Thud.
Count Vermont placed his large hand on Yuri’s head and began gently stroking it.
The students’ gazes were all fixed on Aslan’s ring finger.
To be exact, on the radiant ring adorning it.
“That’s…”
Then, they checked the ring on Yuri’s finger once more.
Then, once again, they checked the Count’s ring.
As the students alternated their gazes between the two rings, their eyes grew wide.
No way…
No matter how you looked at it, those rings were identical!
So that meant… Yuri’s benefactor and fiancé was actually Count Vermont…?
“Aha?! So Yuri’s fiancé is actually Vermo— Mmmph?!”
“What nonsense is this guy spewing? Haha. My apologies, Count. It seems the semester has just started, and he’s not in his right mind.”
Aslan discreetly placed a finger over his lips where Yuri couldn’t see.
The students, realizing the unspoken message, gasped and quickly covered their own mouths.
So he was keeping the fact that he was Yuri’s fiancé a secret from her…
What would happen if someone recklessly exposed Count Vermont’s secret?
Just imagining it sent chills down their spines.
The students made a solemn vow to themselves: they would take this newfound knowledge to their graves.
“T-then, Yuri… We’ll leave you two alone.”
“Huh? Why is everyone suddenly leaving?”
“Enjoy your time with the Count… I mean, no, I didn’t mean to say that…”
“…”
The students retreated step by step, then quickly disappeared as if fleeing the scene.
Yuri, now left alone with Aslan, turned around with an annoyed expression.
Aslan, struggling to hold back his laughter, quickly hid his ring-adorned hand behind his back.
“You… You wore the ring?”
“I’m not sure what you mean. What ring?”
“That’s an engagement ring! It’s not even a wedding ring, so who wears an engagement ring in their daily life? Take it off! Now!”
“And yet, you’re wearing yours as well.”
“Ugh…!”
Swish.
Flustered, Yuri hurriedly tucked her hand into her sleeve, her face turning bright red.
“T-this is… I just forgot to take it off, that’s all!”
“I see. I also forgot to take mine off. And I imagine I’ll keep forgetting, for a long time to come.”
“Grrr…!”
Yuri clenched her teeth as she glared up at Aslan’s shameless face.
So that’s why the engagement ring was made so small and lightweight…
It was just so he could wear it comfortably in his daily life!
It was obvious now—he simply wanted to flaunt his engagement to the whole world.
But if she pointed that out, it would be the same as admitting that she, too, had come out wearing her ring.
With no other choice, Yuri firmly shut her mouth.
“I can’t believe I fell for someone this petty and shameless…”
“If you have any complaints, we’re still only engaged. If you wish, you can break it off at any time, with no restrictions.”
“How could I break off an engagement after accepting the ring?”
“There’s nothing stopping you. I wouldn’t even ask you to return it. So if you ever truly dislike me, don’t hesitate to say so. Because even if you end up hating me… I will still love you enough to let you go without regret.”
“Ugh…”
If she really disliked him, she could just call off the engagement.
And there were no conditions or consequences for doing so.
But choosing not to break it off now… was practically the same as confessing twice that she liked him so much she wanted to marry him.
“So, what’s your choice?”
“Ugh… I would never… break off the engagement…”
“That’s the answer I was waiting for.”
Back when he first proposed, she never imagined he’d tease her this persistently.
Yuri’s face turned even redder, her lips trembling as she failed to come up with a retort.
And just then—
“Ah!?”
Aslan suddenly stepped closer to Yuri.
His hand slid smoothly over her shoulder and wrapped around her back.
Right now? Here!? Seriously!?
Yuri’s pupils shook wildly.
“You’ve thought ahead this time. But it was too obvious, so it was easy to predict.”
“Ah!?”
At that moment, Aslan pulled a recorder out of Yuri’s bag.
By the time she realized it and snatched it back, the device had already been rendered useless by Black Magic.
All the recorded voice data—where Aslan admitted to being Mr. Black—had been erased.
“Come along. Charlotte’s here too, so let’s all have a meal together at the student cafeteria.”
“Ugh… Fine…”
Yuri trudged after Aslan.
Watching from a distance, Julia thought to herself.
I’ll make sure I never grow up to be an adult like that…
***
“How have things been lately?”
“It’s been tough… In the end, I lost all my hair… I get headaches constantly, like my skull is being seared…”
“Ah. I wasn’t really asking about that. I meant, are my kids doing well at the Academy?”
“…”
Aslan coldly interrupted the headmaster’s words, leaving him with an awkward expression.
“Haven’t the students told you themselves, Count? Ah, right. Around this age, they start getting moody for no reason, refusing to talk and growing distant.”
“No, that’s not it. I’ve already heard that they’re doing well, but I just wanted to hear it again from a third party.”
“…”
Aslan had already heard plenty from Charlotte and Julia about what had happened at the Academy—their classes, how they did on quizzes, and so on.
But that was beside the point. He wanted to hear the perspective of someone on the receiving end as well.
It was similar to when you pull off an incredible play in a game—you don’t just want to hear praise from your teammates, but also the curses of the opposing team.
That kind of sentiment was crystal clear to the headmaster, and it left him utterly drained.
“Yuri is, as usual, sweeping up top grades. When she reduced the number of courses she was taking, I thought she was finally going to take it easy this year… but I was wrong.”
“Hm. I see. What about Charlotte?”
“Charlotte… Honestly, I have no idea… Not even the Spirit Magic professors can figure her out. She directly contradicts existing theories, does things that should definitely make spirits dislike her, and yet… the spirits follow her obediently. It’s a mystery…”
So she was handling spirits in the same Spartan way she had with Dirt-Dirt and Water-Water.
According to Spirit Magic theory, one had to work extremely hard to win over a spirit’s favor, and even then, taming one was uncertain.
Yet Charlotte was commanding them—physically.
It must have been a sight unlike anything anyone had ever seen.
Charlotte was practically opening a new chapter in the study of Spirit Magic.
Just thinking about how she was contributing to the advancement of the field filled Aslan with satisfaction.
“And Julia… I thought it was a joke when I heard she was lecturing a Black Magic course, but when I went to check… she was really up there, teaching. Apparently, the professor got so flustered by Julia constantly correcting him that he snapped and told her to teach the class. And now, two weeks later, she’s still the one lecturing. At this rate, we might need to start paying her…”
That was an expected development.
Black Magic was still a field undergoing rapid research—there was so much that was still unknown.
Yet the Academy had hastily set up a department for it, meaning that the professors were bound to lack expertise.
But if they accepted Julia’s help, they could refine the curriculum quickly.
Not only that, Julia had also taken on a role as an undergraduate researcher, contributing to the Imperial Magic Academy’s Black Magic studies.
Wait… wasn’t she doing exactly what a professor did?
Aslan found himself confused—was Julia a freshman student, or had she somehow been hired as faculty?
“Hm. I see. Well, it sounds like you’ve been busy.”
“Speaking of which… I heard Yuri got engaged to her benefactor. Is that true?”
“Yes. It is.”
“But that could expose your identity! Please be more careful, Count.”
“Oh, my identity was revealed a long time ago. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
“…Huh?”
Aslan casually waved his ring-adorned hand as if it were no big deal.
The headmaster stood frozen in shock.
Wait, his identity was already exposed?
But then why was Yuri still exchanging letters with Mr. Black?
If she already knew… then why was she still writing to him?
“…I see…”
There were far too many things that didn’t make sense.
But the headmaster decided to just stop thinking about it.
No doubt, Count Vermont had gotten himself tangled in some kind of absurd power struggle again…
“Hmm?”
Meanwhile, after stepping out of the headmaster’s office, Aslan noticed a commotion outside.
Imperial officials were busily posting something on a large bulletin board, and a gathered crowd murmured as they read it.
“Sylvia, what’s that about?”
“I just checked—it’s an official announcement regarding the coronation ceremony of the Empress.”
“A coronation? Why so suddenly?”
“When Her Majesty ascended the throne, she had not yet reached adulthood. Though she immediately took power, the coronation itself was postponed until she came of age.”
“Ah… So that means the Empress is now…”
It took a moment for the words to fully register.
Then Aslan’s face stiffened.
The Empress just now reached adulthood?
That means… she wasn’t an adult before…?
A cold sweat trickled down Aslan’s forehead.
