With tears welling up in her eyes, Siara’s enthusiastic response made the Empress smirk. After all, giving an illegitimate daughter to a prince without succession rights probably meant nothing to her.

The Empress glanced at Diego. He continued drinking his tea without looking their way.

“Diego. After you come of age, I’ll find you a match slowly. Don’t be jealous that Isaac is getting married first.”

“…My brother is older than me, so he should marry first. He must have been uncomfortable that Mother hadn’t arranged a match for him even though he’s already of age.”

Diego appeared fine on the surface, but Siara could clearly see his magical power fluctuating unstably.

‘He’s still too young to control his magical power properly.’

Sensing he might attack even his own mother, Siara intervened.

“Shall we go see His Highness the Prince? Getting to know each other better can’t hurt, right?”

If the imperial palace had sent a marriage proposal, Duke Light wouldn’t be able to refuse it, so this marriage would certainly happen. She thought getting closer to Isaac should be the priority now.

The Empress pointed outside the room with her fan.

“Before seeing the Prince, it seems you have much to prepare. This is the Crown Prince’s room, so let’s move to another place.”

“Yes.”

Siara moved to the adjacent room with the Empress following. As soon as the door closed, a loud BANG! erupted, sounding like an explosion. Diego was clearly venting his anger.

‘At least he didn’t break the door.’

Reading Siara’s thoughts, the Empress covered her mouth with her fan and laughed.

“The Crown Prince’s door has special magic cast on it, so it won’t break easily.”

“…”

The Empress seemed determined to eliminate any connection between Siara and Diego. Siara welcomed this too. After all, what good would come from a couple opposed by their family except more hardship?

CRASH!

The Crown Prince’s door shattered.

“My goodness.”

Just as the Empress finished speaking, Diego emerged from the room and grabbed Siara’s arm.

“I’m coming too.”

The gold-decorated door had split in two. Siara clicked her tongue, lamenting the waste of gold decorations, while people rushed in to repair the door. The Empress clicked her tongue and reluctantly led the way.

* * *

The Prince’s palace seemed more lavish than the Crown Prince’s. Judging by how he had slapped the maid and lost his temper yesterday, his pride must be sky-high. Looking at this place, she could understand why he had such a personality.

“Empress Mother. It’s been a while. Diego too.”

Isaac didn’t even glance at Siara, who had dressed up for the occasion. Seeing his blatant disregard, the Empress held Siara’s shoulder and introduced her.

“This is the young lady from Duke Light’s family who will marry you. Shouldn’t you greet her?”

Under the Empress’s subtle threat, Siara held her dress and smiled awkwardly.

“Pleased to meet you, Your Highness the Prince… I’m Annie Light.”

“…I’m Isaac.”

After stating his name, Isaac pulled out a chair beside him.

“I thought the Empress would never arrange a marriage for me, so I don’t understand this sudden whim. Introducing such a pretty noble lady.”

“Hoho. Well, I thought you’d be well-matched since your bloodlines are similar. Annie also attends the same school as Diego.”

When Siara remained standing, the Empress pushed her back. She seemed to be urging her to sit next to Isaac. However, Diego was gripping her wrist tightly, making it impossible for her to move.

“Diego.”

“They’re not married yet.”

Diego’s power could potentially destroy the Prince’s palace. Though Siara was concerned about the Empress and the Prince’s reactions, she had no choice but to sit demurely next to Diego. Isaac’s gaze lingered briefly on Siara’s wrist. He made an expression of intrigue.

“…I understand Diego attends a magic school, so I assume Miss Annie can use magic too?”

The Empress covered her mouth with her fan again and laughed.

“Annie Light. I’m curious too. Diego is a genius who might appear once in a hundred years, but what about you?”

This was the first time the Empress had called her full name, drawing Siara’s attention momentarily. However, the Empress was undoubtedly only interested in seeing some trivial magic.

‘If I’m too impressive, the Empress won’t be pleased.’

Siara pondered briefly before touching the glass cup beside her and then removing her hand.

“Like this…”

“Hmm? Nothing seems to have changed?”

Both the Empress and Isaac stared intently at the glass cup. Siara turned the cup upside down. The water inside had frozen solid, so nothing came out.

“This is…”

The Empress picked up the cup and touched it, feeling only coldness.

“You froze the water? …Just by touching it briefly?”

Siara smiled casually and said:

“Any student attending the magic school can do this much.”

“…”

However, the atmosphere felt strange. Isaac swallowed hard and asked a servant to bring water. When a basin of water was brought, he said to Siara:

“Can you freeze this too?”

“…”

‘Something’s odd here…’

She placed one finger on the basin, but as soon as she tried to freeze it, the water melted.

‘…?’

Feeling something strange, she looked to the side and saw Diego using his magical power. When their eyes met, Diego shook his head.

‘Ah. He wants me to stop?’

He was clearly telling her not to use any more magic.

Siara removed her hand from the basin and said smoothly:

“…Hmm. I must be out of magical power. It’s not working anymore. Haha… I guess I got lucky with the first one…”

Isaac looked disappointed, but the Empress snorted triumphantly.

“Hmph, I thought so. A student couldn’t possibly use such high-level magic.”

“…If they could freeze water every summer, Duke Light would be extremely wealthy.”

Siara scratched her face and looked at Diego. He had been wearing an indifferent expression, but when Siara looked at him, he raised his index finger to his lips.

‘Is he telling me to keep quiet? I’m not sure, but it seems ice is valuable here.’

In the Kingdom of Estain, mages who could create ice were common, allowing even commoners to enjoy cool ice in summer, but the Stana Empire seemed to have fewer mages.

‘What kind of place is this where everyone makes such a fuss over a small magic trick?’

Diego chuckled and said:

“Being able to freeze water is quite a talent. If you showcased such a skill, you might end up tied up and forced to make ice constantly.”

“…Indeed. Sigh. I thought we could enjoy expensive ice all summer without limit.”

Hearing this, Siara trembled with fear.

‘Good thing I didn’t use more magic.’

Siara drank water, feeling thirsty. She cooled it slightly with her hand, making it refreshingly cold as it went down.

Prince Isaac poured himself wine and drank it, then stared at Siara and Diego.

“By the way, Diego. You seem very intimate with my marriage partner.”

“…They’re not married yet.”

“Well, that’s true… But don’t get too close. I quite like Miss Annie too.”

‘When did he even see me to like me?’

Isaac’s eyes looked extremely mischievous. He was undoubtedly saying this to tease Diego.

‘These kids using me between them…’

Right now, Siara was essentially a tool for the Empress. The problem with royalty was that they treated everyone except themselves as less than human.

Diego grabbed Siara’s hand and stood up abruptly.

“Well, Annie and I have a prior engagement, so we’ll be going now.”

“Where to?”

The Empress and Isaac looked at Diego. Diego kissed Siara’s hand and said:

“The library. Students need to study, don’t they?”

That was true. Students should study.

Siara held her dress and bowed to the two of them.

“Then, I’ll see you both next time.”

Siara followed Diego to the library.

‘Let those two who don’t get along enjoy their pleasant conversation.’

* * *

The imperial library was very close to the Crown Prince’s palace. Was this to create an environment conducive to studying? Anyway, when Diego entered, the guard opened the door. As soon as the door opened, the rich smell of old books greeted Siara.

“Wow…”

Bookshelves packed with ancient tomes stretched all the way to the ceiling.

A man who appeared to be the library’s archivist walked toward Diego.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince! Are you looking for a particular book?”

“Not me…”

Siara thrust her face forward toward the archivist.

“I am. Books on dimensional transfer magic. Even better if they contain magic formulas. And history books too.”

“Yes, understood!”

The archivist climbed a long ladder and searched for books at the top. The height was so extreme that anyone with a fear of heights couldn’t possibly work as an archivist here—one wrong move could lead to a fall.

“Wow. That’s impressive.”

“…Why are you looking for books on dimensional transfer?”

“Huh?”

Diego’s black eyes slowly gazed at Siara.

“Are you planning to transfer dimensions?”

“What?”

Her back touched the bookshelf as Diego’s arm pressed against it, slowly closing in on her. Just as his shadow covered her from head to toe, the archivist’s voice was heard.

“I found them!”

“…Mmm.”

Thanks to the archivist, she could escape from Diego.