“What brings you to the sage’s study?”

It was better not to interfere, but the others would check him out too. I finally couldn’t bear it and asked. The other person smiled brightly, not realizing that I was suspicious of him.

“I’m going there because there is someone I want to meet. What is the lady going to the sage’s study for?”

How much was he looking forward to meeting the person he was going to meet? I was dazed for a moment because it was a destructive smile that made me feel suspicious about his identity.

“Lady?”

“Oh, I have something to do, too.”

It was only after he called for me again that I regained my mind and answered him. I didn’t feel the need to let people know that I was studying there. Perhaps there was a deep curiosity about me, but the other person quietly nodded. I didn’t ask further, fearing to raise unnecessary suspicion.

But looking at it again, he looked familiar. I was sure we didn’t know each other, but where did I see him? Why did I felt that this was not our first meeting?

“Do we know each other?”

The other person’s eyes widened slightly at my question. And that surprise soon turned into a sweet smile. My heart pounded at that soft, thrilling smile, like a meringue cookie melting in my mouth.

No! Wake up! I kept losing my mind. I braced myself not to fall for this honeytrap.

The other person leaned back like he was pleased with the compliment. He clasped both hands and placed them on his lap. It was an elegant yet arrogant posture that suited him well.

“I hear a lot that I am handsome. I am an uncommonly beautiful man.”

The words that would have sounded conceited fit him so naturally. I don’t think he’s a ‘beautiful man’ though. Well, I can’t deny that he was handsome.

I just nodded my head and affirmed, ‘You are beautiful,’ but the gaze that looked down at me was strange. The gentle eye smile was enticing. He seemed to regard what I just said as if I had thrown it out to seduce it.

Don’t get me wrong! Not like that!

“Don’t get me wrong. Oddly enough, it’s because you’re not unfamiliar. It’s like someone I’ve seen before.”

I was not interested in him, but I think I had seen him somewhere. I expressed my innocence. If we were related in some way, even if I don’t remember, maybe he will remember me. But he hesitated a little, then smiled again casually.

“Really? I think it’s the first time I’ve seen someone as cute as Lady. I don’t know what to do with this much attention.”

He tried to direct the mood in a different direction with his languid voice. But the gaze that scans me had become cautious. It felt like he was looking back at his memories to see if I had really met him.

At the words that touched my complex, I could barely hold back my cheeks puffing out. What does he mean by cute! I want to hear that I am beautiful too! Even though I know his words were right, my clenched fists tremble. Despite growing up, they seemed to think that I was young when they saw my height.

As expected, I am cursed. It must be so. Otherwise, I couldn’t have been this small. It’s not like I haven’t grown at all over the years, but I haven’t grown a whole inch. Only my height seemed to have stopped in time.

The Sage’s Study was where people were immersed in their own research, so they didn’t know the passage of time. So sometimes, when we met and they heard my age, they would be surprised, asking if it had already been that long. And when they saw my height, they made a bitter expression.

Miss Irene, who studied the disappeared ancient history, said that she wanted to research whether or not fairy blood was flowing in me. Her twinkling eyes scared me. Miss Irene pursued me as I ran away in horror hearing the human experimentation.

For that reason, there was a time when the ‘Arendine Fairy Theory’ spreaded in the Sage’s Study, causing me trouble.

I was 18 years old! Even though I was definitely an adult recognized by the Empire, no one could guess that I am a woman. It was when I was about to tell him not to treat me like a child, revealing my age with a happy face, the carriage stopped.

I swallowed the words that had risen in my throat.