After parting with Kyle Cromwell, Nigel found a suitable place to receive the communication stone.

With each step, Nigel noticed classmates with meaningful expressions.

Some avoided Nigel’s gaze when looked at, others hastily struck up conversations with those approaching Nigel, and some casually asked where Noah had gone.

Though uncertain of their classmates’ intentions, if their goal was to upset Nigel’s mood, it was a perfect success.

Entering an empty balcony, Nigel pulled out the loudly buzzing communication stone.

A transparent color without any hue, it was a contact from Widrun.

“…What is it?”

−Miss Ars. We just got word from our informant. There’s good news and bad news, which would you like to hear first?

“I can guess the bad news. The search for the hideout was fruitless, right?”

−Yes. That’s correct.

“Then the good news… Did they serve chocolate cake for dessert today?”

−It’s even better than that.

“Did they give you a whole cake from the cafeteria because you’re the dean?”

Laughter could be heard from across the communication stone.

−It’s even better than that. We’ve captured one of their minions.

“Is that really true?”

Nigel’s own voice sounded overly excited as it came out.

−It’s the truth, without a single grain of lie.

“Their purpose, no… Have you found out anything, even small bits of information or their plans?”

−Haha, I think you should calm down first. Take a deep breath.

Nigel took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.

−The fellow isn’t divulging any information right now. But if you interview him directly, you might be able to get some information.

“If I go right now…”

Nigel grabbed the balcony railing and gauged the height.

Would it be okay to jump from here? It seems fine. There don’t seem to be any guards around, and with good magic control, I could escape with just losing an arm.

−You’re not thinking of leaving the ballroom now, are you, Miss Ars? Knowing your temperament, I suspect you might try to slip out without even greeting His Highness the Crown Prince who invited you to the ball.

“Ah, no.”

Nigel quickly removed her hands from the balcony railing.

Unable to deceive the eyes of an old man who had died and come back to life several times, a loud laugh could be heard from the communication stone.

−You must fulfill your duty as an imperial citizen. Please come to my room after safely concluding the ball.

“…”

Nigel’s lips quivered, but she swallowed her words.

−Are you listening? Please stay put and come back. This is an order from the dean.

Nigel chuckled at Widrun’s playful tone.

−Well then, I’ll be waiting in anticipation of our meeting.

As Nigel was about to reply, the heat of the bustling ball and the clear scent of the forest seeped into the balcony.

It was Noah.

“How did you…”

Nigel quickly withdrew her magic and stuffed the communication stone into her pocket.

“…I apologize for rudely interrupting your enjoyable time, Nigel. His Highness the Crown Prince is calling for you.”

Noah spoke in a dry tone and immediately turned his back.

Who’s the one who really should be acting stiff? Why is he suddenly like this? While inwardly criticizing Noah, Nigel silently followed his broad back.

‘Seeing how I want to talk to you despite your cold face, I guess I really do like you.’

But soon, the relationship with Noah would end.

Nigel murmured quietly, as if exhaling:

“You and Meriel really suit each other well.”

Noah walked on without any reaction.

Yes, being cold-hearted was better. If she had to face rejection with a smiling face, it would be painful every time she saw Noah’s frivolous smile at the academy.

“His Highness the Crown Prince will arrive shortly. I hope you two have a good time.”

Noah left without giving Nigel a single glance until the end.

Noah approached Meriel and continued their conversation with a faint smile.

‘It really hurts.’

Feeling the throbbing pain in her heart, Nigel realized the weight of the emotion she had been harboring. She thought it was light, but it had grown so much without her noticing.

After today, Noah’s easily given smiles and warm blue eyes would no longer be directed at her.

But seeing Noah and Meriel together, the answer became clear.

There was no room for Nigel to squeeze in between the two who fit together so perfectly.

“She’s a strange one, isn’t she?”

Just then, platinum blonde hair swayed in front of Nigel’s eyes.

“You must have had a hard time being friends with Noah, Lady Nigel.”

Nigel quickly bowed her head.

“I am honored to meet you, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I sincerely thank you for inviting someone as inadequate as myself to the ball…”

“Let’s dispense with the formal greetings. Shall we have a private conversation, just the two of us?”

Nigel nodded and took Calein’s hand.

‘…Ah, right. Originally, touching hands doesn’t drain magic.’

How foolish.

Nigel glanced back.

“Lady, is there something urgent?”

“No.”

The two people who loved each other dearly were smiling at each other. Her heavy steps became lighter.

In the elegant reception room Calein led her to, there was no one but Nigel and Calein.

Even in the corridor outside the reception room, there were only the guard knights who had followed Calein, not a single common guard in sight.

“It’s strange that there are no servants at all. I prefer quiet places.”

Calein handled the tea set skillfully and poured the cups with familiarity.

“You’re serving the tea yourself… Thank you, Your Highness.”

“It’s nothing.”

Blue eyes colder than Meriel’s and darker than Noah’s smiled at Nigel.

“Why do you think I called for you?”

“If I may add my inadequate words, it seems to be because I have the honor of being acquainted with Princess Yenica and Lord Beselion, who is close friends with Your Highness the Crown Prince.”

Words as precise as pressing buttons on an elaborate magical device tumbled out of Nigel’s mouth.

“Haha, I don’t mean such formal talk. Surely I wouldn’t expect courtesy from a friend of my fiancée and close friend.”

“Of course, even if it weren’t for this reason, the fact that Your Highness invited me is an invaluable honor for me.”

Nigel’s tongue, which had grown even more after meeting the strict debate monster Cledian, had developed the ability to speak words she didn’t mean as smoothly as water flowing.

“Please, that’s enough.”

Although Calein was trying to stop her, the corners of his mouth rose higher and higher as Nigel’s words grew longer.

Nigel was overflowing with the attention that his fiancée and friends, who had been neglecting him due to their infatuation with Nigel, had failed to provide.

“Truly, this glorious private audience today will be a record that should be passed down for generations in my family.”

Just as Nigel was gathering both true and false words to praise the Crown Prince’s benevolence, afraid of being caught out, Calein’s blue eyes deepened further.

“When you say family… do you mean the Dien Ducal family or the Arenius Imperial family?”

“What do you…”

“Since you’re not denying it, I suppose it’s true, sister.”

Nigel stiffened and could only stare at Calein without saying a word. Anxiety followed as the next stage after rigidity.

“Don’t worry, sister. As I said earlier, there are only the two of us here. Powerful security magic circles are designed so that this conversation won’t leak outside this room.”

Calein’s hand overlapped Nigel’s trembling hands. Nigel’s trembling gradually subsided at the warm temperature felt from Calein’s hand.

“How did you know?”

“I have good intuition.”

Calein smiled bitterly.

After aunt embraced the goddess, Meriel’s generous favor, which was not easily given to anyone.

The Duke of Dien’s hair and lips, and decisively, aunt’s kind purple eyes vividly looking at me.

He had invited her to the ball out of jealousy for his fiancée who was always with Nigel, but now he should thank Yenica for connecting with Nigel.

The Dien Ducal family couldn’t find the newborn baby who disappeared without even opening its eyes through public search. The trivial reason for not finding the child was that he, the Crown Prince, had not yet been born.

As the firstborn Meriel had to inherit the Duke title, naturally the right of succession to the throne went to the second child of Princess Abelin.

The Duke of Dien publicly announced the disappearance of the second twin, but worried that everyone would search for that child aiming for the throne.

At a time when the nobles’ glares were already fierce due to the union of the imperial family and the ducal family, the Dien Ducal family and the imperial family set out to find the child secretly.

Because they had to avoid people’s eyes, the search speed was slow, and the child gradually drifted away.

The ducal family and the imperial family quietly swallowed their wounds.

The little cousins who found out the secret too early became distant overnight, then hugged each other comforting each other’s wounds, and Princess Abelin quietly longed for the child all her life before passing away.

It’s been 7 years since Princess Abelin passed away, and Enaigel Dien has appeared as Nigel Ars.

…She was this close.

The accumulated sense of debt and longing became a huge wave that engulfed Calein.

You remembered us.

The name Angel that was on Noah’s lips, who cried loudly every day until his cheeks swelled after returning from the north, and the surname Ars, which would have been shortened from Arenius, approached with weight.

Then his cousin knelt down.

Calein’s body froze at the sudden situation.

He should quickly raise that body, he should convey that he’s sorry for not finding her quickly because of him, but his body wouldn’t move as he willed, and Nigel’s mouth moved first.

“…My intention in hiding all this time was not to insult the imperial family. And I have no interest in the throne, so I beg Your Highness the Crown Prince to be generous and grant mercy.”