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[I haven't been able to repost Chapters 1–110 yet, but the link is still accessible on Novel Updates. So from now on, I will continue by posting the new chapters first.]
Hiel hit the nail on the head.
For some reason, that thought flashed through my mind.
“That’s quite a meaningful statement.”
Hiel's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at me.
“To me, it sounds like this.”
“...Like what?”
Without realizing it, I instinctively shrank back.
I felt nervous about what he was going to say, and my mouth suddenly went dry.
Then, he slowly opened his mouth.
“You like him, but you don’t have the courage to accept his confession.”
“……”
Hiel gazed at me intently and asked.
“What do you think?”
W-what do I think?
Was he seriously asking if I had those feelings right now?
“Absolutely not!”
Startled, I strongly denied it.
This was nothing more than a ridiculous novel that Hiel had made up on his own.
An utterly absurd delusion!
“You’ve completely twisted everything to suit your own imagination!”
I shouted at Hiel.
That wasn’t the reason why I hadn’t been able to process my thoughts!
I was just too shocked!
There was no way I liked Serdin.
“I can’t let this stand.”
I couldn’t just sit still while being misunderstood like this.
Clenching my fists tightly, I stood up.
“I have to go back and properly reject him.”
That was the only way to clear up this misunderstanding completely.
Just as I was about to head out to find Serdin—
“And what exactly will you say to reject him?”
“Well…”
I was at a loss for words.
No, more than that, I couldn’t even understand why Serdin had confessed to me, despite knowing my true identity.
“Could it be…”
After much hesitation, I carefully opened my mouth.
“Even though he knows I’m the Archmage Sherina, he still sees me as the young and lovable Violyana, so he’s not fully processing it yet?”
For a moment, Hiel’s expression seemed to twist at my words.
But what? It was the truth.
“If I show him what I was like as Sherina…”
Hmm. That might make him realize that he was mistaken.
That his words about not caring who I was had been a mistake.
That his feelings were just a misunderstanding.
That might do the trick.
“What do you think?”
As I observed Hiel’s reaction, he, who had been silently listening until now, finally spoke in a low voice.
“Prince Serdin must have been sincere.”
“……”
Hiel’s words held me back.
I already knew that.
If Serdin’s confession had been purely impulsive, I wouldn’t have been struggling with it this much.
“He must have thought about it a lot before confessing. So, if you’re going to reject him, shouldn’t you do it properly?”
That… made sense.
Simply pushing him away wouldn’t be convincing.
If anything, it would only come off as dismissive and hurtful.
‘I don’t want that.’
At the very least, I wanted to respect Serdin’s feelings.
That made it even harder to figure out what to say.
“What do you think of Serdin, Master?”
Hiel, who had been watching me closely, suddenly asked.
“What do you mean? He grew up well despite his hardships. He’s admirable.”
“Admirable… and what else?”
“What else?”
Hmm. Admirable, and…
“He’s remarkable. When we met again after a long time, I was glad to see him.”
He had grown up better than I had expected.
At that thought, I let out a small chuckle.
“It almost feels like we grew up together.”
After all, while Violyana was growing, so was Serdin.
At that moment, Hiel gave me a knowing smile.
“…What’s with that look? And that smirk?”
His expression was unsettling, making it impossible to ignore.
Then, without even trying to hide his amusement, Hiel spoke with a meaningful tone.
“It seems like both father and daughter are struggling with the same kind of problem.”
“Huh?”
What was that supposed to mean?
“Seeing you so confused reminds me of when you first found out about Delight and Blueny’s relationship.”
Hiel chuckled playfully as he said this.
“You even complained back then about having to deal with your disciple’s love life.”
“Ugh.”
“So, is this some kind of tradition between teacher and disciple?”
Hiel tilted his head in mock curiosity.
Then, in a low voice, he added.
“The two of you are so deeply connected that you seem to resemble each other more and more.”
His gaze curved mischievously as he said this.
I wanted to argue back, but I realized that my frustration with Delight in the past wasn’t all that different from my current situation.
I bit my lip in frustration, and at that moment, Hiel’s eyes widened as if he had just come up with a brilliant idea.
“How about discussing this with Delight this time?”
“What?”
“He had spent so many years with Blueny. Don’t you think he might be able to help?”
“Are you crazy?”
Just imagining it was horrifying.
I quickly shut down the idea more firmly, just in case.
“Serdin’s confession to me must be kept a secret from Delight.”
Delight must never, ever find out.
Absolutely.
“I have no idea how he’d react.”
“……Well, that’s true.”
Hiel nodded seriously, as if realizing something only now.
Thinking about it, Delight was the real problem.
Before he found out, I needed to have another proper conversation with Serdin…
Knock, knock!
At that moment, urgent knocking sounded at the door, and Zaire burst in.
“W-we have a problem!”
“What is it?”
“His Majesty is having a private meeting with Prince Serdin!”
“What?”
“His Majesty has learned that Prince Serdin confessed to… Ah, to Princess Violyana!”
Zaire shouted in urgency.
“What?!”
I reacted a beat too late.
“Delight found out that Serdin confessed to me?”
How on earth did that happen?
I was still trying to process this myself—how did Delight find out too?
“Yes! And now Prince Serdin is being held by His Majesty.”
“This is a disaster!”
It was seriously bad.
Delight had already been furious when his ‘daughter’ was about to enter a fake marriage.
Of course, he found out before the ceremony that I was actually his teacher…
“Did Delight imprison Serdin?”
I asked seriously, and Hiel immediately responded.
“It seems so. The doors are locked, so we can’t tell what’s happening inside.”
“……..!”
If Hiel couldn’t even grasp the situation inside, it was a real problem.
I hadn’t even figured out what to say to Serdin yet…
But this was happening because of me.
I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.
I sprang to my feet.
“You’re going?”
Hiel asked, as if he had expected this.
“Yes. I have to stop Delight.”
The door was firmly shut, reinforced with magic.
‘As expected, this isn’t just a simple matter.’
However, if Delight had truly intended to imprison Serdin, he should have used a stronger spell.
Since everyone already knew my true identity, I had no reason to hesitate in using magic.
With a simple command and a touch on the doorknob, the door unlocked effortlessly.
“Delight!”
As soon as I stepped inside, I saw Delight standing there with a menacing expression, pressuring Serdin.
“Why are you suddenly here?”
Delight squinted at me, clearly annoyed by my unexpected appearance.
“And you just ignored the magic I placed on the door?”
He glanced at the now-open door with discontent.
“If you don’t want your spells broken so easily, use stronger ones next time. Not that it would make any difference—I can open any door you lock.”
I turned to glance at Serdin before confronting Delight.
“More importantly, why are you holding Serdin like this?”
I quickly stepped between them, trying to separate them.
“Do you know what this guy—no, what Prince Serdin just said to me?”
Delight growled, pointing a finger at Serdin.
“Calm down first.”
“I’m not done talking to him yet.”
In other words, he was telling me to step aside.
But I had rushed all the way here for a reason!
I blocked Serdin from Delight’s view and spoke firmly.
“This isn’t a big deal. You don’t need to go this far.”
I tried to de-escalate the situation.
“How is this nothing?! Or are you saying I have no right to interfere anymore?”
“Who said that? That’s not what I meant—”
Then, suddenly—
Delight turned sharply, gripping Serdin’s shoulders tightly.
“Serdin!”
“Delight, stop it! What are you doing?”
But Delight didn’t hesitate.
Wait—he wasn’t seriously losing his temper, was he?
I was starting to worry that he might actually do something drastic.
“You!”
His voice boomed, making Serdin tense up.
Then, unexpectedly—
Delight firmly grasped Serdin’s hand and spoke with determination.
“I’ll leave her in your care.”
“…Huh?”
“…What?”
Instead of outright rejecting him, he was entrusting me to Serdin?!
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