Claire buried her face in her pillow, filled with tears.

Her servants tried to console her anxiously, but no words of comfort could soothe Claire’s heartbroken mind.

“It’s all over. How could this happen? Everyone seems to have gone mad except me. They’re all out of their minds!”

“Young lady, please calm down a little. You’ll collapse at this rate.”

Ryan was furious and had ordered Claire to be confined.

Even the baroness, who had always protected Claire, seemed unable to tolerate this incident and treated her harshly instead of shielding her.

Claire, who had come to her senses belatedly, was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

“Why did you do it……”

Liz, Claire’s personal maid, looked sadly at Claire, who had been placed under house arrest.

Claire covered her face with her hands, crying.

“I don’t know either…… When I came to my senses, I had already done it.”

It was a kind of irresistible force.

Her reason collapsed in a situation that wasn’t going her way, and she couldn’t think rationally. At that moment, she was just filled with the thought that she had to ruin this meeting somehow.

She thought that if she made unreasonable demands and caused trouble, Alton Lianster and Rivne would get angry. It was a very simple idea. To give them a bad impression and make them reconsider this marriage…… But the plan failed miserably.

Alton Lianster was much more gentlemanly than expected. Far from getting angry, he kindly accommodated everything and refuted point by point.

Moreover, even Givnen Lianster’s sister, who seemed to have a nasty personality, remained very calm at the scene.

She clearly looked displeased. But judging by how she held her tongue, she must have maintained an attitude of thoroughly following her father’s decision even if she had complaints.

“……This is the worst.”

She had ruined things and even earned her parents’ displeasure.

It was the result of a stupid act.

“Young lady, now that things have turned out this way, why don’t you let go of Lady Riley?”

“……What?”

“It’s only painful for you, young lady. Why don’t you ignore Lady Riley as if she doesn’t exist? Like you’ve always done.”

“Talk sense! I’ve even earned my parents’ displeasure. They might value Riley even more now. While they may speak ill of Riley in front of me, behind my back……”

“Still, you are this master’s only blood relative, not Lady Riley.”

Yes, the difference in innate bloodline. This was what made Claire so haughty.

The only biological daughter of Baron Ryan. When Riley was adopted into the family register and became family, she didn’t feel any sense of crisis at all, partly because she was the daughter of a rustic mountain keeper, but mainly because she wasn’t a real daughter.

“No, father is someone who would cast aside even his own daughter for his success.”

“Come on, surely not……”

“Don’t you see how he’s fawning over Riley even now? It’s only a matter of time before I become the neglected one in this household!”

Claire genuinely felt a sense of crisis.

Once Riley goes through with the wedding ceremony and completes the marriage registration, it would only get worse, never better than now.

‘I need to hurry and do something too. So I can be of help to the family……’

Now that they had settled in Blestage, Claire thought she should at least marry a nobleman from Blestage.

However, she knew it wasn’t easy to break through the snobbish social circle here and go further to find a husband.

The central nobles of Blestage tend to be particularly cliquish. It’s not easy for outsiders from outside the capital to settle here, and there were even rumors that noble outsiders were treated worse than insects.

So would she be accepted into this social circle? No, would she even have a chance to mingle with them in the first place?

Claire fell into contemplation.

She needed a way to naturally socialize with the nobles. With no connections here, there was no chance of blending into social parties.

‘If there’s a good way…… Ah!’

“Come to think of it, it’s around this time……”

“What is?”

“The general admission exam for Horizon Academy.”

“……Horizon Academy? The exam that the elder young lady is preparing for?”

Claire smiled smugly.

“The exam that Riley is preparing for, you think I can’t do it?”

“You’re going to enter the academy? I heard the tuition is enormous……”

“Yes, that’s why I couldn’t even dream of going to the academy. It felt like the academy was the exclusive domain of the wealthy……”

“But why……”

“The situation has changed now, hasn’t it?”

“……”

“Now that we’ve settled in Blestage, we need to establish ourselves. I hear degree shopping is trendy among the nobles these days? A degree from Horizon Academy is the best in the country. It’s a good place to build connections since the children of Blestage’s political and business figures gather there. And if I obtain a degree from the academy, I won’t be looked down upon anywhere. It will also help when getting married.”

“I don’t know much, but…… Isn’t that a place only for the top elites? Of course, you excel at everything and had good grades at the academy, but……”

“The general admission is different from the mage admission. The hurdle is much lower.”

The reason she had given up on attending the academy wasn’t because her grades were insufficient or because she lacked confidence in the exam.

It was because she didn’t have the confidence to afford the enormous tuition fees.

But come to think of it, there’s no need to worry about tuition fees now, is there?

“I heard the amount received as my sister’s dowry is enormous. So there’s no problem, right?”

She had never missed the top spot while attending the academy so far, and had won many awards at various competitions. It was the result of not neglecting investment in the future.

“I’ll have to talk to father when his anger subsides. I’m going to take the Horizon Academy exam too.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Even though Riley had crossed the big mountain of the family meeting, there were still mountains left for her to climb.

“Memorize these today. I’ll give you a test afterward, so stay behind. It’s one week before the exam.”

“Alright.”

The Horizon entrance exam was one week away.

As the exam date approached, Riley also became sensitive.

Of course, she never expected to pass the exam and be accepted from the start. That would be impossible. She decided to find meaning in just trying. There would be opportunities next year too.

“Your mana control is too unstable. Why do you have so many distracting thoughts? Those thoughts are lowering your concentration.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You should know that you have the worst personality to become an excellent mage. You’re sensitive and have too many unnecessary thoughts. You worry too much. If you can’t control your mind, you can’t be called a mage. Get yourself together.”

Arpeggio increased the difficulty with each passing week.

Now Riley had to memorize six books a day, and her meditation time also increased to four hours. It was frequent for her to go at six in the evening and return home at three in the morning.

Of course, Riley had no complaints about this intense schedule. Rather, her gratitude towards Arpeggio, who passionately taught her by splitting his time, only grew.

She had no choice but to work harder, if only to repay his efforts.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Master Arpeggio, the Tower Master is calling for you.”

“Tell that bastard to come here.”

“He says you should come.”

“Ah, how annoying.”

“Is he crazy? What time does he think it is to call for me?”

A superior who summons at such a late hour past 4 AM should be legally designated as someone whose head can be cracked open.

Arpeggio grumbled as he shut down the mana storage generator, then instantly teleported to the top floor.

“Hello.”

“I can’t say hello, you bastard.”

As soon as he saw that unpleasant face, curses instinctively came out.

Arpeggio ruffled his messy hair with his hand and plopped down opposite Givnen.

“You’re a madman. Otherwise, how could you call someone at this hour?”

“There’s no time except now, right? You’re the busiest person in the tower these days. And being a night owl, when is there time to meet during the day?”

“Who’s the reason I’m suffering like this in the first place… Ah, forget it. So why did you call me?”

“Just, I was curious about the overall assessment of how Riley is doing as seen by the resident ghost of Horizon, and if the education is progressing well.”

Arpeggio let out a laugh of disbelief.

“Resident ghost? Why are you turning a perfectly alive person into a ghost, you bastard. And you’re speaking informally to someone older than your teacher. Did you forget that I’m the same age as the previous Tower Master? Huh?”

Givnen shrugged his shoulders.

“You said to treat you comfortably like an older brother because it’s awkward otherwise.”

“……I meant to think of me comfortably like a brother, not to actually treat me like your real brother, you little brat.”

“Anyway, tell me.”

Arpeggio looked up at the ceiling and let out a deep sigh.

“If you were so curious about your wife in the first place, why didn’t you educate her yourself?”

“As you know, I’m a very busy person. And you’re the expert in this area, brother. I don’t have that kind of delicacy to see through other people’s mana.”

“Freeze to death. The one praised as the genius of the century is quite good at making excuses.”

“Stop with the unnecessary talk and get to the point.”

At Givnen’s urging, Arpeggio sighed and listed the information about Riley.

“Her mana was sealed. Probably Ryston’s doing, I suspect. He had turned his own daughter into a walking bomb. I tried to forcibly open it, and it was lucky. If I had known her mana was sealed, I wouldn’t have attempted forced opening.”

“Is that a confession that you almost blew my lovely wife’s body to pieces?”

“The result was good, so it’s fine, damn it. Who did it on purpose?”

Givnen still glared at Arpeggio with displeased eyes. Arpeggio protested as if feeling wronged.

“You shouldn’t have entrusted her to me in the first place! You complain even when I help, you bastard!”

“Enough, continue.”

“She’s not at the genius level. Despite her mana being sealed for a long time, she’s handling mana well. And that’s unconsciously. Moreover, her memorization and comprehension abilities are outstanding. But this doesn’t seem to be her inherent ability. Probably… as you expected, it seems Ryston passed down some of his knowledge and mana.”

“Hmm, as expected.”

“However, she herself doesn’t seem to be aware of it. The knowledge that seems familiar, as if she’s heard it somewhere before or learned it without actually learning, is clearly a trace of inheritance, but she seems to think her brain function has improved tremendously as she opened her mana.”

“Is she capable of using magic?”

“She has tremendous innate mana, but she doesn’t know how to implement it into magic. She seems to understand spell formulas, but can’t advance it to the application stage. The materialization of magic is completely impossible at this stage. Honestly, this… seems like there’s some other problem.”

At Arpeggio’s words, Givnen muttered as if perplexed.

“If she can’t use magic even after opening her mana, she won’t even be able to take the exam. They’ll need to use magic to measure mana.”

“That’s her part, I can’t do anything about that. Actually, her current learning speed is already at a monstrous level. She’s working hard too.”

“……”

“But why are you trying to enroll her in Horizon Academy? No matter how I think about it, it seems like a crazy thing to do. You should be hiding her tightly. If Yung saw what you’re doing, he would have popped open his coffin lid and jumped out.”

At Arpeggio’s words, Givnen chuckled and replied.

“Both my teacher and you are hiding something from me.”

“……”

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll have to find out myself. What power she has, what secret she holds. Why my teacher ordered me to either thoroughly protect her or thoroughly destroy her.”

Arpeggio made a sour face and sighed.

“……You said you’re marrying her.”

“Yes.”

“Why go as far as marriage? It would be fine to just maintain a guardian-like relationship. If she marries you, attention will instantly focus on her. You know what this means, don’t you?”

At Arpeggio’s concern, Givnen laughed as if pleased. However, he didn’t bother to answer. Feeling a bit frustrated, Arpeggio frowned and questioned him.

“Are you planning to use her?”

“What if I am?”

“Stop it…… It’s not a power that a snot-nosed kid like you can handle. Don’t do unnecessary things and hide her. Hide her deep in the tower where no one knows of her existence, or send her abroad.”

“Are you saying to imprison the poor girl with nowhere to rely on, or send her away to a distant foreign land? That’s cruel.”

At Givnen’s words, Arpeggio snorted.

“You’re the cruelest. Using that smooth face of yours to seduce an innocent girl and manipulate her to your liking. As if you don’t care about her well-being at all.”

“You don’t seem to know, but all of this is for her well-being. It’s a strategy to protect her as efficiently as possible.”

“You really don’t listen to reason.”

Arpeggio stood up as if he no longer wanted to continue the conversation. At that moment, Givnen spoke while looking out the window.

“My teacher gave me two choices. Either protect her well and keep her with me, or if that seems impossible, kill her with my own hands. I chose to keep her alive rather than kill her. The reason is just… it’s interesting. As for marriage… a scandal conveniently broke out, and I thought it would be convenient in many ways to keep her by my side using the institution of marriage. Of course, I know that both my teacher and you fear the power she possesses. But rather than hiding it in fear, wouldn’t it be better to refine it for good use? In this aspect, it’s true that I’m making some investment. And……”

“And?”

“She might also be useful in finding those who made my teacher that way.”

“……You bastard.”

“Of course, even without that, an adopted daughter from a humble family with archmage-level mana. Could there be a more suitable wife? Her weak background means I don’t need to keep her in check, and since she possesses tremendous mana, she’s a woman befitting the Lianster family, which values the ‘pure-blooded mage lineage’. With Riley Eadalin alone, I can catch several rabbits at once, so how could I kill her? Of course, it’s quite troublesome and cumbersome to have to be attentive and put in effort.”

At Givnen’s words, Arpeggio shook his head as if disgusted.

“You trash, you’re treating her like a toy.”

“Treating her like a toy? I like her. More than any other woman. Do you know how much effort I put into treating her well? That’s only possible with affection.”

Arpeggio recalled Riley’s words.

“I have nothing left to lose now”

“Every moment is better than a terrible hell, because a hell pretending to be heaven is better”

“I told her to run away.”

“So what did she say?”

“She said no.”

“I guess so.”

“It’s not that she doesn’t want to because she likes you.”

“Then?”

“She said she’ll stay even though she knows it’s hell. Something about a hell pretending to be heaven being better. It seems she’s also somewhat suspicious that you might not be a normal person.”

At Arpeggio’s words, Givnen burst into laughter, his shoulders shaking.

“Is that so? I told you, my sister is interesting. We’re well-matched.”

“Is it because she doesn’t expect anything from you? Or because she doesn’t crave affection?”

“Both? Rather, I feel like I’m the one desperate to give to her.”

Arpeggio tilted his head.

When he heard that Riley and Givnen were going to get married, he thought it was either strictly business for both sides, or that Riley might have deeper feelings for Givnen.

Just the fact that she packaged words like ‘savior’, kindness, consideration, and thoughtfulness onto this utter trash of a man made Arpeggio think that Givnen held a special meaning to Riley, but looking at the current situation, it’s as if…

‘……Rather, the one who seems to have deeper affection is this guy.’

He wasn’t originally a guy who laughed easily, but just seeing him laugh so genuinely…

Arpeggio turned away with a serious expression.

‘The situation isn’t looking good, really……’

It really wasn’t good.

[This is the timeline separator]

Quite some time had passed since the family meeting, and when Claire sensed that Ryan’s anger had subsided somewhat, she cautiously brought up the subject.

“I want to attend the academy too.”

“What?”

“Riley is studying too! I want to study as well!”

Ryan grabbed the back of his neck and glared at Claire as if dumbfounded.

“Do you even know how much has been spent on your education? The education you’ve received so far is already more than enough, and now what? You want to attend the academy?”

“Father! All the nobles in Blestage are of high caliber! Unlike in Lufla where we used to live, they say they look at the woman’s academic background and abilities too! I heard that women who have at least been around the academy are popular in the marriage market!”

“……”

“Even that stupid Riley is going to the academy, so why can’t I go? The Eadalin family’s position isn’t that solid, and if I want to marry into a good family, I need to hone my abilities to become an excellent bride candidate!”

“Do you think the academy is a place anyone can go to?”

“Then do you want me to marry into just an ordinary family, father? You’re about to become a great person now, so I should raise my abilities to match that too. It’s not like I’m not good at studying.”

Faced with Claire’s insistence, Ryan showed a perplexed expression.

Of course, it would be good. It’s a reasonable argument, but the academy tuition isn’t just a small amount…

“When is the exam?”

“In a week.”

“What? The exam is in just a week and you’re saying you’ll prepare? Do you know how much just the exam fee is! If you want to go, go next year.”

“No, next year will be too late. And I’m confident. I’ll be tested on what I learned at the academy anyway.”

“You might have been the smartest kid in Lufla! But this isn’t Lufla! This is Blestage. It’s a different league.”

“That’s why I’m trying to blend into that league as quickly as possible. Even if I fail, I want to test my abilities! That way I can prepare properly for next time! We have a lot of money now, don’t we!”

“……I’ll think about it.”

Ryan had no choice but to consider it.