Chapter 77

Thank you for the bookmark evaluation m(_ _)m

The perspective will change a little now.

I think I can wrap up Aula's perspective in one more chapter.

"Haa..."

I had come to the party I was invited to by Esuick.

When we arrived at the venue, there were already many guests, and the moment we entered, I was surrounded by several men.

Because of this, I was separated from Nest.

"I am—"

People introduced themselves from all directions, but honestly, none of it registered in my mind.

In the midst of all this, I was growing increasingly irritated.

First of all, I was already irritated.

Why? It was because of Nest.

When Lily, True, and I changed into our dresses, Nest was the first to tell me that I looked good.

When he said that, I didn't tell anyone, but I was so happy to be complimented that I had to struggle to keep my smile from showing.

Next, Nest complimented Lily, and to my annoyance, he didn't say anything to me, but he told Lily she was "cute"!

And he even hugged her, which I couldn't stand.

In the end, the only one Nest didn't call "cute" was me.

That's why I'm currently in a state of extreme irritation.

However, I can't stay irritated forever.

The dance, which everyone looks forward to, is about to start soon.

This dance, where men and women pair up and dance while embracing, is the perfect opportunity to show affection to the person you like.

I was asked to dance by several people earlier, but I politely declined.

I had already decided who I would dance with.

I would dance with the one person who probably doesn't even know the unspoken rules of such dances—my master—

—Nest, and only Nest.

"…isn't here!!"

Just as I was thinking this and looking for him, Nest was already gone.

"Ugh, stupid Nest…"

No one responded to my mutter.

After that, I didn't feel like dancing with anyone, so I was eating lightly in a corner of the venue by myself.

"Oh, it's True."

"Ah, Aula, you were here?"

I happened to spot True and we started moving together.

It seems True had also had a tough time.

Really, why are men, including Nest, so frustrating…

I sighed quietly to myself.

『Hey, hey, can you smell Lily-sama from here?』

『Really?』

When did I hear those two voices?

I think it was when the dance was about to reach its peak.

"…?"

A clumsy voice reached my ears.

Looking around, I saw that True had also heard it and was looking at me, tilting her head and saying, "Was that…?"

…What was that really?

『Haha, we can't be seen, so we must be good at hiding, right?』

『Haha, yeah. Also, I think these two smell like Lily-sama?』

『Really, what should we do?』

『Which one is the real one?』

The voices grew louder and seemed to be getting closer.

However, I couldn't understand what they were saying because of their strange way of speaking.

『Well, I don't get it, let's just take both of them and decide later.』

『Is that okay? We might get in trouble later, right?』

『It's fine, it's fine, Perfect-sama will be happy.』

『Yeah, let's do that.』

The last voice I heard was right next to us.

True, though not saying she was scared, was clinging to me.

Honestly, I was scared too, but with Nest gone, I had to protect True.

"…"

However, contrary to my thoughts, the voices stopped after that.

"Um, is it okay now…?"

True, gripping my dress, whispered.

"Yeah, probably…!!??"

Just as I said it was okay, a black mass appeared in front of us.

"!?"

Before we could resist, we were dragged into it.

"…n…?"

How much time had passed?

When I woke up after being dragged in, I found myself looking at an unfamiliar ceiling.