Howl can't comprehend why he is being ignored and avoided; well, he does know. His reputation precedes him as the wizard who lures in the prettiest he can find and steals their hearts.

But he doesn't want Ilaria's heart! At least not in the way the rumors suggest. He was infatuated, as much as a man without a heart of his own could be, and all he wanted was for them to agree to go on a date; which was proving to be harder than performing literal magic.

"I'm sure you say that to all your conquests." and "Why don't you take that other someone on a date instead?" were some of the replies he received most often from Ilaria. But he wasn't planning on giving up; no one had ever rejected him, not for long, although some of his exes did enjoy playing hard to get at first.

So every day, he walked past Ilaria's shop as if he were merely on a morning stroll, and entered to buy something just so he could talk to them. And every day, his advances were rejected.

"Good morning, beautiful," he smirked as he entered on an uneventful Tuesday morning, a flower bouquet under his arm. "A flower for the fairest flower of them all?"