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“It’s all thanks to Ayla. She unleashed a large-scale Magic, wiping out more than half of the Monsters.”
Magic Tower Lord Seran raised one corner of his mouth and chimed in with Prince Darian’s words.
“It was truly amazing. There are few Mages in the Magic Tower who can cast Magic of that magnitude.”
At their praise, not only the Dean but also the professors stared at Ayla with astonished expressions.
“Is Ayla’s skill really that high?”
“What kind of Magic did she use?”
The Magic Tower Lord answered the murmuring professors.
“It was a wide-area Magic called the Flame of the Sun. It was often used in wars long ago.”
“Is that true?”
“How can she have such skill at her age…?”
Everyone stared at Ayla, speechless. Then, Prince Darian cleared his throat, drawing people’s attention.
“What’s important now is not that. We must first find out why so many Monsters targeted these students.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right. If what the Prince says is true, then this is definitely… impossible naturally.”
As the Dean seemed to deeply agree, Ayla nodded and took over the conversation.
“Yes, and strangely, I felt like the Monsters were only targeting me. I can only think that someone artificially interfered.”
“But who on earth, and for what reason, would target you? Is there anything you’ve done to incur personal resentment?”
“…There are some things that come to mind, but I think we need to investigate to know for sure.”
Ayla said, watching Prince Darian.
“So, I ask you, Prince Darian. Please reveal the truth of this matter.”
At her words, Prince Darian nodded heavily.
“I swear. This is not a matter to be taken lightly. To control so many Monsters… it must be some kind of evil sorcery.”
Listening to their conversation, worry filled the Dean’s face.
He thought the matter would be resolved without incident, thanks to the students returning safely, but it seemed the situation was going to escalate more than he had thought.
He cautiously interjected.
“But will there be any evidence left? To confirm that someone interfered, we would have to investigate the Monsters directly.”
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
Darian said briefly, turning to Ayla.
“Ayla asked me to capture the corpses of the dead Monsters and one intermediate Monster in preparation for that. My men should be bringing them now.”
“I, I see.”
While the two were talking, Ayla’s attention was entirely focused outside.
Rosia’s flustered face as she looked at her earlier kept replaying in her mind.
‘Looking at Rosia’s reaction just now, it seems almost certain that she’s the culprit.’
Until now, no matter what Rosia did, Ayla had no power and had to endure it.
But now, it was clear to anyone that she was the victim.
‘It’s all thanks to Rosia acting recklessly.’
Of course, she couldn’t rule out the possibility that Rosia had erased all traces in the meantime.
But even so, Ayla was determined to corner Rosia as much as possible.
‘To dare put not only me but also others in danger… you won’t get away with this, Rosia.’
Ayla clenched her fist and vowed.
The students who testified about what happened in the forest left the barracks shortly after.
Many students buzzed around, asking them what had happened, but Ayla and her party remained silent, as if they had made a promise.
As soon as Felix got away from the crowd, he asked Ayla worriedly.
“Are you okay? It seems like you’ve been through too much today.”
Ayla smiled weakly and turned to him.
“It’s not just me. You’ve worked hard today.”
“Can you walk? Should I give you a piggyback ride?”
“No, I’m not that tired.”
Ayla waved her hand and was about to part ways with the group to return to the barracks.
Suddenly, a heavy voice grabbed her from behind.
“…Ayla.”
It was Cedric. Ayla’s eyes twitched slightly as she turned to him.
“What’s the matter?”
“I have a favor to ask. Could you spare some time for me after the Subjugation Contest is over?”
“…Is it something you can’t talk about now?”
“I think it will be a long story.”
After a moment of silence, Ayla nodded. She sensed that it was an unavoidable situation.
“Yes, I understand.”
In fact, she had noticed that his eyes had changed somehow after she cast the wide-area Magic in front of Cedric.
‘It’s understandable that he’s confused. I’m not even the legitimate daughter of the Blanche Noble house, but I used such large-scale Magic.’
Even the Prince and the Magic Tower Lord witnessed it. The rumors would probably spread quickly.
The only good thing was that she had performed so well that her application for early graduation would be easily accepted.
‘Of course, there’s a condition that I have to pass the graduation exam with high marks.’
But as someone who had already experienced many more difficult things, Ayla was confident that she could pass the graduation exam without any problems.
What she was more worried about was whether she could get her hands on the Count of Arma’s land before anyone else.
‘That’s the only way I can win over Yuria.’
In the darkness, Ayla’s eyes gleamed resolutely.
The Subjugation Contest ended quietly after the first day.
Originally, it was customary for the Subjugation Contest to tally the scores for three days and rank the final standings.
However, due to the abnormal phenomenon that occurred on the first day, Ayla and her party subjugated most of the Monsters living in the Ritsha Forest.
In addition, the Dean and faculty judged that they could no longer continue the Subjugation Contest because they had to investigate the truth of the large-scale attack on the students.
As the Subjugation Contest ended in one day, Ayla and her party, who had made overwhelming achievements, naturally took first place.
The students who returned to the academy came to admire Ayla’s skills even more because of this.
“I didn’t know Ayla’s Magic skills were so outstanding. I can’t believe she can use fifth-circle Flame Magic.”
“Isn’t that better than most Mages in the Magic Tower? Is there any point in attending the academy?”
“A senior named Ruvahn, who was in the same group, said that Ayla’s skills are better than most professors. Not only Flame Magic but also other Magic are top-notch.”
“I heard that too. Judging from what that senior said, he seems to be completely smitten with Ayla?”
“Well, it’s the first time I’ve seen such a big gap between first and second place.”
While the students were admiring the last tallied scores, Freya frowned unhappily as she passed by in the hallway.
“It’s all about Ayla everywhere I go.”
“……”
“How did her Magic skills grow so quickly? It’s an impossible rate. Rosia, don’t you have anything to say?”
Freya knew now. There were no mistakes in Rosia’s Magic.
It was just that Ayla’s skills were beyond expectations, so their plan failed.
Rosia turned to Freya with a deeply furrowed brow.
“…More importantly, is Kadin’s mouth shut for sure? It will be troublesome if he testifies about us.”
“Don’t worry about that. If Kadin mentions us in this matter, it’s the same as becoming enemies of the Count of Arma and Duke Blanche.”
“……”
“No matter how crazy Kadin is these days, he won’t commit such an act.”
Freya reassured her, saying that Kadin would never act recklessly because the affairs between the Noble houses were intertwined.
Rosia still frowned, looking uneasy.
“Did you erase all the evidence?”
“Of course. What do you think of me?”
Freya twisted her lips and smiled.
“No matter how many investigators are dispatched from the Imperial Palace, they can’t frame us as the culprits.”
Rosia stared up at Freya for a moment, then looked straight ahead again.
She was still uneasy, but she still had a reliable support.
‘No matter how much Ayla is determined, she can’t overcome his power.’
After watching the series of events that took place immediately after the Subjugation Contest, Rosia immediately wrote a letter to the Empress.
She was worried that Prince Darian was taking this matter so seriously, perhaps she had betrayed her.
But fortunately, the reply she received shortly after was positive.
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