"Show me your face and let me see for myself whether I'll hate you or not."
My words made her hesitate for a moment. But then she took a deep breath and slowly lowered her hands, revealing a childish face before me.
She could have been called cute — if not for the ugly scar on the right side of her cheek that provoked feelings of disgust in others.
Yukihana stared straight into the eyes of the boy who had just saved her. She wanted to know how he would react to her face.
Would he be like everyone else, repulsed by her?
But to her surprise, the boy showed no reaction at all. He simply looked directly at her face — which made her quickly turn her gaze away. It was the first time anyone had ever looked at her so directly.
"You have beautiful eyes," I said softly.
Those gentle, sincere words reached her ears and made her shiver. She looked into the boy's eyes and saw something she had never seen there before — compassion, joy, and warmth.
"W-why… why aren't you disgusted by me?"
"Don't you think I'm ugly?"
"You're not ugly. All I see is a girl with a small scar on her face, wearing a blue dress that looks beautiful on her."
His words made her heart race.
B-beautiful? Me?
Yukihana had always been good at sensing the emotions of others — and she could tell that what the boy said was the truth.
She looked at the boy, who had a gentle smile on his face and was offering his hand to her. For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on her face.
Mother… I think I've found him — my charming prince.
+50,000 Affection
Deep within the Helios royal palace, several girls had gathered, sitting around a table.
If Zeref were here, he would have recognized all of them. Among them was Theresia, and standing behind her were three girls — one of whom was Invidia.
On the other side sat a 12-year-old girl in a dress of white and pink. Her pink hair flowed down her back, and her blue eyes shimmered like the empty glow of the moon. Her beauty rivaled that of the moon itself.
"It seems your banquet is going well," the girl said.
"Yes, everything is going fine… but dealing with all those nobles is exhausting," Theresia replied.
Unlike the way she acted at the banquet, Theresia was now relaxed and carefree. After all, she didn't have to act high and mighty in front of her friends.
The girl in front of her was Elise Calliope, the princess of the Calliope Kingdom. Like Theresia, she too had inherited an ancient bloodline.
What was happening now was simply a gathering of close friends — though the status of each girl present was enough to shake the world.
The Elise sitting before them was just a projection — this was a council formed by the most influential girls in the human territories. Because of their high status, they could speak openly with one another, though such opportunities were rare. So they gathered to talk and spend time together as friends.
"I don't understand why you all go through so much trouble just for a bet. Why don't you just fight it out?" a girl's voice echoed from one of the projected screens in the room. Several screens floated in the air — magical communication tools that allowed them to talk despite being far apart.
Although they were expensive, such costs were trivial to the girls present here.
"Well, this is important. We need to decide who our next leader will be today."
In their organization, the leader's position rotated every two years, and the time had come to choose the next one.
Currently, they were here to determine the leader between the two princesses — Theresia and Elise — through a chess match.
The rules were simple: each princess would bring three representatives to compete, and the best among them would secure the win.
"So, Theresia, I hope you're ready to lose," Elise teased.
"Hmph. You don't know what I'm capable of," Theresia scoffed at Elise's words.
Both sides then revealed their players.
From Theresia's side emerged a 12-year-old girl with blue hair and red eyes. She looked adorable and gave off an intellectual aura.
From Elise's side appeared an 11-year-old girl with green hair like spring flowers and brilliant green eyes that seemed to contain sparks of light.
The match began. Pieces moved across the board in rapid succession. But after only ten minutes, the green-haired girl spoke:
"Checkmate."
Her voice shattered the solemn atmosphere in the room. The blue-haired girl stared in disbelief — she couldn't understand how she had lost. It was as if she had been dancing to her opponent's tune from the very start.
Invidia frowned. She could see that the green-haired girl possessed some sort of special ability that allowed her to win, but she couldn't complain — that ability was part of the girl's strength.
The green-haired girl spoke, her eyes glowing slightly.
"I can predict and move before my opponent makes their move."
Her words answered the questions in everyone's mind.
That's basically a cheating ability in a chess match… Invidia thought. But there was nothing she could do.
Suddenly, her thoughts drifted to a black-haired boy.
Maybe Zeref could…?
While Invidia was lost in thought, the second match began — and ended even faster, with Theresia's side losing again. The mood in the room grew heavy.
"It seems you're all the same," the green-haired girl said with a smug smile. Her words made both Theresia and Elise frown. But before either could respond, someone else spoke.
"Don't get too cocky. You won't win against the person I'm going to bring," Invidia's voice echoed through the room, drawing everyone's attention.
"Oh? Then I want to see this person you're talking about," the green-haired girl replied.
"Your Highness, give me a chance — I will bring you a champion," Invidia said firmly.
Theresia met Invidia's gaze for a moment before nodding.
Ten Minutes Later ———
I was now looking around the room I'd been brought into.
Wait… what's going on? Why am I here?
A little while ago, I had been spending time with Yukihana. The girl had shown me immense affection. We played and teased each other.
Although it wasn't love yet, I had managed to impress her — and I was confident it could grow into something more. Before leaving her, I even gave her a communication tool that would allow us to stay connected.
As I was humming happily and searching for my family again, I was suddenly dragged off by my sister Invidia — without a word — and brought here.
Now, I was sitting in front of a green-haired girl, surrounded by many others. Every single one of them… was a heroine I needed to conquer.
Oh my god… did I just win the lottery today?