“Shailyn, if you need financial help again, just let me know. You’ve proven to be a valuable investment.”

Instead of thanking him immediately, I hesitated a bit and replied.

“It seems you’re trusting me too easily… I’m really grateful, but please keep watching over me.”

To see what kind of person I am. I added with a smile.

This approach would give a more humble and modest impression than simply accepting his offer.

The Duke looked slightly surprised but then nodded.

“Alright, I understand.”

“Then I’ll be going now.”

I bowed politely and stepped outside, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

‘Phew, I was completely humble. Maybe a little cool too?’

I walked down the corridor with a light heart and steps.

— Ding!

【A new mission has occurred!】

The system window sparkled brightly.

【Mission: Late Debutante~ Is it possible to have a second debut?~

In the Hersen Empire, young ladies have their debutantes in the capital at sixteen.

But!

Like a Cinderella story, you unfortunately couldn’t attend due to financial issues and had to make do in the territory.

Now, debut in the capital’s social scene and assert your presence like a heroine! (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Deadline: One month

Success Condition: Attend a party hosted by someone of ducal rank or higher with Deborah Diart

Penalty for Failure: Unable to meet any male lead candidates for a quarter】

The content of this mission wasn’t particularly difficult.

The problem was the success condition and the penalty for failure.

‘How am I supposed to attend a party with Deborah Diart!’

Would she even go with me?

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have teased her when we last met.

How would she react if I suddenly asked her to attend a party with me, when she’s like a hedgehog with her spikes up?

‘She’ll definitely coldly ignore me…’

I vividly recalled Deborah’s sharp gaze as she looked at me.

Just thinking about it made me want to skip this mission, but the problem was that failing would mean I couldn’t meet any male leads for a whole quarter.

It meant delaying the final mission clear by at least three months.

‘…I have no choice.’

Desperate to escape this world as soon as possible, I resolved to make friends with Deborah.

5. Magic is Too Much

What kind of person is Deborah Diart?

People’s answers to this question varied widely.

“The lady is delicate and picky. So I try my best not to make mistakes in front of her.”

Anna answered. She had just started working at the Duke of Diart a year ago.

“She’s not as difficult to serve as I thought. But once, when our eyes met, her gaze was so cold I immediately looked away…”

Jack answered. He had worked at the Duke of Diart for about ten years.

“The lady lost her mother at a very young age. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes… She’s really a pitiful and affectionate person.”

Emma answered. She’s the head maid hired by the late Duchess.

Among them, the ones who gave me useful information were Paul and Dain.

“Miss Deborah has been interested in magic since she was young. But the Duke didn’t approve of her learning magic.”

“Father and Grandfather are a bit like that. They raised me roughly and harshly, but they overprotected Deb. That’s why they were strongly against her joining the Magic Tower.”

Putting together what the two said led to one conclusion.

Deborah liked magic and wanted to join the Magic Tower, but failed due to the family’s opposition.

With this fact in mind, I approached Deborah.

“Hello, Deborah.”

Deborah, engrossed in reading in the garden, finally noticed me and frowned.

“…What do you want?”

Isn’t she being too obvious about hating me?

She gathered her books with an annoyed face and stood up. Before she could leave completely, I hurriedly tried to engage her.

“Wait, isn’t that a magic book?”

“……”

As expected, she couldn’t easily ignore anything related to magic, and Deborah stopped in her tracks.

“I’m honestly not interested in magic. But I wanted to get to know you, so I looked into it. Do you want to talk about magic with me?”

“No.”

Despite my best efforts to smile kindly, Deborah flatly refused.

Her face, even when turning away sharply, was like a puppy. Maybe it’s because her eyes drooped gently.

“And don’t talk to me or pretend to know me. It’s annoying.”

Deborah snapped sharply and quickly disappeared.

Left alone, I thought.

‘She kind of resembles a chihuahua.’

Big eyes, small body, cute appearance but fierce personality.

‘How did she know I like animals?’

I equipped myself with the most positive mindset. I had to go to the party with Deborah somehow.

The next day, I sought out Deborah again.

Today, she was also reading a magic book in the garden.

Pretending to admire the flowers, I casually approached her.

“Hello, Miss Diart.”

“……”

Deborah silently furrowed her brows as she looked at me.

I pointed to the clear sky and smiled brightly.

“The weather is really nice today.”

“…What are you doing right now?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Feigning ignorance, I tilted my head, and Deborah’s expression darkened.

Oops.

“I thought you didn’t like me pretending to know you, so I’m pretending not to.”

“…Are you joking? Are you mocking me now?”

“Have we become close enough to joke around? Oh, that’s faster progress than I thought.”

Smiling sweetly, I boldly sat across from Deborah.

Deborah trembled as if she would throw her book at me any moment, then stood up abruptly.

I spoke calmly.

“Don’t go, Miss. I’m going to keep following and talking to you tomorrow, the day after, and the day after that.”

“……”

“Let’s not waste energy and have a conversation here now, okay?”

Deborah, with her pretty face scrunched up, eventually sat back down.

Her bright golden hair cascaded like waves, and her round eyes with deep green pupils suited her well.

Even the fingers tucking her hair behind her ear were slender and delicate.

“Stop the ridiculous act and quickly tell me what you want to talk about.”

I gestured to her, who was bristling like a hedgehog, to calm down.

Whoa, whoa.

But her sharp gaze didn’t soften at all. So I just got straight to the point.

“I’ll be direct. Let’s make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“You were secretly trying to save a million gold as a slush fund with stocks, right?”

“……!”

Deborah visibly flinched, caught off guard by the unexpected hit.

I smiled knowingly.

“That slush fund was probably for entering the Magic Tower.”

“You! How, how do you know that…!”

Deborah stood up, pale as a sheet.

Heh, how did I know. Right.

‘Following my bondservant’s advice to read the newspaper really paid off.’

While studying stocks, I stumbled upon an old article.

<John Dudley, expelled from the Magic Tower due to conflict with the Tower Master>

The article, printed small on the back of the newspaper, briefly described how John Dudley was specially hired by the Magic Tower after donating a million gold but was fired because he was terrible at his job and got on the Tower Master’s bad side.

That’s when I realized.

Ah, even though it’s an illegitimate entry, you can enter the Magic Tower by donating around a million gold.

And this is why Deborah was trying to save a million gold.

“How much have you saved so far?”

“…Why should I tell you that?”

“Honestly, you haven’t saved much, right? Because you kept failing in stocks?”

“N-no!? But I’ve saved 600,000 gold!”

Oh, she’s saved more than I thought.

I didn’t expect more than half, which made what I was about to say a bit easier.

“I’ll cover the remaining 400,000 gold. I’ll help you get into the Magic Tower, so just go to a party with me once.”

Going the straightforward route seemed like it would take too long, so I decided to use a bit of trickery.

My entire fortune is a million gold, so spending 400,000 isn’t too bad.

I can invest the remaining money again and grow it further.

“…Why would you do that? What’s in it for you to go to a party with me?”

Deborah, who had been staring at me in disbelief, soon showed suspicion.

I shrugged and calmly made an excuse.