However, the assignment faced by the second-year students was lethally challenging, surpassing the difficulty of tasks they had tackled from professors until now.

Noah would wag his tail and follow immediately if Nigel said she was going, so there was no problem there, but here the troublemaker was Nigel.

There was a mountain of assignments until the Flores Festival a week away, and Nigel wouldn’t heartlessly go to the festival leaving her precious assignments behind.

In this seemingly hopeless situation, the silent students began to speak up hesitantly.

“Um… How about Allen grabbing Nigel’s pant leg and persuading her?”

“Oh, that’s good! Nigel used to soften up when Allen spoke.”

While everyone praised it as a good idea, only Allen remained quietly silent.

“Allen… Ah.”

A student who quickly approached Allen took a step back after seeing his face.

“It’s useless. Because… because….”

Allen’s tightly clenched fist trembled.

“I begged Nigel by grabbing her sleeve a few days ago to go out on the weekend, but it was no use!”

Allen’s anguished scream echoed through the lounge.

“I asked her to hang out together… but she dragged me by the collar to the library. We were cooped up in the library all weekend, giving up the cool and refreshing autumn sun, you know?!”

“……”

“Our friendship, Nigel has changed…. The angel-like innocent child from first year suddenly turned into a devil after seeing my promotion exam scores…!”

The students waved their hands as they watched Allen kneeling on the floor and wailing.

“Well then, next~ Anyone else have an idea?”

At this moment, a female student raised her hand high.

“Orange jelly is coming out for dessert at lunch tomorrow, how about using that to persuade her?”

“Hmm… It’s certainly a possibility.”

“Somehow, somehow… it lacks completeness, you know?”

“Are you Professor Heres? Saying it lacks completeness.”

“Ah, try to understand. The only humans we see every day are either these guys or the professors, so we might pick up their speech habits. Then, do you have a good method?”

“Uh….”

The lounge fell into contemplation once again.

“At times like this, we should use a classic method. How about using Noah’s handsome strategy?”

The students stirred at this unexpected solution.

“That’s… not bad? If Noah holds orange jelly and asks to go to the festival, I’d go right away.”

“Me too.”

“Me too.”

The female students nodded in unison.

“Allen, Your Highness. What do you think? Will it work?”

“Hmm, it’s difficult. It might work, but then again, it might not…”

At this moment, Allen, who had been sprawled on the floor, crawled awkwardly back to sit on the sofa.

“No.”

That resolute voice immediately instilled trust in the students.

“Rather than a handsome strategy, we should use a beauty strategy. Nigel is weaker to beautiful women.”

“What’s your basis for that?”

A student, channeling Cledian, pushed up non-existent glasses and spoke sharply.

“Nigel’s orphanage had particularly many boys, so she’s less sensitive to male appearances.”

“That basis seems a bit weak…”

“Decisively! The person who escorted Nigel to the academy during the eve of the festival was Zeronin Gal… no, Silvas.”

“Mr. Zeronin?”

Sid inadvertently raised his voice in delight. Then, meeting Allen’s still resentful face, he quickly closed his mouth.

As soon as Zeronin Silvas was mentioned, public opinion changed in an instant.

Zeronin was known by word of mouth in social circles. Crucially, he was spotted holding a bouquet mixed with white and yellow flowers at the graduation ceremony.

“Looking at those two, they seemed to have been close since childhood.”

Allen spoke confidently, relishing the atmosphere that had warmly turned towards him.

“Seeing Zeronin Silvas’s face every day would make one desensitized.”

“That’s true……”

Everyone in the lounge quietly searched for someone to deliver the orange jelly to Nigel.

“Charlotte and… Your Highness?”

“Honestly, these two are our only options.”

Yenika blinked her eyes a few times and then burned with determination, saying to leave it to her, while Charlotte’s face, in contrast, showed unease as her pupils trembled.

Seeing Charlotte’s face, the students awkwardly exchanged glances.

“Hey… Is it really necessary to go this far for an assignment?”

“That’s… true, right?”

“If you put it that way, what about our Ash who’s keeping quiet? After being rejected by Nigel for several days… mmph?!”

The political science students rushed in unison to cover one male student’s mouth.

“Haa… Alright, that’s enough.”

While everyone was unable to say anything, Sid opened his mouth.

“I wonder how I’m attending the Royal Academy with people who are willing to ignore courtesy towards a lady.”

“Then, does our department’s top student, who almost became the head of the family, have any brilliant ideas?”

Despite the political science student’s mockery, Sid smiled cheerfully.

“There’s a saying that there’s always someone better. Ah, for this plan, we’ll need the help of the princess…”

And he began to reveal his plan.

“That’s it. What does everyone think?”

“With this method, there’s no objection. The princess also gladly agreed to help.”

“If it’s Cromwell’s method, we can all go to the festival, so it’s easier to plan.”

“No wonder you almost became the head of the family, Sid.”

Sid slightly furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.

“…Ahem, then shall we proceed with this method?”

“Yeah. Please, please, I just want to stop looking at theses.”

“My wish for this semester is to go to a coffee house on weekends instead of the library and bookstore.”

And so, everyone’s desire to protect their daily lives from assignments formed an alliance of the entire second year that had seemed unlikely to mix.

Meanwhile, Nigel was in the library, unaware of the conspiracy happening behind her back.

While wandering the library looking for books needed for her assignment, her gaze suddenly fell upon a large window.

The high blue sky and the leaves preparing to change into brown clothes, with sunlight shining between them, calmed Nigel’s heart.

As she stared blankly at the scene of dust particles floating gently in the sunlight, she discovered the book she was looking for on a shelf bathed in sunlight.

Nigel stretched her hand up as far as she could, but it wasn’t enough to reach the book, and today of all days, there was no footstool in sight.

‘I should borrow it now when no one’s around so I can work on the assignment comfortably.’

Nigel’s face scrunched up at the book that remained out of reach despite jumping, leaning, and trying everything.

That’s when it happened.

Creak.

The library door opened, and heavy, soft footsteps gradually approached.

‘…Noah.’

Knowing the owner of those footsteps was Noah, Nigel unconsciously held her breath.

Noah’s feet, good at reading presence, didn’t hesitate, and the footsteps stopped precisely in front of Nigel.

“……”

Nigel looked at Noah with the feeling of a thief caught by the guard.

“…So you were here.”

Noah reached out easily for the book Nigel couldn’t reach, smiling lightly.

In the process, Nigel’s magic flowed to Noah.

“I was going to borrow this book too, but you beat me to it.”

Noah handed the book to Nigel. On top of the book was a crumpled note.

This was none other than what Nigel had secretly passed to Noah.

“Asking me to come to the library alone… Is my guess correct, Nigel?”

Nigel nodded without meeting Noah’s eyes.

She felt that if she looked into those transparent and kind blue eyes, her firm resolve would waver again.

In Nigel’s hand was Noah’s signet ring.

This small ring was so heavy that it took many thoughts and much time to bring it here.

It was time for this ring to return to its rightful place.

To Noah’s finger, and then to Meriel’s finger.

This was the conclusion Nigel had reached.

It was undeniable that her heart had wavered towards Noah. Even now, she was certain that if she felt her emotions reflected in Noah’s eyes, she would crumble immediately.

But Nigel couldn’t abandon her family again.

Ignoring the constellation of the temple, not responding to the Duke of Dien’s contact, all of it was for the safety of her family at the end.

Even if they were only connected by blood, even if their souls were not truly her family, Nigel couldn’t abandon them.

And Widrun had said. The movements of the Shining Rose were not ordinary.

A situation where she didn’t even know the true identity of those who were planning something. Moreover, with less than half a year left until the predicted monster invasion.

It was too precious a time to simply spend falling in love.

The time had come to an end for playing at love with Noah under the thin excuse of charging magic for the hero of the monster invasion.

So, Nigel had to give him the signet ring.

That way, everything would return to its place, Noah would return to Meriel, and Noah’s magic would be complete.

Having made her decision, Nigel looked straight at Noah.

“Nigel……”

As if reading rejection on Nigel’s face, pain clouded Noah’s expression.

“There’s still… still plenty of time to think.”

Nigel shook her head with a faint smile.

And she slowly approached Noah’s hand, full of effort with small scars and calluses.

That’s when it happened.

Bang!

With a loud noise, the quiet library became chaotic.