Gloria had her maids move the gifts given by people to another place, but the only thing she left in her possession was the magic lamp.

She was so pleased to personally receive the magic lamp, which was said to take months of waiting due to overwhelming reservations, customized to her taste that she didn’t want to let it go.

“Lady Vandermir seems to have such good sense. How did she know I like the moon and stars, and made this lamp herself? It’s even more special with Frederick’s sincerity in it.”

Seeing her subtly showing off the lamp, someone suggested.

“Your Highness, how about turning on the lamp here and now? I’m curious to see how beautiful it will look when lit.”

“Hmm, should I?”

Gloria readily agreed, tempted by the opportunity to show off the lamp more actively.

People who wanted to look good to her gathered around, making a fuss.

Gloria placed her hand on the upper part of the lamp. Pressing it would automatically heat the light stone and turn on the lamp.

With an expectant smile, she pressed the button.

As heat was applied to the light stone, the moon and stars began to emit a soft yellow light.

At the same time, tiny white lights stuck closely to the light stone and shone.

That light engulfed the light of the light stone and flashed brightly. People frowned and closed their eyes momentarily at the glare.

It was at that moment that the explosion occurred.

Bang—!

“Kyaa!”

“Ahhh!”

The lamp exploded with a tremendous roar.

Screams erupted from all directions, and thick smoke took over the hall, obscuring vision.

People scattered in all directions and fled. Chaos ensued as they pushed and knocked each other down to survive.

“Your Highness!”

The maids rushed urgently to Gloria, who had fallen to the floor.

Several nobles were lying around groaning, but she, who had been holding the lamp in her hand, had taken the full brunt of the explosion and was even bleeding.

The knights guarding the outside rushed in upon hearing the suspicious explosion sound.

They had to help the people fleeing in panic, but their top priority for protection was the royal family.

As they guided the royal family members who attended today’s party, including Gloria, safely outside one by one, only one person was nowhere to be seen.

It was Frederick. The knights went around calling out for him desperately.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince! Where are you, Your Highness!”

“The Prince is in the lounge! Hurry and go check!”

Duke Grant shouted while covering his nose with his forearm to avoid inhaling the smoke. He was attending in place of the Empress.

The knights rushed to the lounge according to the Duke’s words.

And sending out the young ladies gathered near the doorway, they found Frederick inside with Arasila.

‘Are you saying the lamp I made just exploded?’

After hearing Ben Dyke’s story, Arasila became extremely perplexed and flustered.

There was nothing in the magic lamp that could cause an explosion.

The improved light stone had a habit of emitting stronger light at higher temperatures, thus dissipating energy on its own.

There was a self-heating function operating inside the lamp, but it didn’t generate extremely high heat.

Despite numerous experiments so far, there had never been such an explosion accident.

‘This doesn’t make sense. The lamp couldn’t have just exploded. There must have been a reason.’

Though she thought this inwardly, she wisely didn’t voice it out loud. Instead, Arasila asked Ben Dyke about Gloria.

“Is Her Highness alright?”

“Is Gloria badly hurt?”

Frederick also added worriedly. Ben Dyke spoke with a grim face.

“She’s being examined by the royal physician. As she fainted after losing quite a bit of blood, they’re not sure yet.”

“I see…”

Arasila’s expression darkened.

After all, for now, it was her lamp that exploded and caused the blast, so if the princess was seriously injured, it could become a serious crime.

The surrounding nobles glanced at her and whispered among themselves.

The fact that the cause of the explosion was the lamp Arasila had gifted had already spread among the attendees.

“How on earth did she make that lamp?”

“Tsk tsk, how carelessly must she have made a gift for Her Highness the Princess to result in this.”

“Surely, she didn’t do it on purpose, right?”

The piercing gazes toward Arasila intensified.

She started to explain to people that it wasn’t like that, but stopped.

In the current situation where she didn’t know the real reason for the explosion, hastily speaking up would only lead to arguments.

Frederick seemed to have similar thoughts, as he gently placed his hand on Arasila’s shoulder and whispered.

“Arasila, I think it’s better for you to go home for today.”

“…Alright.”

As Arasila moved to leave, Ben Dyke slightly blocked her way and said in a low voice.

“Lady Vandermir, the office will call you for further investigation. You may face disadvantages if you don’t comply.”

“I won’t refuse, so call me anytime.”

“I’ll contact you later.”

Ben Dyke gave a light bow. Arasila nodded her head and left the garden.

Frederick personally followed to see her off. Arasila was about to get into the carriage when she turned to look at him.

“Frederick, Her Highness the Princess…”

“Don’t worry. I’ll let you know about Gloria’s condition when it’s known.”

Frederick said readily with a gentle smile.

It wasn’t easy for him to show kindness in a situation where Arasila’s lamp had exploded, injuring his sister and ruining the event.

However, as if understanding Arasila’s shocked feelings, he spoke in a voice even more gentle than usual.

“I don’t know for what reason the accident happened, but I believe in you. So go home and rest assured. Leave the rest to me.”

It meant he would take her side even in her absence.

Arasila, who had felt strong displeasure due to his one-sided behavior when talking in the lounge earlier, felt her heart soften a little.

In a confusing situation, the other person was showing firm trust in her, and since he was originally a close friend, she couldn’t help but feel that way even more.

“Thank you, really.”

“It’s nothing. You’re someone I cherish specially, so this much is natural.”

Ruby-like crimson eyes gazed at Arasila profoundly. Soon, his hand moved towards her fallen hair.

He intended to tuck it behind her ear, but Arasila stepped back without noticing, causing him to fail.

“Thank you once again. I’ll be going now.”

“…Alright, take care.”

Hiding his deep regret, Frederick maintained his kind smile as he waved.

Throughout the carriage ride home, Arasila’s mind was complicated.

It was hard to believe that the lamp she made had caused an explosion accident, and she was worried about what consequences today’s incident would bring.

When she arrived home, Demian had naturally not returned yet.

First, she sent a letter explaining the situation to him through the magic messenger.

‘I hope this matter doesn’t escalate and gets resolved well.’

Arasila sighed at the ominous feeling enveloping her entire body.

The news of a magic lamp exploding at the Princess’s birthday party swept across the entire empire.

Months worth of accumulated lamp order reservations were all cancelled in an instant.

There was a flood of refund inquiries even for lamps that had already been sold.

People suspected the safety of street lamps as well and demanded their removal.

The imperial family also immediately ordered the retrieval of all lamp lights.

The day after the party, Frederick contacted Arasila to inform her about Gloria’s condition.

Gloria had suffered injuries including a broken shoulder and burns on her forearm, but fortunately her life was not in danger.

However, as it was an incident where the Princess could have lost her life, the level of criticism towards Arasila, who made the magic lamp, was high.

“Shocking Truth of Magic Lamps – Actually Murderous Devices!”

“Inhumane Magical Tool Development by Magicians, How Long Should We Tolerate This?”

“Arasila Vandermir is a Fraud!”

Articles blatantly insulting her were not uncommon. Arasila maintained a calm attitude even upon seeing such articles.

And today, the imperial office summoned Arasila to investigate the incident.

Arasila, who complied obediently, sat face to face with the solemn-faced office investigator in the investigation room.

“Hello, Lady Vandermir. I am Kenneth Moore, the investigator for this case. I will now ask you a few questions. Please answer truthfully without lies.”

“Yes.”

“Did you intentionally gift the Princess a lamp with explosion risk?”

“No.”

Arasila immediately denied it.

It was a lamp she had put days of effort into to celebrate Gloria’s birthday.

She didn’t work so hard to make something to attack the Princess, and it wasn’t something that could be used for such a purpose.

“Then were you aware that the lamp might explode?”

“No. My lamps have never caused an accident until now. The Princess’s birthday party was the first time.”

Why would she sell dangerous lamps commercially? Arasila explained that she had even gone through numerous stability verifications.

“There must be another reason. It wasn’t a defect in the lamp itself.”

“That’s not possible. The lamp itself caused the explosion. If you wanted to feign innocence, you should have prepared a more specific excuse.”

Arasila’s eyebrows twitched at Kenneth’s cynical response.

“Lord Moore, you seem to think I had ill intentions in gifting the lamp to Her Highness the Princess.”

“Rather than that, I suspect you might be an irresponsible businessperson who refuses to admit the mistake of carelessly manufacturing products.”

Objectively, Arasila had no reason to attempt regicide against the royal family.

So he didn’t think she did it intentionally, but.

In fact, he suspected that she might have ignored issues discovered during the production process for her own benefit. Because there were often such magicians.

“That’s absolutely not true. I’ll uncover the lamp’s defect myself. Show me the lamp.”

“That’s not possible. The lamp is important evidence, so we can’t hand it over to you.”

Arasila sighed in frustration.

She had planned to examine the lamp directly and find out the reason, but if they wouldn’t even show it to her, there was no way to resolve the situation.

But Kenneth was adamant. He couldn’t rule out the possibility that she might tamper with the evidence.

“Whether it was intentional or a mistake, the fact that you injured Her Highness the Princess remains unchanged.”

He said in a cold voice.

“You will receive an appropriate punishment for that. Furthermore, your other ongoing businesses will also undergo extensive investigation, so be aware of that.”

Arasila bit her lower lip.

She realized something after hearing Kenneth’s words just now. That no matter how much she claimed she didn’t do it, this incident would be futile.

After all, it was her lamp that caused the problem, so even if it was unexpected for her, the responsibility was entirely hers.

Arasila left the investigation room with a shadowed face. She couldn’t help but have a headache thinking about the repercussions this incident would have.

As she came out of the office, sighing repeatedly, Frederick, who had been waiting for her near the doorway, approached.

“Arasila, are you okay? Did the investigation go well?”

“Ah, Frederick. Yes. Did you come to see me?”

“I was worried, how could I just sit still?”

Frederick spoke in a kinder voice than usual. His red eyes were filled with concern for Arasila.

He let out a light sigh and spoke with a gentle face, saying the words he had prepared.

“I don’t think you intentionally hurt Gloria. Everyone makes mistakes. Just because you slipped up once doesn’t mean everything you’ve done so far will disappear.”

“What? Frederick, I…”

Arasila’s lips quivered with a bewildered expression.

She still didn’t think she had made the lamp incorrectly.

But she couldn’t say such things in front of Frederick.

Considering his position of having commissioned the lamp from her and now being in an awkward situation, she couldn’t bring herself to say words that only put herself first.

Unaware of her inner thoughts, Frederick continued his comforting words in a gentle voice.

“A defective product must have come out by mistake. It was just bad luck that it was Gloria’s, but you didn’t do it on purpose.”

“…”

His words seemed touching yet strangely felt off. After all, Frederick was also speaking on the premise of Arasila’s mistake.

Frederick took a step forward, closing the distance with a soft smile.

“If you need my help, just say the word anytime.”

“…Right, thank you. So this is what it means to have a good friend.”

Arasila let out a laugh that sounded like a sigh.

Despite everything, it was grateful as a friend that Frederick was covering for her this much when his sister got hurt.

“Well.”

At that moment, Frederick suddenly reached out his hand.

This time, his touch gently brushed back Arasila’s fallen hair.

Meeting her eyes with a kind yet intense gaze, he said meaningfully.

“I think it would be good even if we weren’t just friends.”