Lilith’s envelope was as simple as she was—just an ordinary plain white envelope. Its only decoration was the imperial seal: a golden crowned griffin.
Maur felt a flicker of curiosity about what Lilith’s invitation might say.
After all, he already knew she’d be serving as assistant staff at the Maid Afternoon Tea Café during the festival.
And assistant staff had to wear maid outfits!
*That* Lilith would never want him seeing her in such an embarrassing getup.
But to Maur’s surprise, the handwriting inside wasn’t Lilith’s usual rigid, precise script.
Instead, elegant yet utterly unfamiliar calligraphy read:
*"Want to see Lilith in a maid outfit? As the eldest son of the Violet Count family, you surely wouldn’t miss this perfect chance to tease her, right? Tomorrow at 2 PM, Maid Afternoon Tea Café. See you there~"*
Signed: *Tammy Megan Orange*.
The Orange family was the imperial house of the Somaria Empire.
This Tammy was likely some duke’s daughter.
Among the Empire’s three grand dukes, only Mavis—the young master of Duke Fred’s line—had lingered in the Royal Capital recently. The others remained stationed in their fiefdoms, never setting foot here.
Who *was* this Tammy? How could she force Lilith—who notoriously hated feminine attire—to wear something even more outrageous?
Maur’s pride as the #1 villainous young master felt challenged.
Making that annoying Lilith wear women’s clothing was *his* unfinished business!
Damn it—someone beat him to it!
He *had* to meet this Tammy.
Maur snorted and tossed Lilith’s invitation aside.
Next: Mavis’s letter.
Undeniably the flashiest of the four. The envelope itself was intricately painted with roses; the paper inside glittered almost painfully. A rich rose fragrance wafted out upon opening.
Maur skimmed past a full page of flowery, useless pleasantries and finally reached the point:
*"Attending the festival alone is boring. How about joining me, Maur? I promise a *pleasurable* day~"*
Maur: "…"
*Like hell I’d spend a ‘pleasurable’ day with you!*
He hurled the letter away without hesitation.
Then came Tabitha’s.
Pink envelope. A cute little fox doodled on the paper—*childish*, in Maur’s opinion.
*"Young Master Mavis seems to have secret plans for tomorrow’s festival. Please, Lord Maur, do not wander alone. If you permit, Tabitha stands ready to assist you at any moment."*
*Figures. Knew Mavis was up to no good.*
But even Tabitha, undercover this long, didn’t know the details?
Maur’s irritation flared. Mavis had *always* been a scheming nuisance—like tormenting Maur was his life’s purpose. If he found an opening tomorrow… things would turn ugly.
And Maur still had no counter for the Swamp Behemoth. Teacher Evelyn might know… but that perverted Forest Fey was even trickier than Mavis.
…Wait. Evelyn sent an invitation too?
Hesitantly, Maur opened the envelope woven from strange leaves. No paper—just a single seed.
The moment he unfolded it, the seed sprouted violently. Emerald vines coiled upward, forming a rough, palm-sized replica of the Forest Fey.
"Good evening," Evelyn greeted calmly.
"Yikes!" Maur yelped. "What the hell?! Don’t pop out of envelopes like that!"
He’d have letter-related trauma forever! And those damn vines—soon he’d flinch at *any* vine!
Evelyn tilted her head. "I startled you. Why?"
"Hah? Startled? Impossible! I’m *not* scared!"
He was safe inside Violet County Manor—not her Mage Tower. Courage surged back.
*Pfft. Just a tiny clone. What’s to fear?*
"Hmph." Maur crossed his arms, looming over the miniature Fey. "Why send an invite? You hate noisy events."
The Forest Fey nodded. "Indeed. Too loud for me."
She’d planned to spend the festival alone again, soundproofing her Mage Tower as usual.
But this year, flowers bloomed overnight outside it. Students—mostly boy-girl pairs—"dating"—lingered constantly. After "dating," they’d slip into denser woods… and engage in acts of love.
*Ah. "Dating" is the precursor to human love.*
The clever Evelyn had learned.
"A student said tomorrow’s festival is perfect for dating with one’s lover. So I invited you." She stated it like a magical conclusion. "I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning. We will date."
"Hah?! Who agreed to *date* you?! Don’t decide things alone, hey!!"
The vines withered. Evelyn’s clone crumbled to powder on Maur’s bed.
"Y-You damn Fey!" Maur slammed the mattress. "Talking to yourself *and* dirtying my bed?!"
"All vine dust! How am I supposed to sleep?! Aaagh—DAMN IT—!"
As maid Daina soothed the raging young master and changed the sheets…
…in her Mage Tower, the Fey teacher who’d just issued her first dating invitation pondered:
*"I promised to pick him up tomorrow morning. But what time is ‘morning’ for humans?"*
For a Forest Fey, "morning" spanned midnight to noon.
Evelyn flipped open a confiscated romance novel.
*Perfect—this one has a dating scene.*
She read intently:
*"I can’t wait another second. I must see her NOW!"*
*"…No more waiting. I’m coming to you this instant!"*
The hero sprinted to his lover’s window, arms wide:
*"Ah~ My dear, come to me! Let us never part again!"*
…
*Understood.*
Evelyn closed the book.
*So "morning" means… this time.*
Current time: 9:03 PM.
*"Only 2 hours and 57 minutes until morning."*
Time to prepare.
She would date Maur exactly as the human novel prescribed.
Elsewhere, at Duke Fred’s manor.
Mavis held the rose-embroidered letter paper to a cage shrouded in black cloth.
"Good girl. Memorize this scent. Don’t lose him tomorrow, okay?"
The paper—and its unique fragrance—matched the invitation sent to Maur.
Mavis chuckled softly. "Fufufu…
Perfect. No escape this time, Maur…"
