Despite becoming the center of conflict, Celitia remained completely indifferent.

Regarding Celitia's parents, there had actually been vague rumors in noble circles for some time.

Even her father, Charles Herbert himself, harbored such suspicions, though he never brought them into the open.

For any noble concerned with lineage and bloodline, facing Charlotte's accusations would be difficult to accept; what would be even harder to accept was the inability to prove that Charlotte's words were slander.

But Celitia didn't care.

She didn't care about her origins, nor did she expect everyone to accept her. It was perfectly normal for some people to despise her.

Whatever reason was used to attack her, Celitia didn't mind. She didn't care about others' opinions; she only wanted to do what she needed to do.

She curtseyed to Marianne and said: "Your Majesty, please allow me to take my leave. I must find Princess Sophia now."

Her movements were elegant and composed, her tone calm and unaffected, showing no influence from others.

Undisturbed by praise or blame, perfectly composed.

Meilenn couldn't help but look at Celitia once more, a flash of surprise in her eyes.

This girl was either a reckless fool who understood nothing, or someone with an extremely clear understanding of the situation and her own position.

Regarding Celitia's demeanor, Meilenn leaned toward the latter.

With this thought, Meilenn's gaze deepened as she turned to Marianne: "Your Majesty, please make your decision."

"Decision about what?" Marianne blinked. "Celitia took a risk to come here for Sophia's sake. Mr. Colton has also confirmed it wasn't black magic."

"As for Charlotte, she was simply overly concerned for my safety. Even if she spoke wrongly, she had no ill intentions."

Marianne's words were like spring rain dissolving tension, gently setting aside the conflict without rebuking either party.

"Let's go. The ceremony is about to begin, and we should head over. Celitia, please hurry to find Sophia. She must be anxious about losing such important papers."

Marianne stood up and walked toward the door.

With Marianne's departure, Countess Meilenn and the attendants present followed her.

Charlotte had no choice. After giving Celitia a few murderous glares, she could only obediently follow along and leave.

Benita deliberately lagged a few steps behind. Passing by Celitia, she whispered in her ear:

"You're very bold, and quite interesting... Perhaps we could get along well."

Celitia had no desire for any contact with Benita. Seeing her approach, she stepped back and politely gestured for Benita to proceed.

Sensing Celitia's displayed distance and coldness, Benita gave her a deep look, her eyes revealing a hint of persistence, but she said nothing more and followed Marianne and the others out.

The lounge suddenly became empty, with only Celitia and Colton remaining.

Colton had completely ignored what had just happened, fully absorbed in studying the magic circle on the wooden table.

Only when the last trace of magic power was exhausted and the blood medium completely evaporated did Colton sigh regretfully and reluctantly straighten up.

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you," Colton said proudly. "Indeed, Celitia, you always bring me many surprises. Claiming you as a student was the right decision."

Colton raised his hand, seemingly wanting to pat Celitia's shoulder in encouragement, but Celitia moved faster, stepping aside and precisely avoiding Colton's gesture.

His hand patting empty air, Colton withdrew it nonchalantly, smiling at Celitia as if he hadn't felt that moment of awkwardness.

Celitia disliked being touched by others and had no intention of currying favor with the Dean. Her response could be considered quite disrespectful.

Even though Colton had just helped her, Celitia's wariness toward him remained.

Her expression cool, neither submissive nor arrogant, she said: "Dean, I need to quickly find Princess Sophia, so I'll take my leave now."

"Go ahead." Colton didn't stop her.

Watching the girl's departing figure, the light reflecting off Colton's glasses concealed the meaningful look in his eyes.

"Heh... How interesting."

○

When Celitia left the lounge and went backstage at the auditorium to search again, she happened to find Sophia pacing anxiously by the window like a headless fly.

"What should I do, what should I do..."

Sophia repeated over and over, so anxious her eyes were red.

"I only remember about half of the speech content. Will I have to improvise? Damn it, I should have at least written an outline..."

"Sophia!" Celitia called out from a distance, quickening her pace toward her.

"Lily?"

Seeing Celitia appear, Sophia immediately broke into a smile and came forward to meet her. "The ceremony is about to start, isn't it? What brings you here?"

Though Sophia was smiling, Celitia could still see that her expression couldn't hide her anxiety and nervousness, obviously distracted and troubled.

What a fool, not even knowing she'd been sabotaged.

Had Celitia not happened to uncover the plot, given Sophia's current state, she would likely have forgotten her lines after just a couple of sentences on stage and been forced to make a hasty exit.

Celitia sighed inwardly, carefully taking out a stack of papers and placing them in Sophia's hands.

"Hold onto these properly. Don't lose them again."

Sophia took them without understanding, looking down in confusion, her expression instantly turning excited and joyful:

"Oh, my speech! I've been looking for it for so long. Lily, where did you find it?"

From Sophia's reaction, Celitia could tell that her efforts hadn't been wasted. A very faint smile flickered at the corner of her lips.

"It's a long story. I'll tell you in detail after we get back. For now, prepare with peace of mind, and don't forget to deliver a brilliant speech to us in the audience."

With that, Celitia smiled slightly at Sophia again, preparing to turn and leave.

"Wait!"

Sophia suddenly stepped forward, reaching for Celitia's right hand.

Celitia tried to pull her hand back into her sleeve, but her strength was no match for Sophia's. After a brief struggle, she was semi-forcibly caught.

"Your hand is bleeding. What happened?"

That hand was still cold, delicate, and slender. Sophia didn't dare use too much force.

She carefully cradled Celitia's hand, seeing that for some reason, there was a deep cut on her index finger. The flesh was turned outward, and the blood hadn't completely congealed yet. Against that pale skin, it was quite shocking to see.

"Just a small cut," Celitia didn't want to explain. "It's nothing. It will heal quickly."