Using the logic of teamwork as a justification, Ian naturally proposed, “Inviting Lady Otillia to join us for an exchange,” and organized a small “three-person special training group.”
Both of them were female leads, and their talent was indisputable. ‘It’s a perfect excuse.’
“Otillia and Miss Shirleyveil?”
“Exactly. I wonder what Your Highness thinks of the idea?”
Although Amivy didn’t know what Kevin Caerslana was planning, it seemed like a good choice to attend classes with two beautiful ladies.
Perhaps some wonderful sparks would fly.
However…
“Are they willing…?”
“I would be honored to be of assistance to the Crown Prince.”
Before Amivy could finish, Sherivelle answered directly.
She had been worrying about how to stay by Mr. Cat’s side, and she hadn’t expected Mr. Cat to hand the opportunity to her himself.
As Sherivelle answered, she kept her eyes on Ian.
For some reason, Ian felt a bit uneasy at the sight of her elegant, sun-like smile.
“Well, there’s no problem on Miss Shirleyveil’s side. But we don’t know what Lady Otillia’s thoughts are; she hasn’t come to school for three days.”
Amivy was also somewhat happy to see Sherivelle agree.
“Hmm?”
Otillia hadn’t been to school?
Ian was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that he hadn’t identified himself to Otillia during the exhibition match.
‘I see…’
After a moment of silence, Ian’s gaze became determined.
‘It’s about time to end this.’
“It’s fine. I will go ask for Lady Otillia’s opinion later. We can start with Your Highness and Miss Shirleyveil first.”
He turned to Amivy and Sherivelle and began to arrange some basic, simple coordination exercises.
The content wasn’t complex—one could even call it simple.
But the result of their cooperation left Ian utterly surprised.
Logically speaking, the cooperation between the male and female leads should have a high level of initial chemistry.
‘Why are these two coordinating like literal bots?’
In the three-legged race, they actually made mistakes five times before even taking the first step.
In the trust fall game where they stood one behind the other, Amivy ended up falling twice, once forward and once backward.
Sherivelle, on the other hand, kept falling toward Ian’s side, so she wasn’t hurt much.
In the mana version of charades, no matter what topic Ian gave them, Sherivelle and Amivy always managed to mess it up in creative ways.
After more than ten questions, they hadn’t gotten a single one right.
On the contrary, the chemistry between Ian and Sherivelle was quite high when they played.
This made Ian doubt if these two were actually human.
Setting aside the issue of whether they were the leads or not, a normal person shouldn’t be unable to complete a single chemistry challenge after an entire day, right?
However, it was getting late.
Since things had come to this, he decided to end the class. He had a more important matter to attend to.
***
In the evening, Ian changed out of his uniform, put on a hood, and left the academy area.
He went to a potion shop that sold various “special” magical materials and purchased a small bottle of Psychedelic Sleeping Potion.
This potion could quickly make a person fall into a trance-like state similar to deep sleep. Their consciousness would be blurred but not completely unconscious. If the dose was controlled properly, it could achieve a half-awake, half-dreaming state similar to hypnosis.
As the night grew darker, Ian relied on the information he had gathered to arrive at the Philimons family’s mansion in the Imperial Capital.
He didn’t choose to announce himself but intended to sneak in silently.
But before that, he deliberately took off his mask for a moment before starting the infiltration.
Just as Ian entered the mansion, Marquis Bert, who was still flipping through ancient books in his bookroom, paused his movements.
“Sigh… Forget it, let them be…”
Marquis Bert sighed, and a magic circle flashed on the ring on his hand.
At the same time, the eyes of the gargoyle statues on the roof closed.
Ian’s infiltration went very smoothly, and he soon arrived at Otillia’s room.
Otillia’s room was on the west side of the mansion, with windows facing the back garden, making it relatively secluded.
Ian climbed onto the balcony and lightly brushed his finger over the window lock.
An imperceptible flow of mana passed through, and the latch clicked open soundlessly.
He slipped into the room without a sound.
No lamps were lit in the room; only the hazy moonlight filtered through the gauze curtains.
A faint scent belonging to a girl lingered in the air.
Otillia was sitting in an armchair by the window, her back to the balcony.
She was wearing simple casual clothes, and her long golden hair had lost its usual luster, draped messily over her shoulders.
She didn’t move, looking like an exquisite yet withered statue.
Otillia was merely staring at the endless night outside the window, showing no reaction even when someone had broken in.
Ian lightened his footsteps and approached silently.
It wasn’t until his shadow was cast by the moonlight onto the carpet beside Otillia that the girl in the chair turned around with a hint of confused numbness.
The moonlight illuminated her pale cheeks, and Otillia’s eyes widened the moment she saw who had come.
But before her sluggish body could react, something hard and large was stuffed between her delicate lips.
A cool liquid immediately flowed into her mouth.
Otillia instinctively wanted to resist, but then her nostrils twitched slightly.
This scent… was very familiar…
On nights when she couldn’t sleep due to mana disorder, she had drunk it many times.
It was her Ian who had returned!
After realizing the identity of the person, Otillia’s tense body relaxed strangely, and her tightly closed teeth quietly parted.
She even actively opened her mouth a little, her long eyelashes trembling.
She raised her eyes and looked deeply at her beloved, who was right in front of her but unwilling to show his face.
Following that, Otillia was extremely cooperative. She swallowed all the potion in the bottle in small sips.
Throughout the process, her gaze never left Ian’s eyes, as if she wanted to carve his figure into the depths of her soul.
The potion took effect very quickly.
Almost the moment the last drop of liquid slid down her throat, the brilliance in Otillia’s eyes began to fade rapidly, replaced by a hazy layer of blurred vision.
Her body went completely limp, losing all strength to support itself, and she relied entirely on Ian’s support to keep from sliding to the floor.
Her breathing became long and steady, but her consciousness was not completely asleep.
Instead, she had fallen into a trance somewhere between being awake and dreaming.
Ian confirmed that the potion had taken effect, and the tension in his heart eased slightly.
He carefully supported her and let her lean back against the chair, his movements becoming instinctively gentle.
The room was silent, save for the faint sound of their breathing and the occasional low chirp of night insects outside the window.
Ian stood up straight and silently gazed at the girl in the half-awake state under the moonlight.
After a long time, he finally raised his hand and slowly took off the Phantom Star Mask and his hood.
The face beneath the mask was exposed to the cold moonlight, its lines clean, with a lingering trace of complexity in his eyes.
He shed the disguise of “Kevin” and restored his original appearance and aura.
He looked down at Otillia, the first female lead he had corrected.
The moonlight cast a soft silver edge over her exquisite profile.
Her long lashes, like butterfly wings, cast shallow shadows on her eyelids.
Her lips were pale due to weakness, yet it did not diminish her breathtaking beauty.
Ian’s eyes were filled with an unreadable complexity.