“May I try adding a little bit of magic to this material?”

“Sure, but do it outside. Depending on the amount you add, it could explode.”

“Understood. Lady Travasta, you look over the other materials.”

Muttering to himself, Mark went outside.

His gait was light, and although his expression was difficult to read, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

I mean, it isn’t every day that the students get a chance to play around with such luxurious materials. Maybe I should try something too.

But can I do it? Should I wake up Nora?

Even now, when I closed my eyes, I’d find Nora curled up and sleeping soundly within me.

Surely, no one would believe that such an innocent sleeping face belonged to that usually bold girl.

There’s still a lot I don’t know about Nora, but for now, I’ll refrain from waking her up.

So, I thought it would be best to continue selecting suitable materials until Mark returned. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Eivind Dahl smiling at me.

“You can experiment with whatever you like, Lady Cecily. I’ll write them off as expenses, so don’t hesitate.”

“Ah, no… I don’t want to wake Nora, so I think I’ll just wait for Mark.”

“Don’t worry. In my opinion, you’re more than enough to handle it.”

“B-but…”

“Do you not trust the words of a member of the Royal Institute of Magic?”

What a cunning guy!

Nora is also the same, but this guy especially takes advantage of his good looks!

As much as I wanted to say that they were made for each other, I didn’t think Eivind and I were on such close terms.

While I fidgeted, Eivind smiled wryly while resting his chin on the lab table.

“Is Nora sleeping right now?”

“Oh… yes, she’s taking a nap. I don’t know what she’s up to, but she’s apparently been staying up late lately.”

“Staying up late without telling you… Don’t you two share consciousness?”

“Actually, when either of us is asleep, the other can use our body at our own discretion. Until recently, we’ve always been eating and sleeping at the same time…”

Eivind listened to my words seriously, saying, “I see.”

I wished he’d just ask Nora directly, but he wouldn’t let me off the hook.

“You are aware of my situation, right, Lady Travasta?”

“Y-your situation…”

“The king is after my body.”

Eivind then laughed, “When I put it like that, it sounds kind of dirty.”

Well… how am I supposed to respond…?

Nevertheless, I got what he was trying to say.

I nodded and Eivind narrowed his eyes.

“If I’m going to end up being possessed, I hope we can get along like you guys… though I don’t think that’s often the case.”

“…I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

This was purely a speculation. Although Nora appeared to be getting along with me, in reality, she wasn’t being honest with me about her true feelings.

Yet, I still believed in her.

“Sorry. I have no proof, but… I think you’ll be okay. There’s nothing I can do for you, but Nora—I’m sure Nora will…”

The villainess from 800 years ago turned out to be a very lofty person.

A magical genius who was dedicated to her cause, but also more innocent than anyone. Above all, she loved people.

Moreover, I didn’t think Nora would just disappear without doing anything when the person she liked was suffering.

—So, Eivind will be okay.

Still, Nora would disappear in a year. No, not even a year. There were only about six months left.

As I bit my lip, Eivind gently placed his finger on the bottom of my lip.

“Hey, don’t make that face. Nora will absolutely be fine.”

“Eh?”

I hadn’t said anything yet.

I could hear the confidence in Eivind Dahl’s words.

“Nora will definitely be by your side next spring too… She might even say, ‘I’m going to enjoy the world 800 years from my time’ and go on a trip around the world.”

It was a very real possibility—a future that I hoped would come true, and I smiled bitterly.

“As long as I can hear lots of stories when she gets back, I’m alright with that.”

“You’re too humble! Ask her to bring back something!”

“What about you, Eivind? What would you ask her?”

“No, I’ll come along with her.”

I burst out laughing at Eivind’s confident words, and his expression relaxed.

“So, if you’re ever in trouble, just tell me. I’ll definitely lend you a hand.”

“Thank you.”

Then, as we were getting excited about “what Nora might do on her trip,” Mark returned.

“Am I intruding on something?” He asked me with a straight face, and I quickly denied it.

Even though we occasionally got sidetracked, we managed to select the materials that day.

Now that we had successfully decided on the materials, the next step was to develop the all-important engraving magic formula.

[Hey, Cecily, you need to go to bed early, or it’ll be bad for your skin.]

Just a bit more—!

I didn’t have enough time after school, so I was sacrificing my time to read various thesis.

One day, Mark showed me a certain thesis.

“Lady Travasta, what do you think of this?”

“A formula for… time travel?”

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