"What did you talk about?"
In response to his question, Karina replied with an expression as if to say, "What does it matter that we're about to get a divorce?"
"Should I answer?"
"..."
Then Jeremiah's mouth snapped shut. Instead of answering, Jeremiah held out his hand.
"I have no intention of dancing."
Karina rejected his request to dance outright.
"I have something to say. I have something to ask."
Jeremiah said without taking his hand away.
'What should I say? Just say it here. Why?'
Karina looked around in confusion. Then she realized why he had asked her to dance, saying he had something to say. The nobles around her were glancing at Karina and Jeremiah, pretending not to notice and listening to their conversation.
'This...'
Karina clicked her tongue inwardly. As Jeremiah had said, it was common for the first dance at a banquet to be performed with one's spouse, and it seemed like it would be best to dance while conversing, which would be the least noticeable.
"..."
Karina had no choice but to accept Jeremiah's request to dance. Karina and Jeremiah went to the center of the hall and stood facing each other. Jeremiah lightly placed his hand on Karina's waist and held Karina's hand with his other hand. Karina placed her other hand on Jeremiah's forearm and took a stance. Then the two of them began to slowly step to the music.
"What do you want to say?"
Karina asked him what was going on as if to tell him to hurry up and finish. Jeremiah hesitated for a moment, his lips quivering, and then asked.
"What you said to me on the carriage ride to the capital. Are you serious?"
If it was what she had said to Jeremiah on the carriage ride to the capital, it was that she had grand plans for divorce, publicly declaring herself infertile and asking for a divorce today.
"Of course."
Karina answered, feeling proud of herself for coming up with such a perfect plan.
"So you really want to say it in front of people?"
"That's right."
Jeremiah's face hardened as he saw Karina answering without hesitation.
"Don't do it."
Jeremiah spoke in a low voice.
"...?"
Karina didn't understand why he was suddenly stopping her from doing it, but she asked just in case.
"Do you have any other good plans?"
Jeremiah answered, frowning.
"I'll think of another way."
Karina snorted.
'Then that's right.'
There could be no better plan than the one he had made.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything. After the banquet, you just need to go to His Majesty the Emperor and ask for a divorce."
Karina looked up at Jeremiah with an expression that said, "That's not easy."
Karina saw herself reflected in Jeremiah's eyes. He had a very calm, nonchalant expression. For a moment, she felt relieved. She was glad that she could leave him with her confident appearance for the last time. She was really glad that she could end it with a completely different appearance from her foolish past. Perhaps because she was relieved, Karina's feet suddenly twisted.
"Oh...!"
Jeremiah lifted Karina's body, which was about to fall over with a short groan, with one arm.
"...!"
Jeremiah naturally spun around while holding Karina as if it were a continuous movement leading to a dance. Then the hem of Karina's dress fluttered voluminously and sparkled brightly in the light of the chandelier.
"Oh my God!"
The nobles who saw this scene exclaimed in admiration here and there. Thanks to this, the two people attracted more and more attention. Jeremiah gently put Karina down.
"Are you okay?"
Karina answered, calming her startled. heart.
"... I'm okay."
Just as Karina was thinking that she could finally exit in style, she almost fell over. Her face turned red and she felt embarrassed. Jeremiah knew that Karina was embarrassed, so he covered Karina with his body from the eyes of those around her. Soon, the dance performance ended. Karina wiped her expression and quickly changed the subject.
"Are we going to go greet His Majesty now?"
During the New Year's festival, the nobles would take turns greeting the Emperor and listening to his words of wisdom. Karina's declaration of infertility was also made at this time. As the Grand Duke of Colesberg, he was of high rank, so he was naturally first in line for greeting. Now that the dance music was over, it would be Jeremiah's turn.
"..."
Jeremiah nodded with a reluctant expression.
"Let's go."
Karina regained her composure and showed a prepared expression. Jeremiah, seeing Karina like that, also made a determined expression as if he had made up his mind.
"Yes."
***
Meanwhile, Mikhail, who had hidden himself with a stealth spell, arrived at the palace where the New Year's festival was being held just in time for the banquet to begin. He was looking for a place where he could watch Karina without being caught. However, a problem arose even before they started.
'Hmm, is this a barrier?'
Perhaps because it was the palace where the Emperor resided, there were several layers of powerful magic barriers hanging over it.
'I have to solve this first if I don't want to get caught.'
The barrier was designed to be tight and without any gaps as if it had been installed by a high-ranking wizard. It was not easy to pass through the barrier without being detected.
'But it's not entirely impossible.
Mikhail began to concentrate and search for a loophole in the magic barrier. And after a while.
"Yes!"
Mikhail passed through the barrier smoothly without being detected and started looking for a good place again.
'Where would be good?'
The ceiling seemed like a good place to look around the banquet hall. He gave up on going inside the banquet hall from the beginning. Even for Mikhail, it wasn't easy to fool his master. Mikhail's master was the current owner of the Magic Tower,
'Pavel Oelich'.
He was a great figure who was evaluated to have opened a new horizon in the world of magic. He brought in children with potential and taught them magic, allowing their talents to blossom early on, and gathered scattered magicians to expand his power. With his abundant knowledge and outstanding magic skills, he raised the level of magic to a higher level, and one of his achievements was that the current Magic Tower was treated as an independent nation.
The Magic Tower owner had the 'Eye of Truth', which allowed him to see through the essence of things and glimpse the truth, through some kind of contract. Those who didn't know this fact mistakenly thought that the Magic Tower owner could see the future. The master was not easy to please, as befitting his reputation.
'If I stay in the banquet hall, I'll definitely get caught.'
Mikhail happened to find a small space on a corner terrace high above the banquet hall where the servants would climb up to maintain the roof.
'I like it here.'
It was a place where he could clearly see into the banquet hall through the window without being noticed by people. If only the window was open, it seemed like he could even hear the sounds coming from inside.
'Is it good?'
As Mikhail sat down, people began to enter the banquet hall. Mikhail waited for Karina to come with a bored expression. While waiting, he saw his teacher, Pavel, attending the banquet. Max was also with him. Mikhail quickly hid his body that he had been leaning out. Then he stuck his head out and looked around the banquet hall again.
'I think it's okay to not get caught like this?'
Mikhail secretly glanced at the teacher. As soon as Pavel entered, he didn't hide his displeased expression. He was giving off the impression that he was annoying and that people should not talk to him, but people still gathered around him. Pavel exchanged a few words with them, but then left the banquet hall as if he was annoyed.
'Where are you going?"
I thought I'd ask Max later. Soon after, Karina entered the hall with Jeremiah.
"She comes!"
Mikhail's eyes gently melted when he saw Karina.
'Wow, you look really pretty today.'
Mikhail was amazed when he saw Karina appearing at the banquet hall.
'If I knew you could dress up so nicely, I would have gone and seen your face before coming here and told you how pretty you were!'
Mikhail swallowed his regret and kept his eyes on Karina. That's how Mikhail had been watching her since she entered the banquet hall. He saw Karina mingling with other noble ladies and then being left alone with the blond man.
'What is that guy?'
Mikhail didn't like the blonde man who approached Karina.
'It doesn't have to feel like that.'
Mikhail frowned. He couldn't hear exactly what Karina and the man were talking about because of the surrounding noise. Mikhail looked closely at the blond man.
'Huh? That guy. He has a little bit of magic power, right?"
Even though he used an artifact to hide it, Mikhail's eyes could not be fooled. At that moment, the Emperor entered the banquet hall. Even while the Emperor gave his congratulatory speech, Mikhail focused entirely on Karina. He kept thinking that if he had known that the Master would pass away so soon, he would not have lied about being sick and left the escort.
'Should I just say I'm better now and go in?'
He was thinking about going in as an escort and staying by her side when suddenly he heard a voice from behind him.
"What are you doing here?"
"OMG...!"
Mikhail turned around in surprise. There was Pavel, standing with his back to the empty space.
"What are you looking at with such amusement?"
Pavel craned his neck and looked down into the banquet hall, just as Mikhail had done.
"Huh?"
He seemed to have discovered something, his eyes sparkling and his mouth wateringly spoke.
"That's really interesting. Did you put something that was once broken back together again?"
Pavel touched his chin and muttered something incomprehensible to himself.
"How did you stick it on? Oh... But even if you force it on, it won't be as good as new... Then it won't function..."
Pavel tended to talk to himself a lot. It was a habit he developed when he spent long periods alone in his room, absorbed in magical research. Mikhail opened his mouth, thinking that it was time to start again.
"Master. Why are you here?"
Pavel turned his gaze back to Mikhail and made a sour expression.
"Why! I came to find that sly disciple."
Mikhail felt like he was in trouble. As soon as he relaxed his mind, thinking that he hadn't been caught, a cold sweat ran down his back as he faced the situation.
"How did you know I was here?"
Mikhail asked openly.
"How many times have I searched for you after you ran away? At this rate, you've come to me asking me to find you."
Pavel snorted and made a pitiful expression.
"..."
Mikhail tried to hide his troubled expression and get over the situation.
"But since you are the owner of the magic tower, shouldn't you not be away for so long? Don't worry about me and just go back to the banquet hall..."
Pavel snapped at Mikhail before he could finish speaking.
"What do you mean go back! Just show up at the banquet hall once during your free time. What more do you want?"
He grumbled that it would be shameless for the royal bastards to want more from here.
"But shouldn't you go and see the Emperor's face?"
"I came early so as not to see that guy's face. That sinister guy is the Emperor. The empire is doomed. It's the end of the world."
Pavel clicked his tongue.
"By the way, have you had your fill of fun?"
"...!"
Mikhail went into a state of alert, like a cat whose fur stands on end at the thought of what was to come.
"When did you say I played? I'm here for investigation purposes..."
"The sound of a dog eating grass."
As expected, the seeds didn't work.
"Now let's go back to the magic tower."
"Nol I can't go back now."
Mikhail insisted that he couldn't go, but it was no use.
"What can't be done?"
Pavel grabbed Mikhail by the back of his neck. With that last image, Mikhail and Pavel disappeared from that place. Mikhail had been caught by Pavel and dragged to the magic tower.
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