“At that time, Blanshe should have seen the Count’s expression too!”

“Is that so?”

“Huhu… The moment the ball stopped at 0, pretending to be nonchalant was so adorable! I could never get tired of it.”

Inside the carriage heading to school, Bella covered her mouth with a fan, laughing.

Lately, whenever they were alone, Bella always brought up Tristan.

Blanshe, sitting across from her, nodded calmly and said, “Come to think of it, you seem to laugh a lot whenever you talk about Count Ruelberta.”

“Huh?”

Bella paused.

“That can’t be. I laugh a lot in general.”

“That may be true, but it’s different from your usual laughter.”

“Different… from usual?”

“Yes. If your usual smile is faint, now it seems much brighter. If you always smiled like this…”

“Hmm… Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

“No, I saw it. While you’ve been talking about the Count for over a week—”

“Blanshe.”

“Yes?”

*Snap*

Bella closed her fan.

“I wasn’t talking about the Count. I was just saying that I went to the casino to pick up Father and used my incredible luck to surprise the Count. The Count is merely a side character in this story. An extra, so to speak.”

“I see…”

“So, I wasn’t laughing because of the Count.”

It seemed Blanshe had touched a nerve. Even Bella’s smile carried a sense of pressure.

Blanshe quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, did you know the ball would land on 0 in that game?”

“Yes, to some extent.”

“Huh?”

It was a puzzling answer.

Seeing Blanshe’s confused face, Bella continued.

“I sometimes have moments of good luck. Or rather, a sense of certainty about my luck.”

“Certainty, you say?”

“For example, sometimes I wake up with a strange feeling that something good will happen that day. And sure enough, something good does happen. Like finding a lost earring in my dress pocket or discovering Father’s emergency stash hidden in a book…”

“That… the last one seems a bit odd…”

“Perhaps it’s because I have divine protection. The God of Paradise once said something similar… I must have the ability to sense luck.”

What a convenient ability, Blanshe thought. As if reading her mind, Bella shrugged.

“But this ability isn’t omnipotent. It’s just a feeling that luck might be on my side, and I can’t detect all good fortune. Of course, it doesn’t help me avoid misfortune—”

“—!?”

*Thud!*

The carriage shook violently and came to a halt.

The sudden jolt almost made her bite her tongue.

“…See? Not omnipotent.”

“Are you okay, miss?”

“Yes. Are you alright, Blanshe?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Please wait here, miss. I’ll check what happened.”

Blanshe got out of the carriage to assess the situation.

The coachman was inspecting the wheel at the back.

“What happened all of a sudden?”

“W-well… the wheel suddenly broke.”

“The wheel, you say?”

“Yes… We just replaced it not long ago, and I have no idea why it broke…”

The rear wheel was clearly beyond repair.

“Can’t we just replace it with a spare?”

“That’s the thing… All the spare wheels we brought are in terrible condition…”

“Huh?”

The spare wheels the coachman was holding were completely rotten.

The coachman looked utterly baffled.

“Just a few days ago, they were fine… How could they rot like this in such a short time…”

It was strange for perfectly good wheels to rot like that.

The coachman might have been careless, but as far as she knew, he was a diligent man. That couldn’t be the case.

No, that wasn’t the issue right now.

“Then to get moving again…”

“It’ll take at least an hour to ride back to the mansion and return…”

“This is bad…”

Blanshe was worried.

If that happened, her lady would be late for school.

“What’s going on?”

Bella got out of the carriage to check the situation.

But there was no immediate solution.

“Ah… over there!”

Just then, a strange carriage approached from the distance.

Bella sighed in relief.

“Phew. It seems my luck isn’t completely bad this time.”

“Yes… If we can hitch a ride to the school, we should make it on time.”

Blanshe waved at the carriage.

It stopped in front of them.

*Creak*

The door opened.

The man who stepped out of the carriage made Bella freeze.

And Blanshe was no different.

“Seems like you’re in trouble. Need some help, beautiful princess?”

Patrick Wolfbert grinned.

Seeing his sleazy smile, the two realized.

They weren’t just unlucky—they were downright cursed.

*

“Princess, you almost missed school. Good thing I was here, right?”

“Is that so.”

Bella just stared out the carriage window at the passing scenery.

She had no choice but to accept Patrick’s ride, but it left her in a foul mood.

Patrick smirked and said, “It’s been a while since the Seven Stars Union.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes. I really missed you.”

“Is that so.”

“Every night, I longed for you. Your beautiful face kept me awake.”

“Is that so.”

“Didn’t you miss me?”

“Not really.”

“…You do know other responses, I see.”

Bella didn’t even glance at Patrick, just kept looking out the window.

Embarrassed, Patrick turned his attention to Blanshe, who was sitting close to Bella.

“My, I saw you last time too, but the princess’s bodyguard is quite the beauty.”

“…You flatter me.”

“Haha. I wonder what kind of training you do. Even I can tell you have a well-toned body. Mind if I touch?”

“W-what? Touch?”

“Patrick.”

Bella stopped Patrick as he reached out to Blanshe.

“Are you sexually harassing my bodyguard now?”

“Harassment? Don’t be absurd. I just want to confirm the beauty of her body. I’ve trained too, so I can tell what kind of exercises she does just by feeling her muscles.”

Patrick smirked slyly.

Meanwhile, his eyes subtly scanned Blanshe’s body, sending shivers down her spine.

Yes, this was why she instinctively disliked this man.

“…Feel your own muscles if you’re so curious. Don’t mess with my bodyguard.”

“Haha. Princess, you’re quite jealous, aren’t you? You really don’t like me paying attention to other women.”

“Misconceptions are free, but yours is particularly unpleasant, Patrick.”

Bella glared at him with blatant disgust.

But for this man, it had the opposite effect.

“Your angry face is so elegant. It makes me even more interested in you. Did you get the letter I sent?”

“Yes. Didn’t see it.”

“That’s strange. I definitely sent it to the Izakhel family.”

“Really? How strange.”

“Next time, I’ll deliver it to you personally. When would be a good time?”

“No need. I have prior engagements.”

“Really? When did you say?”

“Anyway, I have prior engagements.”

“Hmm…?”

Patrick looked at Bella with interest as she answered coldly.

Then he pulled out a letter from his pocket and handed it to her.

“Well then, I’ll give it to you now. Be sure to read it.”

“Oh dear. I can’t read.”

“Then I’ll read it to you.”

“Oops. I’m deaf.”

“…Princess, you have quite the sense of humor.”

Patrick was relentless.

Feeling like this would go on forever, Bella finally sighed.

“Patrick, stop the carriage.”

“Huh?”

“Thank you for the ride. But I’ll walk from here.”

“Why all of a sudden? You’ll definitely be late if you walk.”

“Being late is fine.”

“I have business at the university too, so let’s go together.”

Bella shook her head firmly.

She had endured enough.

“No. I don’t think I can get along with you. I appreciate your kindness, but this is too much. Let’s go our separate ways.”

“Is it because of Count Ruelberta?”

Patrick’s sudden question made Bella pause.

“…What do you mean?”

“I know why you’ve been unable to resist the Count all this time.”

“Huh?”

“5 billion Kael.”

The amount Patrick mentioned was all too familiar to Bella.

The massive debt that brought down the once-honorable Izakhel family.

Why was this man bringing it up now?

“The debt the Izakhel family owes to the Ruelberta family.”

“…What are you trying to say, Patrick?”

“I’ll pay off that debt for you.”

Patrick licked his lips.

Then, with wolf-like eyes, he stared at Bella.

“If you become my woman.”