The Emperor and Ryan both fixed their attention on Rachel, who quietly exhaled while trying to conceal her reaction. With only one objective remaining—to satisfy the condition set by her contractor, Creon—Rachel recognized she needed to gather as much information as possible to succeed in her mission.

She had already requested to be notified immediately if anything resembling the Tears of Licorice appeared at the Magic Tower, but since it was an object with very little known information, it remained uncertain whether the Tears of Licorice would flow into the Magic Tower or exist as someone’s accessory elsewhere.

In that respect, becoming an imperial mage wasn’t a bad choice.

Even with less influence, the imperial palace was a place where rare magical items gathered, just like the Magic Tower.

If she became an imperial mage, she would have the opportunity to examine magical artifacts that came to the imperial palace first.

Moreover, the term wasn’t that long.

Just one year.

After that, she could be free again if she didn’t want to continue.

Rachel hesitated briefly, then nodded.

“Then, if I may, I’ll accept. As you mentioned, I’d like the term to be set at one year.”

“Yes, for a talent like you, I can certainly accommodate that much. Good.”

As the Emperor readily accepted, Rachel bowed her head slightly toward him.

The meal continued afterward.

Perhaps because Rachel had accepted the Emperor’s offer, a warm and friendly atmosphere prevailed.

* * *

“Do you happen to have time today?”

As the meal was coming to an end, the Emperor asked Rachel.

“Yes, my schedule is open today.”

When Rachel agreed, the Emperor smiled warmly.

“How about visiting the Magic Wing today? Since you’ve agreed to become an imperial mage, shouldn’t you see it at least once?”

Rachel slowly nodded.

“Yes, I’ll do that.”

“However, this old man has appointments this afternoon and won’t be able to guide you.”

“That’s fine. I can go by myself.”

As Rachel waved her hands dismissively, the Emperor frowned and shook his head.

“How could I send you alone? Ah, the Crown Prince is here. How about having the Crown Prince personally guide you?”

At the Emperor’s suggestion, Rachel glanced at Ryan.

Ryan readily nodded and answered.

“I’ll do it, so Your Majesty need not worry.”

“Good, then I’ll entrust her to you in my place.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor smiled with satisfaction.

Rachel couldn’t shake the feeling that she had somehow gotten caught between these two father and son.

The Emperor left first, leaving Ryan and Rachel in the dining room.

Rachel looked at Ryan with narrowed eyes.

Ryan frowned one eyebrow in confusion.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

At Ryan’s innocent voice, Rachel briefly glanced in the direction the Emperor had gone.

“Was today’s lunch perhaps orchestrated by you?”

“By me? No, not at all. I can see why you might think so, though.”

Ryan acknowledged that Rachel’s suspicion was reasonable.

“But really, it wasn’t me. The lunch was originally just for His Majesty and me. And I just heard about the imperial mage position for the first time here, too.”

“Then how does the Emperor know that I declined the Magic Tower Master candidate position?”

When Rachel asked, still suspicious, Ryan shrugged.

“It wasn’t me. Besides, there are others who know that fact besides me.”

Rachel immediately thought of Edward.

But no matter how she considered it, Edward wouldn’t have reported this to the Emperor.

That left two other candidates.

First, Duke Bermund, who knew Rachel would decline the Magic Tower Master candidate position, and Randolph, the current Magic Tower Master who had offered Rachel the candidate position.

Which of them spoke, and with what intention, remained unsettling, but since it ultimately became a positive factor for Rachel, she decided to let the matter go for now.

“Shall we go now? I’ll guide you.”

Ryan stood up and extended his offer, prompting Rachel to accept without hesitation as she rose and moved toward the door. When Ryan held out his hand to escort her, Rachel delicately placed her hand in his, allowing him to guide her with the polished grace of someone well-versed in courtly etiquette.

“The place where mages conduct research is Rose Castle, the second annex after passing the training grounds on the right side of the main building.”

“I see. Though this isn’t my first visit to the imperial palace, I’ve never been to Rose Castle, so this will be my first time.”

“Well, since the Magic Tower has its headquarters in the Empire, there isn’t much merit to being an imperial mage.”

“Are you allowed to be that honest?”

Rachel felt a bit bewildered that the Crown Prince would say the position of imperial mage had little merit.

After all, it was Ryan who, along with the Emperor, had recommended Rachel for the position.

Ryan let out an awkward laugh.

“I’m just stating facts. But if someone like you, Rachel, stays in the imperial mage position for about a year, it would still lend prestige, wouldn’t it? ‘The genius mage who declined the Magic Tower Master candidate position became an imperial mage.'”

“That seemed to be the intention.”

Since she had already guessed this, Rachel wasn’t particularly surprised.

“So you knew.”

“I’m rather perceptive.”

“I find myself more and more drawn to you.”

“If that’s another courtship attempt, I’ll have to decline.”

“Is this… being rejected too quickly?”

Rachel laughed softly at Ryan’s words.

After leaving the main building and passing the training grounds, they could hear the shouts of knights.

Rachel reflexively turned her head to look at the knights.

And not far away, she noticed a pair of eyes watching her and Ryan.

Ryan soon followed Rachel’s gaze to find the owner of those eyes.

“It’s Lord Sanchez.”

The one watching them was Tervan. Already recognized for his skill as a knight, Tervan occasionally trained with the imperial guards at the palace.

“…So it is.”

In the past, either Tervan or Rachel would have approached each other with a smile to exchange greetings, but that was no longer possible.

Rachel thought it was fortunate that she had one less troublesome matter to deal with, but she couldn’t know what Tervan thought.

As the two just stared at each other without greeting, Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you say you were childhood friends with him? Shouldn’t you at least greet-“

“No. He looks busy, so why bother? It’s not like we’re seeing each other for the first or last time.”

“Is that so?”

Ryan glanced once more at the training grounds where Tervan was.

“Yes. So I think we should head to Rose Castle now.”

Rachel finished speaking and pulled Ryan’s arm to urge him along.

Ryan obediently guided Rachel to Rose Castle as she led.

By the time the sounds from the training grounds had faded, Rachel and Ryan reached Rose Castle.

“Let me first show you the artifact storage room, which I’m sure you’re most curious about.”

“That sounds good.”

Ryan led Rachel to the storage room in Rose Castle.

“By the way, I did a little research on Creon.”

“…What did you find?”

Rachel asked, feigning ignorance. Ryan, unaware, narrowed his brow and began to slowly share what he had learned.

“I haven’t looked into it in detail yet, but it seems the necklace containing Creon was transported somewhere in this empire. And its source was one of the trading companies closely connected to Duke Bermund.”

“I see.”

“But there’s something strange.”

“What’s strange about it?”

Ryan paused for a moment. Rachel also stopped and looked up at him.

He tilted his head, seemingly unable to understand.

“It appears to have been a fake.”

“A fake?”

“Yes. That’s how I was able to obtain the information.”

Rachel nodded at Ryan’s words.

The necklace Duke Bermund found was most likely the real Creon.

In another timeline, Rachel had traced that information and formally contracted with Creon.

But there was also a reason why Duke Bermund’s necklace had to be fake.

The fact that more than one Creon couldn’t exist in the same timeline.

Since there was already a contractor with Creon in this timeline, Duke Bermund’s necklace naturally became a counterfeit.

“Was this recent?”

“Yes, it was recent.”

Ryan immediately answered Rachel’s question. Rachel nodded, organizing the situation in her mind.

Since the Creon he had been looking for turned out to be fake, she judged that Duke Bermund would come looking for her in the near future.

“That’s fortunate, at least. If Duke Bermund had gotten his hands on it first, who knows what might have happened…”

“Anyway, thank you for the information, Rachel. As you said, I think it would be good to keep an eye on Duke Bermund. If his purpose isn’t rebellion, that would be good, but if it is, we’ll need to prepare countermeasures in advance.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

When Rachel smiled, Ryan smiled back in response.