Chapter 14: Soaked Pages and a Kind Stranger.

The next day.

Amelia headed to the academy carrying the completed materials.

The stack had grown quite thick, so she placed it in a large document bag.
Sarju would come to the classroom after classes ended, so she could simply hand it over then.

Or so she thought.

But while she was away from the classroom for lunch, Emira apparently grew curious about the precious bundle Amelia had been carefully holding.

When she returned, the document bag was gone.

With a sinking feeling, she glanced toward Emira.
The group was looking out at the courtyard and giggling among themselves.

A bad premonition struck her.
She hurried to the window and peered out—only to see her document bag sinking in the fountain.

Amelia caught her breath.
At the sight of her reaction, the girls laughed even more gleefully.

(This really is going too far…)

Even if Amelia truly had refused to dissolve the engagement with Reese, that was a matter between the two of them.
At most, only Reese’s lover had any real stake in it.

Yet simply because malicious rumors were circulating about her, they felt justified in doing something this cruel.

Power carries heavy responsibility.
One who fails to understand that cannot serve as the wife of royalty.

Julius’s words had been undeniably correct.

(Will this sort of thing become evidence later when the engagement is broken off…?)

Any lingering guilt she had felt toward Emira vanished without a trace.

She hoped the engagement would end as spectacularly as possible.

With a sigh, Amelia walked down to the courtyard.

There was no mistaking it—the bag submerged in the water was hers.

Without hesitation, she reached into the large fountain and retrieved it.
Dripping water soaked her uniform, but she paid it no mind.
Opening the bag, she found every page of the materials thoroughly drenched and illegible.

(This is… beyond salvage…)

Fortunately, these were the fair copies she had prepared for Sarju.
The original drafts were still safe in her dormitory room.
The data itself had not been lost.
Still—she would not be able to hand anything over to Sarju today as promised.

She had worked so hard to organize it all yesterday.
The thought made genuine sadness well up inside her.

“Are you all right?”

A sudden voice made her look up.
A young lady was watching her with concern.

She appeared to be an upperclassman.

Straight silver hair.
Clear blue eyes.
Tall and striking—a commanding beauty.

“Your uniform is soaked through. What happened?”

Her voice was gentle, full of genuine worry.

“I stepped out for lunch, and when I returned my bag was gone. I’ve been looking for it.”

At her honest reply, the young lady frowned, glancing back and forth between Amelia’s drenched figure and the sodden bag in her hands.

“How awful. To think someone would pull such a nasty prank here at the Royal Magic Academy. Which class are you in?”

“First year, Class A.”

The young lady muttered under her breath—something about how shameful it was for top-ranked students to stoop to such childish harassment—then looked at Amelia again.

“Do you have any idea who did it?”

“…I only have suspicions, so I cannot say for certain.”

It was undoubtedly Emira’s doing, but Amelia doubted she would personally walk all the way to the courtyard to dispose of it.
The actual perpetrator was likely someone else.

“I see. Then—what’s the reason? There must be one for this to have happened.”

“Because I am Amelia Renia.”

That was the only reason needed.

The young lady must have heard the rumors circulating through the academy; she let out an exasperated sigh.

“And does this have anything to do with your classmates?”

“…It shouldn’t.”

She, too, seemed to share Amelia’s opinion on that point.

With another sigh, she raised her hand.
A gentle wind magic enveloped Amelia, drying her uniform and the bag in moments.

“Thank you very much.”

“I’m sorry—my magic can’t restore documents to their original state.”

“No, this is more than enough. Truly, thank you.”

After being exposed to so much malice, this kindness touched her deeply.

The young lady introduced herself as Marie.

She was a second-year, same as Reese and Sarju, and the daughter of Count Edori.

Amelia knew the Edori Earldom well.

They owned mines within their territory that produced rare and valuable ores.
They also possessed a vast mansion in the capital and were among the wealthiest noble families.

She had never imagined someone from such a prestigious house would show her such kindness.

“Thank you again,” Amelia bowed once more.

Marie looked at her with faint exasperation.

“Rumors really can’t be trusted, can they? You don’t look at all like the kind of person Reese described.”

Marie had been in the same class as Reese during their first year—though they were now in different classes—and knew him quite well.

“Back in first year, he was in Class A with me. At first he was extremely studious—full of ambition to master magic for the future of his territory.”

That sounded exactly like the Reese Amelia had known.

“But around summer, he met Seyla from Viscount Karia’s house. After that, he lost focus in classes entirely. By second year he’d dropped all the way to Class C.”

“I see…”

So Reese hadn’t been “too busy studying” at all—he had simply been infatuated with Seyla.

If he had started in Class C, one might attribute it to lack of talent.
But falling from A to C was deeply humiliating.

“Meeting you here feels like fate. I don’t approve of the way Reese is handling things. If there’s anything I can do to help, just say the word.”

“…Thank you.”

Amelia realized—not everyone at the academy was an enemy.

She had no intention of relying on others lightly, but knowing this brought her quiet relief as she returned to the classroom.

The bag remained stiff and crinkled even after drying; the documents inside were in pitiful condition.
As she sat at her desk and inspected the damage with a sigh, Emira and the other classmates openly mocked her.

Not a single one looked even slightly apologetic.

A provincial noble with terrible rumors attached to her name and not a single friend.

To them, that was enough justification to torment her without remorse.

But they had no idea who those documents had been intended for.

They did not know that Amelia had already become acquainted with Julius and Sarju—and that both princes had declared her their friend.

Once this lesson ended, Sarju would surely come to this very classroom to collect the materials.

Whatever guilt she might once have felt toward them was gone.

Therefore, she would tell him everything—honestly and without omission.