Catarina is immersed in a romance novel when she finds out she's been invited to a tea party hosted by Geordo and Alan at the palace. She's determined to find some fellow romance novel fans there to talk to. When she gets there, she meets Sophia, a beautiful girl scorned by others as a "cursed child" due to her unusual looks, and her brother Nicol, whose otherworldly beauty charms men and women alike.

Catarina has successfully(?) avoided triggering her own doom thus far, and now she's enjoying a summer vacation spent doing all kinds of preparations to avoid any future destruction flags, from practicing throwing toy snakes to working the fields to climbing trees. Then Geordo arrives and invites her to visit the lake, hoping to spend some time alone with her...

Anne Shelley is Catarina's personal maid, and is dedicated to serving her every need around the clock. Catarina is always surrounded by friends and laughter, but she's completely oblivious to the feelings that they have for her, which seems to have caused some misunderstandings. With no knowledge of how much Anne worries about this, Catarina decides to host Mary, Sophia, and Maria for a pajama party.

Nicol makes the decision to go through with an arranged marriage. Although he meets many prospective partners, all he can think about while talking to them is Catarina, so none of them get past the first meeting. Then, one day, his sister Sophia recommends that he read some romance novels for a change of pace.