After hurriedly sending Seren away, I immediately made a request to Shahar.

“Shahar! Can you transform into a human form?”

“As I said when we first met, I cannot mimic life.”

“Not a living person, how about transforming into a statue?”

“That I can do.”

“Great! Then, you see the hunter statue visible right from my window? Transform into that.”

Though puzzled, Shahar readily complied with my request.

The black mass swelled up significantly, gradually taking on a form close to that of a human.

A moment later, he was reborn as a work of art.

The statue Shahar mimicked was not just any simple hunter. It was a young hero who had made a name for himself as a sharpshooter long ago. Moreover, it was the most handsome human-shaped statue in the mansion.

I stood in front of his fully transformed self, dumbfounded, with my mouth agape.

The first thing that caught my eye was his long, slender legs, which looked ready to spring off the ground at any moment. My gaze then traveled to his balanced upper body, strong arms pulling back a bowstring, a high nose, and graceful lips.

“Wow, really…”

‘…It’s no different from an ordinary statue.’

Of course, I was filled with admiration for the excellent piece of art.

But that was all. There was none of the shock or thrill I felt when facing a living handsome man.

“You can’t move, can you?”

“A statue has no joints or muscles, so changing posture is impossible.”

As Shahar spoke, the resonance of his voice echoed through the entire statue. The uncanny feeling of a voice not passing through vocal cords but emanating from an internal speaker made me pause.

Unintentionally, I looked up, and Shahar was staring into the distance with the characteristic vacant eyes of a statue.

His gaze, which slightly missed me, reminded me of a scene from a horror movie.

“I see.”

Taking on a human-like form only made me realize even more deeply that he was not truly human.

“Thank you for fulfilling my request. I appreciate it, Shahar.”

“…It seems I have disappointed you again.”

“Not at all! That’s not true.”

I tried to pat him before he got sullen again, but I realized it was impossible in his current form.

After a moment of hesitation, I patted his smooth shoulder and added an embarrassing lie.

“You’re cute no matter what form you take, Shahar.”

I went further and hugged his waist tightly.

“You always…”

Shahar suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

“Hmm? Why did you stop talking?”

“……”

“Hey, Shahar?”

No matter how upset he was, Shahar always responded when spoken to, but now he was silent.

I had always imagined what it would be like if he had facial features.

Unfortunately, the stone-carved features offered no clues to his feelings.

“It’s nothing.”

Surprised by Shahar’s uncharacteristically curt tone, I lowered my arms, and he quickly returned to his original form.

Though worried he might be sulking again, I found the black stone even more endearing.

Its small, fist-sized shape was adorable, and unlike an ordinary lump of coal, its rounded form felt uniquely special.

“Oh, so cute. Being able to have Shahar as my pet rock, I must be the luckiest person in the world.”

As I showered him with sincere flattery, I deeply engraved the lesson I had just learned in my heart.

Shahar is most lovable as a stone.

***

My birthday party was always grandly held. The number of guests was so large that the enormous mansion was bursting at the seams.

When I was young and knew nothing, I secretly felt proud, but as I grew older, I realized their true purpose was not me.

Most of the guests were not children my age but adults who came to network with the Crown Prince, who attended the party every year.

I hoped this year would pass quietly since the Crown Prince would not be attending.

But my hopes were soon utterly shattered.

It seemed my parents’ enthusiasm was ignited even more by the fact that this was the first banquet hosted by our family since my engagement with the Crown Prince was broken.

I was completely exhausted from dealing with tailors and merchants who visited several times a day.

I felt a sense of crisis that I might die before the party even took place.

A heroine dying of overwork without saving the world or even kissing the male leads once would be a cliffhanger ending like no other.

Buried under a mountain of dresses, I clutched my perfectly fine stomach and slowly sat down on the sofa.

“Why does my stomach hurt all of a sudden…”

Seren stared at my face with suspicious eyes.

“What are you up to this time?”

‘Damn it.’

As expected, it was impossible to fool Seren with such a shallow trick.

But just as she knew me well, I knew everything about her too.

I whispered just loud enough for her to hear.

“Do you want the pen Leon used?”

“Hmph, I have plenty of things Leon used too, you know? If it were something from the Crown Prince or Gined, that would be different…”

Thanks to Iscallion frequently visiting the mansion, Seren’s collection was more abundant than ever, and now she valued quality over quantity.

However, I had almost nothing from the other two male leads. One had little desire for material things, and the other’s belongings had long been burned.

I couldn’t give away Gined’s gifts for something trivial like this.

Seren scoffed.

“Stop thinking about escaping and just calmly choose a dress.”

“Fine. If that’s what you want, I can’t help it. Oh, by the way, did you know? Leon has a habit of biting the pen tip.”

Seren’s eyes changed instantly. She reached out to stop me from getting up.

“Just give me your orders. I will follow them.”

“First, get me out of here.”

Thus, the deal was struck.

After glancing around the room, Seren raised her voice so others could hear.

“Ahem. You ate a lot of ice cream earlier, so no wonder you’re feeling sick. You should moderate yourself even if it’s not hot.”

“Yeah, I should have listened to you earlier.”

“Come on, get up.”

Seren naturally led me out of the room.

After reaching a secluded hallway corner, she confirmed the terms of our deal.

“Obviously, you take full responsibility for your escape. And give me the pen as soon as you return.”

“Alright. Wait here and shout that I’ve disappeared after 15 minutes.”

“Please don’t cause any trouble.”

Leaving the pleading Seren behind, I hurriedly left the mansion.

I had no carriage or horse, only Shahar, but the weather was nice, so walking was fine.

While wandering aimlessly, I found a café. It seemed to be a popular place, as it was quite crowded even at an odd hour.

‘Should I just leave?’

I didn’t want to waste my rare alone time on unnecessary confrontations with others.

But there were no other shops in sight, and I was too thirsty to keep walking.

‘Well, it’s not like I’ve committed a crime.’

My hesitation was brief.

I opened the door confidently and entered the café. I saw people exchanging quick glances with their companions upon recognizing me.

Ignoring them, I sat in the farthest corner and ordered iced tea and cookies.

Not wanting to get involved in any bothersome matters, I stared out the window, but a few girls my age timidly approached.

“L-Long time no see, Lady Dronay. How have you been?”

“So-so.”

I didn’t even look at them, thinking they were here to pick a fight again.

“I heard it’s your birthday soon. I received an invitation.”

The girl who said she received an invitation was the second daughter of Count Ivron, who was quite close to Ines Poel. I vaguely remembered her annoying me at my birthday party last year with Ines.

“Oh, really.”

I answered coldly, still staring out the window. It was a clear signal for them to leave.

Outside the window, I saw young men dressed to the nines walking and chatting with bright expressions.

Although it was said to be karma, I felt even more pitiful about my situation, having no decent friends except for Seren.

‘I should have brought Seren along.’

Even Janet would have been better…

Then I noticed something strange.

Instead of fans or handbags, the passersby were each holding a fist-sized stone. Most of the people holding stones were women, but there were quite a few men as well.

“Huh…? What’s going on, why is everyone carrying stones?”

As I mumbled to myself, Ivron quickly answered.

“Oh my, you didn’t know? It’s something the Lady started. Recently, carrying mate stones has become a huge trend among young people, regardless of status.”

“What?”

Ivron even took out her own mate stone to show me.

“This is my mate stone, Rob.”

“……?”

I remembered when I first brought Shahar into the mansion, I had told my parents that mate stones were trending among young nobles.

‘Did that become a reality?’