"So, it means my body excites you a bit then?" 

"Maybe," Zach shrugged indifferently.

Listening to Zach's words, Amelia leaned into her chair and folded her arms underneath her breasts.

"I like you. You are full of surprises," She said, getting up to grab her night robe which was folded at the edge of her bed.

Her initial plan of manipulating things her way would have to end here.

She never expected Zach to feel so composed and relaxed while talking to her.

If he were a die-hard fan of hers from her heroic days, she expected him to listen attentively and willingly agree to every demand she made.

However, he wasn't acting like a die-hard fan of hers and he wasn't a shy, introverted pervert who had a huge crush on her either.

She knew this because, if he were, it would have been a lot easier for Amelia to come to an agreement that would benefit her a lot more than Zach.

There was no doubt that Amelia had already acknowledged Zach's talent for art. However, if he was a pervert, Amelia would have easily purchased his art at a really low price while promising to reward him with a few things that he would find difficult to say no to, but this wasn't going to be the case either.

This meant that negotiations were going to be a lot harder now because Zach had other experienced artists vying for him to join them, and strangely enough, Amelia found this to be soothing and a lot better than handling a pervert as her apprentice.

Moreover, Zach seemed like a fun person to have around.

It would certainly be exciting to have him around rather than a pervert or die-hard fan.

Amelia also found the way he handled himself in front of her intriguing.

In the entire city, Amelia was currently among the top three heaven-defying beauties. She was also among the world's top ten most beautiful maidens and was only behind the mermaids, elves, dragon queens and princesses of the other continents.

So, it was expected for Amelia to have a lot of fans, secret admirers and the like roaming around the city. But Zach wasn't in any of these categories so she knew she would have to handle this negotiation differently from her initial plan.

However, she had suspected this to be the case and this was part of the reason why she wanted to meet him as soon as possible.

Amelia knew Zach was clearly trying to make a statement with the way he submitted his application form to the top three artists and the art guild at the same time.

It was clear to see that he was confident the top three artists and the guild would love his paintings, which was why he submitted them simultaneously, knowing that everyone would do everything in their power to have him work for them.

This would make it difficult for a single top artist to completely monetize him without feeling the pressure of other top artists breathing down their necks, ready to poach him at any chance.

It also placed Zach in a comfortable position to make negotiations with the top artists however he saw fit.

"How much are you willing to sell the portrait you drew of me? I would love to have it for ten million, how do you feel about this price?" Amelia began to negotiate a price that would certainly benefit Zach if he were to agree to it, but Zach wasn't interested in it.

"Too small."

"Very well, how about a hundred million gold coins? This is the most a rookie artist such as yourself can ever earn by selling their art in this current market."

Hearing this, Zach contemplated whether he should agree with the price Amelia was willing to pay him, but it didn't take long for him to come to a conclusion.

"Your offer looks really intriguing but I am certain I can get more if I sell it to someone else."

Amelia knew that what Zach said was right. Out of all the paintings he made, only one of them was a n.u.d.e painting while the others were different but equally as fascinating as the one with Amelia in it.

If Zach were to sell it to one of the other top two artists or even the nobles in the city, Amelia was certain he would earn at least five hundred million gold coins from that portrait alone.

That amount was nothing but a rookie artist's dream, but right now, it was within his grasp.

However, there was a downside if Zach wished to sell the portrait.

It was this particular downside that made Amelia confident that an agreement would be reached very soon.

It was also the reason why Zach drew only one n.u.d.e portrait, rather than a couple of them.

If Zach were to ever sell Amelia's portrait to anyone without her consent, it would certainly lead to legal issues as it would be considered a violation of her privacy.

He would need her permission to sell it since the artwork already complied with the relevant laws and ethical considerations in terms of n.u.d.e paintings.

He had to respect her right to privacy before showing anyone else and Amelia was appreciative that he chose to show her first rather than allow the guild and other top artists to have a glimpse of it.

It wouldn't be surprising to see a few perverted artists creating a masterpiece like this and opting to sell it to one of the two top artists.

Of course, the artist would definitely be arrested, but it wouldn't be long before the top artist bailed him out of jail with the promise of taking full responsibility for any action such an artist takes in the future.

To the outside world, fans of the top two artists would praise them for bailing out a rising talented rookie artist and recognizing his talent rather than letting such a talent rot in jail.

And although these so-called fans weren't wrong, they also wouldn't know the ulterior motives behind their actions.

After all, the top two experienced artists were the perfect example of the word 'simp' when it came to anything related to Amelia Earheart.