Upon arriving at the imperial palace, Rachel headed toward the main palace before going to the Rose Palace where her laboratory was located.

A servant in the main palace recognized Rachel and bowed to her.

“May I ask the purpose of your visit?”

“I’m here to see His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“I’ll guide you. This way, please.”

The servant began escorting Rachel. They soon reached the Crown Prince’s office.

The servant knocked on the door and announced her arrival. Permission from Ryan came from inside the office. The servant opened the door to let Rachel enter.

“You’ve come?”

Ryan greeted Rachel as she entered. He seemed unusually delighted.

“Yes. I was wondering about the matter I mentioned to you the day before yesterday.”

However, upon hearing Rachel’s purpose for visiting, Ryan’s expression faltered momentarily. Still, he quickly maintained his smile.

“Please, have a seat first.”

“Thank you.”

Rachel sat where Ryan indicated.

“When Rachel came to see me first for once, I thought perhaps you might have come with a different intention.”

Ryan said with a smile. Rachel didn’t understand his meaning and tilted her head in confusion.

“Should I have come with a different intention?”

“I’m just saying.”

“What kind of intention do you mean?”

“Well…”

Ryan couldn’t readily answer Rachel’s question. Then, gathering his courage, he spoke, “For instance, you might have come because you wanted to see me, perhaps?”

“…”

“Just to be clear, I mean as friends—that you might want to see me as a friend.”

Ryan quickly explained, worried that Rachel might take offense.

“As I mentioned before, I never had friends.”

“I know. You told me so.”

“So sometimes I find myself wanting to see Rachel. You’re my only precious friend, after all.”

Rachel nodded in agreement with his words, though she suspected he wasn’t speaking with that intention alone.

“Well, I suppose that’s possible.”

Seeing Rachel’s agreement, Ryan looked relieved.

“So I got excited thinking maybe you came because you wanted to see me. Though that wasn’t the case.”

Ryan laughed good-naturedly. Rachel also smiled faintly at his demeanor.

“It’s not the case this time, but I’ll visit you that way next time.”

“Really?”

Ryan asked eagerly, turning toward Rachel. She shrugged her shoulders in affirmation.

“Then it’s a promise.”

“Yes.”

Ryan looked like he wanted to store Rachel’s words somewhere for safekeeping.

But naturally, without magic, there was no way to store someone’s words. Ryan seemed quite disappointed by this fact.

“So, have you secured the Magic Tower registry?”

Rachel asked him, unable to waste any more time.

Ryan nodded and rose from his seat. He retrieved some documents that had been organized on his desk and returned to sit down.

“This is the list of mages currently in the empire. I’ve also compiled a list of those who studied the same magic as Rachel during your academy days.”

Ryan gently handed the documents to Rachel. Her gaze naturally shifted to the papers. Rachel took them and quickly scanned the list with her eyes.

There were both familiar and unfamiliar names listed. The pages that followed contained detailed descriptions of each person.

As Rachel turned page after page, her eyes widened, and she looked back at Ryan.

“I didn’t expect you to organize everything so meticulously in just two days.”

Ryan puffed up his chest proudly under Rachel’s gaze.

“Given the nature of the matter, I investigated as quickly and thoroughly as possible. The mana traces in the attackers’ bodies are disappearing, aren’t they? We needed to move quickly in the meantime for verification.”

Rachel agreed with Ryan’s assessment.

She remembered the mana traces she had found in the bodies of the attackers who had lost their memories, and she clearly recalled those traces. However, it was important to identify the culprits before the traces in their bodies disappeared, just to be safe.

“Please take a look. Directly meeting them to verify the mana properties would be most accurate, but it’s best to narrow down the list beforehand.”

“Understood. Please wait a moment.”

“Take your time.”

Rachel finished her response and began examining the list carefully.

If Rachel could recognize the mana properties, there was a high probability she was acquainted with the person. Therefore, she needed to first eliminate those she didn’t know from the list.

Rachel reviewed the documents, separating those she knew from those she didn’t.

While Rachel sorted through the materials, Ryan tilted his head to the side and watched her. A gentle smile adorned his face.

It didn’t take long for Rachel to finish categorizing all the documents.

Since she hadn’t actively built friendships with many mages, the number of people she needed to check was significantly reduced.

“This should be sufficient.”

Rachel neatly arranged the documents with a light tap on the table and passed them to Ryan. He received the few remaining papers and checked the list.

“Again this time… Randolph is here.”

Ryan let out a small groan as he confirmed the name at the top of the list.

As Crown Prince, Ryan frequently met with Randolph, the Magic Tower Master, so he found it disconcerting that Randolph had become a suspect.

“To be honest, without double-checking, the Magic Tower Master’s mana properties seem most similar to the mana traces left in those men’s bodies.”

“I see.”

Ryan nodded, flipped past Randolph’s personal information, and examined the rest of the documents.

Apart from Randolph, there was no one particularly noteworthy.

Suddenly, Ryan realized that one mage most closely associated with Rachel was missing from the list and looked up.

“I notice Lord Hestein is excluded. Are you removing him from the list of suspects entirely? He’s also a mage with whom you’re acquainted. Shouldn’t we check him as well?”

“It’s not Edward.”

Rachel answered without hesitation to Ryan’s question.

“I know Edward’s mana properties better than anyone. It’s not him.”

When Rachel spoke firmly, Ryan stared at her for a moment. Looking at her unwavering eyes, he didn’t think she was lying.

Yet strangely, Ryan felt hurt by her words.

“You trust him.”

Ryan began, trying his best to hide his emotions. Rachel continued immediately.

“Yes. If I had to name the person I trust most outside my family, it would be Edward.”

“You mentioned you’ve been friends since childhood. Is that why?”

“Let’s say that’s the reason.”

Rachel gave a vague answer, finding it difficult to provide a detailed explanation. Ryan took her response as affirmation. After briefly looking down at the documents, Ryan forced a smile and spoke.

“I’m somewhat envious.”

At this unexpected comment, Rachel raised her head to observe him.

His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were not. Envy and jealousy he couldn’t quite hide were reflected in his eyes.

“…Of what?”

Rachel cautiously asked, wondering what could possibly make him envious.

Ryan took a deep breath before answering slowly.

“Trust built over a long time, things like that. The certainty that makes you confident Lord Hestein wouldn’t do such things even in the midst of this major incident.”

“But you have that too, Ryan. Your loyal knights, for instance.”

“Well, yes.”

Ryan let out a small laugh. Rachel had completely misunderstood his meaning.

Of course, Ryan had people with whom he’d built trust over time. His aides who served as his hands and feet, and the knights who had sworn loyalty to him were such people.

But what he wanted more than anything now was Rachel’s trust.

Ryan wondered if he could ever form such a deep relationship of trust with Rachel. He wanted to ask her, but fearing her answer, he ultimately had to restrain himself.

“Anyway, based on these documents, we should arrange direct meetings soon.”

“I’ll leave it to you.”

“No, this is my business too. If anything, you’re helping me, so I should be the one making the request.”