Unable to answer for a moment, Anita stood still. Then, a hesitating sound of footsteps, as if the owner of the voice found the short wait challenging, echoed. The half-opened door swung wide open. Anita, awkwardly raising her hand in mid-air, made momentary eye contact with a woman.

A striking beauty with long chestnut hair down to her waist and rose-like cheeks. The woman who seemed close to Rutger. It was Lilliana.

“Oh? I know you! Anita, right?”

Her eyes, which had been sharply angled, instantly softened.

“Oh, yes.”

Lilliana grabbed Anita’s hand energetically. The overly familiar gesture, ironically, created a sense of caution. Anita subtly withdrew her firmly held hand.

“But why did you come here?

“Did you come here alone?”

Come to think of it, the back had been unusually quiet since a while ago. Anita turned around discreetly. The man who had been chattering away just a moment ago was gone. In his place, only a pile of thick documents remained.

“Why did you leave these papers on the floor?”

Liliana pointed to the stack of papers with a puzzled look on her face. Anita pursed her lips, but finally decided to stick to her word to Edmund. She realized that she felt something of a connection to Edmund. After all, their situations were somewhat similar—running away from Lilliana and Rutger, respectively.

Of course, it’s not quite what it seems.

“I had a cramp in my arm while carrying them, so I put them down for a moment.”

“Oh, I see.”

Liliana nodded in understanding.

“Who’s the recipient? Rutger?”

Although Lilliana probably didn’t notice, Anita’s shoulders tensed at the mention of Rutger.

“No, it’s Professor Chapman.”

“Just leave it there. He’ll come back someday.”

Seeming uninterested in the scattered papers on the floor, Lilliana didn’t seem bothered even if they were trampled by passersby.

Despite considering the possibility of returning the item Evan Professor had given her, Anita raised her head. It was quite bothersome to unexpectedly become a messenger due to Edmund. Anyway, since the destination Evan Professor had mentioned was Building 4, Anita’s role ended here.

“Wanna take a look at the studio before you go?”

Do people usually ask to see the workshop?

Unfortunately, Anita had no way of knowing, as she was no expert in such things. Liliana’s tone was casual, and Anita nodded because she was curious about the interior.

Before entering the room, Anita thought she was hoping for Rutger’s absence; She had concerns about awkwardness if they met, and she worried that her visit might be misunderstood because of him.

But when she walked in and the room was empty, Anita felt a pang of disappointment. She pretended not to be, but she must have been expecting to see him.

The room was chilly, with thick blackout curtains blocking out any light.

“How’s that?”

Liliana said in a proud tone and pointed to the canvas. Anita looked around the darkened studio for a moment, then stepped over to Liliana’s side. When she saw where Liliana’s finger was pointing, the corner of her mouth lifted vaguely.

“It’s free-spirited.”

“Hmm. Is that so?”

“Individualistic.”

My honest impression. It was a very poorly drawn picture, but she couldn’t say such things directly.

“Also! I heard that pretty and handsome people have a great sense of aesthetics. Maybe because they look in the mirror every day?”

“…….”

“Why? Haven’t you heard that you’re pretty?”

“Isn’t that just a polite greeting? It’s inappropriate to belittle the appearance of someone you’re not close to.”

“Umm, I don’t think so….”

Liliana was silent for a moment, then shook her head.

“Anyway, why does that Rutger kid mock you every day? Even a three-year-old could draw better while half-asleep.”

Sarcastic comments were Rutger’s forte. Having lived as his next-door neighbor for over ten years, Anita had already become immune, but it seemed Lilliana wasn’t.

No matter how inherent one’s personality might be, speaking like that even to a woman you’re interested in?

Anita’s wandering thoughts were briefly interrupted. She had overheard Edmund saying that Lilliana was obsessed with her. As evidence, when Edmund heard Lilliana’s voice, he didn’t even turn back, just ran away.

So was there a one-sided interest on Rutger’s part?

“I’ll be back in a moment. Take your time looking around.”

When the hell did she get there? Liliana stood in the doorway, waving the stack of papers Anita had brought with her. Before Anita could call out to her, Liliana was gone.

“Wait….”

Is it really okay to leave oneself, an outsider, alone like this?

Feeling awkward alone in an unfamiliar place, Anita awkwardly rolled her eyes. Meeting the gaze of the statue with wide-open eyes, Anita turned her gaze away first. Her gaze, which had been aimlessly wandering, finally landed on an easel placed in the corner.

Unlike the other easels, which were arranged in a circle around a table in the center of the room, this one stood alone in the corner.

Though Anita knew it was impolite to look at someone else’s work without permission, she couldn’t resist. Unable to contain her curiosity, Anita looked around and approached the easel.

“Huh?”

On the white canvas, there was a portrait painted. It was roughly the portrait of a girl in her teens, giving off a strangely familiar vibe. The straight hair hanging down without curls, eyebrows slightly longer than the eyes.

“This is….”

After staring at the painting for a long time, Anita finally recognized the subject of the portrait.

The owner of the painting was none other than a younger version of Anita Rodel, probably around her late teens.

This means that the owner of this canvas is Rutger….

It is clear that the Anita Rodel he sees and the Anita Rodel he thinks he sees are different people. The hair and eyebrows are similar to Anita’s, but the sparkle in her eyes and the small smile at the corners of her mouth are new to her.

The Anita Rodel in the painting was prettier than the real Anita.

It wasn’t painted with colored paint but rather with a black pencil sketch. Despite lacking any color, Anita strangely felt warmth emanating from the drawing.