{ Chapter 39 }
I stared at the calendar in deep thought.
The day Leon had mentioned—the day of the full moon—was marked in red with an angry-looking face drawn on it.
‘Of all days, why does it have to be this one…?’
As I kept glaring at the calendar, Emily spoke to me with concern in her voice.
“You seem worried about the ball.”
She was right. That day was one of the three Imperial Balls held each year.
And this ball was especially important.
In the original story, there were three times when Idette almost died.
The first was the incident at the lake, which had already happened.
The second was during this upcoming ball.
To make matters worse, Peril would also be attending—though not in his real form.
All three male leads would appear in this episode.
It was an important event in the original novel.
So, I absolutely had to avoid getting swept up with them.
‘I could actually die instead of Idette…’
If it were Idette in danger, the male leads would rush to save her.
But if I were the one in trouble, I’d probably die just like that!
As I sighed deeply, Emily tried to cheer me up with a thumbs-up.
“But you had your dress made by Miss Sally this time! And the accessories are all ready…”
“…”
“I even planned a special hairstyle for you for that day!”
Her words finally made me smile a little.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
“…But, my lady.”
“Hm?”
With a serious look on her face, she stepped closer to me.
“Did you find a partner?”
“Ah…”
“The dress, the necklace, the hairstyle—they’re all important, but what matters most is your partner when you enter the ballroom.”
Emily grabbed my hands tightly.
“Please tell me you found one. Don’t tell me you forgot about it…?”
…I totally forgot.
“Of course I did! I found one!”
Emily let out a huge sigh of relief.
“Phew, thank goodness. Now I can finally sleep peacefully at night.”
Sorry, Emily…
Feeling guilty, I avoided her gaze as she stared at me.
Ugh… I’m in trouble.
Right now, my official fiancé is Ricardo.
So if he doesn’t attend as my partner, I’ll be laughed at again.
‘But I can’t be sure he’ll agree to be my partner.’
He was unpredictable—I couldn’t count on him.
Still, if I choose someone else to go with, I’ll be mocked just the same.
They’ll say, “How shameless—to attend with another man when she’s already engaged!”
Honestly, the best option might be to break off the engagement and find a new partner.
‘…Or maybe not going at all would be best.’
I felt bad for Emily, but I glanced at the calendar again.
More importantly, how am I going to get into the Dremokan Forest that day?
* * *
“Haa…”
There was only one possible way to get into the Dremokan Forest.
“Teacher, are you there?”
I quietly opened the door to Hae’s shop, feeling tense, afraid that I’d run into Peril in another disguise again.
“…Are you here?”
But the shop was empty.
Where did he go?
Once I realized he wasn’t there, the tension left my body, and I began to look around.
Every time I came here, I’d always been too nervous to properly check out the place.
That’s when I spotted a lion statue decorated with gemstones.
“…Grandpa would love something like this.”
“I’m not that old yet.”
A voice suddenly spoke right next to my ear.
It was Peril.
Startled, I jumped back in shock.
“Ugh! Seriously!”
My heart was pounding like crazy.
I held a hand over my chest and glared at him.
“I told you not to show up like that!”
“You told me not to use disguises. You never said I couldn’t pop up like this.”
Come to think of it, maybe I never did tell Peril not to appear out of nowhere…
He chuckled and pointed at the lion statue I had been looking at.
“So you want that?”
“I was just looking. I thought my grandfather might like it.”
“Oh, I thought you meant me.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
Seriously, where was his shame?
I couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh.
“My grandfather’s younger than you, you know.”
“I look young.”
“Looks aren’t everything.”
Peril narrowed his eyes at my comeback. I took a breath and calmly added,
“I misspoke.”
Just then, a sweet, familiar voice called from behind him.
“Peril, is something going on?”
“…!”
Idette.
Her eyes widened when she saw me, but then she broke into a bright smile and ran toward me.
“Miss Bianca!”
She looked like she wanted to grab my hands, but kept fidgeting nervously.
“Have you been doing well?”
“Of course. And you, Miss Idette?”
“I’m doing great too!”
She giggled, then looked over at Peril with a pout.
“You should’ve told me you knew Miss Bianca!”
“You never asked,” Peril replied casually, crossing his arms.
“So how did you two meet?” she asked curiously.
Uh-oh.
I rolled my eyes around, unsure how to answer.
Peril didn’t help—he just looked at me like I should explain.
“Ack! Where are my manners? Miss Bianca, would you like some tea?”
“I’d love some, thank you.”
Idette must’ve seen how awkward I looked and kindly changed the subject. She went off into the back of the shop.
“…I didn’t know you two were this close,” Peril said, sounding surprised.
“It’s thanks to you, Teacher.”
“…?”
“You told me to look after Idette, remember?”
“Oh.”
Now he remembered.
He rubbed his forehead like he was just now realizing it.
He was the one who asked, and then forgot? Really?
I leaned in and whispered to him, “I’ve completed every task you gave me.”
“Impressive.”
“That’s not what I mean!”
I quickly lowered my voice again, worried Idette might hear.
“I mean, now it’s your turn to grant my request.”
“Miss Bianca, do you like cake?”
Idette poked her head out of the doorway and asked cheerfully.
“I like anything!” I answered quickly.
“Great! Then come on in!”
I glanced at Peril.
…Why wasn’t he answering? He was making me nervous.
“Let’s go in,” he said, giving me a little push on the back toward the room.
I resisted as best I could, but I couldn’t match his strength.
“It’s better than me using magic to move you,” he added with a sly grin.
…Okay, fair enough.
* * *
“I’ve been learning magic from Peril lately!”
Idette said excitedly as she snapped her fingers.
A lovely scent filled the room, and soft pink flower petals began to fall over my head.
“How is it? Doesn’t it match you perfectly, Miss Bianca?”
The flowers floated down and covered the surface of the tea.
Peril watched quietly, then clicked his tongue and took away my teacup.
“Idette, how many times have I told you not to use magic recklessly?”
“But it’s fine in front of Miss Bianca!”
She beamed at me with sparkly eyes.
…I guess the incident by the lake had really made her like me.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I kept my head down and focused on eating the cake.
So, it really happened like the original story—Peril accepted Idette as his student.
Makes sense, though.
She’s the last bloodline of the Ailins.
She may be known as a lowly baron’s daughter from the countryside—Idette Antua—but her real, hidden name was Idette Ailin.
“Miss Bianca, try this one too!”
Idette bustled around and placed another slice of cake in front of me.
She must’ve been happy seeing me eat so much.
“When we met at the tea party, I thought you seemed to really love cake!”
…That’s only because I had nothing else to say at the tea party, so I just ate the whole time.
But I couldn’t ignore her kindness.
“Geez, you’re going to get a stomachache. Drink some tea too.”
Peril handed me back my teacup.
Now I was holding a fork in one hand and a teacup in the other.
This…
Don’t I look like an overeater right now?
