After Sally and Rudi left, Arasila deliberately gave them space and went to Demian who was waiting for her from a distance.

“Did you wait long?”

“No. Did the conversation go well?”

“Yes, thanks to you.”

Arasila nodded with a relieved expression. The guilt of not being able to take care of her juniors was finally resolved.

Seeing her lightened face, Demian also wore a satisfied expression.

The two walked side by side towards the carriage. Because there were so many people who came to watch the trial today, their carriage was parked quite far away.

If they called for it and waited a bit, it would come right up to them, but as if by agreement, neither did so. Somehow, they both felt like walking together.

As they walked at a somewhat slow pace, Arasila suddenly spoke up.

“Thank you, Demian. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to end this trial smoothly. I’m really grateful that you were by my side.”

“I’m glad I could be of help.”

Demian’s voice carried exceptionally affectionately on the breeze. Arasila looked up at him.

Demian was smiling.

From the moment the verdict was announced, he had been happy as if he himself had been found not guilty. Arasila, who had been right beside him, could feel it sufficiently even though he didn’t show it overtly.

Feeling somewhat shy, Arasila deliberately narrowed her eyes and spoke playfully.

“Are you proud that your strategy worked out well? You seem happier than me, I think that’s why.”

“No, I’m happy because you’ve regained your smile.”

Receiving a serious answer to her joke, Arasila flinched. Demian stopped for a moment and looked at her.

Somehow not knowing what to say, Arasila threw out another playful remark.

“Are you that happy that I’ve regained my smile?”

“Yes, I am.”

This time, Demian answered with a smile in his voice.

His cold eyes curved like crescent moons. His sharp expression melted softly. His straight lips drew an arc, and the lemon-colored sunlight brightly illuminated his handsome face.

The moment she faced that smile, Arasila’s heart fluttered. She could feel her blood rushing quickly inside her body.

Heat surged from the soles of her feet and her heart began to beat wildly.

‘…Why am I suddenly like this?’

Arasila unconsciously clutched her chest. Her heart was beating twice as fast as usual and wouldn’t calm down at all.

Sometimes, when she looked at Demian, these symptoms would appear. But it was the first time it was this severe.

Her heart beating so fast that she didn’t know what to do, and heat spreading throughout her body.

“My lady? You don’t look well. What’s wrong?”

Demian asked worriedly, noticing Arasila’s expression suddenly harden.

His large hand touched her forehead. At that slight contact, Arasila felt more heat rush to her face.

“You seem to have a slight fever. Haven’t you been overworking yourself lately and your physical condition isn’t good?”

“Ah, no. It’s just that my legs hurt and I want to get to the carriage quickly.”

Demian quickened his pace, sincerely believing the excuse she hastily made up. Even so, he adjusted his stride to make sure he never went ahead of Arasila.

The carriage gradually drew closer. However, the pounding in Arasila’s chest still hadn’t disappeared.

She stole a glance at Demian’s sharp profile. Her hand resting near her collarbone tensed.

Suddenly, she became very curious about the identity of this trembling.

Why her heart beat abnormally fast the more she looked at Demian.

She wanted to know.

It was a natural course of events that an emergency executive meeting of the magic tower was convened after the trial ended.

The atmosphere inside the conference room was solemn. As the trial results and contents had spread through extra editions, other magicians who didn’t attend were also aware of the news.

Both Travis, who was summoned as a criminal, and Fernando. Amidst everyone’s silence, Philip opened his mouth.

“I don’t know since when the magic tower has been swayed by cunning tongue-wagging.”

His low voice carried a stronger resonance than any other sound.

The magicians held their breath. It had been a very long time since Philip, who usually had a gentle and relaxed temperament, emitted such a sharp aura.

“I am ashamed of you all.”

Philip looked around at the magicians one by one and spoke with clear pronunciation.

“I’m ashamed because you’re pathetic, foolish, and petty. Those who actively participated in this incident, those who stood by, and me who couldn’t stop you. I can’t bear the shame.”

No one could refute his words. Because it was true that they had done shameful things. Everyone just hung their heads.

Unlike Arasila who sat with her back straight even in the meeting where her expulsion was decided.

In the suffocating silence, Philip delivered his judgment as the tower master.

“By the authority of the tower master, I order. All magicians who attended today’s trial will be expelled from the magic tower, and Travis and Fernando will be permanently dismissed.”

It was a punishment that returned the crimes committed with petty minds in full.

The magicians who were decided to be expelled turned pale. However, no one became as ashen as Fernando.

Fernando was shocked by the fact that his name would be permanently erased from the history of the magic tower. This was no different from erasing his entire life as a magician that he had built up for decades.

“This is absurd! I’ve been wronged!”

He slammed the table and stood up abruptly. Philip looked at Fernando with calm eyes.

“What exactly is unfair?”

“Why did I do this? Isn’t it because it seemed like the next tower master candidate was being unfairly decided due to the tower master’s favoritism!”

Although Travis had already exposed Fernando’s ill feelings towards Philip in the courtroom, he shamelessly ignored that fact and blamed Philip.

“I only made some mistakes while trying to help my disciple from being unfairly pushed aside!”

Fernando, who became choked up as he spoke, breathed heavily.

In fact, he sincerely thought that Philip had favored Arasila. So he believed that only Arasila was unfairly building good achievements and walking on a smooth path.

His inferiority complex and sense of inadequacy from not becoming the tower master, pushed aside by Philip, was projected through his disciple.

“But why am I permanently dismissed…!”

“Mistake? No one died from the magic lamp explosion, but several people were injured. Do you think injuring someone is a mistake?”

Philip coldly cut off Fernando’s words. Fernando flinched when he met the eyes flashing within the drooping eyelids.

With Fernando at a loss for words, Philip continued what he had to say.

“That’s not what a mistake is, Fernando. It can only be a mistake if there’s no intention at all. You and Travis are not like that. It’s a crime with such low and vile intentions.”

“…Still, you can’t do this to me. How long have I devoted myself to the magic tower? If it weren’t for you, Tower Master, this wouldn’t have happened to me!”

Fernando felt like a child throwing a tantrum as he continued to blame Philip. But truly, his life would have been beautiful if only Philip hadn’t existed.

He couldn’t shake off the victim mentality that he had come to this situation because of Philip’s presence.

To this, Philip let out a light sigh.

“Fernando, how long are you going to keep blaming others? You say I favored Arasila? Why don’t you tell me specifically how I favored her?”

“Whenever something happened to Arasila, didn’t you always take her side? You even rushed to protect her whenever we touched Arasila even a little.”

Fernando spoke in a sarcastic tone. But Philip affirmed his words without even blinking an eye.

“Yes, that’s true. It’s true that I always took Arasila’s side.”

“See…!”

“But have you ever thought about why I did that? Arasila isn’t my only disciple belonging to the magic tower. Have you ever thought about why I particularly protected only Arasila?”

While Arasila is indeed Philip’s last disciple, his previous disciples were also established in their own places in the magic tower, doing their share.

Philip punished them the same as others when they did wrong, and gave them credit the same when they did well.

Fernando, who spoke without deeply thinking about why Arasila was the only exception here, hesitated for a moment before answering.

“That’s… isn’t it because Arasila is likely to be the next tower master? Because you want to solidify your influence next time too.”

“I don’t care whether my disciple becomes the tower master or not. One’s future is decided by oneself. However, I couldn’t stand by and watch you all disregard and discriminate against her for being a young female magician, so I at least gave her some support.”

If Philip hadn’t taken care of Arasila, she wouldn’t have been treated like others. He had merely leaned a bit more towards Arasila just to balance things out.

Even then, isn’t it because he couldn’t help Arasila when it really mattered that things have come this far?

“Were you so resentful that I overruled you all who opposed a female magician taking the lead, saying it would damage the tower’s face even though she had defeated monsters? Were you so upset that I allowed Arasila to delay her research results announcement by just three days when you all delay it for a year?”

Philip’s words pierced their shameful parts like a blade. Their embarrassing past of not being able to acknowledge a much younger junior and acting pettily painfully pricked their conscience.

“Before thinking that I favored Arasila, reflect on whether you didn’t discriminate against her yourselves. How is it that at your age, you still don’t know how to reflect on yourselves?”

No one could say anything to the reproach mixed with a sigh. Philip turned his head towards Fernando, who still had an indignant look on his face.

“And Fernando, before trying to make your disciple the tower master, you should have made him a person first. No, before teaching someone, you should have become a person yourself.”

The previous tower master ultimately rejected Fernando, wary of his greed and selfishness. If he had properly possessed human decency, the result might have been different.

This is probably a truth Fernando would never acknowledge even if told.

“So don’t feel wronged about anything.”

“…”

“It’s all a result that you brought upon yourself and originated from your own mistakes, so accept it humbly.”

The words he had spat out to Arasila as if taunting her before came back like a dagger. Fernando suddenly swallowed his breath. As if a stone was stuck in his throat, he couldn’t say anything more.

A heavy silence fell over the conference room. Philip looked over the magicians, each wearing a cowed expression in the silence, and opened his mouth.

“Whether you leave the magic tower or not, I’d like you to clearly know this one thing. That it is yourselves who have made you so miserable and pathetic today.”

This was the last advice Philip could give them as the tower master.

“Can’t because she’s a woman, can’t because she’s married, can’t because she’s young… Such prejudices prevented you from growing and made you stagnate, and eventually rot and crumble. Remember this well.”

With those words, the meeting ended.

The next day, six executive magicians including Fernando left the magic tower. The same was true for Travis.

As Frederick gave up on covering up the magic lamp explosion incident for Arasila’s sake, he was to be investigated on several charges including harming a member of the imperial family.

Fortunately, he wasn’t alone, and his master Fernando who had driven him to such lengths was with him.

Thanks to that, the path he was taking wouldn’t be lonely.