• The night before they met, the night they met, the night before the date, the night before the wedding, the present night. The story of Lithia’s nights.

She disliked the night.

After all, whenever she was idle, she was tormented by endless intrusive thoughts.

Be it that day, yesterday, the day before yesterday, or the year before, a certain unfortunate event lingered in her mind.

For Lithia, the night was dark, drawn-out, suffocating, and anything but peaceful.

◆◆◆

The night of the school’s annual dance party.

Most likely, the night would be melancholic as usual.

For some reason, she always encountered the prince and his entourages at them.

Even if she was dressed inconspicuously, or went as far as hiding behind a pillar, he’d always find her. Afterwards, he’d make a point of berating her for being an eyesore.

Having already resigned herself, she fully believed it’d be another such hopeless night.

“…What a strange fellow.”

At the dormitory, inside her room, Lithia who had changed from her dress to a negligee sat on her bed. She listlessly gazed at the moon peeking through the gaps between the drapes.

Rather than the incident at the party, the person whom she met afterwards left a lingering impression.

“…I see, because you’re a fairy, you can’t see your own reflection?”

Despite the outrageous deduction, that male student seemed very certain. Apparently, he had just transferred to that academy.

He didn’t hesitate to call her a moon fairy. His eccentricity did concern her a little… Also, the more Lithia tried to clear up the misunderstanding, the more he insisted. “—As expected, you can’t see your own reflection!” “As if the beauty of a fairy can be captured by such a mundane tool, anyway.” “Oh, your voice is also charming.” No matter what she did, it only strengthen his fairy theory.

After the endless back-and-forth, Lithia asked what would be impossible for a moon fairy to do, and according to him, a moon fairy shouldn’t be able to appear in the school uniform at noon. As such, they promised to meet tomorrow at lunchtime.

She didn’t know what was going on anymore.

…Maybe he could see something that others couldn’t. At the very least, that made more sense than Lithia being a moon fairy.

After all, it’s impossible, isn’t it?

The prince of the kingdom and everyone in this academy had attested to that.

It’s preposterous. What a weirdo. A stubborn and mysterious boy who refuses to change his mind.

Somehow, she ended up promising to meet him again tomorrow.

…It might be too late for it, but that was going to be her first time in her life meeting someone outside her home. Would she be able to do it? Should she initiate the conversation? But what if she mistook him for another?

Fortunately, his hair was black, which was considered rare in that academy. Not to mention, his surprised face had been etched in her mind, and she already knew his name. Therefore, all she needed to do was beckon to him when the chance arrived.

What was the name of the crazy, stubborn, yet determined boy?

“…Geo.”

As she laid down on her bed, Lithia unconsciously muttered his name.

◆◆◆

There’d been times when she couldn’t sleep because she didn’t want tomorrow to arrive.

She’d toss and turn for no reason, unable to catch a wink of sleep.

Reflected in her gaze was the moonlight along with a light-blue dress adorned with white frills hanging on her curtain rail.

“I can’t sleep…”

She promised to accompany Geo to go shopping tomorrow for the dance party. They had agreed to meet outside the school in casual attire and visit several stores.

After that, they’d spend time in a café. In other words, a date.

She read in a book that a date was something that a man and a woman who liked each other did to further their relationship.

Above all, Lithia was the one who invited him. In a way, it was as if she was professing her love to him, while the fact that Geo had accepted it pointed to his reciprocation. Even if that wasn’t the case, judging from his usual attitude, Lithia liked to believe that he felt something for her.

…Two people, going on a date to deepen their relationship—

“W-we have actual purpose…”

The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t sleep, so Lithia got up.

Recently, her parents had sent her a basket of sweets, which was currently sitting on her bedside table. Excusing herself, Lithia reached into the basket.

She wasn’t particularly hungry. Amidst the packages of cookies and pound cakes, she fished for a small vial of honey decorated with a cute ribbon.

If she applied this before going to bed, her lips would become glossy. She recalled what her mother used to say to her in the past as she sat in front of the dresser.

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***T/N: It’s for school and research purposes…!

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