“Um… that is…”
It wasn’t like I could say I knew because I had already experienced it.
If I had known I’d get such suspicious looks, I should’ve at least pretended to hesitate a bit.
But I didn’t have the patience to replay something I had already gone through countless times. So I made up a reasonable excuse.
“…I had a bad feeling.”
“A bad feeling?”
Rowell tilted his head slightly. The suspicion in his eyes hadn’t disappeared.
Just when I thought my answer might have been too absurd—
Rowell let out a small chuckle.
“Seems like your training has been effective. It was a good decision to consistently practice your mana.”
I let out a sigh of relief inwardly. The excuse I had just made up seemed to have worked.
“To think that you can already sense the aura of a curse when it hasn’t been long since you started training. It seems my judgment in choosing a disciple wasn’t wrong after all.”
“Haha… it’s all thanks to having such an excellent teacher by my side.”
“I suppose I should increase the intensity of your next training.”
“….”
There’s really no need for that.
From now on, I decided I should stop acting like I know everything and just get by with some tricks instead.
After entering my room, I changed into the dress I had prepared in advance.
It wasn’t overly extravagant, but it naturally revealed the curves of my shoulders and neckline, giving off just the right amount of femininity. The cherry blossom color of the dress also suited Aisha’s pink hair perfectly.
This dinner banquet was a golden opportunity to make a good impression on Jerome, so I had to appeal to him no matter what.
When it was time for dinner, I followed the servants’ guidance to the dining hall.
Just as I was about to sit at my assigned seat, I ran into Rowell entering the hall.
His gaze slowly swept over me in my dress. I felt embarrassed under his intense stare.
“Haha… does it look strange?”
Is it really that strange?
If it really looked bad, I was ready to go back and change immediately. I couldn’t afford to lower Jerome’s precious favorability.
As I waited anxiously for Rowell’s response, he smiled gently and said,
“I must have stared too much. The lady is so beautiful that I couldn’t help but have my eyes drawn to her.”
At the same time, a system window appeared.
[Rowell Ciprian’s favorability has increased by 5.]
[Rowell Ciprian’s favorability: 25]
Damn it!
I didn’t dress up for you! Stop going up already!
Jerome’s favorability was crashing, yet this taxidermy maniac’s favorability kept rising—it was driving me insane.
What were the numbers again?
I opened the favorability window in my mind.
=================== Favorability
Rowell: 25
Jerome: 0
???: 0
???: 0
???: 0
===================
Jerome was at 0, while Rowell was already at 25.
At this point, it felt like the system was determined to turn me into a specimen.
This was a problem. If I didn’t want to end up stuffed and displayed, I had to raise Jerome’s favorability as soon as possible.
Just then—
“You’ve arrived.”
When I turned around, Jerome was there.
Seizing the moment, I spread out the hem of my dress and bowed slightly, like a peacock showing off its tail in courtship.
“It’s good to see you again, Duke.”
Even though peacocks that spread their tails are male and I’m a human female, accuracy like that didn’t matter.
I had to make up for my earlier mistake.
Look already. I prepared this for you. Look at me in this pretty dress.
Contrary to my expectations, Jerome showed no reaction. He simply gave a small nod with an indifferent expression, offering only a formal greeting.
Is it because his favorability is 0…? The dress I prepared so carefully is useless.
Just as I was feeling bitter about it—
[Jerome Winston’s favorability has increased by 1.]
[Jerome Winston’s favorability: 1]
It went up!
But only by 1? Isn’t that way too small and precious?
At this rate, the bad ending was right around the corner.
Feeling a sense of crisis, I quickly activated my Charm skill.
[Activating ‘Charm’ skill.]
“Uwaaah~ Duuuke! How does this dress look?
1: Pretty,
2: So pretty it blinds you,
3: So pretty it makes you want to get married right now!”
I got goosebumps.
Every cell in my body rejected it, my limbs curled up in embarrassment, and I felt like ripping out my tongue and washing it in bleach.
At that moment, Jerome, who had been silently staring at me, spoke in a blunt voice.
“I’m not well-versed in such matters, so it’s difficult for me to say.”
“……”
Is this Charm skill fake or something? I used it, so why is the reaction like this?
Could his favorability actually drop? There’s nothing left to drop though.
Just as my heart began to race anxiously, the system window appeared.
[Jerome Winston’s favorability has increased by 10.]
[Jerome Winston’s favorability: 11]
I wanted it to go up, sure—but it increased because of that line? Jerome must be out of his mind.
When I played the game, I thought Jerome was just bad at expressing himself despite being prickly on the outside.
But now that I see it, maybe he’s not bad at expressing himself—maybe he just has bizarre tastes in women.
…Should I just switch to another male lead?
Having to romance a man with this kind of preference…
My vision went dark.
The dinner banquet was held in grand fashion. Musicians played elegant music in the hall, and delicious-looking dishes filled the table.
While cutting into a turkey leg, I listened to the conversation between Rowell and Jerome.
“I hear the number of monsters has increased significantly lately. How are things in the North?”
“It’s true they increase every year, but we’ve strengthened security, so there hasn’t been any major damage.”
“Well, with the Duke in the North, I suppose my worries were unnecessary.”
The two discussed the reasons behind the increase in monsters and the current state of affairs.
Having nothing to contribute, I quietly sipped my wine.
While they talked, I diligently ate even the dessert sherbet that was served.
Then, Jerome spoke to me.
“Miss Aisha.”
“Cough—!”
I had just stuffed a large spoonful of sherbet into my mouth and ended up choking.
As I coughed, Jerome handed me a glass of water.
“Th-thank you.”
Was I too focused on eating?
As I took the water and drank it, he said something unexpected.
“I apologize for what happened earlier.”
Earlier? Does he mean when he pushed me away at the training ground?
Yeah. Even you must’ve thought that was too much, right?
At least he had the decency to apologize.
I smiled brightly at Jerome.
“It’s okay. I was the one who touched you without permission, after all.”
As a magnanimous person, I should let it go.
Learn from this—this is what it means to be generous.
“By the way, I really hope the culprit who cursed you gets caught. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Your help today was more than enough.”
“Still… I’m worried something might happen to you, Duke.”
I spoke as sincerely as possible.
If Jerome ended up dying from the curse, that would be a disaster.
And I figured showing that I cared about him might raise his favorability at least a little.
At that moment, Jerome, after moistening his lips with wine, set down his glass and said,
“I appreciate your concern, but I am more than capable of taking care of myself.”
This isn’t easy.
Not easy at all.
Seeing how firmly Jerome was putting up walls, it seemed I still had a long way to go.
Still, this was better than before.
Before using the “cheat,” Jerome had treated me like I was invisible—he wouldn’t even make eye contact or speak to me.
But I have the Charm skill. Any favorability I can’t raise normally, I can raise with that.
As long as I avoid physical contact, there shouldn’t be any risk of it decreasing.
Lost in thought, I lifted my head and met Rowell’s gaze.
He was staring at me intently with an unreadable expression. It wasn’t a casual glance—there was something persistent about it.
What is it? Why is he looking at me like that?
Then, Rowell smiled softly with his eyes.
I returned the gesture with an awkward smile.
‘Must be my imagination.’
Eye contact can happen by coincidence, right?
To begin with, there was no point in trying to find meaning in anything that taxidermy maniac did, so I brushed it off without much thought.