A pair of hands passed through Celitia's armpits, steadily catching her and holding her firmly in an embrace.

Celitia's head bumped against her chest, feeling no pain, only a soft sensation.

A faint fragrance surrounded her nostrils, somewhat familiar, like the scent of lavender mixed with a very light soapy freshness, sweet and clean.

Several strands of golden hair fell before her eyes, brushing past both sides of her face. That slightly itchy feeling made Celitia suddenly come to her senses, realizing whose embrace she had fallen into.

"Be careful."

Sophia's voice sounded gently, carrying a hint of concern that even she herself could hardly detect.

Instinctively catching Celitia as she nearly fell, holding the girl fully in her arms, Sophia felt that the body's temperature was three degrees lower than her own and even trembling very slightly.

"Your body hasn't recovered yet, has it?" Sophia couldn't help but complain. "Really, why are you so fond of acting tough?"

Although she had sworn not long ago to never again meddle in Celitia's affairs, when the person was right in front of her, Sophia still couldn't help but extend a helping hand.

Celitia hurriedly struggled, pushing away Sophia who had kindly caught her.

In her urgency, she took a large step backward, but her calves hit the chair, causing her to involuntarily fall back into a sitting position.

Seeing this, Sophia's expression quickly soured:

"Hey, am I some kind of plague, scaring you like that?"

Celitia took a deep breath, calming her slightly disordered breathing, and slowly replied:

"No... I was just worried about offending the princess and was a bit hasty."

That warmth that wasn't her own was indeed very comforting.

But Celitia thought that perhaps, from body to heart, she would only remain at her current temperature, never able to warm up again.

The warmth absorbed from others was no more than a reflection in a mirror or moon in water, soon to disappear.

"You..."

For some reason, Sophia momentarily felt that the misty purple eyes of the girl before her revealed a hint of faint sadness.

The anger in her heart instantly vanished, and although Sophia wanted to say something, she didn't know what words to organize.

Meanwhile, Charlotte and the jewelry store owner were very anxious. After barely tolerating the conversation between the two, they quickly squeezed to Celitia's sides, firmly separating Sophia from her.

"Let me see, let me see... the device isn't damaged, is it?"

The owner snatched the wooden box from the workbench, impatiently opened the lid, and carefully manipulated the magic array inside.

"Phew... Thank goodness, it looks fine. I was really scared."

After examining it for a while, the owner confirmed that the item at least appeared unchanged from before, allowing him to set aside much of his worry.

"Really? That woman actually adjusted the authentication device properly?"

Charlotte could hardly believe it. She grabbed the wooden box and manipulated it up, down, left, and right.

"I don't believe it!"

Staring at the faintly glowing magic array, Charlotte gnashed her teeth.

"Just because the magic array is there doesn't mean it still works properly!"

"Oh my goodness, my lady, my dear!"

The owner was so anxious that he was nearly sweating, trying to snatch the wooden box back from Charlotte's hands.

"I've used this thing for many years; I can tell whether it's in good condition or not!"

Charlotte's expression was extremely unpleasant. She quickly found a second explanation:

"Perhaps Celitia was just pretending and didn't actually touch anything inside!"

As she spoke, Charlotte believed she had found the truth, and her voice grew louder.

"Think about it, earlier she drove us all away, staying inside alone, clearly just putting on an act!"

While saying this, an evil thought suddenly arose in Charlotte's mind—what if her hand slipped and accidentally dropped the box on the ground...

However, before she could act on it, Meilan, who had been standing behind Celitia, extended his hand toward Charlotte and said: "Let me see."

With the master speaking, Charlotte dared not disobey and had to reluctantly hand the wooden box to Meilan.

Celitia stood up at the right moment, offering the only chair at the workbench to the white-haired elderly man.

Meilan took out a pair of gold-rimmed glasses identical to Colton's from his pocket, placed them on the bridge of his nose, and focused on studying the magical formula inside.

The people in the workshop didn't dare make a sound, fearing they would disturb Meilan. Only Colton remained unconcerned, boasting to Sophia:

"Your Highness, look, aren't the glasses I gave Meilan nice? Would you like a pair too?"

"No need," Sophia retorted. "I think they make one look old..."

"What? They look aged?"

Colton was greatly disappointed and finally closed his continuously chattering mouth.

Without Colton's banter, the room fell completely silent, with only the creaking sounds from Meilan manipulating the wooden box.

Meilan was no ordinary person, and this wooden box was originally created by him, so he quickly completed his inspection and turned to ask:

"Where is the gemstone you're disputing? Bring it over to test."

"Here, here!"

Shanie ran over excitedly from behind, preciously holding a shining red gemstone in both hands.

"I knew it would be needed later, so I quickly went to get it in advance!"

No, you probably just wanted to take the opportunity to touch this gemstone...

Everyone present simultaneously had this thought.

"Give it to me first!"

Charlotte blocked Shanie, rudely snatching the red gemstone.

Holding the gemstone in her palm, Charlotte repeatedly confirmed that this was indeed the "red Helms magic diamond" she had favored and recommended to Sophia.

After ensuring Shanie hadn't played any tricks, Charlotte turned and handed the gemstone to Meilan.

Meilan pinched the gemstone with two fingers and carefully placed it in the center of the wooden box.

Turning the gears at the back, the magic crystal activated. The magic array, which had been emitting only a faint light, suddenly brightened. Various colors flowed incessantly, blinking gently in a regular pattern.

After a moment, the light gradually faded, and lines of small text appeared on the opened lid of the wooden box:

"Authentication Result:

"Material: Glass.

"Magic power verification passed, for: Fire attribute.

"..."

Two impatient heads crowded above the wooden box. After reading the first few lines, neither had the interest to continue reading the complex report.

"I was deceived! I was deceived! That drunken woman actually dared to cheat me!!"

The owner's face turned the color of pig liver as he kept muttering, "Damn it, I've been running a jewelry store for decades, yet I've stumbled in a gutter!!"

Charlotte's face turned ashen, unable to accept the result for a moment: "How is this possible? This is actually a glass bead? What kind of joke is this??"

She raised her head, glaring fiercely at Shanie who had brought in the gemstone: "It was you, wasn't it? You secretly replaced the authentic item with a glass bead just now, didn't you?!"