(As expected…)

“Haaah… . ”

Albert leaked a sigh of praise to the girl walking by his side .

She is wearing the dress he gave her .

Leonora von Harkenberg .

However, it wasn’t just her beauty that made Albert admire her .

(Even though she is this close to this gold coin, that is a ma.s.s of magic power, her composure doesn’t waver)

Albert wondered if he wasn’t a bit too worried, and glanced a her .

Their gazes met for a second, so Albert turned his head to the opposite direction .

Just seeing her smiling face made his cheeks burn bright red .

And between one glance and another, Albert remembered the exchange of words he had with Natalia, his cousin, days prior to the presentation .

It was on the same day that Albert decided to give the dress to Leonora .

Natalia came rus.h.i.+ng into his room, seemingly furious, scarring even the servants .

“You’re prohibited from leaving your room for a while… . ”

“Ummm… Natalisan? Did I do something to upset you?”

“Oh no, you did nothing wrong . It’s just that the next emperor, Prince Albert, decided to give a dress to Leonora von Harkenberg, a freshman in this academy . Also she is from the downtown, so yeah… you did nothing wrong . ”

“I know she is a freshman here, but she’s talented and from the Harkenberg family . ”

Complemented Albert .

“I thought you liked Leono–”

“–Yeah, I like her, she is a wonderful young woman and has a lovely personality . ”

Natalia is as intelligent as Albert, if not more, and that’s why she is angry .

“Leonora is in a difficult spot right now… and you, Albert… you knew it . But even though you knew it…! You…! There are a ton of women, willingly trowing themselves at you! But the prince decided to choose Leonora! You know what kind of eyes will be upon her when she is with you, right!?”

“I thought all of us had to give her something?”

“If it was me or Bianca, that gave her the dress, then it would be okay!! But you, someone from the opposite s.e.x, gave her the dress! A prince! The next emperor!”

Albert sighed .

“You don’t need to be this angry, I have a plan . ”

Hearing that made Natalia a bit more calm, she coughed to change the mood and said: “So? What’s your plan?” – With a menacing voice .

Albert guided her to the couch and the servant poured some of Natalia’s favorite tea for her, before Albert continued what he was saying .

“Have you noticed that the Bernstein faction started to move?”

“Oscar is planing something…?”

“Yes, but it’s not Oscar or Rolf this time . It seems that the other members are having a nightly meeting . ”

Although they were talking about Leonora, Natalia showed a surprised face when she heard about the sudden and suspicious movements of the Bernstein faction .

“Weird… but it isn’t that uncommon for us n.o.bles to gather at night and share a drink or two . Though I get what you meant with that… it could be anything, right?”

“It’s more than just sharing drinks together, they are secretly practicing magic . ”

“Why magic?”

Albert took a sip of his own tea and said,

“I tried to tail them once to their meeting place, but when I got there, nothing, no trace of magic power and no one around . It’s safe to a.s.sume that they’re using a concealment magic to hide themselves, and I barely know any details about that spell, so… . ”

Natalia closed her eyes and sighed .

A spell that could conceal them and hide their magic power, even from Albert . Maybe they are using some kind of runic magic .

Recently, even the mages that didn’t have enough magic power could perform high level spells using a refined staff . It could be a new kind of staff, even more powerful than the others .

“…Maybe they are… practicing for the presentation?”

“Maybe, but if we’re wrong… . ”

Albert turned his head to look outside the window .

All his calmness disappeared . Instead, a dignified aura surrounded him, like a powerful ruler .

“Sometimes they try to contact Leonora . But unexpectedly Oscar stopped it, and this is only a guess, but Leonora gifted them her hair once, so the Bernstein faction could be tearing itself apart, a faction that protects Leonora, and an even more radical faction… that wants her hair . Something will happen in this conference, I’m sure of it, and Leonora… will be caught in the crossfire . ”

“W-w-wait! If you’re right, then what do we do!?”

Natalia was a bit… no, a lot confused in what to do right now .

“What does that mean? Are they going to attack her… . ”

“Sorry, even I don’t know that yet… but Bianca is keeping an eye on Leonora for me . I gave her full authority to intervene if necessary . ”

Albert smiled, imagining his sister protecting her best friend with all her power .

Natalia was shocked with all this, but relieved, nonetheless .

“So Bianca is… haaah . ”

“It’s amazing how she come and goes on her own pace . And because Leonora gave her hair to Oscar, his sister was saved . What a surprise . ”

“Yes, it’s a surprise . The old blood should be poisonous to those that don’t have it, and yet that child’s hair… . ”

Albert changed his position on the couch and took a sip of his tea .

“Those with high amounts of magic like us are learning that fact in the advanced cla.s.s . But Leonora grew up in the downtown, so she probably didn’t know of this . ”

“But the disease was healed… . ”

“Oscar won’t tell me even if I asked, and Leonora tries to hide it from me . So this is pure speculation, but I think that Oscar asked Harlet-sensei to purify the hair, or something like that . ”

Harlet has a thin connection to the old blood, but he has a whole team of healing experts with him, so it is possible . Albert always acts nicely towards Harlet, because it’s always nice to have a connection with the church .

However, Leonora’s magic power was an unknown factor too .

“Maybe, depending on the method, we can help them too, but the risk is too big . ”

“Yeah… and I feel sick even if we where just to experimenting on rats . ”

Natalia made a pained face .

In the advanced cla.s.s that Harlet teaches, there was an experiment to see what happens if you pour a large amount of magic on something .

It was a sight that none of the students wanted to remember, and every one of them vowed to not transfer high amounts of magic power that easily .

“Anyway, back to the original topic, Leonora is being targeted by the Bernstein faction . If they are planning on doing something, it will be at the presentation, but I need to walk around and see if everything is okay, so I can’t only pay attention to her . That’s why I gave her the dress, I needed an excuse to keep an eye on her . ”

After Albert explained his plan to Natalia, “So it was like that, huh?” – she said with a wide grin .

“But I don’t think you needed to put the royal family crest on the dress, Albert . ”

Albert was a bit red and he looked to the side, which made Natalia’s grin only wider .

“Do I really need to say it?”

“Fufufu, you know the answer . ”

They locked eyes for a moment .

And it was Albert who threw the towel first .

“…I don’t think this is like the romance novels you secretly read . ”

“Please, don’t casually reveal my hobbies . And, what is not like “My Romance Novels,” that you said?”

Natalia blushed at first, but she did not loose her focus on the main topic .

“That, well, she’s still too young… and in the first place, I have a lot of other things to worry about besides love . ”

Natalia was grinning from ear to ear . (Tl/n: (OwO) – Ara ara, ufufu)

“And before I choose a girl, I must first determine if that person deserves to be trusted . ”

“Heeeh, so even after everything that happened, Albert-sama still doesn’t trust her? I feel sorry for that child . ”

“…There is not that many people that can resist the temptation of the gold coin . ”

Albert was always troubled about this .

The dragon symbol is a blessing… and a curse .

The symbol helps those with the old blood of dragons, but at the same time, it corrupt those weak of heart .

Albert has seen many who lost their egos, because of the gold coin .

It is like a charm, they l.u.s.t for it . (Tl/n: Run!!! Leo!!!)

Once, that same girl said it was not the gold coin’s fault .

At the time Albert thought the same .

But, when he remembered the faces of those that had already fallen into greed and lost their egos… he became uneasy, he wanted to believe the girl, but… .

Even if he fell in love with someone, would the other person really love him… or the gold coin .

If that girl is really without greed and n.o.ble of heart, even in front of the gold coin she would be okay .

“…Speaking of which, you always wear the gold coin around your neck, inside your clothes, right Albert?”

“Yeah, I don’t want to cause trouble for other people, so I… . ”

A gold coin, a ma.s.s of magic power . It looks like a beautiful ornament to the average person, but if they have even a little bit of magic power, the light becomes disgustingly attractive and unbearable… and that is why it’s scary .

In order to reduce any trouble it may cause, Albert puts the gold coin under his clothes, and when he had to show it to other people, he used other coins disguised, like copper coins or silver coins .

“So, how about you show the real deal in front of her, to see if she becomes corrupted by the dragon symbol . ”

“Wh!”

Albert was more than surprised of Natalia’s suggestion .

“If you never try it out, just when will you find a second half, one that can never be corrupted by it . Whether Leonora should fall and be corrupted, or stay sane, you should try it just find out . ”

“…… . ”

“When you showed it to me for the first time, I felt that my heart swayed a bit, but I was strong . And whether Leonora resists the temptation or not, the only thing you can do is believe in her… I do, and you?”

Natalia’s small hand wrapped around Albert’s hand .

Natalia’s mother is Albert’s father’s sister . Natalia and Bianca became good friends because of this, they both where part of the academy’s student council, a place where desires and ambitions are swirling around all the time .

“They are even calling her “The Altruistic Saintess,” so if you show the coin to her, she won’t try to steal it like all the others . ”

Her words where filled with conviction .

And Albert was sure of that when he looked at the girl beside him .

The gold coin had already fascinated a lot of people, while just walking in the corridor of the academy . But the little girl remained the same .

(Unless you’re in danger or running for your life, you’ll usually be attracted to the gold coin . So she is the same as Natalia, she has a n.o.ble soul)

Unfortunately, Leo had the risk of going to jail, he wanted to jump into the gold coin immediately………but the prince didn’t notice it .