“Sorry, Miss Organizer, what did you just say? My apologies, I didn’t quite catch it.” The corner of Vinny’s mouth twitched, but he still maintained that same polite expression laced with distance.

He’d learned that expression from Vanessa—or more precisely, he was imitating the micro-movements of his own facial muscles from when he was Vanessa. The imitation wasn’t all that precise or professional, though.

“Didn’t catch it? Ah, so does Lady Vinnia want me to praise your cuteness one more time? Mmm-hmm~ that’s... not out of the question.” Aesphyra smiled with her eyes.

“No need, thank you.” Vinny replied, a little grossed out.

It started again. Here we go again.

The torture wasn’t over. This wicked little horror-nutball knew exactly who he was and still praised a man for being cute??

Even if the gooseflesh rose all over him, Vinny could only grit his teeth and endure.

So, after nudging him from the side and seeing him play dead, she decided to go along with it and play dumb with him, huh?

Vinny looked up, lifeless, at the sky that had already gone fully dark, feeling a wave of helplessness.

Did he win? Did he really win?

He’d roasted Aesphyra to a crisp on stage and still won the championship, taking the final prize of the pageant—but what was the price??

He was being chased around by this white-haired pocket nut, forced to keep a lid on the blood rushing to his head.

This was ultimate torture, that’s what it was. ^

“Ahem. Let’s go, then~ since Lady Vinnia has accepted my invitation.” Aesphyra gracefully brushed the hair before her ear, smiled, and led the way.

No, seriously—she still hasn’t had enough?? How long is this going to last??

Vinny felt he couldn’t keep up the act much longer.

But there was nothing for it; he could only drag his feet and follow behind Aesphyra. *

Tch, forget it. Why overthink? He, the notorious scourge of the Camella capital, has never been the sort to fuss over trifles.

A man should be carefree, magnanimous, generous. What’s this, anyway? That white-haired nut is treating him to dinner—that’s a good thing, isn’t it?? ~

He’d just open up and eat. Eat her under the table, same as last time!

That’s what Vinny decided. ~

Outing himself was only a matter of time. Given where things stood, he had to cut his losses and make Aesphyra concede properly; otherwise, wouldn’t all this suffering be for nothing?? Still, if he was going to shed the disguise, he’d do it after he fleeced Aesphyra for this meal.

Led by Aesphyra, the two arrived at a private restaurant—judging by the exterior and interior décor alone, its price bracket was anything but cheap, far more luxurious than the Maid Café from last time. ^

Vinny shot Aesphyra a strange look.

The Maid Café was pricey, sure, but it didn’t exactly qualify as a high-end dining establishment.

Was it his imagination, or did this place seem a whole level above the restaurant from last time?

Was that on purpose, or an accident?

“Please, after you, Lady Vinnia.” Aesphyra slid one heel back and made an inviting gesture.

Vinny stood where he was, arms folded, saying nothing, letting the breeze lift the hem of his skirt and his hair.

“What’s wrong? Lady Vinnia changed her mind at the last minute?”

“No. I want to know, with such smooth and practiced moves, just how many girls you’ve taken to dinner before.” Lady Vinnia narrowed her eyes, giving Aesphyra a probing look.

“Aiya~ is Lady Vinnia testing me? Didn’t I say it before? Even heirs of great noble houses don’t have the privilege of being invited by me like this.” Aesphyra replied with a smiling lilt.

“Oh? Is that so?” Lady Vinnia stared at Aesphyra, full of suspicion. “Then should I be acting all flattered and overwhelmed right now?”

Fine. Coming from Aesphyra, the word “devoted” sounded wrong no matter how she said it.

“You may. If Lady Vinnia could do that, I’d be very happy. Also, if it’s alright with you, you don’t need to keep calling me Miss Organizer. Just use my name—Aesphyra.”

“Oh? Aesphyra, then?” Lady Vinnia tilted her head.

“Mmm-hmm~ Lady Vinnia has a lovely voice. The way you say a person’s name feels like a warm spring breeze.” Aesphyra’s expression turned rapt.

Heh. Starting to nauseate him again, huh??

Vinny couldn’t tell how much of what Aesphyra said was sincere, and how much was just to make his skin crawl.

“If Lady Vinnia could keep calling me with that voice all the time, that would be wonderful~” And sure enough, Aesphyra started hinting again, her eyes blinking like a foxy enchantress.

“I don’t see the need. I think after today, there won’t be any dealings between us, Aesphyra.” Vinny glanced at her, tone resolute.

“Aiya? Lady Vinnia is that certain?” Aesphyra cocked her head.

“Certain. Very certain.” Vinny’s face darkened.

Since this pocket-sized bun was determined to trigger lethal rhythm and keep auto-attacking him, Vinny might as well drop the act too—after dinner he’d reveal himself and make her admit defeat!

“Ah.” Aesphyra lifted a hand to cover her mouth.

“What is it? Did I say something wrong?” Vinny asked.

“No. It’s just...” Aesphyra tapped her lips with a finger, then said meaningfully, “What a coincidence. Is there really some overlap at work here? A very beautiful person I’ve met once said the exact same thing to me.”

The same words??

Vinny fell silent for a moment, and suddenly it clicked who Aesphyra meant.

Aesphyra—could she be talking about Vanessa??

If he remembered right, when he’d been Vanessa and first met Aesphyra, he’d said the same sort of thing, hadn’t he?

Granted, there’d been bloodline influence, but Vanessa and Vinny were ultimately the same person; the logic of their thinking was the same.

No. No way, right? Impossible, right? Was she... hinting at that??

Surely not. Was this white-haired nut’s brain really running that wild??

“Oh. And what’s that got to do with me?” Vinny replied, utterly nonchalant, without a flicker of reaction.

They entered one after the other. Vinny was curious what kind of background this place had, to be operating in the dead center of Carillian Academy’s commercial street—until, under a server’s guidance, they reached a window-side private room. A server bearing menus approached with utmost deference, addressed Aesphyra as “Young Lady,” and only then did Vinny get it.

So the Galathus Family had holdings here too, huh??

Only now did Vinny understand what “truly vast family wealth” meant.

“Aesphyra is really full of hidden depths.” Vinny didn’t stand on ceremony. Since she’d said she was treating him, and this was her family’s business to boot, what was there to be polite about?

Act like the host. Speak with some backbone.

So the moment Vinny sat, he crossed his legs, set both hands flat on his black student stockings, and struck a posture like he was surveying the realm.

“Ah-leh? Weren’t you already perfectly clear on all this, Lady Vinnia?” Aesphyra passed him a menu, smiling with her eyes.

“Tch.” Vinny clicked his tongue, took the menu without altering his cocky pose, and slanted a glance down at it.

Yeah, that’s right—be arrogant. She insisted on treating him; what’s wrong with a little swagger??

“You didn’t order enough, Aesphyra.” Vinny flicked a look at her, then dropped his gaze to the menu again.

“Since you’re treating me, I can order whatever I want, right?” Vinny asked.

“Of course. Lady Vinnia can order anything she wants,” Aesphyra said as a matter of course. “So long as Lady Vinnia can finish it.”

“Uh—uh.” That made Vinny # Nоvеlight # swallow back the line “Then bring out the entire menu.”

Of course, even if he said it, he’d have been joking. He’d never actually waste food; he’d only wanted to put Aesphyra on the spot.

“Lady Vinnia, shall we order~?” Aesphyra’s eyes curved.

Vinny settled in and got to work. The menu really was a parade of marvels. There were so many dishes he’d never seen—some he’d only heard the names of, and some he hadn’t even heard of—but the names alone screamed prestige, with ingredients rare and precious.

Aaaah, what now? He was torn. A Galathus luxury establishment would obviously serve only the top tier—he wanted to try everything—but if they brought it all out, there was no way he could finish.

Sigh, what a pity. If only he had a bigger stomach.

Then Vinny had a wondrous idea: if he ate till full and then switched into Vanessa, would the fullness in his stomach go down a bit so he could keep fighting??

Though, come to think of it, when he became Vanessa, his appetite was way bigger than usual.

Vanessa’s physique was mysterious too—no matter how much she ate, she never gained weight. Maybe it stored somewhere in the body; otherwise, how do you explain why she could eat so much more than Vinny?

“Mmm-hmm~ having a hard time choosing, Lady Vinnia?” Aesphyra propped her chin on one hand, savoring every minute change in his expression.

“Yeah, super torn! So many delicious options, but this young lady’s stomach is only so big; I can only pick a few at a time. So tell me, which ones should I eat??” Faced with good food, Vinny didn’t bother to posture; he adopted the air of someone conducting serious academic research.

“Pff.” Watching the light-blue-haired girl in front of her pout, legs crossed, one foot short of kicking up on the bench—utterly unladylike yet completely earnest—Aesphyra’s lips couldn’t help curving up.

“[Virtue +50].”

“[Current Virtue: 11634].”

Huh? No—that one just got Virtue?? Whatever, whatever; ignore her. The priority now was deciding what to eat.

Aesphyra was ridiculously generous—spending this much to feed him gave Vinny the feeling that this whole crossdressing trip hadn’t been for nothing.

No—wrong!

Vinny, Vinny, you’re the notorious scourge of the Camella capital. How can a mere meal buy you off??

So... not again after this!

“Hey, Aesphyra, have you tried all these dishes?” Vinny asked, curious.

“Naturally.” Aesphyra’s mouth quirked.

“Wow, I’m so jealous. Having a gold mine at home really is different. If I ever get rich—really rich—I’m going to eat my way through everything on your family’s menu!” Vinny declared with grand ambitions.

Pff, pff.

Get rich, soar to success—and the wish is merely to eat everything in a high-end restaurant??

Aesphyra watched him pore over the menu, curiosity written all over his face—something like, “As expected of a luxury restaurant, even the menu is made of Nanjin wood.”

His thoughts were too obvious—plain at a glance.

That was one of the reasons Aesphyra still couldn’t be sure. In this lifetime, the big dummy Vinny was likely lower in IQ than the demon Vinny from the last, and his acting was atrocious—transparent at a glance, making no effort to conceal what he was thinking.

But to Aesphyra, that wasn’t a flaw.

After dealing with so many old orange peels who say one thing and think another, someone who is all true feeling, no fakery at all, was actually a breath of fresh air. Being around him felt comfortable.

It might even be why Aesphyra always loved teasing Vinny. In her eyes, he really was much more interesting than most people in this world.

Of course, she meant the Vinny of this lifetime.

And honestly, it surprised her. She’d always thought Vinny had a good foundation; if he were a girl, his looks would be very high. She’d even joked before that if Vinny were female, she might just reluctantly consider it.

She hadn’t thought it through deeply—but when crossdressed Vinny stepped onto the stage in full attire, she was still struck breathless. The contrast before and after made the heart race.

In that instant, the dissonance between Vinny’s identity and his crossdressed presentation created a huge chemical reaction, to the point that Aesphyra even had the thought: “If someone is beautiful enough, maybe gender isn’t such a big problem.”

However...

From current observation, Vinny’s behavior after crossdressing wasn’t much different from before—he’d just switched his self-address from “this young master” to “this young lady.”

It wasn’t as she’d imagined—that he’d show some obvious tells in behavior. For instance, something more distinctively... Vanessa.

As she saw it, Vinny was still Vinny, and Vanessa was still Vanessa.

As for the slight resemblance between Vinny’s facial lines and Vanessa’s? That could be chalked up entirely to both being of the Facilis line, perhaps closely related, sharing the same blood. Looking a bit alike, feeling a bit similar in certain behaviors—that was perfectly normal.

“Hey, hey! Aesphyra, say something. You’ve eaten all this, haven’t you? Recommend a few, will you? Which ones are better??” Vinny cut off Aesphyra’s train of thought.

Mm. Look at him—eyes full of food, feelings laid bare, not an ounce of pretense.

She couldn’t help doubting: would Vanessa ever behave like this??

Obviously not. In all her time with Vanessa, Aesphyra had never once seen that perfect lady act the least bit improperly—even when supremely displeased with her.