Even as unsettling incidents were occurring in the capital, a romance novel heroine could not neglect her love affairs.

Under the pretext of giving out party invitations, I went to see the male leads one by one.

The first one I met was Iscallion.

“Have you been well?”

I waved my hand as usual but stopped when I received a piercing glare.

To be honest, I had a sense of pride, thinking I reformed him quite well. At this moment, I painfully realized how arrogant that delusion was.

His eyes were definitely not normal. No, saying they were deranged would be more accurate.

“No, I haven’t been well.”

“Oh… why haven’t you been well? Did someone bully our good Leon…? Who is it? Just tell me, and I’ll scold them.”

Despite my fuss, Iscallion’s gaze did not soften.

“I thought you had forgotten about me because you didn’t call me for so long.”

“Oh, how could I forget you, Leon? I’ve just been a bit busy lately.”

Fortunately, when I called his name, the sharp atmosphere softened a bit.

I cautiously approached him and gently took his hand.

At that moment, I felt a light headache and dizziness. It was clear that Iscallion’s pain had transferred to me.

It wasn’t too severe, but it was sudden enough that my legs wobbled, and I unintentionally leaned my head on his shoulder.

I only realized how that might have looked after the headache completely subsided.

I quickly lifted my head. Iscallion was looking down at me with a surprised expression. He seemed quite flustered by my actions, as his fierce look had vanished like magic.

“Oh, Leon? Don’t misunderstand. This is just…”

I hurriedly tried to explain and move away from him, but his strong arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly.

“I realized something while living without you.”

“What, what is it?”

“I can’t live without you.”

‘He’s treating me like a human painkiller.’

“Uh-huh, but you’re about to become an adult. Adults need to learn to be independent too.”

I didn’t even know what I was saying, just babbling whatever came to mind.

“I want to listen to you.”

“That’s really a good thought.”

“But I’m angry because you keep drawing a line between us…”

“When did I ever do that?”

“It’s because I’m a foreigner, right? Then it’s best to eliminate the national borders first. After that, we can remove the lines between us one by one until we become completely one.”

‘Hey, you crazy guy…!’

How could he always come to such conclusions?

If given the chance, I wanted to open up his head and take a look inside.

Fortunately, I had learned from experience how to control Iscallion when he went to extremes.

“You little brat, you have no idea what you’re saying. Do you really want to be scolded? Do you think I’m easy?”

I scolded him loudly, and Iscallion flinched.

I turned as if I was about to leave immediately. Iscallion quickly blocked my path.

“Why are you like this, sis? Are you mad?”

“Wouldn’t you be mad? Don’t you trust me?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Obsessive men are boring and tiresome. You need to respect the other person’s privacy to be a mature person.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll listen to you from now on…”

I thought I had reasoned with him sensibly, but seeing his dejected face made me feel like I had committed a great wrong.

“See? If you said that from the start, I wouldn’t have gotten mad.”

“I missed you so much, that’s why.”

“Oh, good boy. Come to my birthday party and have fun, okay?”

“Okay…”

After barely calming Iscallion down and sending him off, I met Gined next.

Pretending to pray, I loitered around the temple, and soon Gined appeared with other holy knights.

“Hello, Sir Roengreen. I didn’t expect to see you at this hour. What a co, in, ci, dence!”

“Good to see you again, lady. Have you come to worship?”

Gined spoke much more comfortably than last time. Even so, his still calm demeanor contrasted sharply with Iscallion, making him seem more mature and serious.

“Yes. At times like this, we must pray even more earnestly. Oh, by the way, please take this.”

I pretended to remember something and rummaged through my belongings.

“It’s nothing special, but it’s my birthday soon. I know you’re a very busy person, but since we met like this by chance, I couldn’t help but invite you. You gave me a gift recently, so please come lightly without any burden.”

Gined accepted the invitation card from my hand.

“I would like to attend, but I don’t know if I will have the time.”

However, the invitation was politely declined.

I wasn’t embarrassed, since I had expected this. After all, inviting the commander of the Sephiroth Knight Order to the birthday party of a noble without a title was unusual in itself.

“Yes. I didn’t mean to burden you. I was just asking casually. You understand, right?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Gined smiled softly.

I was mesmerized by his smile, seeing it for the first time. The expression ‘the world brightened up’ was not just a metaphor.

“Th-then, I’ll see you next time…”

I left in a hurry, trying to hide my blushing face.

The remaining male leads were the coal and Pinion.

I didn’t bother asking them whether they would attend. The coal’s attendance was a given, and I hadn’t intended to invite Pinion in the first place.

And finally, my birthday arrived.

From early morning, I was exhausted by the endless stream of guests, even before the party officially started. Most of the guests were young male nobles.

“Why are there so many people?”

“We really tried to keep it simple… but, as you know, I have a soft heart. I couldn’t refuse the young men who came begging for an invitation for days.”

Father lied without batting an eye.

“Lady Dronay.”

While I stood there incredulous, a man with a gentle image approached.

He was the eldest son of the Cullin family.

“Would you do me the honor of dancing with me?”

Though he couldn’t compare to the male leads, he was quite decent. Moreover, amidst the intensely striking male leads, his somewhat plain features had a certain fresh charm.

But I declined his offer.

“Unfortunately, I already have a partner.”

“Oh… May I ask who the lucky gentleman is?”

I showed him the coal.

Cullin’s eyes wavered as he saw the coal, who sparkled as much as a chandelier with small diamonds embedded all over him.

“He’s my partner. We even matched our outfits. What do you think?”

I proudly showed off the hem of my dress, which sparkled as much as the coal.

“Yes. It looks very nice. Truly dazzling…”

“Sister!”

At that moment, Iscallion pushed through the crowd and approached. The men around him scattered like leaves.

“Sister, why are you so beautiful today? It’s blinding.”

I took back my comment about Cullin being fresh. The only reason he seemed like a decent-looking guy was because Iscallion wasn’t next to him.

“Who is this guy?”

Belatedly noticing Cullin, Iscallion glared fiercely. Cullin, who was probably at least five years older than Iscallion, disappeared hurriedly like a dog meeting a tiger.

Then, there was an exclamation from the entrance.

“Wow…”

I couldn’t believe my eyes either.

Gined was walking through the path Iscallion had forcibly cleared.

It was the first time he appeared at an unofficial event.

The rare appearance of the commander of the Sephiroth Knight Order brought a moment of silence to the banquet hall.

I could confidently say that even if the Crown Prince himself appeared, he wouldn’t receive such attention.

Like everyone else, I stood there dazed, forgetting to greet him.

In front of him, wearing his knight’s uniform, the other men’s luxurious tailcoats lost their shine.

“Congratulations, Lady Dronay.”

“Sir Roengreen! I didn’t think you would come.”

“I found a bit of free time. Unfortunately, I can’t stay long.”

“Oh, no. I’m just grateful that you came.”

Smiling with gratitude, I shook my head vigorously. I knew my face must look foolish, but I couldn’t hide my overwhelming emotion.

What brought me back to reality was the presence of Janet.

‘Where is Janet?’

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her for days.

She was so determined to teach Ines a lesson, I thought she would definitely show up today.

‘Could it be that Gined found out about her?’

I looked up at him anxiously.

Unaware of my thoughts, Gined calmly handed me a box.

“It’s a modest gift.”

“Thank you so much, Sir. By the way, how is the search for the vampire going?”

“Embarrassingly, the search is delayed. They might have already left the city.”

“That’s really unfortunate.”

His eyes filled with guilt made me feel bad, but at the same time, I sighed in relief.

‘That old witch must be lazing around somewhere again.’