After the ceremony, the banquet followed.

In a gathering where countless people were greeting the groom and bride in turn, Queen began to tremble with fear and tension uncontrollably.

‘It’s… it’s okay. As long as I just greet them quietly, they won’t notice. Surely…’

Thinking about it, this was indeed a pitiful situation.

Her younger sibling, whom she had underestimated for a long time.

Now, in a reality where she was anxiously trying to gauge whether that sibling would notice her, it felt like a stark reminder of how far she had fallen.

‘No matter how much this life was my choice, this is just…’

Once, she had boldly held her head high as a successor of Bohemia.

But at this moment, instead of lifting her head, she was in a position of being nervous that her appearance might be exposed to that sibling, who was at the center of attention, receiving accolades from so many.

And it was the same girl she had looked down on as a lowly being just a few years ago.

‘Where did it all go wrong?.. Where, exactly…’

Until now, she had not felt such thoughts.

Honestly, abandoning her homeland had weighed on her conscience, but she had comforted herself by saying she acted accordingly to how her father and the country treated her.

Moreover, thanks to her ongoing magic training, she had gained a level of power far beyond what she had possessed before.

She had broken through the barrier she thought was the wall of the 7th grade and was now starting to eye the 8th grade, which could be called the level of a great mage.

Through these achievements,

Queen had believed without a doubt that she was simply choosing the best path available to her and that her life was always heading in the right direction.

However…

At this moment, having pursued success through such an improbable path, she was experiencing a deep sense of defeat while gazing at the dazzlingly shining sibling before her.

Unlike herself, who couldn’t even show her face and was fretting, her sibling was smiling amid the praises of countless people.

At that moment, feeling a deep sense of self-loathing about that fact,

Queen finally realized that she had arrived before the groom and bride with her master…

Before Santana and Cazerose.

“Congratulations on your marriage, Lady Cazerose.”

“Thank you, it’s definitely Soul Mary, isn’t it? It’s truly a pleasure to see you again after so long.”

“Yes my lady, was it during our childhood that we met? It fills me with great joy to see you all grown up and getting married.”

“Haha, thank you. You, Soul, don’t seem to have changed at all. You’re still as beautiful as when we were kids.”

“Your kind words make me unsure of what to do.”

The two spoke as if they were meeting an old acquaintance.

Then, Soul finally pointed with her hand to her disciple, who was standing behind her, stiff as a board, and said,

“Speaking of which, I’m late in making introductions. Lady Cazerose, this is my new disciple, Freddy Mars.”

“P-pleasure to meet you, I’m Freddy Mars.”

Trying to lower her voice as much as possible, Queen spoke in a stiff tone due to Soul’s introduction.

In response, Cazerose nodded slowly and spoke in her usual soft tone.

“I see… so you’re Soul’s disciple. I’ve heard that Soul is quite picky when it comes to choosing disciples, so if you meet that criteria, you must be quite exceptional.”

“Umm…”

“Indeed, she’s an extraordinary child. Despite being in her early 30s, she possessed the skills of a 6th grade mage from the moment we met. I’d estimate that she’s surpassed the 7th grade and is aiming for even higher now. She’s talented and diligent… a truly admirable student. Her strong desire to become stronger makes teaching her a joy for me.”

“Really? So she’s already aiming for the level of a great mage… As expected, Soul’s judgement is strict, but so impeccable.”

Cazerose, sounding enthusiastic, began to brag about her disciple.

For Queen, who wanted to say as little as possible, this was feeling like a slow torture.

‘What if she ends up attracting interest and that leads to an unmanageable situation? Oh, please, master…’

If things went wrong and she attracted Cazerose’s attention, it would be truly disastrous for Queen.

Honestly, even if she slipped away like a shadow, receiving praises like this from her master was enough to make her heart cringe.

With thoughts of being caught now swirling in her mind, Queen was anxiously fretting when,

“How impressive! To be Soul’s disciple and a 7th grade mage by your 30s… It’s remarkable that you have powers equivalent to my father’s!”

‘Ah… damn it! Why are you showing interest now?’

Her younger sibling suddenly interrupted the conversation.

Inwardly, Queen cursed that bastard standing before her, but of course, expressing such feelings out loud was impossible at this point.

All she could do was break out into a cold sweat while maintaining her silence.

“Speaking of your father, isn’t Count Turun, Lord Santana’s father, also a 7th grade mage?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Though he’s the strongest mage in our Bohemia… it seems the empire is quite formidable. Who would have thought Soul’s disciple would be on par with Bohemia’s strongest mage…”

“Haha, well… there’s definitely a fundamental difference in stature, you know.”

Santana spoke with a bitter smile, and Soul responded with a slightly awkward smile.

She was fully aware of the undertones of self-deprecation hidden within those words.

Then, right after, Cazerose, who had been watching their conversation, spoke cheerfully to lighten the mildly awkward atmosphere.

“Anyway, thank you so much for coming to celebrate our wedding, Soul.”

“Yes, I wish both of you a lifetime of happiness. And if you should ever need assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask. As a servant of the Duke’s family, I’ll be more than happy to respond to Lady Cazerose’s summons.”

“Yes, I look forward to that in the future, Soul.”

With Cazerose’s words, a natural farewell unfolded.

Feeling a deep sense of relief at that fact, Queen hurriedly left the venue alongside Soul.

‘That was close… really close…’

Although the crisis had passed, Queen’s heart was still racing.

Honestly, when the talk turned to Bohemia and her father, Count Turun, she felt a momentary dizziness.

While she hadn’t been directly singled out, if the conversation had gone awry, it might have led to the worst possible outcome—her true identity being exposed.

Fortunately, the conversation hadn’t veered in that direction, but even so, Queen could not help but feel a chill as if a knife were hovering above her neck.

‘Ha… but still, thank goodness… I suppose. After all, I won’t be seeing those people again anytime soon. At least for a while, I can live quietly as my master’s disciple just like before.’

And so, with the relief of having narrowly escaped a major crisis, Soul followed closely behind her master and they left the banquet hall.

*

After greeting those two and watching them leave,

I couldn’t help but feel genuine admiration.

‘They’re remarkable people. The 10th grade great mage, Soul Mary, and her 7th grade mage disciple, Freddy Mars… Truly, the magical power of the Dragona Empire seems incredible. It’s immeasurable compared to our Bohemia…’

To think the prowess of just a disciple could match Bohemia’s strongest, and that this disciple was on the verge of outpacing someone who had essentially reached their growth limit.

This realization made me keenly aware of the differences between them and our Bohemia.

Of course, that didn’t mean I felt intimidated.

Whatever the circumstances, our Bohemia had undoubtedly now become a vassal state of the Dragona Empire.

While large-scale direct assistance from the Dragona Empire might be implausible, supporting one or two mages was entirely feasible; this was something to consider depending on the situation.

‘Freddy… Although it might be unrealistic to ask for someone like Soul, couldn’t I borrow someone like her?’