If it were a while ago, it would have been different, but now she couldn’t predict what kind of attitude the butler would show.

After telling him to wait briefly in the carriage he came in, Lysith quickly entered the mansion at a brisk pace, told Eve, and quickly finished her grooming. It wasn’t heavily done up, just appropriately dressed for going out.

Ashites’ point color was blue, the same as her eyes, and Lysith, after some consideration, chose a dress that mixed black and yellow, the same as his odd eyes. The base was a deep gold, with black as the accent.

The neckline was slightly open at the collarbone, and overall it had a bit of room in the chest, then a black ribbon around the waist made it look slim. Below that, it was a dress that naturally flowed down in folds following the body’s curves.

When she came out of the mansion, a splendid carriage that seemed to have been prepared in advance was waiting for her. Ashites, who had been leaning against the carriage looking bored and gazing elsewhere, made surprised eyes as soon as he saw her.

“What? Is it strange?”

“Ah, no… I didn’t think you’d match…”

Ashites, who answered no, covered his mouth with one hand. Listening carefully to what he was muttering quietly, it seemed he hadn’t thought she would match the color of his eyes. A faint blush could be seen rising over his covered face.

‘Could it be that the likeability has already reached 100…?’

“I did this too.”

“The necklace, I see.”

Ashites felt like he was about to spit out his heart. Her white hair gathered to one side and brought forward, the necklace matching his eye color, and even matching the dress color to the point of his outfit today…

In fact, although she didn’t have to, it made him feel good that she seemed to have quickly noticed that he wanted to look like a couple. It also added to his elation that his colors suited her well.

And on the other hand, one mage acting as a coachman was rubbing his eyes, looking at his reddened ears, wondering if he was seeing things.

As Lysith’s gaze turned towards that mage due to his behavior, Ashites quickly grabbed her hand and pulled it slightly.

“We should go.”

“Mm-hmm.”

As if to make up for his rude behavior last time, he helped her board the carriage, and this time, instead of sitting across from her, he sat next to her and tapped the carriage to signal departure.

* * *

The place they arrived at was a tea party held at a marquis’s residence. The party had two peculiar points: first, you needed to have a partner, and second, instead of sitting around and chatting together, it proceeded almost like a social gathering.

According to the marchioness who hosted it, she wanted to try something new, but in fact, only the food and overall atmosphere were slightly different. It felt similar to an outdoor social gathering held outside, just with fewer people.

While everyone else was moving around, only Ashites and Lysith were sitting. The gazes of people fell sharply on the two sitting side by side on the sofa placed outside, but Lysith was more interested in the desserts placed beside her, and Ashites was more interested in Lysith.

“Noona, let me do it for you.”

“……?”

No sooner had she wondered what he was going to do than the tart that had been sitting quietly floated lightly and approached Lysith. At this behavior, close to the ultimate waste of magic, the eyes of all the nobles participating in the tea party widened.

Of course, Lysith’s eyes also widened at this spectacle. As soon as the tart arrived in front of her, it was divided into four in mid-air and then pushed towards her mouth.

Ashites, the protagonist who created this scene, was grinning smugly.

As if that wasn’t enough, he even called over a teacup from far away, floating it gently and placing it in her hand. Lysith, though bewildered, accepted the teacup and opened her mouth slightly to eat the tart.

Ashites, who was watching Lysith munch on the tart with his chin resting on his hand, asked proudly in a tone of utmost satisfaction.

“Isn’t it convenient?”

“It is, but isn’t this a bit wasteful……”

Lysith was just perplexed, while Ashites remained confident.

“With this? That’s not true. Noona, I’m the Tower Master, you know.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

When Lysith joked that she just remembered, Ashites mistook it for sincerity and seemed slightly hurt, pouting his lips. When Lysith noticed this and smiled, saying it was a joke and she was sorry, he inevitably made a dazed expression at her face.

Then, suddenly coming to his senses, he turned his head abruptly and grumbled in a sulky tone.

“Ah, really……”

“No, why. I said I’m sorry.”

“That’s not the problem……”

The problem was that his heart malfunctioned just from her smile. Even though he wasn’t a teenage boy experiencing his first love, he found himself pathetic, but it wasn’t something he could fix at will.

……In fact, it was his first love.

After forcibly calming his heart and rubbing his face several times, he continued to attend to Lysith. Until the nobles looked on with curious yet tired eyes, and Lysith finally pushed him away.

“Stop it……”

“Why.”

“Do I not have hands, do I not have feet?”

“Even if you do, you can still be served.”

It was more embarrassing to know that this was supposed to be service. Would there be anyone who could receive magical service from the Master of the Magic Tower? It wasn’t that it felt bad, but being like this in front of many people made her feel ashamed.

Thinking about it, in fact more than anything, there was no way this man would serve her like this in such a public place without any reason.

Lysith, who had firmly pushed away the desserts Ashites was offering with magic, opened her mouth.

“You said you’d tell me when we got here. Why did you want to come?”

“…Just because.”

The silence before the ‘just because’ answer was subtly long.

When Lysith turned her head and stared at him like she was demanding an answer, Ashites, once again succumbing to that gaze, finally gave a proper response.

“There’s a not-so-good rumor going around.”

“Ah, that.”

“You knew?”

“Not in detail, but I had my suspicions.”

“It’s distasteful that they’d spread such rumors even when I’m around.”

Those words made her feel secure, as if she had gained an unignorable backing. In reality, that was true. Although Lysith didn’t know, Ashites had long since shown the bitter taste of money to some of those distasteful nobles.

Of course, it was the mages of the tower who heard and relayed those rumors, wanting to avoid opportunities to be scolded by their superior.

There’s a later anecdote that the mages who brought the names of those loose-lipped individuals and received praise from Ashites for listening well were not only freed from unnecessary scolding for a while but also enjoyed a somewhat relaxed schedule.

Anyway, for that reason, he attended this modest tea party with her, very satisfied with the situation that allowed him to both fulfill his own desires and clear up the bothersome rumors.

“I don’t really care.”

“I do. How can I stay still when such rumors are circulating about you?”

Hearing Ashites’ words, Lysith suddenly felt puzzled. What’s this? This statement sounds as if he were my lover…? It suddenly occurred to her that in his mind, they might already be a couple. But it felt a bit odd to affirm it, and equally odd to deny it.

‘It’s tough being a reverse harem game player…’

Feeling a sudden sense of self-loathing, Lysith quietly sipped her tea. Ashites, thinking she had accepted his words, fingered her exposed nape.

He, who had been sitting slightly apart until just now, was now so close that one could say he was practically clinging to her.

People who witnessed this scene all had the same thought.

‘He’s just about to embrace her, he’s going to embrace her…’

But Ashites, with his face as if coated with oiled steel, paid no attention to people’s gazes this time either.

Lysith, knowing well by now that this man would never listen even if told to move away, decided to try a different approach.

She wasn’t quite sure, but he seemed to react strangely every time she smiled… After a brief consideration, Lysith turned to him with a smile.

“Ash.”

“Uh, huh? Yes?”

“Isn’t this a pet name? If not, I won’t call you…”

“No!”

The speed of his response suggested it hadn’t even passed through his brain.

“That’s right. But why suddenly…”

“I just thought of it. You don’t hate being called this, right?”

“How could I hate it.”