Chapter 30: A Mother’s Gentle Smile.

Amelia felt far beyond mere nervousness at the prospect of pretending to be Sarju’s fiancée—even if it was officially sanctioned by the royal family for his safety.

She worried he might dislike the idea of her posing as his betrothed, even as a pretense.

Yet both Sophia and Marie looked faintly exasperated when she voiced the concern, assuring her that such a thing was utterly impossible.

Following Sophia’s suggestions, Amelia finalized the dress design and promised to return with Marie for the fitting.

As they parted, Marie gave her an encouraging “Do your best.”

Amelia wasn’t entirely sure what she was supposed to do her best at, but she nodded anyway.

From there, she headed straight to the royal library where Sarju was waiting.

The moment he noticed her, Sarju stood and came forward to greet her.

“Amelia. Is the meeting finished?”

“Yes. Sophia-sama took care of everything.”

“I see. I would have preferred to gift you the dress myself, but I’m not yet in a position to do so.”

“…Eh?”

The unexpected words made her look up in surprise, but Sarju merely smiled gently.

That day, she returned to the dormitory instead of staying at the castle.

A letter from her father in the territory awaited her.

He and her mother would be coming to the capital to attend Julius and Marie’s engagement announcement party.

He wrote that he would bring a male escort for Amelia—since her own engagement had just been dissolved—so she must tell him it was unnecessary.

It might even be one of the fiancé candidates her father had selected.

Since Sophia had not yet explained the arrangement, Amelia had been prepared to follow her father’s wishes.

But no matter who it was, she could not prioritize anyone over Sarju.

(If I write that Sarju-sama will escort me, it will cause an uproar—so I’ll say I asked a senior from the academy.)

It would come out on the day anyway, but better this way than causing a commotion back in the territory.

She never imagined her father would distrust her words and bring a fiancé candidate on the day itself.

The dresses for Amelia and Marie, rushed into production at top priority, turned out magnificent.

Marie’s gown—as the star of the event—was naturally the finest, but Amelia’s was also of a quality she had never worn before.

Anxiously, she consulted Marie, who responded with a refreshingly clear smile, as though something had been resolved inside her.

“You’ll be standing beside Sarju-sama, so of course it has to be at least this good.”

Indeed—she could not appear shabby at his side.

The development of the new water magic was progressing little by little.

As a result, the location of her assistance shifted from the academy library to the royal castle’s library or the experimental fields in a quiet corner of the gardens.

Amelia began staying overnight at the castle more frequently.

One of the guest rooms had gradually become “her room,” now holding changes of clothes, spare uniforms, study materials, and more.

But without escort knight Kaido present at the castle, both of them often lost track of time in their absorption.

If they overdid it, Sophia and Sarju’s brothers would worry—so that was the one thing she had to be careful about.

Even thinking so, today once again they remained in the royal library until late.

“Sarju-sama. It seems the fields irrigated with magic-infused water suffered noticeably less damage.”

Amelia submitted her compiled data: past records and the results of experiments conducted in the castle gardens.

Using the same wheat seeds, grown to a certain stage with Sarju’s growth-promotion magic, she had carried out her own tests.

Sarju accepted the report and scanned it quickly.

From childhood, Amelia had used water magic to assist with irrigation in hopes of benefiting the territory somehow.

She had casually kept records of those efforts for about five years.

When she compared them now, she discovered that channeling magic into the water reduced pest and cold damage, allowing the wheat to grow more robustly.

The difference was subtle—likely something she would never have noticed without years of meticulous data collection.

The irrigation magic used in the territory was a broad-area, fine-rain style: 【Ri Peida Rogu】—“water,” “wide range,” “pour down.”

Chanting consumed mana continuously, so more complex incantations required proportionally greater power.

Ordinary magic used one or two words; even complex ones topped out at four.

Someone with Sarju’s vast mana could wield anything effortlessly.

But their goal was a water magic usable by anyone with the affinity—meaning they had to minimize mana consumption and keep the incantation concise.

“Since irrigation already uses three magical phrases, adding one more makes four. But not everyone can chant four words…”

Amelia pondered deeply.

When Sarju tested it, he added “pest,” “prevent,” and “non-toxic” to the original three—making six in total.

Even for pest prevention, food crops required “non-toxic” to avoid poisonous effects.

Yet six was far too complex—even Amelia couldn’t chant it.

They needed to reduce it to at least three for practicality.

But magic didn’t form just by stringing words together; the phrases had to harmonize in affinity and attribute.

Finding compatible combinations required repeated trials—and thus enormous mana expenditure.

Moreover, neither of them could devote themselves solely to water magic development.

Amelia needed to study for her exam, while Sarju had to continue his earth magic and botany research.

And the engagement announcement party was only ten days away.

“I’m sorry—tomorrow I have to go to Sophia-sama to decide on jewels to match the dress and the hairstyle…”

“I know. You don’t need to come tomorrow. It will probably take quite a while.”

Sarju said it so calmly—he had likely already known.

The next day, when Amelia visited Sophia together with Marie, she widened her eyes at the beautiful woman standing beside Sophia.

After exchanging a startled glance with Marie, she hurriedly curtsied.

“So you’re Amelia. Thank you for always helping Sarju.”

Radiant golden hair.

Vivid green eyes—exactly the same as Sarju’s.

Even in her mid-thirties, her beauty remained undimmed, strikingly similar to his.

The beautiful queen—whom Sophia addressed as “Mother”—smiled gently at Amelia.