Chapter 145: Seron’s Lucky Day

Inside the women’s dormitory, Seron’s face was lit up with excitement.
Hanon—more precisely, a date with Vikarmern.
Ever since she made the promise with him, she had been waiting so long for this date.
‘The fortune’s good!’
According to today’s horoscope, today was supposed to be the luckiest day.
Seron had always been plagued by bad luck.
But since today was said to be a good day, her heart couldn’t stop fluttering.
She couldn’t control the pounding in her chest.
Her face kept turning red with anticipation.
‘Phew, I didn’t expect to get like this.’
Her gaze landed on the mirror.
Reflected was the face she’d had the dormitory maid help her prepare.
Her hair was tied up in curls with a red ribbon.
A soft touch of blush on her cheeks and eyeliner a shade lighter than her hair color.
Crimson lips.
Anyone who knew the usual Seron would be stunned at how beautiful she looked.
Even her normally exposed forehead was now partly hidden by soft bangs.
On top of that, the crimson blouse and black skirt she had picked for the day matched her perfectly.
There was a hint of mature charm that wasn’t usually there.
Seron, feeling a bit awkward, gently tapped her bangs with her fingers.
Then she looked into the mirror and smiled softly.
“I could totally seduce anyone.”
But just one person was enough to seduce.
She didn’t care about anyone else.
That person—Vikarmern Niflheim, currently in the form of Airei.
Seron only wanted to seduce him.
She placed a hand over her heart, took a deep breath in, and exhaled.
Then she looked at the mirror again and gave it a bright smile.
Vikarmern didn’t know what love felt like.
And it was her job to teach him that.
“I’ll make you fall so hard for me you’ll never be able to escape!”
She was fully ready.
Even the soft fragrance of her floral perfume was perfect.
With confidence, Seron stepped out of the dormitory.
Anyone could tell she was headed to a date, and the girls nearby stared—but she held her head high.
Today, I’m the prettiest!
She radiated that confidence.
“You’ve been waiting, right?”
Just then, as Seron stepped outside the girls’ dorm—
Her carefully made-up face instantly froze.
Because next to the man she liked most was a familiar face.
A woman who clearly wasn’t wearing any makeup, yet gave off a mystical aura.
Her dark blue hair shimmered faintly like starlight even without any styling, and her eyes sparkled like the Milky Way.
Even as a fellow woman, Seron had to admit she was breathtaking.
And that woman had one thing Seron didn’t.
An inexplicable, subtle sensuality.
When her sleepy-looking eyes curved with a gentle smile, even another woman could feel herself melt.
Yet she never seemed interested in anyone, always exuding a calm detachment.
She was the definition of a cat-like personality.
If Iris was a proud, long-haired cat raised in a noble house,
Then this woman was a wild fox basking in the sun, free and untamed.
Sharin Sazaris.
And she was clinging closely to Hanon.

On the very day Seron was supposed to go on a date!
“…What are you doing?”
The good mood she’d been in moments ago crashed instantly.
Seron stared silently at Hanon with both eyes.
Her gaze was packed with the clear demand for an explanation.

“H-Hey, Seron, this is…”
“Why are you with another girl on the day you’re supposed to be dating me?”

Seron liked him.
Whether it was the Vikarmern who had taught her what first love was in the past, or Hanon, who was now showing her what love meant in the present—
it didn’t matter. She liked him.

But she wasn’t the only one who’d noticed how charming he was.
At first, others had been unsure, but before she knew it, girls were flocking around Hanon.
It infuriated her, but she couldn’t deny that the guy she liked was attractive.
So the answer was simple: win the competition.
Seron had no intention of losing.

Still, that didn’t make it any easier to watch another girl clinging to his side.
“I’m coming toooo.”
Just then, Sharin spoke in her usual lazy drawl.
But her eyes were locked straight on Seron.
Sharin usually didn’t care about anyone. But with Hanon—it was different.

Seron had been keeping an eye on Sharin for a while.
Sure enough, there had come a day when Sharin’s feelings for Hanon suddenly exploded.
A rival.
Sharin was a proper rival in love.

And in some ways, Sharin had the upper hand.
She was his fiancée.
Even if the engagement had happened due to unusual circumstances to protect Hanon’s life, an engagement was still an engagement.
It had been officially announced by the kingdom itself.

Even so, Seron wasn’t discouraged in the slightest.
Instead, she boldly stepped up to Sharin.
The shorter Seron looked up at her.
Neither of them was particularly tall, but Seron was at a slight disadvantage in height.

“I just said it. It’s a date. A date. Do you not know what that means?”
A private outing between two people who care for each other romantically.
That’s what a date is.
Two people.
Seron emphasized that two part.

But Sharin had no intention of backing down either.
She stepped closer and looked down at Seron.
Her surprisingly well-endowed upper body made it hard for Seron to maintain her focus.
That kind of appeal might work on guys, but come on!
Seron was getting more fired up.

“My husband is going on a date with another girl. Why would I just let that happen~?”
“Who says he’s your husband?! You’re only engaged!”
“An engagement is a promise to marryyy.”

Seron could deal with a lot of things.
But the fact that Sharin was engaged to Hanon—that was one thing she had no counter for.
She whipped her head toward Hanon.

“Prince Sweet Potato, get engaged to me too!”
“…You want a double engagement?”
“I don’t care, just do it!”

Seron was completely unreasonable now.
In response, Sharin smugly wrapped her arms around Hanon’s again, sticking out her tongue just slightly.

“Too late, I already did~.”

Seeing her flaunt the engagement like that made Seron absolutely fume.

That’s not a person.
She’s a fox!
And foxes? They’re meant to be turned into fur coats!

“Bring it on.”
Seron thrust both fists forward.
“I’m ending this today, once and for all.”

Sharin, not backing down in the slightest, reached inside her academy robe.
Then she pulled out her wand.
“Mhm, just what I was hoping for~.”

It was a volatile standoff—like they might explode into a fight any second.
Hanon, watching the two of them, raised his hand and pressed down on each of their heads.

“Stop. Both of you.”
No matter what, he couldn’t let it escalate into an actual fight.

“Tch.”
At Hanon’s intervention, Seron pouted her lips.

“Sharin, today was supposed to be a date with Seron.”
With those words, Hanon made his position clear.

Upon hearing that, Seron’s pouting lips slowly lowered.
Just knowing Hanon was on her side made her feel better again.
She never imagined one guy could make her emotions swing so wildly.
But if she felt happy, she wasn’t going to question it.

“Besides, you’re not usually this pushy. What’s going on?”
It was true—Sharin wasn’t normally the type to be so insistent.
When Hanon pointed that out, Sharin gave him a sidelong glance.

Then she let out a short sigh and spoke.
“The remnants of the Elder Dragon.”

Sharin gave a surprisingly legitimate reason.
“It’s time for a regular check-up~.”

The remnants of the elder dragon etched into Hanon—
They carried a lot of danger.
Hearing that she had come to check on that, Hanon tilted his head slightly.

Sharin had been monitoring it regularly, so it wasn’t exactly an emergency.
“And…”
As expected, there was more.

Sharin looked at Hanon with a sulky expression, then abruptly turned her body.
“Not telling.”
She was clearly upset about something—but wouldn’t say what.
Sharin turned around and walked away.

Hanon watched her retreating back in silence, then rubbed the back of his neck.
With a quiet sigh, he turned back to Seron.

“Seron, sorry for the delay. Let’s go.”
“Ahem, well, yeah. Okay.”

Seron’s mood lifted a little.
When Hanon started walking, she followed at his side.

They took the reserved carriage and left the academy grounds.
Soon enough, they reached a shopping district near the outskirts of the academy.

Seron’s expression began to turn a little shy.
It was finally hitting her—they were actually going on a date.
Now that they were here, she suddenly felt embarrassed.

She kept fidgeting with the folds of her slightly wrinkled skirt.
Sunlight streamed through the carriage window, and Hanon gazed out at the scenery.

Seron stole a glance at him.
It was a face she hadn’t paid much attention to before.

But now—maybe because she genuinely liked him—everything about him looked handsome.

At this point, Seron felt like she’d love Hanon no matter what form he showed up in.
‘This is serious. Terminal.’
She shook her head to snap herself out of it.

Meanwhile, the carriage came to a stop on the street.
“We’re here. Let’s get out.”
Hanon opened the door and stepped out first.
Then, naturally, he reached out his hand to her.

Seron glanced at him with a slight smile at the gesture.
“Where’d you learn stuff like this?”
“It’s basic manners for the one who gets off first.”

He always seemed so uninterested in girls—and yet he did these unexpectedly charming things.
Sometimes, Seron wondered if maybe he was actually really experienced with women.
His actions just had that subtle, practiced feel.

‘Well, yeah…’
Seron had looked into Vikarmern before.
As it turned out, he’d always been famous for his looks.
Maybe he didn’t have any particular talents, but his face? That was top-tier.
Vikarmern had a wild, masculine kind of handsomeness.
Thanks to that, he had been the first love of countless girls.

With that in mind, it wasn’t surprising that he was used to being around women.
The thought made her feel a little down—but she brushed it off.
Because the one standing next to him right now… was her.

Seron took Hanon’s hand and stepped down from the carriage.
Today, I’m the star!
With that thought, she straightened her back proudly—

“Junior.”
—a familiar voice called out to her.

Hanon’s head immediately turned toward the voice, not her.
His eyes went wide.
Surprised by his reaction, Seron slowly turned her own head.

And her eyes went wide too.

Standing there was a woman with dark brown hair, her robe pulled up to partially conceal her face.
But Seron recognized that face beneath the hood.
And seeing it made her heart drop.

Seron had done her research on Vikarmern.
So she knew who he had once loved.
And she’d even suspected he might have returned to the academy because of her.

Nikita Cynthia.
The former vice president of Zeryon Academy was standing right there.

The very same woman rumored to have died in the Demon Palace.

Today was supposed to be Seron’s lucky day.