Demian agreed with Arasila’s suggestion to participate in the founding festival project.

Although Frederick’s proposal was somewhat irritating, he couldn’t deny it was a good opportunity.

Moreover, he judged there was no malicious intent since the proposal was made to Arasila, not himself.

After all, it was himself Frederick wanted to get rid of, not Arasila.

Of course, seeing the two of them working closely together was extremely unpleasant and annoying.

‘I must remember the trust my wife has shown me.’

He didn’t want to ruin the project Arasila had been working hard to plan because of an ugly emotion like jealousy.

On the other hand, whatever Frederick was thinking, while he visited Arasila almost daily under the pretext of preparing for the founding festival, he deliberately avoided confronting Demian or picking fights in front of him.

He met with Arasila at the magic tower laboratory or outside, excluding the Vandermir mansion where he could run into Demian.

In fact, since Demian was in charge of external business affairs, it would have been much more efficient to meet and talk with him, but Frederick insisted on Arasila.

“I’d like to install lamps on every street to commemorate the founding festival. I also want to hang special lamps in places like the imperial palace and temples.”

“Do you have a design in mind?”

“How about the shape of a tulip, the national flower of the Setron Empire?”

“Oh, that’s not bad?”

Arasila diligently wrote down Frederick’s requirements in her notebook.

She was as enthusiastic as a student taking notes in class, lest she forget any details.

Frederick, who had been staring intently at her as she drew a star next to the words ‘Make tulip-shaped lamps!’, suddenly spoke.

“This reminds me of the old days. We used to spend a lot of time alone like this at the academy.”

“Ah, that’s right. Back then, you and Paula were my only friends.”

Even if she had wanted to spend time with others, she had no other friends.

So Arasila would alternately take Paula and Frederick to the library every other day.

Frederick chuckled and murmured wistfully with a melancholic look in his eyes.

“Sometimes I miss those days. Back then, I wanted to become an adult as soon as possible, but now I want to go back to when we had no worries.”

Arasila, not particularly wanting to return to her academy days, listened quietly without agreeing.

Frederick rested his chin on his hand and gazed steadily at Arasila as he asked.

“What about you, Arasila? Don’t you ever want to turn back time to before you got married?”

“Well, I haven’t really thought about it.”

“I guess your married life with Lord Vandermir isn’t so bad then.”

As he said this, a strange, mischievous smile played at Frederick’s lips.

Arasila shrugged her shoulders and gestured to herself.

“As you can see, I’m doing quite well.”

“Still, I wish you could go back to before you were married. Somehow, the current you… doesn’t seem like the Arasila Hugo I knew.”

Frederick said in a subtle tone, his expression slightly darkening.

At this, Arasila paused for a moment and met his gaze.

His eyes, like a cool summer sea, were so transparent that it was sometimes difficult to read the emotions within them.

Just like now.

Frederick tried to read what she might be thinking upon hearing his words.

Whether she had been swayed even a little……

“Of course that’s natural. I’m Arasila Vandermir now. Don’t you even know my surname has changed?”

Arasila sighed heavily and shook her head.

Her attitude was like that of someone dealing with an incorrigible troublemaking younger sibling.

She pointed at Frederick with the tip of her pen and spoke deliberately.

“And no personal chatter during work. You have a habit of constantly bringing up old stories and reminiscing about the past. You’re not an old grandfather. Do it later, not during work hours.”

Arasila waved her hand dismissively.

After all, the older one gets, the more they tend to repeat stories from the past.

Arasila thought it was better to look to the future rather than the past while still young.

Frederick looked at Arasila with complex emotions in his eyes.

He found her lovable yet somewhat frustrating for never acting according to his wishes.

So he spoke quietly to Arasila, who was organizing the notes in her notebook.

“Still, there’s one thing I want you to remember, Arasila.”

“What?”

“That no matter how much you change, I won’t change. The time we spent together will never disappear, even if I die.”

At this, Arasila closed her notebook with a snap and calmly faced Frederick as she retorted.

“What nonsense, you’ve already changed plenty. You too have already changed.”

Originally, Frederick was a bright and gentle person like sunshine, but lately he gave off a somewhat gloomy and damp atmosphere.

Just from this, Arasila felt that Frederick had changed more than herself.

“If I’ve changed, it’s because you changed first.”

“Frederick, don’t blame me.”

Arasila shot back firmly, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“It’s not good for the crown prince to have a habit of blaming others.”

“…Is that so.”

Sensing that he should back off at this point, Frederick smiled brightly.

Arasila nodded halfheartedly and stood up.

As he rose to follow her tidying up, Frederick muttered to himself in a voice too quiet to be heard.

“But it really is someone else’s fault, so there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Young lady, the madam and master are calling for you.”

Startled by the sudden entrance and announcement of the maid, Nora turned her head in surprise from staring blankly out the window.

After the public confession incident, she had been forcibly confined to her room, unable to take even a single step outside until now.

By now, she had passed the stage of feeling stifled and had simply resigned herself to gazing out the window as her daily routine.

So when the unexpected summons from her parents came, she felt bewildered.

Nora hurriedly made herself presentable and headed to the first-floor reception room where the Duke and Duchess White were said to be waiting.

“Mother, Father. You called for me……”

As she cautiously opened the door and entered, Nora was taken aback by the unexpected scene inside.

She discovered the presence of an unfamiliar person seated opposite her parents.

As she hesitated for a moment at the doorway, the Duchess abruptly stood up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her in.

“Child, when you come in you should greet people properly. What are you doing standing there? I’m sorry, Duke Grant.”

“Ho ho, it’s alright. Lady White and I are meeting for the first time today, so it’s natural for her to feel awkward.”

Even as she was led by her mother’s hand to sit between her parents, Nora was still confused about what was happening.

Duke Grant was the Empress’s brother, wasn’t he? She couldn’t understand why such a person was here.

As far as Nora knew, there was no particular friendship between the White ducal family and Duke Grant’s family, which made it even more perplexing.

Duke Grant slowly took a sip of tea, set down his cup, and began to speak.

“I heard about the young lady’s unfortunate situation and it pained my heart, so I asked to arrange this meeting.”

“My… unfortunate situation?”

Nora asked with a puzzled expression.

During her confinement, after countless sleepless nights, she had finally come to accept that all her misfortunes were of her own making.

There was no one to blame – not Arasila, not Demian, not anyone else.

It had all happened because of her own mistakes.

Yet Duke Grant was now denying the fault that she had so painfully accepted as her own.

“You might develop feelings for a married man out of youthful impulse without knowing better. Isn’t that how we all grow, by making mistakes? Why, even at the academy, there were often young friends who had crushes on their teachers. Isn’t this similar to that?”

“Uh… But Lord Vandermir is different. I was the one who did wrong… Oof!”

The Duchess sharply elbowed her daughter in the side for her tactless response. Nora’s mouth closed automatically.

However, in her heart, she still felt that Duke Grant’s analogy was incorrect.

Nora was a full-fledged adult, too old to be called impulsive.

While she was young, she wasn’t a child.

Moreover, Demian wasn’t a teacher but a peer, and above all, Nora hadn’t made a mistake – she had done wrong.

She had let her emotions run wild, unable to control herself even though she knew she shouldn’t.

But at this moment, it seemed Nora was the only one who thought this way.

“The Vandermir couple is utterly heartless. They could have quietly smoothed things over, but instead they deliberately made it public, ruining the future of a noble young lady with a bright future ahead of her.”

As Duke Grant once again took Nora’s side, the Duchess was quick to agree.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Can you imagine how heartbroken our child must have been to shut herself in her room and refuse to come out?”

She dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief while grasping Nora’s hand. Duke White also wrapped an arm around his daughter’s shoulders with a gloomy expression.

Nora found this entire situation incredibly bewildering and absurd.

She hadn’t chosen to abstain from going out; her parents had confined her.

If only the ban on going out were lifted, she had planned to live her own life, even if belatedly.

She would no longer be bound by thoughts of Demian or Arasila and would forge her own path. After all, she no longer harbored any hatred or anger.

“You must resent those two deeply.”

“To be honest, I do. Seeing them living happily after ruining our daughter’s life makes my blood boil.”

“I understand that feeling, Duke White. That’s why I’ve come to offer comfort.”

However, the conversation flowing between the adults was completely opposite to Nora’s intentions.

Nora was simply confused.

She couldn’t grasp what Duke Grant’s intentions were, nor what her parents were thinking.

“Well then, would you like to return the favor in kind?”

The Duke posed a subtle question, omitting the subject and object.

Considering the context of the preceding conversation, it was easy to infer what words had been left out.

He must be asking if she wanted revenge on Demian and Arasila. Nora shook her head.

“No, I……”

At the same time, her parents’ grips on her hand and shoulder tightened significantly.

The Duke and Duchess shot intense gazes at her from both sides.

Nora felt sweat running down her back as she sensed the pressure.

Her parents wanted her to accept Duke Grant’s proposal and get back at the Vandermir couple.

“You foolish child, you must pay for the shame you’ve brought upon our family name.”

“Repay the kindness we’ve shown in raising you, Nora White.”

The words her parents whispered alternately into her ears made Nora crumble helplessly.

“…I, I want to.”

In the end, unable to withstand the pressure, she nodded.

A silent smile crept across Duke Grant’s lips.

“You’ve made a wise decision. If a person only endures mistreatment, they’ll be seen as a laughingstock.”

“What should my daughter do?”

The Duchess asked on behalf of Nora, who had her head bowed low. Duke Grant answered leisurely.

“For now… I suppose returning to how things were before would be the priority.”