While that bitch and I had our, let's call them 'philosophical differences', I had to admit that my inability to feel guilt was good for productivity on specific occasions (such as immediately after my lethal mantraps killed a mentally unstable trafficking victim).

Then again, my productivity wasn't really the issue.

At any rate, I woke up the next morning feeling completely normal and headed in to Professor Delaney's lab.

We were currently trying to invent an anti-magic field that could be deployed in a hollow sphere around the caster. This is considerably more difficult than it sounds.

Actually, the general consensus is that it isn't even possible, but before Delaney invented it, anti-magic was considered an impossibility as well.

Still, it's not a matter of taking a normal anti-magic field and distorting the shape. Putting aside the flaws in structural integrity that would be introduced by simple distortion, the nature of the mana flow is fundamentally different.

Ordinary anti-magic fields function with the caster directly inside them; they use interference forces to tear apart all mana constructs and prevent mana from flowing in a constant direction.

Not only would the hollow version be far less well-connected to the caster, it also would need a mechanism for drawing mana from the outside to the inside of the sphere without compromising security. If we could figure out how to solve that, even uni-directional fields might not be off the table.

But I digress.

At any rate, I was experimenting with finding a feasible arrangement for a certain sigil group when Professor Delaney walked by. He considered my current progress for a bit, then sat down and started to write.

In terms of experience and theoretical background, I couldn't compare to the best mages in the country. It was my ability to quickly create proposed mana structures that gave me the qualifications to participate in this.

With his help, we made a lot of progress.

After a while, he put down his pen and said, "I never properly thanked you."

"For what, Professor?"

"You helped Myra. At least partially, I owe you my happiness."

"I was only doing what I had to."

"Nonetheless, thank you."

Then the topic shifted to alchemy, and he mentioned that he had a friend who was looking for a junior assistant. He thought it might interest me.

Soon after, I went to his wedding.

The ceremony itself had two parts. One of them was a public exchanging of vows, similar to how people did it back on Earth.

The second part was done privately, inside an impenetrable dark sphere.

The bride and the groom would make their vows again, this time using their true names. This portion of the ceremony was a tradition unique to nobility and magicians.

Most regular people do not bother to conceal their names. It would be very unusual for a high-ranking mage to target Ordinary Bob from the fruit stand.

But did you know? True names aren't the only names with power. The name you primarily use inside your mind is also fairly strong. We call it the personal name.

Careless magicians often let their public names become their personal names, sometimes with lethal consequences. For others, their true name and their personal name are the same, and their public name is different.

In rare cases, someone's public, personal, and true names are all entirely different.

I find names to be especially strange things.

After the ceremony, Princess Rosalyn was enjoying some prawns at the reception when she saw Rowan sitting in a relaxed manner at one of the tables.

Why was that bastard here?

Originally, she thought he was cocky because he was a student at the university, but it looked like he had some connections. No wonder he had been so arrogant.

She remembered how he had called her human garbage because he thought she was a lowly peasant. Hatred swelled in her heart. Scum like him should know they weren't better than anyone else.

If status was what he valued, then she would crush him with status.

She confidently walked over to his table.

"I'm Rosalyn. Good to see you again," she greeted him casually.

Would he recognize her? She hoped his mouth would drop open in surprise as he wondered how a lowly peasant like her could possibly be here.

"I apologize, but I don't recall having made your acquaintance. Pleased to meet you, Princess," he said.

It wasn't the response she had hoped for, but it was something she could work with.

"No, I do think we've met before," she said, smiling. Then, she swept her beautiful hair back with a hand, like it had been on that day. She also put on a fake expression of fear. "Please help, I'm being chased by kidnappers!"

Then she looked at him smugly.

"At the market? Do you remember now?"

This time, he would definitely be shocked. If he wanted to preserve his precious status, he'd have to kneel on the floor and beg forgiveness.

"Ah, the woman who pretended to be in trouble and then tried to grab me!"

There was surprise visible on his face, but it wasn't the sort she had hoped for. Rather, his expression was more like he had accidentally discovered someone else's embarrassing secret and wished he could unsee it.

Her cheeks reddened in shame. But she wasn't the one who had done something wrong!

"Do you still think I'm human garbage now??"

If he didn't apologize, he would be offending one of the most socially important members of their generation. He couldn't afford to do that. Even if he said it with hidden hatred, he would still have to force the words out.

Then she would make him grovel and thoroughly repay the humiliation he had given her!

Rowan raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow and drawled, "I wouldn't call you that now. It would be illegal."

Princess Rosalyn felt something inside her snap.

Screw righteousness or whatever. She was going to make him pay.

Contrary to her belief, it didn't seem like status was what he valued. Strength, then?

With her eyes, she sent a silent signal to her best friend, Lady Astor, who was sitting at a different table.

Astor stormed over and threw her gauntlet on the ground in front of Rowan.

"You have insulted the princess' honor," she said, "I demand a duel."

"I'm not interested in fighting a proxy," Rowan said to Rosalyn, "Face me yourself."

"If you decline this duel, you will be a coward and a criminal who insulted the princess' honor. You'd be lucky if you weren't exiled from the country!"

"Alright," said Rowan, "As the challenged, I choose the methods. It will be empty handed, with no additional equipment, and we will fight to the death."

Rosalyn had been expecting him to try to back out of it. Even if he accepted, he should have asked for a duel based on points or submission.

She had been intending to humiliate him, not have her knight risk her life, even if the risk was rather small.

"What did you say?"

"Empty handed, no equipment, to the death," I repeated.

It is true, I probably could have avoided this immediate situation by apologizing and acting regretful.

However, even if I did that, it looked like she might continue to harass me for a while, so I'd rather just deal with it head on than try to act friendly to someone who despises me and wait for the inevitable nasty surprises.

I already had enough to think about in my life without worrying about playing games with some scheming princess.

While he didn't have the mana capacity or fighting instincts to match Valentine, Professor Delaney's intelligence and innovativeness were considered to be one of the magic tower's vital assets.

The tower might not care about a member of the royal family making things annoying for a magic university student, but if the king's daughter went so far as to try to have an archmage's protégé exiled on a whim, it would not simply be ignored.

If she dragged me to court it, it might be different, but if we took it to the dueling grouds just based on a vague accusation and I fought to the death with her knight, it would not turn out well for her at all. It would be even worse if she tried to pursue the issue after.

Of course, in the event that her knight won, she'd be fine and I'd be dead, but that wasn't going to happen.

If she persisted with this, I would kill her closest ally as she watched.

"At any point before the duel starts, I will agree to call it off if you surrender," I said to the knight, Astor, "You don't have to die for someone else's pettiness."

Astor snorted.

"For a moment there, I thought you were brave. Turns out it was all a bluff. How disappointing."

From the moment a duel was accepted by the challenged, it couldn't be cancelled without the consent of both parties.

I shrugged.

"Think whatever you want of it. My offer stands."

I thought nothing of killing someone who was actively trying to kill me. On the other hand, forcing someone to try to kill me so that I can use it as an excuse to kill them might be a bit much.

If I think I should kill them, I'll just kill them. There's no need for mental gymnastics.

Sadly for Astor, she affirmed again that she had no intention of giving up.

The duel was set for the next day.