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\'She came?\' he wondered in disbelief, having thoroughly searched the banquet hall, failing to find any trace of her.

Besides, she wasn\'t anywhere near that illusion, which only served to deepen his confusion.

"Mhm." Ziva hummed, understanding his surprise. "Good evening," she muttered with a hint of mischief in her eyes.

"Evening," Jash replied. "When did you come here?" He asked without any unnecessary pretenses.

It wasn\'t in his nature to act pompous, so he just got to the point, curious about her whereabouts.

"She was by Evelia\'s side," Sera interrupted their conversation, making sure the two were aware of her presence.

Jash glanced at his mother and simply nodded at her words. \'If she was by her mother\'s side, it makes sense.\'

Unfortunately, Jash was unaware that his decision to participate had not only attracted the Emperor\'s unwanted attention, but it even gave Amael Villain Points.

Well, he didn\'t know about the system or Villain Points, to begin with, so it didn\'t really matter.

In the plot, Jash didn\'t even come here, unwilling to partake in such annoying events.

Hence, his participation altered the entire event along with the change in Amael and Ziva\'s presence.

Oblivious to the changes his presence brought along indirectly, Jash was having a hard time assessing his emotions.

During the past years of training, his memories returned randomly and one such memory was of his girlfriend.

Although he didn\'t know her looks or name or anything else for that matter, the vivid sensation of reliving those moments was too much for him to dismiss.

\'Just what do I think of her? Only Amelia and Ziva are the ones who didn\'t enter the protagonist\'s harem.\'

Thinking so, Jash struggled to place his emotions as her presence stirred them in unexpected directions.

\'It isn\'t love for sure. Maybe slight attraction? Or affection for a true friend of the opposite gender?\'

He guessed in his heart, unable to put a label on his mixed emotions.

Unlike him, Ziva wasn\'t struggling with her emotions at all. \'I don\'t mind being with him,\' she thought, glancing at him once more.

In the end, she decided to let her future self figure it out, avoiding to burden her mind with unneeded thoughts.

Their silent stare almost grew a bit heated when Sera broke it, "Well, you two should have a proper conversation after so long."

With that being said, she walked away after the two turned to look at her.

\'What am I supposed to talk to her about?\' Jash wondered, exchanging a glance with Ziva.

Still, the two didn\'t linger at the same place, choosing to move along.

"So, what rank are you at?" Jash began the conversation with a generic question in their world instead of asking her well-being.

"Mid E-Rank," Ziva replied nonchalantly, then gave him a questioning look as if asking his rank.

"Early E-Rank," Jash muttered, a bit embarrassed, but his disclosure surprised Ziva to the point of stopping in her tracks.

"What? How?" Ziva\'s eyes widened in disbelief as she recalled their past argument about him not wanting to awaken.

As if sensing her confusion, Jash clarified, "I awakened at 13, just a year later than usual."

Though his words were uttered in a low voice, only audible to Ziva, not the ones nearby interested in their conversation.

After all, two children of Dukes being together, while their parents were friends, were bound to give rise to rumors.

The guests and everyone else were busy discussing rumors, some stealing glances at the two, curious to know their relationship.

They didn\'t know that those rumors could indeed be the truth, the engagement talk was real and neither party had rejected it.

However, the reasons were entirely different.

The previous Jash had believed no one would suit him better as a partner, given her familiarity with him.

To Ziva, it was just a matter of comfort. She already knew Jash and his personality, trusting it somewhat.

The main deciding factor could be the fact that they had already seen their parents in a friendly relation unlike other nobles they met.

Fortunately, their parents knew what emotions kids go through and didn\'t officially bind them.

After all, how could kids know what marriage entails in its entirety?

Hence, no official knots were to be tied until after the coming-of-age ceremony when they became adults and graduated from Solarnelle Academy.

Naturally, they expected their children to easily make their way through the entrance test, knowing their talents.

Reaching E-Rank even before entering the Academy was something only a few managed to do yet they had done it.

Instead, Jash\'s feat of reaching E-Rank despite awakening a year later was much more astonishing.

That\'s why Ziva was too astounded to even react for a few seconds as she walked by his side absentmindedly.

But that wasn\'t too bad, as it gave Jash the time he needed to ground his thoughts and feelings.

\'It\'s better to not talk about those things for now. Anyways, there\'s 4 years till graduation,\' decided Jash inwardly.

On his side, Ziva was slowly returning to her senses, accepting the fact that Jash was just as talented if not less than her.

\'No. He might as well be more talented than me...\' she concluded, casting a sidelong glance at him.

\'He\'s in a similar category to Amael, isn\'t he?\' she wondered, calculating the time he would take to reach the late E-Rank.

If she compared pure numbers, it was obvious his and Amael\'s time would be somewhat close.

\'However, his growth inside the academy should increase, so faster than Amael?\' she pondered, unable to decide.

In her heart, she never considered any other guy except Jash her friend and Amael an acquaintance.

Plus, she had assumed that Jash was a better choice than a random noble to spend the rest of her life.

Unfortunately, realizing his monstrous potential made her doubt her own decision.

Unable to know her inner thoughts and how much they changed in the past few seconds, Jash slightly nudged her to draw her attention.

"Why did you not participate?" he asked, referring to the \'Forest of Deceit\'.

"Uh, huh," Ziva let out confused sounds before comprehending his words and answered, "It would\'ve been of no use."

To anyone else, her succinct reply might seem rude, but it was enough for Jash to understand her intent.

\'Yeah, right. How did I forget about her element?\' he chided himself internally, having a hard time believing he forgot such a major aspect.

Unlike most awakeners who were yet to awaken elements as they had not yet reached E-Rank, Ziva had long awakened hers.

Of course, just reaching E-Rank wasn\'t enough to know one\'s elements, it was just a prerequisite.

\'Her element is unlike regular ones, akin to the light and darkness of the Hero and Villain—a typical cliché.\'

Just the thought was enough for Jash to roll his eyes. Luckily, Ziva was engrossed in her own thoughts, sparing him from another thing to worry about.

\'She could\'ve easily escaped the illusion using her element, and even decipher the illusion easily,\' Jash mused, recalling about her description.

After all, she was a rare Heroine who remained unconquerable until the end yet she was too strong to be labeled an Extra.

\'Even the role villainess doesn\'t define her since she wasn\'t one to begin with,\' Jash recalled the tons of discussions from fellow readers.

\'If that darned author had confirmed anything related to any character, I would know so much more...\' Jash cursed internally.

Right then, a soft, sweet voice broke his reverie, "How did you reach E-Rank so fast?"