The students quickly put away their pens, grabbed their papers, submitted them to the podium, and dispersed noisily.

Celitia, who remained calmly seated, innocently shrugged at the teacher.

Celitia had always been a good student, well-liked by her teachers.

Looking at his favorite honor student, the teacher sighed helplessly: "Go on, get going."

Celitia then submitted her paper and prepared to leave the classroom.

Rebecca and Linda finally found their opportunity and hurriedly surrounded her.

"Um, Miss Celitia," Rebecca carefully observed her expression, "about what happened before the exam..."

Linda also said cautiously: "I was talking nonsense, and that stinking noble was talking even more nonsense. Miss Celitia, please don't take it to heart."

"Did you say something before the exam started?" Celitia said calmly, "Sorry, I was focused on reviewing and didn't pay much attention."

Rebecca and Linda exchanged glances.

Really?

The voices were so loud then that the entire classroom heard, right?

Seeing they were still standing there motionless, Celitia walked around the two and headed outside.

Walking out of the classroom, Celitia happened to encounter Shanie and Benita coming out of another classroom.

Shanie sighed heavily: "Ugh, magic theory is so difficult. I probably won't pass this course."

"It's okay, even if you don't pass, there's still one makeup exam opportunity," Benita comforted her.

"But what if I don't pass the makeup exam either..."

Shanie was saying when she suddenly spotted Celitia. Her eyes lit up as she waved vigorously.

"Ah, Lily! How did your exam go?"

"Not bad," Celitia replied, "it wasn't difficult this time."

"As expected of Lily," Shanie was extremely envious, "getting a perfect score on this course shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"I hope so. I definitely won't get high scores in practical magic combat, so I need to rely on this course to pull up my average—"

Celitia's voice unconsciously trailed off as she spoke.

She saw Sophia and Charlotte walking out shoulder to shoulder from the classroom farthest away.

"Why is Charlotte still clinging to Princess Sophia?"

Shanie also saw them and spoke candidly, "How annoying. I thought after what happened last time, she would have some self-awareness!"

"How could that be possible?" Benita shook her head disdainfully, "Look at Charlotte—she's not the type to have shame."

Meeting Celitia's gaze, Sophia's eyes showed a hint of joy.

She quickly walked up to Celitia and asked: "Lily, how did your exam go?"

Just after asking, Sophia laughed at herself, "No, I don't need to ask. When it comes to theory, no one studies more solidly than you."

This was the first time Celitia had seen Sophia after several days.

Celitia had many things she wanted to say to Sophia, like what Sophia had been busy with recently, like what the flowers she sent really meant...

Countless words surged to her heart, but what finally emerged from her throat was just a simple question:

"Will you come back tonight?"

Sophia was startled and showed Celitia an apologetic smile:

"I probably won't come back. I've been really busy these past few days. After I finish the exam, I have to return to the royal palace immediately..."

Charlotte urged her: "Yes, there are still many things to do. Let's hurry, Sophia?"

Sophia nodded and smiled apologetically at Celitia again: "Sorry, Lily."

The two hurried away down the corridor.

Watching Sophia's retreating figure, an inexplicable and intense sense of loss surged in Celitia's heart.

Yes, she ultimately...

Had her own life to live.

Rebecca and Linda chased out from the classroom and stood behind Celitia along with Shanie and Benita.

The four looked at each other, and after a moment, all sighed in unison.

After Sophia left, she didn't attend any afternoon classes, and Charlotte disappeared along with her.

According to Sophia, she wouldn't be coming back for the entire evening.

It was just an ordinary evening spent alone, nothing to make a big deal about.

Celitia thought as she packed up her things, preparing to leave.

Shanie and Benita immediately stood up and blocked her path from both sides.

"We finished one exam today, so we can finally relax for a bit!"

Shanie grinned and patted Celitia's shoulder.

"Lily, since Princess Sophia isn't here, why don't you come to the dormitory tonight to hang out? Let's all celebrate together!"

"You all go have fun," Celitia politely declined, "I need to visit Teacher Meilan, so I might come back quite late."

"Going to see Teacher Meilan?" Benita asked, "Lily works too hard—she won't relax for even a moment."

"I do have some questions I want to discuss with Teacher Meilan," Celitia explained helplessly, "but more importantly, I need to deliver some medicine to him."

Cassia was a port city with very humid air year-round.

After taking temporary residence in Cassia, Meilan's joint disease would flare up from time to time, causing him great suffering.

After learning about this, Celitia bought some medicinal materials and obtained some alchemical materials from Florence, brewing medicine for joint disease that she regularly delivered to Meilan.

"I see," Shanie sighed, "alright then. Since it's to help a teacher, go quickly."

The two stepped aside, making way for Celitia and watching her leave the classroom.

After Celitia's figure disappeared, Rebecca and Linda also gathered over, and the four huddled together, whispering about what seemed to be some kind of plan.

○

After visiting Meilan, when Celitia set out to return, the sky had completely darkened.

Outside the villa was pitch black, and even Kassy, who usually clung to her, was nowhere to be seen, making it seem particularly desolate and lonely.

Celitia walked to the villa entrance, took out her key to open the door, turned it halfway, but discovered the door wasn't locked.

Could Sophia have come back?

A sense of pleasant surprise arose in her heart as Celitia hurriedly pushed open the door.

"Sophia, are you back?"

The lights in the living room glowed dimly, not very bright, illuminating several busy figures below.

Celitia narrowed her eyes: "Why is it you all?"

The ones who had sneaked in uninvited were actually Shanie, Benita, Rebecca, and Linda.

Shanie and Benita both had keys to the villa—Sophia had given them keys during the pre-competition training last time and never took them back.

These girls, unable to invite her to play in the dormitory, had simply forced their way over to celebrate, hadn't they?

Celitia didn't know what to say for a moment.