"......Finally done."

  At Alicia’s royal residence,

  Hulim let out a sigh of relief.

  "Great job—have a piece of cake!"

  Miko held a small piece of cake up to Hulim’s mouth.

  "Thanks."

  Hulim opened her mouth and bit down, instantly regaining some energy.

  "Mm~, I never thought submitting all those overdue course reports in such a short time would be so troublesome!"

  "You’ve worked hard. But now, graduation should be mostly sorted out, right?"

  "Yeah, about 90%."

  "90%?" Alicia looked confused. "Did you run into a problem?"

  "It’s the elective course assessment."

  Hulim replied helplessly.

  "Magic Circle Studies isn’t a big issue—I’m familiar with Professor Dez, the department head, and we’ve already scheduled a make-up exam. The problem is the Potions Class department head......"

  "I heard he’s always running off to study potions somewhere outside the academy. He’s hard to find even when classes are in session. Now that Potions Class has ended, it’s even harder to track him down!"

  "That professor......"

  Alicia thought for a moment.

  "His name is Raelingrim Simo, right?"

  "Yes, that’s him."

  "Hmm...... Let me arrange for someone to keep an eye out. I’ll notify you the second he returns to the academy."

  "Really? Thank you."

  "You’re welcome~!"

  Knock, knock, knock.

  Just then, there was a knock on the door.

  Martina walked over and opened it, but didn’t let the person in immediately—instead, she stepped outside.

  "What brings you here......"

  "......"

  Muffled voices of discussion came from outside, but Hulim had no habit of eavesdropping. She just quietly ate her dessert.

  "Martina, let him come in."

  Alicia spoke up, straightening her posture and adopting a more dignified tone.

  "Yes, Your Highness!"

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Martina’s response came from outside, followed by her leading a knight into the room.

  The knight first bowed in a nobleman’s greeting to everyone present,

  then said: "Your Highness Alicia, something has happened......"

  ......

  Among Alicia’s faction, there was a powerful supporter in the capital—one of the faction’s core figures.

  He was Filkorn Billing, Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard Knights.

  And now, this vice captain had suddenly been framed and impeached, ordered to be suspended from duty.

  The incident was so unexpected that no one had anticipated it. Before anyone could act, the suspension order had already been issued......

  Hulim and Miko accompanied Alicia to the vice captain’s mansion.

  "Welcome, Your Highness Alicia."

  Inside the mansion, Filkorn and his wife received the three solemnly.

  "And welcome to you too, Princess Miko, Lady Hulim—honored guests."

  "Sir Filkorn, no need for such formality!"

  "Thank you, Your Highness. Please, follow me to the reception room......"

  Once in the reception room, after instructing servants to prepare tea and pastries and dismissing them, Filkorn took the lead in starting the conversation.

  He looked up at Hulim, who stood beside Alicia.

  "I didn’t expect Lady Hulim to come in person. I had planned to visit you first—I’m truly ashamed."

  "Visit me?"

  Hulim looked confused.

  "Yes. As a descendant of the Royal Guardian Knight, and now having revived the glory of that great figure, you are a respected existence to us in the Imperial Guard Knights. A visit is only right. Speaking of which......"

  Filkorn seemed to recall something and added:

  "We met once two years ago. I didn’t know your identity back then, so I was somewhat rude."

  Upon hearing this, Hulim also remembered—this was the man who had led the knights to the abandoned church during the mass abduction of Manacos students two years prior.

  "It’s fine."

  Hulim shook her head.

  "Mr. Filkorn, please don’t worry about it."

  "Mm~," Filkorn’s eyes showed admiration. "I had thought a genius like Lady Hulim would be more arrogant, but you’re nothing like the rumors. Truly worthy of being a descendant who has surpassed that great figure!"

  "......"

  Hulim was lost for words. Just what were they saying about her outside......

  After expressing the Imperial Guard Knights’ goodwill to Hulim, the conversation turned to the main topic of the day.

  "Sir Filkorn, while I’ve heard a general account from the report, could you tell us the details?"

  Alicia asked.

  "Your Highness, I’m not entirely certain myself......"

  Filkorn looked troubled.

  "Someone suddenly accused me of having large-scale financial transactions with an unknown organization, and even presented documents with my handwritten signature as evidence. As you know, such a matter is a serious taboo for the Imperial Guard Knights."

  The Imperial Guard Knights were the sharp blade that protected the royal family—the empire’s most elite troops. Every member was among the top one percent of the empire’s knights.

  They held many privileges and had an extremely special status in the empire, especially in Langard. But precisely because of this, they were bound by numerous restrictions.

  As the blade of protection, every member of the Imperial Guard Knights must exercise strict self-discipline and avoid associating with unidentifiable forces—otherwise, it would gravely endanger the royal family’s safety.

  Thus, financial transactions with unknown sources might be trivial for ordinary nobles, but for the Imperial Guard Knights, it was a felony!

  Alicia nodded—she already knew this much.

  "Sir Filkorn, was the document with your handwritten signature forged?"

  Filkorn’s expression darkened.

  "Your Highness, that’s the problem......"

  "The signature is real!"

  It made sense—if it had been forged, the frame-up would have been far too clumsy.

  "But I have no memory of signing any such document!"

  "Sir Filkorn, I believe you. But then how did your signature end up on that document......"

  Everyone fell silent.

  Hulim thought for a moment and asked:

  "Mr. Filkorn, have you signed your name on anything recently?"

  "Lady Hulim, are you saying......"

  Filkorn began to think.

  "I see," Alicia chimed in. "If the signature is real and the document shows no signs of forgery, then the only possibility is that the other party concealed the nature of the document somehow, then tricked you into signing it at some point."

  "That’s it!"

  Filkorn immediately began recalling where he might have signed his name lately.

  "The knights order requires a signature every time we’re deployed, but there’s no way something went wrong there...... I’ve signed a few things at the palace recently too, but that’s unlikely...... Wait—!"

  Filkorn suddenly remembered something.

  "It must have been that time!"