[Ariana's POV:]
My mind was jumping between elation and shock.
The elation that the assessment went against what everyone, including me, expected.
Adrian not only showed his exceptional skill, unique in every way, of discerning Allen's affinity, but he even successfully etched the runes on the weapon on his first try.
Although he was slightly slower than a normal runesmith while inscribing the runes, the fact cannot be denied that he, indeed, produced a working armament in front of everyone today.
This was quite a shock for me since the Adrian I knew failed in inscribing runes because of his lack of knowledge, and magic control.
Learning the runic language was one thing—anyone with a sharp mind can do that—however, to inscribe runes on a weapon, one must have the skill of runesmithing and flawless magic control.
A single mistake during forming the rune, and the person can end up damaging themselves.
I glanced at Adrian and found him looking at the ceiling as we walked toward the office.
There was something different about him today… No, it had been this way since yesterday. Somehow, he had gained control over his emotions. Even when he stepped onto the stage, I felt more nervous than he did. And now, as he was being led by the three Tower Masters, he still showed no sign of concern.
'Is it because he no longer cares…or is he confident in managing the situation?
Well, he has done his part by showcasing his skill as a runesmith, so from here on, it's my role to handle everything.
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[Third Person POV:]
The group of five reached the headmistress' office.
The place had a faint smell of smoke that made the only female tower member's brows wrinkle in disgust.
Ariana suggested they sit on the sofa as she went to open the windows.
Adrian could tell, from both—the smell of smoke and the bags under Ariana's eyes—that she hadn't slept well last night. Well, that was expected.
Adrian sat beside Ariana on the sigle ones, while the three Tower members sat across from them.
The crest of the Tower, with three lines going down vertically, caught Adrian's eyes.
They are from the third Mage Tower which was situated between the capital and the academy.
The time it takes to travel from the Tower to here was around six hours, which means they were informed about the situation last night and they left for the academy sometimes after midnight.
Well, Adrian knows who it was—the same person who earlier attacked Ariana.
The main villain behind this whole arc was somehow related to this incident and wanted to remove Ariana from the seat of the headmistress. However, since Adrian didn't fail in the assessment, he launched a direct attack—only to get caught in the end.
Removing the focus from the culprit, Adrian focused on what the Tower member said,
"Mister Adrian, after receiving news of your being accused of fraud, we conducted an investigation into your background."
Those words brought stress, not shock. In fact, it would have been shocking if the Tower hadn't investigated the man accused by the Princess.
Adrian nodded and remained silent.
The third member, the short military-cut man, Christopher, relayed, "We dug out the reports of your assessment. You failed AET?"
This was not a question but an accusation.
However, Adrian didn't panic, and calmly responded, "Yes, I failed because of the criteria given during the examination."
The one who showed the most shock after hearing those words was Ariana. She didn't hear anything about that before.
Eleanor had a frown as she asked, "What exactly caused your failure if you can tell us." As someone regularly assigned to duty at assessment centers, she was both annoyed and curious upon learning that he blamed the examination for his failure.
Adrian held his stance, his expression unwavering, as he muttered, "First, they forced me to use a magic crystal. Second, they expected me to finish within half a minute." He counted on his fingers as he spoke.
Albec's brows drew closer, "I can understand the problem with time limitation but when you can get yourself a passing certificate using an easier mode of discerning someone's affinity…then what is the problem?"
The discussion about removing or maybe increasing the time limitation during the examination is among the hot topics recently.
Many examinees complained about not having sufficient time to complete the runesmithing section. Given that a runesmith does not need to operate under battlefield urgency, this concern is being taken into serious consideration.
Adrian heaved a long sigh, before leaning forward. Ariana flinched, she seemed to have sensed her cousin's frustration.
"With all due respect, sir, asking a forge master to use a machine that rapidly strikes metal to ease their work while forbidding them from using their hammer... I think you can imagine exactly how the blacksmith would react to that."
Albec was genuinely surprised to hear that logic. Albec could actually sense the passion in Adrian's voice for runesmithing, to the point he could afford to fail an exam rather than change his method.
This was not the first time he had met such a person.
Christopher interjected, "Talking about your way of runesmithing, where did you learn that technique from, Mister Adrian?"
There have been some attempts to discern affinity in a different way, however, they have only faced defeat until now.
Adrian shook his head, "I can't disclose that, Sir Christopher. Just know that it wasn't any book I found in the libraries that helped me develop this skill."
Well, naturally, he wouldn't tell them about the system and the books it offered.
Christopher narrowed his eyes, "Can you perform the ritual again if asked?"
"Yes, sure," Adrian responded without hesitation.
A brief silence descended upon the room.
Ariana was still silent but she prepared to intervene since she knew that the conversation was about to turn to Adrian's position in the academy.
And just as she expected—"Mister Adrian."
All eyes turned to Albec as he continued, "What we respect is an individual's mastery of the subject they are meant to teach. That is why we will not be taking any action against you."
Hearing the words, Adrian released the nervous breath that he had been holding for who knows how long.
Ariana was the one who interjected, "I hope you will take some action for the humiliation he went through?"
Adrian was taken aback by her bold request. Ariana appeared to be more offended than he could ever be.
The three members glanced at each other before Albec voiced, "I am aware how humiliating it must be for Mister Adrian to go through the trial in front of everyone, however, if we raise the complaint, then we also have to notify the authorities about the fact that Mister Adrian failed his AET."
Ariana frowned—not only because she was displeased but also because what he said was true.
If things come to the nation's princess then the Council would somehow save her, and highly likely Adrian would receive massive backlash because of it.
"It's okay, Sir Albec. I don't want to register any complaints. And I will properly give my examination during the next AET to remove this tag of failure."
Adrian had several other matters to handle, and he had no desire to get involved in politics.
As such, the matter came to a conclusion.
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A/N:- Thanks for reading. Add the book to your collection.