Still, it seemed that the fact that the woman who was with the Crown Prince was Aris hadn’t been revealed. That was a huge relief.

Belle stroked her chin with her eyes half-closed, looking as if she had become possessed by a great detective.

“I wonder who it could be? Surely it’s not someone we know well, right?”

“There’s no way that could be.”

Stung by Belle’s sharp words, Aris awkwardly laughed along. Wiping her sweaty hands on her clothes, she tried to act as naturally as possible.

But then. Suddenly, Belle stopped walking and looked closely at Aris’s neck area.

“Did you get bitten by a bug?”

“Huh?”

Belle, with a puzzled face, abruptly reached out and slightly pulled down the collar of the shirt Aris was wearing. Soon her eyes widened, and she looked at Aris with furrowed brows.

“You…… Aristena!”

“What, what’s wrong?”

“What’s this on your neck? Don’t tell me you– yesterday……”

Belle’s serious face instantly changed to a mischievous one. With a sly smile like a fox, Belle poked Aris’s side with a strange look.

“Looks like something happened yesterday. Well, our Aris has become an adult now! So, who is it?”

“Wh-what are you talking about, Belle……”

“Are you trying to deny it? I’d be hurt if you’re trying to hide it even from me. If you’re going to hide it, do it thoroughly, not leaving kiss marks on your neck like this.”

Horrified by Belle’s words, Aris hurriedly covered her neck area with her hand. She had worn clothes that covered as much skin as possible because her body was red and blotchy all over, but she didn’t know it would be like this even around her neck.

Aris denied it frantically with a flushed face.

“It, it must be a bug bite! Really, it’s nothing. Ah, my skin has been sensitive lately….. Maybe I scratched it myself.”

“Oh, really?”

Belle looked at Aris intently, twitching the corners of her mouth. Aris fidgeted uncomfortably.

Belle shrugged and pulled the ribbon that was tying Aris’s hair into a single ponytail, undoing it.

“Well, if you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. But, if you have a lover, you should tell me, okay? Here, cover it with your hair. If you cover it, it won’t show.”

Aris could breathe a sigh of relief at Belle’s easy retreat. She pulled her hair to both sides of her shoulders, covering the neck area that wasn’t hidden by the shirt collar.

‘What should I do, really….. I hate that person so much……!’

Walking down the corridor with confused and embarrassed feelings, they soon arrived at Belle’s personal research room. Aris’s research room was a bit further down.

“Aris, since you’re here, take back what I borrowed last time.”

“Okay.”

Although Belle and Aris were both magic scholars, their fields were slightly different. Belle mainly researched magic formulas using elements like water or earth.

On the other hand, Aris was focused on research that created magical tools to enrich people’s lives.

Belle opened the door of her research room wide.

“Why are you both so late?”

Someone was in Belle’s research room. The two were momentarily taken aback, but soon recognized who it was and relaxed.

“Ah, Uncle. Why do you keep entering my research room as you please?”

“It’s revenge for the past. I’ve been through a lot, you know.”

At Andre’s leisurely retort, Belle could only twitch her lips, unable to make any rebuttal. Andre’s gaze moved from Belle to Aris. He opened his arms to Aris.

“Oh, my proud disciple. Congratulations on having ‘honorary’ added before your name, Aristena.”

“Thank you, Doctor. You seem to be in a good mood today.”

“Of course, thanks to my excellent teaching, my disciple was the youngest to receive an honorary position yesterday.”

“That’s right, it’s all thanks to you, Doctor.”

At Aris’s clear agreement, Belle was shocked and shook her head.

“No, Aris. Why is that thanks to Uncle? It’s all because you’re excellent! Don’t go along with Uncle’s self-praise too much.”

“Well, isn’t it that my outstanding talent combined with the Doctor’s excellent teaching made me an honorary scholar?”

“Aris….. You’re too kind to be Uncle’s disciple. How are you going to survive in this harsh world? You should say no when it’s not right, and dislike what you dislike. Okay? Come on, say it. That’s not right, Doctor!”

Aris burst into an innocent laugh at Belle’s exasperation. Belle let out a worried sigh. But she was also half-joking.

“Take this, Aris. I used it well, thanks to you. Thank you for lending it to me.”

Belle handed Aris a pendant that had been well-kept on the desk. It was a magical tool that acted as a guide when worn around the neck, indicating the direction of the desired location with light.

She took the pendant and put it in her outer coat pocket.

“I’m glad it was helpful. Well, I’ll be going now.”

“Stay a little longer. Uncle is here too, for a change.”

“Yes, Aristena. I have to leave again tomorrow.”

Belle spoke in a regretful tone. Andre also gave a disappointed look, seeming to agree. Recently, Andre had been going out of town frequently, so he hadn’t been coming to the Magic Department often.

Aris made an apologetic face.

“I’m sorry, Doctor. I’m really busy these days.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“No, I can manage on my own.”

“Well, my dear disciple had an assistant who helped with just a voice, right? How’s it doing these days?”

At Andre’s playful words, Aris slightly pouted her lips.

“……Doctor, how can you still tease me about that? I’m not joking, I really did hear a voice back then. It told me to be careful, I’m telling you.”

“Yes, when a person is exceptionally talented, they can experience such strange things. Anyway, I hope your current work goes well too.”

Andre smoothly moved past the situation.

Five years ago, Aris had told Andre that she heard a strange voice in her ear. Andre and Belle didn’t believe her. In fact, Aris herself thought it might have been an auditory hallucination… but still, it was a bit upsetting that no one believed her.

‘Well, I haven’t heard the voice since that day at the racecourse and the day my magical talent was measured…..’

Aris said goodbye to the two and headed to her research room. Today, she planned to apply the formula that had earned her the commendation to a tool. Although she had already succeeded to some extent, there were still many points to improve.

‘This tool increases its own quantity up to a certain amount when a small amount of magic power is put in, so it will be helpful for poor people.’

Aris opened a notebook filled with complex formulas with a faint smile. It was full of traces where she had erased and rewritten in various places.

‘If only I could have done this in my past life.’

She had always felt guilty. As an Empress with such a high position, she had no power to take care of her people.

Aris was spreading a magic circle over the tool to be enchanted with her left hand, while continuing to write notes in her notebook with her right hand. While she was deeply engrossed in her research for a while, someone knocked on her research room door.

“Yes, who is it?”

Aris stopped her work and opened the door. The visitor was an employee who handled various small tasks in the Magic Department.

“Dr. Aristena, the Minister of Magic is looking for you.”

“……The Minister?”

Aris tilted her head in confusion. She soon locked her research room door and headed towards the Minister of Magic’s office.

‘What day is it today……’

She let out a small sigh. It had been hectic since morning, and now even the Minister of Magic was summoning her. He was someone Aris would see once or twice a year at most.

Setting aside the fact that the Minister of Magic was Serena Frencia’s maternal grandfather, he was difficult to deal with. He had a stern, bull-like temperament with a fiery personality. On top of that, he was frighteningly stubborn.

Of course, thanks to that personality, he couldn’t tolerate injustice and had the virtue of being righteous. So there were many who respected him, but… for now, there were more who avoided dealing with him directly.

Before she knew it, Aris had arrived at the Minister of Magic’s office and entered his room nervously.

Surely he wouldn’t scold her for past mistakes the very next day after receiving a commendation.

“Our honorary scholar has arrived.”

“Hello, Minister…… Why did you call for me?”

“Sit over there.”

Perhaps this wasn’t going to be a brief conversation. He gestured to the sofa set near the window. Aris obediently sat on the sofa as he said.

The white-haired old man took a seat opposite her with heavy steps. Despite his age, his upright posture and stylishly styled hair made him seem quite vigorous.