The taste of success is truly sweet.

One side of the wall in Arasila’s lab was stacked with gift boxes.

These were sent by magicians who wanted to get on the good side of her, as her position and reputation within the magic tower had risen due to the booming success of her magical tool business.

Among them were many who had switched their support from other candidates for the next magic tower master.

However, Arasila did not show any reaction such as being moved by or welcoming their change of heart.

Those who were even more anxious about this were sending increasingly larger gifts as the days went by.

“Senior, is it alright to leave these like this?”

Sally asked worriedly, pointing to the pile of gifts.

It had already been several days since they had left the gifts untouched without checking even a single one.

“I think we should send thank you notes to some of them to make sure they completely turn to your side, senior.”

As Rudy added his opinion, Arasila waved her hand dismissively.

“Leave them be. If they’re the type to fall apart over something like this, they’re likely to change their minds easily. Getting involved with such people won’t be of much help.”

While it would be better to have more supporters, she didn’t need people who would change their minds so quickly.

In any case, it was clear that the magicians would sway like reeds depending on who Philip designated as the next magic tower master.

Those who truly decided to follow Arasila would patiently wait for her response, even if it took time.

“So stop worrying about it and go out to eat. I’ll have lunch alone here today.”

“What? Let’s eat together, senior.”

“It’s fine. Sally, didn’t you say there was a restaurant you wanted to go to? Go and enjoy it leisurely with Rudy.”

These days, Arasila found it very annoying to go out as there were many colleagues who would try to strike up a conversation even when just passing by in the hallway.

However, she couldn’t keep her juniors cooped up in the lab, so she chose to eat alone.

In fact, it was rather comfortable, and she had something else to do as well.

“Then we’ll buy dessert on the way back. Let’s eat that together.”

“Alright, enjoy your meal.”

Sally and Rudy bowed their heads and left the lab.

Arasila sat at the table and leisurely took out the lunch box Audrey had packed for her. It was sandwiches and lemonade.

The bacon sandwich, stuffed with plenty of lettuce and tomatoes, was good because it didn’t upset her stomach even when eaten to fullness.

As she was sitting idly, refreshing her palate with the tangy lemonade, a visitor arrived. It was Frederick.

“Have you been well, Arasila?”

“Yes, come in.”

Arasila wasn’t surprised as she had been informed of his visit beforehand.

She had purposely sent her juniors out, knowing that they were uncomfortable with the presence of the crown prince.

After exchanging a light handshake greeting, she sat down facing Frederick. He said he had come in person to deliver good news.

“Thanks to you, we were able to make the Founding Day celebration much more vibrant. Thank you, Arasila. You must have worked hard preparing the airship and lamps.”

Instead of getting straight to the point, Frederick praised Arasila in a soft voice.

Pouring him a glass of lemonade, Arasila also expressed her gratitude in return.

“I’m grateful too, Frederick. Thanks to you, we were able to get an opportunity to promote our business more widely.”

After briefly showing a smooth smile that seemed to have been drawn by Frederick, she spoke.

“As a matter of fact, I have something to say regarding your business. It seems Gloria was quite impressed by the magic lamps at the Founding Day celebration. She expressed her wish to be introduced to you through me.”

“What? Her Highness the Princess?”

Arasila asked with a surprised face.

Gloria was the princess born to the second empress, the eldest daughter of the emperor and Frederick’s half-sister.

Like Lucas, she had only heard her name occasionally, and had never met her as they had no particular connection.

“Gloria has been very interested in investments lately. It wouldn’t hurt to become close with her.”

Saying this, Frederick took out a golden envelope stamped with the imperial family’s crest from his breast pocket.

“This is an invitation to Gloria’s upcoming birthday party. She asked me to deliver it when I meet you. She wants to give one of your magic lamps as her birthday gift, would that be possible?”

“Of course.”

Arasila nodded with a dazed expression. Frederick smiled brightly and handed her the invitation.

Her pale hand silently received the invitation. Frederick’s smile grew even brighter.

“Then I’ll assume you’ll be attending the party. Ah, if it’s alright, on that day I could come to your house…”

“Wait a moment, hold on.”

“Hm?”

“I’ll make Her Highness the Princess’s birthday gift. But I’d like to discuss with Demian about attending the party before deciding.”

Although Arasila made the magic lamps, the business was jointly operated with Demian.

Honestly, Demian was far more knowledgeable about the practical aspects outside of magical tool development, so it would be awkward for her to meet the princess alone.

“You… are you thinking of attending the party with Lord Vandermir?”

Frederick asked with a slightly stiffened face. Arasila answered as if it was obvious.

“Yes, he’s my husband and business partner.”

“I see… Gloria only wanted to meet you though.”

“Then you should explain it well to Her Highness the Princess. I’m in charge of development, and Demian is in charge of administration, so if she’s interested, it would be better to meet both of us together.”

Frederick let out a hollow laugh, covering his mouth at the unintentionally hurtful words.

He remained lost in thought for a while before finally speaking.

“I understand for now. Let me know when you decide about attending the party.”

“Alright, I’ll let you know as soon as possible.”

Realizing it was about time for her juniors to return, Arasila showed Frederick out without hesitation.

Even if he expressed some disappointment and hurt, it couldn’t be helped. This was a shared research lab, not a private space.

She bid him farewell without lingering and closed the lab door.

Meanwhile, Travis opened the lab door with a sigh today as well. Dark shadows hung under his eyes, as if he hadn’t slept all night.

The juniors who had arrived earlier hesitantly handed him a thick bundle of letters.

“Mr. Fernando left these for you.”

“…”

His already tired complexion darkened further.

Silently receiving the letters, Travis sat down and unfolded the papers.

The densely packed black letters contained words that didn’t deviate an inch from his expectations.

Threats, blackmail, pleas, intimidation…

Fernando was frantically urging Travis to surpass Arasila immediately.

He was extremely wary of her momentum, which had recently revived after being somewhat dampened by her marriage.

Feeling impatient with his disciple who wasn’t producing results as much as he wanted, he lashed out.

However, the most anxious person right now was Travis himself.

Knowing this but still pressuring him, his master felt spiteful and burdensome, so Travis had avoided meeting him, and now he was steadily leaving these long letters.

‘Damn it, this is driving me crazy. What the hell am I supposed to do when it’s not working no matter what I try?’

It’s not like Travis had been sitting idle while Arasila succeeded.

However, being too hasty in his research only led to bad results in the form of failures.

As a result, Travis found himself even more cornered.

‘Arasila and I are different. We’re different…!’

Unlike Arasila, who was born and raised as a beautiful and intelligent young lady from a prestigious family, he was an illegitimate child from a humble noble family.

For him, magic was a dream, hope, and an escape route. A lifeline that would allow him to succeed and escape from a family where he wasn’t even treated as a person, let alone a son.

The only talent he could boast as being better than others.

Even if she failed to become the magic tower master, Arasila could just live as a noble and magnificent lady, but not Travis.

He had nowhere to go.

‘If only I had been born a woman like her and made a good marriage at least…’

With the feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff, Travis ran his hands through his hair. He knew he had to do something, but he didn’t know what.

Unable to concentrate on his research due to his complicated feelings, he headed to the break room to get some fresh air.

While he was absentmindedly brewing tea behind the partition, it happened.

“At this rate, isn’t it certain that Arasila will be the next magic tower master?”

The sound of a group of magicians talking as they opened the door and entered was heard. Travis instinctively pricked up his ears.

They sat down on the sofa with a rumble, unaware that he was behind the partition.

“Pretty much. Travis isn’t managing to climb up at all.”

“That guy, really. When Arasila got married was truly a golden opportunity, and he missed it?”

“Well, Arasila was always a bit more skilled originally. Travis always had more of a second-in-command feel, right?”

“What? Then he’s found his rightful place.”

A burst of mocking laughter erupted. Travis’s hand holding the teacup turned ghostly white.

Then one of the magicians lowered his voice.

“But now the match is really decided. I heard from a junior in our lab that Arasila was invited to Her Highness the Princess’s birthday party.”

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, seems like she made quite an impression on Her Highness with the magic lamps this time. I heard she’s quite close with His Highness the Crown Prince personally too. If the imperial family backs her as the next magic tower master, isn’t it all over?”

Travis felt his vision blur.

As they said, if the imperial family supported Arasila as the next magic tower master, everything would be over.

Only after they had left did Travis stagger out of the break room, his expression more rigid than ever before.

‘This is unfair.’

He kept repeating this thought endlessly.

Being a half-noble, he never had the opportunity to engage in social activities and build connections with the imperial family. It was a hardship that Arasila, born into a good family, would never understand.

‘It can’t end like this. Competition should be fair and square.’

It was right to compete purely based on their abilities without external intervention.

Of course, Magic Tower Master Philip wasn’t the type to designate a successor as the imperial family wished, but Travis, whose mind was already full of a sense of victimization, clenched his teeth.

He vowed to rectify this unfairness with his own hands and restore balance.

Demian showed a positive reaction to the proposal of attending Princess Gloria’s birthday party.

“From what I heard from His Highness Prince Lucas, most of the imperial personnel will be attending. It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to go.”

He also thought it would be better to create as many connections with the imperial family as possible. Whether as a businessman or as someone dreaming of revenge.

Or even to keep Frederick in check.

Recently, there hadn’t been much progress in the investigation related to Frederick regarding the assassination attempt.

They were looking into how Ken obtained the dark magic bomb, but it wasn’t easy to find a connection with him.

By attending the party with Arasila and ostentatiously displaying their relationship as a couple, they could easily provoke Frederick.

‘Stimulating the opponent to extract information is also a good method.’

In fact, more than that, it was because Frederick, who hovered around Arasila under the name of friendship, was irritating.

“I have something to tell you as well.”

As Arasila finished her business, Demian took out a rolled-up paper from his breast pocket and handed it to her.

“Today, I received sketches of the recent blackmailers from High Priest Taylor.”