I gracefully picked up my cup of tea, which was supplied by some magicians in this tower.
They didn't have maids to make ordinary tea, but this magic-brewed tea was actually very delectable.
After all, I was a rather special guest they had to treat with care.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I wasn't the only one sitting around this round table.
"Ellios, do you not like tea? I find this interesting occasion quite special."
I glanced up at him, who was looking down at his lap instead of the freshly brewed cup in front of him.
"N-no! Its not that I don't like it.......just......"
"Or is my presence bothering you? Is it me that you don't like?" I asked curiously.
A stop of silence, then his head jerked up to face me.
"Of course not! I-I would never hate you!"
He looked slightly worried, like he was scared of me getting to conclusions.
And at that moment then, I had an odd thought.
Ellios was worried about me thinking that he hated me, and he was never one to maintain appearances.
And whats more, he would never refute a fact so harshly like that.
Why would he deny my statement to that extent?
"Ellios........do you perhaps like me?" I asked, then slowly sipped my tea.
His normal gesture stayed on his face for a few seconds, leading me to believe that he didn't actually.
But a comprehensive spark lit his eye, and he flinched back quickly.
His lips started quivering, and his face reddened into the shade of a fresh tomato.
"That n-not it!"
He looked down in embarrassment.
But after a few seconds, he glimpsed up to look at me.
His eyes widened as he realised something, and his lips quibbled out words.
"As a friend......of course!!!"
His rather loud tone surprised me, and shook me back a bit.
He gave me a hopeful stare, as if wanting me to believe that.
'But Ellios.......'
I looked away from him.
'How do I say this? He was a rather bad liar.'
Using my arms, I pushed the table so my wooden chair would squeak back.
Without looking back at the embarrassed Ellios and my half dranken still-warm cup of tea, I walked out the shabby lobby that was considered the guest room.
"Well then, I'll take my leave. I do believe its time for the examination."
It was a terrible excuse, but Ellios was in too much of a weakened state to see through the lie.
I myself was confused, and wanted some space for myself to think in.
I really did have the examination today, but it was half an hour away.
Flopping onto my bed, I cleared out my mind.
It was impossible to deny that he had thought of me as a friend, but the fact that he was still a capture target stayed in my mind.
Didn't he like Ivy?
What made him stray from his original path?
The answer was me of course, but I was only a villainess.
I slumped on my bed.
I didn't like Ellios romantically, and I didn't want to hurt him as a friend.
If it was heard that I had gotten close to the Head Magician's son, then my situation would go from bad to worse.
It would mean giving Ivy all she had wanted in her life within a snap of fingers.
Furthermore, I would no longer be able to have access to either the royal family's protection or my own.
Like that, I would be sent off to a monastery (or possibly beheaded because of blemishing the royal family's name), stripped of my status and worked to the bones.
My parents wouldn't— and couldn't do anything about it.
I already felt guilty for taking advantage of such good and pure-hearted people's power, even though I had already done it multiple times, to my guilt.
I sighed once more, and no longer wanted to think anymore.
I fished my bag that I brought, and pulled out an object by its corners.
"Huh? Isn't this the........"
I was surprised that what I had gotten out of the bag was the book I found hidden in the shelves at the library.
Should I kill time and read it?
The principal had encouraged me to read it the last time we met, though I'm not sure if it would actually be useful or he was just mocking me because the contents of this book were some sort of teen romance.
I couldn't tell.
So why not just find out myself?
I plopped the book on my lap, and took hold of the heavy cover.
My eyes settled down on the words, and started skimming through it.
***
The door clunked open, and a shiny and clean room came into view.
The rest of the tower was mammoth and ancient, so nobody even bothered to clean anything.
But this place was kept in check, and it was quite spotless compared to the rest of this humongous building.
Not even the dorms they gave me were that new and sanitised.
I almost felt a bit disappointed at the guest treatment, but then I mentally slapped myself back to nudge myself that this wasn't even the point of coming to the tower.
I noticed two people fitted in lab coats discussing with each other, and they swiveled their heads to face me.
Shock in their eyes greeted me, and they bowed their heads.
"Greetings to the Lady of—"
"Skip the greetings. Get on to the experiment, please."
They looked at me, flabbergasted at my behavior, then at each other.
I'm sure they understood my point, and nodded back at me.
I got vaguely nervous when I saw the glimmer of engrossment filling their eyes, as if I was a new specimen to test on.
I wonder what was going to come.
***
"You've originally been assigned to fill out forms that needed extra noble power, and we had been informed that blackmailing you with the vial was originally the plan."
The guy, no older than 25, explained bluntly.
The woman, around the same age as he, nodded shamelessly.
I was stupefied at their open honesty, but I suspected the same conclusion as the truth told.
"And........?"
I hurried them to push on with the explanation.
A grin spread over both of their faces, filled with malicious intent.
"We'll be extracting some of your blood~"
The man was holding a needle, its stabbing tip sparkling from the fineness of it.
The woman clutched my arm and pulled it towards them, until it was in a straight line and out in the open.
"Alright~♡. Shall we start?"