*****

Somehow managing to change her mood, Mia had returned home.

By the window of a restaurant with a beautiful night view, a man and a woman held glasses of wine, exchanging bitter words.

It was Zeel and Catarina, who had just finished their secret meeting at the Adventurers Guild.

「What an utterly foolish woman. She has to go and stain my brilliant career. 」

「It can't be helped~. Senior is a pitiful person with a childlike maiden’s heart, after all. 」

Having misunderstood for years that Mia was head over heels in love with him, Zeel's anger over being deceived knew no bounds.

For a man with his high pride, it was as humiliating as being bitten by his own pet dog.

「Does that woman expect love in a political marriage? What an irritating idiot. 」

「Fools and scissors are meant to be used, aren’t they~? I mean, Senior would do all my work for me if I just acted a little clingy, you know? She was a very convenient person~. 」

「That much is true. When I dumped all the chores for my shop on her, she was the type of woman who would do anything without a single complaint. 」

「That was Senior’s good point, wasn't it? The way she would do everything like an idiot. 」

Perhaps due to the amount of wine they were consuming, the two gradually became more talkative, and their spirits rose by disparaging Mia.

「This is a funny story, but I once ran an experiment to see how far that idiot woman would go. And guess what? She actually did the prep work for potions without even realizing it was an alchemist's job! 」

「Ehh. No wonder Senior looked useless after her days off~. She had eyes like a dead fish, you see~. 」

「Don't say that. Thanks to her, I had plenty of time to spend with you, Catarina. As a woman, she's out of the question, but there's no doubt she was a useful woman. 」

「That’s not treating her like a fiancée anymore; that’s just treating her like a slave~! 」

Ignoring the other customers, the two laughed gleefully, hahaha.

By speaking aloud the fact that he had thoroughly exploited the foolish woman, Zeel firmly reaffirmed that he was in the superior position.

Mia, who was only capable of carrying out the tasks he commanded, had no value. Once the rumor of the broken engagement spread, the public would perceive her as a useless and discarded lady.

The wine tasted exceptional with that thought.

「But, um, are you really alright~? If you had Senior do everything, won't that affect your work as an alchemist? 」

「No problem. I can make even better things when I get serious. 」

「Ehh~, are you really saying that~? It sounds like you haven't been serious up until now~! 」

「Of course not. Normally, you can't make good things when a woman without an alchemist license is helping. But a genius like me is different. I’ve been mass-producing high-quality items to the point where I'm just about to be promoted to a B-Rank Alchemist! 」

The fact that he was about to become a B-Rank Alchemist by making potions from the ingredients Mia prepared did not make Zeel doubt his own skills.

He never studied difficult subjects and was always casual about alchemy. Yet, he was able to produce high-quality items, which gave him absolute confidence in his alchemy.

He was terrified of his own alchemy sense.

「Amazing~! Does that mean you might become a Court Alchemist in the future~? 」

「If not me, then who would? 」

「Oh my~, that’s so cool~. 」

Zeel felt even better thanks to Catarina’s fawning, sweet voice.

All he could see was his own brilliant future. For that reason alone, he had no intention of forgiving Mia for putting a blemish like a broken engagement on him just before the wedding.

—How dare she tarnish my brilliant career. I will definitely spread terrible rumors about Mia and knock her down to the depths of despair. Mia wasn’t the woman who supported me during my early stages. She was a horrible woman who constantly dragged me down!

「Ah, Senior really missed out, didn't she~. 」

「If she had remained my fiancée, she could have been the bride of the Court Alchemist. What a truly foolish woman. I doubt she'll ever have a glorious life from now on. 」

「Oh no~, your ambition is showing. You aren’t a Court Alchemist yet~! 」

「My bad. Well, I might be called that by next year, though. 」

He was convinced he was chosen by God and was an alchemy genius.

He believed that he could become a Court Alchemist whenever he put his mind to it.

—Hehehe. I'll break off the engagement quickly and make Mia regret everything.

「Oh, right! With your skills, Lord Zeel, why don't you volunteer to be the Court Alchemist's assistant~? 」

「Don't be ridiculous. I'm not a man who works under anyone. What am I supposed to learn from those old men? 」

「But~, wasn't there someone who became the youngest Court Alchemist? Just between us, I heard he does all the work alone because he only wants to take on an assistant he approves of. 」

「Ah… you mean Clein Augusta. 」

Zeel was not so ignorant of the world as to not know the name of Clein Augusta, who was hailed as the young genius.

He had met him before as a fellow alchemist and had even visited his workshop once when he was little. However, at the time, he was forced to realize the immense gap in skill, which led to a loss of confidence.

But the current Zeel was different. That was because he was convinced that he, too, had stepped into the realm of genius.

「The only one who can drag that Clein Augusta down from the Court Alchemist position is me. I suppose it’s time to show the world what I can really do. 」

His ambition continued to swell, but Zeel still didn't know.

He didn't know about the efforts accumulated by Mia, who had no alchemist license. And he didn't know who was the one who had truly blossomed with the talent for alchemy.