in hers.

"How long have you been waiting?"

The girl's palm was slightly cold, like a piece of fine jade, soft and smooth, and incredibly pleasant to touch.

"Ten minutes," Amalia replied.

The next moment, Amalia heard Livia softly chant a spell, and then she felt her nightgown become warm, as if it had just been sun-dried.

"It's a spell I just learned recently. It should work quite well."

While teaching Lyra in the afternoon, Astrid had also glanced through some beginner-level magic she hadn't encountered before. She hadn't expected it to come in handy now.

Hearing this, Amalia pursed her lips, a hint of joy unconsciously welling up in her heart.

Livia didn't know this spell yesterday... Did she learn it just for me...

Five minutes later, the two returned to Amalia's room. Livia had already taken care of most of the newspaper-related tasks during the day, so she didn't have much work to do tonight, just a few minor edits to the manuscript.

"By the way, Amalia, this is the size of the newspaper we talked about earlier. You can just paint according to this."

Taking the sample Livia handed her, Amalia carefully compared it to the canvas, her voice calm.

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"Can I paint anything I want..."

Livia nodded. "Yes, go with your own ideas. Paint what you're best at."

When it came to artistic creation, Livia couldn't offer much advice. She wasn't a professional and didn't know if Amalia's architectural paintings would resonate with the audience.

Hearing this, Amalia softly replied, "Okay," and then uncovered the canvas to continue working on the unfinished painting from earlier.

Livia sat on the edge of the bed, her eyes slightly widening as she saw the painting on Amalia's easel.

In Amalia's painting, a golden-haired, blue-eyed woman in a white dress sat by the window.

Since the painting wasn't fully completed yet, many details were still missing, but from the background, it seemed to be set in the middle of the night.

Because the transformation potion didn't cause hallucinations in the drinker, Astrid could only vaguely understand her own image in Amalia's eyes from the girl's occasional remarks.

She didn't know what Livia actually looked like or what kind of clothes she wore. Seeing Amalia's painting now, she hesitated whether to bring it up.

Considering that Amalia only interacted with her, Livia remained silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Amalia... are you painting me?"

Hearing Livia's question, Amalia paused her brush for a moment before answering.

"Yes..."

"...I wanted to paint you."

To do it well, she had even studied the anatomy and key points of figure painting.

Livia blinked, her voice soft. "I thought you only painted architecture."

She had heard Amalia mention before that she wasn't very good at painting people or portraits. Now, it seemed the girl had been modest.

"I'm really not that good at it," Amalia said slowly, turning her gaze to Livia sitting on the bed.

"But I want to try."

Many aspects of painting were interconnected. With her foundation in architectural painting, it wasn't too difficult for Amalia to switch to other subjects. The key was whether she was willing to invest the time and effort.

If she could paint Livia well, all that effort would undoubtedly be worth it.

Hearing this, Livia leaned slightly on her arm, her lips curving into a beautiful smile.

"My little princess is indeed amazing. You can paint anything."

The woman's gentle voice fell on Amalia's ears, like drops of water rippling across the surface of her heart.

If it were Lucas or Astrid calling her "princess," Amalia would only feel deep disgust, because she knew that these so-called siblings were reminding her of a cold, harsh reality.

She wasn't some imperial princess, just an unwanted bastard that Hibbort despised. The so-called royal blood in her veins was nothing but a joke.

But with Livia, it was completely different. Amalia loved it when Livia called her that. She could feel the affection and care in it, especially the word "my," which subtly brought her closer to Livia.

"It should take about an hour or so to finish..." Amalia said.

She usually didn't take long to complete a painting, but when it came to painting Livia, every stroke was made with utmost care, afraid of accidentally ruining the overall mood.

Hearing this, Livia nodded slightly, her voice light. "Then I'll look forward to it."

She was indeed curious about how she, or more accurately, Livia Valeria, appeared in Amalia's eyes after drinking the transformation potion.

Time passed minute by minute, and Livia sat quietly, waiting patiently.

Perhaps because she knew the person she missed most was right behind her, Amalia no longer felt as restless as she had during the day. Her eyes were fixed on the painting in front of her, her brush moving back and forth.

An hour passed in the blink of an eye. Noticing Amalia put down her brush and let out a soft sigh, turning to look at her, Livia knew the painting was finished.

She stood up and walked over to the golden-haired girl.

"Sister... I'm done..."

Amalia spoke softly, her tone carrying a hint of nervousness she had never shown before.

Hearing this, Livia leaned slightly forward, her knees not bending at all. Her snow-white, evenly proportioned legs were wrapped in sheer stockings, exuding a hazy, alluring glow.

The woman in the painting wore a white dress, a lace headband with honeysuckle patterns tied around her head.

She leaned against the windowsill, one leg in white stockings naturally extended, the other slightly bent. Her slender, pale arms wrapped around her knees, holding them in an elegant pose.

Outside the window was a deep night sky, dotted with a few stars. The woman turned her head to look inside, her green eyes seemingly filled with shattered light, clear and bright.

This scene felt vaguely familiar to Livia.

"This is... the first time you came to the castle..."

As soon as Amalia finished speaking, Livia immediately remembered.

Back then, she had noticed Amalia secretly watching her. She hadn't expected that in Amalia's eyes, she had looked like this.

"So, that night, after you went back to your room, you came out again?" Livia asked.

Amalia didn't show any embarrassment but instead admitted frankly, "Because I was curious about you..."

"...So after settling Auri, I came over to take a look."

What Amalia regretted most now was her inherent bias against the Valeria name.

If she had realized earlier that Livia wasn't like the others, she could have spent more time with her, and their relationship would have been even closer.

"Sister," Amalia asked.

"How did I do?"

The dusty room, the starry night sky, and the golden-haired beauty sitting by the window, Livia observed the painting carefully, seemingly seeing something different in it.

The overall style of the painting was distinctly different from Amalia's other works.

She could feel that the brushstrokes used by the artist were soft, and while the atmosphere was cool, it was only the initial aloofness of a first meeting, quite different from the sharp lines of her architectural paintings.

"You did very well," Livia replied.

Noticing Livia's gaze lingering on the canvas, Amalia spoke softly.

"Because sister is naturally beautiful."

Livia was the most beautiful person she had ever seen, even surpassing Astrid, who was widely regarded as the empire's most beautiful woman.

Hearing Amalia's straightforward compliment, Livia smiled, her fingers gently brushing the girl's nose.

"Although I'm happy to hear you say that, it's really because you painted well."

In truth, according to Astrid's aesthetic, she thought her original form was more beautiful.

But Livia wasn't bad either, as she was essentially a beautified version of Astrid based on Amalia's subjective perception, further enhanced by a thick layer of sisterly affection. It was only natural that the golden-haired girl found her attractive.

Seeing that Livia seemed to like the painting, Amalia smiled softly and said,

"If sister likes it, I can give it to you."