Shortly after the midterm assessment ended, we received an unexpected piece of good news—as a reward for being students of the special class, the academy decided to arrange a three-day vacation for us at the royal hot spring villa.

"What an unexpected favor."


While packing my luggage, I pondered silently. I had visited this hot spring villa in my previous life. It was a picturesque place, nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains, with natural hot springs and beautiful garden landscapes. For students who had been studying intensely at the academy for several months, this was indeed a good opportunity to relax body and mind.

However, what I was more concerned about was the list of participants for this trip.

Besides the dozen or so students from the special class, both Prince Theo and Lina were prominently included. This made me furrow my brow—it seemed that this trip, which should have been relaxing and enjoyable, might become complicated.


After bumping along mountain roads for most of the day, the carriage finally arrived at our destination in the early evening.

The hot spring villa was more magnificent than I remembered. The elegant building complex was distributed in a staggered yet harmonious manner throughout the valley, blending perfectly with the surrounding natural scenery. A faint scent of sulfur permeated the air, letting one know immediately that the quality of the hot springs here was exceptional.


"The architecture of Ethelgard Academy is indeed impressive."

A strange male voice came from beside me, carrying a slight foreign accent. I turned my head to see a young man with golden long hair and deep blue eyes. He was dressed in an exquisite dark blue formal attire, with a delicate badge pinned to his chest—the royal emblem of the northern Kingdom of Brant.

This must be the legendary exchange student prince, the third prince of the Kingdom of Brant—Arthur von Brant.

"Pleased to meet you, I am Arthur von Brant," he greeted me with an elegant bow, "It is truly my honor to meet the famed heiress of Ethelgard."

"Eliana von Ethelgard." I responded with equally formal noble etiquette, "Your Highness flatters me."

"Please, just call me Arthur." He displayed a gentle smile, "I've heard that Senior Eliana has made considerable achievements in academics, especially in the field of magical theory. As someone who is also interested in magical research, I very much look forward to exchanging ideas with you."

This was unexpected.

In my memories of my previous life, although Prince Arthur had come to the academy as an exchange student, we had almost no interaction. I never thought that in this life, he would take the initiative to approach me.

"You're too kind." I maintained a polite distance, "If there's an opportunity, I would also be delighted to discuss academic matters with Your Highness."

"That's wonderful!" Arthur seemed very pleased, "I'm particularly curious about your recent research on stardust weaving magic. I heard it's a completely new theoretical system of magic?"

Just as I was about to answer, a familiar voice came from not far away.

"Prince Arthur, you're here!"

Lina walked over like a spring breeze, with a sweet smile on her face. Today she was wearing a light pink dress, looking especially cute and charming.

"Miss Lina, hello." Arthur responded politely, but I could feel his enthusiasm had noticeably diminished.

"Your Highness, were you just chatting with Senior Ethelgard?" Lina's gaze moved between Arthur and me. "That's wonderful. Senior Ethelgard usually keeps to herself and rarely interacts with classmates. I'm happy to see her chatting so pleasantly with you."

These words sounded like she was concerned about me, but they actually implied that I was unsociable and aloof. Lina's tactics were as skillful as ever—appearing to care about me while actually damaging my image.

"Is that so?" Arthur looked at me thoughtfully, "I actually think Senior Eliana is the type of person with profound thoughts. Such people usually prefer to spend their time on meaningful things rather than pointless social activities."

This response made the smile on Lina's face somewhat stiff.

"Ah, yes... the prince is quite right." She forced herself to maintain her smile, "By the way, I heard tonight's banquet will be sumptuous. I hope the prince will look after me then."

"Of course." Arthur nodded, then turned to me, "Senior Eliana, I'll see you later."

After saying this, he politely nodded to both of us, then left to handle his own luggage.

Lina watched Arthur's retreating figure, her expression becoming somewhat complicated.

"Senior Ethelgard," she turned to me, with a trace of barely detectable nervousness in her voice, "Did you know Prince Arthur before?"

"Today is our first meeting." I answered indifferently.

"Is that so..." Lina nodded thoughtfully, "The prince seems very interested in you."

"It's just normal academic exchange." I didn't want to dwell on this topic, "I'll go to my room to unpack now."

After saying that, I walked toward the interior of the annex, leaving Lina standing alone.

However, judging from her reaction just now, I felt that tonight's banquet might not be so peaceful.

Sure enough, my premonition was right.

The banquet was held in the main hall of the annex, a lavishly decorated hall where crystal chandeliers emitted warm light, and the long table was filled with various exquisite dishes.

I chose a seat relatively far back, hoping to enjoy dinner quietly, but the development of events was beyond my expectation.

"Everyone," Lina stood up and raised her glass, "I'm truly delighted to be here with all of you in this beautiful place. Especially to meet Prince Arthur who has come from afar, making this trip even more meaningful."

Everyone raised their glasses in response, and the atmosphere quickly became lively.

"However," Lina changed her tone, her voice carrying a hint of grievance, "to be honest, my time at the academy hasn't been easy. Perhaps because of my commoner background, I often face some... misunderstandings and exclusion."

Her gaze deliberately glanced in my direction, and although she didn't explicitly name anyone, everyone present understood what she was implying.

"Miss Lina, are you experiencing difficulties?" Prince Arthur asked, though his tone sounded more like polite concern rather than genuine sympathy.

"It's not a big deal, really." Lina gently bit her lower lip, putting on a brave face. "I just feel lonely sometimes. After all, there is indeed a huge gap between nobles and commoners, and that's an unchangeable reality."

Her words were extremely clever, showing her strength and understanding while implying that the noble students (especially me) were excluding and discriminating against her.

However, Prince Arthur's reaction somewhat surprised her.

"Is that so?" Arthur put down his wine glass and said thoughtfully, "I believe that true nobility lies not in one's birth, but in one's character. A truly exceptional noble should earn others' respect through ability and virtue, rather than relying on lineage or... other means."

Though politely phrased, anyone with half a brain could tell that he didn't approve of Lina's approach of playing the victim and implying things about others.

Lina's expression turned somewhat unpleasant, but she quickly adjusted her face.

"The prince is absolutely right," she said with a forced smile, "I've also been working hard to prove myself with my own abilities."

"I believe you certainly can," Arthur nodded politely, then turned to me, "Speaking of abilities, this afternoon I heard other classmates mention that Senior Eliana performed quite excellently in the recent academic debate. I'm very interested in your research on stardust weaving magic. Would you mind explaining it in detail?"

Everyone's attention instantly shifted to me.

I was somewhat surprised, but quickly regained my composure. Since Prince Arthur was interested, and this was also a good opportunity to change the subject, I decided to go along with it.

"Stardust Weaving magic is a new theoretical system based on ancient magical language." I put down my cutlery and began to explain, "Traditional magic produces effects through direct release of magical power, while Stardust Weaving breaks down magical power into finer units, then recombines and reconstructs them, thereby achieving more precise and powerful effects."

"Sounds fascinating." Arthur's eyes sparkled with wisdom, "Does this method mean that stronger effects can be achieved with less magical power consumption?"

"Exactly." I nodded, "And through different weaving patterns, it's possible to achieve composite effects that traditional magic cannot reach. For instance, magic that simultaneously has both offensive and defensive functions."

"Brilliant!" Arthur appeared excited, "If this theory is fully developed, it will bring revolutionary changes to the entire magical world!"

Our conversation grew increasingly profound, attracting other students around us. Even those who weren't typically interested in academics began to listen attentively to our discussion.

Lina sat not far away, her expression growing increasingly unpleasant. She had originally intended to gain Prince Arthur's sympathy and support through her previous remarks, but the result was exactly the opposite, instead making Arthur more interested in me.

Just as Arthur and I were engrossed in our discussion, a familiar voice suddenly interrupted.

"Sounds like an interesting theory."

Karen had somehow appeared beside us, his expression still maintaining that calm demeanor, but I could sense a subtle aura emanating from him.

"However," he continued, "I think there might be an even deeper application for stardust weaving magic. If this weaving technique were combined with space-time magic, would it be possible to achieve localized control over the flow of time?"

This question caught me off guard.

The possibility proposed by Karen was indeed very interesting and extremely challenging. Time-space magic itself was already one of the most difficult branches of magic, and if it could truly be combined with stardust weaving...

"This idea is very interesting," I admitted, "but there are still many technical issues that need to be solved to achieve this combination. First of all, how to ensure the temporal stability during the weaving process is a major problem."

"Indeed," Karen nodded, then began to elaborate on his idea in detail, "I believe the key lies in establishing a multi-dimensional magical coordinate system..."

With Karen's participation, our discussion became deeper and more complex. Although Prince Arthur was also trying to keep up with our pace, it was obvious that Karen's achievements in magical theory were more profound than his.

Without realizing it, Karen had positioned himself between Arthur and me, naturally becoming the leader of the conversation.

I looked at him with some confusion.

Although Karen usually participated in academic discussions, she rarely actively inserted herself into other people's conversations like this. Moreover, the question she just raised, while indeed valuable, was oddly timed—why did she choose to bring it up precisely when Arthur and I were in the heat of our discussion?

"Karen makes a good point." Arthur politely nodded, "It seems my understanding of magical theory isn't deep enough yet. I've learned so much from listening to two experts discuss today."

"Your Highness is too modest," Karen said coolly, "Learning is endless, and we all still have much to learn."

Though her words were humble, I could sense that Karen was deliberately keeping her distance from Arthur. And now, her position effectively blocked the direct line of sight between Arthur and me.

Was this a coincidence?

I carefully observed Karen's expressions and movements, trying to find some clues. But he maintained that calm and composed demeanor, making it impossible to guess his true thoughts.

The banquet ended in this subtle atmosphere. Although Prince Arthur was very interested in our discussion, due to Karen's presence, he was never able to engage in deeper conversation with me.

"Well, let's end here for tonight," Arthur said with some regret, "I hope we'll have another chance to continue our discussion in the future."

"Of course," I nodded, "You're welcome anytime."

After Arthur left, Karen also prepared to take his leave.

"Karen," I called out to him.

"What is it?" he turned around, looking at me questioningly.

"About the discussion just now..." I hesitated for a moment, but decided to ask directly, "Why did you suddenly join in?"

Karen was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Because I found the topic you were discussing very interesting."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Is there any other reason?" he asked in return.

I looked into his deep eyes, trying to read some information from them. But Karen was like a deep well, calm on the surface yet with turbulent undercurrents beneath, making it impossible to fathom his true thoughts.

In the end, I chose silence.

Perhaps I was overthinking.