Ariel’s eyes widened, but Aster continued playfully. 

“Of course, if I gave you a mana mine, I’d probably be fired from my position as Tower Master. But if that’s what you want, I’m happy to do it. And if there’s nothing else I can do, I’ll work as your mage instead.” 

Ariel, briefly startled into thinking he might be serious, realised it was a joke and let out a weak, hollow laugh. 

“A mana mine and a Grand Mage? If you give them both, I wouldn’t say no.” 

But in an instant, the playful glint disappeared from Aster’s expression. 

‘Did I take the joke too far?’

Ariel’s face showed a hint of discomfort as Aster spoke slowly again. 

“…Then, my lady.” 

“Yes?” 

“Would you really take both?” 

“What do you mean…?” 

“They say that when three coincidences meet, it’s destiny. My Lady, don’t you think this could really be our destiny?” 

Ariel, who had been concentrating intently on what he might say, let out a breathy laugh. The unexpected remark caught her off guard and broke the tension in an instant. 

Aster, however, seemed slightly offended by her reaction and added, 

“My, it seems I’m not to your liking. Hmm… I’d say I’m a pretty good candidate for a husband. But of course someone as beautiful as you would have high standards, my lady.” 

His words, reminiscent of a flirtatious noble of high society, caused Ariel to give him a slight side-eye. 

“Enough with the jokes. What would you do if I actually took you seriously, knowing that you’re not even sincere?” 

At her direct remark, Aster backed away awkwardly, a sheepish look on his face. 

“Ah… looks like you got me.” 

Ariel shook her head in annoyance at Aster’s feigned embarrassment. 

‘How could he think he wouldn’t get caught?’ 

Despite his sweet, heartfelt words, his eyes betrayed no real emotion. 

Sure, there was a certain kindness in his gaze, but nothing more. 

It was likely that he had seen her troubled expression and made the joke on purpose. It was probably his way of offering comfort. 

As if to confirm her thoughts, Aster curled her lips into a gentle smile and said, 

“Still, wasn’t it a bit entertaining?” 

“Yes, it was,” Ariel replied. “Enough to make me forget some of my troubles for a moment.” 

Her faint smile was met by Aster’s expression, now devoid of the playfulness of earlier. He spoke, his tone more serious this time. 

“Now that your mood seems to have lifted a little… may I tell you what I really want to say?” 

Ariel nodded slowly. 

Aster let out a heavy sigh before finally speaking. 

“I can’t give you a mana mine, but what I said earlier about being willing to offer you more – that was sincere.” 

“What…?” 

“I can help you make a new start in Magicos. I can help you set up a foundation to rebuild the Blante family. That is, if you’re willing to consider somewhere other than this realm.” 

This time he wasn’t joking. But what he had just suggested was as monumental as offering her a mana mine. 

There was an unbreakable rule that the Tower Master must not interfere in the politics of the nations. 

Of course, if he presented it as merely facilitating connections in the Kingdom of Magicos, rather than direct involvement, it could technically be overlooked. 

Still, it was a risky undertaking, one that could tarnish his honour as Tower Master.

Still, he seemed quite serious. 

Ariel looked at Aster for a moment in silence before she spoke. 

“I’ve told myself it’s because of the Princess, tried to rationalise it that way. But at this point I have to admit – I don’t understand. Master Aster, what is the real reason why you’re helping me so much?” 

That was it. 

Until now, his actions had surprised her, but she had dismissed them as his way of repaying her for helping Princess Faelin. She assumed it was because of his extraordinary affection for his twin sister. 

But now he was proposing to accept the Blante family into the nobility of his homeland? 

This… was far too much. 

It didn’t seem like a fair reward for helping the princess once. 

Did he have another reason that she wasn’t aware of? 

As the suspicion in Ariel’s eyes deepened, Aster’s lips moved slowly, his voice calm yet deliberate. 

“Because you remind me of someone.” 

“Remind you of someone? What do you mean by that?” 

She tilted her head curiously. 

“You remind me a lot of Faelin,” Aster explained quietly. “Which is why… I couldn’t bring myself to turn away from you. No, to be honest, I just can’t ignore you.” 

‘Because I owe Faelin so much.’ 

His voice dropped to an almost inaudible tone, laced with a heaviness that Ariel couldn’t ignore. 

‘He says I resemble Princess Faelin…?’

So that was the real reason he was helping her? 

Her mind raced with countless possibilities, but none of them matched the answer he had just given. 

As far as she knew, there was nothing about her that resembled Princess Faelin. 

Even now, looking at him, she was reminded of how different she and Faelin must be. 

Faelin was his twin sister, after all. 

Brilliant blonde and fiery red – weren’t their hair colours too contrasting? 

Where could the resemblance be? 

Ariel was more puzzled than ever. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to ask what he meant. 

Aster’s appearance had sunk into an oppressive silence. 

It was a darkness she had never seen from him before, as if he were consumed by deep regret for something irreversible.

It reminded her of how she had stood in the courtyard of the Academy earlier, utterly lost. 

Seeing this reflection of herself, she closed her lips, which had parted briefly to speak. 

After a brief silence, Aster raised his gaze. 

“The royal family maintained strict secrecy to prevent rumours from spreading… but Faelin was betrayed by the man she loved.” 

Betrayed by the man she loved. 

Ariel’s eyes wavered intensely at these words. 

“Faelin loved this man deeply,” Aster continued softly. “So much so that she was willing to defy our parents and even consider marriage.” 

He spoke in a calm, sombre tone. 

“She gave him everything. In the end, she was willing to give up her royal status for him. But her desperate love ended in despair. It left her with wounds that would never heal.” 

A love that ended in despair. 

As Ariel listened, she began to understand why Aster had said she reminded him of Faelin.

He wasn’t talking about the physical resemblance. It was their circumstances that mirrored each other. 

Both she and the princess had been betrayed by the men they loved and left with nothing but pain. 

Aster couldn’t turn away from Ariel, her plight reminded him too much of his sister’s heartbreak, of being abandoned by the one she loved so much. 

As for the ‘wrongs’ he mentioned… she didn’t quite understand yet. But perhaps it had something to do with his failure to support his sister during that time. 

He had long since left the kingdom of Magicos to live his life as Master of the Tower. 

As Ariel looked at Aster’s guilty expression, she tried to guess the reason for it. 

But the thought quickly faded as another took its place. The more she looked at Aster, the more she thought of Princess Faelin, who looked so much like him. 

It wasn’t that she was worried about the princess. Ariel didn’t have the luxury of worrying about anyone else right now. 

Her mind was focused on one thing and one thing only. 

‘How did Princess Faelin get over the pain of betrayal?’ 

That was it. If Princess Faelin were standing in front of her now, Ariel would want to ask: “Does that unbearable pain ever fade? Does time make it easier to forget?” 

For at that moment, Ariel felt that she would never be able to forget the wounds inflicted by Kylance. 

Fiddling absently with her thumb, Ariel slowly parted her lips. 

“Tower Master, may I ask you about the princess?”

Aster wiped the dark expression from his face and looked at Ariel. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. 

“Yes. If it’s something I can answer, I will.” 

“Is the Princess well now? Has she overcome her pain… and returned to her normal life, living happily? I’m curious to know.” 

“…” 

Ariel lowered her eyes and continued quietly. 

“I’m trying to behave well and do my best to hang on, but honestly… I’m scared. Afraid that I might never really forget him… that I might never get my normal life back. At the moment I just don’t have the confidence that I can. 

Perhaps it was because she had heard of Princess Faelin, who had experienced something so similar to her own pain.

The lock on her heart began to loosen, and the feelings she had suppressed spilled out.

“You probably already know… but I heard the news earlier at the Academy. His Majesty has ordered that our family’s name be removed from the list of founders of the Empire. And the person who petitioned His Majesty for this… was the one I love.”

“…”

“The person who made me believe in destiny… Where did everything go wrong? Or… what have I done so terribly wrong to him? Does he feel nothing at all? Has he really forgotten me?