And Silas, this wandering mage, was very wary of this organization.

Now, they are working with Lillian, letting her pose as a life model to earn money by painting oil portraits.

Silas did indeed gain some benefits, but at the same time, Lawson's status also rose, and both he and his painting skills received publicity as a result.

Even if Lillian and Silas both kept his existence a secret, there was still a game of interests between the two of them.

Once the oil paintings started making big money, Lillian and the organization behind her could easily kick out Silas and go solo.

And Silas would surely try everything to prevent that from happening, but with his limited power, how could he stop himself from being kicked out?

After thinking it over, Lawson came up with an idea: to keep his own life firmly in his own hands.

If Lillian ever planned to turn on him, then Silas would most likely use Lawson's life as leverage.

If Lawson were in Silas's position, he would secretly use poison or a curse to control Lawson, the money-making machine.

‘In White Horse Town, curses can't be used openly, so most likely he would poison me!’

Thinking further, since the cooperation between Silas and Lillian was a spur-of-the-moment decision, they probably hadn't had time to set anything up yet, so he should still be safe for now.

As for how to stay safe going forward, perhaps he would have to rely on Lillian.

Having figured all this out, Lawson completely calmed his mind, carefully organizing his oil painting tools, preparing to face a future full of danger but also hidden opportunities.

Time ticked by, and about fifteen minutes later, footsteps sounded in the hallway outside the door. One set of footsteps was very familiar—it was Silas.

The other set was a bit quicker and had a crisp sound, like women's wooden high heels tapping on the floorboards—most likely Lillian.

After a while, the door was pushed open. Silas entered first, then opened the door wider and gestured invitingly.

A few seconds later, a charming woman wearing a lady's sheer feathered hat, a deep purple gauzy knee-length dress, and black fishnet stockings walked in slowly.

It was Lillian.

‘Click~’

Silas gently closed the wooden door, pointed at Lawson, and introduced, “Miss Lillian, this is my magic apprentice. The painting work will be handled by him.”

Lillian raised her hand gracefully, her slender fingers lifting half the veil from her face. Her amber eyes carefully sized up Lawson, then she covered her mouth and laughed softly, “He's just a child, Mr. Silas. Are you sure he can paint well?”

Silas smiled faintly. “Miss Lillian, I never do anything I'm not confident about. As long as you cooperate, as we agreed before, you'll get 2 krei per session as compensation. Also, you'll get thirty percent of the painting sales.”

Lillian neither agreed nor disagreed.

She swayed like a cat, circling halfway around Lawson and his easel before stopping behind him.

Bending down, her bright lips moved close to the back of Lawson's neck, teasing, “Young man, have you ever seen a woman's body?”

Lawson felt goosebumps rise on his neck and thought to himself, ‘Girls in this world really mature early. She's only two or three years older than this body, but it feels like we're from different generations.’

The gentle, warm scent of her perfume danced around his cheeks like a mischievous sprite, slipping into Lawson's nose and filling him with a strange mix of danger and excitement.

It was like stroking the fur of a female leopard—beautiful, yes, but also truly dangerous.

The feeling was really thrilling.

Lawson noticed his heartbeat speeding up and his body starting to tremble slightly. After a moment's thought, he decided not to suppress it, but instead to amplify his natural reactions as much as possible.

Lillian noticed and giggled, “Mr. Silas, your little apprentice is still a virgin.”

Silas was unfazed. “Everyone has a first time, right? Miss Lillian, you probably weren't so calm your first time either?”

“You're right.”

Lillian admitted frankly. She tilted her head in thought and said, “Anyway, I have plenty of free time. Rather than sitting in the hall all day smelling the stench of a bunch of drunks, I'd rather come here and do something interesting.”

“So, shall we start now?”

Lillian looked curious. “No problem, but how do we start?”

Silas pointed at the wooden bed. “Lie down and strike the pose you think is most seductive to men, then let my apprentice paint you.”

With a spin, Lillian lay sideways on the wooden bed and laughed, “Interesting. Should I take off my clothes?”

“I said the most seductive pose for men. As for how you do it, that's your specialty. As an outsider, I won't say more.”

“Hehe~ this is really fun.”

Lillian tilted her head in thought for a while, then said, “Mr. Silas, I know what to do. But we Nightingales have a rule: we can't let two men see our bodies at the same time, so...”

Silas shrugged and sensibly walked toward the door. “I'll go have a drink downstairs.”

At the door, he said meaningfully, “Oh, by the way, you'd better not touch my personal belongings, because I've set up some not-so-friendly little traps on them.”

“Don't worry, wandering mage. Mrs. Percy already considers you a friend. We don't harm friends.”

“Let's hope so.”

Silas closed the door and left.