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The academy headmaster strode into the ballroom with an enraged expression.
Dozens of soldiers, fully armed, followed behind him.
Peony whispered into Ayla's ear with a bewildered look.
"Why is the headmaster acting like that? He looks furious. And what's with all the soldiers?"
"I don't know..."
Everyone attending this ball was among the most prominent nobles in the empire.
And the headmaster was someone who always kept a low profile, careful not to offend such great nobles.
For him to interrupt the ball and appear with armed soldiers meant something significant had occurred.
Ayla frowned.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but the headmaster was getting closer and closer to her.
His eyes were filled with deep contempt and hostility.
Soon, the headmaster stopped in front of her.
He gasped for breath and said in a firm voice, "Student Ayla. You must cooperate with the investigation. Come with me immediately."
"Investigation? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Darian looked at the headmaster with displeasure.
He was in the middle of a conversation with Ayla.
To interrupt without greeting and try to take her away was clearly rude.
The headmaster seemed momentarily flustered by Darian's glare.
He apparently hadn't realized that the person Ayla was talking to was Darian, the First Prince.
The headmaster immediately bowed deeply to Darian, showing excessive politeness.
"Greetings to the little sun of the empire, His Highness the First Prince."
"So, what is the reason you're taking Student Ayla away in front of me?"
Darian asked coldly, and the headmaster glanced at Ayla with resentful eyes.
Then, he shouted in a voice filled with indignation, "Your Highness, Student Ayla was raising a Monsters egg! In the private Greenhouse that Professor Jacy was kind enough to provide!"
As soon as the headmaster finished speaking, the ballroom was filled with a silence as if all the air had been sucked out.
People stared at Ayla with shocked faces.
"Raising a Monsters egg?"
"Now that you mention it... I heard she recently became the top student. For a student raising a Monsters egg to suddenly become the top student, something's fishy."
"Good heavens, raising a Monsters egg in the sacred academy. That's what evil Mages use to increase their power."
The crowd whispered and murmured.
Their gazes quickly turned cold.
Sensing that the atmosphere had turned in his favor, the headmaster raised his voice even louder.
"As you can see, we need to investigate what she was doing with the Monsters egg. I apologize for the rudeness, but the situation is what it is."
Darian frowned, his lips pressed into a firm line.
Raising a Monsters egg was considered a serious crime in the empire.
It was because one of the main ingredients for the Forbidden Magic that led to the destruction of the ancient people long ago was a Monsters egg.
The headmaster then looked down at Ayla with a merciless expression.
"When you became the top student of the academy, I was truly surprised. I even briefly mistook you for someone with exceptional abilities despite your lowly status."
The headmaster spoke loudly, as if wanting everyone to hear.
"But as expected, you used such a despicable trick to become the top student."
However, Ayla didn't bat an eye at the reactions of the people.
She simply shook her head firmly.
"I didn't raise a Monsters egg."
The headmaster scoffed derisively.
"We'll see about that. Let's see if you can say the same after we check the egg ourselves."
He didn't seem to want to hear Ayla's explanation at all.
He immediately gestured to the soldiers behind him and ordered, "Take Ayla away immediately and lock her in a solitary cell!"
As soon as the order was given, the soldiers approached Ayla.
But before they could reach out, someone stepped forward.
"Wait a minute."
It was Ayla's partner, Felix.
He naturally extended his arm, blocking the path between Ayla and the soldiers.
"I'm the one who gave Ayla the egg. If you're going to take someone, take me."
Felix's gaze, as he glared at the headmaster, was resolute.
The headmaster's face twisted at the rude attitude.
'A commoner brat who doesn't know his place...!'
But despite his displeasure, he couldn't immediately lay a hand on him.
Felix was currently the only disciple of Duke Argenta.
If he were to arrest him rashly, the Argenta family might rise up and complicate the situation further.
'Of course, if it turns out that what he said is true, the Duke might even expel Felix from his apprenticeship.'
The headmaster looked at Felix, trying to hide his discomfort.
"What are you saying, Student Felix? You gave Student Ayla the Monsters egg she was raising? Did I understand that correctly?"
"Yes, I found the egg first and gave it to Ayla. But I gave it to her because I didn't think it was a Monsters egg. So take me instead of Ayla."
The headmaster cleared his throat.
Since Felix had spoken in a public place, it became difficult to exclude him from this incident.
But he couldn't allow Ayla to go free either.
He frowned, as if troubled, and declared, "Very well. Then we'll take both of you. Until the trial, both of you will be locked in solitary confinement."
It might even be a good thing.
The headmaster had been quite displeased with the fact that Felix, a commoner, was being treated as a talent who would lead the Kistar Knights.
'Perhaps this is an opportunity for the Duke to kick that guy out.'
Duke Argenta was a fair and just man, so if the investigation revealed their crimes to be true, he would no longer be able to protect Felix.
As the soldiers approached them again to make the arrest, Felix placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Ayla, not wanting things to escalate, hurriedly grabbed his arm.
"It's okay, Felix."
"But I'm the one who gave her the egg. It's unfair for Ayla to be locked up in solitary confinement too."
There was a strange sense of injustice in Felix's voice.
But Ayla whispered quietly in his ear, as if telling him not to worry.
"As you thought, that egg isn't a Monsters egg. So don't worry. There's no need to cause unnecessary trouble."
Her voice was like Magic.
Strangely enough, those few words calmed Felix's heart.
Felix stopped resisting.
The soldiers grabbed Felix and Ayla in turn and dragged them away.
"Ayla..."
Peony's face was covered in tears due to the sudden turn of events.
"Please believe her, Brother. She's not someone who would raise a Monsters egg. She became the top student solely through her own abilities."
"Don't worry, Peony. If Ayla is innocent, she will be released safely."
Darian carefully put his arm around his younger sister's shoulders.
After the two left, the atmosphere in the ballroom was quite chaotic.
People were no longer dancing or enjoying the ball, too busy talking about the shocking scene they had just witnessed.
Rosia, who was sitting next to Irene, was trying her best to suppress a wide smile.
This was a good opportunity to shake Irene.
Rosia whispered into her ear, so quietly that others couldn't hear.
"How could she do that, raising a Monsters egg?"
"..."
"Did Ayla want to beat me that badly that she had to resort to such measures? I'm so upset, Mother. I at least tried to compete fairly..."
"Ayla is not that kind of child."
Rosia's face twisted in annoyance at Irene's words.
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