“Ah, so you meant you wanted to make the Grand Duke laugh?”
Becky, who had nearly mistaken my future dream for that of a clown, let out a sigh of relief and nodded.
“That’s a relief. I thought your dream as a commoner was to be a clown…”
“Becky.”
“I apologize, that was tactless of me.”
Becky said, bowing her head.
“You really do say everything you want to say while claiming you’re sorry.”
“You were the one who told me not to hide my thoughts, My Lady.”
“Look at you, how insolent.”
“You told me that since you came from a commoner background, I didn’t have to be overly formal.”
“Just which house’s young lady said that, anyway?”
“It was Young Lady Ellinea Brensia of the Brensia family.”
Look at this—she never loses an argument.
In the first place, it was my fault for telling Becky not to be so formal when I first possessed this body; she had been acting too stiff toward a commoner-born like me.
If I had known she was the type to climb right over my head, I would have disciplined her strictly from the start.
As I glared at Becky, filled with belated regret, she simply smiled at me.
She was clearly banking on the universal saying that one cannot slap a smiling face.
“Anyway, give me your opinion. How do I make the Grand Duke, who is so stingy with his laughter, actually laugh?”
“It depends on what kind of laughter you want from him, My Lady. Do you want to see him laugh until his stomach aches, or do you want a sweet, gentle smile meant only for you?”
At Becky’s words, the smile Theor had shown me earlier crossed my mind.
The pleasant, low chuckle he had let out filled my head, and my heart began to thud.
Hmm…?
It was certainly a very beautiful smile.
Enough to make a person’s heart leap.
If it were a smile from that face, truly, whether he was laughing out loud or just offering a lovely smile meant only for me, both would be fine.
But still…
“Hmm, a sweet and gentle smile, I suppose?”
I preferred that one.
“Then don’t try to be funny; you should make him smile because he finds you cute.”
“Make him smile… because I’m cute?”
“Yes.”
“Specifically?”
I leaned toward Becky with a serious face and asked.
In my twenty-four years of life as a dark mage and the few weeks since my possession, I had never once had the desire to appear cute to anyone, so I needed Becky’s help.
“How do I make him smile because I’m cute?”
***
The day after my special training with Becky on [How to gain a smile by appearing cute to a man].
Thanks to Caroline, who visited me early in the morning, I was able to decide where to use my first wish granted by Lloyd.
“I’m saying that if you want to be the Grand Duke’s partner, I can help you.”
Caroline, who had come to see me without notice, made the proposal, claiming she wanted to win back our old friendship.
In other words, if I just stayed close to her instead of Pere like in the old days, she would talk to Lloyd so I could be Theor’s partner.
“Hey, I can handle my own business.”
“What…?”
Caroline looked shocked at my indifferent reply.
As I scratched the bridge of my nose, Caroline’s face began to turn pale.
I explained kindly so that Caroline wouldn’t be too shocked and could retract her garbage proposal.
“Isn’t your own situation precarious enough? You need a partner, too. Don’t tell me the Crown Prince himself offered to be yours?”
“…He hasn’t said it yet, but it will happen.”
“Wow, you have such amazing confidence.”
“It’s not confidence. The Prince is… Ha, I don’t know why I have to explain this to you.”
Caroline tried to say something, then let out a frustrated, long sigh and fell silent.
“Think carefully. Don’t bother trying to convince me. I intend to keep sticking right by Pere’s side, just like now.”
“What exactly is that woman…! No, what did the Young Lady promise you to make you act like this?”
As her persuasion failed, Caroline clutched her face as if her head were throbbing.
Seeing her expression—which would look like a tragic heroine to anyone else—I thought that if I let my guard down, I might get swept up and end up moving exactly as she wanted.
‘The heroine’s buff must be that powerful.’
Every expression and line Caroline delivered seemed to possess the ability to bewitch people.
Of course, since I was a possessor who couldn’t see anything but my sister, Caroline’s heroine buff had no effect on me.
“My sister? Well, she has been treating me exceptionally well lately, but just because she’s nice to me doesn’t mean I like her.”
“What…?”
“Whether she treats me well or not, I just like my sister’s very existence.”
“Ha!”
As I said that with a bright smile, Caroline let out a cynical laugh, her expression revealing her true feelings for the first time.
I didn’t miss a single bit of it.
As soon as she realized she had openly sneered, Caroline wiped away the look and gave me her signature teary-eyed gaze.
“You hated the Young Lady. You always said you wanted her out of your sight because she tormented me so much, remember?”
“Oh my, did I? Really?”
“Why are you pretending you don’t remember?”
“It’s not pretending; I really don’t remember. I guess the me from back then wasn’t me. My goodness, I said I wanted my sister out of my sight? What kind of ridiculous imagination was that? Seeing my sister is the greatest joy in my life.”
As I remained unfazed and insisted on my ignorance, Caroline’s face stiffened again.
I looked at her and stood up.
“Anyway, your business is finished, right?”
“Do you really not need my help? Don’t you want to take the Grand Duke as your partner to the hunting festival?”
It was as if she were implying that without her, I would never be able to partner with Theor.
I wanted to tell her that I was already closer to him than she was, but I held it in.
I couldn’t openly say that I—having already gained three wishes from Lloyd—could actually thwart her and make Pere and Lloyd partners instead, so it was better to keep my mouth shut.
After all, ignorance is often bliss.
“Shouldn’t I go there using my own power?”
“You seem to think the Young Lady will help you, but she has a bad relationship with the Grand Duke…”
“Caroline.”
I called her name, and she stopped talking, meeting my firm look.
“Thanks for your concern, but I’m fine. Please, don’t worry about my hunting festival partner anymore.”
With that, I left the parlor, not even bothering to see her out.
Judging by how my feet were moving quickly against my will, it seemed I was in a hurry—all to ensure that once Caroline left, she wouldn’t contact Lloyd and use her “heroine buff” to stop me from being his partner.
I headed to my room to contact Lloyd immediately.
***
Lloyd looked displeased at my contact.
Since it was the morning and he was likely busy in the Crown Prince’s office, my contact certainly wouldn’t be welcomed. But since it was from someone who knew his entire secret, he wouldn’t dare ignore it.
Perhaps that was why Lloyd’s expression was somewhat pouty.
Should I say he looked like a child who had his candy taken away?
It wasn’t an expression of true annoyance, but rather that look… it was strangely cute.
[What on earth is the matter at this hour?]
Perhaps because an aide was always present in the office, Lloyd was walking toward the small study next door, holding his communication orb.
Because the novel mentioned him heading there whenever he had an important secret communication, I knew exactly what he was doing.
I waited until I heard the door close behind him before I spoke.
“Your Highness, I’m going to use one of my wishes.”
At my words, Lloyd’s eyebrows twitched.
[What is it? If it’s an excessive wish, I certainly won’t be able to grant it…]
“Please be Pere’s partner at this upcoming hunting festival.”
At my words, Lloyd’s stiff, hardened expression relaxed slightly.
Since he had already received a handkerchief from Pere, it seemed he had been considering her as his partner anyway.
This was possible because, before they reached adulthood, Lloyd and Caroline didn’t have much affection for each other.
It wasn’t until after their coming-of-age ceremony, due to one major incident, that they would truly come to love each other.
[Understood.]
Lloyd answered readily, and I smiled brightly.
With my eyes sparkling, I kindly explained to Lloyd what he needed to do after disconnecting.
“Then, Your Highness, you should contact Pere now to propose becoming her partner, and then the two of you can go off happily to have matching hunting outfits made, right?”