“Am I going down there by myself then?”

“Rest assured, there’s nothing particularly dangerous inside.”

“… Am I really going down alone?”

“Master frequents this place often, and in terms of security, the basement takes the lead within the manor.”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t trust Philip.

… She was just asking one more time to make sure.

Eventually, Liv left Philip behind and cautiously made her way down the stairs. Perhaps it was because the lights were always on, the stairs to the basement didn’t feel dark and dingy.

Except that she was freaked out by her own footsteps, so she had to stop several times. As a result, she spent a long time walking down the stairs that weren’t very long.

Liv descended the last step, her shoulders slumped, and slowly looked around.

It wasn’t the typical space people picture when they think of a basement: dark, damp, dreary, and abandoned. Rather, it was just as colorful, if not more so, as the rest of the rooms upstairs.

As Liv looked around, she spotted a human shadow and froze in alarm.

“Who…!”

She almost screamed, but when she took a second look, she realized it was a marble statue in the shape of a human being. Next to it was a display of various statues and paintings.

“The Marquis seems to have an abnormal sexual preference since he has a morbid fondness for nude paintings.”

She remembered Camille’s words, which she had forgotten. Like he said, the Marquis apparently had a hobby of collecting nude artworks.

This was a small gallery with a collection of nude paintings and nude statues. Most portrayed full bodies.

They were a whole different level from the few nude paintings of hers that had come out of Brad’s brushstrokes. Muscles so alive they could move at any moment, colors so vivid, naked bodies so perfectly balanced with seductive posture.

Could it be that all the perfect human bodies in the world are gathered here?

As she walked through the artworks, mesmerized, she spotted a particularly disparate frame in the corner. A painting in a wooden frame that looked plain and worn in contrast to the other colorful frames.

It was a nude painting of Liv.

“Oh my God.”

Liv lamented to herself.

It couldn’t be helped. Seeing it hanging side-by-side amongst all the amazing work, it was immediately apparent how incongruous it was. Not just Brad’s poor skills, but also Liv’s clumsiness as a model.

“How could this be displayed so openly like this…”

She felt her face heat up, even though no one could see it. Liv cupped her burning cheeks and glanced around needlessly. Sure enough, she was alone.

Comparing it to the other paintings confirmed it even more. Liv was clearly devoid of any modeling talent. Looking at her body, which she had always considered to be decent, was now so ordinary.

She wondered how she had managed to shamelessly undress in front of the Marquis all this time.

What’s with the posture? Was she really standing like that? She was confident that a beautiful tree in a landscape painting would look more natural than that!

The problem was that there were more than one nude paintings.

“Did he really buy all of it?”

All of the few nude paintings she had ever modeled for were here. From the first one she ever took off her clothes to her most recent with her side profile exposed.

Now she understood why Brad was so confident that the Marquis would sponsor him. Brad could have been misled if the Marquis continuously bought the nude paintings he did.

As she watched them in silence, she felt a presence behind her. She didn’t have to turn to know who it was, for there was only one person allowed in and out of this place. Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Liv opened her lips in a questioning grimace.

“Can’t you take these paintings down, my Lord?”

As she asked without taking her eyes off the painting, she felt a gaze on her cheek. Liv turned her head to face that gaze.

“Do you really need to display them like this?”

She was mortified. Her complexion must have reflected her emotions. The Marquis, however, did not seem to mind in the least despite seeing it plainly.

“It’s up to the buyer to decide how they want to store the art they’ve purchased.”

“But all my paintings are too…”

Liv was silent, unable to find the word. Then she finally managed to speak.

“Weird.”

At her words, the Marquis nodded in approval.

“They are indeed poor in quality.”

The other pieces of artwork, aside from Liv’s paintings, were amazing. It could be seen just from a few of them. It was obvious that the Marquis wasn’t just someone with abnormal sexual preference, but someone who recognized and collected works of great value.