Eisel Morph’s magical demonstration was a wonder to behold; it was even captured on video storage devices, and quickly spread throughout the classroom.

Of course, it wasn't long before the footage was surreptitiously smuggled out and shown to magic scholars far and wide. They were eager to witness her incredible abilities for themselves. Her magic - or rather, her art - caused a stir of sensation within the academic community.

Undoubtedly, Eisel’s magic was impressive, but many priests and other mages also recognized the incredible skill of Baek Yu-Seol.

From the beginning, he had declared that his strategy was designed exclusively for the priest.

At first, it was unclear what he meant by this; the demons were so challenging that only knights could hope to suppress them.

But, his words proved true.

Baek Yu-Seol devoted himself entirely to Eisel’s magic, moving from beginning to end with no thought for his own position in the arena.

His selfless protection of her had a poignant effect on many mages who witnessed it, and his skill with magic drew widespread admiration.

The knight exists for the priest.

Then, wasn't Baek Yu-Seol, who sacrificed himself solely for Eisel, the ideal "knight"?

All priests dream of having a knight they could entrust everything to, just like Eisel.

However, that was just an ideal, hardly a reality.

But, Baek Yu-Seol showed that kind of dedication to Eisel, so it was inevitable that the hearts of all priests would be moved.

[Results of Demon Simulation Battle]

[First place: Group 32 (Baek Yu-Seol, Eisel)]

[Second place: Group 31 (Mayuseong, Hong Bi-Yeon)]

[Third place...]

"We lost completely,” Mayuseong said with a bitter expression as he looked at the scores posted on the classroom bulletin board.

Hong Bi-Yeon stared at the scores with her mouth tightly shut. The score difference was overwhelming.

[First place: 199 points.]

[Second place: 127 points.]

It was amazing in itself to have surpassed 100 points, let alone two people taking on a large special demon with opposite affinity, which had never been done before.

However, to see 199 points right above them was shocking.

"I have to admit it. Baek Yu-Seol was more like a knight than me, and Eisel performed the priest position better than you.”

"... Yeah."

Hong Bi-Yeon had to acknowledge some parts of it. But, there was one thing she couldn't admit.

"If my knight was Baek Yu-Seol...".

He existed solely for the priest.

He developed strategies for the priest, chose positions solely for the priest, and even selected a stage solely for the priest to shine.

Mayuseong was undoubtedly an excellent knight, but in the end, Baek Yu-Seol was a better knight.

‘If Baek Yu-Seol was my knight, I could have wielded magic as powerful as Eisel’s.’

However, a sense of unease grew.

‘Why is that commoner so devoted to Eisel?’

She couldn't accept or understand the fact that if the most perfect knight existed in the world, then she, who was destined to be the greatest queen, wouldn’t be obediently served by him.

Instead, such a knight was taking care of another woman.

‘I should find out more about Baek Yu-Seol.’

Hong Bi-Yeon held out her hand to Mayuseong.

A handshake was appropriate to finish off their business relationship, as they were not friends.

"This performance evaluation was tough. You did a good job though."

"Yeah, it'd be great to do it together again next time.”

For some reason, Mayuseong’s voice seemed to be powerless, so Hong Bi-Yeon looked at him, and added, "Don't be too hard on yourself. You did your best, and getting 127 points means we did well too."

Mayuseong forced a bitter smile.

‘You did your best…’

Did she know that her best meant nothing to him?

"Actually, I had fun. It was exhilarating."

"What?" Hong Bi-Yeon looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah. Something from the depths of my heart… A burning sensation that makes me want to win immediately. I can’t stand it… Don’t you feel it too?"

Hong Bi-Yeon looked genuinely bewildered.

"No? Not at all?"

"Really? That's a shame."

‘What’s with this weird guy?’

Not sure if he knew what Hong Bi-Yeon was thinking, but Mayuseong said with a light smile, "I'll be going now."

As Mayuseong walked away, Hong Bi-Yeon couldn’t avert her gaze from his back. After a long time, she shook her head, and turned around, feeling uneasy.

She headed back to the Class S when her eyes met with a woman.

She had jet-black hair like silk, an expression as cold as ice, and eyes so pure that it was as if nothing could blemish them.

Almost as tall as Hong Bi-Yeon, she had a third-year student badge.

“… Lyra."

She furrowed her eyebrows and withdrew her gaze. She had no desire to meet Lyra, especially now that she had lost so thoroughly.

Lyra Orkan.

As the successor to the Duke Orkan, the infamous Lyra was destined to become enemies with Hong Bi-Yeon in the future, who was currently feeling nervous as she walked through the halls.

Lyra was Hong Si-hwa's loyal retainer and desired to undermine Hong Bi-Yeon in the struggle for the throne.

She was a frustrating woman who maintained a cold facade even in the face of defeat and would resort to any political maneuvering to get what she wanted.

Hong Bi-Yeon tried to avoid her by taking a different corridor. Being young and inexperienced, she didn't yet realize that every little move she made could be interpreted as weakness by Lyra.

Luckily, Hong Bi-Yeon had someone she could rely on at times like these. Not her mother, a friend or someone else, but it was her mentor, Hameryl.

‘I think I'll go see Hameryl.’

Elsewhere in the school, students were buzzing about the recent Simulation Battle.

"Hey, did you see Group 32? They were amazing!"

"I thought it was a magic show at first, with all those professors showing off their spells!"

"And what about Baek Yu-Seol? That guy took down five demons all by himself!"

“My Demon Department Professor said that Baek Yu-Seol must have the expertise of a Demon Science Major. It was a win made possible due to the broad knowledge of the characteristics of demons.”

Despite losing the battle, Edna was feeling relieved and satisfied. She had given it her all, and in the end, that was all that mattered.

Now, it was time for class.

The students, who were sitting in groups of two or three, looked at Eisel and gossiped.

Despite everything, there was still a sense of distance between Eisel and the others, which Edna also felt.

However, things were a little different now.

Before they simply loathed her, but they felt a sense of awe towards Eisel now.

‘If things had gone according to the original storyline…’

By now, Eisel would be slowly going through a breakdown, trapped inside Jeremy's fence and unable to escape after the shock from the recent Simulation Battle.

She would have continued to decay until she was nothing but a shell of her former self.

But, that future was now completely reversed.

The Eisel they knew was no more. Even now, they couldn't help but feel a sense of awe towards her as she confidently laughed and enjoyed the attention of the other students.

"I can't believe the Crystal Flower bloomed so quickly..."

That magic was a trademark and trump card created by Eisel after overcoming all the hardships and challenges in her life.

And now, she was able to showcase it to everyone so early on. Perhaps it was all thanks to Baek Yu-Seol.

As a result of this incident, Edna was certain of one thing.