“So...long story short...Pixie here is a real fairy. And the two of us are reliving the story of the fairy tale ‘Beauty and The Beast’...am I correct?” Bella questioned me, having a hard time believing our story.

"Yeah," I answered and Bella looked at me with a wary expression.

Well, I can't blame her after I transformed into a beast out of nowhere.

"I'm an idiot for believing that an eating A.I. exists nowadays," Bella whispered to herself.

We were in the dining room. We three sat there and talked about the reason behind my sudden transformation. Then, Pixie started her explanation.

“Well, in my world, the princess there is the youngest daughter of a merchant. That merchant got lost in the forest and found a castle. Inside, food was waiting for him in the table so he decided to have dinner and sleep for the night there. The next day, the merchant decided to go home. But he saw a field of rose along the way. So he picked a bouquet for her youngest daughter only for a beast to appear before him in anger. Seeing that, the beast tried to kill the merchant. After all, despite the hospitality he gave last night, the merchant still tried to steal from him. But the merchant pleaded for his life. As a result, the beast free the merchant if he promised to bring one of her daughters to take his place. With that, the merchant managed to come home safely. Then, he told his sons and daughters about what happened. After listening, the youngest daughter decided to come in her own accord. With that decided, the merchant brought her to the beast and left. In the girl's surprise, the beast warmly welcomed her. Then, he gave her lavish clothing and delicious food, all for the sake of making her happy."

Pixie paused and looked at me.

"Still parallels the fairy tale of our world alright," I commented with a serious face. Then, she nodded and continued talking.

"For several months, the girl luxurious way of living continued. But she eventually got homesick so she begged the beast to let her see her family again. Because of that, the beast allowed the girl to go back home but only for two months. That’s when the curse disappeared from our world. So if it didn’t return, the ending of their story will change. It will be a tragedy instead of the destined happy ending where the girl will return to the castle. There, she will find the beast almost dying. So she will nurse the beast back to health, learn true love, and undo the curse on the beast. And that should be the process of how the beast should turn back into a handsome prince. Not this way where the curse got forced out of his body. The two won't get together if the curse didn't return to our world.”

“It’s the story of ‘Beauty and The Beast’ right?” I asked Bella. “But why did the curse go to me? I mean...unlike in Cindy’s case, this curse is not related to Bella as a princess, right? How will she suffer a tragic end if I’m the only one affected by the curse?”

“I wouldn’t say that?” Pixie said with a serious expression. “Isn’t it strange that the curse only revealed itself this morning?”

“Yeah...I’m also thinking about that,” I followed with a serious look too.

“Meaning obtaining the curse is already the start of Bella’s tragic end,” she followed and looked at Bella.

“What do you mean?” Bella asked, a little nervous.

“It’s only a guess but the curse's power is ‘to turn the one the princess loves into a beast’.”

“Love? You mean...” I whispered with a confused face and looked at Bella.

When Bella saw my expression, her face became red in an instant. She immediately stood up and shouted “Of course not!” in a bad mood.

“Bella?” I reacted, surprised by her unusual reaction.

She became surprised and immediately coughed. After that, she made a serious face and said, “I mean...it’s not like I love Prince. I like him alright but that’s not in a romantic way.”

When Pixie heard that, she made a thinking pose and muttered, “That’s the only possible way I could think of though. After all, the curse didn’t show its effect until today and considering your current relationship...”

Does Bela have feelings for me though? But that's not what we should focus on right now.

“Pixie, we should first discuss how to lift this curse. Considering the story, does that mean that...I also need to learn what true love means?”

“That might be the case. But that doesn’t mean that falling in love with anyone is alright. After all, Bella is the princess here and she’s the only one who could lift the curse being she’s the original host of it.”

“Meaning...” I followed to Pixie with an anxious expression. “I need to fall in love with her?”

After that, Pixie and I looked at Bella. When she saw our expressions, she let out a deep sigh and whispered, “Okay, I’ll cooperate.”

“Really?” I reacted, surprised.

“You need me so you could turn back to normal and get rid of that so-called curse, right? Then, I don’t have any choice but to help you,” Bella followed and made a resigned smile.

I stood up and gave her a bow.

“Thank you, Bella,” I expressed seriously.

“You don’t need to do that. I mean...I haven’t done anything yet, you know. I still need you to...fall for me, right?” she responded with a blushed face.

“You could've run away already and not help me but instead of doing that, you even offered to help us. I’m very thankful,” I continued after I lifted my head.

“I guess...you’re welcome then,” Bella responded with a troubled smile.

She’s a nice girl after all.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

The next day, we immediately started the plan. The plan was for me to go on a date with Bella, to make me fall for her. So when the afternoon came, I went out and waited for Bella in front of the mall. I wore a white polo partnered with a red necktie and black pants and shoes. And also, I returned to my usual face and body with the help of Pixie’s illusion magic. In normal situations, illusion magic won’t make her lose consciousness. But because she interfered with the curse itself, she couldn’t get away with the effect. So she fell asleep after she casted the illusion to me. But my form would last for the whole day so there won’t be a problem with it.

“Sorry for the wait,” Bella said after she arrived before me, a little exhausted.

It looks like she even jogged to arrive here a little earlier.

She wore a fancy one-piece yellow dress, almost fitted to her body partnered with a white handbag. She also wore make-up that turned her a little mature compared to usual. Also, she was in high heels, so she became a little taller.

“It’s fine,” I responded with a smile. “You look very cute today.”

When Bella heard that, she let out a deep sigh and made a sad smile.

“I would appreciate it more if you called me beautiful rather than cute though. I’m already an adult, you know,” she followed in a joke.

“Uhmm...my bad. It’s the first word that came to my mind. You look beautiful too though,” I followed, nervous.

“Then, it’s all good,” she followed with a sudden cheerful smile and looked at me like she was waiting for something.

“Here,” I said with a smile and offered her my hand. She held it and we entered the mall while hand in hand.

“Is it only me or you’re already used on holding a girl’s hand?” she asked in curiosity as we walk around.

“Well...sort of...” I replied, a little shy.

“Hmm...” she mumbled with a mischievous smile and hugged my arm without a notice. Because of that, I felt a soft sensation pressed on me and it made me nervous. Her chest size is on the small side but that doesn’t mean that she was flat. It was even a little bigger than I expected.

“Bella?” I reacted in a flustered way as I look at her.

Why is she acting differently than to usual? Or is this supposed to be the usual her?

“So this is the one you’re not used to. Then, let’s do this instead,” she continued and chuckled after.

Adult women are terrifying in lots of ways.

After that, we decided to watch a romance movie in the cinema. We took the two seats in the middle row and the movie started. It was about two childhood friends who reunited after years of being far away from each other. As I enjoy the innocent scenes of the couple on-screen, Bella’s head suddenly rested on my shoulder. Because of that action, I smelled a familiar shampoo coming from her hair.

What’s up with this scent? We use the same shampoo so how come she could smell this nice?

“It’s a nice movie, isn’t it?” she asked without her eyes fixed on the screen and smiled after.

“Y-yeah,” I answered, trying my best to make a serious face.

For the rest of the movie, I couldn’t manage to concentrate on it. And when the movie finally ended, we left the cinema while holding hands.

“Where do you want to eat?” I asked as we walked together.

“I’ll leave it to you,” she answered with a smile.

Again? Why do the girls I’m dating always answer like that? I guess I should go for what I crave this time.

“Then, want some Japanese food?”

With that suggestion, we went to a Japanese restaurant on the 2nd floor of the mall. The first thing that stood out to the restaurant was the show window in front. Inside, there were wax replicas of some of the food that you can order there.

“Those are well-made replicas,” Bella commented and stared at the display.

“Yeah,” I responded and a waitress wearing a kimono approached us with a smile. She welcomed us with the greeting ‘irasshaimase’ which means ‘welcome’ in the Japanese language. Then, she asked how many we are in our party and guided us inside.

We entered the place and saw Japanese lanterns around the area. Those made the lighting orange rather than the usual white. Also, the tables and chairs there were western-style with a menu book on top of the table. We sat down at a two-seat table, opposite each other, and discussed what we should order.

“It’s still way early for dinner so should we order for something light?” Bella asked with a smile.

“Okay then,” I responded with a serious expression as I look at the illustrated menu. “I’ll go with yakisoba. And add one order of dumplings.”

“Then, me too. Do you want to add takoyaki?”

“Well, okay. I want to try it too.”

“So that’s two extra servings of takoyaki. And what’s your drink?”

“Iced tea.”

“Okay,” she followed and called the waitress.

After the waitress gave us two glasses of water, she took our orders together with the menu book and left. As we wait for our food, Bella and I talked about the movie that we’ve watched. We shared our commentary and feelings on each of the memorable scenes and even the parts that we don’t like. Before we know it, all our orders arrived so we started to eat.

“This is delicious,” I commented and savored my yakisoba.

“Yes, it’s very delicious,” Bella agreed with a smile.

The yakisoba had the right balance between saltiness and sweetness. It was soft in the mouth yet crispy at the same time. And the taste of stir-fried onions, carrots, and cabbage complimented the saucy noodles.

As we continued our meal, Bella muttered something.

“To think that I’m having a date with a student right now.”

“It’s against the ethics of teachers, right?” I asked out of curiosity.

I read it in some book before. A relationship between a student and a teacher isn’t exactly against the law. Instead, it's against their morals.

“But...isn’t it exciting to do something forbidden?” she answered with a mischievous smile.

When I heard that, my cheeks became red so I immediately averted my gaze away from her. Because of my reaction, she chuckled and continued her chow.

So she can be like this sometimes.

After a few minutes, we finished our orders. So Bella arranged our plates and stack them together so the waitress could clean it easier. Then, after we gave our pay, we decided to explore the rest of the mall. We went to different stores to window shop. We even visited the supermarket to compare the prices there to the shopping district. Of course, Bella did her usual ritual of orderly arranging misplaced products with my assistance. After she got satisfied with her habit, we exited the supermarket.

“So it’s already sunset,” I muttered and looked at the orange sky. I saw it from the big glass window right above the entrance of the mall.

“Prince, I have somewhere to go first before going home. Can you come with me?” Bella asked with a smile.

“Sure,” I responded with a slightly curious expression.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

The two of us ascended the escalators until we reached the highest floor of the mall, the 4th floor. We went to the open court where some usually chill around to feel the nice wind while sitting on the benches. But for some reason, no one was there at that time.

“The sunset is pretty, right?” Bella asked after we reached the railings of the open court.

Before us was the beautiful horizon of our city with the sunset and the houses so small below. We can even see the green mountains and different landmarks of our town dyed by the orange light of the sun.

“Yeah...it’s beautiful,” I whispered with a smile as I stared at the scenery.

Bella faced me with a smile and her hair got swayed by the light wind.

“Did you have fun?”

I became a little surprised by her question so I faced her and smiled back.

“Yes,” I answered in honesty.

“Then, did you fall for me?” she continued with a mischievous smile.

When I saw that, I blushed and averted my gaze.

“That’s...” I muttered, not sure how to answer.

“I did though...” she followed with a beautiful smile and the wind blew past my dumb-founded face. “Pixie’s hypothesis is right after all. I did fall for you yesterday after you saved me from Gust. You’re so cool back then that I couldn’t help it anymore.”

I averted my gaze out of embarrassment and looked around, confused.

Then, she made a serious face and followed, “I won’t force you to fall in love with me. But...I don’t want you to look at me as a teacher. Look at me as a woman, Prince.”

I returned my eyes to her and replied, “I already did. You’re already a fine woman in my eyes.”

Because of that, she became surprised but immediately gave me a warm smile.

“I see, then...” she whispered and stepped forward towards me. Then, she lightly pulled my necktie towards her. She drew closer to my face for a kiss. But when we both closed our eyes, my memories with Arian and Cindy flashed before my eyes. Because of it, I placed my hand to Bella's chin before our lips could touch.

“Prince?” she whispered after she opened her eyes with a surprised look.

I...can’t. I don’t want to like another girl anymore. But...does that mean that I’m being selfish? That’s right. This is not about me...this is also about the curse. If I can’t do this...then, how can I even save the rest of the princesses who still suffer from the curse? I am...the prince of this world.

With that resolve, I closed my eyes and kissed Bella. Her shoulder twitched at first but after a second, she closed her eyes and indulged at the moment. Then, the orange sun went down the horizon.

After our kiss, we withdrew from each other with blushed faces.

“Is the curse...gone?” Bella asked in shyly.

We didn’t even glow so...it’s not gone yet. I’m afraid...I couldn’t fall for her after all.

“Sorry...” I muttered with a sad face and I looked down. Because of this, I could no longer see Bella’s expression.

“What do you mean?” she asked in a serious tone.

“The truth is...I already like someone else so...I’m having a hard time falling for you so...I’m very sorry...”

“So...you couldn’t even fall for me even though I gave you my first kiss?” she followed in an unexpected irritated tone.

When I heard that, I lifted my head but in an instant, a fist landed on my stomach.

“Gahaaa!” I reacted in pain and fell on my knees. Then, I looked up and saw Bella's angry face.

“F*ck you! I’m done pretending to be a nice girl!” she shouted furiously. Then, she grabbed her head in frustration and looked up to the evening sky. After a couple of seconds, she looked back to me with a glare.

“Do I even lack something? I’m the perfect girl, right? I’m lady-like, always neat, can cook delicious meals, fun to be with, and can be kind, sweet, and charming. How come you could even say that to my face?” she asked, offended.

“Bella...” I whispered out of confusion.

Is this...Bella?

Then, a bright star appeared in the dark sky like how the real side of Bella got revealed before me.