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So Mel said, "I did do something wrong, and I should take responsibility for it. I don't want to be treated differently just because I have a little fame."

Mel's words brought a smile to Lusien's face. That was easy to understand: the captain of the Shield of the New Star was also a knight, and knights... whether in the legendary era or modern society, they were invariably single-minded, forthright, upright, and well-behaved. That hadn't changed one bit throughout history. Any knight who wasn't like that was a fake! So Lusien nodded approvingly at Mel. "Mr. Madsen has shown an excellent attitude in admitting his guilt. Let me assure you again that your sentence will not be long, a week at most. But as you said, we cannot allow the authority of the law to be shaken by fame, so that week will be necessary."

Then he looked at me and said, "The same goes for you, Mr. Field."

We both nodded. A one-week sentence was wonderful.

Next, everyone turned to the next person who had objected: the lady. The black-haired lady in black stood there with her arms folded. Her taste seemed a little like Moli's to me, though she was much easier on the eyes. Moli was obviously just messing around as a rebellious teenage girl, while this lady's look could be called a distinctive personal style. She wore jet-black eye shadow and dark purple lipstick, and when she raised a hand, all five fingernails were pitch-black. She also wore a tight black leather outfit. Honestly, she really did look a bit like a dark mage who conducted malicious experiments... much more than Mel did.

But her identity was revealed soon afterward, and she wasn't a mage at all.

Reynold turned to her and asked politely, "Ms. Angela, why did you object?"

The lady who looked so much like a dark mage raised an eyebrow coolly, tipped her head down slightly, and looked at people through the gaps in her long, straight black hair. (She pulled off that cocky gesture much more stylishly than Moli, too. Her gaze made me feel like she might pull out a whip and start lashing a prisoner at any moment. Moli had done the same thing, but she had only looked like a little demon with a twitching eye.) She said, "No reason. I'm the warden of this prison. Whether anyone gets released is up to me."

Wow! Mel's eyes and mine lit up!

This was the warden who had fought that night with mechanical wings on her back!

No one raised any objection to the cool warden. Finally, Reynold gave the five-star old man a cold look. Before Reynold could ask, the old man spoke first. "Lusien, Crow, don't you two go too far. Mr. Madsen is a magic master of the Federation, an honorary adviser to our institute, and an important guest at the summit. And you just lock him up like this? Don't make me take this to the Federal Parliament!"

Crow? Was that Ms. Angela's nickname? It was simple and straightforward, but it hit the nail on the head!

Ms. Angela was extraordinarily agile in battle. With steel wings several times her size on her back, she soared freely through the air, as though she really were a giant bird. Besides, we mages were very fond of birds like crows and ravens. They liked circling outside mage towers, and sometimes they could even carry letters for mages. Oh, naturally, I was talking about the legendary era. Nowadays... most mages didn't have mage towers. Take me, for example: I couldn't keep crows in my work-provided apartment. They needed to spread their wings and fly. How could I bear to confine them in a tiny room?

Ms. Angela, or Crow, didn't even look at the five-star old man. She said, "Doug, didn't you say no yourself? Why are you objecting to me now?"

The five-star old man immediately pointed at me. "I said you couldn't release this one!"

Mel frowned at once. "Mage Field and I committed the same offense. If that's what you're saying, then I absolutely can't leave. If he has to be punished here, what right do I have to go free?"

With that, Mel didn't even want to look outside. He sat perfectly straight and proper, as though asking him to leave was an outrageous imposition.

And so, naturally, the situation became even more chaotic.

The dignitaries outside all talked over one another, arguing about the matter. Clearly, most of them still wanted to get Mel out, but Lusien and Ms. Crow were both very firm about their principles. Mixed in with them was the five-star old man, who demanded that Mel be released and I remain locked up. It was quite a lively scene.

I also noticed that although Reynold's expression was solemn, his eyes were clearly full of astonishment. I had noticed it as soon as he appeared, and even now he was still in a state of disbelief. I knew him very well, so that subtle expression couldn't escape my notice. He was studying Mel and me, thinking he was being discreet. Though he seemed to be watching the dignitaries, he was actually sneaking glances at us out of the corners of his eyes.

Oh, seeing Reynold's reaction suddenly reminded me of something. Wasn't I still Mel's stand-in?

No wonder Reynold looked so strange. His former stand-in lover and his true love had been locked up together, on the same charge and in the same cell. It really was quite an extraordinary scene.

But that also made me curious. How would Reynold resolve this problem?

Taking advantage of the commotion, Mel quietly leaned over and asked me in a low voice, "Who's that? The fairly good-looking one with the stiffly combed hair and clothes like a peacock's? Why does he keep sneaking looks at you?"

"Oh..." The question caught me off guard, and I sighed. How was I supposed to explain this to Mel?

Seeing my hesitation, Mel frowned thoughtfully. Without letting anything show, he switched to a less awkward question. "Maybe I met him the last time I came to the summit? He looks a little familiar. He's a government official too, right?"

"He's Reynold, the chairman of the Osland Federation Magic Council. You must have met him," I said.

Mel nodded in sudden understanding.

Mel had come to the last summit too, and Reynold had already been chairman then. I didn't know when Reynold had developed feelings for Mel, though. Maybe it was after the last summit? Otherwise, why hadn't he pursued Mel directly at the time, instead of finding me as a stand-in later?

Mel clearly understood who Reynold was now. The Osland Federation's political system was a little complicated. I didn't really understand politics, and Mel only had a partial understanding himself. But the Magic Council was very well known. Its members all had to be spellcasters, who proposed major national policies from a magical perspective. Its status was no lower than that of the Federal Congress or the Federal Parliament, which was composed of ordinary politicians. Though I couldn't really tell the difference between Congress and Parliament, that wasn't important. As chairman of the Magic Council, Reynold was one of the country's core leaders.

"I see." Mel nodded. "He's one of those so-called mages who go into politics... I've always had serious doubts about their magical abilities."

"Exactly. Politics isn't something you can just dabble in during your spare time. Running a country is such a serious matter. Anyone who could manage both scholarship and politics would be an extraordinary genius." I couldn't help agreeing. I had wondered about that back when I was dating Reynold, but since we had never discussed academic matters and he had refused to spar with me using spells, it had remained an unsolved mystery.

Mel immediately asked, "Does he have authority over your institute?"

"No. Even though they're all spellcasters, the National Magic Research Institute, uh, disagrees politically with the Magic Council Reynold leads, so they've never gotten along. That one over there... um, the fat old man with five stars on his shoulders, he's the official in charge of the institute. He's always wanted to bring Reynold down," I explained. "Look at how tense things are between them. They really don't get along."

"How complicated!" Mel said, looking pained. "These relationships are such a mess."

"Tell me about it," I said.

"So this old man is the ignorant higher-up at your institute. That's why he treats you like that." Mel shook his head in displeasure and snorted. Then he looked at Reynold, who was still sneaking glances at me, and said, "Xipei, this chairman hasn't targeted you, has he?"