Vol 3. Chapter 23: So Cute, Lady Vinnia

May the world never again see a terrifying nutball.

With the spotlight blazing on the beauty pageant stage where all eyes converged, Vinny stiffly accepted the black-and-gold prize tray Aesphyra handed over and forced out a strained thanks to the organizer.

Below, the audience clapped while shouting his name, and the other contestants on stage offered their congratulations.

Vinny’s face was blank with confusion.

Did he win??

Yeah—he should have won, right? Won the contest, won the wager, won the prize, won the audience’s applause—won everything.

He and Aesphyra had set the wager before. He’d won—he should be happy, shouldn’t he?? After this, Aesphyra would meow like a cat to him and admit defeat.

Except—

No one told him the award presenter and the person who made that wager with him were one and the same, okay??

Wasn’t this walking right into a trap??

Staring at the smiling Aesphyra—those dazzling eyes gleaming with an odd sheen and long, layered meaning—Vinny felt a severe sensation that he was a fish who thought he’d gotten to eat, took the bait, and ended up getting hauled in on a hook.

Everything he’d just gone through—was it all within this white-haired nutball’s plan??

If so, then this mildewed, musty nutball was treacherous enough to make a man afraid, wasn’t she??

No good—his urge to haze her was surging. He felt he was about to lose control and start heckling this white-haired nutball.

“Alright, let’s congratulate once more the champion of Carillian Academy’s First Beauty Pageant—Lady Vinnia!” the host announced, and a fresh wave of applause crashed up from the seats.

Vinny said nothing.

Even Aesphyra, standing right before him, was giving a light clap, the corners of her mouth curved into something seemingly lovely yet bone-deep unnerving to Vinny.

That radiant, soul-seizing smile—set in Vinny’s eyes—looked like a devil’s hideous grin.

No need to ask—she knew from start to finish that Lady Vinnia was him in disguise, didn’t she??

But how did she see through it?? If Shicodale hadn’t been the one to do his makeup, Vinny figured even Shicodale—without tapping into elven senses—wouldn’t tell who he was. At most he’d think this blue-haired girl seemed the tiniest bit familiar, and that was it.

So how did Aesphyra spot him at a glance and confirm it was him??

Vinny couldn’t understand.

He stood stiff beneath the spotlight, bathed in applause and flowers, while inside he was utterly lost.

Mm. The victory-and-settlement ceremony was lavish—thoughtfully designed and obscenely well-funded. All kinds of rose petals rose and drifted over the stage—blue roses, red roses—the works.

All to celebrate the birth of the pageant champion.

This was Carillian Academy’s first beauty pageant—a brand-new track. Given how well it was received, they might very well run a second and third edition later.

But a man winning the very first beauty pageant—isn’t that a punchline??

Luckily, no one would know he was a man.

No... maybe not necessarily.

Vinny looked at the smiling Aesphyra before him and fell silent.

So—he’d been calculated from the beginning to the end, and lost?

Vinny looked down at Aesphyra, trying to use his height advantage to look down on her. But for some reason, a wave of helplessness welled up. He suddenly felt that trying to use height here to tilt Aesphyra off balance was impossible.

Once he realized that, Vinny tipped his gaze slightly upward and stopped meeting Aesphyra’s eyes.

Ugh—the more he looked, the angrier he got. Fine—then don’t look. Out of ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) sight, out of mind.

Anyway, once he shut his eyes, he’d deny everything afterward. What could Aesphyra do to him?

No—wrong. If he refused to admit it, how would he make Aesphyra admit defeat and meow like a cat? How would he get compensated for emotional damages??

Admitting wouldn’t do. Not admitting wouldn’t do. What on earth was he supposed to do?

Vinny’s head was pounding.

Ahhh—better to deny it after all.

This kind of thing was too humiliating. As long as he played dead and refused to admit anything, everything would go back to normal.

That was Vinny’s thought.

As long as he got through this damned award ceremony, everything would be fine. No matter what—he won, didn’t he??

Forget the process—just answer: did he win or not!

He won, right? Vinny, the notorious brat of Camella’s capital, won big, right??

As long as Camella’s Idea King made a move, he could snag a crown even in the field he was worst at—what more did you want! Who dared say he didn’t win??

He was the winner—what was he in a rush for??

If anyone had to rush, it would be that white-haired nutball. She must have short-circuited to cast her vote for him—trying to humiliate him and forgetting the bet between them. He’d won, and Aesphyra had to admit defeat. Right now that little pocket bun must be overflowing with regret!

So Vinny told himself. Maybe he was just forcing a consolation—but at least for now, he’d won spiritually, big time.

He stood there, stiff, accepting blessings and congratulations on the surface while his soul drifted who-knows-where. He’d checked out a while ago.

At least that dulled the embarrassment a little—a kind of self-protection.

At long last, the event concluded. Vinny, joints creaking as if every hinge were wailing, left the stage through the contestants’ tunnel, dragging a body both exhausted and rigid.

He felt completely spent—physically and mentally at the limit, unable to keep going.

Up on that stage, all those eyes fixed on him—every second had felt like torture. It was too much.

Finally—he could relax.

The pageant was over; night had mostly fallen. Vinny felt his way through the dark—hungry.

Coming out through the contestants’ exit, there weren’t many people around. For the contestants’ safety, the audience exit and contestant exit were separated.

Head home for something to eat. Shicodale should’ve left him dinner.

Cradling the black-and-gold tray, Vinny thought as much.

Hopefully he wouldn’t run into that sickly dude from before—going feral over a pretty girl when that “girl” was a grown man—seriously...

If that guy learned that the beauty he’d gone feral over was a man, who knew if he’d develop some kind of mental disorder on the spot.

Vinny quickened his pace with the black-and-gold tray in hand, hoping to make it back smoothly.

For some reason, he just felt it wasn’t safe to linger here. He didn’t know why—maybe a man’s seventh sense. Hopefully it was just his imagination.

But—man plans, the sky laughs. On the way back to the dorm, Lady Vinnia—unsurprisingly—ran into the unexpected.

“Well now, what a coincidence, Lady Vinnia. We meet again. I wonder—would it be convenient to join me for a meal?~”

Vinny’s steps faltered.

By moonlight he saw that petite white figure make no pretense whatsoever and block him with unnerving precision. Vinny could only hate that he wasn’t a pole-vaulting zombie who could spring over the nutball in front of him.

Moon-silver spilled over Aesphyra’s lustrous, radiant hair, framing a face beautiful to the point of unreality.

A face flawless from three hundred and sixty degrees—untouchable in any light or shadow.

How did this even happen??

Don’t tell him she’d pulled strings, predicted his route, and come to cut him off??

What a coincidence, huh. Forcing a coincidence—coincidence whether you like it or not.

Vinny kept a calm mask, said nothing, and only tried to skirt past. Obviously, the silver-haired girl wasn’t going to let that happen. With ghost-like steps, she blocked him again.

“May I ask who you are?” Vinny couldn’t help it—he kept using his disguised voice and made it as cold as possible. Any normal person hearing that would stop bothering him and move on.

Obviously, the standard didn’t apply to the elegant silver-haired girl before him.

“Oh? Shall we say beautiful people are forgetful? I only just saw you a moment ago, Lady Vinnia—have you already forgotten?~” Aesphyra drew out the tail of her words, voice sweet enough to melt bones.

“Oh, the organizer. Sorry—the light’s dim. I didn’t recognize you. Do you have other business?” Vinny kept it clipped—no desire to engage Aesphyra any further.

Truth be told, he wanted to tack on “and you’re too short” after “the light’s dim.”

“Mmhmm~ I feel Lady Vinnia and I are quite fated. The first time I saw you, it felt like meeting an old friend. Doesn’t Lady Vinnia have anything else she’d like to say to me?” Aesphyra brushed a lock from her ear; under the moon the silver-haired beauty gently pinched a bit of skirt between her fingers with elegant poise.

“It’s fine.” Vinny couldn’t say anything too harsh. He kept it cool, hoping Aesphyra would stop blocking him and let him go.

“Oh? Speaking of which—Lady Vinnia, haven’t we met somewhere before?” Aesphyra could clearly hear the retreat in his tone—he obviously wanted no entanglement with her right now.

Which only made her all the more unwilling to let go.

How could she pass up such a perfect chance?~

Aesphyra’s smile deepened.

Tch—keep acting. Keep pretending.

She obviously knew everything, but played the ignoramus—couldn’t even make a clean kill—had to peel the skin and torture slowly, huh??

“Is that so? I don’t remember. Sorry, Miss Organizer. I just finished the contest—body and mind are exhausted—and I’m hungry. I’d like to head back to eat and rest, if you don’t mind.” Vinny chose to keep playing dumb.

“Oh, I see. I held you up chatting right after the pageant without caring whether Lady Vinnia has eaten—how rude of me.” Aesphyra tipped a slight curtsey with a lift of her skirt.

“It’s nothing. In that case—?”

“To make it up to Lady Vinnia, allow me to buy you dinner. How about it?~” Aesphyra smiled, cutting him off.

“No need. I have other matters. I’ll be going.”

“Eh? But Lady Vinnia just said she was hungry. Back at the dorm, besides eating—what else could you be doing?” Aesphyra asked with a pleasant lilt.

“I—naturally have other urgent things to do.” Vinny tried to defend.

“Do you now? Forgive me for saying so—when you answered just now, your eyes kept darting. Are there difficulties you can’t speak of?” Aesphyra leaned in, one heel set back—poised and elegant, yet brimming with aggression.

Subtext: I can tell you’re lying.

“I feel such a spark with Lady Vinnia. Can’t you give me a chance?” Aesphyra glanced at the tray in Vinny’s hands. “Those things—you can set them aside for a bit. No one at the Academy will snatch them.”

“But...”

“My, my. It seems Lady Vinnia is a touch lacking in social graces. As the organizer who provided the resources, I conferred the fame, honor, and prizes upon Lady Vinnia. And still I can’t earn the smallest acceptance of an invitation?” Aesphyra lightly tapped her head with a look of feigned vexation.

At that, Vinny’s expression turned strange.

So there’s a casting-couch segment too, huh? Anyone who didn’t know better would think Aesphyra was about to do something to him.

“What do you want to do?” With things said to this point, Vinny knew he couldn’t keep refusing. Even if she knew Lady Vinnia was him, he couldn’t explode.

He wanted to keep that last shred of dignity. Even if Aesphyra had found him out—so long as he didn’t admit it, she couldn’t do anything to him.

So Vinny told himself.

“Hehe~ Lady Vinnia does keep quite the distance. Inviting you is this hard.” Aesphyra teased, folding her arms. “Ordinarily, even heirs of the great noble houses don’t rate an invitation like this from me.”

Vinny stayed silent—refusing to take the bait.

“But I never said Lady Vinnia was wrong to act this way, did I? After all, it’s a beauty’s prerogative, isn’t it?” As she spoke, Aesphyra leaned close and flicked the ends of Vinny’s hair.

???

That actually startled Vinny.

Excuse me—what is this short white-haired nutball doing?!

Sure, it was a wig—but wasn’t she green-eyed? What was this about??

She had to know he was Vinny—so how dare she reach out and tease his hair??

A cool fragrance of roses and roses drifted in. Vinny flinched like a stress reflex, stepping back—the heel of his loafer clicking sharply against the ground.

“Pfft—adorable. Lady Vinnia’s reaction is very cute.” Aesphyra smiled with layered meaning. “Looks like you took my last advice to heart—and tried to make yourself even cuter.”

“...Sorry, Miss Organizer. I don’t quite understand what you’re talking about.”