“Next up is this! Ta-dah! ‘Are you currently in love?’” Greta pointed at the board as she read out what she had written in huge letters. “By leveling up your bewitching power, you can ensnare any person of your choosing. However, when you wish to be enchanting, be aware that its true power comes in knowing who it is you’re trying to win over.” It was Charlotte to whom Greta was flashing a provocative smile. “We all know who Cecily likes. But Princess Charlotte, are you interested in anyone at the moment?”
“Every pair of loins is the same,” Charlotte said simply.
“Yes, but you seem to get along well with the Celestial Knight Brigade that guards you, don’t you?”
“No. Every pair of loins is the same,” Charlotte said again, unwavering.
“Ah! That boy with glasses. What about young Cyril, who possesses such hidden passion?”
“Mr. Cee Rill is an object of admiration, not desire. I don’t have romantic feelings for him.”
“Maybe you’ve mistaken love for admiration? That happens sometimes, you know.”
Charlotte’s expression grew uncomfortable. It spurred Cecily’s desire to protect her friend.
“Mom... I mean, beautiful Mrs. Greta, I think that Lady Charlotte does simply look up to Cyril.”
“All right, then. Let’s see... How about young Alphonse?”
Charlotte let out a strange sound.
“Alphwah?!”
As she stroked her rose-gold hair, she turned away with a huff.
“Alphonse’s loins are nothing more than a p-p-perverted playboy. He isn’t even worth considering.”
“Oh, is that really so?”
Greta was smiling broadly for some reason. Meanwhile, Cecily thought about Charlotte and Alphonse.
What did Sir Alphonse do to Lady Charlotte, I wonder?
Charlotte was already horrendously wary around men, but she seemed to particularly dislike Alphonse. As Cecily wondered why, Charlotte’s hand shot into the air, her panic clear to all.
“M-More importantly, beautiful Mrs. Greta, aren’t there more practical techniques that you could teach us, apart from how to rise from a chair and how to thank people?”
“Let’s see now... You see, I don’t have such a variety of techniques as you might think.” Greta placed a hand to her cheek and let out a weary sigh. “The thing is, when push comes to shove, one simple technique is all you really need.”
“One technique?!” Charlotte and Cecily said in unison.
“Using this technique, I was able to bring an end to the 805 Years’ War.”
“Mom’s just making stuff up,” Cecily said, with a suspicious glance at her mother. Greta simply shrugged.
“Fine—I’ll give you a demonstration. It’ll be dangerous for you there, so come over here, Rolo.”
Rolo meowed and obediently moved over to where Greta was—after all, he had been her cat to begin with.
“Now then—have a feast of my special technique!”
Up on the teacher’s podium, Greta waved her red hair and clacked her heel on the floor. In the next moment...
“Bewitching Beam!”
...something happened.
Before Cecily’s very eyes, a dazzling beam of light flashed out.
When she came to, she was lying at the back of the classroom in a pile with Charlotte. She looked around and noticed the maids had also collapsed on the floor.
Charlotte let out a groan—it seemed like she had come to, as well.
“I couldn’t see anything... I couldn’t see a single thing.”
No... You’re wrong, Lady Charlotte.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen anything. Both she and Cecily had seen it. However, the shock of the bewitching beauty that they had borne witness to was more dangerous than any poison. In order to protect them, their brains had erased their memories of it.
In other words, Cecily and everyone else was suffering from a very short-term form of amnesia. Their memories, now sealed away, would not return.
“What an incredible technique... I am overwhelmed, Mrs. Greta.”
“Wow, to think someone could remain standing after my Bewitching Beam. I shouldn’t expect any less of the Fifth Princess’s lady-in-waiting.”
“You flatter me.”
Amid the chaos, only Maria remained on her feet.
The shock her mind and body had received was too great—Cecily, and the others too, still could not stand. Greta smiled benevolently as she surveyed the scene.
“It seems both my students and their caretakers are exhausted, so how about we talk about makeup and beauty lotions next? Then we can talk about stretches that will help with swelling, as well as some health tips I use myself.”
The teaching that followed would have been better classed as a beauty seminar than a “bewitching” one. However, all the latest beauty tips that Greta’s teachings provided were taken to heart by everyone in the room. Eventually, these tips spread outside the Snowflower Palace to all the women in the kingdom, as well as the generations that would follow.