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Collins rubbed his hands together and silently praised her—this little girl was quite similar to himself.

But if Collins encountered something he didn’t understand, he could still ask his grandfather, a grand mage.

If that didn’t work, he had a high-level mage for a father to consult.

From every angle, even if Collins was a socially awkward shut-in, his foundation was far stronger than Victoria’s.

“This is why I said you can’t possibly succeed.”

“You haven’t even laid a proper foundation for your experiments.”

“You’re running into experiments like a cat stumbling upon a dead rat.”

“I suspect the data you’ve produced so far is just dumb luck.”

“If your luck takes even the slightest turn for the worse, you might spend your whole life chasing results you’ll never get.”

What was the most infuriating thing?

Collins’ words crushed Victoria’s long-held dreams, making them seem worthless.

And the points he made were sharp—blunt, even.

They were insults, plain and simple.

But at the same time, they were truths spoken with good intentions.

He was right.

What he said made perfect sense.

Victoria lowered her head.

Tears dropped onto her skirt, one by one.

Soft sobs began to fill the small space.

Collins shivered slightly.

The young boy hadn’t expected he’d make a girl cry again.

“H-Hey, what’s wrong? Don’t cry, sis—I was just giving my opinion, that’s all.”

“I-I know, but—but…”

“Uwaaah…”

The sobbing grew louder.

Collins scratched his head in a panic.

Suddenly, he thought of something.

He pulled out a pen from his pocket and said, “Hey, after seeing your experiment framework, I had some ideas.”

“Maybe I can help fix the holes in your magic research array.”

“Do you want to take a look?”

Victoria stopped crying.

Collins began carefully modifying the base framework.

It wasn’t a simple task.

But for someone like Collins—who could decode even fourth-tier magic circuits—it wasn’t hard, just tedious.

By the time the moon had risen high into the sky, the lamp light spilled onto the paper where Collins was jotting down magical calculations.

The delicate glow reflected off the pen’s shadow.

Under that shadow, one by one, symbols and numerical structures began stacking together, slowly forming a complete framework.

Victoria watched Collins’ hand as it worked the numbers.

When the first internal cycle framework appeared, she didn’t show much surprise.

What Collins had demonstrated so far was still within the realm of imitation.

But as he began to fill in and complete the structure, the techniques and concepts he employed left Victoria truly in awe.

These were magical structures she could understand, but never could have imagined.

The optimization of the framework and the smooth flow of magical energy were pure artistry.

Victoria finally understood why Collins had said her experiment structure was unbearable.

Compared to the temporary framework Collins had designed, hers looked like a patchwork of trash.

Ugly to the extreme.

“All done.”

Collins handed thirteen sheets of paper to Victoria.

She immediately focused all her attention on them, not even sparing a glance at Collins sitting beside her.

Fortunately, Collins didn’t mind such things.

“My name’s Collins.”

“Victoria.”

“Mhm. It’s getting late. I need to go home now, so… goodbye?”

“Mhm-mhm.”

Even now, Victoria showed no sign of lifting her head.

Collins gave a wry smile and walked toward the elevator.

The hallway was now left with only Victoria.

Old butler Lincoln glanced at the mechanical watch on his wrist.

Victoria had been at the hotel for most of the day.

By now, the old butler had more or less figured out what kind of situation the young lady had encountered that was keeping her from leaving.

As for her safety?

Who knew how many protective magical artifacts Victoria had on her?

The old butler wasn’t too worried she’d get hurt.

Still, as time passed, it was only natural to worry.

The young lady had a soft heart.

If she really experienced something too overwhelming, what if something went wrong?

Victoria wouldn’t be harmed by others, but self-inflicted harm… that was another story.

The butler hesitated, wondering whether to bring someone upstairs to check on her.

Just then, a figure emerged from the hotel entrance.

To his surprise, the young lady had a bright smile on her face—pure joy.

She even skipped a bit as she walked, as though something wonderful had happened.

Opening the car door, Victoria got into the family car.

“Um, Miss?”

“Hm?”

“It’s nothing. You seem to be in a very good mood.”

“Mhm. Maybe… it’s because I met someone wonderful.”

“Even if I didn’t get the internship, meeting that person was worth it.”

The butler’s eyes lit up.

He wondered to himself, Did the young miss finally come to her senses?

“No… better to confirm.”

“Miss, that person… is he a man?”

“Mhm, he’s a guy. And he’s really a good person.”

Victoria smiled happily as she looked down at the new magic structure papers Collins had given her.

They were on a level she could only look up to.

So advanced that they instantly swept away every shadow of doubt in her heart.

The butler was also delighted.

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he shouted inwardly, Our foolish young lady has finally left that cursed lab!

She’s finally looked away from those damned runes and turned her gaze to a boy her age!

“Um… Grandpa Lincoln?”

Victoria held her face in her hands, a blush rising on her cheeks.

“Yes, Miss? What is it?”

“That boy’s name is Collins. He’s the dual top student at Royaltes Magic Academy.”

Lincoln’s body jolted.

A dual-department top student from such a prestigious school?

Now that’s an elite.

The young miss had good taste to fall for such a boy.

“I want you to investigate him for me.”

The butler thumped his chest.

“Rest assured, Miss. I’ll have a full report on that boy on your desk by tomorrow morning!”