Alice’s wail at dawn shattered the silence of the morning sky.

Her lips, the corners of her eyes, her cheeks… even her limbs, starting from the shoulders, were twitching and spasming without pause…

The sensation was far too much for her to bear.

“I’m sorry, Lady Alice. Are you all right?”

Coming to her senses, Rosetti hurriedly reached out to help Alice, flustered.

Her earlier panic, combined with overusing a forbidden spell, had left the magic inside her too unstable to settle down.

Magic poured out from her Extreme Cold Constitution, making the air several degrees colder.

“Mmm-mm-mm… I’m fine. I can manage on my own.”

Alice waved a hand. Though she was hailed as a genius of the new age, she was still an ordinary person, and she could withstand the cold radiating from Rosetti.

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“I said I’m fine. More importantly, Rosetti, you losing control of your magic… That’s not like you…”

Alice glanced at the teacup on the table. It had been steaming just a moment ago, but now it was frozen solid. Her elegant phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.

She stared at the girl before her, gathered her thoughts, then asked in a tone that carried a hint of accusation:

“The report says that Mu’er Aotiliya stepped in and stopped the incident… Before she did, you didn’t use a forbidden spell again, did you?”

“…”

“Not going to say anything…?”

Rosetti’s silence was answer enough.

Alice rubbed her deeply furrowed brow and let out a helpless sigh.

“You… I’ve told you so many times. Even though you’re a half-blood with an Extreme Cold Constitution, using that kind of thing too often will cause irreversible harm to your body. Why won’t you listen?!”

“I’m really sorry. Things were urgent, and I didn’t have time to think…”

Rosetti lowered her head, looking downcast and uneasy. Right now, she didn’t even have the courage to look Alice in the eye.

Looking at the uneasy girl with her head bowed, Alice couldn’t bring herself to say a single one of the reprimands that had been on the tip of her tongue…

After all, Rosetti had only resorted to this because she had to protect the home they’d always depended on. Alice understood that. She couldn’t bring herself to scold her after all that.

It was the same whether she looked at it as a friend or as the city lord.

“This is the last time. From now on, don’t use it again without my permission.”

“Okay.”

Alice patted Rosetti on the head and smiled.

Alice had complicated feelings about this friend and bestie of hers, who was a little older than her but somehow seemed more like a younger sister.

As the city lord, Alice ought to commend Rosetti’s selfless act of protecting their home. But as her friend, she couldn’t help feeling a little…

“Huh?! Come to think of it, Rosetti, you seem a little different today.”

“D-Do I?”

Rosetti hurriedly raised her head, her eyes darting about. She forced an awkward smile and said:

“I think I’m pretty much the same as usual.”

“Is that so?”

Alice frowned and tilted her head suspiciously, giving Rosetti another careful look from head to toe.

She kept looking her over until their eyes finally met. And then…

“Rosetti, did you put on makeup? And why aren’t you wearing your hood?”

“Ah, that’s because…”

Rosetti raised both hands in a fluster, hiding her flushed cheeks behind her wide sleeves as she turned her head away.

Heat seemed to wash over her. Rosetti stumbled over her words; the sudden question had left her at a loss for what to say.

But that wasn’t all.

“Oh, right, there’s something else I wanted to ask. Where did you sleep last night? I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“Well, um, this, that… I actually…”

Alice pressed her with questions, her face utterly sincere and her intentions completely innocent.

Rosetti grew more and more flustered, until it looked like little white clouds might start popping out of her head.

A blush spread across her long, pointed ears until their original color was no longer visible.

The more Alice looked at her increasingly strange bestie, the deeper her frown became, and the more suspicious her gaze grew.

It was the first time in her life Alice had ever seen Rosetti so flustered, so unable to control her feelings…

Was she sick or something?

But… it didn’t look like that. If anything, she seemed more like…

“Rosetti, are you in love?”

Pfft—

“A-A-Alice, don’t say things like that! How could I be in love? I’ve always put you first…”

“You really are in love.”

“Mmm…”

Alice’s eyes widened in shock. She didn’t sound doubtful—she sounded certain.

Rosetti was still an innocent girl, a complete novice in every way, and she really had no idea how to handle this.

Should she just tell Alice about her relationship with him?

But would that really be okay?

After all, officially, Alice was Lin Ge’s fiancée. Wouldn’t Rosetti be cutting in ahead of her?

And… though she didn’t show it on the surface, Alice was actually the one who hated Lin Ge the most…

Now that Rosetti and Lin Ge had turned their fake relationship into something real, the whole situation was a mess…

“Oh, I see… So you’re in love… You are, huh? You’ve reached that age already.”

To Rosetti’s surprise, once Alice was sure, she didn’t press her any further.

Instead, her expression turned calm. She rested her chin on her hand and muttered to herself, as if she were wrestling with something…

Rosetti pressed her lips together uneasily. It was true that she’d really fallen for Lin Ge. But if Alice didn’t approve, she could only obey her for now, then see if she could change her mind later…

“Don’t worry, Lady Alice. I’ll make sure to stay by your side first, so…” Rosetti hurriedly tried to explain.

“You’ve got it wrong. I’m not against you falling in love. If you really are in love, Rosetti, I’ll support you.”

“Then what are you…?”

“I mean that man. Even if it’s only a fake marriage, if rumors that could hurt you get out, he might use them to take advantage of you and push his luck. So I was thinking, maybe I should find a good excuse to divorce him sooner or later… What’s wrong?”

As Alice went on, Rosetti’s expression grew more and more contorted.

What kind of expression was she supposed to make in response to that?

Should she smile and say, “Actually, we’ve made the fake relationship real. Ehehe!”?

Something like that…

…Heh. She couldn’t even imagine how wonderful the scene that would follow would be…

“Lady Alice, everyone’s here. The meeting can begin now.”

“Got it. I’ll be right there.”

A maid’s summons put the conversation on hold for the time being. But it had planted the idea in Alice’s mind that she should divorce Lin Ge as soon as possible.

Even if it was for her friend’s happiness, she had to give it a shot and get the Empress to revoke the imperial decree.

With Lin Ge arriving just in time and joining them, the meeting on the future development of the Grayshawa Territory, centered around Bota City, began…

And it didn’t take long for them to reach a conclusion.

Bota City was still teetering on the brink of destruction.