The academic festival was a grand event attended by people from multiple empires, but since access was strictly limited to authorized personnel only, the identity verification process was extremely rigorous.

I had to wait inside the carriage for quite a while before finally being allowed entry into the venue where the academic festival was being held.

Ascan stepped down from the carriage first and offered his escort, so naturally I took his hand and stepped out of the carriage.

I could feel the surrounding atmosphere turn chaotic at my arrival.

“Oh my, who is that?”

“You know, right? The twin elder sister of Lady Noxia.”

“Ah, the one who failed to inherit any special ability—what’s she doing here?”

“Who knows? Maybe she came to cheer for her younger sister?”

“Pfft, isn’t it more likely Marquis Brellof shoved her in here out of pity using his influence?”

None of the overheard remarks about me were remotely kind.

Given the Brellof family’s fame, everyone knew I hadn’t inherited any special ability. My sudden appearance at the academic festival seemed to have triggered all kinds of wild speculation and baseless rumors.

Suddenly, I sensed a chilling aura. Turning my head, I saw Ascan glaring coldly at the surrounding crowd, his expression hardened.

Fearing he might lose control of his power if upset, I whispered softly to him,

“You don’t need to care about what other people say. I’m completely fine.”

It wasn’t bluff—it was genuine.

Those people were just thoughtlessly spouting words. If I let their words hurt me, I’d be the one at a loss.

Ascan stared at me with dark, heavy eyes and replied,

“I… I can’t help but care.”

“No, don’t care. That’s an order.”

I gripped Ascan’s hand firmly and pulled him toward another location.

Staying in that spot would only worsen Ascan’s mood without changing anything.

Fortunately, as we moved farther from the murmuring crowd, Ascan’s mood seemed to improve slightly. He stared fixedly at the hand I was holding and murmured softly,

“This… is cheating.”

“Cheating?”

“You deliberately distracted me.”

Did he mean that holding my hand made him forget the unpleasantness?

I wasn’t entirely sure of the exact meaning, but if Ascan had stopped paying attention to others’ words, that was a good thing.

“Don’t react to every little thing or let it sour your mood. My worth isn’t determined by others—it’s determined by me.”

Ascan stared at me for a moment, then faintly smiled.

Of course. I had rightfully earned my qualification to attend the academic festival. No matter what anyone said behind my back, I had nothing to feel ashamed of.

I lifted my chin high and squared my shoulders.

Even if everyone around me were enemies, I didn’t care. Instead, I wore a faint, serene smile and looked down on them with contemptuous eyes.

“Truly ladylike, as expected.”

It sounded like praise, yet somehow carried the undertone of calling me a villainess.

When I shot Ascan a sidelong glance, he had already returned to his usual expressionless face.

For a moment, I considered asking him what he meant—but decided against it. I didn’t want pointless words from others to ruin my mood.

Once all participants had gathered, the academic festival officially began.

The first item on the agenda was measuring the magical power within one’s body.

Nearly all those possessing special abilities had participated in the festival, so it was no exaggeration to say that all previously measured data had been compiled here.

It was a system designed to compare and analyze data from this year’s festival, last year’s festival, and historical records of all those who had possessed special abilities.

Beep—

As Noxia passed through the mechanical corridor, ten stars appeared at the top of the display visible to everyone.

Those waiting for their turn began murmuring upon seeing this.

“Isn’t ten stars the highest possible rating in magical power measurement?”

“As expected, she’s incredible.”

Although this single measurement wasn’t the sole criterion for judging potential, it was typical of Noxia—who had always been ranked first in potential at the academic festival.

After a brief wait, we saw Reiana undergo her magical power measurement.

Five stars appeared above Reiana’s head, indicating her magical power was at an ordinary level—as depicted in the novel .

Since measuring magical power was mandatory for all festival participants, I too had no choice but to line up and wait my turn.

Just as my turn approached and I prepared to step forward—

“Pfft.”

A clearly mocking laugh came from somewhere.

Turning my head, I saw Reiana covering her mouth, unable to suppress her laughter.

“I’m not sure how Lady Tanashia managed to participate in the academic festival, but isn’t measuring her magical power completely pointless?”

She spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear.

As Reiana incited, murmurs and snickers immediately rippled through the crowd.

Noticing the unusual reaction, Noxia turned sharply to survey the surroundings with a stiff expression and said,

“My elder sister isn’t participating through special ability—it’s only natural. It’s not unprecedented for geniuses excelling in other fields to join the academic festival. Why are you all acting like this?”

Thanks to Noxia, the mocking atmosphere subsided slightly, but the eyes of those still staring at me remained filled with ridicule.

Since most participants possessed special abilities, ordinary people like me were an extreme minority—and thus, inevitably dismissed.

‘Hah.’

I nearly burst out laughing out of sheer exasperation.

‘So you want to pick a fight with me, is that it?’

I wasn’t the type to avoid a fight someone else started.

I locked eyes directly with Reiana and glared back. In response, she smiled smugly and shrugged her shoulders once.

It was an unmistakable provocation.

I realized I needed to slightly revise what I’d told Ascan upon first arriving at the festival.

I’d said not to care about what others say and that I determine my own worth…

But I should have added: to those who look down on me, I must clearly show them exactly who I am.

As my inner rage meter steadily filled up, the attendant in charge of magical power measurement guided me forward, saying,

“Please proceed.”

I turned my gaze away from Reiana and confidently walked through the magical power measurement corridor.

Beep—

When the machine beeped, I looked up—predictably, zero stars appeared.

“Hohoho!”

Reiana burst into laughter as if she’d been waiting for this moment, and several noble ladies possessing special abilities visibly joined in her mockery.

I looked at each of their faces and memorized them one by one.

Soon, they would pay the price for poking a sleeping lion’s whiskers.

After magical power measurement concluded, the second item was demonstrating one’s special ability.

The most critical task was proving before the judges how much one’s ability had improved compared to the previous academic festival.

Once again, Noxia was scheduled early in the lineup.

Just as she had trained at Brellof Mansion, Noxia meticulously manipulated water, accurately distributing it from small cups to large ones.

The sight of water moving freely through midair was astonishing enough to make anyone gape in wonder.

But that wasn’t all.

Even among those possessing the same special ability, the amount of magical power each person held resulted in vastly different capabilities.

Though Noxia couldn’t split oceans or overturn rivers, her test measured exactly how much water she could manipulate.

“Haa.”

Noxia took a short, deep breath, then raised her hands, which had been resting neatly at her sides.

In response to her motion, the water contained within the aquarium slowly rose into the air.

Naturally, water that should have remained on the ground was now defying gravity, rising entirely upside-down.

The volume of water was visibly enough to engulf the entire academic festival venue.

“Waaah—”

Gasps of admiration echoed from all directions, and some even began clapping.

Since I hadn’t attended the previous festival, I couldn’t compare directly—but I could clearly sense that Noxia’s special ability had significantly advanced.

Amid the roaring applause of the crowd, Noxia’s turn concluded.

Sometime around the middle of the lineup…

Reiana stepped forward onto the stage.

Possessing the special ability to control wind, she was tasked with moving an iron plate suspended in midair to a designated target marked with lines.

Reiana stared tensely at the iron plate, then clenched her fist with a shout.

Her first few attempts to gather energy failed, but soon the wind’s energy began gathering obediently in her hands according to her will.

Closing her eyes tightly to concentrate, Reiana slowly guided the suspended iron plate toward its destination. Though not fast, she never lost direction—so despite taking time, she succeeded.

“Nice!”

Reiana cheered brightly.

Several noble ladies approached to congratulate her on her success.

I watched Reiana and the noble ladies indifferently, until I heard my name called and rose from my seat.

Since the academic festival typically tested special abilities, the supervisor unusually added an explanatory note when my turn arrived.

“Lady Brellof has been recognized as a genius in the field of magical engineering, which is why she is present here. She will demonstrate a newly developed magical engineering weapon—please pay close attention.”

I took out the prepared K01.

Having already tested it with Barnen, all I needed to do was pull the trigger in front of everyone—no difficult task.

As soon as people saw the small-sized K01, murmurs began spreading—not only among participants, but even among the renowned scholars seated at the judges’ table.

“Is that tiny thing really a weapon?”

“They say it used two expensive magical stones—will it even have proper firepower?”

“Could this be the Brellof family forcing an unqualified person to participate?”

I paid no attention to their murmuring. After all, I’d show them directly with my own eyes right now.

But there was one person who couldn’t let such remarks pass.

Tap tap—the sound of a pen lightly striking the table was heard.

Everyone who saw who made that sound immediately fell silent.

It was Orland, who had come to observe the academic festival.

“My daughter is about to demonstrate the weapon she created—why is everyone making such a racket?”

Though Orland’s words contained no overt threat, no one dared to reply.

No one here was bold enough to turn the Brellof family into an enemy.

Orland swept his icy blue eyes across the surroundings, then continued in a low voice.

“Zen.”

At his call, Zen, who had been waiting behind him, stepped forward.

“Yes, Master.”

“Record the names of anyone spreading false statements without evidence. After the festival ends, we will handle them all according to the law.”

“Understood.”

With that, the judges’ table fell utterly silent, as if all mice had died.

Having always relied solely on my own strength in such situations, Orland’s unexpected care felt both embarrassingly sweet and deeply reassuring.

As I glanced briefly toward the judges’ table, I caught Barnen staring at me with eyes brimming with eager anticipation.

Holding the K01, I waited only to demonstrate its power…

“Lady Brellof, please aim toward that direction and fire.”

The supervisor pointed to a wooden board hung as if meant for arrows.

Even without being told, I could sense how severely they underestimated the firepower of my K01.

“You think that flimsy wooden board can possibly demonstrate my weapon’s firepower?”

I grinned slyly, lifted the K01, and aimed it at the iron plate Reiana had moved using wind energy.

Everyone watched my movements blankly, without a thought.

Only Barnen at the judges’ table and Ascan seated in the waiting area stared at me with tense expressions.

Click—I pulled the trigger immediately, without warning.

Whooshhhhh—!

Instantly, a tremendous whirlwind of flames surged forward, heading straight for the iron plate Reiana had placed.

The heat radiating was intense enough to fill the entire academic festival venue.

Kwagagang!

Finally, the iron plate, unable to withstand K01’s firepower, tumbled violently.

The flames didn’t stop there—they continued until they had charred the entire empty space behind the venue pitch-black.

In short, it was terrifying destructive power.

Orland shot up from his seat in shock. Zen immediately stepped in front of him, preparing for any potential danger.

The judges’ table might as well have been overturned—some people were seen falling backward while still seated.

Participants born with special abilities hastily shielded themselves or retreated far back, fearing they might be injured by K01’s fiery blast.

‘Yes, this is how it should’ve been from the start.’

Had they known K01’s firepower from the beginning, no one could have sat calmly in their seats.

I slowly surveyed the faces of those whose shock had turned to near-horror, then blew gently at the smoke rising from K01’s barrel.

Personally, I thought it looked pretty cool—like a scene straight out of a Western movie.

“This is the magical engineering weapon I developed—K01.”

The previously silent hall instantly erupted into noisy murmurs.

It was the very first day K01 was revealed to the world.