“What is this……”

The door slammed shut behind the bewildered Billy. Startled, he looked back, and Sherman’s voice was heard from outside.

“Sorry, Billy! Sally and Rudy begged earnestly, and our senior also told us to help them, so I had no choice!”

Sherman’s apologetic shout faded away beyond the closed door.

Billy slowly turned his head with a dumbfounded expression to look at the only occupied table. Besides Sally and Rudy, there was one more person sitting there.

Dazzling silver hair, a face as exquisite as an ice sculpture, the uniform of the Red Hawk Knights.

Demian Vandermir. Arasila’s husband.

Billy’s face turned deathly pale as he recognized the other person. It was a natural reaction, given that he had something to hide.

“W-what. Why did you bring me here……”

“Hey, Billy. Tell us honestly. On the day of the class reunion, you stole the key to our lab from my bag, didn’t you?”

Sally stood up abruptly and glared at Billy as she asked. Billy flinched momentarily but shook his head desperately.

“N-no! What nonsense are you talking about! I didn’t steal anything!”

“Don’t lie! You stole the key and gave it to Senior Travis, and then you messed with the lamp that Senior Arasila made for Her Highness the Princess.”

Rudy stepped forward and grabbed Billy by the collar.

He was thoroughly fed up with the despicable actions of Billy and Travis’s group.

“You bastard, doing such dirty things behind our backs. Aren’t you ashamed? And you call yourself a magician?”

“Rudy! Watch your mouth! Do you have any proof that I stole the key? I’m asking if you have proof!”

Billy shouted, struggling. Sally snorted and said,

“Yes, we do. What are you going to do about it?”

“W-what……”

“Someone saw you messing with my bag. You thief!”

This was actually a lie, but Sally put on a vivid performance to draw out Billy’s confession.

Rudy’s grip on Billy’s collar tightened. Billy’s face, now completely drained of blood, was as pale as could be.

He looked like he might faint at any moment as he racked his brain. If there was a witness, should he just admit it now?

‘……No, no way.’

To receive protection from Travis and Fernando behind him, it would be better to deny it to the end.

Having quickly finished his calculations, Billy kept his mouth firmly shut. His petty lips were stubbornly sealed.

“Oh? Billy, be honest while I’m still asking nicely. Confess and apologize. Then I might, just miiight, go easy on you.”

“I don’t know anything about it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous! You’re the one who stole it!”

“I don’t know anything about it!”

Billy repeated the same words, feigning ignorance. He didn’t budge even when an angry Rudy shook him by the collar or when Sally pulled at his hair.

As their lies failed to work, Sally and Rudy became increasingly agitated and rougher.

“Tell the truth, you bastard!”

“I’m telling you, I don’t know anything!”

“Oh, for real!”

Just as Sally, unable to contain her frustration and annoyance, raised her fist to give Billy a knock on the head, it happened.

“Stop.”

Demian, who had been quietly observing the situation until now, stood up. He approached with heavy footsteps.

Even though he was just walking, the pressure he exuded made not only Billy but also Sally and Rudy flinch.

Finally reaching Billy, Demian stood still and looked down at him. Billy’s lips trembled.

No emotion could be read from Demian’s expressionless face. Not knowing what he was thinking made it even more frightening.

“Since you won’t open your mouth, we have no choice.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Kill him.”

“Wh… What?!”

Rudy was shocked. Billy, too, screamed silently. Only Sally remained calm.

“If we just kill him, we’ll be the only ones at a disadvantage. Do you have a plan in mind?”

“We’ll make it look like he wrote a suicide note confessing all his crimes and then took his own life.”

As Sally nodded as if it was a good plan, Billy’s face turned ashen. Judging by his complexion alone, he already looked like a dead man.

“No, wait a minute. Calm down, Sally. Lord Vandermir, are you serious right now?”

At least Rudy seemed to keep his senses and tried to stop the two. Billy looked at Rudy with hope.

The look in his eyes, gazing at his only lifeline, was desperate beyond measure.

“Do I look free enough to be joking right now? If you messed with my wife, you should have been prepared for this level of retaliation.”

“You’re serious……”

Rudy, after a brief hesitation, nodded as if he had made up his mind and stepped back. He had given up on intervening.

Billy looked at Rudy with a face full of betrayal, shamelessly.

How could you give up so easily!

That was the kind of accusatory gaze he gave, but Rudy just shrugged with his hands up.

With the interfering party gone, Demian placed his hand on the sword at his waist. There was not a hint of falsehood in the killing intent he emitted.

Realizing that he could really die, Billy screamed and attempted to flee.

“Aaaah! Help! I don’t want to die!”

“Catch him.”

“Yes.”

Sally cast a binding spell to tie up Billy. He fell flat on his face right in front of the door and was dragged back to his original spot.

He desperately tried to break the binding spell, but unfortunately, Sally’s magic skills were a notch above his.

Having failed to break free from the binding, Billy thrashed about violently like a fish caught by a fisherman.

“Do you think you’ll be safe after killing me?! Not only my family but also the Magic Tower will definitely not sit still!”

“So?”

“…Wh-what?”

“If your family and the Magic Tower don’t sit still, what are they going to do to me?”

Demian pulled up the corner of his mouth in a mocking smile and stepped on Billy’s shoulder. Even though he didn’t put much strength into it, Billy didn’t dare move an inch, holding his breath.

“Why, why go this far……”

“I’ll do anything for my wife. That’s a husband’s duty.”

“……”

“You’ll be dealt with as if you left a confession note out of guilt and killed yourself. I’ll use every connection I have to make sure neither the Magic Tower nor your family can ever investigate that death.”

There was nothing that a Sword Master from the Vandermir ducal family couldn’t do, and he seemed like a person who would definitely keep his word.

Looking down coldly at Billy, whose pants were now wet, Demian spoke to Sally.

“Can you bind his limbs spread out? That way we can finish this quickly.”

“Yes, my lord. But where are you going to stab him to make it look like suicide?”

“Since he took his own life out of deep guilt… it doesn’t matter if it’s a bit painful. Let’s say he cut open his stomach.”

“Understood! I’ll hold him down tightly so he can’t cover his stomach!”

Sally’s magic binding Billy’s body grew even stronger, constricting his limbs. Billy was now tied up straight, unable to move an inch.

Shling. Demian drew his sword from his waist. The blade, surrounded by the Sword Master’s aura, glinted blue in the tavern’s light.

Billy screamed until the veins in his neck stood out. But no one came to help, and the two people on either side of him just looked at him coldly.

I’m going to die, I’m really going to die at this rate!

The moment Demian raised his sword high, Billy squeezed his eyes shut and shouted.

“Aaargh! It’s true!”

“What is.”

“I! I stole the key!”

Finally revealing the truth, he cried like a child and begged for forgiveness.

“I’m sorry! Please spare my life! Waaah!”

“…Now you’re talking sense.”

Demian withdrew his sword without hesitation.

He never had any real intention of harming Billy from the start. It was all a ploy to scare him into confessing.

Who knows what might have happened if he had held out until the end, though.

“It was Senior Travis who ordered you, right?”

“Waaah, yes, Senior, hic! Senior told me to steal the key, waaah.”

“Sigh! I knew it!”

Sally and Rudy clicked their tongues as they watched Billy wailing. Demian brought a chair, sat down by Billy’s head, and said,

“Keep our meeting today a secret. Don’t breathe a word to that Travis fellow. If you let it slip, I’ll retaliate on a grand scale.”

“Y-yes, I understand. I won’t say anything.”

“And from now on, do as we tell you.”

Billy nodded frantically. Demian smiled with satisfaction.

“Well then, first bring us the purchase records for your lab for the past six months.”

Arasila first showed her talent for magic when she was four years old.

A magician, invited by the Duke and Duchess as a one-day instructor to give their children a unique experience, taught her a simple spell.

While Iris only managed to mimic the spell with her mouth and failed, Arasila succeeded on her first try.

That was the beginning.

‘Wow, that’s amazing. Daddy doesn’t even know the basics of magic, but our Ari is a magic genius!’

‘I heard that being a magician is a chosen profession only for those born with magical power. Our daughter is one of the chosen ones, isn’t she?’

‘You’re awesome, Arasila! Show us again, again!’

Honestly, when she heard such things from people around her, she couldn’t help but feel her shoulders rise and her chest swell with pride.

A talent that only Arasila possessed in the family.

From a young age, she felt proud of herself for being able to use magic. And it was a natural desire to want to get better at what she was already good at.

The young girl resolved to become a very strong, excellent, and wonderful magician.

But as she grew older, people didn’t want her to become a great magician. They wanted her to become a modest and virtuous noble lady.

They wanted her to be gentle like her sister Iris, steadily taking bride lessons from a young age. They wanted her to be a typical noble lady who received everyone’s admiration and attention, befitting her cute and pretty appearance.

‘Arasila, you’re stupid. Our mom says that no matter how good you are at magic, it’s of no use. What’s important for a woman is the ability to manage the household and take care of the family.’

‘That’s not true. Magic is useful too. If a monster appears, I can protect the family with magic.’

‘Well, that’s true… But monsters hardly ever appear. And protecting the family is not the mother’s job, but the father’s. We’ll become mothers when we grow up and get married.’

‘Tch, then I’ll become a father!’

‘Are you really stupid? Girls can’t become fathers!’

On the day she came back after arguing with her friend, Arasila flopped face-down on her bed, fuming.

Until then, before Adrian was born, Duke Hugo, worried about his youngest daughter who wouldn’t even eat, went to check on her.

‘Our Ari, did something happen? Why are you lying face-down on the bed without eating?’

‘…I met Penelope today, and she said learning magic is stupid. She said her mom told her that magic won’t be necessary when we get married later.’

The Duke laughed as he looked at his daughter, who had a lump in her throat and tears of frustration in her eyes.

‘Oh my, so that’s why you were crying? It’s okay, stop now. Penelope is the one who’s mistaken.’

‘Really?’

‘Of course. Because our Ari isn’t learning magic to make a good marriage, right?’

The Duke took out a handkerchief and gently wiped his daughter’s cheeks as he continued.

‘You’re learning it because it’s fun, exciting, enjoyable. Because becoming an awesome magician is Arasila’s dream.’

‘That’s right. I’m going to become the world’s strongest magician, save people, and become a great person.’

‘Haha, our daughter has extraordinary ambitions.’

The Duke laughed heartily and gently patted Arasila’s small, round head.

‘Arasila, dreams are important for people. It’s dreams that make people hopeful, make them despair. Make them happy, sad, joyful, angry – it’s all because of dreams.’

‘Hmm, I think you’re right, Dad.’

‘That’s why Dad and Mom want you to keep having dreams. Because then our Ari’s life will be much richer.’

After giving his daughter important advice in a warm voice, the Duke suddenly wiped away a tear.

‘And to be honest, Dad doesn’t want to send you or Iris off to get married. Just imagining my little bunnies growing up and leaving with some strange man makes me want to cry…’

Faced with her father suddenly sniffling, Arasila wiped her eyes firmly with the back of her hand and nodded.

Yes, magic was her dream.

Because it was what she was best at in the world, and what she loved so much.

Arasila wanted to become not a virtuous noblewoman when she grew up, but a great magician respected by people.

That’s why she studied hard again and entered the academy.

‘So you’re Arasila Hugo. I’ve heard a lot about you from Joseph.’

And there she met Philip.