...have you never thought about having a table to yourself?


    Aiwass was taken aback for a moment.


    Although he had long known that this princess did not possess the arrogance and frailtymonly associated with "princesses," this level of politeness seemed a bit too excessive, didn''t it?


    However, Aiwass quickly guessed what might be the issue, "Could it be that someone has approached you? Or did you overhear someone gossiping?"


    "...Huh?"


    Isabel was momentarily stunned.


    She stopped in her tracks, looking incredulously at Aiwass.


    And Lily also took the opportunity to stop the wheelchair under the shade of the trees, her hands folded as she stood quietly behind Aiwass.


    "It''s just a guess,"


    Aiwass exined with a smile.


    "...That''s exactly it,"


    Isabel nodded in admiration and sighed softly, "Am I being a bit too pretentious? Just yesterday, I told you I wanted friends... but the truth is, people have approached me before. It''s just that at the time, I felt a bit ufortable... and still ended up fleeing."


    "Wanting friends does not mean you have to ept anyone you don''t like as a friend,"


    Under the midday shade, Aiwass''s voice rang out clear, "Being temporarily without friends does not mean you have to lower your standards for friendship. ''Friends'' are still better fewer and better chosen. If you have to warp your personality to gain friends, they are not truly your friends, and you won''t find happiness in theirpany."


    "Master Yanis won''t give you a definite answer to this kind of question, but I can—you''re not wrong, Your Highness. That''s my answer."


    "If you really don''t want to go to a crowded ce like the canteen, there''s no need to. Let''s go, back to the vi you gifted me... Lily is also skilled in cooking."


    "Or we could go out and find a nearby restaurant, my treat. Consider it a return invitation for your hospitalityst night. After all, afternoon sses don''t start until three, and if you don''t nap, we have plenty of time."


    "...Ah, that''s not necessary,"


    Isabel was silent for a moment, then suddenly burst into a radiant smile, "Because now I already have a friend to dine with, to chat with. So please, don''t call me ''Your Highness,'' Aiwass."


    "Then may I call you Isabel?"


    Aiwass asked directly without any pretense.


    "...Actually, you could also call me Senior Isabel,"


    Isabel said in a low voice.


    When she heard Aiwass calling Hayna ''Senior Hayna'', she felt as if a title had been stolen from her. After all, she was also a second-year student, and to Aiwass, she was a senior too...


    "That doesn''t seem much different from ''Your Highness,''"


    Aiwass, with a smile, declined Isabel''s suggestion, "I''ll just call you Isabel."


    "...Then, may I call you ''Mr. Aiwass''?" Read exclusive content at mvl


    She smiled a bit yfully, seeming a little more cheerful, "I just heard your ssmates call you that. Is it your nickname?"


    As she spoke, Isabel continued walking in the direction of the canteen, and Lily followed in step.


    "Sort of. But it''s not that I''m a ''teacher''; they''re just teasing me,"


    Aiwass exined with a hint of reluctance, "Because I''m quite interested in history, I''ve studied some on my own. But truthfully, my knowledge isn''t vast, it''s just more obscure. They started ribbing me because Professor Bard wanted to hire me as a teaching assistant."


    He lied rather smoothly, reversing the cause and effect in hisst statement, but this made it sound more natural, and it dimmed the halo around him a bit.


    "A teaching assistant? That''s impressive!"


    Isabel expressed her genuine admiration, "Many third- and fourth-year seniors don''t get that opportunity."


    "It''s only because Professor Bard isn''t good at lecturing, but he is a schr worthy of respect," Aiwass said.


    "It''s a pity..."


    The golden-haired, blue-eyed girl sighed softly with a hint of regret, "I thought that since you hadn''te to school for a few months, maybe you''d have trouble keeping up with the curriculum. In that case, I could''ve helped you catch up on some of the shared sses."


    "You''re that talented, huh. No wonder you''re Aiwass..."


    Isabel''s perception of Aiwass subtly ovepped with that of ''Mr. Fox''; the premonition that ''these two individuals might be the same person'' grew stronger.


    A capricious thought suddenly sprang to her mind.


    Isabel rarely entertained such whimsical notions. Yet ever since she had met Aiwass, these ''unruly'' ideas began to emerge more frequently.


    Like a statue starting to move, a painting beginning to smile. What she once thought immutable, now suddenly broke the convention. As if the mechanically precise routine of her daily life unexpectedly reversed its gears one day, bringing about a change in her entire existence, introducing novelty and a wealth of inspiration.


    Isabel gained a sudden, hazy understanding of the ''Demonic Painting.''


    It was a sensation that Master Yanis had lectured about many times, but she had never quite grasped—a strong confidence in ''breaking tradition,'' a domineering desire to create that ''overwrites the world with personal will''...


    A belief that ''ordinary paper cannot contain me,'' ''static images cannot trap my imagination,'' aiming to project the ''flowing beauty'' of a moment etched in her mindpletely onto the canvas.


    If not for Aiwass, Isabel wondered when she would have had such inspiration...