Jerdin recalled the conversation he had with Dewey while watching Kalos’ back as he walked ahead.

“By the way, is it okay for Master to go out and see the festival himself? Since he’s such a famous person, I think it’ll be chaos with so many people recognizing him…”

“You’re worrying needlessly. No one will recognize the Master, so don’t worry. Even if someone does recognize him, it’ll only be for a moment, and they’ll pass by without paying much attention.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“There’s no need to think about it too hard. Just know that the Master is a shadow.”

Even the additional explanation was vague, so I couldn’t understand it at all, but seeing Kalos outside the castle walls made it perfectly clear.

Usually, Kalos would appear with an overwhelming presence that instantly captivated people’s attention wherever he went.

It was so bad that in social circles, there was a saying that you should never invite Kalos to events where you need to stand out, like birthdays.

Though Kalos never attended such events in the first place.

But now, Kalos exuded no presence at all.

As proof, not only the people passing by on the street but also the guards and knights in charge of security paid no attention to Kalos.

There were a few people who glanced at him, but they were looking at Irene, not Kalos.

‘He really is like a shadow.’

Hidden by bright light, unnoticeable unless you pay close attention.

Even if noticed, quickly forgotten as attention is drawn to the light, a shadow that no one cares about.

‘He must be using his ability.’

In other words, Kalos knew that people wouldn’t recognize him.

Yet he made up the absurd excuse that they needed to look like a couple and insisted on holding hands tightly.

Jerdin smiled contentedly, seeing through Kalos’ hidden intentions.

To open someone’s heart, you must first open your own heart wide, but Kalos was weak in that aspect.

He had heard that Kalos had suffered setbacks because of this in the past, so he was worried it might happen again, but it seems it was an unnecessary concern.

‘The problem is that woman.’

Jerdin looked at Irene.

Despite all the sights around, Irene kept focusing only on the hand holding Kalos’.

It meant that holding hands with Kalos was that uncomfortable for her.

Well, it couldn’t be comfortable to hold hands with someone you’re too scared to even make eye contact with.

The perceptive Kalos must have known this, but he kept holding her hand, seemingly not caring about Irene’s feelings at all.

Tsk, at this rate, he’ll only earn Irene’s hatred instead of winning her heart.

Jerdin scratched his head and muttered.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to help out.”

Since Kalos wasn’t simply trying to open Irene’s heart with good feelings, but had complicated circumstances involved, he had tried not to interfere as much as possible.

But at this rate, it seemed it would take a long time to open Irene’s heart.

That would make things difficult not only for Kalos but for himself as well, so Jerdin reluctantly decided to step in.

*

“Irene, look at this.”

Irene, who had come out to see the festival for once but was focusing all her attention on the hand holding Kalos’ instead of sightseeing, turned around when Jerdin called her.

Kalos, who had stopped with her, and Dewey and Deuce, who had been quietly following behind Irene and Kalos, as well as Jessie, all looked at Jerdin.

Jerdin pointed to the balloons attached to a panel and asked.

“There’s a balloon dart game here. Have you ever tried it?”

Irene shook her head. This was her first time out at a festival, and having been confined at home her whole life, she couldn’t have tried it before.

“Then do you want to give it a try?”

“Give it a try, Miss!”

The merchant jumped in, as if he had been waiting for this moment.

“Just for participating, you’ll get a pretty keychain. If you score over 400 points, you’ll get this hairpin with a Mermaid’s Tear attached.”

The merchant tried to tempt her by proudly presenting a hairpin with a blue jewel attached, but sadly, it didn’t catch Irene’s interest.

Having seen countless accessories more splendid and beautiful than that hairpin while staying at Esper Castle, she couldn’t be impressed.

“…”

Rather, what caught Irene’s interest were the colorful balloons. She had never seen those even at Esper Castle.

“Do you want to try?”

Kalos asked, noticing that Irene was interested in the balloon dart game.

Irene thought for a moment, then carefully asked.

“Is it… okay if I try?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then I’ll try just once.”

No sooner had Irene finished speaking than Jessie paid the merchant and brought back a dart container.

“Here you go, Miss.”

Irene, receiving the dart container, counted the number of darts inside.

One, two, three… there were as many as 20.

Is it normal to give so many?

Irene was a bit puzzled, but since she had never done this before and didn’t know, she just went along with it.

“You can stand here and throw the darts, Miss.”

As Irene stood where the merchant pointed, Jessie cheered enthusiastically.

“Miss, fighting!”

“Fighting!”

When Dewey joined in, Irene blushed slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed.

But only for a moment. Irene threw the dart with determination, but the first dart she threw in her life didn’t even come close to the target and fell limply.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Determined to succeed next time, Irene threw the dart more forcefully, but she couldn’t pop a single balloon even once.

“…”

After failing ten times like this, Irene hung her head dejectedly.

Kalos, who had been watching silently, approached behind Irene.

And he gently grasped Irene’s hand holding the dart.

Surprised by the sudden contact, Irene’s body tensed up.

“You should hold the barrel of the dart, not the wings or the tip.”

But only for a moment. As Kalos explained in detail from how to hold the dart to the posture, Irene relaxed and listened to his words.

“When throwing, snap your wrist and throw in a straight line…”

Irene threw the eleventh dart as Kalos instructed.

Pop-!

The blue balloon hit by the dart burst with a cheerful sound.

At the same time, Irene’s eyes widened.

Did I… just hit it?

“It’s a 10-point balloon. Congratulations, Miss.”

After getting confirmation from the merchant again, Irene looked up at Kalos with a broad smile.

“Did you see that? I hit it!”

“…”

“I hit it! I hit the balloon!”

Seeing Irene so happy for the first time, Kalos looked at her somewhat dazedly.

“Ah…!”

Irene, who had been speaking excitedly about hitting the balloon for the first time, belatedly realized who she was talking to and quickly shut her mouth.

No matter how excited she was, jumping up and down in front of him…

At least Kalos didn’t seem to be in a bad mood, otherwise she might have screamed and run away.

Still embarrassed, Irene fiddled with the back of her reddened neck.

“…”

Kalos thought about asking why she was so embarrassed, but…

He decided it was better not to ask anything right now.

“Can you throw well now?”

Instead, he asked something else, and Irene nodded her head excessively.

It must be my imagination that it looks like she means she doesn’t need you anymore.

Kalos swallowed a slightly bitter feeling and stepped back.

Facing the balloons again, Irene threw the dart forcefully, recalling the posture and method Kalos had taught her.

However, the dart she threw collapsed right in front of the target.

Pop-!

It clearly didn’t reach and just fell, but… why did the balloon pop?

Irene was bewildered, but the merchant also looked down at the popped balloon with a dumbfounded expression.

“Why did this suddenly pop?”

“Because it was hit by the dart.”

Kalos answered kindly yet brazenly as he turned to look at Dewey and Deuce.

“You two saw that balloon get hit by the dart, right?”

“Yes, I saw it.”

“I saw it too.”

Jessie also chimed in, raising her hand high.

“Me too, I saw it too! That balloon definitely popped because it was hit by the dart!”

This is nothing short of collective fraud. Jerdin, who had been quietly watching, clicked his tongue.

The reason the balloon popped was not because the dart needle touched it, but because Kalos had used his ability.

Being a magician and knowing what Kalos’ ability was, Jerdin had clearly witnessed that moment.

But ordinary people like Irene and the merchant couldn’t see anything.

“So it hit.”

The naive Irene believed it readily since others said so, but…

“It clearly didn’t hit…”

The merchant, certain from years of experience that it absolutely didn’t hit, tried to protest.

However, the moment he met those purple eyes…

“…”

Realizing Kalos’ identity, the merchant shut his mouth without making a peep.

*

Even after that, the strange phenomenon of balloons popping without the dart touching them continued, but the merchant still couldn’t say anything.

On the other hand, since balloons were popping with every throw, Irene excitedly threw darts wildly.

The dart container emptied in no time, but thanks to Jessie immediately refilling it, she could keep throwing.

“I won this!”

Having popped all the balloons attached to the panel, Irene proudly smiled and showed off the hairpin she received as a prize.

“Well done.”

To this, Kalos gave a brief compliment, and…

“You’re amazing, Miss!”

“That’s awesome!”

“Wow, Miss. That’s incredible!”

Dewey, Jessie, and Jerdin congratulated her somewhat exaggeratedly.

“But this jewel, it’s a real Mermaid’s Tear.”

Jessie, examining the blue jewel attached to the hairpin, let out a small exclamation.

“Usually, prizes in places like this are often fake, how strange.”

Dewey answered.

“They probably didn’t think anyone would actually score 400 points.”

“I guess so.”

Without Kalos’ help, Irene would never have been able to score 400 points either.

“Is this jewel a Mermaid’s Tear?”

When Irene asked, Jessie kindly explained.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s a jewel that can be mined on beaches, and it’s called a Mermaid’s Tear because its shape resembles a teardrop. It also has a special meaning.”

“A special meaning?”

“Yes. Mermaid’s Tears are quite hard and don’t break easily, but if they do break, they say the person you want to see will come to you.”

So it has such a meaning. Irene looked down at the hairpin, feeling a bit curious.

If it’s such a meaningful item, it might be better to give it as a gift to someone else rather than keeping it for myself.

The person I want to see… can never come to me anyway.

Then who should I give it to?

Irene’s gaze naturally turned to Kalos.

Thanks to his teaching, I was able to do well at darts, so it would be right to give it to him, right?

Besides, I’ve received a lot of help from him…

Although it bothers me that it’s a hairpin that women would use, I still think I should give it to him, so Irene held out the hairpin.

“This is a gift for you.”

Then Kalos frowned and asked.

“Are you telling me to wear this in my hair?”

“…!”

For a moment, imagining Kalos wearing this hairpin, Irene’s mouth fell open.

“…”

Realizing something was wrong from Irene’s reaction, Kalos closed his mouth.

Belatedly snapping out of her delusion, Irene lowered her head slightly and fiddled with the pin.

She couldn’t bear to look at Kalos’ face, fearing that the bizarre fantasy might resurface.

“That’s not what I meant, I wanted to give it to you because I’ve received so much from the Grand Duke…”

So Irene spoke haltingly, unable to look straight at Kalos’ face.

“They say if a Mermaid’s Tear breaks, the person you want to see will come, so it might be helpful if you keep it…”

Irene, who had been rambling on with her explanation, looked up at Kalos in confusion as he took the hairpin.

“I appreciate the thought, but…”

Kalos brushed aside Irene’s disheveled hair and pinned the hairpin there.

“I think it’s better if you keep this.”