Al grabbed my hand as I entered through the door. I restrained my face so as not to frown and gave him an awkward smile.

"Um, yes—?"

"Come with me!" Al dragged me inside the venue where the birthday party was hosted. The room was decorated grandly with all sorts of plants, many of which I recognized, and expensive decorations. The host must've gone all out. 

Al walked up to a vacant table and forced me to sit down. I gave the boy a wary look as he fidgeted. His cheeks were flushed as he stared at the table. I was growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"I wanted to tell you something."

"Yes?" I asked.

"I think—I think that I—" He started stuttering and I nearly stood up from the table. This had better not be what I think this is. "I think I have a secret admirer!" I pause and blink. What? I gave him a blank look which made him frown.

"Why are you looking at me like that?!"

"After your tea party, I didn't think a single noble girl would even want to stay in the same room as you." I couldn't help but be honest. Al gaped at me.

"How rude! I'll have you know that girls flock around me constantly!" I snorted.

"Your little siblings don't count as girls." Al gritted his teeth as I chuckled. He had three younger half-sisters who adored their dim-witted brother. I'd met them by chance while invited to his many tea parties. Al slapped his hand on the table, causing a loud sound.

"But the thing is, this is a secret admirer. Perhaps one of the nobles was too shy to admit that they liked my advances?" I shook my head.

"You gave three girls allergic reactions with gifts, you tried impressing one with a backflip and nearly broke your back, and you traumatized another by having them sit on your stuffed Pegasus, whose head fell off." Al was quiet for a while.

"That's only five nobles." I sighed.

"Nevertheless, you still think some noble girl has the hots for you?" Al nodded, looking confident. I shrugged.

"Good luck then—"

"No, where are you going?" I felt Al grab my hand and I tried yanking it back.

"I'm going to enjoy this birthday party?"

"Did you forget the part where I asked you to help me?" 

"How do I help you? Just find the admirer and confess to them— again." Al narrowed his eyes at my tone.

"I can't do that. I need your help." I was growing annoyed but I tried calming down.

"With what?" Damn, I shouldn't have snapped like that. Al didn't look upset though, and right as he opened his mouth, the door to the venue slammed open. I turned.

The birthday girl was wearing a brilliant pink dress that was almost too vibrant in color. It was decorated with jewels and flowers, but it looked to be far too long for her. But sitting on her horse prevented her from tripping. The birthday girl flipped her hair as she approached her guest. I could hear them praise her and congratulate her, but I found the scene of her riding a horse indoors hilarious.

I snorted before turning to Al. And he looked awe-struck. "She's the one." 

"What...?"

"She has to be the one. T-the flowers on her dress are the same as the ones my secret admirer gave me. And she's the only noble girl I haven't confessed to." I was speechless. I looked back at the noble girl. The reason why Al hadn't approached her was because she was obsessed with someone else and made it known to everyone.

Mary Qail met my gaze and she tilted her head upwards, barely disguising a sneer. She didn't look too happy to have seen me, but as I was a prince, she didn't have much of a choice but to invite me. Mary guided the horse to us, looking more graceful than I'd care to admit, and jumped off of it. She gave us a look and Al immediately bowed. 

"Happy birthday, Lady Mary." I wanted to slap him. He didn't have to be so polite to the duke's daughter as he was a prince. Mary seemed to enjoy the flattery though and she nodded. And then she glared at me.

"Oh, it's you." I'd like more respect to my name, my status is higher than yours. "I sent an invite to Heath, how come he isn't here?" She looked sad at that revelation. I shrugged my shoulders.

"He said that he'd rather spend your birthday alone with you than with others." Her eyes sparkled at my blatant lie. I hid my smile. It's payback, Heath. He'd begun ignoring me lately, so why not have Mary Qail send him out of his shell?

"I should've expected this from my future husband." She giggled and Al's face fell. I patted his shoulder as I shook my head. Al let out a loud sigh.

"I hope you're ready for the next event." Al and I simultaneously blinked. She tried to leave with those mysterious words but struggled to get back on her horse. She looked at me for help and I looked away at the right time. Al helped the birthday girl on her horse and she went to the next guest.

Al turned to me with pleading eyes. "Rael. Why can't you help me? Come on, this involves my love life, it's too important to entrust to others!" I shook my head.

"I've only known you for like three months."

"That's enough months!"

"Don't you have any other friends?" Al looked away.

"Yes but... I think they'd make things worse." That sounded quite suspicious. What sort of friends did he have?

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A loud voice echoed, catching everyone's attention. An announcer stood right below the stage. They bowed and continued speaking. "Now that I have your attention, please welcome the ever lovely and graceful Mary Qail!" Mary walked up to the stage, leaving her horse behind while lifting the ends of her skirt. 

Once she reached the top, she smiled at the crowd. "Thank you all for coming here. This is an important celebration for me as I've already awakened." Oh right, she was a year older. 

Mary smiled and lifted her arms. "So in celebration of that, I want to show you the gift that my father gave me. It's an 'Invoker' and whatever keywords I put in, it'll be presented as an illusion. Not only that but—" she revealed a long staff which she placed in front of her. "—I will be battling these illusionary monsters for you all to see." A guard, wearing their hat so far down that you couldn't see their face, typed down a few words. And then, large wolves appeared.

"Poison Fang Wolves!"

"I've heard about how dangerous they are. Even if they are merely an illusion, she wants to fight them?"

"It seems like it." The crowd began murmuring as the wolves growled and approached the girl on the stage. She was still wearing her long dress so running away was pointless. Mary merely smirked as she performed two spells.

[Water], [Freeze] 

The ground beneath the wolves became wet before turning to frost. They were stuck, unable to get closer to her. But that didn't discourage the wolves but made them grow more agitated as they tried ripping their paws away. 

"[Ice Spike], [Fire Arrow], [Stone Dart]!" Using three different spells, she killed all of them. She smiled and bowed as the crowd was in awe. 

"She killed them so quickly?"

"She already knows five spells?"

"She's a genius!" They began praising Mary who left the stage. The girl merely laughed at the praises and tried being humble. "No, no, I'm merely hard working." 

I nodded. As expected of a love rival, she was good. In only a week, she learned four spells. She was sure to grow even stronger than this.