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Last year’s club fair brought in wave after wave of visitors. People came for all sorts of reasons: to meet royals, connect with the next saint, or to catch a glimpse of the elusive Prosecutors’ Office’s Executive Manager—a rare sight in high society. For many, it was simply a chance to buy desserts crafted by high-ranking nobles and boast, ‘I ate a treat made by royalty.’ Honestly, the reasons to attend far outweighed the reasons not to.

And this year, the reasons to attend only multiplied. Ainter, who until last year was a royal in name only, had reclaimed his authority. On top of that, the legendary and revered Mage Duchess had made an appearance, and there was even talk that eating a cookie created by her could give the effect of a potion regardless of your magical level.

There’s indeed a lot.

And here was the result. Despite placing our pastry club’s booth in the most remote and quiet spot, guests rushed straight here the moment the club fair opened, ignoring all the other booths.

The only silver lining was that half of the academy visitors were nobles. Because of that, some might visit other booths first, feeling embarrassed about skipping over their juniors. Meanwhile, others would maintain their noble composure, walking leisurely toward us.

The problem was with the other half—they were mad mages who couldn’t care less about juniors or dignity.

“It’s been a long time, Tower Master. How have you been?”

As an advisor, I had the chance to observe the guests closely. The elderly man at the front respectfully bowed to the Mage Duchess.

But who was he? For someone to be first in line to greet her, he must be someone notable… And yet I couldn’t recall him. I felt a faint recognition, but I was unsure of his name or position. Did I see or hear about him somewhere…?

“Ah, Manfred. Yes, I’ve been well.”

Oh.

Only after hearing his name did it click. He was none other than the former Vice Master of the Magic Tower—a historic figure.

Wow, this guy was still alive? I thought he’d passed away after retiring, but I guess he had just been hiding out in some mountain retreat.

“I regret not sending any word all this time, but I’m so glad to see you again like this.”

“At your age, it’s better not to hear any news at all. Whenever I hear from someone your age, it’s usually bad news.”

The Mage Duchess casually blurted out something only she could say. Telling a Gandalf-like old man, ‘I’m glad you’re not dead’—was that really okay?

“Haha, that’s true enough.”

Judging by his reaction, it seemed fine. I suppose anyone who had served as the Magic Tower’s Vice Master and known the Mage Duchess for so long would be accustomed to this sort of dark humor, especially given their differences in lifespan.

Maybe he was just happy to see his old boss again after such a long time.

“Here, take this. It’s been a while, so I should give you a gift.”

“Oh no, this is far too generous for a guest who came empty-handed.”

The Mage Duchess handed him a small box with a slight smile. It was modestly wrapped and about the size of something you could find in a local shop. In short, it was nothing too fancy.

“There’s no need to bother with the auction. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”

The former Vice Master’s eyes widened at the mention of the auction. There was only one thing the Mage Duchess could be giving away that would warrant such a comment.

“To-Tower Master, this is—“

“Shh.”

With a simple gesture to be quiet, the former Vice Master immediately closed his mouth. Though his lips were sealed, his face still showed a mix of confusion and awe.

The fact that the Mage Duchess’s cookies had a mana-boosting effect and that they were being sold not at the booth but through an auction was being heavily promoted right at the academy’s main entrance. That was probably why the former Vice Master of the Magic Tower was so shaken. He thought he’d have to throw bags of gold just to get one of those cookies, and now it had just been handed to him as a gift.

“Oh, it’s not like I made them myself. There’s no harm in giving a few to an old friend I haven’t seen in a while.”

The former Vice Master, touched by the care shown for an old acquaintance, looked at the Mage Duchess with moist eyes. Such a considerate yet nonchalant boss—no wonder the mages held her in such high regard.

An old friend…

From my perspective, however, it was hard to suppress a laugh. The Mage Duchess’s words and actions were like a grandmother giving snacks to her grandson, but the reality was that they looked more like a grandfather and his granddaughter.

Still, I held back. It might hurt her feelings if I laughed now. Even Erich, with his regressed intellect, would know not to do that.

***

It seemed that other mages, either not noticing the former Vice Master receiving the mana-doping cookie or simply lacking the courage to make a scene in front of the Mage Duchess, greeted her politely and quietly left. Since they were here as guests, some even bought a few cookies before leaving. It seemed that they still had a shred of conscience.

Maybe I should’ve told them they didn’t need to buy anything.

I slightly regretted it. After all, the mages probably wouldn’t care unless they were the Mage Duchess’s special cookies. They might not have bought any if I had told them not to, and we’d have more stock left.

I saw Louise as I glanced around, busy baking in real-time, along with the members who had rejoined her out of a sudden sense of urgency. Meanwhile, Ainter was greeting the incoming wave of noble guests.

There’s a lot of them.

There were just as many nobles now as there had been mages earlier. In fact, there were probably more nobles, given that mages had to travel from all corners of the continent, while nobles were mostly local to the empire. There were even a few foreign nobles mixed in.

Honestly, I should’ve reserved the cookies for the nobles. It was hard enough to keep up with their demand as it was.

“It’s an honor to see Your Highness again.”

“Haha, the pleasure is mine, Count. I heard there was a small disturbance in your territory—did everything get resolved?”

“Yes. Thanks to Your Highness’s concern, it has been taken care of.”

I sighed softly as I watched Ainter, who was engaged in polite conversation. He maintained his smile, almost as if it had been permanently frozen in place. I felt a little sorry for him, but also proud.

Thank you.

Thanks to Ainter, who had debuted as the 3rd Prince at this year’s New Year’s Ball, the noble guests spent most of their time with him before coming to me. Compared to last year’s club fair where I had to deal with them firsthand, this was much easier.

Of course, the guests would eventually make their way over to me after the thrilling one-on-one meetings with the 3rd Prince. But by then, they had already introduced themselves and covered their main concerns with Ainter, making my role much easier. Not having to wrack my brain wondering, ‘Who was this again?’ while greeting nobles was a major relief. I was genuinely grateful to him for that.

My manpower no. 1 is really something else.

I couldn’t help but feel warm at the thought. Ainter, a valuable talent personally dispatched by the Crown Prince, was indeed a blessing. I appreciated manpower nos. 2 and 3 who assisted with academy matters, but handling nobles was far more of a hassle.

So, I kept my eyes on Ainter. Thanks to him tanking the crowd, I could relax a bit. If anything went wrong, I’d jump in to help—that was just the right thing to do.

I didn’t expect that I’d have to jump in so soon, though.

“I greet Your Highness the 3rd Prince.”

A woman with silver hair tied in a ponytail and striking red eyes bowed her head slightly toward Ainter. She appeared at least twenty years younger than the nobles who had greeted him earlier. Ainter, who had been speaking non-stop until that moment, suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

For Ainter, who essentially made his social debut during the New Year’s Ball, most of the nobles he had interacted with were older, titled nobles. Naturally, he wouldn’t have encountered a young noblewoman like this before. He was probably trying to figure out which high-ranking family she belonged to.

But he had no idea. She wasn’t some noble’s daughter; she was a titled noble herself.

“Countess Horfeld.”

There were no other guests at my booth, so I slipped over to Ainter.

It was usually impolite to interrupt a conversation between two people, but leaving Ainter to fumble through his memory seemed a bit cruel. I could always pretend I was just glad to see an old acquaintance.

“Oh. Carl oppa, you’re here as well.”

Countess Horfeld greeted me with a light nod as soon as she noticed me. I had worried that she might have forgotten me, but she thankfully hadn’t.

“Countess Horfeld?”

Ainter’s eyes widened in recognition after overhearing our conversation.

Yes, this was Countess Horfeld. After her predecessor’s surprise retirement last year, she inherited the title of count and a seat in the Imperial Council at the young age of nineteen.

“Yes, Your Highness. I am Zenobia Hiden of the House of Horfeld. I had the chance to see you at the New Year’s Ball, but I failed to greet you properly due to my foolishness.”

“Haha, no need to worry. Everyone knows how much the counts of the Empire work for the imperial family and the Empire. I understand.”

Ainter quickly waved his hand, flustered by her formality.

It made sense that Ainter had never met her before. The only imperials a count typically interacted with would be the Emperor or the Crown Prince. There would hardly be a reason for a 3rd Prince, who was distant from the throne, to meet with a count.

Still, it showed Ainter’s lack of political awareness that he hadn’t recognized her sooner, especially since he had just reclaimed his power.

…Then again, maybe it was simply safer not to pay attention to such things considering the political dangers he had faced before. That thought felt a little sad.

“You seem to be acquainted with the Executive Manager?”

Ainter asked, attempting to steer the conversation.

“Yes, the Hiden and Krasius families have long been acquainted, so I’ve met him a few times.”

Countess Horfeld replied calmly. Honestly, she was more familiar with Erich than with me, but technically she wasn’t lying.

“And I must apologize for my earlier lack of decorum toward the Executive Manager.”

She added, turning to me with an apology. I wasn’t sure what she meant at first, but I realized she was probably referring to calling me ‘Carl oppa’ instead of using my formal title.

“It’s fine. You didn’t call me by the wrong name or anything.”

After all, it wasn’t as if she had addressed me disrespectfully. As long as it didn’t reach the level of swearing like, ‘Hey, you jerk,’ I really didn’t mind.

***

I felt satisfied after seeing Carl smile a little. It had worked perfectly.

I had presented myself not as the reckless girl I was before inheriting my title, but as a dignified count and proud member of the Imperial Council. The way I swiftly acknowledged my mistake and apologized, emphasizing our formal relationship over any personal ties—this must have made a good impression on Carl, the Executive Manager.

This is how you score points.

Since Carl was stationed at the academy and I was residing in the capital, our opportunities to meet were rare. Every word I spoke and every action I took had to be carefully considered.

I need to get on my future brother-in-law’s good side.

After all, Carl was Erich’s brother and the future head of the Krasius family. Winning his favor would make my marriage to Erich that much easier.