Chapter 182: ¹⁸²: miracles do happen?!

Chapter 182: 1?2: miracles do happen?!

"That..." Rose began, her lips twitching as she tried to maintain a straight face.

Then she burst into nervous laughter. "I was saying that because the assignment had indeed stopped me from going out to party like I’d planned. Other than that, I’ve had quite a bit of fun."

I slowly turned my head toward her. "Oh, really?" I asked, keeping my expression perfectly composed. "And what kind of fun might that be?"

"Hehe..." Rose giggled, suddenly looking far too pleased with herself. "Let’s not talk about that in the classroom, at least. Your innocent little ears might start bleeding."

She flashed me a mischievous grin, clearly enjoying yet another opportunity to mock me for refusing practically every party or night-out invitation she had ever extended.

I leaned closer to her, lowering my voice so that the people sitting around us wouldn’t overhear our conversation. "I don’t go to those useless parties, Rose. That doesn’t mean I’m innocent in that way."

I emphasized the last two words, hoping to get my point across without having to spell everything out for her.

Rose merely gave me a knowing look. "Yeah, we know."

The way she said it made me narrow my eyes at her. She was definitely enjoying herself far too much at my expense.

Before I could come up with an appropriate response, she leaned forward, propping her elbows on the desk and raising one eyebrow at me. "Anyway, tell me something. Are you up for going out this weekend?"

I blinked at her. "And where exactly is this party?" I asked cautiously. "It’s nothing extravagant like Damian’s birthday party, is it?"

I had learned the hard way that agreeing to Rose’s plans before knowing the details was a dangerous game. Her definition of a casual outing and mine were apparently two entirely different things.

The last thing I needed was to find myself dressed in an expensive gown, surrounded by people who spoke about family fortunes and political influence as though those were the only things worth discussing.

Rose scoffed at my question. "That was a much more conservative kind of party, Athena. You know, the sort where influential people gather to show off their wealth, connections, and ridiculously expensive clothes."

She crossed her arms, leaning closer with growing excitement as though she were about to reveal the greatest secret in the history of mankind.

"This one is a party at a bar. No boring people, and unnecessary restrictions. Just us young people having fun and doing whatever the hell we want!"

She delivered the last part with such enthusiasm that I couldn’t help staring at her. Doing whatever they want? That sounded less like an invitation and more like a warning.

I raised an eyebrow. "Like the one you went to two weeks ago, where you ended up vomiting on a guy you’d been kissing just three minutes prior?"

"I had drunk a little more than necessary that time," Rose admitted guiltily, shrugging as though she could brush the entire incident aside with a single movement of her shoulders.

Then, before I could remind her that *a little more than necessary* was a rather generous description of what she’d done, she leaned closer to me with pleading eyes. "Trust me, Athena, you’ll love it! Just agree once!"

I studied her face for a moment, taking in the hopeful expression and the way she practically bounced in her seat.

Honestly, I should have known better than to give in so easily. Rose had a talent for making even the most questionable plans sound like once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

But perhaps a little fun wouldn’t hurt. Besides, I had spent the past few days buried in assignments and dealing with a certain infuriating Alpha. I could probably use a break from both.

"Okay," I finally replied, giving her a small smile.

"Yeay!" Rose practically lit up. "I’ll introduce you to all my booze friends there!" she announced, her eyes shining as though I’d just handed her a winning lottery ticket. "Oh, my God, Athena, you’re finally going to come out with me! I was beginning to think I’d have to drag you out of your house myself!"

I rolled my eyes at her exaggerated excitement, although I couldn’t quite stop my smile from growing.

Then Rose’s expression suddenly changed.

" You made me happy again. I was a little sad that I can’t go to the Eclipse Ball tomorrow. Again! But a party with you will suffice."

My smile faded. The Eclipse Ball? I turned my whole body toward her so quickly that she blinked in surprise. "You wanted to go to the Eclipse Ball?" I asked, my eyes widening.

For the first time since our conversation had begun, Rose had managed to say something that genuinely caught my attention.

The Eclipse Ball was precisely what I’d been trying to figure out how to attend. More importantly, I needed to find a way to get inside without having to beg Kael to take me along. And now Rose was telling me that she’d wanted to go, too?

I leaned toward her, suddenly far more interested in this conversation than I’d been in anything else all morning. "Wait. You know something about getting invitations, don’t you?"

"Yeah, well, I wanted to go," Rose replied, looking at me as though the answer should have been obvious. "But it’s not like I can actually attend. Only the most influential people in the kingdom get invited to that ball."

She waved a hand dismissively before continuing. "And it’s not as if we can ask Damian for invitations the way we got them for his birthday party last time. That was like a one time striking luck kind of situation."

My expression slowly fell. Oh.

Oh, no.

There went my only possible lead. I slumped back in my seat, staring blankly ahead as my mind began scrambling for another solution.

So, unless I could somehow convince Kael to abandon a centuries-old royal tradition, or magically transform myself into someone important enough to receive an invitation, I was doomed.

I let out a quiet sigh, trying to think of any other possible way into that ball. There had to be something. Some loophole, some forgotten invitation, some person who could..

*Bang!*

An envelope landed on my desk so suddenly that I jolted in my seat. I looked down at it, momentarily startled, before slowly lifting my gaze toward the person who had placed it there.

"Here, Miss Moonvel, You are invited to the very ball you were just talking about!"