Estella had a moment to reconsider her position as a home tutor. The classroom provided an ideal environment for the spontaneous intrusion of the guardian. The guardian’s bedroom was just one floor away from the classroom, which could only be seen as a disaster from the teacher’s perspective.

Diego strode briskly toward Estella. Since there were two children to teach, there were two desks in the classroom. Despite the fact that it was quite small for a full-grown man, Diego easily slid into the seat right next to Estella. His bulk dwarfed Cecilia’s seat. Even though she wasn’t in the mood to laugh, she found the sight ridiculously funny. The corners of Estella’s mouth lifted and fell as she coughed and excused herself.

“Because there is a mountain of things to teach the children. I unknowingly let out a sigh of frustration.”

“Are you talking about the children?”

“Well, what else could it be?”

Diego rested his arms on the desk and cracked his cheek against the back of his hand. His posture was slumped. He stared at Estella for a moment, then asked.

“Did you have a good night out?”

It was time to get rid of the ‘report’ that Diego had insisted on. Last night, Estella hadn’t gone to see Diego after returning home, but had returned to her room directly. She opened the door cautiously because of what happened before, but thankfully there was no sign of a break-in. Estella fell asleep, relieved to see that the books in her drawers were still in the order she’d left them. It would have been better to leave it at that, but it was nice of them to avoid the late hour. Estella replied in a relaxed manner.

“Yeah, well, it was fine.”

“What did you talk about?”

Diego asked, not giving her a moment’s pause. Estella swallowed an inward sigh. Knowing things that others didn’t, she often found herself in trouble when talking to others. She couldn’t convince people of a future that only she knew.

But she quickly corrected herself. She needed to talk to Diego anyway. Now that she’d accepted Adriana’s request, she’d have to give her a chance by sending him to the royal ball. Estella replied in a more cooperative manner.

“She didn’t say much, just thanked me and watched the play.”

“And when you say the play, you mean…… ?The Curse of the Clock Tower??”

“It’s called ?Solar’s Red Shoes,? and the leading lady is quite a singer.”

“That’s another title I’ve never heard before. What’s it about?”

Estella didn’t answer Diego’s question right away. In fact, she’d been so busy talking to Adriana that she didn’t really know what it was about. She got to the middle and focused a bit, but she couldn’t really get a good grasp of the story since she’d pretty much lost the first half. Estella rolled her eyes once before answering.

“A love story, a very common one.”

“Like the ones I’ve seen in your drawers?”

Diego asked with a gentle smile. Estella jerked her upper body back in disgust. Clenching her fists, she spoke back, her voice thick with anger.

“You’re going to be such a lowlife?”

“That’s bad.”

“Let’s call it unscrupulous, then.”

Estella’s eyebrows rose sharply. Diego, as if reminded of something, spoke to her,

“Come to think of it, in the book you were reading, the male protagonist often had such nicknames. Considering that many women tend to search for their ideal type in fictional stories, it seems to imply that I am quite close to your taste in men.”

Estella wore an exasperated expression. She couldn’t outright say, ‘You’re talking nonsense,’ so her expression conveyed a silent plea for him to back off..

Of course, Diego was not deterred by Estella’s icy glare. She’s not sure she can win this fight with words. Estella sighed and said.

“The play was funny and the leading man was a gentleman, especially when he asked for her permission to kiss her.”

“You mean it’s cool to spoil the mood like that?”

Diego chuckled with a mischievous tone. Estella lifted her chin and responded with an air of arrogance.

“It’s a skill a gentleman should have. You’d do well to learn it.”

“Yes, well.”

Diego replied, unimpressed. He had now lost all interest in the play. Estella caught his eye and casually brought up the subject.

“Oh, and I also heard that there’s a royal ball in a week. I heard they’re busy making arrangements and preparations.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Diego replied in a somber tone. Naturally, Estella became curious. Concealing her anxiety, she asked,

“Will Your Grace also be attending?”

Diego didn’t answer for a moment, just stared at Estella. He turned his head to the right, as if in thought, and hid his lips beneath his palm, not wanting to reveal the smile beneath. She didn’t seem to realize that she was quite a readable person. He’d asked Lionel to come, so of course he was going, but Diego shook his head.

“I’m not going.”

“Why aren’t you going?”

Estella asked, her voice quickly turning panicked as if she hadn’t expected it.

“Why would I go there when I don’t even have a partner?”

And with that, Diego stood up without a second thought. He didn’t want to give her the answer she wanted when she wasn’t telling him the truth.

Diego turned and walked away from Estella. He heard the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor behind him, as if Estella was following. Shoving his hands in his pockets, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He turned it back into an expressionless one as soon as Estella stopped in front of him.

Estella stretched out her arms, blocking the entrance.

“No, is it the kind of party you can only go to if you have a partner? You can just saying hello to people you’ve known for a while.”

“Since when do you care so much about my relationships?”

Diego tilted his head to the right questioningly as he spoke, and Estella was speechless. She had never been particularly interested in his social life, not even now. The motherly Estella spoke an awkward lie.

“No, I’m always concerned about my employer’s social life!”

“I don’t believe you.”

“What?”

“I don’t believe you.”

Diego added, narrowing his eyes.

“If you tell me directly that you are very interested in me, I might give your claim some credence.”

Estella bit her lip. She’d always been bad at pressure interviews. With the other person in front of her, pushing her nonstop, she couldn’t think straight. She didn’t have the presence of mind to point out that Diego’s demands were unreasonable.

Finally, Estella spoke up in humiliation.

“I have a great interest…… in the little duke…….”

“Your voice is so faint.”

“I mean……I am interested…….”

“You should have said that earlier.”

Diego lifted the corners of his mouth in satisfaction. Then he cut to the chase.

“I’m not going to the royal ball, though.”

Estella realized in hindsight. She hadn’t gained anything by blurting out those burning words. She was simply proving that she was interested in Diego. Estella opened her mouth to protest, but then clenched her teeth. It was her fault for not reading between the lines.

Estella asked, her voice sharpening.

“So why aren’t you going?”

“Well, it’s not been that long after the funeral. If I were to go, a lot of people would probably ask me how I’m doing. I can say I’m okay when I’m not, but it’s a bit of a hassle to pretend to be okay when I’m not.”

In other words, he doesn’t want to play a son grieving his father’s death. Estella stared at Diego with an incredulous expression. As much as she cared about the way he looked at her, she thought, she’d like nothing more than for him to show mhere a little bit of humanity. It made her feel even more resentful that people didn’t know his true nature.

Diego smirked at Estella’s rapidly changing expression. He pretended to ponder something, then said.

“Well, if I had a partner, they might be able to stop them in my stead.”

Estella’s face flushed again. Estella spoke up quickly.

“So, ah…….”

“I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me to attend with Miss Adriana, do you?”

Diego cut her off, his words coming out with unnerving speed. Estella closed her mouth and rolled her eyes in displeasure as she replied in a gruff voice.

“You know you can find a partner at the party.”

“I don’t like to be alone. I grew up lonely, and that’s usually the hardest part.”

It was only for a moment, but Diego noticed the corners of Estella’s eyes twitch, and his lips curved into a pleasing shape. Diego knew her weakness. She couldn’t let someone look the least bit pitiful without offering to help. He was a fool not to take advantage of that.

Estella hesitated, then asked cautiously.

“What if I…… go with you?”

“Are you asking me out?”

Diego responded in a funny way, and Estella rubbed her face tiredly. She looked bored.

“Haha…… then if you don’t want to.”

“I didn’t say no.”

Diego replied coldly. He decided to stop teasing her, as she was about to go off the deep end. While Diego wore a satisfied expression, Estella felt a bit unsettled. She had agreed to Adriana’s request but ended up burdened with an annoying task.

As he studied Estella’s confused expression, Diego spoke up as if he had just remembered something.

“Oh, but there’s one more thing.”

It was an excuse he’d come up with on the spur of the moment, but he sensed the sincerity in it, so he asked, even though Estella gave him a look he didn’t like.

“What else?”

“I’m not a good dancer.”

Estella looked at Diego as if he was being ridiculous. Diego continued to lean his arm against the doorway. He looked pensive and muttered,

“I don’t want to embarrass people…….”

Diego trailed off and looked down at Estella with a coy look in his eyes. At this point, she couldn’t understand what he was saying. Diego grabbed her fingertips and pulled her toward him. Estella stumbled and took a step toward him. When they were a little closer, Diego asked.

“What shall we do with it, teacher?”

Diego’s mouth formed an arc, and the corners of her eyes wrinkled in confusion. Diego thought the little creases under her eyes were quite cute.