It truly had not felt like a win to her and the fact that the branch head did not stop making mention of Hal's talent and that many other Alchemists who had been present at the Royal Academy entrance exams testified to the fact that Hal was also a Runemaster did not help in any way.
Nicole knew all this but was not about to act sympathetic to Adeline's plight and instead rolled her eyes,
"You got to meet the Emperor... Surely, you can't think Hal's absence is all bad. Without it, you might not have even won the convention" she said.
Adeline sneered while noticing out of the corner of her eyes that the sparring Sapphirine guild members were separating,
"Might not have won? Haha, you're still going to hype his skill so much in his absence. I worked my ass off in the months leading to the convention and by the time it began, I was already a mid Sixth rank Alchemist.
I would have won even if he was present.