On a refreshing morning that she had not experienced in a long time, Arasila neatly combed her hair and put on her uniform meticulously.

The bright morning sunlight illuminated her face, which was smiling neatly.

As she went downstairs to go to work, the servants, including the butler and housekeeper, were gathered on the first floor to see her off.

It was the day when the mistress, who had been in seclusion due to false accusations, proved her innocence and returned to work, so everyone looked overjoyed and didn’t know what to do with themselves.

“Have a good day, madam.”

“Yes.”

Arasila responded softly and went outside. She saw two carriages waiting and Demian standing in front of them.

He smiled faintly and held out his hand. Arasila naturally placed her hand on his large one.

“Have a good day, madam.”

“You too, Demian.”

“Yes, I’ll see you after work.”

The carriage carrying Arasila departed first, followed by Demian.

The two carriages ran side by side until they reached the bustling area, then split up near the square.

Arasila took in the view of the magic tower visible through the window from afar.

Finally returning to my place. How long I have waited for this day.

She alighted from the carriage and walked confidently past the main gate of the magic tower. The guard at the entrance bowed his head.

Everyone in the magic tower already knew about Arasila’s return.

As she entered, rose petals were sprinkled on the floor, and a banner congratulating her hung from the ceiling.

“Congratulations on the return of Lady Arasila!”

Smiling, Arasila followed the flower petals leading to her research lab. Everyone she passed by greeted her.

“Arasila, congratulations on your return!”

“Senior, welcome back!”

“Lady Arasila, I’m so glad you’re back!”

Arasila responded with a gentle smile and a nod of her head.

Inside her research lab, which had been temporarily closed and inaccessible for a while, quite a commotion could be heard.

Knock knock.

When she deliberately knocked, the inside suddenly became quiet. It seems they were planning something. Arasila slowly opened the door to the lab.

Bang!

Small fireworks exploded, scattering paper confetti. Sally and Rudy each held out a bouquet and a cake to her.

“Kyaa, welcome!”

“Congratulations on your first day back at work, senior.”

“Quickly, blow out the candles and make a wish!”

Arasila held the bouquet to her chest, blew out the candles with a ‘whoo’, closed her eyes for a moment, and then opened them.

“Thank you, everyone. Did you prepare the flower petals and banner outside too?”

“Oh, no. Other people prepared those for you, senior.”

Sally waved her hands. At those words, Arasila looked slightly surprised.

To think there were people other than her two juniors who sincerely congratulated her on her return.

Until she was unjustly expelled by Fernando, Arasila had been overwhelmed with frustration and despair.

That despite her dedication to the magic tower and demonstrating her competence as a mage, she was ultimately not recognized.

It was devastating, as if her entire life as a mage had been denied, but that wasn’t the case.

Someone had recognized her. They had looked beyond prejudice and evaluated her based on the path she had carved for herself.

‘…It really wasn’t in vain after all.’

At this moment, she felt the reward for steadfastly walking her own path regardless of what others said.

“I’m really grateful to everyone.”

“Oh, senior, you’ve shown so much as a mage. Of course we would.”

“It’s because you’ve accomplished so much that others are reacting this way.”

“I see.”

Arasila smiled faintly as she carefully placed the cake and bouquet on the desk.

Now that she had received plenty of congratulations from her juniors, there was somewhere else she needed to go.

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Where are you going?”

Sally asked with wide eyes at the mention of leaving right after arriving. Arasila pointed her index finger upwards.

“To see the Archmage. He told me to come when I arrived.”

It was time to meet her master.

When Arasila was expelled from the magic tower, Philip couldn’t help her. But Arasila didn’t particularly feel regretful about that fact.

She had seen Fernando threatening her master, and understood that it would have been difficult for Philip to intervene in that situation.

Moreover, after the trial ended, Philip swiftly expelled Fernando’s group and reinstated Arasila, so there was no reason to hold a grudge.

“Archmage, may I come in?”

Standing at the door, she asked, and permission was immediately granted. Arasila entered the familiar office of the Archmage.

Philip, floating in mid-air, greeted her with his characteristic laugh.

“Welcome, Arasila.”

“It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve been here.”

“Ho ho ho, is that so?”

Philip slowly descended to properly face his disciple.

As he sat on the cushion, his body seemed smaller than before, and his hair appeared even whiter, causing Arasila to raise an eyebrow.

“Were you that distressed while I was gone?”

“Why do you ask such a thing?”

“You seem to have aged suddenly.”

“At this age, there’s nothing left but to grow old.”

Philip magically poured tea into cups and gestured for her to sit. Arasila obediently sat across from him.

“I’m proud of you, Arasila. To have proven your innocence on your own and reclaimed your position. You’ve truly grown up.”

“I was always taller than you, master.”

“Ho ho ho, you rascal.”

Philip laughed heartily, but his expression gradually hardened. He apologized in a low voice.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For not being able to help you at the last meeting.”

“It’s alright. Because you didn’t blindly defend me, they ended up falling even harder.”

At that time, Arasila had nothing but circumstantial evidence. If Philip had unconditionally supported her in that situation, even if she had brought evidence later, its credibility might have been questioned.

That it wasn’t fabricated for Arasila’s sake.

But because Philip didn’t arbitrarily overturn the voting results and took a step back, no one disputed the outcome of Arasila’s lawsuit.

“Still, I feel so sorry for becoming an incompetent master to you. As an apology, I’ll grant you anything you wish, so tell me if there’s something you want.”

“Hmm.”

Arasila fell into thought for a moment. Having already received many teachings from her master, there wasn’t much else she wanted to obtain.

Should I just ask for a pretty teacup? As she was thinking this, Monica’s jewelry box suddenly came to mind.

She still hadn’t been able to unravel the complex magical formula on the jewelry box.

Philip, with his magical skills several levels higher than hers, had a high possibility of solving what she couldn’t in an instant.

“Then there’s something I’d like to ask. I have a jewelry box with a locking spell on it, could you unlock it for me?”

“Sure, bring it here.”

Philip readily agreed. When asked if that was really enough, Arasila nodded.

After chatting for a while longer, she stood up from her seat.

“I’ll be going now.”

“Alright, take care today as well.”

Philip stared at his disciple standing straight and bowing, then said:

“Congratulations on your return, Arasila.”

“Thank you, master.”

Arasila grinned and left with light steps. Seeing his disciple as spirited and confident as ever, a smile also appeared on Philip’s face.

After work, Arasila headed to the Hayden manor. It was to tell Paula about what had happened after Lady Harriet’s party.

How would Paula react to the fact that the friendship that had continued since their academy days had finally shattered?

Though worried that Paula might be caught in the middle between her and Frederick, Arasila calmly revealed the fact of her severed ties with Frederick.

Paula, who had been listening calmly, was aghast with her hands covering her mouth by the time Arasila finished speaking.

“My goodness… Frederick, he’s really gone mad.”

Not only did he deliberately cause a scandal, but he even tried to eliminate Demian. The shock was so great that just hearing about it made her head spin.

“No, if he liked you that much, he should have confessed earlier. What on earth is this?”

“I didn’t know he was that kind of person.”

“Me neither, I thought he had a kind and gentle personality for a royal… The back of my head feels numb.”

Paula rubbed the back of her head unnecessarily, then reached out to hold Arasila’s hand.

“But you did well. I mean, cutting ties with Frederick decisively.”

“When I saw his true nature, my affection for him just dropped, so it wasn’t that difficult. But Paula, are you okay?”

With two out of three fighting and severing ties, only Paula, who had gotten along well with both sides, was in an awkward situation.

What Frederick did to Arasila was undoubtedly horrible and vile, but objectively speaking, it had nothing to do with Paula.

So even if Paula continued her relationship with Frederick as it was, Arasila couldn’t say anything to her.

“What’s there for me not to be okay about?”

But Paula unexpectedly shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly and replied.

“To be honest, I’ve always wondered if Frederick even considered me a friend.”

Although the three of them hung out together as students, Paula always felt that Frederick’s attention was entirely focused on Arasila.

If it weren’t for Arasila, she might not have even exchanged words with him, let alone become friends. After all, they met because of Arasila in the first place.

Paula knew well that the reason Frederick had maintained a friendship with her until now was because of the connection to Arasila.

“He was friendly with me because I was friends with you. He hardly even spoke to me when you weren’t around.”

“Really? Hearing that makes it even worse.”

“I think so too. In a way, he used me to be close to you.”

There was an aspect where the friendship between the three of them lasted longer than if it had been just between two people.

Frederick must have known that too. Seeing how he reluctantly held onto the name of friendship even though he had no interest in Paula.

“So, well, I don’t have much attachment to my friendship with Frederick either. I don’t want to continue being friends with someone who did such a terrible and cowardly thing.”

The reason Paula could so easily give up her connection with the crown prince was simple. She had never tried to gain any benefit through Frederick.

Regardless of Frederick’s feelings, Paula, like Arasila, had treated him sincerely as a true friend.

That’s why she could decide to sever ties immediately without acting calculatingly.

“So don’t worry about me, Arasila. You must have a lot of other things to be concerned about.”

Paula finished speaking with a bright smile.

Touched by her friend’s broad-mindedness, Arasila also smiled back, when Paula suddenly lowered her voice and asked worriedly.