“Our situation is different from yours, Arasila.”

After being told to shut up, he was momentarily speechless, but then barely regained his composure to retort. Arasila immediately frowned.

“How exactly am I different?”

“You should be careful, if only for the sake of your family. Your actions not only disgrace your husband but also negatively impact the magic tower.”

“Am I the only one who’s married?”

Arasila retorted with an incredulous look. All of the executive mages present are married, and quite a few of them have caused trouble.

Why should she be the only one to hear such words?

“That’s why I’m saying the situation is different. Men can do that, it’s unavoidable to relieve the stress built up at home and outside. But isn’t it common for women to be good at supporting their husbands and behave modestly and properly?”

Fernando stroked his chin and sighed exaggeratedly.

“But you committed an indecent act with a high-ranking person. Tsk tsk. If that’s not true, isn’t it your fault for not behaving properly in the first place?”

He said with a shrug and an annoying expression. Arasila looked at him with sharp eyes. Nevertheless, Fernando’s words continued boldly.

“It’s all your own fault, so you should humbly accept the consequences.”

“…Do the others share the same opinion?”

She hadn’t expected anything from Fernando from the start anyway. She had anticipated that this guy would try his best to increase the severity of her punishment. The same goes for the other mages close to him.

What Arasila had hoped for was the remaining half of the mages. If they changed their minds now, the expulsion could be rejected.

She would be given another chance to explain the truth, and Arasila was confident that she could prove her innocence by any means necessary.

Of course, she knew that the executive mages generally didn’t view her favorably, but she believed that they could make an objective judgment in an unjust situation.

But…

“I’ll ask once more. Is there no one who disagrees with Fernando?”

The meeting hall was suffocatingly quiet. Arasila slowly looked around the hall.

Not a single person made direct eye contact with her. They all knew that expulsion was too harsh a measure, but they had no intention of overturning it.

It was either because of their own interests or because they lacked the courage to oppose the majority opinion.

“…Ha. Haha. Hahaha.”

A dejected laugh escaped Arasila’s lips. How could they all be so cowardly and petty? Even though she knew what kind of people they were, she couldn’t help feeling hurt and resentful.

Eventually, her gaze fell on Philip. He was the only one in this place who could save her and take her side.

“Lord Magic Tower Master.”

Philip, who had been silently observing his surroundings until then, slowly met Arasila’s eyes.

Despite his small stature, he was always a person who boasted an enormous presence.

Realizing that there was no reproach or contempt towards her in the eyes she met, Arasila sent a look seeking help.

“Arasila, I…”

As Philip opened his mouth to say something, Fernando quickly stole the words.

“No matter how much you are the Magic Tower Master, you cannot overturn our will this time. Rather, considering your relationship with Arasila, we will prevent you from intervening even more. To put it bluntly, how can we know if you’re just unconditionally protecting your disciple in hopes that she’ll dominate the Magic Tower in the next generation?”

“Oh my, Fernando. What kind of language is that to use towards the Magic Tower Master?”

“I’m not the only one who thinks this way. How many times has the Magic Tower Master shown favoritism towards Arasila!”

It’s true that Philip had particularly considered Arasila’s convenience, but that was because of the discrimination against female mages within the Magic Tower.

He wanted to help her, who was talented and ambitious but was being disregarded just because she was a young woman.

Fernando shamelessly twisted this fact, making it seem as if Philip had shown favoritism out of a desire to push his disciple forward.

The other mages couldn’t agree or disagree, and only watched the situation cautiously.

“If you ignore our will, even the mages who didn’t attend the meeting won’t stay quiet. Please make a wise decision.”

It was a threat-like statement saying that if Philip overturned the vote result, they would bring in mages outside the executives to protest.

If that happens, the matter becomes far too big. From Arasila’s standpoint, it might be better to leave the Magic Tower rather than let it come to that.

Having made an internal decision, Philip met Arasila’s eyes again and slowly moved his head.

Arasila understood the meaning of the short head shake that went from side to side. It meant that Philip also could not save her.

‘I’m sorry.’

Seeing her mentor conveying a silent apology, Arasila felt completely deflated and slumped into her seat.

This was the end of everything.

Her dream of becoming the Magic Tower Master, her future as a mage, her life devoted solely to magic.

Despite all her hard work and effort, when Arasila left the Magic Tower, she had nothing left.

It was all for nothing.

Arasila tasted despair for the first time in her life.

It was truly terrible.

She couldn’t hear anything, couldn’t see anything. It felt like being trapped in an endless abyss, falling without a bottom.

Audrey came out with a gloomy face, carrying a tray of food that was barely touched.

Even though it was filled with Arasila’s favorites, there were minimal signs of it being eaten. At most, only a few spoonfuls of soup had been taken.

After being officially expelled from the Magic Tower, Arasila fell into despair and went into seclusion.

Having worked so hard towards her dream, the backlash made her lose all motivation and become dazed. Audrey’s heart ached seeing this side of Arasila for the first time since knowing her.

She knew well how hard Arasila had worked since childhood to become the Magic Tower Master.

Her mistress was someone who didn’t hesitate to walk a different, thorny path with the ambition of achieving her dream.

For such a person to have her dream taken away, it was natural for her to be greatly discouraged and lock herself in her room. Hence, Audrey wanted to at least warmly stay by her side, but.

‘I want to be alone, Audrey.’

Arasila had refused.

Her voice was so cracked when she said this that Audrey couldn’t bring herself to disobey and had to comply.

This was no exception for Demian.

“Did my wife not eat again today?”

Demian, who had been waiting leaning against the corridor for Audrey to come out, asked. Audrey, who had been walking with her eyes on the floor with a depressed face, hastily raised her head.

“Ah, Master. Yes… She barely ate, practically the same as not eating at all.”

“If she continues not eating like this, she’ll collapse.”

“That’s exactly what I’m worried about. No matter how much I beg, Madam says her stomach doesn’t feel good and she can’t eat…”

Audrey added a big sigh at the end of her words. Demian looked towards the bedroom with a dark face.

He couldn’t forget Arasila who had returned almost out of her mind after attending the last meeting at the Magic Tower. Her blue eyes, always full of life and intelligence, had lost their light and become dull.

As he supported her stumbling figure, the arm in Demian’s grasp was so thin it felt like it could break with just a little force.

However, he knew well that what had truly broken at that time was Arasila’s heart.

“Madam has lived most of her life with the driving force of achieving her dream. I thought her spirit had been dampened when she got married, but I was relieved when she regained her momentum…”

Audrey unconsciously lamented, then realized her slip of tongue and bowed her head deeply.

“I’m sorry, Master. I made a careless remark.”

“No, your words aren’t wrong.”

That was also Demian’s first thought when he heard the news of Arasila’s expulsion.

If she hadn’t married me, would she have avoided expulsion?

Now that he knew how fatal marriage could be for a female mage, he worried if his existence might have held Arasila back.

Thus, he wondered if she had lost affection for him, or if she wanted to give up the contract and leave.

‘I wish my wife could regain her dream.’

Then Arasila would return to her original self, surely smiling vibrantly like before.

Demian sank into serious thought.

There were two reasons for Arasila’s expulsion from the Magic Tower: the magic lamp incident and the adultery scandal.

If those could be resolved, she might be able to return to the Magic Tower. If she could regain her dream, she would return to being the original Arasila.

“Master…?”

Audrey looked puzzled at Demian, whose expression had suddenly become serious.

After a moment, Demian slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you know my wife’s juniors who worked at the Magic Tower?”

After Arasila’s expulsion, her research lab was disbanded. As a result, Sally and Rudy became lost souls with nowhere to go.

Other research labs wouldn’t accept them as they had worked under Arasila.

The two also had no intention of joining other research labs.

Moreover, since they were also involved in the production of the lamp that caused the explosion, they were demoted to low-level employees of the Magic Tower as punishment.

They couldn’t conduct even minor magic-related research and were only in charge of menial tasks like cleaning. However, what truly troubled Sally and Rudy was something else.

“Serves them right. Those who worked under a mage whose only merit was a pretty face.”

“Why did they work in the lab of a female mage who would quit once married anyway? They said she wouldn’t leave, but in the end, she caused trouble and left.”

“And about the magic airship business. There’s a rumor that it was actually secretly funded by His Highness the Crown Prince, who she was having an affair with, to make it look successful.”

“Ugh, she pretended to be so capable. Turns out her real talent was in seducing men!”

Sally glared at the mages who were laughing out loud with red eyes. They were deliberately talking loudly nearby to mock and provoke the two.

She wanted to run over and beat them up, but she had already caused friction with other guys once and had been sternly warned.

‘Bastards, I’ll definitely get revenge someday.’

As she was gritting her teeth and inwardly vowing, Rudy, who was next to her, quietly stood up.

He approached the mages with steady steps and swung his arm big and fast.

Thwack!

With a crisp sound, one of the mages fell forward. It was the result of Rudy hitting the back of the mage’s head.

Sally, surprised by this action that was completely out of character for Rudy, looked at him as he opened his mouth.

“What do you know about our senior to talk like that? You guys who aren’t even worth the dirt under her nails, with nothing but loose tongues.”

“Rudy! Are you crazy?!”

The mage screamed while rubbing his sore head. Rudy glared at him with fierce eyes and retorted.

“No, I’m perfectly sane. The crazy ones are you guys who run your mouths recklessly.”

“This little!”

The mages rushed at Rudy. Rudy also rushed at them.

Both sides entangled like one body.

They fought messily, scratching, biting, and pinching each other. Since fighting with magic was prohibited inside the Magic Tower, they engaged in a physical fight to the best of their abilities.

‘Wow, these guys really can’t fight…’

Sally was dumbfounded watching them fight like children, flailing their arms and legs wildly, not even thinking of stopping them.

That pathetic dogfight ended when a high-ranking mage came and separated them.

Only then did Sally come to her senses, ran over pale-faced, and hit Rudy’s shoulder.

“Hey! Why did you do that? They said you’d be disciplined if you fight one more time!”

“That’s you, Sally. Not me.”

“…Really?”

Come to think of it, last time only Sally fought alone. At that time, Rudy had gone to the bathroom and wasn’t there to help.

He only returned and grasped the situation when Sally was being severely warned.

“Then… well done, you jerk. I really praise you.”

Sally put her arm around Rudy’s neck and ruffled his hair.

Honestly, their level of trash talk was worse than those she had fought before, making her blood boil.

But anyway, thanks to Rudy giving them each a good hit on the head, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

“But you seem pretty hurt, are you okay?”

“This much will heal quickly with some medicine.”

Although his hair was disheveled, there was a dark bruise around his eye, and his lip was split, Rudy was calm.

Rather, he only regretted not being able to hit them more. He should have sewn their mouths shut with a needle so they could never mention Arasila again.

The two were ordered to leave work early due to the commotion and left the Magic Tower early.

“If we take turns fighting like this from now on, won’t we receive less punishment?”

“At least we won’t receive it at the same time, so the remaining person can continue knocking out the teeth of those bastards.”

“Let’s pluck out all their hair too and make them bald. Then they’ll be too scared to badmouth our senior.”

As Sally and Rudy were resolutely strengthening their resolve while walking, it happened.

“Miss Sally, Mr. Rudy!”

Audrey, who had been waiting eagerly for their departure outside, raised her hand brightly and greeted them.

The three were acquainted as Arasila’s juniors and maid. They weren’t very close, but they had introduced themselves and could converse comfortably.

“Audrey? What brings you here?”

“I came to meet you two. Do you have a moment? There’s someone who wants to see you.”

Audrey showed a kind smile. Sally and Rudy, though puzzled, quickly followed her in case it might be Arasila.

The three headed towards a quiet open space surrounded by trees near the Magic Tower. There, an elegant carriage was parked.

And inside it―.

“Gasp!”

“L-L-Lord Vandermir…?”

Demian was sitting with his arms crossed.

“I have something to say, so come in and sit down.”

He gestured with his chin towards the two who had frozen after opening the door brightly, expecting Arasila.

On his lips was a smile that contained his own kind of goodwill, but somehow felt even more frightening.