Arasila hesitated for a moment, narrowing her brow ambiguously.

As much as she wanted to coldly push his hand away, it wasn’t easy.

Considering the guard knights watching from behind, she had to maintain the dignity of the crown princess.

As she remained still, Frederick’s hand gently stroked her hair and settled on her shoulder.

His brightly smiling face looked pure and without ulterior motives.

“I told you I think of you as the most special, Arasila. Even if you can’t think of me that way, please consider me as your closest friend.”

“…You and Paula used to be my closest friends.”

Before Frederick crossed the line, the friendship between the three was unshakeable.

Even now, deep in Arasila’s heart, there remained an unconscious longing for Frederick from their academy days.

“If we both do well, the three of us will always be the closest friends.”

“…Is that so.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

At the firm answer, Frederick made an indecipherable expression.

Arasila removed his hand politely, without making it awkward. Then she nodded a greeting and went to board the carriage.

“Take care. I’ll contact you again.”

Frederick waved brightly.

Arasila also waved, but didn’t bother to look in his direction.

He watched Arasila’s departing figure for a long time with his hands behind his back. Like a man making sure his lover leaves safely.

And there were people watching the two of them from afar.

“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince and Lady Vandermir are closer than we thought.”

“I heard they were academy classmates, but were they that close?”

“Oh my, no matter what, being that intimate with an opposite-sex friend when you’re married is a bit…”

The young ladies who had been whispering turned their heads to seek agreement from someone.

“Don’t you think so, Lady White?”

“…It seems so.”

Nora nodded with a lukewarm smile.

She had come to the palace with some young ladies to accompany the Duchess of Grant to visit Gloria.

By chance, they happened to witness Arasila and Frederick conversing in front of the government building.

Whether it was really by chance or not is uncertain.

“But I’m sure Lady Vandermir isn’t doing it on purpose. She’s still young, and only married for half a year. She probably doesn’t know the proper boundaries unlike when she was single.”

At first glance it seemed like a statement defending Arasila, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t.

In the end, it was agreeing that she was being overly friendly with Frederick.

It was practically beyond agreement, indirectly passing judgment that Arasila was failing to maintain proper boundaries.

“She’ll improve gradually. I don’t want to think badly of Lady Vandermir anymore.”

Nora smiled wistfully and lowered her eyes. To make it appear that her previous words were not intentional criticism.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. We spoke too carelessly without considering Lady White’s position.”

“It’s alright, what happened between Lady Vandermir and me is now in the past. It’s better for both of us to act like it never happened.”

Nora concluded the conversation with a bright smile and headed towards the duchess waiting for her, taking the young ladies with her.

But sometimes conversations cut off like this were more tantalizing.

Since they hadn’t exchanged words as much as they wanted, this topic would surely come up again in another setting.

Perhaps in the various gatherings these young ladies belonged to.

It wasn’t just the imperial office that was suffocating Arasila.

“Um, my lady. I received this while waiting for you…”

Audrey, who had been anxiously pacing in front of the carriage waiting for Arasila’s investigation, hesitantly held out a letter when she saw her.

It was from the Magic Tower.

Inside was a unilateral notification that a large-scale internal investigation of Arasila would begin.

“To Lady Arasila Vandermir,

The Magic Tower deeply regrets the incident you caused.

Causing a disturbance in the sacred imperial palace tarnishes the honor of the Magic Tower and smears the reputation of its affiliated mages.

As there are many injured and the damage is not insignificant, the Magic Tower has decided to conduct its own investigation of you.

If you do not wish to cause confusion and harm within the Magic Tower as well, we ask for your generous cooperation.”

‘It seems they have no intention of defending me.’

Arasila folded the letter with a heavy heart.

The Magic Tower was full of people waiting for her to fall as much as she had risen.

She had thought this might happen, but actually seeing them act this way made her feel bitter.

The journey home was very quiet.

Audrey tactfully kept her mouth shut. Arasila looked so troubled that she couldn’t easily offer words of comfort.

When the carriage stopped in front of the mansion, Arasila got off listlessly. She wanted to go to her room and rest quickly.

“Welcome back, my lady.”

The butler greeted her with a polite bow. Arasila nodded as she took off her stifling gloves.

“I’m a bit tired. I’m going up to rest, so tell everyone not to come to the bedroom.”

“Yes, understood. But I suppose it’s alright not to call out the person who’s already there?”

Confused by the unexpected words, Arasila looked at the butler quizzically. The butler said with a smile on his lips:

“The master has returned.”

“What? Demian?”

Arasila’s eyes widened. She was quite surprised as she had thought he would return in a few days, but his return was earlier than expected.

“Where is he now?”

“He’s waiting for you in the bedroom, my lady.”

At those words, Arasila immediately turned and went up the stairs.

She flung open the door without knocking, and saw Demian sitting on the sofa.

Having returned from the north where the weather was colder than the capital, he still had a rather thick red cloak draped over his shoulders.

Demian had been waiting for her without even thinking to change out of that attire.

As their gazes met in midair, he abruptly stood up.

“My wife!”

He hurriedly moved his feet and reached Arasila’s front in an instant.

His large hands gently grasped her arms.

“Are you alright? You weren’t hurt in the explosion, were you? You’ve received a proper examination, of course?”

Questions poured out without giving her a chance to answer. Each one was desperately earnest, as if he might lose his breath at any moment.

As the golden eyes busily scanned her body, Arasila felt somewhat ticklish.

Although she had received similar questions from many people, Demian’s felt uniquely special.

“I’m fine. I wasn’t hurt anywhere. I wasn’t there when the explosion happened.”

“Thank goodness. You don’t know how worried I was.”

Demian’s face visibly relaxed with relief. His hair was all disheveled from the wind, showing how hurriedly he had returned.

Suddenly feeling a prickling sensation inside her chest, Arasila said:

“Actually…, Frederick had requested a conversation at that time, so we were talking in the lounge.”

“Alone with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“…Yes.”

Arasila acknowledged with a feeling of discomfort, as if a thorn was stuck under her fingernail.

Originally, she wasn’t the type to be so concerned about others’ reactions. Yet strangely, she now found herself worrying about Demian’s reaction.

She had unconsciously worried that he might be disappointed, thinking she had broken a promise she made to him.

But Demian instead smiled and lightly patted her shoulder.

“You did well. It’s good that you weren’t hurt because of it.”

“…Are you okay with me breaking the promise I made to you?”

“How is that important right now?”

The entire way here after receiving the news, only one thought had filled Demian’s mind.

Please, let Arasila be safe.

His heart had sunk at the words “explosion accident”, and he had packed his bags and set out to return to the capital immediately, without considering anything else.

Though Margrave Yohim tried to persuade him to leave safely the next morning, he had departed at dawn on the day he received the letter.

He had been in agony, unable to confirm Arasila’s exact well-being as she had only plainly explained the circumstances of the accident.

He simply couldn’t sit still.

Perhaps because he had been so anxious, Demian was tearfully grateful just to see Arasila unharmed without a single injury.

He wasn’t concerned about what she might have done or where she had been with Frederick.

It was only due to his own narrow-mindedness that he had made such a request, but he had a strong belief that Arasila was not the type of person to do anything shameful to others.

“I’m satisfied and grateful just for your effort to comply with my selfish request.”

“…”

“I’m even more grateful that effort kept you so safe and sound.”

Arasila felt a stirring deep in her heart.

She didn’t know how to explain this emotion that had taken over her entire body.

Like how young children act brave and mature when alone, but crumble in front of their parents, she too felt something she had been suppressing until now burst open in front of Demian.

Conflicting emotions of relief and sorrow rushed in all at once.

“…Actually, I’m not really okay.”

Arasila said impulsively.

“I’m flustered that the lamp exploded, resentful that it injured Her Highness the Princess, and honestly, I can’t help but feel wronged too.”

The true feelings she hadn’t shared even with close people around her, for fear of worrying them, leaked out in a stream.

“I absolutely didn’t make the lamp dangerous… But since I made it anyway, I have to take responsibility, right? So I just came back from being investigated at the imperial office.”

“That must have been difficult.”

“A little. But now, not just the imperial office, even the Magic Tower says they’ll start an internal investigation.”

Arasila held out the Magic Tower’s letter to Demian as if tattling.

Demian frowned after silently receiving it and checking the contents.

“The tone is quite coercive. Doesn’t the Magic Tower protect its affiliated mages?”

If they had decided to take a neutral stance, they should have at least used polite language.

However, the Magic Tower’s letter was already oppressive, as if addressing a criminal.

“No. More precisely, they probably have no intention of protecting me. The executives who’ve been keeping me in check must be making a fuss right now.”

After the explosion incident, Arasila’s attendance at the Magic Tower had been arbitrarily suspended.

But even without checking, the internal situation was crystal clear to her.

It was obvious that mages who wanted to bring her down would be banding together and plotting in this opportunity.

“Of course, it’s all because I made the lamp wrong, so I can’t really say anything…”

“Don’t say that. I don’t think you made the lamp wrong.”

Arasila’s eyes widened in surprise at Demian’s firm words. He was the first person to say something like that.

“…Really?”

“There must have been another reason why the lamp had to explode.”

“I could have really made it wrong.”

Demian gazed at Arasila with unwavering eyes.

It was a look like an old tree that would safely support her no matter what storm raged.

“Is that what you think?”

“…”

“Did you really make a mistake when making the lamp?”

At his low, heavy, and firm voice, Arasila slowly shook her head.

Gloria’s lamp was a particularly carefully crafted piece.

It was a lamp that had no reason to explode in the first place, and even less possibility of exploding.

“Then that’s enough. I believe in you. If you say you didn’t do it, I’ll believe and think the same.”

“…”

“Your will is the measure of my belief.”

None of Demian’s words were spoken falsely.

That intense realization made Arasila’s fingertips tingle.

She inhaled. Her breath trembled slightly. Soon her plump lips moved slowly.

“…Thank you, really.”

“It’s nothing. It’s natural for a husband to believe his wife.”

Demian didn’t try to take credit this time either.

That consistent attitude eased Arasila’s burden while making her embrace the emotions conveyed from him even more deeply.

Arasila lightly placed her hand on Demian’s arm and said with a dark face:

“But everyone thinks I made a mistake. The Magic Tower thinks so too, and the imperial investigator said they’ll look into our business overall.”

This meant that the business they had worked hard to build could fail.

No, it was no different from prophesying that it would fail.

Once the investigators ransacked it as they pleased, the business would be devastated, and since they had already lost people’s trust, it would take considerable time and effort to restore it to its original state.

External investment would be cut off for a while.

However, Demian replied to Arasila’s words without any particular worry or hesitation:

“Don’t worry. We just need to prove your innocence before that happens. Even if we can’t, we can start over from the beginning.”

“Will it be that easy?”

“If it’s difficult, we’ll do it the difficult way. I’ll support you as much as possible to make it less difficult. Please put your mind at ease.”

The corners of Demian’s mouth drew a leisurely arc. Arasila couldn’t take her eyes off his smiling face.

Among those I’ve met in my life, has there ever been someone so completely on my side?

Though my parents and siblings who have been with me since birth also gave me faith and trust, the feeling I have for Demian now was completely different from that.

For a stranger not related by blood to be entirely on one’s side.

It was a more heart-pounding thing than I had thought.