Chapter 28: A New Magic for the Territory.

Lease appeared to have been expelled in absentia while still missing, but since no formal investigation had been conducted, Seira had not yet received any disciplinary action.

Consequently, her family—the Viscount Caria house—was reportedly preparing to accuse Lease of abducting their daughter.

In response, Lease’s father, the Marquis Therma, was attempting to avoid the lawsuit by formally engaging Lease to Seira.

Various transactions had apparently taken place between the two houses for the sake of this engagement.

The Viscount Caria house withdrew their complaint and accepted the Marquis Therma’s proposal.

Even though Lease and Seira were absent and their whereabouts unknown, the engagement between them was thus established.

If the two ever learned of it, they would probably rejoice that their “true love” had finally borne fruit.

Should they be found, formal punishment would be decided, and Seira too would face expulsion.

For now, it was merely a nominal engagement, but both the Marquis Therma and Viscount Caria houses seemed focused solely on preserving appearances.

They were conducting only perfunctory searches; in truth, they likely preferred the pair to remain missing.

However, the academy intended to properly search for and retrieve them, then administer appropriate discipline.

Of course, Amelia and Lease’s engagement was officially dissolved.

Upon learning the facts, both parents immediately protested to the Marquis Therma house and completed the formal dissolution procedures.

To prove Amelia bore no fault, her father had apparently demanded compensation citing Lease’s infidelity.

The Marquis Therma house was already in considerable financial distress due to their son’s elopement scandal and the dealings with the Caria house.

Nevertheless, acknowledging their son’s wrongdoing, they agreed to pay the compensation.

But relations could never return to what they once were.

Even the long-standing bond between the fathers had been shattered.

For once, Amelia truly felt depressed, blaming herself for not noticing Lease’s trap sooner.

Moreover, her father had not yet given up on her marriage and was apparently frantically searching for a new fiancé.

Her mother had suggested letting Amelia pursue the path of a researcher since she was so outstanding, but he refused to listen.

Her father’s fixation on Amelia wasn’t solely about wanting a biological heir to inherit the territory.

Earth magic users were far more commonly male than female.

He had not abandoned hope of reviving earth magic in the count’s house.

He knew the odds were higher of finding a male earth magic user to marry Amelia than of finding a female one for her cousin.

Yet Amelia had only just had her long engagement nullified, and earth magic users were rare.

Finding one would not be easy.

In the meantime, Amelia simply continued her studies as planned.

If no fiancé was decided upon, her father would eventually relent.

Her mother, uncle, and cousin all agreed—everyone except her father—that the cousin should inherit the count’s house.

“Even so, studying in the self-study room until closing time every single day is a bit excessive.”

The one gently scolding Amelia was Marie.

One year her senior, she looked after Amelia almost like an older sister.

For Amelia, who hadn’t returned to her original class even once since the incident, Marie was her one and only friend.

“Do you at least eat lunch properly?”

“Yes. I eat with Sarju-sama.”

At Julius’s request, she made sure to have lunch with Sarju.

That said, many times she went to call him from the library, only for both of them to become absorbed in books until it was after school hours before they realized.

Kaido had apparently called out to them repeatedly; the exhausted look on his face had made her feel terribly guilty.

Marie, being in the same class as Sarju, probably knew even better how extreme he could be.

She gave a complicated expression.

“I can’t tell whether you and Sarju-denka are perfectly compatible… or whether being together just makes you both even more dangerous.”

Marie often had to rein in Amelia when she became too immersed in studying.

Julius frequently looked after Sarju when he forgot to eat or drink because of his research.

Gradually, the four of them began spending more time together.

The two older ones seemed to exchange information often and spent time together even when Sarju and Amelia were absent.

“My brother will probably end up engaged to Marie-san.”

While helping Sarju compile data at the royal castle, Amelia couldn’t help but smile at his words.

“Congratulations.”

After meeting repeatedly, the two had grown quite close.

The usually strong-willed Marie would blush and fall silent in front of Julius—it was heartwarming to watch.

Marie was a count’s daughter, but the Edori Count house possessed both wealth and influence.

Her decision to help Amelia without being swayed by rumors had apparently been a decisive factor.

“I heard your engagement was safely nullified.”

“Yes. The engagement with Lease has been formally dissolved. However, Father still hasn’t given up on finding me a new fiancé…”

He would accept anyone as long as they could use earth magic.

His frantic, no-holds-barred search was honestly a little frightening.

“I see. But why is Count Renis so fixated on earth magic?”

Earth magic was certainly valuable for a territory rich in farmland, but the head of the house didn’t necessarily need to be the user.

“It’s probably because of my great-grandfather.”

Until earth magic was lost from the Renis house, soil improvement and growth promotion spells had greatly enriched the territory.

But now, due to irregular weather and other factors, yields were only about half of what they once were.

Precisely because of this situation, her father longed for the revival of earth magic.

So intensely that neither her mother nor Amelia’s words could reach him.

“Then we should raise the value of water magic even higher—enough that not having the head of the house use water magic would be seen as a loss.”

“Sarju-sama?”

He placed stacks of reference books, Amelia’s data, and papers he himself had written in front of her.

“The new wheat variety is resistant to cold damage but vulnerable to pests. That vulnerability might be solvable with water magic.”

“…With water magic?”

The possibility that water magic—which she had thought useful only for water manipulation—could benefit the territory made Amelia’s heart race.

If the new wheat variety could be protected from pests, it grew well and yielded abundantly.

With a method to prevent insect damage, yields could surely return to previous levels.

And if—as Sarju suggested—they could implement such magic, it would fundamentally change the perception that water magic was valuable only for healing.

“We will create this magic. However, water magic is not my specialty. That’s why I need your help, Amelia. I know a lot has happened, so it might be difficult, but of course you can do it in between exam studies.”

“Yes, Sarju-sama. If it’s within my power, I’ll do anything.”

Amelia nodded repeatedly at his words.

Creating a new magic was no simple task.

But if anyone could do it, Sarju could.

Being able to assist him in such a way filled her with immense honor.