Seron’s Lucky Day

Inside the women’s dormitory, Seron’s face was practically glowing with excitement.

A date with Hanon, or rather, with Vikamun.

How long had she waited for this date, ever since that promise?

‘The divination is good!’

The day’s reading declared it her luckiest day yet.

Seron was someone born under an unlucky star, always.

But today was supposed to be a good day, and she couldn’t contain her giddiness.

Seron couldn’t quiet the frantic thumping of her heart.

Expectation kept painting her cheeks a rosy hue.

‘Who knew I’d turn out like this…’

Her gaze landed on the mirror.

The face she’d painstakingly crafted with the help of the dormitory’s head maid reflected back at her.

Her hair, pulled up and tied with red ribbons, styled into delicate curls.

A subtle touch of blush and eyeliner a shade lighter than her hair.

And lips painted a vibrant crimson.

Anyone who knew the usual Seron would have widened their eyes in disbelief at her beauty.

What’s more, bangs now graced her forehead, which she usually showed off with pride.

A crimson blouse and black skirt, tailored specifically for this day, suited her exquisitely.

She possessed a slightly more mature allure, something unseen before.

Seron, looking somewhat self-conscious, tapped her bangs with a finger.

Then, she faced the mirror and grinned.

“I can definitely charm him.”

But the person she wanted to charm was only one.

Everyone else was irrelevant.

Vikamun Nippleheim, disguised as Hanon Airey.

He was the only one Seron wanted to win over.

Seron placed a hand over her chest, inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly.

Then, she looked at the mirror and smiled brightly.

Vikamun doesn’t understand the emotion of love.

And it fell to her to deliver the news.

“He probably thinks I’m so completely smitten, he’ll never escape my grasp!”

All preparations were complete.

Even the subtle fragrance of her perfume, reminiscent of blossoms on skin, felt perfect.

Seron strode confidently from her dorm.

Everyone could see she was off on a date, drawing the gazes of the other girls, but she remained self-assured.

Today, I am the most beautiful!

She radiated that confidence.

“Did you wait long?”

It was as Seron emerged from the women’s dormitory that it happened.

Seron’s meticulously made-up face froze.

Because beside the man she adored most stood a familiar face.

A woman who, even without a trace of makeup, possessed an aura of mystery.

Her deep indigo hair, effortlessly catching and holding starlight, shone beautifully, and her eyes glittered like captured galaxies.

A beauty that could make even another woman feel inferior.

And she possessed a strength Seron lacked.

An inexplicable, subtle sensuality.

The languid gaze, when it curved into a faint smile, was enough to melt even another woman.

Yet, she remained aloof and unhurried, seemingly uninterested in anyone.

A woman with the temperament of a cat.

If Iris was a haughty, pampered long-haired Persian…

This one was a fox, embracing freedom and basking in the warm sun.

Sharin Sazaris.

She was clinging to Hanon’s side.

And on Seron’s date, no less!

“…What’s going on?”

The joy she’d felt moments before evaporated instantly.

Seron’s eyes fixed on Hanon.

The question was heavy with the demand for an explanation.

“Seron, it’s…”

“Why are you all cozy with another woman on the very day we’re supposed to be dating?”

Serone, she liked him.

Whether it was Bikaman, who’d first shown her what first love meant, or Hanon, who now showed her what love was, it was him she liked.

But she wasn’t the only one who knew his appeal.

Those who had been hesitant at first were now crowded around Hanon’s side.

It infuriated her, but she couldn’t deny the fact that the man she liked was attractive.

If that was the case, all she had to do was win.

Serone had no intention of losing, not even a thought.

But still, seeing another woman clinging to his side… the jealousy was unbearable.

“We’re going together, too.”

Then, Sharin spoke up, her words drawn out, as she always did.

But Sharin’s eyes were locked onto Serone.

Sharin usually paid no attention to anyone else, but with Hanon, it was different.

Serone had already been watching Sharin with a certain intent.

And as she suspected, there came a certain day when Sharin began to express an explosive love for Hanon.

A rival.

Sharin was a formidable opponent in love.

But in Sharin’s case, there was something she possessed that Serone didn’t.

The position of fiancée.

Even if it was an engagement that had somehow come about to save Hanon’s life, an engagement was an engagement.

An engagement that had been publicly announced throughout the land.

Even so, Serone wasn’t intimidated in the slightest.

Instead, she strode confidently to stand before Sharin.

The petite Serone looked up at Sharin.

Neither of them were particularly tall, but Serone was at a disadvantage in height.

“Didn’t you hear me? A date. A date. Are you not familiar with the meaning of the word?”

An activity undertaken by two people, a man and a woman, who have feelings for each other or are in love.

That was what a date was.

Two.

Serone emphasized the ‘two.’

But Sharin, too, held no intention of yielding even a little.

She took a step closer to Seron, looking down at her.

Her unexpectedly ample upper body blurred Seron’s vision.

Such flimsy chitchat, only effective on men!

She only grew more heated.

“Your husband’s dating another woman. Why just stand there?”

“Husband, who says he’s your husband! You’re only engaged!”

“Engagement is a promise of marriage, though.”

Other things were passable.

But that they were betrothed, even Seron had no remedy.

Seron whipped her head around, fixing Hanon with her gaze.

“Prince Sweet Potato, betroth yourself to me too!”

“…You want to have two engagements at once?”

“I don’t care, just do it!”

Seron was wholly unreasonable.

Then, Sharin, with the barest peek of her tongue, smugly wrapped her arm tighter around Hanon’s.

“I alreaaady did.”

Watching her flaunt her betrothal, Seron’s temper flared.

That woman isn’t human.

She’s a fox!

And foxes are meant to be made into fur.

“Come at me.”

Seron thrust her two fists forward.

“I’ll see this through to the very end today.”

Sharin, not retreating in the slightest, reached inside her academy robes.

And drew out her wand.

“Yes, exactly what I hoped for.”

A touch-and-go situation, ready to erupt into a fight at any moment.

Seeing this, Hanon raised his hands, pressing down on the top of each of their heads.

“Enough. Stop it, you two.”

Even so, he couldn’t bear to watch them fight directly.

“Tch.”

Seron pouted at Hanon’s restraint.

“Sharin, today’s the day Seron and I planned to go on a date.”

With that, Hanon settled the matter decisively.

Hearing those words, Seron’s pout slowly softened.

Just Hanon taking her side was enough to lift her spirits again.

She never imagined one man could cause such a rollercoaster of emotions.

But a good feeling was, well, a good feeling.

“Besides, you’re not usually one to insist like this. What’s wrong?”

Indeed, Sharin wasn’t typically one to be so insistent.

Hanon pointed this out, and Sharin glanced at him.

Then, with a short exhale, she spoke.

“The Remnants of the Ancient Dragon.”

Sharin offered a reason that was more valid than he expected.

“It’s about time for a routine check-up.”

The Remnants of the Ancient Dragon, etched into Hanon.

It held within it many potential dangers.

At Sharin’s words that she had come to check on them, Hanon tilted his head.

The Remnants of the Ancient Dragon were checked by Sharin regularly, so it wasn’t exactly urgent.

“And…”

As expected, there was something else on Sharin’s mind.

Sharin glared at Hanon with a sullen face, then abruptly turned away.

“I won’t tell you.”

She seemed to be sulking, but wouldn’t say what about.

Sharin turned and left.

Hanon watched her retreating figure for a moment, then briefly massaged the back of his neck.

He then sighed and turned to look at Seron.

“Seron, we’re late. Let’s go.”

“Ahem, hum, well, okay.”

Seron felt a touch lighter of heart.

With Hanon leading the way, Seron walked alongside him.

They took a pre-booked carriage to the academy’s edge.

And soon, a street of shops near the academy appeared.

Seron’s face, before she knew it, took on a slightly prim expression.

It was beginning to dawn on her that she really *was* going on a date with Hanon.

Reaching this point, she suddenly felt shy.

Seron fussed with her skirt, smoothing the slight wrinkles.

Hanon gazed out the carriage window, following the sunlight streaming in.

Seron glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

A face she surely would’ve paid no mind to before.

But now, was it because she liked him as a person? He seemed handsome no matter what.

At this rate, she’d probably adore Hanon no matter how he looked.

‘It’s serious. Seriously serious.’

Seron shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

In that brief moment, 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, he naturally extended a hand to Seron.

At that series of actions, Seron gave Hanon a small look.

“Where did you learn this?”

“Basic courtesy for whoever gets out first.”

He acts like he has no interest in women, yet sometimes does things that make your heart flutter.

Often, Seron wondered if he wasn’t more familiar with women than he let on.

There was a certain something that subtly emanated from his actions.

‘Well, thinking about it…’

Seron had looked into Vikamon to some extent.

As a result, she learned he was originally a man well-known for his looks.

Someone who might lack exceptional talent, but certainly excelled in the face department.

Vikamen possessed a face of untamed, masculine beauty.

The kind that made him the first love of countless young girls.

Perhaps it was only natural that women were so familiar to him.

The thought cast a shadow on her mood, but it was alright.

Because she was the one beside him now.

Seron took Hanon’s hand as she stepped down from the carriage.

Today, *I* am the protagonist!

It was with that thought that Seron straightened her back to its fullest.

“Senior.”

A voice, familiar yet distant, reached Seron’s ears.

Before she knew it, Hanon’s head had turned, not toward her, but toward the voice.

Hanon’s eyes widened, round with surprise.

Startled by his intense reaction, Seron slowly turned her own head.

Soon, Seron’s eyes mirrored his.

There, stood a woman with dark chestnut hair hidden beneath a robe.

Yet, the face within that hair was one Seron recognized.

And that face sent a cold weight plummeting into Seron’s chest.

Seron had done her research on Vikamen.

She knew, therefore, who he had once loved.

Moreover, she’d even considered that his return to the academy might have been for her sake.

Nikita Cynthia.

The former vice-president of the Jerion Academy stood there.

The Nikita Cynthia who had been rumored to have perished in the Demon Realm stood there.

Today was clearly Seron’s lucky day.