Life at the academy seemed to return to those peaceful days of the past.

The only difference was that among their group, Charlotte had been forcibly added.

Charlotte always clung to Sophia, treating the three of them with indifference, only barely maintaining surface peace.

Naturally, Shanie and Benita were very dissatisfied with this, but Celitia remained quite calm.

Regarding these matters, she didn't want to think too much.

Whether it was self-deception or not, Celitia only hoped their days could always remain in this peaceful moment.

With final exams approaching, Celitia focused all her attention on preparing for the tests.

She wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but Celitia vaguely felt that recently everyone seemed to be discussing some news.

The gazes directed at her carried somewhat strange emotions, which left Celitia somewhat puzzled.

However, Celitia never cared about what others thought of her, so she didn't take it to heart.

Until this day after class, Charlotte finally couldn't hold back.

"I say, Celitia."

Charlotte stood in front of her with arms crossed. "Aren't you curious about what everyone's been discussing recently?"

"Does it concern me?" Celitia asked calmly.

Celitia had always been immune to gossip. Unless she specifically sought it out, even rumors about herself, she was usually the last to know.

She really had no interest in these things.

"Of course it concerns you!"

Seeing Celitia's impervious attitude, Charlotte felt her anger flare up.

"Don't you know? It's been spreading everywhere these past few days!" She deliberately drew out her tone. "Queen Marianne's birthday is approaching, and the palace will hold a very grand birthday ball!"

"I heard about this," Celitia replied simply. "And then?"

Charlotte glanced at Celitia and smugly raised her chin, explaining to her:

"Besides celebrating the Queen's birthday, this ball has another very important purpose! Sophia is about to come of age, and at this ball, Queen Marianne will select a suitable partner for her and arrange Sophia's engagement."

As Charlotte expected, upon hearing this news, Celitia immediately froze slightly.

Those crystalline purple eyes quietly stared at Charlotte, as if some emotion was stirring within them, but it wasn't clear.

"Arrange Sophia's engagement?" Celitia asked softly. "Is this news true?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Charlotte said displeasedly. "This news has been spreading throughout the city for two days already. You just haven't heard about it because you're rather isolated."

Seeing that Celitia still showed no reaction, Charlotte pulled Shanie over.

Shanie had been discussing problems with Benita when Charlotte suddenly interrupted, making her quite annoyed: "Charlotte, what are you doing!"

"Tell your good friend," Charlotte said impatiently, "is the news about Queen Marianne selecting an engagement partner for Sophia at the birthday ball true or not?"

"Huh? Huh huh?"

Not expecting Charlotte to ask such a question, Shanie immediately cooled down and carefully turned to glance at Celitia.

"This, this... don't you know, Lily? Didn't Princess Sophia tell you about it?"

Celitia slowly shook her head:

"No."

"I thought," Shanie said quietly, "Princess Sophia would tell you this news first thing."

Shanie had assumed Celitia already knew from Sophia, so she had deliberately avoided mentioning it.

"Whether I know or not doesn't really matter," Celitia's eyes dimmed slightly. "And for Sophia, isn't this a good thing?"

Now that royal power was relatively weak, finding a powerful ally for Sophia through marriage was the correct choice no matter how you looked at it.

Celitia spoke calmly while packing up her things.

According to their agreement, she needed to go to Cassia Cathedral next to find Ariel for a routine checkup.

Originally, Sophia had promised to accompany her, but Sophia had been nowhere to be seen since the previous class.

"Oh right," Charlotte quickly raised her voice, "Sophia asked me to tell you that she has some urgent business and went back to the palace first. She said you don't need to wait for her."

Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and Celitia fell silent for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice remained calm: "I understand."

"After all, this is a ball to find a spouse for Sophia. It's only natural that Sophia would take it seriously."

Charlotte deliberately said behind Celitia, "You know, Sophia is very busy. How could she have time to waste on certain people?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Shanie and Benita's murderous gazes fixed on her simultaneously.

Charlotte wasn't afraid of the two of them and immediately glared back: "What's the point of looking at me? Did I say something wrong?"

Before they could start arguing, Celitia finished packing and stood up from her seat:

"Then I'll go first."

Looking at the girl's solitary departing figure, Shanie and Benita both closed their mouths, having no mood to argue with Charlotte anymore.

"Sigh..." both sighed simultaneously.

Celitia had no mind to argue with Charlotte about this matter.

Only Celitia herself knew how much her heart had wavered when she heard the news Charlotte told her.

No matter how she analyzed it rationally, it was the wisest choice. If she were Marianne, she might have arranged the engagement even earlier.

If she could gain a powerful ally, perhaps Sophia could relax a bit and wouldn't need to always force herself like this.

She should be happy for her.

But...

Unforgettable scenes flashed through her mind—the sound of ocean waves, the girl's trembling voice, full of emotion, saying "I like you" to her.

In this instant, a dull pain came from her chest, her lungs felt as if they were filled with damp ocean waves, so heavy she could barely breathe.

But she just stubbornly walked forward alone, ignoring all the protests sent her way.

Celitia returned to the small villa alone, tidied up her things, then went out alone again, found a carriage, and headed toward Cassia Cathedral.

The space around her was empty, with no one beside her. Only the noisy sounds of the carriage moving and pedestrians passing by made the surroundings seem less silent.

At this moment, Celitia actually felt somewhat unaccustomed to it.

"Perhaps," she murmured to herself, "I should start getting used to it from now on."