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Aushuvel smiled sadly at RosĂ© and Ferre, who continued to cry with their runny noses at Sera’s skirt.
He thought that he could just sit back and watch Helios’ first love play out, but now, he’s going to play Cupid? It’s not the role he expected to have, but if it was for his cousins, then it wasn’t at all difficult to step up to the plate and do what he could.
“Sera.”
Aushuvel walked up to Sera with a bright smile on his lips. At this moment, Sera had taken out a handkerchief to wipe the twins’ runny noses, but she looked up at him when he called her.
“Do you have plans this Friday evening?”
“No, I just need to prepare lesson plans for class
”
“Great. Then I need you to be my banquet partner, please.”
RosĂ© and Ferre’s runny noses went ‘huuuuht!’ when they inhaled sharply. With wide eyes, the children instinctively felt that a ray of hope was coming down on them in the form of Aushuvel.
“It’s my own welcoming banquet, but wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t have a partner?”
“Ah
 Prince Aushuvel.”
“Why, will there be a problem?”
With a slightly troubled expression, Sera hesitated for a moment before she answered.
“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t invited to the banquet
 It would be better if Your Highness finds a different partner.”
‘Ha
 Goodness, I don’t understand. How can you discount the most important person of the banquet like this?’
Aushuvel sighed, a little frustrated.
“Hasn’t House Popo said anything about that?”
Her family must have some kind of ulterior motive in sending a girl as young as her to this place, perhaps to make her the next empress. Aushuvel was dumbfounded at the fact that the elders of her family weren’t doing anything when their daughter wasn’t even invited to this banquet.
Besides that, this was the first large banquet that was being held in the Imperial Palace again in such a long time. All the noble households must be clamoring to get an invitation.
“Your Highness, I believe there’s a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Perhaps it was necessary for her to explain how she became a tutor working at the palace.
He must not have any idea about her household’s situation. Her family had already fallen to ruin, to the point that she couldn’t make her debut in high society when she had been seventeen years old. This was something that all nobles usually experienced, yet she couldn’t do it.
The only reason why she was allowed to work as a tutor at the palace was because the twin highnesses were such troublemakers and they had already managed to make dozens of other tutors quit before she was hired.
“I’m
!”
However, Aushuvel reached forward to hover his hands over her lips. The distance was so close that he was almost touching them.
“I don’t need any explanation, so just be my partner. Sera, at this point, just think of this as a prince’s request.”
“But
 can’t Your Highness ask a different noble lady such a request?”
“I guess you’re not aware of it, but I’m often the reason why noble ladies fight. I’m here to visit the Adelio Empire to confirm the steady relations between the empire and the Vaughn Kingdom, but if I cause a commotion at the banquet
 Wouldn’t that be bad? All the ladies will go crazy fighting over me.”
The brazen boasts of the confident man were delivered very gravely. Sera was flustered just hearing Aushuvel say that, but she could see how determined his eyes were as if saying that there’s no use refusing him.
Moreover, he took it one step further by coaxing Rosé and Ferre into siding with him.
“RosĂ©, Ferre, what do you think about Sera being my partner? Do you approve? Or do you not?”
Already knowing what their answer would be, a sly smile could be seen on his lips.
Seemingly forgetting that they had been sobbing just a moment ago, Rosé and Ferre immediately rushed to Aushuvel. Their reddened, puffy bunny eyes were now shining with sparkles.
“I approve Oppa’s suggestion one hundred percent!”
“Me, too! I think Hyung is the best!”
“Shu Oppa is really so smart. Sera, you gotta go. You should be Shu Oppa’s partner!”
“Yeah, yeah. I think so, too, Sera. It’ll be amazing.”
As Aushuvel got the answer he wanted, he smiled and added.
“Their Highnesses are begging you to come, too, see?”
“Sera! Let’s go to the banquet together!”
“I wanna see Sera in a pretty dress. Let’s go!”
“Please? Seraaaaaa.”
“Seeeeeraaaaaaa. C’mon. Together. Okay? Please?”
RosĂ© and Ferre grabbed one each of Sera’s arms and pulled her forward.
As the kids clung to her and maxed out their adorableness with all they got, Sera stared blankly back towards Aushuvel with a helpless face and caught his sleeve.
“Prince Aushuvel, please listen to what I have to say first
!”
Seeing the persistent look in Sera’s eyes, Aushuvel let out a sigh. He was trying to help here, but it’s a bit frustrating that she’s still refusing. He’s this close to saying, ‘Fine, then you and Heli just continue skirting around each other without any progress at all.’
Instead, he took one step closer to Sera. He approached her so closely that they were face to face, and soon, he raised one corner of his lips as he observed her at a close distance.
Her blue eyes, blinking, stared directly back at him.
“You. like. Heli. right?”
Aushuvel delivered the words with only the shape of his lips, verbalizing not one syllable out loud.
And Sera watched, trying to figure out what he was talking about. Soon enough, she realized what he said and immediately blushed like a peach.
She shook her head vigorously, but a such strong no could also be interpreted as a strong yes.
Knowing that it was going to be like this, Aushuvel chuckled.
“If you don’t want to get caught, then you should just follow me, yes? You never know when or where I might just slip up.”
He flicked one finger to make a gesture towards something behind her, and then a familiar melody flowed from the piano, permeating through the entire study. The small sound that started with a trill grew faster and even more cheerful.
Tut, tut, tut. RosĂ© and Ferre rushed to Aushuvel’s side in the middle of the room. They straightened their backs and craned their necks to get into position, and they curtsied and bowed towards each other gracefully. Ferre put his little arm around Rosé’s waist.
Aushuvel shot a sly look towards Sera and beckoned for her to come near.
‘I feel like I’ve been bamboozled.’
Thud, thud, thud. With small strides, Sera reluctantly walked towards Aushuvel.